Back At Home!

Xiaoguo couldn’t stop smiling along the way. Even Zhuang Zhuang, who was feeling happy, felt even happier.

Xiaoguo got home faster than she had expected. She thought that she would only reach home after sunset. However, as soon as the setting sun appeared, the carriage entered Peach Blossom Village.

Xiaoguo, who was sitting inside, suddenly felt the carriage shake but it quickly stabilized within seconds.

The man outside the carriage explained, “I just bumped into a villager walking in the middle of the road with a basket of firewood on his back, so I drove the carriage around him.”

“Yes, yes.”

Xiaoguo didn’t pay much attention to it and responded casually.

At this moment, some people were cooking at home. Some families had already finished eating and were chatting outside their houses.

The appearance of the carriage attracted the attention of the villagers. They tried hard to see who was in the carriage.

However, in order not to attract too much attention, Xiaoguo did not lift the curtain to greet them. She kept a low profile all the way to her doorstep.

The carriage stopped outside the door. As soon as Xiaoguo’s feet touched the ground, the puppies in the house began to bark. All the other animals in the house started to call out too. They seemed to know that their master had returned and they were creating quite a ruckus.

Hearing this, Xiaoguo and Zhuang Zhuang almost burst into tears. It was true that even a nest made of gold and silver could not compare to their own nest.

After Xiaoguo alighted from the carriage, she turned around and helped Zhuang Zhuang down. She took out the key and handed it to him. “We’ll open the door later. Otherwise, the dogs will scare someone when they come out.”

Xiaoguo was worried that the dogs at home would get too excited after not seeing them for so long. It wouldn’t be good if they ran out and frightened someone.

Zhuang Zhuang nodded and said happily, “Got it!”

With that, he went to wait at the entrance while Xiaoguo got ready to bring out the things from the cart.

Seeing that it was inconvenient for her, the villager who had sent her back helped her carry the wooden buckets down.

“Thank you.”

Although Xiaoguo could move them, she was carrying a bag in her hand. Therefore it was slightly inconvenient for her to unload the buckets. She was lucky that there was someone around to help.

“It’s okay. If there’s nothing else, I’ll leave first.”

The villager was an honest man. Besides sending them back on this trip, he also had other tasks to complete.

Time was tight so he did not dare to take any breaks. After saying that, he got ready to leave.

“Sigh…” Xiaoguo stopped him and said worriedly, “It’s going to turn dark soon. Isn’t it too late for you to go back now? Shall I find you a place to rest for the night? You can go back tomorrow morning.”

“It’s okay. I’m not going back to the fishing village today.” The villager chuckled and said, “I’ll go to the county to rest for the night. I still have to buy some grains tomorrow.”

“Oh, he is going to the county.” Xiaoguo first looked at the sun and realized that there was still time. The evening sun was throwing light on the ground. If he made his way to the county now, he should be able to get there pretty soon.

At the thought of this, she nodded in relief. “Then be careful and stay safe.”

“Yes, okay…”

The villager got back into the carriage and drove away with a wave of the whip.

Zhuang Zhuang watched the carriage leave before opening the door with the key.

Just as Xiaoguo was thinking about home, Mrs. Yang’s door opened.

“Aiyo, Xiaoguo, Zhuang Zhuang! You’re back!”

“Hurry, hurry, hurry. Xiaohu, stop eating. Zhuang Zhuang is back!”

Mrs. Yang was holding a steamed bun in her hand. She shouted excitedly as she ran towards Xiaoguo.

“Sister-in-law, you’d better slow down…”

Xiaoguo looked at Mrs. Yang’s stomach in fear. It was nostalgic and funny to hear her shouting.

Her stomach was already so big, but she still dared to jump around.

“Aiyo, I missed you so much!”

Mrs. Yang hugged and accused Xiaoguo with tears and laughter. She complained about her going away for so long and enjoying herself so much that she had completely forgotten about them.

While crying, Mrs. Yang didn’t forget to stuff a steamed bun into her mouth. Seeing this, Xiaoguo was speechless. It had been some time since they last met, and the other party seemed to have grown an even bigger appetite.

“Sister-in-law, Sister-in-law, I miss you too…”

Xiaoguo didn’t dare to hug her too tightly. She wasn’t as uninhibited as the other party. Instead, she patted Mrs. Yang’s back carefully, afraid that she would hurt her stomach.

