Chapter 13
Chapter 13: I’m Not Grateful to Her
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
On the west side of their courtyard was the Lu family’s old courtyard. After Wei Chiyu fell out with the Lu family, he lived alone in this courtyard.
It could barely be called a courtyard anyway.
It was a dilapidated courtyard owned by the Lu family many years ago. The walls had collapsed, and they could see the full situation of the courtyard clearly without opening the door.
There were two half-collapsed houses in the courtyard. The condition was so dilapidated that they were no longer habitable. The only thing that was still intact in the courtyard was a pigsty.
At this moment, Wei Chiyu sat on the wall of the pigsty, chewing on a steamed bun.
He looked up and saw Zhou Xiaoli standing outside the courtyard. Wei Chiyu was slightly stunned and jumped down from the wall.
Zhou Xiaoli looked at Wei Chiyu’s pigsty again. “No wonder Wei Chiyu answered me the way he did when I asked him to repair his roof today,” she thought.
With this simple pigsty, there would not be a difference whether it was repaired or not.
While she was thinking, Wei Chiyu arrived at the door.
Zhou Xiaoli removed her gaze from the pigsty and revealed her purpose for coming. “Well, thank you for today. I don’t know how to thank you but I made a few buns tonight. Would you like to try them?”
Before Wei Chiyu could refuse, the fragrance of porridge and buns wafted into his nose, and his stomach growled.
He looked at the hard steamed bun in his hand and pursed his thin lips. “Wait a moment.”
With that, he entered the courtyard.
Zhou Xiaoli was confused, not knowing what he was going to do.
After a while, Wei Chiyu walked back to her. The steamed bun in his hand was gone and replaced with a fat pheasant.
He used his other hand to take the food that Zhou Xiaoli brought over and handed the plump pheasant to her thereafter.
Zhou Xiaoli did not take it, but looked at him in confusion.
Wei Chiyu: “I don’t know how to cook.”
Just as Zhou Xiaoli was feeling more confused about his actions, Wei Chiyu added on. “The rice you cooked is very fragrant.” With that, Zhou Xiaoli instantly understood what his actions meant.
Was he asking her to cook for him?
At this moment, Wei Chiyu said, “I haven’t eaten in a long time.”
For some reason, these words made Zhou Xiaoli’s heart ache for him. She couldn’t help but think of the dried out steamed bun he had in his hand when he walked out just now.
Wei Chiyu was only 13 or 14 years old. In modern times, he would still be considered as a child.
Her heart softened. She sighed and compromised. “Alright, but it’s too late today. We will cook it tomorrow.”
Wei Chiyu blinked his amber eyes and nodded seriously.
Only then did Zhou Xiaoli reach out to take the pheasant from Wei Chiyu’s hand. However, just as she met Wei Chiyu’s gaze, an illusion appeared before her eyes again.
In the illusion, it was a stormy night. Wei Chiyu sat in a corner of the pigsty and his entire body was soaked by the rain. He was like a pitiful kitten abandoned in the rain, thin and helpless.
As a gust of wind blew, lightning flashed and thunder rumbled. The entire straw roof of the pigsty was then lifted by the wind. At the same time, the thick poplar tree beside the pigsty was knocked down by the wind and it smashed into the pigsty.
Wei Chiyu couldn’t dodge in time and the tree landed on his leg.
The scene ended there.
As Zhou Xiaoli had stared at him for a long time, Wei Chiyu called out to her. “What’s wrong?”
Zhou Xiaoli coughed. “Ah, no.”
After taking the pheasant, she felt a little awkward and changed the topic hurriedly. “This pheasant is quite fat.”
Wei Chiyu nodded. “Not bad. It’s enough for six people to eat.”
He had counted in Zhou Xiaoli’s family as well.
Thinking of the illusion she had just seen, Zhou Xiaoli pursed her lips. “Well, what I mean is that it should be very troublesome to deal with this pheasant.”
