NOVEL NEXT Chapter 7
Chapter 7
Ning Xiangxiang woke up from unconsciousness and found himself at home, feeling extremely scared. He dared not speak, only sitting on the bed with his head bowed.
Ning Daxiong saw Ning Xiangxiang wake up and came over with a scowl on her face. She intended to vent the anger she had received from the village chief on him.
Holding a stick, she beat Ning Xiangxiang while talking, “I told you not to come back for dinner! Look at how embarrassing you’ve made me in front of the village chief. How come everyone else in the village is fine, but you collapse from exhaustion?”
Ning Xiangxiang dared not move, so he silently endured it. However, he resented Ningning and Su Fei, stacking this resentment onto them. If it weren’t for Su Fei not giving him anything to eat, he wouldn’t have fainted, and he wouldn’t have been beaten by Ning Daxiong.
The more ruthlessly Ning Daxiong beat Ning Xiangxiang, the more he resented Ningning. From childhood to adulthood, Ningning always outperformed him, yet he always snatched away the things he liked. He thought about Ningning’s future miserable life, which made his feel less pain from his own injuries. He often used this mental victory method.
However, Ning Daxiong was still considerate; she didn’t hit Ning Xiangxiang’s face. After beating him for a while, she said to him, “Remember this time, don’t make the same mistake again. If you do, I’ll sell you to the mountains. Speak up! Why do you still hold grudges?”
Ning Xiangxiang bit his lip in pain and said, “I understand.” In his heart, he thought, ‘After I get married and leave, I’ll never come back.’
Ning Daxiong finally stopped and kicked Ning Xiangxiang out, telling him to continue working. Then she went back to sleep for the afternoon.
In the afternoon, Ning Xiangxiang returned to the field, skillfully using his advantages and his scars to gain sympathy from the women who’s keeping the score. Today, his pale face from being sick and the bruises from Ning Daxiong’s beating made him appear even more pitiful.
As a result, these compassionate women looked down on Ning Daxiong even more. They felt ashamed that she hit a man, even though they themselves often hit men at home.
“Okay, you can just finish harvesting that small plot of land in the afternoon, and I’ll give you full marks.” The scorer looked at Ning Xiangxiang with special pity.
Ning Xiangxiang was immediately satisfied. He thought, ‘Mom said that my score is the same as Ningning’s. Ningning worked hard all day. He never cared about others’ opinions as long as he benefited himself.’
Ning Xiangxiang lazily finished his work and earned ten work points in the afternoon. It was perfect! Ning Xiangxiang looked at the men in the village toiling away and felt proud of himself, thinking they were all fools!
Ning Xiangxiang’s behavior made the men in the village look down on him even more. Depending on such tricks, no woman would indulge a man who didn’t work in the future.
Ningning didn’t know about the friction between them. He was calculating how much money and food he still had. They would collect all the grain in the next few days. After paying this year’s taxes, they would have a plentiful year.
In the evening, the village chief asked Ningning to stay and watch to ensure that the wheat wasn’t stolen by birds or people. Someone would come to replace him after dinner.
Su Fei was waiting at home but didn’t see Ningning. So she went out to find him and met many people along the way. When they saw Su Fei coming out, they greeted her.
“Su Fei, are you looking for Ningning? You two are such a lovely couple! Your relationship is so good.”
Su Fei blushed when she heard ‘lovely couple’. They weren’t married yet. “Uncle, that’s not right. We’re not married yet. When the time comes, I’ll invite you to our wedding banquet.”
“I’ll definitely be there! Definitely!” Thanks to the villagers teasing Su Fei, her face turned red, and they stopped teasing her. “Ningning is checking on the grain. He’ll be back soon. We’ll go back and have dinner first, then replace him later.”
After parting ways with the group, Su Fei wiped the sweat from her forehead. She was really embarrassed. Hearing their words, she knew Ningning was ahead. So she hurried over.
Ningning’s stomach growled, and he guessed that Su Fei was also hungry at home. Before he could finish his thought, he heard Su Fei calling out.
“Ningning~ Ning~ Ning~” Su Fei didn’t know where Ningning was, so she quickly called out, changing her voice to call back and forth.
Ningning knew it was Su Fei coming over and felt pleasantly surprised. He quickly told her where he was. However, he still said with a stern face, “Are you hungry? There’s a bag of snacks in the cabinet. Go home and eat.”
Su Fei shook her head. She didn’t dare to eat randomly; those snacks were precious. “I’ll wait for you. Let’s go home together.”
Fortunately, it was dark, so Su Fei couldn’t see Ningning’s smile. Otherwise, she would have been teased again.
The two didn’t speak, just listening quietly to the frogs and crickets. There was a feeling of tranquility. Suddenly, Su Fei wanted to write down her current feelings as an article or even a poem. She was really inspired.
The people who will replace them arrived. Su Fei and Ningning walked home together. Seeing their backs, others felt they were a perfect match.
After two days, Ningning finally finished all his tasks. After resting, he decided to take Su Fei to the market to buy some fabric for her to make new clothes. She was going to start teaching at the elementary school soon.
Calculating the time to go to the fair, on the appointed day, Ningning woke Su Fei up early in the morning while it was still dark, around three or four o’clock.
Su Fei rubbed her sleepy face and quickly washed up. Without eating, the two of them set off with their baskets. They needed to walk several miles to reach the fairgrounds. This fair had almost everything, even more than the county’s department stores. Many items were produced by local farmers.
Even many people from the county town would come to the fair, either to buy vegetables or meat. It was usually very lively, but there would be pickpockets when the crowd got larger.
Ningning quickly held onto Su Fei to prevent her from getting lost. “Be careful, there are often pickpockets here.”
Su Fei felt extremely embarrassed when she realized she didn’t have a single penny on her. She looked at Ningning with a grievance.
Ningning also knew that, as a woman, she’s been searched from top to bottom without a single penny left, Su Fei not being angry was already very good. So he took out one coin, yes, just one coin! He solemnly put it in Su Fei’s pocket. “There, now you have money. Don’t let people slack off!”
Su Fei…