Second Uncle Xia immediately retorted, “Xiao Feng is almost five, why is he still on milk powder? He needs to eat more solid food to grow properly, look how thin he is; it’s all because he’s just drinking milk powder…”
Xia Mian was fed up with him. Just then, Qiangqiang ran into the house with Xiao Feng, shouting, “Aunt Mian, Xiao Feng wants a banana!”
Xiao Feng followed behind, unwittingly getting used by Qiangqiang, but too timid to correct his cousin. Still, he didn’t want his aunt to misunderstand, so he looked anxiously, “Auntie.”
Xia Mian tapped Qiangqiang’s forehead, “If you want to eat, just say so yourself. Why involve Xiao Feng?”
Xiao Feng’s expression relaxed as he hugged Xia Mian’s legs and looked up, smiling, “Auntie.”
“Mm,” Xia Mian bent down and wiped the sweat from his forehead, “What were you playing with Brother Qiangqiang?”
Xiao Feng’s eyes sparkled, “Catching cicadas!”
“Wow, Xiao Feng caught them too?” Xia Mian was surprised, impressed that in just two days, Xiao Feng had become braver.
Xiao Feng glanced at Qiangqiang, “Brother caught them for me.”
Xia Mian ruffled Qiangqiang’s head, “Yeah. Our Qiangqiang has done a good job looking after his little brother.”
Qiangqiang’s face lit up with a wide grin, revealing two rows of baby teeth with a few gaps. He clung to Xia Mian’s legs, rocking back and forth, “Aunt Mian, bananas! Bananas!”
“Okay, okay, I’ll get you bananas.”
As Xia Mian turned to fetch bananas from the cupboard, she sensed someone behind her.
Turning around, it was indeed Second Uncle Xia following her, peeking inside the cupboard, “You’re just so thoughtless. These things are expensive and don’t keep well. Why did you buy so many?” He disapprovingly said.
“I’ll take a few for your Second Aunt and Xiao Bao to try. Otherwise, they’ll just go to waste. What a pity.”
Xia Mian closed the cupboard door and rolled her eyes, “You don’t need to worry about that. Xiao Feng and I love bananas, and they’ll be gone by tomorrow!”
“Eating too many bananas can cause diarrhea! What do kids know? You should listen to adults.” Second Uncle Xia reached out to grab the bananas from the cupboard, but Xia Mian quickly pushed his arm, causing it to go numb, startling him, “My arm?!”
Xia Mian locked the cupboard and handed a banana each to Qiangqiang and Xiao Feng.
Qiangqiang, wary of Second Uncle Xia, took Xiao Feng’s hand and said, “Let’s go home to eat. Grandma must have finished frying the cicadas. They are too tasty!”
Xiao Feng looked at Xia Mian, who smiled and said, “Go on. Auntie will come over in a bit.”
Xiao Feng was still hesitating, but Qiangqiang had already pulled him out, urging, “Let’s go, let’s go. If we’re not hurry, Third Uncle would have eaten them all.”
As the kids ran out, Second Uncle Xia, never to be fazed by small setbacks, brought up another matter: “How much money did Zhang Qiming give you for bringing his son back?”
Xia Mian responded, “What’s it to you? You better head back!”
Second Uncle Xia turned a deaf ear and continued, “Raising a kid costs a lot. Xiao Feng has the Zhang surname, so it should be the Zhangs who support him. Don’t be stupid and pay out of your own pocket. Did he give you a hundred yuan?”
Xia Mian laughed off his assumption, thoroughly annoyed now, “No, just fifty yuan. Now, please go back. Aren’t you going to have lunch? I don’t have food for you here.”
“How many days will you stay? If you’re staying for ten days, fifty yuan might just suffice,” Second Uncle Xia went on, completely absorbed. “Didn’t you also bring back a bunch of stuff? Milk powder, cookies, milk candy, those should be enough for him. Don’t buy expensive things like bananas.”
