Xiao Bao'er returned home, brimming with excitement.
She couldn't stop talking, chatting incessantly.
With her chubby face beaming with righteousness, she went around giving kisses to her parents, grandparents, and the whole family burst into laughter.
Xiao Yu quickly made his retreat... otherwise, staying behind might result in a scolding from the entire family. Well, different people are treated differently.
Ever since Xiao Bao'er arrived, the atmosphere in the Xiao household has completely changed.
They had already moved out and lived separately, but later, because they needed to take care of the little one, the whole family moved back to the old house.
The old house is a five-story garden villa with its own elevator.
"I made new friends, Xiao Qi and I even went horseback riding together. Xiao Qi is really nice. Grandma, can I invite Xiao Qi to our house next time?" Xiao Bao'er hugged the arm of a thin old lady and shook it.
Her own mother had to forcefully pull her away.
She felt that her daughter had grown stronger. She's only a few years old.
"Don't shake your grandma. You've made her dizzy," said Guo Ying, concerned. Her mother-in-law hasn't been feeling well lately, and she's a bit worried.
The old lady shook her head. "What could be wrong with me? Bao'er said she made several new friends today, Taylor, Coral, and Xiao Qi. When the weekend comes, they're all invited to our house."
Mainly because it's not easy for Xiao Bao'er, with her personality and appearance, to make new friends. They haven't heard of her happily making friends at kindergarten and inviting them over to play.
The whole family is delighted that the little one made new friends outside.
Guo Ying also thinks her brother-in-law has finally done something decent.
But then they heard Xiao Bao'er continue: "... Uncle likes my friend. I overheard him telling my brother that he wants to fall in love. My brother scolded him, saying he's a dirty old man chasing after young girls. I feel the same way. That's my good friend, and Uncle isn't allowed to like her..."
The whole family was dumbfounded.
Xiao Yu is already quite grown up and still doesn't have a stable relationship. He has had quite a few girlfriends, and there have been several who even called Guo Ying "sister-in-law" in front of her, but Xiao Yu himself doesn't admit it at all.
And now, he's fallen for a girl who's only a few years old. Goodness!
Everyone thought that Xiao Bao'er's friend, Xiao Qi, was just another child, probably chubby like her. Because Xiao Bao'er said she was strong, and they even had eating contests together. They even had the same hairstyle, both with pigtails...
Guo Ying never imagined that her brother-in-law would be interested in such a young girl...
The old lady's face was filled with surprise, her expression changing, hesitating. She wondered if it would be easier to accept if her youngest son brought home a boy or a doll...
The old master pounded the ground with his cane, almost creating sparks. "Help me up. I'm going to kill this unfilial child..."
Xiao Aiguo quickly held back the old master and said, "Dad, don't get so worked up. Maybe there's some misunderstanding?"
Xiao Yu never expected that he would be tricked by his young niece... and now he's in the middle of a phone call with Xiao Shengzhou.
He spoke passionately, "You're the boss, don't you care about your employees? You're the student council president, you should also care about the students in the school. That young girl must have been deceived by that greasy-faced guy who got handsy. She's innocent and inexperienced, and after being fooled, she'll definitely have shadows in her heart. Maybe she'll develop prejudice and a pessimistic view of society..."
Xiao Shengzhou: ...
What's wrong with his cousin? He remembers advising his cousin not to flirt with every girl and to tone it down a bit. His cousin's argument was that if a young girl is easily attracted, it means she has a simple mind and hasn't experienced the harsh realities of society yet. He was just helping her learn to adapt to society in advance...
Xiao Shengzhou was getting impatient with his cousin's fuss. After a bunch of promises, he finally decided to go to John's Bookstore and take a look... In fact, he was curious too. What kind of person could make that young girl like him? During the Mid-Autumn Festival talent show, Xiao Shengzhou was also impressed, but he wasn't really interested in romantic matters. He simply appreciated it.
Xiao Qi and Jin Zaiyan felt much more relaxed after discussing their respective intentions.
