Qi Tushen walked over to Qi Bao'er, ruffled her hair, and said helplessly, "Bao'er, Daddy was wrong, okay? Stop crying. What do you want to eat? Daddy will buy it for you!"
"Wah wah wah, Daddy, your heart only has Sister now. Where's your daughter in there?" Qi Bao'er sobbed.
Qi Tushen scratched his head awkwardly. "Daddy doesn't—"
"Oh my, so Bao'er is jealous?"
Chu Jiaojiao teased her. "Hey! Who was it that said I should stay and be your daddy's wife? What's the matter? Can't take it already? Hahaha!"
"Wah wah wah—stinky sister! Why do you have to be so extravagant?"
"Alright, alright. Sister will try to save your daddy some money from now on."
Chu Jiaojiao handed the storybooks to Qi Tushen to hold, then wiped Qi Bao'er's tears. "No more crying. If you keep crying, you won't be pretty anymore~"
"Hmph, I'm not talking to you."
Qi Bao'er turned her face away in a huff, then buried herself in Chu Jiaojiao's arms, thinking sullenly to herself.
Well, since she's pretty and smells nice, I guess I won't hold it against her.
"Bao'er, want to keep strolling around? I'll buy you some more tasty treats?"
"I don't want to. I want to go home." Qi Bao'er had lost interest.
"Alright, let's head home then." Chu Jiaojiao was tired too. She picked her up and turned to leave.
Qi Tushen followed behind.
Watching them look like a happy family of three, enjoying each other's company.
Feng Cuier crumpled the fabric of her clothes in her fists, her face twisted with jealousy.
Who is this woman?
Why do they look so close?
"Is this woman a stepmother Qi Tushen found for his daughter? Looks like his daughter is pretty chummy with her." Zhu Xiu'er, completely oblivious to the mood, added insult to injury.
"Shut up!"
Feng Cuier forced the words through clenched teeth, her tone vicious enough to make Zhu Xiu'er shiver.
Feng Cuier then hurried forward.
She had to see who this woman was!
"Wife, I just remembered we're almost out of grain at home. Let's go buy some more to stock up."
Partway down the road, Qi Tushen suddenly spoke up.
"Then go buy it." Chu Jiaojiao said. "Don't worry, I'm with Bao'er. I won't run off and leave her."
Qi Tushen hesitated for a moment, then decided to trust her and went off alone to buy grain.
The moment he left, a woman came over, eyeing Chu Jiaojiao with a very unfriendly look.
Chu Jiaojiao was baffled.
Who is this woman?!
She's actually kind of pretty.
But why does she look like she wants to eat someone alive?! It made Chu Jiaojiao very uncomfortable, so she glared right back without backing down.
Oh, you little—
Who's afraid of who!
Let's see who can stare the longest!
The woman stamped her foot in fury, then turned and ran off.
"Bao'er, do you know that woman?" Chu Jiaojiao finally thought to ask Qi Bao'er, who was still buried in her arms.
Qi Bao'er looked up, only catching a glimpse of the woman's retreating figure. "Don't know."
Chu Jiaojiao didn't ask any more.
Mm, that woman must just be jealous of my beauty!
Before long, Qi Tushen came back carrying a sack of rice. Seeing that she had indeed stayed put, he let out a relieved breath, and his gaze softened considerably. He strode over to her with big steps, his voice cheerful. "Wife~ let's go back~"
"…Mm."
It was just around noon, and everyone was rushing home, so oxcarts were in short supply.
Under the blazing sun, Qi Tushen finally managed to flag down an oxcart—only for several women from the same village to beat him to it and squeeze their way on.
"Get off!"
Qi Tushen's face darkened.
"Oh my, isn't this Qi Tushen, the son-in-law the Feng family never got? Does this oxcart have your name written on it? Why should we get off?" The women said shamelessly.
That remark directly enraged Qi Tushen. He kicked out, sending the women tumbling off the cart.
"Oh my, my back~ Qi Tushen, you goddamn bastard, you beast worse than an animal!"
"You motherless piece of trash, a fat pig on the slaughter block, you deserve a thousand deaths!"
"Qi Tushen, you turtle bastard, lowlife who hits women!"
Even sprawled on the ground, the women kept cursing without letting up.
Chu Jiaojiao was dumbfounded.
She'd really seen it all now.
That cursing was next-level!
"Stop fighting, everyone! We can all squeeze in together!" The cart driver's body gave a jolt, and he hastily spoke up.
Hearing this, the women scrambled to their feet with groans and tried to climb back on.
"Scram! This oxcart is mine!"
Qi Tushen tossed the driver some money, then wrapped an arm around Chu Jiaojiao and Qi Bao'er and boarded the cart.
Seeing this, the women launched into another round of abuse.
"Qi Tushen, you shameless bastard. Are you even a man? Fighting women over a cart!"
"Worthless scum lower than pigs and dogs. You'll get chopped to death in the street sooner or later!"
"Pfft! With your repulsive, dog-forsaken character, who knows where you picked up that little slut. A toad humping a frog—ugly as sin but sure knows how to play around!"
"A pair of adulterous dogs! Hope you're barren as can be, with grandkids aplenty!"
Each curse was uglier than the last.
They even dragged Chu Jiaojiao into it.
Veins bulging on his forehead, Qi Tushen's fists clenched with audible cracks.
Before he could make a move, Chu Jiaojiao planted her hands on her hips and shot back at the women.
"What kind of talk is that? Keep your mouths clean! If you've got all that energy to curse at people, why not worry about whether your own men are off crawling under some other vixen's skirts, making you stepmothers before you know it."
"You damned little slut, I'll beat you to death!"
The women flew into a rage and lunged at her.
But they never laid a finger on her.
Qi Tushen swung his fists and sent them all flying, leaving them groaning and clutching their jaws as they scrambled on the ground, howling in pain.
The driver wiped the cold sweat from his brow and quickly cracked his whip. "…We'd better get going~"
The carriage gradually pulled away.
The women's angry shouts faded into nothing.
"Wife~ you weren't scared, were you?!"
Once they were far off, Qi Tushen, thinking of how fierce he'd just looked, softened his expression and asked Chu Jiaojiao.
"Nope~ For people like that, you just gotta beat them senseless."
Chu Jiaojiao waved her hand.
She felt that when someone bullied you, this was exactly how you fought back.
That way, no one would dare mess with you.
"By the way, what's the deal between you and that Feng Cuier anyway?" Her gossip senses tingled, and she pressed on curiously.
Qi Tushen was taken aback. "How do you know about Feng Cuier?"
"Sister, don't ask." Qi Bao'er cut in nervously.
"Bao'er!" Qi Tushen's thick brows furrowed!
Qi Bao'er hung her head in guilt.
Ever since her father had cut ties with Feng Cuier, he rarely brought up that woman anymore.
Those things had been whispered to her in secret by Aunt Li.
"Don't blame Bao'er, she just mentioned it offhand and I caught wind of it."
Chu Jiaojiao spoke up for Qi Bao'er. "I just want to know about you and that woman…"
"That's all in the past. I don't want to talk about her anymore, and you're not to ask either." Qi Tushen cut her off in a low, gruff voice.
Chu Jiaojiao: "…"
Seems like this Feng Cuier had hurt him pretty badly back then.
He wouldn't even let her bring it up!