Wei Chiyu’s amber eyes were calm as he looked at Zhou Xiaoli, waiting for her to continue.
Zhou Xiaoli continued. “So, you should come to my house.”
Wei Chiyu was stunned by her words.
Zhou Xiaoli spread her hands and said helplessly. “It’s such a big pheasant. Do you want me to kill it alone?”
Wei Chiyu instantly understood Zhou Xiaoli’s meaning and felt a little ashamed. “I didn’t think it through.”
Just like that, Zhou Xiaoli invited Wei Chiyu into the house to clean the pheasant.
The entire family welcomed Wei Chiyu’s arrival. After seeing the fat pheasant, the family felt embarrassed by the gift.
Wei Chiyu was very straightforward. “There’s no need to be polite. I won’t be entering the city for the next few days. If I can’t sell it, I don’t know how to cook it either. It would spoil if left as it is.”
Although that was the case, it could be considered that they had a wild pheasant to eat for free. Zhang Lan and the others were not comfortable with that idea.
After dinner, they began to clean the pheasant.
In fact, it was not difficult to clean the pheasant, but Zhou Xiaoli deliberately delayed the process for more than two hours.
Zhang Lan was a little confused at the time required.
“It’s only delicious when it’s cleaned thoroughly and there’s no fishy smell.” Zhou Xiaoli could only explain with a smile.
Wei Chiyu, on the other hand, did his work in silence. He did not show any dissatisfaction at all, as if he was fully at Zhou Xiaoli’s disposal.
Finally, the pheasant was cleaned.
At this time, Zhou Xiaoli looked up at the sky and said, “Ah, it’s getting dark. I’m afraid it’ll rain heavily tonight.”
Zhang Lan had just finished her medicine. She was sitting at the entrance of the room to weave a fishing net. After taking a few days of medicine, Zhang Lan’s body was much better than when she first came out of the old Zhou family courtyard.
Therefore, Zhou Xiaoli did not restrict Zhang Lan from working anymore. After all, if she continued to lie in bed, Zhang Lan’s mood would only worsen. If she was in a bad mood, it would affect her physical recovery.
When she heard Zhou Xiaoli’s words, she also looked up at the sky. “Yes, it seems to be cloudy.”
Zhang Lan had already heard from Zhou Xiaoli that Wei Chiyu lived in a simple pigsty. She couldn’t help but worry. “Little Wei, it’s raining heavily tonight. Is your house okay? Why don’t you stay here tonight?”
Wei Chiyu had just poured out the dirty water used to clean the pheasant when he heard her words. “Auntie, just call me Chiyu. It’s fine even if it rains. I’m used to staying there.” he said.
Hearing the last sentence, Zhou Xiaoli could not help but frown. She made a prompt decision for him. “Just listen to my mother and don’t go back tonight.”
Then, without waiting for Wei Chiyu to refuse, she made the arrangements. “Alright, it’s decided. Brother Jun, Father, could you spread the remaining thatch in the room.”
Zhou Junjun nodded heavily and happily pulled Zhou Yu along to lay the thatch with Zhou Xiaoli.
Just like that, Wei Chiyu’s lodgings were arranged.
This was the first time someone had made a decision for him, but he did not feel uncomfortable with it.
At that moment, as he stood in the courtyard and looked at Zhou Xiaoli getting busy, his eyes could not help but deepen.
At the same time.
In the Liu family’s house on the right, Liu Liangcai was praising Zhou Xiaoli then. “Little Li is such a sensible girl that it makes one’s heart ache. She’s only 10 years old, but she already knows how to climb up the roof to repair the house. We should take a few eggs to thank that girl tomorrow.”
Lin Xiujuan, who had been forced to listen to his ramblings, was a little unwilling when she heard that they had to give up their precious eggs. “What’s so important about repairing the roof? I’ve already told her that we’re not in a hurry. I think she’s stubborn and inflexible. Why would she do something unnecessary? Although she’s doing it out of kindness, I’m not grateful to her,” she muttered.
3 s