The little boy hid behind his mother, watching Zhang Liunian, then stretched out his small hand to take the item before snatching it back.
Zhang Liunian smiled, picked up a basket of vegetables, and continued shopping.
Du Ziteng saw this scene, and a flicker of light flashed in his eyes.
"Boss, I'll take a chick, a yellow one." Not long after walking, Zhang Liunian stopped again at a stall selling chicks.
"Just one? Not buying more?" It was very rare for someone to buy just one chick, so the vendor couldn't help but ask.
Zhang Liunian smiled and shook his head, "Just one."
Du Ziteng saw this and stared at Zhang Liunian curiously, thinking that this one wasn't for his daughter, was it!
"This one, are you giving it to your daughter?" Du Ziteng asked, seeing him actually buy one.
"I found this for Huabao." Zhang Liunian smiled happily, like a child.
Seeing him smile like that, Du Ziteng felt as if the starlight from earlier had completely shattered.
This kind of person, being his older brother, Du Ziteng, had no heroic bearing of a prominent figure at all.
"He clearly bought it, but he insists on lying," Du Ziteng muttered to himself, not knowing why he was being so stubborn.
Hearing this, Zhang Liunian carefully placed the chick in a small basket and said, "This is what I found for Huabao. Let's go home."
After the three of them returned home, Zhang Liunian immediately handed the chick to his daughter.
"Dad is amazing, he found my little yellow chick." Huabao saw the little yellow chick and was so happy her eyes crinkled, her small hands holding the chick tightly.
"It's not that Dad is amazing, it's that the little yellow chick wanted to come home to find Huabao. It said it missed Huabao very much." Zhang Liunian said with a smile, conveying the chick's thoughts.
Hearing this, Huabao became even happier and toddled off to whisper to the little yellow chick.
After Huabao left, Zhang Liunian went to the kitchen and saw his wife and younger sister busy preparing dinner.
Zhang Liunian stepped forward, took the wok, and said, "I'll do it. Qingqing, you go sit down and rest."
Jiang Qingqing, hearing him say this, smiled and walked to the doorway to sit down, watching her husband busy for her.
Zhang Xiaomei, who was tending the fire, saw her third brother and sister-in-law like this and couldn't help but take out the shoe sole she was holding and started working on it.
Zhang Liunian happened to glance at the shoes. Seeing they were quite large, he thought his younger sister was making them for him and teased, "Little sister, third brother has shoes to wear. You don't need to tire yourself out."
As soon as he said this, Zhang Xiaomei immediately became flustered, quickly stuffing the shoes back into her embrace, her face unnatural. "I'm making them for someone else, not for third brother. Later, when I go to town, I'll make shoes for third brother and sister-in-law."
At her words, Zhang Liunian paused his pot-washing, looking at his younger sister with surprise.
Since his little sister returned home, the Tie family hadn't come looking for her. So, who was she making shoes for?
"Qingqing, who is Xiaomei making those shoes for?" After dinner, Zhang Liunian stopped his wife in the room, concerned about his younger sister's situation.
He had been busy expanding his business these days and hadn't really noticed anything about his younger sister.
Jiang Qingqing spent time with Zhang Xiaomei every day and knew more than Zhang Liunian.
"It's for the mute. Today, Xiaomei saw that the mute's shoes were broken and she took the initiative to offer to make him two pairs," Jiang Qingqing said, hesitating as if she had something to say but wasn't sure if she should.
Zhang Liunian held her hand and said, "The mute? He is indeed pitiful. It's fine if Xiaomei makes shoes for him. As long as we don't say anything, no one will gossip about Xiaomei."
After all, the mute himself wouldn't say anything. As long as they kept quiet, no one would spread rumors about Xiaomei.
Jiang Qingqing gave her husband a look and reminded him, "You're a man, so you don't understand. In our brigade, helping a man make shoes can imply many things.
Speaking broadly, if outsiders know, they'll say Xiaomei fancies the mute. At the very least, they'll say Xiaomei is not adhering to propriety, casually making shoes for a man."
Pausing, Jiang Qingqing added, "Moreover, Xiaomei proactively offered to make shoes for the mute. I think Xiaomei might be interested in the mute."
Otherwise, the women in their brigade would absolutely not make shoes for men other than their own husbands.
Zhang Liunian had no idea about these women's affairs. He just thought that if they kept it to themselves, it would be fine.
But what if Xiaomei fancied the mute? That would be a good thing, wouldn't it?
"If Xiaomei truly fancies the mute, then I respect her.
After all, with me watching, the mute won't treat Xiaomei poorly. I'll be at ease," Zhang Liunian immediately stated his position upon realizing his younger sister might be interested in the mute.
Upon hearing this, Jiang Qingqing's eyes immediately curved. "I also support Xiaomei's own thoughts. However, have you considered whether Mom and Dad will agree?"
When Xiaomei got married before, it was the in-laws who made the decision. Now that Xiaomei was back and wanted to get married again, she would definitely have to get past her parents-in-law.
Zhang Liunian fell silent. His parents were indeed a bit patriarchal, he admitted that.
Therefore, if Xiaomei wanted to choose her own spouse, she would likely face resistance from her parents.
But it didn't matter. With him here now, he would protect his younger sister.
"Don't worry, I'm here. I will protect Xiaomei and let her choose her own happiness." His younger sister had suffered too much. This life, he, as her third brother, would guard her.
As Zhang Liunian's thoughts were revealed, Jiang Qingqing's smile became even brighter, and she leaned her body slightly into her husband's embrace. "Liunian, you're so good."
"I will also ensure you and Huabao live happy lives." Zhang Liunian didn't know why his wife sighed like that, but at this moment, it didn't prevent him from making his wife happy.
Jiang Qingqing smiled and burrowed into his arms, and after a while, she uttered in a muffled voice, "Mmm, I believe you."
After they embraced for a moment, Zhang Liunian took out the over 1,500 yuan from the day. "This is today's money. You keep it."
Jiang Qingqing looked at the pile of colorful bills, her eyes shining with joy. This was too much money, clearly more than yesterday.
"My goodness, we already broke a thousand yesterday. Are we reaching a new height today? This is so exhilarating." Jiang Qingqing bent over, embracing the table full of money, then gathered the money and happily began counting it.
After she finished counting, she took out her wallet and put the money away meticulously.
Zhang Liunian smiled, watching his wife so happy. "I will earn more money and make you happy every day."
Jiang Qingqing was both excited and touched. She knew she was a bit fond of counting money, especially money earned by her husband.
But compared to money, her husband was the most important. She reached up to Zhang Liunian's neck and gently reminded him, "You are the most important. Protect yourself and don't overwork yourself."
"Mmm, I will." Zhang Liunian held his wife's delicate body, feeling that the upper part was more full than the lower part. He lowered his gaze and indeed found that the size had increased quite a bit.