At this moment, the reality of her being away finally struck her. Mrs. Yang’s stomach was not this big before she left for the summer resort.

Just as Mrs. Yang was crying and complaining, Xiaohu and Xiaohua ran out of the house. Zhuang Zhuang, who had just opened the door, was pushed to the ground by the two of them and they started rolling around.

“Zhuang Zhuang, Zhuang Zhuang, Brother Xiaohu missed you so much…”

“Zhuang Zhuang, Zhuang Zhuang, Sister Xiaohua wants a hug too…”

“Eh? You seem to have gained weight.”

“Indeed, indeed.”

Zhuang Zhuang pushed the two of them away helplessly, leaving a gap for himself to breathe. He took a few deep breaths and said, “Brother Xiaohu, Sister Xiaohua, I miss you too!”

When Xiaohu heard this, he immediately felt aggrieved. He pursed his lips and narrowed his eyes before starting to cry, “You’ve been away for so long. I was so bored… I had no one to play with or talk to. It was hard on me…”

This pair was indeed mother and son. Xiaohu and Mrs. Yang started to speak simultaneously.

Before Xiaohu could finish speaking, Mrs. Yang continued, “You’ve been away for so long. I felt so bored… I had no one to play with or talk to. It’s so hard…”

“Wait!”

Zhuang Zhuang and Xiaoguo looked at each other from afar. How could they be so in sync with each other?

Just as the mother and son were about to faint from the suffocating love, Yang Feng and Yang Jia, who had also come out, couldn’t stand it anymore and saved the pair from their suffering.

Yang Feng looked at his wife, who had been pulled away by him. She was just about to pounce on Xiaoguo. He said helplessly, “Our family is getting tired of hearing these words.”

Xiaoguo looked at him. At first, she didn’t understand what he was saying, but then she remembered. Was he talking about what Mrs. Yang had just said?

Yang Jia pulled Xiaohu aside and added, “Ever since you and Zhuang Zhuang went away, my sister-in-law and Xiaohu have been saying the same thing eight hundred times a day.”

“Calluses have started growing in our ears.”

The two of them spoke in unison. Even the deaf could detect the helplessness in their voices.

Xiaoguo and Zhuang Zhuang looked at each other and smiled. “The two brothers have good rapport too.”

Xiaohua, who was the only calm person amongst them, shook her head helplessly.

After much difficulty, Mrs. Yang and Xiaohu finally calmed down.

“We were eating just now when we heard the commotion outside. At first, we thought that your brother was feeding the animals.”

Mrs. Yang had been kicking up a fuss for a long time and had finished the steamed bun in her hand. Only then did she perk up and talk to Xiaoguo.

“Is my brother at home?”

Xiaoguo asked in surprise, but then she looked around. “Where was he?”

“Xiaoguo! Xiaoguo! Zhuang Zhuang! Zhuang Zhuang!”

Just as Xiaoguo finished speaking, Qin Anming’s weak voice sounded from afar.

Mrs. Yang was standing away from the group, so she spotted Qin Anming immediately. She exclaimed and attracted everyone’s attention.

What came into view was a pile of wooden sticks of various thicknesses running towards them.

That’s right, it was running. After taking a closer look, they could see a head with white teeth hidden among the pile.

Xiaoguo’s first reaction was actually relief.

It seemed that Qin Anming was really listening to her and taking care of his teeth.

When Qin Anming saw Xiaoguo, he almost cried. Firstly, he missed her. Secondly, it hadn’t been easy for him during this period of time!

When he was making dinner in the evening, he suddenly realized that there was no more firewood at home, so he went out to collect some.

He had planned to pick wood at the back of the mountain, but a few days ago, he heard from the villagers that snakes were spotted in that area. After thinking about it, he decided to go to another spot.

He had no choice. He was really afraid of slippery reptiles.

After gathering the firewood, he bumped into a carriage on the way back. He had wanted to make way for it, but the driver had the same thoughts as him and turned in the same direction.

That really shocked him. The firewood that he had painstakingly gathered fell to the ground. He subconsciously squatted down to pick everything up, but he had forgotten about the carriage behind him.

Fortunately, the driver was skilled enough to make a last-minute turn. Otherwise, the hooves would have trampled over him.