Seeing this, Ning Yuan wanted to dodge, but it was too late.
She could only squeeze her eyes shut and instinctively raise her hands to protect her head, but the next moment—
Smack! A sharp whoosh cut through the air.
A tall, lean figure suddenly grabbed her, pulled her into his arms, and deftly swept away the object hurtling toward them.
Ning Yuan froze for a moment, subconsciously looking up at the man who was shielding her in his embrace.
Rong Zhaonan looked down. “Are you alright?”
She hastily shook her head and instinctively stepped out of his arms. “I’m fine!”
But the next second, the object smashed against the side, instantly releasing a nauseating stench.
“Ugh!” Ning Yuan instinctively covered her nose, nearly gagging. She was both furious and annoyed—
It was feces!
“You shameless bastard! Stealing my things is one thing, but you dare to throw shit at me!” Ning Yuan stomped her foot in anger and took off in pursuit.
It was too disgusting, too revolting!
If that bag of feces had hit her on the head, she would have had nightmares for three days and lost her appetite completely.
But Rong Zhaonan was even faster than her. He shot out like an arrow released from a bow, closing the distance to the dark figure in just a few strides.
He raised his foot to kick the person in the back, but at the very instant of impact, he froze.
The figure, caught by the force of the wind, staggered and fell to the ground. The pot also fell, spilling half of its contents.
The thief had fallen, but without fear of getting burned, they frantically reached out to scoop the dirtied porridge from the ground back into the pot. “My porridge!”
Ning Yuan, panting, also rushed up to the thief and angrily grabbed their collar. “This is my porridge!”
But with that tug, she froze.
By the moonlight, she could clearly see that she had grabbed a scrawny old woman with graying hair and a sharp, monkey-like face.
The woman was glaring at her fiercely, her hands gripping the aluminum pot’s handle tightly. “Mine! This porridge is mine! Give it to me!”
The old woman was so thin she was just a bag of bones, but it was a mystery where she got such strength. While trying to snatch the porridge, she also tried to viciously scratch Ning Yuan’s face.
“That’s enough, Grandma Xia. Don’t go too far!” Rong Zhaonan grabbed the old woman’s hand.
Otherwise, her nails would have scratched Ning Yuan’s eyes.
Ning Yuan was furious. She raised her hand and slapped the old woman’s hand away with a smack, snatching the pot back. “Let go! I made this porridge! It’s my pot and my fish!”
This was utterly unreasonable! This wicked old woman had thrown feces at her, stolen her porridge, and now wanted to scratch her eyes out!
Seeing that she couldn’t get the pot of porridge and was being held by Rong Zhaonan, the sharp-faced old woman couldn’t break free.
She opened her mouth wide, suddenly sat down on the ground, and began to wail—
“My porridge, my porridge! It’s my porridge! I’m going to the Commune to report you for secretly undermining the collective and stealing my porridge!”
Ning Yuan stared blankly at the shameless old woman, momentarily at a loss for words.
Damn… If this were a few decades in the future and an old woman threw herself on the ground like this, wouldn’t she be sued into bankruptcy?
Rong Zhaonan let go of her hand, squatted down, and said to Grandma Xia in a cold voice, “Grandma Xia, if you keep making a scene, I won’t share any food with you in the future.”
That single sentence instantly stopped Grandma Xia’s crying.
She glared viciously at Rong Zhaonan. “I knew it! The moment you got a wife and got into bed with her, you’d stop acting like a decent human being!”
“Ahem, ahem…” Ning Yuan almost turned beet red. What era was this? How could someone dare to say such things!
Rong Zhaonan raised an eyebrow. “Grandma Xia, watch your mouth. You’ve gone too far today.”
Grandma Xia snorted coldly, hunched over as she got up, and patted the dirt off her clothes.
“Too far? What did I say that was wrong? You got a wife but didn’t share any food with us. What’s wrong with me coming to get some myself? Hurry up and have that damn girl give me the porridge. My old man and I are waiting to eat.”
Ning Yuan was truly impressed. She had never seen someone beg so righteously, even threatening her.
Holding the pot, she sneered, “I made this food. Even he might not get any, so you can forget about it!”
She wasn’t blind to the fact that Rong Zhaonan seemed to have some connection with this old woman.
But she had been a pushover her whole life, and in this life, she refused to be a pushover without limits ever again!
Seeing this, Grandma Xia was stunned. She pointed a trembling finger at her. “You… you… you shrew!”
Ning Yuan rolled her eyes. “You have the nerve to call me a shrew?”
With that, she turned to leave with the pot.
But the next moment, a large hand suddenly grasped hers. “Wait, Ning Yuan. Grandma Xia’s husband is sick. Just give her this pot of porridge.”
Ning Yuan turned her head to look at Rong Zhaonan and asked with a deadpan expression, “On what grounds? What does it have to do with me?”
His commanding tone… did he really think they were a married couple?
And so what if they were?
Rong Zhaonan’s matter-of-fact tone suddenly reminded her of her husband from her past life, Li Yan. He was just like this.
After they got married and moved back to the city, his endless stream of relatives from the countryside would take turns staying at their home every year, freeloading, asking for favors, and asking for money.
Every time, she was the one who had to serve them, cook, and clean.
Li Yan never asked for her opinion; he would just inform her in that same tone: so-and-so is coming to stay, hurry up and buy groceries to cook.
Their salaries weren’t high, and they even had to borrow money to get by, yet they still had to make sure the folks from back home left satisfied.
His reason was that they couldn’t just care about their own small family and disregard their ties with relatives and friends from the countryside.
But why? She had only married him, but it felt like she had married his entire village.
She wasn’t the one who owed favors, but she was the one serving people, and she was the one who was exhausted.
She was the one who had to pinch pennies, checking which store sold eggs for two cents cheaper, but no matter how much she did, it was never enough.
If she complained even a little, Li Yan would criticize her for not being generous, not being sensible, not being virtuous. She never got any credit.
Rong Zhaonan was taken aback when he saw Ning Yuan’s face suddenly turn ice-cold.
Why was her reaction so strong…
The man involuntarily loosened his grip and said in a deep voice, “Consider it a favor I owe you. Grandpa Tang is in very poor health. Things have been hectic these past few days, so I haven’t sent them any food.”
Ning Yuan glanced at Grandma Xia, who was glaring at her but couldn’t help but gulp, looking thin, dirty, and smelly.
Holding the pot, she suddenly walked toward the path ahead. “Fine, I’ll remember this. I’ll bring this pot over for you.”
A favor owed by Rong Dalao?
That was definitely worth having!
She had no goodwill toward Grandma Xia at all.
But she was very curious about who could make Rong Dalao extend a helping hand even when he could barely protect himself.