Twists and Turns

Jiang Danhe was oblivious to it all. He happily helped Xiaoguo start the fire.

“Why are you so happy?”

Xiaoguo looked at Jiang Danhe, who looked extremely happy. She found it strange. He was hardly so cheerful on normal days.

When Jiang Danhe heard her words, he nodded in acknowledgment. How could he not be happy? The episode with Yang Jia served as a reminder to him. What if Zhuang Zhuang was the one who picked up the book instead? His image as a father would crumble to bits. It would be even worse if Xiaoguo finds out about it. When he thought of the scenario, he couldn’t help but shiver. What a frightening thought.

Xiaoguo looked at him and smiled. His facial expressions looked exactly like Zhuang Zhuang.

Soon, Jiang Danhe’s good mood disappeared.

Just as Jiang Danhe was helping Xiaoguo to cut the chestnuts, Xiaohu and the other children started knocking on the door.

When he heard the group of children chattering outside, Jiang Danhe suddenly had a bad feeling. He stopped Xiaoguo and said, “I’ll get the door.”

When Xiaoguo heard this, she slowly sat down and narrowed her eyes at Jiang Danhe suspiciously. Something is not right.

Jiang Danhe coughed and pretended to be calm as he got up to open the door.

Then, he saw the books in Xiaohu’s hands. In an instant, Jiang Danhe’s calmness disappeared. He closed the door behind him guiltily to block Xiaoguo’s view.

“Uncle, is this yours?”

Xiaohu handed over the books to Jiang Danhe as if he was asking for credit. The little boy behind him also looked at Jiang Danhe expectantly.

Faced with so many pure and innocent eyes, Jiang Danhe’s face turned red. There could be nothing more embarrassing than this.

Feeling hopeful, he took the books. “Have you seen the contents?”

“No, Brother Xiaohu said that the books were private property. So we can’t read them.”

On the other side, Jiang Danhe’s favorite kid chimed in. As soon as the boy finished speaking, they both laughed. However, one was laughing with relief, while the other one was looking for praise.

Jiang Danhe put away the books with relief and stroked the children’s heads one by one. These children are so lovable, especially Xiaohu. He had really saved his life.

“You are awesome, you are awesome.”

Jiang Danhe praised them one by one. Then, he turned around and returned to the courtyard. He found the big pears that Xiaoguo had washed. After getting her permission, he handed the fruits to the children.

The children had wanted to climb on Jiang Danhe’s back, but when they saw the pears, they held them like treasures and ran home.

Jiang Danhe pretended like nothing had happened and was about to return to the house with the books.

Xiaoguo was not about to let him off. She sized him up and finally landed her gaze on his abdomen.

“Stop right there.”

When Jiang Danhe heard this, he subconsciously stopped, but when he regained his senses, he quickly ran away. Xiaoguo was only trying to tease him, but he actually ran away in fear. Seeing his abnormal behavior, Xiaoguo blinked and thought, “He must be up to something.”

Jiang Danhe returned to the house and closed the door tightly. He took out the books and threw them on the bed. He looked at them hatefully. “You’re still clinging to me. Why can’t I get rid of you? I just don’t believe it!”

In the following period of time, Jiang Danhe attempted to dispose of the books on multiple occasions. But each time, Xiaohu and the kids managed to find the books and return them. It was as if they had radar installed on them. Jiang Danhe was so frightened that he stopped trying to discard the books.

This time, it was the same. He had already buried the books, but Xiaohu still came back to return them.

Jiang Danhe was already numb. He took the books and returned home. Xiaoguo was cooking dinner in the kitchen. Looking at the distracted man, she wondered what he was up to, having been out the whole day.

“Jiang Danhe, come and start the fire.”

Xiaoguo called out to the man who just set foot in the house.

Jiang Danhe responded and turned to walk towards the kitchen. Halfway through, he suddenly had a flash of inspiration. He felt like slapping himself. How stupid of him to not have thought of such a simple solution!

