RYEY -Chapter 258 Little Redhead Foresees Disaster

Realizing her mistake, Cheng Qiao washed little Li Ming’s face with well water. The redness and swelling of his eyelids slowly subsided, and the little fellow fell into an even deeper sleep.

When he woke up, he played the “hen laying eggs” toy together with little Cheng Li. The two of them laughed, jumped around happily, and didn’t stop until the batteries ran out.

It turned out that little Cheng Li had promised his younger brother that once they got home, they would play with the toys together—but on the condition that he wouldn’t cry anymore. Little Li Ming really kept his word: no crying, no fussing, and he held on until he woke up.

“Son, when it’s your birthday, Mommy will buy you a toy. What do you want?”

Little Li Ming had long forgotten about Cheng Qiao ignoring him earlier. Hearing that he would get a present, he happily shouted, “Wa wa wa!”

Only then did Li Huan finally relax and pat his chest, letting out a breath of relief. When his wife got angry, it was really frightening—but fortunately, her temper flared fast and faded just as fast.

The days that followed were calm and peaceful. Li Huan focused on production and side businesses, and the overall atmosphere of Xiangyang Village became better than ever. Everyone wore satisfied smiles on their faces.

There were more weddings in the village too. Now that families had money, giving fifty more yuan as bride price was no problem, and adding twenty more yuan to the dowry was also acceptable.

Cuihua and Aunt Wang both began arranging blind dates for their sons. Most people avoided the educated youths, though of course some had taken a fancy to Han Chunmei. After all, this female educated youth had already stayed here for seven or eight years.

“Xiao Han, you’re almost thirty this year, right? Your best years have been wasted here. How about Auntie introducing you to someone good?”

Han Chunmei shook her head. At Cheng Qiao’s signal, Zhang Yuefang secretly told her to hang on for another two or three years—then they would be able to take the college entrance exam. They had to get into university and fly out of this village.

For some reason, Han Chunmei’s trust in Cheng Qiao had already reached one hundred percent. Whatever Cheng Qiao said, she believed.

Now Cheng Qiao had even entrusted little Cheng Li to her, asking her to teach him reading and writing. After all, little Cheng Li was still her godson in name.

“Chunmei, listen to Auntie. That man is really not bad. It’s just that his wife died three years ago, and he has one son. He’s always liked you. He’s willing to give two hundred yuan as bride price, plus four sets of clothes.”

“Auntie, my family has already made arrangements. I’ll get married after I return to the city.”

“Heh, you’re already thirty and still talking about going back to the city to get married—your brain must be broken.”

“My brain isn’t broken, Auntie. It’s your heart that’s rotten. For the sake of a little matchmaker’s fee, your heart has turned completely black.”

“Pah! An old maid who can’t get married…”

Seeing that Han Chunmei firmly refused, the aunt knew she wouldn’t get any benefits. She spat viciously on the ground, cursed under her breath, and left.

“What kind of person is that? If she doesn’t get her way, she just curses people—so annoying.”

“Forget it. What’s the point of arguing with a village woman whose heart has gone black? How are things between you and Da Mao now?”

Zhang Yuefang smiled, but the smile didn’t reach her eyes. Last time, without telling anyone, she had gone straight to Spring City to see Da Mao. It happened to be lunchtime. With her own eyes, she saw Da Mao sitting and eating with a female classmate, the atmosphere very harmonious.

By the time Da Mao noticed her, she was already standing beside the table. The female classmate forced a smile at Zhang Yuefang, picked up her lunchbox, and left. Da Mao looked at Zhang Yuefang guiltily, like a man caught committing adultery.

“Yuefang, have you eaten? How about—how about I get you a portion? Today, today the cafeteria has braised pork.”

Looking at the braised pork in Da Mao’s lunchbox, Zhang Yuefang sneered and left. Living quite comfortably, huh—giving her only two yuan a month, rarely coming home. Heh. Da Mao had finally given her a reason to strive forward.

When Da Mao returned with his food, Zhang Yuefang was already nowhere to be seen. He felt uneasy and even made a special trip back on the weekend. Only then did he discover that his wife had actually become a teacher.

But on the day Da Mao returned, Zhang Yuefang didn’t go home. Instead, she squeezed into the educated youth dormitory and slept there for the night. She didn’t want to get pregnant—especially now that she already had a goal, she was even more unwilling to become pregnant.

Cuihua, who wanted to hold a grandson, could only pin her hopes on Er Mao. She didn’t blame Zhang Yuefang. Husband and wife were living apart, and this wasn’t a women-only kingdom—drinking river water wouldn’t magically make you pregnant.

Er Mao greatly admired Li Huan. He vowed to find a woman like Cheng Qiao to be his wife. Hearing this, Cuihua shook her head nonstop. She too wished she could marry a daughter-in-law like Cheng Qiao, but such a daughter-in-law wasn’t Chinese cabbage you could just pick up anywhere.

Another August arrived—the hottest season of the year. At last, red “double happiness” characters were pasted up at Wang Xiangyang’s home. Aunt Wang had found him a village girl from the same village, a little girl named Caiqin. Her father was a hunter and greatly admired Wang Xiangyang.

So when the two families met, they decided on the children’s marriage right away. Wang Xiangyang and Chen Caiqin were childhood sweethearts anyway. Since it was their parents’ decision and the matchmaker’s arrangement, then marriage it would be.

The bride price was two hundred yuan plus a bicycle. The dowry was even more impressive—not only a wristwatch, but also a radio and eight thick cotton quilts. This dowry was already almost on par with Cheng Qiao’s.

When Li Huan heard this, he sneered coldly. My wife is a fairy. Want to compare with my wife? Try next lifetime—no, the one after that. No—wait until you can become an immortal first.

The Cheng Qiao being talked about was holding two-year-old Li Ming in the mountains, searching for medicinal herbs. Ye Jun was on the other side with little Cheng Li, constantly sorting the herbs.

Suddenly, little Cheng Li lifted his head and said it was raining. Cheng Qiao also felt the moisture in the air grow heavier. She decisively ended the herb gathering and led the two children and Ye Jun down the mountain.

They had just reached the front of their house when the rain began to pour. Seeing Mother Li busily tidying up the courtyard, Cheng Qiao also helped carry things inside.

“Master, it’s raining so hard—don’t go back. Just stay here tonight.”

Over the past two years, Li Huan had built two more rooms next to their house—one for his master, and one for Xuhui and his grandmother. The room Ye Jun used to live in was now for little Cheng Li and little Li Ming.

“Alright. I’ll take the two children to bathe and change clothes first. Even though it’s summer, we still need to keep warm.”

Cheng Qiao nodded, then suddenly felt that there was some movement at her window. She hurried inside and at once saw Little Redhead dart in through the window, looking rather panicked.

“What’s wrong?”

With a thought, Cheng Qiao brought Little Redhead into the space. Only then did Little Redhead feel safe. One person and one snake communicated, and in the end, Cheng Qiao’s expression changed.

She quickly exited the space, grabbed an umbrella, and ran toward the village committee. Little Redhead had told her that all the animals in the mountains were fleeing—even it didn’t dare stay in the mountains anymore.

When Li Huan heard this news, his heart clenched. More than twenty years ago, Xiangyang Village had been flooded by a mountain torrent. When it erupted, the entire village and the Xiangyang River had merged into one.