Chapter 170: Xiao Lingyu’s Loss of Composure
Translator: Lonelytree
“It’s time to eat! It’s time to eat!” Xiao Xiaohui’s voice came from outside the courtyard. Then, he squeezed through the crowd and ran into the courtyard. “Uncle Li, Uncle Gong, it’s time to eat!”
Someone saw Xiao Xiaohui and immediately shouted, “Little Loach, this is someone else’s home. How can you just casually enter?”
Xiao Xiaohui raised his head proudly and said, “I’m here to get them.” He knew these people were going to his second uncle’s house for dinner that night.
“Who is them?” Someone asked curiously.
“Those uncles! I’m getting them to come over for dinner!” Xiao Xiaohui pointed in the direction of Gong Tianhao and the others.
“You’re inviting them for dinner?” Someone whispered, “You’re really bold!”
Gong Tianhao’s people were all in black suits and sunglasses. They looked very fierce. They were not people to be trifled with.
The adults looked at them with fear. Xiao Xiaohui was really bold. He did not show any fear.
Xiao Xiaohui said, “How am I bold? My second aunt told me to come to call them to go for dinner!”
“Ah?” The others were puzzled. “Your second aunt prepared so much food? That is a very big bunch!”
Xiao Xiaohui said, “Yeah. I’m not going to talk to you guys anymore. I’ll get in now!” With that, he ran away.
“Little Loach is getting bolder and bolder. We’re all scared of those people, but he ran over like it is nothing!”
“Little Loach is bolder than most.” Someone said, “Xiao Baotou’s children and grandchildren are all very impressive!” His tone was envious. Xiao Baotou was Xiao Zhengyang’s father and Xiao Lingyu’s grandfather.
“That’s right. There’s no hurt when there’s no comparison!” Someone said with a smile, “Xiao Baotou’s eldest brother, Xiao Jingyang, and his family are doing business in the big city. Their lives are quite good. Xiao Baotou and his wife have a good life, living with their eldest son. Their second son, Xiao Zhengyang, has a pair of promising children. Their third son, Xiao Leyang, works in the big city. He is planning to buy a house soon. Their fourth son, Xiao Mingyang, is a master builder and earns quite a lot in a year.” There was a hint of envy in the voice.
“How can the whole family be so prosperous?”
Xiao Xiaohui jumped over and ignored the fierce man in black. He shouted from afar, “Uncle Li, Uncle Gong, the food is ready. My second aunt asked me to come over and invite you!” To be honest, Xiao Xiaohui did this on his own. He wanted to come to watch the big crowd.
Old Master Gong’s face was full of curiosity when he saw the boy run over. He immediately asked with great interest, “Hao ‘Er, who is this little guy?”
Gong Tianhao introduced, “Grandpa, this kid is Auntie Chen’s nephew!”
Old Master Gong looked at Xiao Xiaohui with a smile and asked curiously, “Little Guy, aren’t you afraid of them?” Old Master Gong pointed at the men in black suits.
Xiao Xiaohui frowned and asked curiously, “Grandpa, are they bad people?”
“…” Old Master Gong said, “Of course not!” But they were soldiers. Soldiers had a fierce and murderous aura that was trained on the battlefield. They would scare normal people easily.
“Well, since they aren’t bad people, why should I be afraid of them?” Xiao Xiaohui replied matter-of-factly. After saying this, he paused for a moment and thought for a while, “Those uncles are obviously here to protect you, Grandpa. If they are bad people, it means that Grandpa is a bad person. If Grandpa is a bad person, then my second aunt and eldest cousin definitely won’t invite you for dinner. Besides,” Xiao Xiaohui looked at Gong Tianhao and Li Yuanhang and continued, “Uncle Gong and Uncle Li built a new road for Taoyuan Village, so they must be good people. Since they are good people, then Grandpa, you are also good people. Since you are good people, then the uncles in black are good people too. Then, why should I be afraid of them?”
Everyone, “…” Is the boy playing a tongue-twister?
“What a clever little fellow.” Grandfather Gong was stunned for a moment before laughing out loud. “Haha, this child is very smart. I like him!”
