Chapter 9: How Cheng Xiaolin Lost Her Temper

The man opposite became even angrier when he saw Cao Shujie’s action.

“Goddammit, how do you teach your daughter? She made my son like this. If you don’t know how to teach, I’ll teach her for you.” He immediately started cursing, raising his arm as if ready to strike at any moment.

Cao Shujie’s eyes narrowed slightly, and his square face took on some authority: “Try saying one more word. Do you believe I’ll won’t tear your mouth apart?”

His tone of voice was neither light nor heavy, but some people present felt that Cao Shujie could do what he said.

Even the man who had just been cursing shut his mouth after hearing that, thinking to himself, ‘Is this a ‘big shot’?’

Cao Zhen, who was behind Cao Shujie, immediately took two steps forward, blocking Cao Shujie and Mengmeng. He pointed a finger at the man opposite the inflatable children’s playground and said arrogantly: “What did you just curse about? My ears aren’t working well, I didn’t hear clearly. Say it again for me.”

Seeing another person appear, and Cao Zhen having a somewhat fierce look on his face, clearly not looking like a ‘good person’, the man opposite, adhering to the principle that he shouldn’t suffer a loss, dared not speak easily this time.

He was afraid he might truly provoke someone he shouldn’t, and then he would be in trouble.

But it wasn’t over yet. Cao Zhen then added: “Grandson, I’m telling you, don’t just open and close your mouth to curse. If you dare to say one more word, today I’ll let you see the power of our Cao Family Five Tigers.”

Mengmeng was held by her father, her little head turning back and forth. She had been scared just now, but she recovered once she was by her father’s side.

Seeing the little boy still crying loudly in the children’s playground, she pointed and complained to her father: “Daddy, he hit me, hit him.”

She stumbled over her words and didn’t speak smoothly, but people could clearly understand what she meant.

Cao Shujie nodded. Just as he was about to speak, his wife, Cheng Xiaolin, came out of the supermarket carrying several bottles of mineral water and drinks.

After she saw Cao Shujie, she called out: “Shujie, I’m done shopping.”

When she then saw her daughter in her husband’s arms, Cheng Xiaolin was puzzled: “Mengmeng, why aren’t you playing inside anymore?”

“Mommy, he hit me.” Mengmeng pointed at the little boy still crying loudly in the children’s playground, and complained to her mother again.

When Cheng Xiaolin heard her daughter say this, she immediately became furious: “Who hit you? I’ll kill him.”

The next moment, Cheng Xiaolin put the bag she was carrying on the ground. She looked around wildly. When she saw half a brick by the roadside, whose purpose she didn’t know, she didn’t mind the dirt, walked straight over and picked it up, glaring at the crowd: “Who just bullied my daughter?”

The man who had just been cursing saw that even Cheng Xiaolin was so fierce, and dared not utter a sound. He leaned in, picked up his wailing son, and ran.

At this moment, he didn’t even dare to utter a single harsh word.

Cheng Xiaolin saw the father and son run away, and only then did she react. But since they had already run, she didn’t chase after them. She also turned back and glared at her husband: “I told you to watch Mengmeng here, how did you watch her?”

“Wife, it’s true that that little brat made the first move, but our Mengmeng scratched his face all up,” Cao Shujie explained to his wife.

“Besides, I wasn’t idle either. If he dared to babble one more word, I would have taught him a lesson.” Cao Shujie now lived with clarity; he truly wasn’t afraid of trouble.

Relying on the speed of the police to solve a case, heh!

“Let’s go then. No need to stay here and bring bad luck,” Cao Zhen said.

Cao Shujie and the others didn’t refuse. Cheng Xiaolin picked up the drinks and mineral water. The four people, three adults and one child, walked together towards where the car was parked. After getting into the car, they left directly.

And the people watching at the entrance of Tiantian Supermarket were all dumbfounded by this scene. Each of them thought to themselves, “Who were those people just now?”

And seriously, the woman who appeared last was truly formidable!

