PCJ – Chapter 95 Husband and wife Quarreling

“Woof woof, woof woof woof…”

Zuan Sanbao barked loudly.

“Huh? There really are guests,” Liu Qiaoye murmured.

Zhang Jiaohua tossed the kitchen knife aside with a clang, threw the wild chicken back into the basin, and quickly ran out.

“Aunt? Xi’er?” Zhang Jiaohua was very surprised by the visitors.

Liu Xi rushed over quickly, “Brother Jiaohua.”

Ever since Zhang Jiaohua had comforted Liu Xi after a scare, Liu Xi had been especially attached to this cousin.

“Jiaohua, are you not happy to see your aunt and Xi’er?” Zhao Lanying asked with a smile.

“No, not at all. Aunt, why did you come so late? It’s almost dark,” Zhang Jiaohua said, leading Liu Xi into the house. He proudly announced in the kitchen, “We’re having wild chicken for dinner tonight. I hunted it in the mountains today.”

“Wow, Brother Jiaohua, you’re amazing. You can run faster than a wild chicken. Why didn’t the chicken fly away?” Liu Xi scratched his head.

“Uh, it’s not that I run fast, it’s that Zuan Sanbao runs fast,” Zhang Jiaohua was at a loss, defeated by this kid who was two or three years younger than him.

“Lanying, why haven’t I seen Biaozi?” Liu Qiaoye came out, walking towards the direction of Blue Snake Creek several times before turning back to ask Zhao Lanying.

“He didn’t come.” Zhao Lanying’s expression wasn’t good, and her smile was very forced.

Liu Qiaoye immediately understood, “Did you two have a fight?”

“Sis, are you not happy to see me and Xi’er?” Zhao Lanying didn’t want to discuss the reason, but it was obvious why they had left home.

“If you came to play, I’d be delighted. But if you ran away after fighting with Biaozi, then I’m not happy. You might feel better not seeing him, but don’t you think the two elders at home are worried sick? Why can’t you discuss things properly? If Biaozi did something wrong, you can tell our parents. Don’t you know what kind of people they are after being married into this family for so many years? If Biaozi is wrong, they will definitely side with you. Even if Biaozi has a point, they wouldn’t let him scold you harshly,” Liu Qiaoye said, unable to be happy. She could imagine that their parents were frantically searching for them. If it got dark, the mountains were dangerous. What if something happened?

“Sis, if you don’t welcome us, I’ll take Xi’er and leave,” Zhao Lanying said, feeling embarrassed for her impulsive actions.

“How could I let you leave? It’s almost dark, where would you go? Come inside. You’re a mother now, you need to think things through. If Biaozi is wrong, tell me, and I’ll scold him. If he’s too unreasonable, I’ll beat him with a stick, let’s see if he dares to fight back!” Liu Qiaoye hurriedly pulled Zhao Lanying into the house.

Zhang Youping knew what his wife was worried about, “Should I go to Fengshui Bridge tonight to inform them, so our parents don’t worry?”

“Forget it, it’s already getting dark. They probably know Lanying came to a relative’s house. Luckily, she brought Xi’er. Otherwise, they’d be even more worried. Let’s wait until tomorrow. Biaozi is already a father, how can he still not know his limits?” Liu Qiaoye was worried about her parents but didn’t want her husband to walk dozens of miles in the mountains alone.

“Couples fighting is normal. It’ll be fine in a few days. Since you’re here, just stay. I’ll go to Fengshui Bridge first thing in the morning. I’ll have a good talk with Biaozi.” Zhang Youping went into the kitchen to prepare. Luckily, dinner wasn’t made yet, so he didn’t have to cook extra rice.

Zhang Jiaohua had already started cleaning the wild chicken with Liu Xi. Zhang Jiaohua often watched his parents do household chores, especially cooking, so he was very skilled. He handled the knife expertly, cleaning the wild chicken with great proficiency.

“Brother Jiaohua, how do you know so much?” Liu Xi was amazed by Zhang Jiaohua’s adept handling of the chicken.

“Of course, I learned it. You can learn too in the future,” Zhang Jiaohua smiled at Liu Xi.

Liu Qiaoye, who had been standing by without helping, now stepped forward, “Jiaohua, leave this to me. You take Xi’er to watch TV. I’ll handle the chores.”

Zhang Jiaohua was eager to go. The TV was showing cartoons at this time. When he used to watch TV at other people’s houses, he never got to see cartoons because adults didn’t like them. Now that they had their own TV, he could watch any channel he wanted. Meizi Village was in a mountainous area, so there weren’t many TV channels. They could receive three channels: the central channel, the provincial channel, and the Xintian county channel. The signal wasn’t great, with a lot of static, so to get a clear picture, they often had to adjust the outdoor antenna on a tree. This was the time slot for children’s programs, which were the kids’ favorite. It was the happiest era for children because their only task was to play.

During dinner, Zhao Lanying explained the cause of their fight. It turned out she had chatted with an idle man from the village. Liu Biao saw it and felt uncomfortable, so he scolded her. Zhao Lanying felt wronged because they were from the same village, so what was wrong with chatting? Liu Biao had his reasons for being upset. The village had a few loafers, living in poverty, who couldn’t get wives and often harassed other men’s wives, making them notorious.

The main reason was boredom. Although the farmland had been contracted to households and everyone worked hard on their plots, there was still a surplus of labor in rural areas. Couples often used arguments to relieve boredom. So, it was common for men to scold their wives, for couples to fight, and for arguments to happen.

“Do you think I wouldn’t be angry with his nasty words?” Zhao Lanying felt aggrieved, and tears streamed down her face again.

“Sister-in-law, it’s nothing to chat with others. But do you think they just want to chat? They have ulterior motives. So, Biaozi is upset because he cares about you. If he saw you chatting with those loafers and didn’t care, would that be normal?” Liu Qiaoye pinpointed the key issue.

Hearing this, Zhao Lanying felt better, “He could have explained it to me. Why did he have to scold me so harshly?”

“Xi’er is so grown up now. Don’t you know Biaozi’s temper? He’s hot-tempered and speaks without thinking. He probably regretted it after scolding you,” Liu Qiaoye said with a smile.