Chapter 73

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Protagonist:

Li Xiulan

"Fine, fine, then I'll notify Hongwei, and we'll start work tomorrow."

When Lin Dajun received Li Xiulan's call, he was clearly unhappy.

Originally, they could have finished digging the foundation and started work that very day, but because of Li Xiulan's stubbornness, it was delayed by a full seven days.

Li Xiulan didn't need to earn money to eat, but he, Lin Dajun, had to earn money to eat.

This seven-day wait made Lin Dajun harbor quite a few grievances against Li Xiulan in his heart.

Li Xiulan also heard Lin Dajun's dissatisfaction, so she hurriedly apologized:

"Uncle Dajun, I'm really sorry for making you wait so long... the materials placed at the village entrance were stolen before; I reported it to the police and got them back, which delayed some more time, so..."

"Say no more, we'll start work tomorrow!" Lin Dajun didn't want to hear Li Xiulan explain, and couldn't help but mutter: "If the materials could be transported directly to the construction site, how could they have been stolen?"

Li Xiulan had nothing to say.

After Lin Dajun hung up Li Xiulan's call, Li Xiulan felt somewhat wronged in her heart.

Why did the whole world seem to think it was her fault?

Clearly she hadn't done anything wrong...

The next morning, Lin Dajun and Zhou Hongwei came to start work.

Li Xiulan, this small worker, was very diligent—sifting sand, mixing mortar, carrying bricks, she did everything well.

At noon she even cooked good food and dishes for them to eat.

There were eggs and pork; in the countryside, this was already quite abundant.

Seeing her like this, Lin Dajun's grievances against her dissipated.

Still, while eating lunch, he couldn't help but remind Li Xiulan:

"Xiulan, why don't you go and communicate properly with that person? There are still many materials to be transported in later; the road at his doorstep is blocked, which really affects the project's progress."

The person Lin Dajun was talking about was Yang Xiaocai.

Li Xiulan ate with her head down, saying agreeable words:

"Okay, okay, I'll go talk to him later."

But seeing her absentminded look, it was obvious she hadn't considered going to communicate properly with Yang Xiaocai at all.

Lin Dajun could only sigh and say nothing more.

Then he suddenly thought of something and changed the subject:

"By the way, tomorrow is the eighth; tomorrow is the day Niu Chunsheng and my niece get married. My niece said she gave you an invitation before, and she asked me to remind you: don't forget to attend their wedding tomorrow."

Li Xiulan's mind went blank for a moment, then she hurriedly nodded and said:

"Don't worry, I won't forget."

That evening, Li Xiulan was very tired from work, but tossed and turned in bed, unable to sleep.

By now the three children were already sleeping separately from her; they were all fast asleep in the next room, and she lay alone in bed feeling empty.

Memories of the past with Niu Chunsheng inevitably floated up in her mind; those memories, set against the backdrop of her own hard life, seemed to add a hazy, beautiful filter, magnifying the good times infinitely and making her feel that running a convenience store with Niu Chunsheng back then was one of the happiest experiences of her life.

But in reality, that experience was just so-so; although Niu Chunsheng treated her well, it was more out of consideration for the store, and he had never had any inappropriate contact with her.

Hardship-stricken people always lick their existing wounds through beautiful memories...

Li Xiulan was exactly such a person.

The next afternoon, after Wang Dashan and Wang Erhai finished school, Li Xiulan took the three children to attend Niu Chunsheng and Lin Xiaofang's wedding.

Besides sending Li Xiulan an invitation, Niu Chunsheng had also sent them to many friends in Shangou Village, and thoughtfully hired two small four-wheelers to take them to town.

Li Xiulan took the three children into the vehicle; the three children were overjoyed, making a racket nonstop, because they rarely got to go to town, and there was good food to eat, so they were full of anticipation, feeling like it was the Spring Festival.

But Li Xiulan was annoyed to no end by them; she was already in a bad mood, and being stirred up by the children made her mood even worse.

