Zhao Lan felt helpless when she heard that. Couldn’t she even suffer in her daughter’s place?
Mu Jingzhe shook her head. “I’m asking you to keep an eye on her so that you can redeem yourself. If you insist on letting her go, then you’ll have to suffer yourself. When I catch Shao Qiyun, I’ll still deal with her. Then, I might even double the punishment because I’m so angry. Therefore, watching over her is the best solution.”
Zhao Lan and Shao Qiyun were both stupid and evil. Mu Jingzhe didn’t say anything else before she left.
When she walked out the door, she saw Shao Qihai and Shao Dong sitting on the threshold, one on the left and one on the right. When they saw her coming out, they stood up in unison.
“Why is Little Dong here?”
“When he heard the commotion, he was afraid that it would attract the villagers, so he stood at the door and explained to the villagers that Shao Qiyun was the culprit behind his and Little Nan’s kidnapping. He told them she’s the one who disclosed their information to the kidnappers, so you avenged them. The villagers left as soon as they heard that.”
When Shao Qihai came out, Shao Dong had already explained to the villagers who had come over to check out the commotion. When the villagers heard this, they left, saying that Shao Qiyun deserved it.
Shao Dong wasn’t lying either, so he was very calm.
Mu Jingzhe stroked Shao Dong’s head. “Alright, let’s go.”
Sometimes, Mu Jingzhe really couldn’t handle the way the people of Great Eastern Village thought. She felt that they were excessively conservative and hated that she couldn’t go three days and three nights without arguing with them. But sometimes, they were particularly simple and adorable.
Previously, the ransom that the villagers had gathered hadn’t been used. After taking it back, Mu Jingzhe went to return the money to everyone one by one. Shao Dong and Shao Nan also went to thank them.
Mu Jingzhe remembered this kindness and aid. Shao Dong and Shao Nan should also remember this.
Mu Jingzhe told them in detail and let them read the accounts. She wanted them to know that even though there was a lot of darkness in this world, at the same time, there was also a lot of warmth.
When Mu Jingzhe, Shao Qihai, and Shao Dong returned home, they saw an eavesdropper in the courtyard.
Shao Nan didn’t hide when he saw them and merely chuckled. Xiao Wu rushed over and hugged Mu Jingzhe. “Mommy.”
Xiao Wu was really hurt. He might never forget Shao Qiyun saying that he was disgusting and filthy for the rest of his life. It was one thing if he didn’t like Shao Qiyun and didn’t want to acknowledge her, but it was different to be despised by the person who had given birth to him.
Shao Nan could tell that he was in low spirits, so he pulled him to the corner to listen. Since they were close, he could basically hear everything.
Shao Nan and the rest commended them for doing a good job scolding and beating her. More than anything else, Xiao Wu had seen how much Mu Jingzhe and Shao Qihai cared about him and how much they cherished him.
Fortunately, he still had a mother who liked him. “Thank you, Mommy, for liking me.”
Little Bei tilted her head. “Xiao Wu, I like you too.”
Children always knew what children were thinking, so Little Bei showed him her love in real time. After saying that, she even hugged Xiao Wu and kissed his cheek carefully. “Sister likes you the most.”
Because of Mu Jingzhe, Little Bei and the rest had learned to express their feelings for each other. Previously, when Little Bei had been happy, she had also kissed Xiao Wu and insisted that he kiss her.
However, this was the first time she did it so cautiously. Xiao Wu touched his forehead, feeling a little shy but also happy. “Thank you, Sister. I like you too.”
“See, Xiao Wu? You are really cute. Everyone likes you.” Mu Jingzhe laughed.
When he saw this, there was nothing Shao Nan didn’t understand. He thought for a moment and went forward to kiss Xiao Wu’s forehead as well. “Third Brother likes you too.”
After saying that, Shao Nan blushed a little. Xiao Wu also blushed a bit because this was the first time.
Probably because they were boys and weren’t used to it in the past, the few of them had only kissed Little Bei or been kissed by Little Bei before. The relationship between the brothers wasn’t the same.
