Chapter 16: Do You have a Crush?
When Lin Yue spoke these words, it was a heartfelt expression, and a hint of bitterness couldn't help but spread in her eyes.
Although it quickly disappeared, it was still captured by the man.
"It seems that this comrade has also experienced the pain of love. You look like a person who has a story to tell. Have you been hurt by someone in the past?" The man asked carefully.
Without thinking too much, Lin Yue regarded him as just a passing traveller and admitted it readily.
"Well, it's all in the past. Let's not dwell on it."
After saying this, her gaze shifted to the ground, where she spotted another big eel.
"There, there, there's a big one."
As noon approached, Lin Yue's bucket was filled with quite a few eels.
She plucked a nearby reed stalk and skewered some of the larger eels together, handing them to the man.
"Thank you for today. These are all yours."
The man accepted them silently.
"I'm going back now. Goodbye." Lin Yue smiled and walked away with her bucket.
The man watched her retreating figure, his eyes flickering with complex emotions.
Back at home, Lin Yue checked the time and hurried to cook.
After preparing the eels, she put them in the pot along with some peanuts she had retrieved from the mouse hole and exchanged a small piece of tofu with someone.
It wasn't large, just the size of a cup, but after rinsing it with water, she threw it directly into the pot to stew.
By the time the two children came back hand in hand, the yard was already filled with the rich aroma of fish.
"Brother, what's mom cooking? It smells so good," Xiu'er exclaimed before even putting down her school bag.
"Don't call her mom," Xia Dongtian grumbled dissatisfiedly.
"Grandma asked us to call her that. Xiu'er really wishes to have a mom." Xiu'er looked at Xia Dongtian pitifully.
Xia Dongtian compromised.
"Alright, alright, if you want to call her mom, then go ahead." Xiu'er was overjoyed.
"You're back. Go wash your hands and get ready for dinner," Lin Yue leaned out from the kitchen and said.
"Coming!" the two children responded in unison.
As the table was set and the children hadn't started eating yet, a surprised voice came from outside.
"What's cooking? It smells so good."
"Yeah, it smells like stewed fish."
Hearing the voices from outside, Lin Yue furrowed her brows, and Xia Dongtian also sensed something was wrong. He stood up and pulled Xiu'er behind him.
"Ugly woman, you really have no good intentions. You want to sell my sister after just one meal of fish, don't you?" Xia Dongtian's forehead veins were about to pop out from anger.
Lin Yue felt a headache coming on.
"You take Xiu'er inside. I'll go out and see."
With that, she turned and walked out, flipping the door closed and locking it behind her.
Because he was worried, Xia Dongtian followed her outside. When he reached the door and tried to push it open, he found it locked.
"Ugly woman, open the door. Don't you dare try to sell us. If you dare, my father won't spare you when he comes back!" Xia Dongtian roared hoarsely, pounding on the door.
Lin Yue frowned. "Shut up. If I wanted to sell you, why would I bother locking the door? Just protect your sister properly."
After she said this, Xia Dongtian fell silent.
In the courtyard, Lin Yue saw the people rushing in from outside and furrowed her brows, feeling a bit panicked.
She casually picked up the stove hook from the nearby window sill and stood coldly at the doorway.
"What are you doing? Bullying us, a widowed mother with orphaned children?" It was the Crippled Xia and his two brothers, followed by several of their friends.
T/L: Can't they just leave them alone already omg?
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