77 Like a Pig

“Yes, your mother is right. Why are you up so early? Sleep more. At your age, you should sleep more. You can only grow taller if you sleep more, understand?” Zhou Yu agreed as he put on his coat. He even coaxed her to sleep, like a child.

Ever since Zhou Yu and Zhang Lan recovered, the two of them no longer allow Zhou Xiaoli to work as hard as before. They did everything themselves. Even if she woke up early, the two of them would force her to go back to sleep for a while.

Just like what’s happening now.

In the end, Zhou Xiaoli could only lie down again as she was unable to convince Zhang Lan. “Alright then. Mother, you must call me later. Otherwise, when Big Brother Zheng comes to our house later and I’m still sleeping. How embarrassing would that be?”

Zhang Lan smiled and said dotingly, “Alright, alright. Rest assured and sleep.”

With that, the two of them got out of bed.

After autumn, the weather got colder by the day. When the two of them opened the door, a cool breeze entered the house.

After closing the door softly, the two of them washed up briefly and got busy.

After Zhou Yu filled the water vat, he took the broom and began to clean the courtyard.

Zhang Lan went to the kitchen first and started the fire. After putting on the pot to boil water, she sat at the door and began to do needlework.

She had been busy making sugar in the day and could not see clearly at night.

In order to make their winter clothes quickly, Zhang Lan woke up at dawn every day and started to sew under the weak sunlight.

Listening to the sound of sweeping outside the window, Zhou Xiaoli felt an inexplicable sense of relief.

Zhou Xiaoli had spent most of last night in the Old Zhou family’s courtyard to amend the formation, so she did not sleep well. As a result, she fell asleep listening to the sound of sweeping.

She slept very soundly and even had a beautiful dream.

In the end, it was Zhou Xiaoyu and Zhou Junjun’s conversation that woke her up.

“Are you wrong?”

“I’m not wrong. You’re wrong.”

“You’re wrong. I’m not wrong.”

“I didn’t do anything wrong. You were wrong!”

“I’m not wrong either. You’re the one who’s wrong!”

“It’s your fault, it’s your fault, it’s your fault.”

…

When she opened her eyes, she heard the two little ones arguing back and forth.

“What are you arguing about?” Zhou Xiaoli rubbed her eyes and sat up.

She was sure that if she did not say anything, the two little guys would argue for the entire morning.

The two little ones were arguing fiercely when they heard Zhou Xiaoli’s voice. They immediately stopped arguing.

Zhou Xiaoyu said angrily, “Zhou Junjun, look, you woke Sis up!”

Zhou Xiaoyu called him by his name and stopped calling him as her brother. It seemed like she was really angry this time.

“Aiyo, what’s wrong?”

Hearing Zhou Xiaoli’s question,

Zhou Xiaoyu instantly felt wronged. She ran to Zhou Xiaoli and complained, “Sis, Zhou Junjun is a big baddie. He scolded me!”

Zhou Xiaoli looked at Zhou Junjun and asked, “What’s wrong? Brother Jun, did you bully your sister?”

Zhou Junjun immediately said, “No, I didn’t bully her.”

“Yes, you did.” Zhou Xiaoyu puffed up her cheeks angrily. “You said that when I eat, I’m like Liu Fengfeng’s Flowey’s Small Flowey. I’m not.”

Flowey was the pig reared by Liu Liangcai and his family. Because it had black patterns on its body, a few children named it Flowey.

“Oh? Brother Jun, did you say that?” Zhou Xiaoli did not directly blame anyone or comfort Zhou Xiaoli. Instead, she sought clarification about the situation from everyone.

Zhou Junjun also looked aggrieved. “Sis, I’m praising my younger sister. I praised her that she looked as cute as Small Flowey when she’s eating. I’m praising her.”

Zhou Junjun was rather excited as he spoke.

Zhou Xiaoli was speechless.

Hence, she said, “Brother Jun, no one would praise someone that he or she looks like a pig.”

