Chapter 86: The reborn of paranoid boss cannon fodder wife
Chapter 86: Flowers on the Head
This fresh and elegant response left Xiao Cheng stunned for a good 0.5 seconds before he chuckled lightly.
He turned around to go back to his room to change clothes.
Bai Lu and Xiao Wei were also stunned for a whole second before realizing, is the crisis over?
The crisis was indeed averted.
Xiao Wei sat back in front of the stove and casually asked, "How come you have flowers on your head?"
Bai Lu's mouth twitched slightly, "Where do I have flowers? I went to the vegetable garden to pick vegetables. Chestnuts fell from the chestnut tree due to the wind. When I came back, I brushed off the little buds on my shoulders, never thought one fell on my head, didn't feel a thing."
"Why didn't it fall on my head?"
"Your head is small; if it falls, it falls."
"Then why didn't it fall on Big Brother's head?"
"Your brother doesn't often go to the backyard. Even if he goes occasionally, there's no wind. The flower buds won't fall on his head."
"Big Brother often goes to the backyard."
"How would I know? What does he do in the backyard?"
"To see the ro...," Xiao Wei saw a tall figure passing by outside the window, his tongue tied into a twist. He quickly changed course, "To see the vegetable garden."
Bai Lu didn't think much, smiled while cooking, "Is he checking if there are any new vegetables in the vegetable garden?"
"You two are the same. Just looking without any particular preference. You both say 'anything is fine' when asked what you like. By the way, do you have any specific favorite vegetables? Like bok choy, oilseed rape, broccoli, lettuce, pea shoots?"
Xiao Wei didn't hear any challenging vegetables, answered as usual, "Anything is fine."
Bai Lu decisively threw a bomb, "How about mustard greens?"
Xiao Wei vigorously shook his head.
"Don't like it? Mustard greens are delicious, and they have many benefits. They clear heat, detoxify, aid digestion, benefit the lungs, and reduce heat. When making lean meat porridge, adding some is fragrant and crispy, tastes excellent. How about we make mustard greens and lean meat porridge for breakfast tomorrow?"
Xiao Wei shook his head like a drum.
Bai Lu assumed he agreed, "So it's settled then. Your brother will definitely like mustard greens too."
"He doesn't like it."
With an extremely serious and solemn expression, Xiao Wei shook his head, "I cooked it once last year, and Big Brother didn't come home for five days."
"Did he eat it?"
Shaking his head, Xiao Wei said, "Not a bite."
"Well, let him try this new dish; he'll surely like it." Bai Lu smiled with a face full of tenderness.
Xiao Wei's body hair stood on end. He wanted to say that Big Brother wouldn't like it, wanted to shake his head in refusal.
Suddenly, there was a knock on the door.
The sun had already set.
In this era of working from sunrise to sunset, every household was either cooking or having dinner.
Who could be knocking?
Wang Cuihua's business of selling sugar-coated chestnuts had picked up. She had a fixed stall in Dashizhen three days ago, just like Wen Xiuyun and her husband, who settled their accounts every three days.
They settled accounts yesterday, so it shouldn't be her.
Bai Lu had already cooked the dishes and went out.
Unexpectedly, the man in the front yard soaking clothes had beaten her to it and opened the door.
As the door opened, a dark figure rushed in.
Bai Lu had just walked over, not yet able to see clearly, and was pulled back a big step by Xiao Cheng, who embraced her waist.
A large basket fell to the ground.
The head of the basket hit the spot where she had just stood, and at the basket's tail, there was a disheveled person lying.
The person opened their mouth and wailed, "Bai Lu... I'm not selling sugar-coated chestnuts anymore. Someone smashed my stall and beat me, saying that if I dare to sell sugar-coated chestnuts in Dashizhen again, they will confiscate all the chestnuts and break my legs..."
"Selling sugar-coated chestnuts is too difficult. I make a good amount of money, but it's not enough for medical expenses..."
The crying and howling, accompanied by a somewhat subtle sobbing, came from the figure lying on the basket.
After finishing speaking, the trembling hands lifted the messy hair covering the face, revealing a distressed expression.
Then... froze on the spot, face stiff.
"S-Sir Xiao Cheng, did you come back early today?" Wang Cuihua quickly got up, patted off the dust on her body, and tied up her messy hair with a rubber band.
Bai Lu glanced at her dirty clothes and asked, "Did someone hit you?"
Wang Cuihua didn't dare to lie in front of Xiao Cheng, "No, just overturned the stall."
She deliberately fell outside, making it seem like she was accidentally tripped to get some sympathy money from Bai Lu.
She didn't expect Xiao Cheng, Big Brother, to return so early today. He used to come back only after dark in the past few days.
"Who overturned the stall?" Xiao Cheng's voice was as cold as ice, piercing through all pretenses.
Wang Cuihua trembled in fear, immediately confessing everything, "I don't know them, never seen them. The five men all had floral tattoos on their left arms. They immediately overturned my stall, saying Dashizhen is their territory, and if I want to sell sugar-coated chestnuts here, I must pay three thousand yuan."
Hearing about the five men with floral tattoos on their left arms, Xiao Cheng roughly understood who they were. He glanced at Bai Lu.
Bai Lu had a puzzled expression, wondering what she did wrong.
She wasn't one of the men with floral tattoos.
However, in an instant, she understood the message conveyed by those deep eyes. She turned to Wang Cuihua and asked, "If I can deal with those people, will you still go to Dashizhen to sell sugar-coated chestnuts?"
"I will!" Wang Cuihua answered without hesitation, "I will continue to sell sugar-coated chestnuts in Dashizhen."
Earning so much money every day, only a fool would give it up.
Dealing with the protection fee for a toppled stall was a small matter. As long as Xiao Cheng stepped forward, all of them would have to retreat with their tails between their legs.
Wang Cuihua had just come in crying to gain some sympathy from Bai Lu and let her take a higher share, and also to inform Xiao Cheng about the situation.
Now the plan had failed; she had to protect her rice bowl.
"I'll let Zhang San and Li Si take a look tomorrow."
Xiao Cheng's tone was calm, giving orders.
Wang Cuihua smelled the fragrance of the dishes in the courtyard, her stomach growling. She wanted to stay and finish her meal before leaving, but Xiao Cheng had already hugged Bai Lu and walked back.
Xiao Wei took the basket from Wang Cuihua's hands, put it aside, and saw her off, saying, "Goodbye, Sister Biao."
Wang Cuihua stomped her foot forcefully, but no one paid attention. She had to turn around and leave.
The courtyard gate closed again.
At the dinner table, Bai Lu endured for a while but couldn't resist asking, "Are there really people named Zhang San and Li Si?"
Xiao Cheng looked at her, who hadn't moved her chopsticks and had only eaten three bites of rice in her bowl, picked up a piece of meat, and handed it to her.
"Eat first."
Bai Lu quickly finished the meat in three bites, her movements fast yet graceful, "Are there really people named Zhang San and Li Si?"
Xiao Cheng and Xiao Wei both handed her two pieces of meat, alternating between pork belly and braised ribs.
Bai Lu: "..."
It wasn't until the rice in the bowl was almost half eaten, and all the protruding braised pork and ribs had been devoured, that the answer was released from the man's lips.
"There are."
"Two brothers, residents of Dashizhen."
Bai Lu looked surprised and curious, "Why is one surnamed Zhang and the other Li?"
Xiao Cheng's expression remained calm, "Same mother, different fathers."
Bai Lu understood.
Zhang San's mother married Zhang's father, gave birth to Zhang San, and then married Li's father, giving birth to Li Si.
What an upscale, elegant, and high-class name!
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