Chapter 12: Chapter 12: Disdain

At this moment, apart from the fourth brother Qi Quanjin and the fifth brother Qi Quanyin, who had gone out to chop firewood, everyone else was home and knew that the old lady had taken Qi Manman into the main room.

Upon hearing the old lady shout like that, everyone was quite frightened.

Soon, everyone came running into the house.

Seeing Qi Manman, who looked like a porcelain doll, sitting on the kang intact and showing no signs of injury, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

Qi Zheng also, after confirming that his precious granddaughter was okay, glared at Mrs. Qi with a stern face: “You old woman, what are you shouting about? Isn’t the granddaughter fine?”

“Fine my foot!”

Mrs. Qi instinctively retorted but realized something was off after she said it, quickly correcting herself, “It’s not Manbao who’s in trouble, it’s, it’s…”

Saying this, Mrs. Qi glanced at the others in the room.

Qi Zheng instantly realized that the little girl might have said something shocking again and wanted to clear the room, but Qi Dafu had already spoken first: “What on earth happened?”

“Yes, mom, don’t be afraid, the whole family is here!”

Qi Ercai chimed in supportively.

Qi Sangui repeatedly nodded on the side, expressing his agreement through actions.

Qi Zheng sighed and gave up struggling, “Old woman, just say what needs to be said!”

Mrs. Qi shot her husband a reproachful glance but didn’t refute, instead softly repeating what Qi Manman had just said.

“On the road? What road?”

Qi Dafu still couldn’t quite catch on.

But Qi Ercai’s mind turned quickly, immediately saying, “The situation Manbao described is just like fleeing from famine, isn’t it?”

Although he had never experienced famine himself, the village had once sheltered poor refugees fleeing famine.

Listening to those fleeing famine people, the situation on the road was like that.

People got so thin like sticks; they were so hungry they wouldn’t just eat dirt, they’d eat people too.

Qi Sangui murmured, “But with such a good harvest, why would we flee from famine?”

Though Qi Sangui didn’t speak much usually and had a low presence at home, his words at this moment immediately resonated with the whole family.

Yeah, the harvest is great, the crops are all harvested, and every household has enough to eat, so why flee from famine?

Qi Zheng knocked his pipe a couple of times and frowned, telling Qi Ercai, “Old two, when you go to town tomorrow, try to find out if there’s any news or something that our village folks aren’t aware of.”

“Okay, Dad, I’ll find out tomorrow.”

Even though Qi Ercai felt that fleeing famine was impossible, he also knew his father’s temperament.

Since Dad said this, there might indeed be a problem.

“Alright, alright, everyone get busy!”

Mrs. Qi shooed them away.

Seeing these sons and grandsons just made her exasperated.

Sigh, at least she has a granddaughter now; otherwise, she might really be angered to death by these brats!

Everyone bustled out again.

Yi Meng walked at the end, with something on her mind but ultimately said nothing.

With her daughter being pampered by the grandmother, she didn’t need to worry at all; they treated her like a treasure.

In the evening, after dumping out the foot bath water for the couple, Qi Quanjin returned.

As soon as he sat down, Yi Meng quietly said, “Brother Jin, today Manbao suddenly mentioned fleeing from famine.”

“What’s that about fleeing from famine?”

Qi Quanjin and Qi Quanyin had just returned home at dusk, before dinner.

No one mentioned anything about the day’s events at the dinner table, so he still wasn’t aware.

Yi Meng retold the day’s events.

At first, Qi Quanjin didn’t take it seriously, but after hearing his wife describe the firewood stick and dirt-eating comments from their daughter, his expression became subtle.

Having been married for so many years, Yi Meng naturally knew her man’s habits. Even with the slightest change in expression, she could sense something was off.

“Brother Jin, do you know something?”

Yi Meng had a hunch that her husband certainly knew something she didn’t.

Qi Quanjin didn’t plan on hiding anything from his wife, so he simply mentioned the ants moving house and said, “When the clouds came up today, it really startled me. Wife, remember that day, it looked like it was about to rain, but then it was sunny again.”

“Wife, you don’t suppose our daughter really fell from the sky, do you? This fleeing from famine thing…”

Qi Quanjin had also heard some stories about fleeing famine, so his heart was pounding at the moment.

Yi Meng’s face turned pale at this moment: “Do you think it’s true? Did our daughter really say that?”

“Indeed! Both Dad and Mom were there at the time!”

“Ah!”

Yi Meng let out a soft exclamation.

The soft bundle next to her moved, and Yi Meng hastily shut her mouth, softly patting the small bundle until it started to snore lightly again.

Yi Meng nudged Qi Quanjin with her foot, almost whispering, “Brother Jin, do you remember the fish I cooked that day?”

“It was really you who cooked the fish that day?”

Qi Quanjin couldn’t help but complain: “Why didn’t it taste like your usual cooking at all? It was flavorless, I thought Mom made it!”

“It wasn’t Mom; it was me. I used the same ingredients as always, and I even tasted the soup before serving, it was clearly delicious, but by the time we ate, it tasted different.”

Yi Meng tried hard to suppress her inner tension, “I thought it was because I was too nervous about taking Manbao to see the doctor, so I couldn’t taste it. But now it seems like maybe the fish really lost its flavor.”

“Ah? No, can’t be!”

Qi Quanjin also didn’t know which aspect his “can’t be” referred to.

Yi Meng ignored his comment and continued speaking to herself: “After the fish was cooked, it was sent to Dad and Mom’s room, then nobody else was there, just Manbao. Later, Manbao woke up and even ate the fish. Do you think the fish’s flavor could have been absorbed by Manbao…”

“Ptooey, ptooey, stop saying that!”

Qi Quanjin hurriedly stopped his wife’s words, “No matter if Manbao came from the sky or was thrown by someone, she’s still our daughter now, and you must not despise her!”

“What are you thinking!”

Yi Meng got so annoyed she pinched a bit of the flesh on her husband’s waist: “Manbao is the apple of my eye, I couldn’t despise her even if I wanted to despise you!”

“You despise me?”

Qi Quanjin got anxious hearing that: “Wife, seems like it’s been too long since I showed you how awesome your husband is!”

“Oh stop it, I’m talking about something serious here!”

Yi Meng, seeing the man starting to mess around, tried to push him away in irritation.

Yi Meng was ticklish, and the man just had to tickle her.

Tickled, Yi Meng repeatedly begged for mercy: “I was wrong, I was wrong, Brother Jin, I don’t despise you, I wouldn’t despise you for anyone, please stop tickling me.”

What started as a serious matter was completely ruined by Qi Quanjin.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep