Chapter 39: Uninvited Guest (2) Original translation is from tenderflower's blog.
Zhu Yuanbao always did what he wanted to do. He rode his big donkey out the door without telling his father and went straight to the north. He knew Shu Lan lived in Qingshan Village. He asked along the way and finally came over. Unfortunately, the door of Shu’s house was locked, and the little girl he wanted to see was not at home.
Now that she was back, Zhu Yuanbao only felt comfortable when he saw Shu Lan’s brows and eyes. If he had known this, he would have come sooner.
Suddenly, a hand pulled Shu Lan over.
Zhu Yuanbao frowned and raised his head. He met a pair of familiar dark eyes.
Xiao Lang looked at Zhu Yuanbao coldly and said indifferently: “Are you here to deliver the parrot to Ah Lan? Thank you, you can go now.” After speaking, he dragged Shu Lan to the fenced yard.
Shu Lan was dragged tightly by Xiao Lang and had to follow him, but seeing Zhu Yuanbao stunned outside, she always thought something wasn’t right, but she couldn’t figure out what was not right.
Seeing the two of them were about to step into the kitchen, Zhu Yuanbao finally came to his senses and strode into the yard: “Ah Lan, I’ve been waiting for you for a long time, you won’t just drive me away, will you? Let me drink some water!”
He was clearly speaking to Shu Lan, but his eyes fell on Xiao Lang, who was making his own decisions.
At first, Xiao Lang beat him inexplicably, and Zhu Yuanbao still wanted to seek revenge, but after hearing about Xiao Lang going into the mountain to fight wolves, he admired his courage again and decided not to pursue the revenge of the day’s push. Unexpectedly, as soon as they met today, Xiao Lang even opened his mouth and drove him away. Zhu Yuanbao was naturally unconvinced. Why? This was Shu Lan’s house!
Brother Yuanbao specially sent Quanquan over. How could she drive him away directly?
“Brother Yuanbao, come in quickly. We caught a big fat fish. You can eat at my house at noon!”
“Okay!” Zhu Yuanbao laughed and gave Xiao Lang a proud look, who was standing behind Shu Lan with a cold face.
Just as Xiao Lang was about to say something, he saw Qin-shi and Shu Wan approaching side by side. He pursed his lips and lowered his eyes.
Seeing Zhu Yuanbao’s round figure, Qin-shi couldn’t help showing surprise.
She had just met Zhu Yuanbao at her mother’s house, but she didn’t expect he would come to her own house after such a short time! Looking at the birdcage in Shu Lan’s hand again, remembering Zhu Yuanbao’s excitement when he rushed into Qin’s house and the disappointment he couldn’t hide after entering the house, Qin-shi vaguely guessed something and felt a little unhappy in her heart. Why did he come all the way to find Shu Lan? He was 13 or 14 years old. He shouldn’t be interested in her daughter, right? Shu Lan was only 10 years old!
Thinking of this, Zhu Yuanbao’s act of kindness to send the parrot over also turned into ulterior motives.
Zhu Yuanbao was a little embarrassed. He didn’t expect Qin-shi to come back so soon, so he hurriedly stepped forward to greet: “Aunt, when Ah Lan left, the old madam asked the junior to help take care of Quanquan, so when I knew that you were in town, the junior rushed in. I wanted to give Quanquan to you to bring it back, but I thought that you would probably stay in the town for a while, so I couldn’t help sending it over in person. I just wanted to teach Ah Lan two little tricks on how to teach the bird to speak. I’m sorry to bother you.”
He knew the excuse was not good, so he bowed his head to hide his embarrassment.
“Mother, older brother Wolf and I caught fish in the river just now. I asked brother Yuanbao to stay and eat with us!” Shu Lan ran to Qin-shi’s side with the birdcage. Her face was full of joy.
The daughter said so, Qin-shi didn’t have much to say. Looking at Zhu Yuanbao again, seeing that his fleshy side face was a little red, probably from the sun, her heart softened, and she greeted: “Thank you for taking care of Ah Lan when she was at her grandmother’s house. Now trouble you to deliver it all the way too. It is about lunchtime, so stay and eat with us. It’s just that you are used to living in the town, I’m afraid you are not used to eating local dishes here, so don’t dislike your aunt’s poor craftsmanship.” Her tone was still a little cold.
Zhu Yuanbao was nervous in his heart, but he did not hear the politeness and alienation in Qin-shi’s voice and immediately replied: “Aunt is too modest. When the junior was at Qin’s house, I heard the old madam talk about your good craftsmanship more than once and I wanted to taste your dishes. Today, it is my honor to taste the craftsmanship of my aunt. Just ask my aunt not to blame me for coming rashly.”
Qin-shi was stunned for a moment. This kid was quite good at talking!
They said you wouldn’t hit a smiling person. Thinking of her mother’s praise when she mentioned Zhu Yuanbao, Qin-shi’s displeasure dissipated a little.
After all, Zhu Yuanbao was still a child. This act of recklessly running over when he wanted to see her daughter only showed that he cared about her daughter. Maybe it was just the ignorant goodwill between children? And her daughter didn’t like to play with others since she was little, so it was rare for her to get along with Zhu Yuanbao...
Then don’t care about Zhu Yuanbao’s rashness, just stare at them and make sure they didn’t behave beyond the norm. Qin-shi thought to herself and let the children enter the house with a smile.
“Ah Lang, what’s wrong with your arm? Why are you so careless?” Shu Wan noticed Xiao Lang’s wound, frowned, and went into the room to get a new clean gauze to redress him.
Xiao Lang glanced at the two people who were sitting on the north threshold and teasing Quanquan together. He walked under the eaves calmly and obediently letting Shu Wan wash and apply medicine for him. When Shu Wan started wrapping the gauze, he heard the broken bird calling: “Ah Lan, get up, Ah Lan, get up,” in exchange for the lazy girl’s irritable and uncontrollable laughter.
Wasn’t it just a broken parrot? What was so rare!
Shu Wan lowered her head, not noticing the fierce light that flashed in Xiao Lang’s eyes, and said to him: “Ah Lan pesters you to catch fish again, right? You are injured now, don’t always go easy on her. She doesn’t understand anything. How come you are ignorant too? Look, it will take a few more days to get better.”
Xiao Lang had no choice but to suppress the displeasure in his heart and defended Shu Lan: “No, I was going to take her to play by the river, and then I accidentally bumped it. It has nothing to do with Ah Lan.” After a pause, he asked again doubtfully: “Sister Wan, that Zhu Yuanbao has been waiting at our door for a long time. Why does he have to come to deliver Quanquan in person? Why doesn’t he just hand it over to you? Also, isn’t Quanquan Ah Lan’s? Why did the old madam want him to help it? It’s strange...”
Shu Wan paused and involuntarily looked sideways to the north door. Seeing Zhu Yuanbao staring straight at her silly little sister who lowered her head to tease the bird, she frowned slightly.