She also found out that Jin Zaiyan wanted to make kimchi from the Japanese language teacher... The twists and turns between Asians are really complicated. It's so much easier to just speak straightforwardly.
In fact, the people in Gumu Village are very straightforward, probably because the village is too poor. They say whatever they want, and if they don't say it, it won't exist...
Xiao Qi grew up in this kind of environment and was used to being more direct, especially tired of all the twists and turns.
It was like when she was in high school with Liu Shaowei. If he didn't like her, he should just say it. Acting ambiguous made everyone think they were together, but after graduation, he turned around and got a girlfriend. Now Xiao Qi understood that she was probably just a backup or something like that.
Once she opened up to Jin Zaiyan, she felt much more relaxed. Talking to her, she also learned English conversation. Xiao Qi felt that conversation was really the fastest way to learn a language. It was much more effective than practicing on her own, and John's Bookstore was full of foreigners. The environment was like being in a foreign country, with English all around, creating a more immersive atmosphere.
"Su, do you like Korean? In the future, you can teach me how to cook, and I'll teach you Korean."
Xiao Qi has always been enthusiastic about learning languages, but she was worried that she wouldn't be good at it. When she heard Jin Zaiyan say that, she was tempted, but she expressed her concerns.
"No problem. Japanese and Korean actually have some similarities. If you strengthen your Japanese skills, learning Korean will be fast. So let's make that agreement."
Xiao Qi felt like she was getting the better end of the deal.
"You can call me Xiao Qi. My full name is Su Xiao Qi."
Jin Zaiyan started calling her Su along with Grace and the others. When she heard Xiao Qi say that, she was happy because she thought the other person considered her a friend and allowed her to use her name. Her personality is actually a bit contradictory, with the subtlety of a Korean person and the straightforwardness of an American, all interwoven.
"Then you can call me Zaiyan. That's how my family calls me."
The two exchanged a smile, and Xiao Qi thought this Korean girl was quite interesting.
She had a wide range of experiences. She mentioned her love for mountain biking and even joined a mountain biking club. They could do it together next time.
As they were talking, Xiao Qi noticed that Xiao Shengzhou, the president, had arrived. He was also her boss at her part-time job, so she went up to greet him.
Naturally, Xiao Shengzhou didn't come just to see Xiao Qi. He happened to have some business there and saw Jin Zaiyan, who was engrossed in conversation with Xiao Qi, and couldn't help but chuckle.
Jin Zaiyan is a girl... His uncle is really... Hahaha.
It was so amusing.
A smile spread across Xiao Shengzhou's face, with his righteous, thick eyebrows and big eyes.
Jin Zaiyan didn't expect Xiao Qi to know Xiao Shengzhou. Although she was a teacher, she also knew Xiao Shengzhou. Among their group of foreign teachers, Xiao Shengzhou had a good reputation.
Because Xiao Shengzhou held the position of the student council president, in the eyes of foreigners, it was akin to a school's teachers' union or student union, advocating for the interests of teachers and students with the school. That's roughly the idea.
"Xiao Qi, you know the president. He's great."
Xiao Qi mentioned her part-time job at the horse stable and earned Jin Zaiyan's admiration. Jin Zaiyan also had to work part-time while studying in the United States, so she felt a connection to working to support oneself. However, in Korea and China, their students didn't have a very favorable view of working part-time, so she admired Xiao Qi.
Xiao Shengzhou came over and found the person in charge of the bookstore, a tall and thin foreigner. They were discussing a charity fundraising event. After these foreign teachers came to Enhua, they traveled around extensively, exploring deep mountains and old forests fearlessly.
As a result, they came across a village called Shanya Village, which was located beneath Luxi Town. The transportation there wasn't very convenient, as one had to climb a cliff to enter or exit. There were quite a few people living there, and they wanted to raise funds to build a school for that village.
Finally, it fell on Xiao Shengzhou's shoulders, and he was asked to take the lead. After all, foreigners and the local government officials couldn't communicate clearly.
Xiao Shengzhou thought it was a good thing, fulfilling the foreign teachers' philanthropic desires while also helping the local villagers.
