kingnovel Chapter 154 Initial Results
Chapter 154 Initial Results
That noon, Li Xiaonuan talked with Zhou Liufeng for over two hours. During this time, Granny Yu and the old lady joined in. They were shocked by Zhou Liufeng's experiences after running away. Granny Yu even hugged Zhou Liufeng and cried for almost half an hour.
Zhou Liufeng went from initially resisting to eventually taking the initiative to pat Granny Yu's back. Li Xiaonuan was very gratified; at least, Zhou Liufeng's frightening symptoms had lessened considerably. He first accepted Granny Yu's approach. And later, he would also accept those who were truly kind to him.
Another thing that made Li Xiaonuan happy was that Zhou Liufeng was no longer staring at Chi Yao. Although he still harbored prejudice and hatred towards women from brothels, or even women who came from brothels, at least he wasn't as obsessive as before.
Naturally, Grandma Yu attributed all the credit to Li Xiaonuan. But Li Xiaonuan knew that Zhou Liufeng's change was the result of Grandma Yu and the old lady's wholehearted care and comfort.
In other words, Zhou Liufei's wariness stemmed from his own severe lack of security.
Unfortunately, Zhou Liufeng refused to divulge a single word about the reason for his obsessive hatred of courtesans. Every time Li Xiaonuan tried to coax him into revealing those things, he warily evaded her questions.
Seeing Zhou Liufeng's eyes almost always turning red with anger, Li Xiaonuan carefully changed the subject, avoiding any further sensitive topics.
"Oh my, I never imagined that our Liu Fei was once a bodyguard. He said he learned a lot of martial arts and wouldn't encounter any danger in the mountains." That day, Zhou Liu Fei went into the mountains again. Granny Yu then came to visit the Li family.
After Zhou Liufeng returned, he forbade Granny Yu from keeping those ornamental fish anymore. After all, tending to those fish was too tedious, the returns weren't high, and it was hard work. Zhou Liufeng brought back a lot of money, which he gave to Granny Yu to keep for him.
Grandma Fish counted the money and found it was quite a lot. So she listened to Zhou Liufeng's advice and stopped tending to the fish fry. Finally, at Li Xiaonuan's urging, she sold all the ornamental fish, including the breeding fish, to Li Xiaonuan at a low price.
Li Xiaonuan put all the fish into the pond on their wasteland and left them to fend for themselves.
"Auntie, is Liu Fei really alright? Could he be just trying to fool you because he thinks you're a bother?" Li Xiaonuan had told them about Zhou Liu Fei's unusual behavior after the Mid-Autumn Festival.
"It's alright, he's slowly changing now. I just don't know if he'll be able to settle down and get married in the future. I'm really afraid he won't want to get married because of his current state." Grandma Yu glared resentfully in the direction of the mountains, then looked expectantly at Li Xiaonuan, who was drawing flower patterns with her head down.
Li Xiaonuan pretended to be listening to the two elders telling stories, so she didn't pay much attention. In this way, she missed Grandma Yu's meaningful look.
"Xiao Nuan, you have to help your mother-in-law think of a way to get Liu Fei better as soon as possible. I'm still waiting to hold my great-grandson." When Grandma Yu saw that Li Xiao Nuan didn't react, she simply gave her a verbal hint.
Li Xiaonuan looked up blankly and asked, "Brother Liu Fei is doing quite well now. Grandma Yu, you can rest assured. It's just that if you want to hold your great-grandson, you'll have to wait a while. I think Brother Liu Fei is still not very willing to get close to women."
Madam Su glared at Li Xiaonuan and comforted Granny Yu, "Auntie, don't worry, Liu Fei will find a wife. I think Liu Fei is a shrewd young man, he definitely won't let your family line die out."
Grandma Yu looked at Li Xiaonuan, who was still engrossed in her painting, with disappointment and said, "I also believe that Liu Fei will get married. It's just that I'm afraid I won't be able to wait for that day, so I'm just impatient."
Li Xiaonuan couldn't ignore these words: "Grandma Yu, don't worry, maybe Brother Liu Fei will get married this year. I think he's doing pretty well now. Once he meets a woman he absolutely has to marry, his symptoms will definitely be cured without any medicine."
Grandma Fish asked incredulously, "Xiao Nuan, are you serious? If that's really the case, then even if I die, I can die in peace."
Su looked at Granny Yu with amusement, exaggeratedly spat on the ground a few times, and said, "Auntie, you're in good health, how could you not wait for Liu Fei to get married? If you ask me, you should still think about what kind of new house to build for Liu Fei."
And so, the two elders unknowingly steered the conversation toward building houses. As Li Xiaonuan painted, she thought to herself, "Our house is going to be built too, how wonderful!"
"Xiao Nuan, Xiao Nuan, come out and see! Our chili peppers are growing in our field!" Father Li's cheerful voice drifted in through the yard.
Li Xiaonuan put down her pen and paper and excitedly jumped out of the room. She was finally going to see fresh chili peppers, the ones she'd been longing for.
"Look, these are the ones that are turning red, I picked them. There aren't many peppers left in the field, you'll have to wait a while if you want a whole plate." Father Li spread out his big palm and held out four or five bird's eye chilies to Li Xiaonuan.
Li Xiaonuan excitedly accepted the chili peppers, thinking to herself, "Finally, I can eat fresh chili peppers."
"Dad, besides these kinds of chili peppers, are there any other kinds in the field?" Li Xiaonuan wanted to know if there were any other varieties of chili peppers.
Father Li nodded and said, "Yes, I've seen a few of those big bell peppers you mentioned, but they're still small now."
"Dad, how about we go to the fields together this afternoon?" Li Xiaonuan hadn't been to the fields for almost half a month. She'd been busy lately working with Madam Su and Granny Yu on the floral curtains.
Just as Li Xiaonuan sat down again, there was another commotion in the courtyard.
"Sister Xiaonuan, we've grown chili peppers! Come and see, we really have grown chili peppers!" Zhou Jingjing ran into the yard excitedly, shouting all the while.
Li Xiaonuan reluctantly got up and went out into the courtyard again. This time, the Su couple, who were still discussing the important matter of building a house, also came out.
"Oh my, so this is what fresh chili peppers look like! They're really slippery." Grandma Yu and Madam Su each picked up a bird's eye chili pepper and said with a smile.
Looking at the seven or eight chili peppers in Zhou Jingjing's hand, Li Xiaonuan smiled with relief. Actually, she had been quite worried these past few days that the chili seedlings wouldn't produce any peppers. After all, in this era where it was impossible to cultivate high-quality seeds, many seedlings might not bear fruit at all.
"Jingjing, will all the chili seedlings in your field produce chilies?" Li Xiaonuan asked.
Zhou Jingjing carefully put the few chili peppers back into her pocket and said, "There are dozens of plants that haven't flowered yet, so it looks like they won't be producing chili peppers."
Li Xiaonuan thought it made sense, so she suggested, "You can pick the tender shoots of those seedlings that don't produce chili peppers and eat them. They're delicious when cooked into soup with some lean meat or eggs."
Zhou Jingjing had always trusted Li Xiaonuan, so she agreed without hesitation.
Next, the families who had grown chili peppers came to Li Xiaonuan's door one after another to tell her that their chili peppers had grown. Li Xiaonuan also suggested that they pick the seedlings that didn't flower and eat them.