The evening’s drinking session was unavoidable. No matter how much he drank, Cao Shujie wouldn’t drive.

So they first went to find a hotel and checked in. Seeing that it was still early, they first found a restaurant nearby and had a simple lunch.

Mengmeng was probably really tired. After finishing lunch, she started swaying her head. Later on, even watching cartoons didn’t work for her. Her little head swayed in circles, and then she fell asleep in her mother’s arms.

Seeing this, Cao Zhen said to Cao Shujie: “Shujie, why don’t you go back to the hotel and rest for a bit? I’ll call you tonight when everyone is off work.”

“Alright. You go ahead and get busy. I’ll take them back,” Cao Shujie said.

He took his wife and child back to the hotel.

Cao Zhen said he would go back to the factory first, but based on Cao Shujie’s understanding of him, this fellow wasn’t honest. But so what?

Back in the hotel, Cheng Xiaolin placed her sleeping daughter on the bed. She gently patted her a few times. Mengmeng was sleeping soundly.

Cheng Xiaolin pulled the quilt over her to cover her. Only then did she rub her own arms, and said with a frown: “My arms are really sore, and my shoulders hurt too.”

“Wife, come here and sit down. I’ll give you a massage,” Cao Shujie said casually.

Cheng Xiaolin mumbled: “My elbows and shoulders are sore. Use a bit more strength.”

At first, Cao Shujie was seriously massaging his wife’s arms and pressing her shoulders. But later, as he massaged, things changed.

How did the hand that was clearly massaging his wife’s arm suddenly get involved in a different kind of game?

“What are you doing!” Cheng Xiaolin gave him a side-eye and said: “Mengmeng is still sleeping.”

“Wife, why don’t we take advantage of the convenience here at the hotel and take a bath? I’ll scrub your back for you,” Cao Shujie suggested.

“Go away!” Cheng Xiaolin gave him a soft, alluring look. This captivating look completely swept Cao Shujie off his feet.

Even though Mengmeng was still sleeping, Cao Shujie didn’t stay idle: “Wife, let’s go. It’s still inconvenient to bathe at home. It’ll be fine once the new house is built.”

Not long after, shouts came from the bathroom. It sounded like someone was calling Cao Shujie’s name: “Cao…”

The word after that, it was unclear whether it was ‘Shu’ or ‘Wo’; it was hard to define the matter.

…

Cao Zhen called Cao Shujie even before 5 PM, telling him that the restaurant was booked, and also gave him the address.

It wasn’t some luxurious star-rated hotel, but it was definitely a very distinctive restaurant.

Besides whole lamb, the restaurant also had pigeons, dog meat, and other things not commonly eaten.

Besides Cao Zhen, Cao Shuyang, Cao Shulun, Cao Fei, and Cao Tiemin all came. These were all from Cao Family Village, though Cao Tiemin joined this small group later.

Some of them worked as toll collectors on the highway, some worked in chemical factories, some were planners in supermarkets, and some did their own renovation work. They were diverse, reflecting all walks of life.

Before Cao Shujie and his family of three arrived, they had already heard from Cao Zhen that Cao Shujie would no longer return to Beijing, and would just stay in his hometown. No one pressed him on why he came back, or if he hadn’t done well enough in Beijing. Everyone kept patting their chests, telling Cao Shujie that if he had any problems in his hometown that he couldn’t solve, he should just call them.

Although they might not necessarily be able to solve it, they firmly believed in one principle: if one person couldn’t do it, call two; if two people still couldn’t do it, call ten; with more people, they’d be awesome!

Cheng Xiaolin held Mengmeng and ate on the side, watching her husband and a few childhood friends casually brag and talk about their childhood. Only then did she truly begin to understand why her husband insisted on gathering with these childhood friends.

Perhaps it wasn’t simply because he came back to develop his career, and meeting now would make it easier to ask for their help later.

Maybe he just genuinely wanted to have a drink with them, chat, and brag!

That’s all!

Sometimes this complicated society makes relationships even more complicated.

(End of this chapter)