Although Meng City was a relatively prosperous city, there were still genuinely impoverished areas.
He had been running around, contacting local officials and discussing the fundraising event. Foreign teachers were more direct in their approach. They were willing to donate money, but they wanted to see transparent results and required public announcements.
There were some places with serious bureaucratic tendencies, and Xiao Shengzhou had to deal with those. Today, he happened to come to discuss this matter.
When Xiao Qi heard Jin Zaiyan explaining Xiao Shengzhou's purpose for coming, and when she heard about the fundraising, she felt a stir in her heart.
After Xiao Shengzhou finished dealing with the matter, he came over to say hello. Xiao Qi asked, "President, I'm a student. Can I donate?"
Xiao Shengzhou didn't expect the young girl who worked part-time at his horse stable to also want to donate money. He was surprised, but he remained composed and nodded, saying, "Of course, it's about showing love, not about the amount."
Xiao Qi was thrilled to hear that. "Then, President, I'll transfer the money to your WeChat, and you can handle it."
She opened her phone and immediately transferred 20,000 yuan to Xiao Shengzhou. The message on her screen with an additional bonus of 20,000 yuan disappeared, and Xiao Qi felt relieved. Finally, she had completed another task.
Meanwhile, Xiao Shengzhou opened his phone, his expression complicated. He had paid this hardworking student for her part-time job three times, giving her a total of 600 yuan. But now she had transferred 20,000 yuan back to him... It would take her a hundred more jobs to earn back that amount of money. For some reason, his throat felt sticky, as if there were words stuck in it, unable to come out.
This money must be the prize from the Top Ten Singers competition.
Looking at her joyful smile, Xiao Shengzhou didn't know what to say.
He made an excuse and left, not daring to look at her bright and innocent face anymore.
As he walked out of the bookstore, his younger uncle called him.
Xiao Shengzhou spoke seriously in just one sentence, "Uncle, this time I'm really advising you sincerely, don't provoke that girl, you can't handle her."
Xiao Bao'er returned home, brimming with excitement.
She couldn't stop talking, chatting incessantly.
With her chubby face beaming with righteousness, she went around giving kisses to her parents, grandparents, and the whole family burst into laughter.
Xiao Yu quickly made his retreat... otherwise, staying behind might result in a scolding from the entire family. Well, different people are treated differently.
Ever since Xiao Bao'er arrived, the atmosphere in the Xiao household has completely changed.
They had already moved out and lived separately, but later, because they needed to take care of the little one, the whole family moved back to the old house.
The old house is a five-story garden villa with its own elevator.
"I made new friends, Xiao Qi and I even went horseback riding together. Xiao Qi is really nice. Grandma, can I invite Xiao Qi to our house next time?" Xiao Bao'er hugged the arm of a thin old lady and shook it.
Her own mother had to forcefully pull her away.
She felt that her daughter had grown stronger. She's only a few years old.
"Don't shake your grandma. You've made her dizzy," said Guo Ying, concerned. Her mother-in-law hasn't been feeling well lately, and she's a bit worried.
The old lady shook her head. "What could be wrong with me? Bao'er said she made several new friends today, Taylor, Coral, and Xiao Qi. When the weekend comes, they're all invited to our house."
Mainly because it's not easy for Xiao Bao'er, with her personality and appearance, to make new friends. They haven't heard of her happily making friends at kindergarten and inviting them over to play.
The whole family is delighted that the little one made new friends outside.
Guo Ying also thinks her brother-in-law has finally done something decent.
But then they heard Xiao Bao'er continue: "... Uncle likes my friend. I overheard him telling my brother that he wants to fall in love. My brother scolded him, saying he's a dirty old man chasing after young girls. I feel the same way. That's my good friend, and Uncle isn't allowed to like her..."
The whole family was dumbfounded.
Xiao Yu is already quite grown up and still doesn't have a stable relationship. He has had quite a few girlfriends, and there have been several who even called Guo Ying "sister-in-law" in front of her, but Xiao Yu himself doesn't admit it at all.