“Oh, and hand over some of that milk powder and cookies to me. Those are good products from big cities. Let me buy some off, we don’t have them here.”
After winding out a lot, his conversation ultimately looped back to his initial intention. Xia Mian, thoroughly fed up by now, pushed him towards the door, “Scram! We’re not selling anything, we barely have enough for ourselves!”
“Hey, hey, what are you doing? Girl, how could you eat so much?! Since your parents are gone, I, your uncle, have to keep an eye on you.”
Xia Mian ignored him and simply focused on pushing him out.
Seeing that he was about to leave empty-handed again, Second Uncle Xia became desperate and braced his foot against the door frame. “Alright, alright, no need to give me anything.”
“Really, can I just borrow a knife from your house? If you won’t give me anything, I’ll just have to slaughter a chicken for Xiao Bao.”
“Your knife is sharp and easy to use. Since you eat at your eldest uncle’s house every day anyway, you don’t need a knife.”
He was a man after all, strong enough that Xia Mian couldn’t push him away. Upon hearing what he said, she nearly burst out laughing in frustration. It was common knowledge that whenever Second Uncle Xia ‘borrowed’ something, he had no intention of returning it. Everyone within a five-mile radius knew that once something entered their house, it never left. “You want to borrow a knife, right?” Xia Mian lost her patience completely. “To slaughter a chicken?”
Second Uncle Xia looked aggrieved, “We can’t buy good stuff here in the county like they do in the city. Since you won’t share anything with us, I have to make do with a chicken to nourish him.”
So, it was her fault now, wasn’t it?
“Alright.” Xia Mian turned and went back to the kitchen, grabbed a large knife, and came back out.
“Yes, that’s the one, your kitchen knife is really good.” Second Uncle Xia’s eyes lit up — he’d been eyeing it for a long time. He reached out to take it, but Xia Mian skillfully spun the knife and tucked it under her arm, then turned and locked the front door.
Second Uncle Xia was stunned, “What are you doing?”
Xia Mian ignored him and walked straight to their house next door.
“Wait, Mianmian, aren’t you supposed to bring something when you visit your elders?” his noisy voice followed her.
“I’m your uncle, and I don’t mind, but you can’t forget your manners. You’re still planning to go to college; these are the basics you should understand. Otherwise, what will you amount to in the future?”
“Speaking of which, you haven’t visited your grandma since you’ve been back. You brought such good milk powder for your eldest uncle’s family, but what about your grandma…”
Annoyed by his nagging, Xia Mian pushed open the wooden gate of the second branch’s house with a bang and headed straight for the chicken coop in the yard.
Second Aunt-in-law Xia, who was sneaking some watermelon, hurriedly hid it back and came out just as Xia Mian deftly grabbed the fattest egg-laying hen from the coop.
Seeing this, Second Aunt-in-law Xia screamed as if her life depended on it, “You wretched girl, what are you doing?!”
Second Uncle Xia was also frantic, “Xia Mian! You damn girl, what are you doing? Put it down right now!”
When Xia Mian was a child, she had seen chickens being slaughtered at her grandmother’s house. She grabbed the hen by the wings and accurately slashed its neck with the knife in her hand. “You want to slaughter a chicken, right? I’m not only lending you the knife, but I’ll also help you do it. Just treat it as my filial service to my elders!”
A burst of vibrant red blood splattered. This was Xia Mian’s first attempt at slaughtering an animal. Instead of dying, the hen struggled fiercely. Startled by its frantic movements, Xia Mian accidentally released her grip.
The hen, with a gaping wound on its neck, clucked loudly and dashed uncontrollably throughout the yard, leaving a trail of blood wherever it went. Xia Mian was somewhat stunned—are chickens really that resilient?
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I don’t want to imagine the chicken 😰😰
Thanks for the chapters ❣️
Thank you!
This uncle is so annoying!
Hope this event will calm him!
So glad for the extra chanter