"Whoever makes a scene again, I'll throw them off the car!"

Li Xiulan couldn't help but shout at the three children, and they finally quieted down a bit.

It can only be said that people's joys and sorrows are not shared, especially between adults and children; children's minds are simple and they are easily happy, while adults always have this or that sorrow.

Several fellow villagers got into the small four-wheeler one after another, including Liang Yuanchao, Zhang Zhongtian, Zhong Jianguo, and some other villagers.

They were all beaming with joy attending Niu Chunsheng's wedding; Niu Chunsheng had now become successful, and receiving his invitation made them feel very prestigious.

With nothing to do on the vehicle, Zhang Zhongtian played with Li Xiulan's three little children.

"You three brothers, why do you look like you were stamped out by the same cookie mold? You're too alike! You must all be Wang Zhanggen's children without a doubt!"

Zhang Zhongtian asked with a laugh, "What grade are you in?"

Wang Dashan grinned and said, "I'm in first grade, my second brother is in preparatory class, and my third brother hasn't started school yet!"

Zhang Zhongtian asked again, "How are your grades?"

Wang Dashan grinned and felt too embarrassed to speak, because he had always been the tail of the class.

Wang Erhai said, "Very good! I'm very smart! I'm always first place!"

Actually he was just bluffing; he was only average, and now he couldn't even do two-digit arithmetic problems very well.

Zhang Zhongtian laughed and said:

"That impressive? Then let me test you! What is 5 plus 7?"

Wang Erhai hurriedly counted on his fingers, counting and counting, and found ten fingers weren't enough; he immediately looked panicked, his expression both cute and funny, making everyone in the vehicle laugh heartily.

Wang Erhai got anxious, but still remained hard-mouthed:

"Don't laugh, I've already figured out the answer, but I'm not telling you!"

Everyone laughed even harder.

Wang Erhai nudged Wang Xiaohua at this time: "Little brother, you tell them the answer!"

Wang Xiaohua said timidly: "5 plus 7 equals 12."

Everyone laughed and exclaimed:

"Oh, this youngest one is actually the cleverest!"

"Let me ask you again, what is 8 plus 9?"

"17."

"Impressive, you answered so quickly!"

"You're clever, but why are you so shy, like a little girl!"

"I'm not a little girl!" Wang Xiaohua retorted with a flushed face, hating it most when others called him a little girl.

"You're not a little girl, so why are you called Xiaohua? Only little girls are called Xiaohua!" Zhang Zhongtian teased Wang Xiaohua with a laugh.

As a result, Wang Xiaohua burst into tears with a "wah."

"I'm not a little girl, I don't want to be a little girl!" Wang Xiaohua turned back to Li Xiulan and said: "Mom, I don't want to be called Wang Xiaohua anymore, I want to change my name, okay!"

Li Xiulan was already in a bad mood, and being made a fuss by Wang Xiaohua like this made her even more annoyed:

"Okay okay okay, change your name, think of one yourself, I'll change it for you later! Don't bother me now, I'm counting to three, if you're still crying I'll hit you! One, two..."

Wang Xiaohua immediately stopped crying timidly, looking wronged and pitiful all over his face.

The whole carload of old folks were laughing heartily.

Finding Wang Xiaohua very amusing.

Li Xiulan said to them in an unamused tone:

"Don't tease my little Xiaohua, he doesn't like being teased!"

Soon, the small four-wheeler arrived in Town.

At the Street Corner Grand Hotel side, the wedding ceremony field had already been decorated.

Li Xiulan brought the three children off the car and saw a sea of bright red festive decorations.

Red small flags were strung across the hotel door, and there was also an inflatable arch at the door, with a banner on the arch reading "Niu Chunsheng Lin Xiaofang Newlywed Bliss."

The large speaker played festive songs, and quite a few customers had already arrived at the scene.

Niu Chunsheng and Lin Xiaofang wore formal wear, dressed beautifully, and were greeting customers to enter under the large arch.

Everything was done in a grand and bustling manner, lively and bustling!