“Coming!”

Feeling happy, Jiang Danhe raised his voice and yelled in response.

Xiaoguo looked at him strangely. Why was he responding again when he had just said yes?

Jiang Danhe tried to find an opportunity to throw the books in, but Xiaoguo kept circling around the stove. He waited for an opportunity and when he finally found the chance, he was suddenly startled by Xiaoguo’s voice behind him. He turned around and realized that it was the sound of himself kicking a basin.

Just like that, Jiang Danhe did not burn the books eventually. He wondered if Xiaoguo had discovered something. In order to err on the side of caution, he decided to terminate his plan to discard the books.

Jiang Danhe looked at the books that were still there after so many twists and turns. In the end, he thought of a good place for it.

Since he couldn’t get rid of them, he would bring them back to the capital to give to Li Shouji. In any case, didn’t he always say that he was a lonely bachelor? The books could help him out with his loneliness.

_

Time passed quickly. It was almost time to pick up Zhuang Zhuang. It was also the opening day of the new noodle shop.

Xiaoguo took out the chestnut pancakes that she had made with Jiang Danhe a few days ago. She would share the pancakes with everyone at the shop

The taste and shapes of the chestnut pancakes were of the best quality—but this only applied to those that were made by Xiaoguo. The funny-looking ones that were made by Jiang Danhe would be saved for consumption at home.

Xiaoguo was in charge of taking the pancakes out and wrapping them in waxed paper. Jiang Danhe was in charge of tying the ropes.

“You have to tie a bow.”

Xiaoguo folded the waxed paper in her hand and did not forget to remind Jiang Danhe. Xiaoguo was afraid that if she didn’t remind him, he would tie the packages carelessly.

“Okay.”

As expected, when Jiang Danhe heard this, he untied the rope he was tying and tried his best to tie a bow.

Although he didn’t know how to tie it, he had to pretend that he did. Otherwise, he was afraid that Xiaoguo would sigh at him again. He had already heard her sigh countless times at him when they were making chestnut pancakes.

He was worried about Xiaoguo trying her best to praise him when he wasn’t doing very well.

Xiaoguo looked up and could tell that he didn’t know how to tie a bow. She got up and held his hand, carefully teaching him the steps.

“Do you understand?”

After Xiaoguo let go of the string, she picked up the wrapped bundle and set it aside. She then continued to fold the paper.

“…” Jiang Danhe did not dare to speak. He could only say that he knew vaguely because he had been too busy feeling flustered. Xiaoguo was standing so close to him just now…

“Did you not look?”

Seeing his expression, Xiaoguo realized that he wasn’t watching just now.

“…”

“For the last time, watch closely.”

Xiaoguo got up helplessly. He was already a grown man. Why was he acting like a child?

“Don’t worry.”

Jiang Danhe’s eyes widened. He tried his best to ignore the fact that Xiaoguo was pressing tightly against his back to show him the steps. He tried to focus on what was in front of him rather than what he was feeling at the back.

A simple bow was not a problem for Jiang Danhe. As long as he drew his attention away from Xiaoguo, he could understand the simple task at a glance.

The two of them locked the main door and drove to the county city.

Not long after they left, a figure suddenly appeared at the door. He was holding the lock and fiddling with it seriously.

After a while, he gave up and kicked the door angrily. He was obviously angry that he failed to open the lock.

At this moment, Mrs. Yang happened to come out of her house. She looked over and noticed the black figure. When she saw his suspicious actions, she shouted and successfully scared him away.

Mrs. Yang felt a lingering fear in her heart. She didn’t know who it was, but when the person was gone, she walked over and looked at the door. She was relieved to see that the lock was still intact. It seemed that there was no one at home and the lock had not been broken.

She had to tell Xiaoguo to be careful. This was no joke.

Mrs. Yang looked regretfully at the path where not a single soul was in sight. If she had known, she wouldn’t have called out to that person. She would have quietly walked closer to check out who it was.