Chapter 239

Zhi Xia was still sitting at the door watching a large group of children, with her palm propping up her chin and a smile that she just couldn't hide.

When An Zhiren and Zheng Suchun came back from outside, both of their expressions were still pretty good, but it was still unknown whether it went well or not.

"Second brother, Ms. Zheng, you're back," Zhi Xia cheerfully greeted them with a smile. The result of the blind date was still unknown, so calling her sister-in-law was definitely inappropriate.

An Zhiren nodded slightly. Zheng Suchun also said heartily: "You are Zhi Xia, right? I've heard about you for a long time. You really are as beautiful as the rumors say, and your child is also very cute."

When she was in the yard earlier, seeing Zhi Xia gave her a feeling of her eyes lighting up, but she just didn't have a chance to speak.

There is a saying that a niece resembles her aunt. If she could really become his sister-in-law, she also wondered if she would have the chance to give birth to a daughter as beautiful as her. The love for beauty lies in all people, and since they were not familiar with each other on their first meeting, looks were definitely the first thing one would notice about the other. Zheng Suchun did not deny that she really admired An Zhiren’s appearance.

If you look closely, Zhi Xia and An Zhiren actually look quite similar, both resembling Zhou Nan.

"Thank you, you are also very beautiful," Zhi Xia said. No woman doesn’t like to be praised for her looks, and Zhi Xia felt the same.

Granny Zhou called from the yard, "Zhi Xia, your second brother is back, right?"

"Yes, Granny," Zhi Xia quickly replied.

"Now that they’re back, let’s eat. Call the children back to wash their hands first," Granny Zhou said.

The table and chopsticks were already set up in the main hall, just waiting for An Zhiren to come back and eat.

Zhi Xia called the children back into the yard. The large group of children was noisy and a bit headache-inducing to look at.

"Chenye, where is your sister?" Zhi Xia looked around but didn't see Pei Wanqing come back.

"She just went to the bamboo forest over there. She probably didn't hear us calling her. Mom, you eat first. I’ll go take a look," Pei Chenye said before running out. "Wen Qing, you and your siblings go wash your hands first. I’ll go out to check," Zhi Xia said with concern for the child before hurrying out to chase after Chenye.

Noticing the situation here, An Zhiren also hurried to follow.

By the time they got out the door to the bamboo forest, they saw two children squatting in the bamboo forest as if looking for something.

"Chenye, Wanqing, what are you two doing?" Zhi Xia helplessly called out to them.

Seeing that the children were just squatting in the bamboo forest, An Zhiren knew nothing was wrong and felt relieved as he went back.

Hearing Zhi Xia's voice, Wanqing quickly turned her head and waved at her, "Mom, come here quick, come see, there’s a beautiful big mouse here..."

A beautiful big mouse? Upon hearing this, Zhi Xia immediately strode over.

The bamboo forest was not big, just a small area. There were also some dried weeds inside where the two children were squatting next to a clump of them.

Yuan Bao felt quite helpless. It had painstakingly dragged a small sack, taking a roundabout route along the riverbank and woods to avoid the crowds.

Just as it barely made it back, it was blocked here by the young master’s cubs. It did want to run away, but the things its owner asked it to find were still in the sack. It could only helplessly squat here watching over them.

Hearing its owner’s voice, Yuan Bao finally let go of the sack and scurried over to Zhi Xia.

Indeed, as Zhi Xia had guessed, the “beautiful big mouse” in Wanqing’s words was Yuan Bao.

She squatted down and stretched out her hand for Yuan Bao to climb onto. Then she saw Wanqing pointing to the small sack on the ground, “Mom, look, the pretty mouse dragged it here.”

Although the white mouse was very beautiful, she didn’t dare touch it and could only squat here watching.

But when she turned her head, she saw that beautiful mouse sitting in her mom's palm. Shocked, she opened her mouth, "Mom, you touched the mouse..."

Yuan Bao squeaked incessantly. It was not a big mouse at all. It was clearly a cute treasure-hunting mouse.

How could ordinary mice compare to it? Speaking of status, it was the rodent king, able to command tens of thousands of rats with a single order.

Just look at the siblings’ family. Everything they did was ordered by its subordinates.

Daring to offend its owner, the punishment they received was already letting them off easy.

Yuan Bao was filled with fighting spirit, but unfortunately no one could understand its words.

Zhi Xia walked over and picked up the sack from the ground. Squatting down, she solemnly told the two children, "Chenye, Wanqing, this is not an ordinary mouse. Its name is Yuan Bao. It is mom's little pet. But we can't tell others, understand..." "Oh I see. It’s just like my pet Da Huang. But why can’t we tell others?" Wanqing asked blankly.

"I’ll explain more when we get home. For now, just answer mom—can you promise not to tell others?" Zhi Xia still had confidence in the two little ones. Since they were young, due to the great food at home, she had always taught them to keep things secret from outsiders, and they had never slipped up before.

Although they still didn’t understand why, the two obedient children nodded.

"Alright, hurry back and wash your hands for dinner. Mom will be right there," Zhi Xia said.

After she spoke, Chenye pulled Wanqing up. From beginning to end, he only said one sentence, "Then mom should hurry back for dinner too."

The son was young but always precocious. Zhi Xia suspected that the boy had known about her secrets all along but just didn’t say anything, just like his dad.

She remembered that when they were even younger, she cooked them emperor crabs to eat. Little Wanqing kept asking questions nonstop, driving Zhi Xia crazy. Only Chenye told her to eat more and talk less.

Pushing these thoughts out of her mind, Zhi Xia put Yuan Bao back into her space and filled its food bowl with meat.

Having watched them gnaw on rabbit meat earlier, Yuan Bao had been drooling with desire. Now it stuffed its whole head into the bowl, eating with great delight.

Zhi Xia opened the sack. The first thing that caught her eye was the dazzling amount of money and promissory notes.

Had Yuan Bao swept the entire Anle Village clean?

Zhi Xia reached in with puzzlement, confirming that the things she wanted were inside before taking the whole sack into her space.

The Zhou family’s lunch today was very abundant. The adults all sat at the big table while several smaller children had a separate table to themselves. The two sisters-in-law were over there taking care of the children. Zhi Xia had originally wanted to sit on that side as well but was pulled over to the big table by her aunt.

She said that since Zhi Xia so rarely came, she was an honored guest of the family.

Zhi Xia politely declined twice but could only accept the enthusiasm and go over.

Despite coming to the Zhou home many times before, Zheng Suchun had never felt as restrained as she did today. She was pulled by the aunt to sit next to Zhi Xia.

The aunt actually wanted her son and niece to sit together more but didn’t want to appear too eager since the result of their trip out had not yet been asked about.

That plate of stir-fried bamboo shoots and meat was placed in front of Zhi Xia. It really was quite delicious.

She had eaten it before too, winter bamboo shoots in winter and spring bamboo shoots in spring. But putting meat in the dish was impossible, not even willing to add salt to the bland tastelessness.

After lunch, the young aunt brought the two sisters-in-law to clean up while Granny Zhou and the eldest daughter-in-law separately asked An Zhiren and Zheng Suchun about the results of the blind date.

On the way back from Zhou Village, Zhi Xia asked An Zhiren, "Second brother, did you take a liking to her?"