"Dad is here. Grandpa Zhao wants to hold you. Huabao, do you want Grandpa Zhao to hold you?" Zhang Liunian didn't notice Zhao Zhijie's complicated thoughts and started asking his daughter her opinion.
Huabao thought for a moment, then looked at Zhao Zhijie's face. Seeing his kindly smile, she nodded, "Alright! Who told me to be so cute!"
"Little clever ghost." Zhang Liunian playfully flicked her nose and then shifted his gaze to Zhao Zhijie.
Zhao Zhijie was happy to hear the little dumpling agree. He wiped his hands, reached out, and took Huabao. He couldn't resist teasing Zhang Liunian, "Look at how you cherish your daughter. You want to hold her, but only if you're there. What will happen when she grows up and gets married? Will you also have to stay by her side?"
"I can take in a son-in-law to live with us, right under my nose," Zhang Liunian replied seriously, showing no sign of joking.
"..." Everyone was speechless.
Jiang Qingqing, standing nearby, found her husband's words both amusing and exasperating. Taking in a son-in-law was something families without sons would consider.
Why had her husband suddenly come up with this idea? However, if their daughter could stay by their side, she would be very willing. This way, she wouldn't have to worry about her daughter marrying poorly.
"If you think like that, be careful that Huabao won't be able to get married when she grows up," Zhao Zhijie said, continuing to joke while looking at the little dumpling in his arms.
Zhang Liunian said with a serious expression, "If she can't get married, I'll support her my whole life." He didn't want to see the image of a wild boar ruining his prize cabbage. That scene was too beautiful for him to bear.
"..." Zhao Zhijie was utterly speechless and didn't know what to say.
Jiang Qingqing gently patted Zhang Liunian's arm, "Don't you still have deliveries to make?" After saying that, she inadvertently glanced at a passerby walking ahead, and the next moment, her eyes widened in disbelief.
"Yes, there's braised meat to deliver. Let's get on the tractor quickly."
Zhang Liunian didn't notice his wife's expression. He then supported his wife to move forward, but as he took a step, his wife remained motionless. He turned to look and saw her mouth opening and closing several times before she finally managed to speak, "It's him! It's him! Stop him!"
Jiang Qingqing shouted loudly and rushed forward.
Her action was sudden, startling Zhang Liunian. He strode after her, "Qingqing, be careful of your body."
At the same time, Du Ziteng, sitting on the tractor, clearly saw Jiang Qingqing's every move. He understood that she had called out because of the man in the blue suit.
The man in the blue suit immediately took to his heels upon hearing her voice.
This clearly indicated trouble. Although Du Ziteng didn't know why Jiang Qingqing wanted the man to stop, he knew he needed to help her catch him.
He jumped off the tractor and ran wildly. Passing Zhang Liunian, who was holding his wife, he said, "I'll go chase," and then sprinted towards the man in the blue suit.
"Liunian, that person is the one who came to the village to find you the day before yesterday, the one who grabbed me and wouldn't let go, causing Mom and Dad to misunderstand." Jiang Qingqing stopped and tightly held Zhang Liunian's arm as she saw someone going to chase.
It was that man. Zhang Liunian narrowed his eyes and wanted to chase him himself. He instructed his wife, "Wait for me here, I'll go catch him."
"Be careful." Jiang Qingqing nodded, released him, and watched him disappear from sight.
Zhao Zhijie didn't understand what was happening, but he still stood there to help Zhang Liunian watch over his wife and daughter.
"Where is he?" Zhang Liunian found Du Ziteng at the intersection but couldn't see the man and asked anxiously.
Du Ziteng angrily punched the wall, "He got away. I chased him all the way here and then he vanished. I don't know which alley he ran down."
With houses everywhere, finding the man in a short time would not be easy.
Zhang Liunian said nothing and searched every intersection, but in the end, his efforts were in vain.
"He runs really fast." Zhang Liunian returned to the starting point, his face grim.
"Brother Liunian, I'm sorry!" He had volunteered to catch the person, but he had let them escape again. Du Ziteng felt truly apologetic.
"It's fine, it's not your fault. Let's go!" Zhang Liunian reached out and patted his shoulder to show he didn't mind. As he spoke, he walked forward, looking up at the scorching sun, and couldn't help but worry if his wife and daughter could withstand such heat.
Du Ziteng followed his steps and said, "However, I got a good look at his face. If I see him again, I'll definitely recognize him."
Zhang Liunian's footsteps suddenly stopped. He turned to look at Du Ziteng, "You saw his face? Tell me what he looked like?"
He thought the matter was over, with no further developments. He hadn't expected Du Ziteng to have seen the person's face clearly, which made things easier. If the man had one or two distinguishing features, perhaps they could find him.
"He had a flat nose and small, squinting eyes..."
As Du Ziteng described him, Zhang Liunian froze in place. The person he described was someone he had met two days ago.
A flat nose and squinting eyes, wasn't that Wu Xiaoxiang, the younger brother of his sister-in-law, Wu Gudi?
How could it be him?
Why did he want to find him? And why did he grab his wife's hand, causing his parents to misunderstand Qingqing?
Also, his parents knew Wu Xiaoxiang. Why hadn't they recognized the man as Wu Xiaoxiang?
Was it deliberate? No, that was impossible. No matter how biased his parents were, they wouldn't lie about this matter.
So, the most likely reason they didn't recognize the man as Wu Xiaoxiang was that they hadn't seen his face clearly.
As for why Qingqing didn't recognize him, that was easier to understand. Wu Xiaoxiang was Wu Gudi's younger brother, but he had only come once, on the day Zhang Liunian and Qingqing got married. There were many people there that day, so it was normal for Qingqing not to have noticed him.
There was just one peculiar thing: why did Wu Xiaoxiang say he was looking for him? They had no relationship, nor had they spoken.
And why did he grab Qingqing and refuse to let go?
Finally, why did Wu Xiaoxiang run away?
He had run away last time, and he had run away this time too. This clearly indicated he had done something he felt guilty about.
So, what was this guilt?
"Do you know this person?" Du Ziteng, seeing Zhang Liunian lost in thought after his description, became curious.
"If your description is not mistaken, then I do know this person." Zhang Liunian came back to his senses, his expression grim.
"I won't misremember. I don't have many skills, but I never make mistakes when remembering people. So, who is that person?" And why did he run? Du Ziteng was full of questions.
"My sister-in-law's brother." Zhang Liunian said, then saw his wife looking up expectantly. He quickened his pace to reach her side and raised his hand to shield her from the sun.
"Where is he?" Jiang Qingqing looked up eagerly at Zhang Liunian, then at Du Ziteng. Seeing only the two of them, she couldn't hide her disappointment.