Du Xuanxuan, who has always been roasting others and never been roasted back, gritted her teeth, wanting to drag that wretched guy back and ask properly: Who exactly is the blind cat, and who is the dead mouse? A man seven feet tall acting so petty like a woman, is there any fun in that!
If she had known that sincerely expressing gratitude could end up being so disgusting, she should have just drooped her large eyelids and endured being indirectly mocked as ungrateful.
After all, gratitude and repayment aren’t just expressed by words. Time and facts will prove that Du Xuanxuan is not someone who forgets kindness.
After successfully making Du Xuanxuan, who had always been feeling aggrieved because of him, feel aggrieved, Liu Shouren was in a great mood, even smiling when he got home.
"Yo, Big Bro, what happy occasion happened to make you so cheerful?" Shuzhen raised her eyebrow, smiling as she looked at her big brother.
"Hey, little sis, you don’t know, do you? Ever since the Liu family was blessed with little Liu Wu, Big Bro has been in great spirits every day, smiling like a shoe with a broken sole. After joyfully having a son, the autumn harvest comes right after with double cropping and converting dry to irrigated land, bringing one good news after another. It’s difficult for Big Bro to even try to put on a straight face, isn’t it?" Shouyi said with a cheeky smile, looking at his big brother with a teasing gaze.
"A shoe with a broken sole, is that how your brother looks in your eyes?" Liu Shouren, filled with anger, gave his silly brother a hard smack on the shoulder.
"Hehe, I was just making an analogy, an analogy! Why punch right away? Are you really my brother?" Shouyi clutched his shoulder, feigning pain, his eyes full of accusations towards his big brother.
"Oh, I was just joking too. A big man like you, don’t be so touchy." Liu Shouren laughed lightly, "Why are little sister and brother-in-law so free today? It’s just the right timing, we’ve been so busy with the autumn harvest lately, and haven’t gathered for a long time. Shouyi, go to the yard, catch a big goose, and then head to the school to invite my father-in-law for dinner. Tonight we’ll have goose stewed with potatoes."
After greeting his sister and handing out tasks, he smilingly took his eldest son, asking if he was well-behaved while he was away, whether he listened, and most importantly, whether he caused any trouble for his mother.
Tsk tsk, watching all this made Shouyi feel sour, full of unfairness: "To little sis and brother-in-law, you’re all hospitality and warmth. To your eldest nephew and Saozi, you smile so tenderly that water could drip out. But as for me, the brother, all I get are glares and tasks. This differential treatment is too obvious, Saozi and little sis, aren’t you going to do something about it? Don’t you feel the urge to assist me in this unfair treatment?"
Wu Yinghong nodded seriously, "Nope, helping in such situations is for strangers. To your brother, I’m all about the unity of husband and wife. If he kills, I hand him the knife. That’s how we harmonize as a couple."
Helpless in seeking help, Liu Shouyi, instead, got a face full of public display of affection and was utterly devastated.
Discouraged, he didn’t even feel like asking little sis’s opinion, fearing another painful stab from the harsh truth. He turned around and shouted to his brother-in-law, Lianshan, who was watching the show with a smile, "Come on, bro-in-law, let’s go catch some geese with second brother! Pick out the fattest and biggest from big brother’s house and get two, just like little sis said, and eat to vent our frustration until they’re heartbroken!"
Lianshan with resignation: Am I even allowed to say no, second brother-in-law?
Clearly, Liu Shouyi had no intention of giving him a chance to say anything.
They set up the firewood, boiled some water, and the two brothers sharpened their knives for the goose.
Meanwhile inside the house, Shuzhen was curiously asking her big brother, with a smile on her face, "There’s clearly an opportunity to formally upgrade to a state cadre in front of you, yet big brother didn’t happily accept and instead directly declined. How can you be sure you won’t regret this decision months or years from now? It’s like skipping through three levels from team leader to town head!"
"Oh, so that’s why you’re so free, huh? Blocking me here to talk about it! What, afraid that big brother will regret declining the ladder to success and end up banging his head against the wall?" Liu Shouren chuckled lightly, realizing what his little sister was up to.
"So, does big brother have any plans to bang his head against the wall?" Shuzhen tilted her head, looking back with keen interest.
"Your big brother is full of relief. Thank goodness my father-in-law, who’s well-connected and shrewd, gave me an early warning. Otherwise, if I had ignorantly mistaken the trap as a pastry and swallowed it, it would have been unbearable to digest and even more embarrassing to spit it out! Moreover, considering the current chaotic situation outside, I think staying as the renowned team leader of our idyllic Liu village is just fine, expanding our little village into a bigger one is better than anything else, isn’t it?
At that time, being a respected big village leader should outweigh being a town head, who’s caught in the middle of political struggles among mayoral students, former town committee secretaries’ brothers-in-law, county leaders’ nephews, and so on.
Don’t worry, little sis, your big brother may not see it as clearly as you do, but he’s not muddle-headed. With a sharp-eyed father-in-law backing me and a wise and supportive wife by my side, nothing major will go wrong." Liu Shouren, with a face full of relief, explained to Shuzhen the twists and turns of the town head position that was presented to him and declined. All in all, it was a power play among several factions, each hoping to secure the juicy position. It had been stalemated for half a year without a clear outcome.
Just then, this small production team leader made significant contributions, so it was simply awarded to him as a reward.
It seemed like a delicious pastry, but in reality, there were underlying currents and complexities!
Nothing is as exciting as leading the united Liu family and villagers to further glory, eventually becoming a renowned seed production base, not just within the city, province, but possibly nationwide.
Really, as little sis said, if we develop rice or corn seeds that yield over a thousand kilograms per mu, forget about being a town head, even a county or municipal head won’t overshadow this production team leader’s glory. With my sharp-eyed father-in-law’s extensive experience and constant planning for my benefit, if he says it’s a trap, Liu Shouren will definitely steer clear, avoiding any chances of falling into it!
Seeing her brother speaking so sincerely, without a hint of regret or hesitation, and with Saozi nodding continuously in agreement, Shuzhen finally broke into a reassuring smile.
With the current achievements and strong support from Uncle Wu and others, taking more steps forward in the future is not a problem for big brother. There’s no need to rush and make decisions amidst such unpredictable times!
Initially, Shuzhen was worried that her brother might not see it this way, and she’d have to come up with a bunch of persuasive arguments.
But now, truly, having an elder at home is like holding onto a treasure!
For the sake of his daughter and grandson, the father-in-law, whether willing or not, must forewarn big brother to prevent any missteps that could affect his precious daughter!