After Aunt Luo's defeat, the others standing at the village entrance didn't bother to come and embarrass themselves.
As the car drove up to Li Xiaoya's house, the villagers waiting outside stood up, rubbing their hands, and said, "Xiaoya, the police took your grandfather away. This house isn't fit for living in winter. Why don't you come stay with your uncles?"
Li Xiaoya looked at them curiously. "The house hasn't just become unlivable this year; it's always been that way. Even before Grandpa was taken away, he couldn't walk or work in the fields... You uncles never came to find me then."
The men were suddenly at a loss for words.
The comment section exploded instantly.
[Haha, Li Xiaoya knows how to speak her mind!]
[One word: Satisfying!]
[What kind of people are in this village anyway?]
[When Li Xiaoya told Qin Sui to be self-reliant earlier, and haggled over finding hot water to dry his clothes, I could tell this little girl wasn't easy to fool.]
[That's right. If the young master Sheng hadn't been so kind to her from the start, this little girl probably wouldn't want to deal with him either. She may look young, but she's sharp.]
Netizens were finding Li Xiaoya increasingly adorable and entertaining, momentarily forgetting about Li Qingqing.
"Xiaoya, it's not that your uncles didn't care about you in the past. It's just that your grandfather had a bad temper and wouldn't let us near you. He said we had ulterior motives." The man paused, pointing at the house. "Look at how rundown it is. If it snows a bit more, it might collapse. How can you live here? Even if you sleep by the stove for warmth, you'd still worry about wasting firewood..."
"It's okay. If the house breaks, I'll set up a ladder and climb up to fix it," Li Xiaoya replied calmly.
[Damn? This kid can fix the roof by herself?]
While the comment section was in shock, the men were also left speechless.
"Alright, alright. If you ever want to come stay with us, just let your uncles know." With the cameras rolling and Sheng Yuxiao present, they didn't dare insist and reluctantly took their leave.
They had been thinking that with the village chief arrested, the opportunity to curry favor with the rich would fall to them.
Only now did they realize just how powerful this young master Sheng truly was.
The village chief hadn't been fair in his dealings either, keeping all the good opportunities for himself.
Come to think of it, they should be grateful to Li Xiaoya for bringing the village chief down.
"I heard the village chief is going to prison."
"Really? That serious?"
"What did you expect?"
The men walked away, discussing and feeling uneasy, silently elevating Li Xiaoya's status in their minds.
After they left, Li Xiaoya remembered to ask Sheng Yuxiao, "Do you want to stay with them?"
Sheng Yuxiao laughed, "Why would I stay with them? Who are they to me?"
Li Xiaoya pointed at the house in front of them and said softly, "But this place is so rundown..."
"Didn't you say you could fix it?" Sheng Yuxiao looked at her teasingly.
"It's still cold..."
"That's fine, I'll wear a down jacket. Do you have one? No, right? Well, say something nice, and I'll lend you one."
"What counts as something nice?" Li Xiaoya looked up at him earnestly.
Her cheeks were still a bit pale, making her eyes seem even more watery, shining like black gemstones.
People often feel an urge to squeeze cute things.
So Sheng Yuxiao reached out and ruffled her hair, saying, "Call me 'big brother', that's nice."
Li Xiaoya's face showed hesitation.
She was afraid of forming relationships with people.
Because when they eventually left this small mountain village, she would surely feel very, very sad...
Seeing her hesitation, Sheng Yuxiao raised an eyebrow, his handsome features showing a hint of fierceness: "I dragged my injured leg, searched for you for so long, and even listened to you about investing. Is it too much to ask for you to call me 'big brother'?"
Li Xiaoya panicked as soon as she heard the first half of his sentence: "Does your leg still hurt?" She paused, then called out in a tiny voice: "Big brother."
Sheng Yuxiao's expression instantly softened. He bent down to pick Li Xiaoya up and strode into the house with his long legs: "After hearing you say that nice thing, it doesn't hurt anymore. I can even carry you while walking."
Li Xiaoya was silent for a moment, then spoke close to his ear in a muffled voice: "I may be small, but I'm not stupid."
Sheng Yuxiao: "..."
Li Xiaoya's words were perfectly picked up by the microphone, and the comment section erupted in laughter.
