Locked on to You

What could she say? Just say, “I cannot remember. Can you describe their faces to me?” Doesn’t that make her a pure ingrate?

If the two elders of the Qin family were still alive, they would have given her a tight slap to reward her for her filial piety…

She decided not to say anything as she could ask around later on.

Looking at the strange Xiaoguo, Qin Anming was puzzled. What was she trying to say?

Thinking about it carefully, Qin Anming realized that Xiaoguo had started behaving strangely since the day they visited their parents’ graves. Was she missing them?

At the thought of this, his heart softened. He gently wrapped his arms around her shoulders and patted her gently.

Xiaoguo turned her head and smiled at him. Looking into his gentle eyes, her heart was in a mess.

Then, she smiled wryly. Why was she thinking about all things impossible? If the two elders of the Qin family were her parents, then what was Qin Anming to her? She didn’t have any siblings in her previous life—her parents had only one child.

She forced herself to stop thinking about these things. The most important thing now was to live well in the present!

She looked around and saw that Zhuang Zhuang was nowhere to be seen. She looked at Qin Anming and asked, “Where’s Zhuang Zhuang?”

Qin Anming was stunned. He slowly left her side and hid on the side of the wall before telling her slowly, “He’s in the room.”

Xiaoguo frowned and only heard Qin Anming’s words after she leaned closer to him. She threw the rag to one side and walked quickly into the house with her hands on her hips. She was fuming as she walked. “This little Zhuang Zhuang. he’s so scheming at such a young age. While the two adults were working hard to clean the house, he had the guts to stay idle in the room. Let’s see how I am going to deal with him.”

Qin Anming pursed his lips and looked worriedly in the direction Xiaoguo had left. He hoped that Zhuang Zhuang could hold on and not push the blame on him. His uncle was just trying to protect himself.

“Zhuang Zhuang!”

Xiaoguo walked into the house angrily. Unexpectedly, her anger was extinguished in an instant. Her voice became gentle and soft. “Zhuang Zhuang…”

Zhuang Zhuang held the teapot in his hand and wore a look of shock on his face. He stared at Xiaoguo with eyes wide open. There were two teacups on the table and steam was wafting out of them. It was obvious that the tea was freshly poured. Before he could put down the teapot in his hand, Xiaoguo had entered and interrupted him.

Seeing this, Xiaoguo could roughly guess what was going on. She gently stroked the top of his head. “Is this for Mother and Uncle?”

Zhuang Zhuang put down the teapot and nodded aggrievedly. He looked like he was startled by Xiaoguo.

Xiaoguo couldn’t bear to see him like that, and her heart instantly softened. She wished to hug and kiss him right on the spot.

In the end, Xiaoguo enjoyed the tea and brought the obedient Zhuang Zhuang back to the kitchen.

Qin Anming, who was waiting for the storm to come, was stunned. How did it turn out like this?

Why was it different from what he had imagined? Shouldn’t he be the one rescuing Zhuang Zhuang? Why were they holding hands so happily? That shouldn’t be the case…

“Uncle, have a cup of tea and take a break.”

At Xiaoguo’s signal, Zhuang Zhuang obediently handed the teacup to him. Seeing that Qin Anming was in a daze, he winked at him mischievously.

“See! I’m that good!”

Qin Anming took the teacup and nodded silently. “My nephew is amazing.”

Xiaoguo watched their interaction with relief. She didn’t know if it was due to the new year, but she felt that Zhuang Zhuang seemed to have grown a lot. It could be seen from his physical build and appearance.

There was one way to summarize this phenomenon. It was her maternal instincts at play.

To her, Zhuang Zhuang was good at everything. He was liked by everyone. Even his fart sounded nice and loud.

Qin Anming put down his teacup helplessly. It seemed that his capabilities couldn’t compare with that of a child. If he was the one caught slacking off by Xiaoguo, he would definitely be admitting his mistake by now and making promises to not do it again.

When Xiaoguo went out to get her things, Qin Anming couldn’t help but ask, “How did you do it?”