It felt a tad embarrassing.
In order to comfort Xiao Wu, Shao Nan made an exception himself.
Since he made an exception, there was no reason for the others not to do the same. Shao Nan walked to the side and nudged Shao Xi, indicating that he should go too.
Shao Xi glared at Shao Nan. He did like Xiao Wu. They were brothers, so Xiao Wu should know this, right? There was no need to be so wishy-washy, was there?
As he was thinking this way, Shao Xi saw the nervousness and anticipation in Xiao Wu’s eyes. He had no choice but to bite the bullet and go forward. “Xiao Wu, Second Brother likes you very much too.”
After he said that, he quickly pecked Xiao Wu on the forehead and then went to look for Shao Dong. “Big Brother, it’s your turn.”
Shao Dong: “…”
He wanted to say that he didn’t have to, but upon seeing Xiao Wu’s expectant gaze and Mu Jingzhe’s encouraging gaze, he could only brace himself and go forward.
“Cough… Erm, Xiao Wu, Big Brother has always liked you.” After saying that, he swiftly kissed his head and quickly found an excuse to run.
“He he. Big Brother is shy.” Xiao Wu was satisfied. All his siblings liked him and had kissed him!
Shao Qihai was the happiest as he watched the siblings shower each other with affection. He took a step forward, wanting to take this opportunity to kiss Xiao Wu, but Xiao Wu spoke first.
“I know. Daddy likes me the most. I like Daddy too.”
After saying that, Xiao Wu wanted Mu Jingzhe to hug him. He turned into a sloth and hung onto Mu Jingzhe’s body.
Shao Qihai scratched his head. He hadn’t even kissed him yet, but it seemed like there was no need for that.
Little Bei looked at Shao Qihai and chuckled. She grabbed his hand and shook it as she kept calling him ‘Daddy’.
This was Little Bei showing her fondness for him. According to what Little Bei had said just now, she hadn’t expected Daddy to be quite wicked too. Shao Qihai’s performance had made the children look at him in a different light.
Shao Qihai’s heart softened after Little Bei tugged at his heartstrings and called him ‘Daddy’. He squatted down and smoothed Little Bei’s hair. “What’s wrong?”
Little Bei asked, “Daddy, you really won’t forgive them anymore, right?”
Shao Qihai looked at Little Bei’s expectant gaze and said affirmatively, “No.”
Disappointment accumulated over time. This time, it was truly irreversible. Shao Qihai wasn’t stupid. It wasn’t like he hadn’t felt Zhao Lan’s favoritism previously, but Zhao Lan was his mother, and Eldest Brother Shao was indeed crippled, so he had been tolerant in the past.
The five kids were sensible and were growing up. At the time, he really couldn’t take care of them himself, so he could only rely on Zhao Lan.
Later on, when he had retired from the army due to an injury, Zhao Lan and the others had already disappointed him with their snarky attitude. This disappointment had accumulated over the subsequent days, until now, when he felt thoroughly disappointed and completely gave up on them.
Shao Qihai glanced next door, squatted down, picked up Little Bei, and walked to the kitchen. “What do you want to eat?”
He didn’t even listen to the commotion next door.
While they were cooking, the other side of the wall was still in chaos.
Eldest Brother Shao and Eldest Sister-In-Law Shao hid for a long time. Only after confirming that Mu Jingzhe wouldn’t come back again did they dare to untie Zhao Lan. Zhao Lan spat out the dirty towel in her mouth and scolded Eldest Brother Shao for a while before rushing to the kitchen.
As soon as she entered, she saw Shao Qiyun, whose mouth was stuffed with dirty socks, as if she was dead.
“Qiyun, Qiyun!”
Zhao Lan instructed a reluctant Eldest Brother Shao and Eldest Sister-In-Law Shao to help. After a long time, she finally managed to get Shao Qiyun to her feet and invited an osteopath from the village over.
Zhao Lan only cried and felt heartache for Shao Qiyun, but she almost caused Shao Qiyun’s arms and legs to never recover from the second injury.