Xiao Xiaohui’s face turned red hearing the praise. He rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment and said, “Grandfather, I’m very dumb. I can’t study well. My parents call me dumb every day. I’m not as smart as my cousins!”
Old Master Gong patted the boy’s little head. He smiled and said, “No, little guy, you’re very smart. Tell Grandpa, what is your name?”
“My name is Xiao Xiaohui!” Xiao Xiaohui replied. “But everyone calls me Little Loach.”
“Little Loach!” Elder gong smiled and said, “What an interesting name! Why do people call you that?”
Xiao Xiaohui was a little embarrassed.
His eyes drifted as he said, “Everyone says that I’m like a loach, very slippery.”
“Haha. You are very honest!” Old Master Gong praised with a smile. “You’re a very good child.”
Xiao Xiaohui rubbed his head in embarrassment again and said with a smile, “Hehe, our teacher taught us to be honest.” Then, he remembered something.”Grandpa, uncles, second aunt has prepared the meal. We should go eat.”
“Okay.” Old Master Gong nodded and replied, “Let’s move!”
The first sentence was meant for Xiao Xiaohui, and the last was for the others.
As they prepared to leave, Xiao Zhengyang, Xiao Lingyu, Jiang Tao, and village chief Xiao Taiyang rushed over.
When Xiao Xiaohui saw Xiao Zhengyang and Xiao Lingyu, he called out happily, “Second uncle, eldest cousin!”
“Grandpa Gong!” Once Jiang Tao entered, he greeted him respectfully.
“Little Peach!” Grandfather Gong was also very happy when he saw Jiang Tao.
Little Peach?
When Xiao Lingyu heard this, she gave him a strange look.
She didn’t expect a cold and stern person like Jiang Tao to have such a cute nickname.
Xiao Lingyu held back her laughter.
Jiang Tao’s ears turned slightly red when he heard that.
The nickname Little Peach was given to him by his parents after he was born. Even after he grew up, the elders still called him Little Peach.
“Why didn’t you inform me that you’re coming. If I didn’t run into Tianhao and Yuanhang earlier, I still wouldn’t have known!” Jiang Tao said. Then, he glanced at Tianhao and Yuanhang with displeasure.
“You’re too busy.” Old Master Gong said, “So I told them not to inform you.”
Jiang Tao smiled and said, “Grandpa, I always have time for you!”
“Little Peach, you’re always so considerate!” Old Master Gong nodded. “It’s been so long since we met. Little Peach is so much older now.”
Jiang Tao, “…” I’m 30 years old, of course, I’m older.
Old Master Gong quickly noticed Xiao Zhengyang and Xiao Lingyu. He was a little puzzled and asked, “You are…”
Jiang Tao introduced, “Grandfather Gong, this is Taoyuan Village’s chief, Xiao Taiyang. This is Xiao Lingyu, a friend of mine. The person beside him is her father, Xiao Zhengyang. They are all villagers here.”
Old Master Gong didn’t think much of this. He thought Jiang Tao was introducing him to these people so that they could look after him in the future. He was grateful for Jiang Tao’s good intentions.
Old Master Gong looked at them with a smile and greeted them first, “Hello!”
Xiao Zhengyang was excited, but at the same time, he introduced himself in a reserved manner, “Hello, Sir. I’m Xiao Zhengyang, a villager here. This is my daughter, Xiao Lingyu. We look forward to learning from you.”
Compared to the other villagers, Xiao Zhengyang was more cultured. One, he had been to other counties. Two, he had been to Southern Capital when he sent Xiao Lingyu to university. Back then, Xiao Lingyu was admitted to the Southern Capital University.
Southern Capital was a big city, and the Southern Capital University was ranked tenth among the top universities in the country.
Xiao Zhengyang was always courageous, but when he faced Old Master Gong, he couldn’t help but be respectful.
Old Master Gong said happily, “Mr. Xiao, I’ll have to trouble you to look after me in the future.”
“Sir, we wouldn’t dare!” Xiao Zhengyang shook his head.