Zhou Junjun was a little confused. “But Sis, in the poems you taught me, the writers used bamboo and lotus flowers to compare to people and to praise their character. I think Small Flowey is the cutest and used it to praise my sister. Why can’t I?”

Zhou Xiaoli was speechless. She could not refute this little guy.

Zhou Xiaoyu became angry again. “No, you’re just saying that I’m fat, like a little pig.”

Zhou Junjun: “I didn’t.”

“You did.”

“I didn’t.”

…

Zhou Xiaoli hurriedly put a stop to it. Otherwise, a new round of “You did, I didn’t,” would start again.

“Sis, was I wrong?” Zhou Junjun looked at Zhou Xiaoli with sparkling eyes.

Zhou Xiaoli paused for a moment. She spoke in a serious tone as she pulled the two of them to her bedside.

“Hm, it’s like this. The bamboo and lotus in the poems were used to describe people with integrity and purity. Therefore, there’s no problem in using them as examples to praise people.”

“However, not everyone agrees that the little piggy is cute. For example, our younger sister thinks that little piggy is fat.”

“If your sister doesn’t agree with your analogy, then it can’t be considered a compliment.”

After saying this, Zhou Xiaoli turned to Zhou Xiaoyu and said, “Your brother also did not have any ill intentions. It’s just that you two had different understanding of the same thing.”

“Different people have different understanding of the same matter, but his original intention is good.”

“You two are the closest siblings in the world. You can’t hurt your relationship just because of a misunderstanding.”

The two little fellows fell silent. They looked at each other awkwardly for a moment before nodding.

“Sis, we understand.”

“Alright, then let’s shake hands and make peace.” Zhou Xiaoli couldn’t help but smile and put their hands together.

“Alright, I’ll apologize first. I’m sorry, Sister.”

Zhou Junjun whispered.

“Alright, I’ll apologize too. I won’t be angry with you anymore. I’ll still play with you in the future.”

“Then, let’s feed the chickens and ducks together.”

“Okay, let’s do it together. I’ll feed the chickens and you’ll feed the ducks.”

The two little ones were young to begin with, and the world of children was simple. Arguments came quickly, and so did reconciliation.

Instantly, all the unhappiness dissipated. They held their small hands together and ran out in unison.

Zhou Xiaoli shook her head helplessly and got up to get off the bed.

At this moment, Zhang Lan walked in. “Ah, you’re awake. Get up then. I’ve already prepared breakfast.”

Zhou Xiaoli nodded. She quickly put on her clothes and went out to wash up.

By the time she was done washing up, Zhang Lan and the two little ones had already taken out the bowls and chopsticks.

At this moment, Wei Chiyu arrived. He was going to enter the city today and had made an appointment to go with Zhou Xiaoli.

Wei Chiyu rarely came to the Zhou family for breakfast. He usually only came at noon or night.

Seeing that Wei Chiyu had arrived, Zhang Lan went into the kitchen and took another pair of bowls and chopsticks for him. “Chiyu, eat more. You’ve lost weight recently.”

Wei Chiyu nodded and thanked her. “Thank you, Auntie.”

Everyone sat under the tree and began to eat breakfast together.

Zhou Xiaoyu noticed that Wei Chiyu’s right hand was swollen and couldn’t help but be shocked at it. “Ah, big brother, what happened to your hand?”

Wei Chiyu looked down. “Oh, I was bitten by an insect.”

“Aiya, then be careful. Go to the mountain and dig for some wormwood. The insects would be gone when you smoke out the house with it. My family does this and the effect is very good.”

At this point, Zhang Lan suddenly realized something and said in surprise, “Sigh, it just came to me. We haven’t smoked out the house in a long time. Hubby, let’s dig for some wormwood when we have time. We can give some to Chiyu then.”

Zhou Yu nodded. “Mm, sure.”

At this moment, Zhou Xiaoyu said happily, “We haven’t had insect bites in a long time.”