When Zhuang Zhuang heard this, he covered his mouth and giggled. He went to his side and whispered, “My ears are the sharpest. I could hear Mother’s footsteps from afar, especially when she was angry. When she’s mad, her footsteps would involuntarily become heavier, so it was easier to tell.”

With that, Zhuang Zhuang’s ears twitched. He quickly picked up a rag and started wiping the table.

Just as Qin Anming was about to ask him how to tell from the footsteps, he saw the boy trying to get away. Qin Anming didn’t give up and grabbed the boy’s arm. “Tell Uncle. How did you figure it out?”

Zhuang Zhuang shook his head, signaling to him to stop talking.

However, Qin Anming thought that Zhuang Zhuang was refusing to tell him how. Hence, he pestered him for an answer. He looked like he would not stop until he got a reply from him.

Xiaoguo, who was now holding a new rag, saw this scene when she entered. The grown man was leaning against the boy and muttering something in his ears.

Curious, Xiaoguo asked, “What are you guys doing?”

“Nothing!” They both froze and replied at the same time, while trying to get away from each other as quickly as possible.

“How strange.”

Xiaoguo didn’t care about the two of them whispering to each other. She used the new rag to start cleaning again.

The two of them heaved a sigh of relief at the same time. Using sign language that only the two of them understood, they told each other that they would talk about it later.

The three of them took a shorter time to clean the kitchen than the rest of the house. It was all thanks to Xiaoguo’s good cooking habits that there were no hard stains. Most items were also arranged neatly within the space, so it was quite an easy job.

They were done packing before noon, but Qin Anming and Zhuang Zhuang were so tired that they didn’t feel like moving anymore. Xiaoguo looked at them in disdain. This was not the end yet. There was still work to be done.

The two of them could rest, but Xiaoguo still had to cook.

When they saw her leave, Zhuang Zhuang and Qin Anming followed her at the same time. Xiaoguo was in-charge of cooking and the two of them went in to help. After all, they had been keeping busy the whole morning. Xiaoguo must feel even more tired than them since she did more work. Now that she was cooking, they definitely had to chip in and help.

–

After lunch, Xiaoguo was in no hurry to let them clean the courtyard. After a tiring morning, it was time to rest. There was not much to do in the courtyard. She only had to sweep the ground, shovel the feces, and put away the hay. Besides that, there was nothing else to do.

After Qin Anming and Zhuang Zhuang fell asleep, Xiaoguo got ready to lie down and take her nap.

But as soon as she lay down, there was a knock on the door. Xiaoguo sat up and went out, wondering who was visiting her at noon.

“Who is it?”

“Mrs. Jiang, it’s me.”

As Xiaoguo unlocked the door, she was puzzled. The person who called her Mrs. Jiang sounded unfamiliar. It didn’t sound like the courier.

Once the door was opened, the man introduced himself before Xiaoguo opened her mouth.

“Mrs. Jiang, I’m Jiabao from the Su Family’s Goods Store. Our shopkeeper is Su Changsheng.”

“Oh…” Xiaoguo nodded. She had almost forgotten about the store. Now that he mentioned it, she was reminded of it. “What’s the matter?”

The popcorn had already been given to them. What else did they need from her?

“It’s almost the new year. Our shopkeeper specially instructed me to send you some new year snacks. They’re all new products from the shop. Please try them.”

Jiabao remembered his young master’s instructions. His master had even written to him the day before and reminded him repeatedly about this matter. He had spent the whole morning preparing the gifts. Once the gifts were ready, he quickly sent them over.

“Then thank Shopkeeper Su on my behalf.” Xiaoguo did not refuse. She could guess Su Changsheng’s intentions.

To think that he was still thinking about the two cows. At first, she thought that it was just a casual mention. He was indeed a profiteer. Even though he was thousands of miles away, he still had his eyes on those cows.

As she watched Jiabao unload the snacks from the carriage, Xiaoguo was overjoyed. It seemed that she wouldn’t have to worry about her supply of snacks for the new year. In fact, this pile might be enough for the following year as well.