Then, Old Master Gong looked at Xiao Lingyu and asked with a smile, “Mr. Xiao, your daughter is really beautiful. Have you found an in-law?”
When Jiang Tao heard that, his heart tightened. He went over to whisper to Old Master Gong, “Grandpa, Lingyu has returned from City Z recently. She just broke up with her boyfriend.” He was telling Old Master Gong not to dig into her wounds.
Seeing the anxiety on Jiang Tao’s face, Old Master Gong was confused. But he was a good people reader. He studied Xiao Lingyu and nodded with a smile. “Okay then.” Old Master Gong didn’t say anything else but, “Mr. Xiao has the good luck to have such a beautiful daughter.”
“Sir, you are too kind.” Xiao Zhengyang was very polite. Then, he looked at Xiao Lingyu and said, “Yu ‘Er, you should greet your elders.”
Xiao Zhengyang nudged Xiao Lingyu, who was in a daze. He was a little confused. ‘Why is Yu ‘Er in such a state?’
Xiao Lingyu reacted. She tried to calm herself down as much as possible. She tried to smile, but she couldn’t. In the end, her expression was convoluted. “Hello, great… Sir!” She almost called him great-grandfather.
She couldn’t help studying the old man when she knew he was Xiao Tong’s great-grandpa. Her heart shivered with panic and fear. She couldn’t control her feelings, especially after she found out Xiao Tong’s biological father was ‘that person’.
Xiao Lingyu wanted to keep a distance from their whole family.
Jiang Tao and Li Yuanhang assumed Xiao Lingyu was nervous in Old Master Gong’s presence when they heard her stutter.
Jiang Tao said, “Lingyu, don’t be nervous. Grandpa Gong is a very nice person.”
Li Yuanhang also nodded and said, “Miss Xiao, the old master won’t eat people, so don’t be nervous.”
Only Gong Tianhao had a strange feeling in his heart. He had a feeling that Xiao Lingyu was not afraid of his grandfather per se, but she didn’t want to get too close to him. But why?
Li Yuanhang smiled and said, “Miss Xiao, you have such a glib tongue. I can’t believe I’d hear you stutter.”
“Oh, Yuanhang, are you very familiar with Miss Xiao?” Grandfather Gong asked curiously.
Li Yuanhang nodded and said, “Old Master, we’ve met two or three times before.”
“This is interesting!” Old Master Gong said in surprise, “So all of you know Miss Xiao one way or another.” Based on his understanding of his juniors, they wouldn’t befriend ordinary people. So there had to be something special about Xiao Lingyu to gain the approval of Li Yuanhang and Jiang Tao.
“Grandpa, uncles, can we go back and eat first?” At this moment, Xiao Xiaohui couldn’t help but rub his belly and asked with a frown. The child was naive and spoke what was on his mind. Xiao Xiaohui was growing. He could eat a lot, but he’d go hungry easily.
He was hungry, and he couldn’t bear to listen to these adults rambling on. He didn’t understand them anyway.
However, there was a rule in his house. If they had a guest, they were not allowed to eat before the guests took their seats. So if the adults kept standing there, he wouldn’t get to eat!
Xiao Zhengyang immediately remembered. He said seriously, “Sir, my family has prepared a meal. Please come and have dinner with us!” The villagers were simple people. They were direct.
Old Master Gong was very polite, “But Mr. Xiao…”
“Sir, please call me Zhengyang.” Xiao Zhengyang said.
“Okay, Zhengyang. Will it be too much trouble for you?” Old Master Gong was still very polite.
Xiao Zhengyang smiled and said, “Sir, you’re too polite. Mr. Gong and Mr. Li spent so much money to build roads for our village. It’s my family’s honor to invite you over for a meal!”
At this moment, Li Yuanhang said, “Old Master, Auntie Chen we mentioned is Miss Xiao’s mom. She is a very good cook.”
In the county town, Xiao Lingyu had already invited them to come to her place for dinner.
Old Master Gong smiled, “Then, I will have to impose on you.”
After that, the group went to Xiao Lingyu’s house for a meal…. including the men in black.