[Haha, did you think we couldn't tell you were teasing her on purpose?]
[Exactly, she's in third grade! She's read a few books, she's not a little fool!]
Some people caught a key phrase and immediately asked in the comments: [What investment? What do you mean by listening to Li Xiaoya about investing?]
[Li Xiaoya isn't scamming Sheng Yuxiao for money, is she?]
Some more rational netizens replied: [Don't worry about it. If there was a problem with Li Xiaoya, the Sheng family would handle it. Just enjoy watching your reality show.]
They nearly started arguing in the comments again.
Unlike the atmosphere in the comment section, Sheng Yuxiao carried Li Xiaoya into the house and declared, "I'll cook today!"
Li Xiaoya looked at him doubtfully.
Sheng Yuxiao said, "Trust me, I didn't do much in the hospital while recovering, just read recipes."
Li Xiaoya quietly reminded him: "But we don't have any ingredients..."
Sheng Yuxiao walked to the vegetable bin and lifted the lid. The potatoes and cabbage inside were frozen and rotten.
Li Xiaoya counted on her fingers: "We also don't have oil, green onions, or that city thing... um, MSG. We don't have any of those."
Previously, when Li Xiaoya cooked, she mostly used homemade lard.
What they ate depended on what was available in the fields and on the mountain.
Sheng Yuxiao turned to look at the crew members outside the door and asked expressionlessly, "Do we really have to film this lousy show?"
The crew member timidly met his gaze and nodded carefully: "...Yes."
Sheng Yuxiao took a deep breath and said to Li Xiaoya, "Give me the basket. I'll go to the fields and pick something."
Li Xiaoya said, "Let's go together."
"You've just recovered..." Sheng Yuxiao frowned, disagreeing.
Li Xiaoya looked at him seriously and asked, "Can you tell which vegetable patch belongs to our family?"
Sheng Yuxiao: "..."
He bent down to pick up Li Xiaoya again: "Let's go." They hadn't even rested yet, and now they were forced to go work.
Li Xiaoya spoke up: "Don't carry me."
"Why won't you let me carry you now?"
Li Xiaoya's tone remained sincere: "Save your strength."
As it turned out, picking vegetables from the field and cutting pig feed at the same time was truly exhausting.
Young Master Sheng was always full of energy when playing basketball, skiing, or hiking... He even had abs at such a young age.
But this farm work was a whole different ballgame!
"Is this enough?" Sheng Yuxiao asked Li Xiaoya with a stiff expression.
Li Xiaoya nodded, looking a bit upset: "We've missed the wheat planting season this year."
Sheng Yuxiao thought to himself, thank goodness we missed it!
He swung his long leg over the ridge between the fields, then turned back and scooped up Li Xiaoya in his arms.
Li Xiaoya: ?
Despite his exhaustion, Sheng Yuxiao resolutely carried her back home: "How's that? I'm strong enough, aren't I?"
[This is hilarious. Young Master Sheng's pride absolutely cannot be tarnished!]
[On the stubbornness of teenagers]
In the end, it was still Li Xiaoya who stood on a little stool to cook.
She was afraid that Sheng Yuxiao might ruin the food they had worked so hard to bring back.
Sheng Yuxiao looked disappointed as he circled the stove, suddenly asking: "You haven't cooked for Qin Sui, have you?"
Before Li Xiaoya could answer—
The head director poked his head in and said: "Your phone is ringing, sir."
Sheng Yuxiao figured it must be his mother calling, otherwise the director wouldn't be so eager to please.
He reached out and took the phone from the director.
By then, the phone had stopped ringing.
Sheng Yuxiao dialed back, but the line was busy.
Sheng Yuxiao resigned himself to waiting, when suddenly the phone rang again. This time, however, the caller ID showed a different number—Ning Heng.
Sheng Yuxiao answered casually: "Hello."
Ning Heng's voice came loudly through the speaker: "Sheng-ge, my mom says she wants to send me to your place! Can I come?"
Sheng Yuxiao turned to look at Li Xiaoya, then uttered a single word: "Yes."
In an instant, he had already made plans for Ning Heng in his mind.
Picking vegetables? He'll do it. Feeding the pigs? He'll do it. Cooking? He'll do it.
Accompanying Li Xiaoya to school? I'll do that.