And now, he's fallen for a girl who's only a few years old. Goodness!
Everyone thought that Xiao Bao'er's friend, Xiao Qi, was just another child, probably chubby like her. Because Xiao Bao'er said she was strong, and they even had eating contests together. They even had the same hairstyle, both with pigtails...
Guo Ying never imagined that her brother-in-law would be interested in such a young girl...
The old lady's face was filled with surprise, her expression changing, hesitating. She wondered if it would be easier to accept if her youngest son brought home a boy or a doll...
The old master pounded the ground with his cane, almost creating sparks. "Help me up. I'm going to kill this unfilial child..."
Xiao Aiguo quickly held back the old master and said, "Dad, don't get so worked up. Maybe there's some misunderstanding?"
Xiao Yu never expected that he would be tricked by his young niece... and now he's in the middle of a phone call with Xiao Shengzhou.
He spoke passionately, "You're the boss, don't you care about your employees? You're the student council president, you should also care about the students in the school. That young girl must have been deceived by that greasy-faced guy who got handsy. She's innocent and inexperienced, and after being fooled, she'll definitely have shadows in her heart. Maybe she'll develop prejudice and a pessimistic view of society..."
Xiao Shengzhou: ...
What's wrong with his cousin? He remembers advising his cousin not to flirt with every girl and to tone it down a bit. His cousin's argument was that if a young girl is easily attracted, it means she has a simple mind and hasn't experienced the harsh realities of society yet. He was just helping her learn to adapt to society in advance...
Xiao Shengzhou was getting impatient with his cousin's fuss. After a bunch of promises, he finally decided to go to John's Bookstore and take a look... In fact, he was curious too. What kind of person could make that young girl like him? During the Mid-Autumn Festival talent show, Xiao Shengzhou was also impressed, but he wasn't really interested in romantic matters. He simply appreciated it.
Xiao Qi and Jin Zaiyan felt much more relaxed after discussing their respective intentions.
She also found out that Jin Zaiyan wanted to make kimchi from the Japanese language teacher... The twists and turns between Asians are really complicated. It's so much easier to just speak straightforwardly.
In fact, the people in Gumu Village are very straightforward, probably because the village is too poor. They say whatever they want, and if they don't say it, it won't exist...
Xiao Qi grew up in this kind of environment and was used to being more direct, especially tired of all the twists and turns.
It was like when she was in high school with Liu Shaowei. If he didn't like her, he should just say it. Acting ambiguous made everyone think they were together, but after graduation, he turned around and got a girlfriend. Now Xiao Qi understood that she was probably just a backup or something like that.
Once she opened up to Jin Zaiyan, she felt much more relaxed. Talking to her, she also learned English conversation. Xiao Qi felt that conversation was really the fastest way to learn a language. It was much more effective than practicing on her own, and John's Bookstore was full of foreigners. The environment was like being in a foreign country, with English all around, creating a more immersive atmosphere.
"Su, do you like Korean? In the future, you can teach me how to cook, and I'll teach you Korean."
Xiao Qi has always been enthusiastic about learning languages, but she was worried that she wouldn't be good at it. When she heard Jin Zaiyan say that, she was tempted, but she expressed her concerns.
"No problem. Japanese and Korean actually have some similarities. If you strengthen your Japanese skills, learning Korean will be fast. So let's make that agreement."
Xiao Qi felt like she was getting the better end of the deal.
"You can call me Xiao Qi. My full name is Su Xiao Qi."
Jin Zaiyan started calling her Su along with Grace and the others. When she heard Xiao Qi say that, she was happy because she thought the other person considered her a friend and allowed her to use her name. Her personality is actually a bit contradictory, with the subtlety of a Korean person and the straightforwardness of an American, all interwoven.
"Then you can call me Zaiyan. That's how my family calls me."
The two exchanged a smile, and Xiao Qi thought this Korean girl was quite interesting.
She had a wide range of experiences. She mentioned her love for mountain biking and even joined a mountain biking club. They could do it together next time.
As they were talking, Xiao Qi noticed that Xiao Shengzhou, the president, had arrived. He was also her boss at her part-time job, so she went up to greet him.
Naturally, Xiao Shengzhou didn't come just to see Xiao Qi. He happened to have some business there and saw Jin Zaiyan, who was engrossed in conversation with Xiao Qi, and couldn't help but chuckle.
Jin Zaiyan is a girl... His uncle is really... Hahaha.
It was so amusing.
A smile spread across Xiao Shengzhou's face, with his righteous, thick eyebrows and big eyes.
Jin Zaiyan didn't expect Xiao Qi to know Xiao Shengzhou. Although she was a teacher, she also knew Xiao Shengzhou. Among their group of foreign teachers, Xiao Shengzhou had a good reputation.
Because Xiao Shengzhou held the position of the student council president, in the eyes of foreigners, it was akin to a school's teachers' union or student union, advocating for the interests of teachers and students with the school. That's roughly the idea.
"Xiao Qi, you know the president. He's great."
Xiao Qi mentioned her part-time job at the horse stable and earned Jin Zaiyan's admiration. Jin Zaiyan also had to work part-time while studying in the United States, so she felt a connection to working to support oneself. However, in Korea and China, their students didn't have a very favorable view of working part-time, so she admired Xiao Qi.
Xiao Shengzhou came over and found the person in charge of the bookstore, a tall and thin foreigner. They were discussing a charity fundraising event. After these foreign teachers came to Enhua, they traveled around extensively, exploring deep mountains and old forests fearlessly.
As a result, they came across a village called Shanya Village, which was located beneath Luxi Town. The transportation there wasn't very convenient, as one had to climb a cliff to enter or exit. There were quite a few people living there, and they wanted to raise funds to build a school for that village.
Finally, it fell on Xiao Shengzhou's shoulders, and he was asked to take the lead. After all, foreigners and the local government officials couldn't communicate clearly.
Xiao Shengzhou thought it was a good thing, fulfilling the foreign teachers' philanthropic desires while also helping the local villagers.
Although Meng City was a relatively prosperous city, there were still genuinely impoverished areas.
He had been running around, contacting local officials and discussing the fundraising event. Foreign teachers were more direct in their approach. They were willing to donate money, but they wanted to see transparent results and required public announcements.
There were some places with serious bureaucratic tendencies, and Xiao Shengzhou had to deal with those. Today, he happened to come to discuss this matter.
When Xiao Qi heard Jin Zaiyan explaining Xiao Shengzhou's purpose for coming, and when she heard about the fundraising, she felt a stir in her heart.
After Xiao Shengzhou finished dealing with the matter, he came over to say hello. Xiao Qi asked, "President, I'm a student. Can I donate?"
Xiao Shengzhou didn't expect the young girl who worked part-time at his horse stable to also want to donate money. He was surprised, but he remained composed and nodded, saying, "Of course, it's about showing love, not about the amount."
Xiao Qi was thrilled to hear that. "Then, President, I'll transfer the money to your WeChat, and you can handle it."
She opened her phone and immediately transferred 20,000 yuan to Xiao Shengzhou. The message on her screen with an additional bonus of 20,000 yuan disappeared, and Xiao Qi felt relieved. Finally, she had completed another task.
Meanwhile, Xiao Shengzhou opened his phone, his expression complicated. He had paid this hardworking student for her part-time job three times, giving her a total of 600 yuan. But now she had transferred 20,000 yuan back to him... It would take her a hundred more jobs to earn back that amount of money. For some reason, his throat felt sticky, as if there were words stuck in it, unable to come out.
This money must be the prize from the Top Ten Singers competition.
Looking at her joyful smile, Xiao Shengzhou didn't know what to say.
He made an excuse and left, not daring to look at her bright and innocent face anymore.
As he walked out of the bookstore, his younger uncle called him.
Xiao Shengzhou spoke seriously in just one sentence, "Uncle, this time I'm really advising you sincerely, don't provoke that girl, you can't handle her."
