Carrying a Jurassic on me
Chapter 1361 - 662: The Reason for Starting Work_3

Chapter 1361: Chapter 662: The Reason for Starting Work_3

So, for half the day the two didn’t do anything but chat via their keyboards across a wall.

They kept chatting until they heard someone arguing, and then they reluctantly stopped. When they saw each other afterwards, Xu Xiaoyan’s face suddenly flushed with shyness: while facing the computer, she had been bolder than usual, forgetting they were just next door. Now that they were face-to-face, she was incredibly shy.

Yan Fei, on the other hand, was thick-skinned. Thanks to their conversation earlier, he was very pleased with the instant messaging software. He grinned at her before descending the stairs and shouting upward, "Aunt Yu Mei, what’s going on?"

Then, Lin Yumei came out, pulling Fang Xiaoqing along, and said angrily, "Look at this girl! She cut her hair without saying a word. Traditionally we don’t cut hair before the Chinese New Year is over!"

Fang Xiaoqing argued mightily, "What’s the problem? School starts tomorrow. High school studies are intense, and long hair is hard to manage. Cutting it shorter makes studying easier, doesn’t it?"

Lin Yumei was furious, "You know very well that’s not the reason. Your uncle just visited this morning, and as soon as he left, you sneaked off to cut your hair..."

Seeing Fang Xiaoqing with her ponytail now turned into a messy bob, Yan Fei almost burst out laughing. The blind man and a few others also chuckled.

Xu Xiaoyan didn’t quite understand, "Xiao Fei, what does cutting hair before the end of the Chinese New Year have to do with her uncle?"

Yan Fei laughed and explained, "Haven’t you heard, ’Don’t cut your hair during New Year, or your uncle will die’?"

Xu Xiaoyan genuinely hadn’t heard of this. Firstly, she had always been in school and didn’t know much about some customs. Secondly, all three siblings in her family were girls, who rarely visited the barber, not even once in several years—it was perfectly normal for her to be unaware.

Generally, people are concerned about their nephews or nieces, and I really don’t know if they bother about this custom.

Fang Xiaoqing, headstrong as ever, had never looked kindly upon her uncle during his New Year visits, and today, as work resumed, he came again, probably hoping to cling to some connections to extend his work days. In the village, not everyone could work all the time; they took turns. Naturally, those with closer relationships got to work more days, and nobody in the community would complain. On the contrary, treating everyone equally might stir some grumbles.

Old beliefs were slowly fading away. Everyone knew that even cutting hair during New Year wouldn’t really kill an uncle—but many still believed it could bring bad luck to the uncle.

And with the girl’s actions clearly targeted, no wonder Lin Yumei was so upset.

These family matters aren’t easy for outsiders to comment on. Lin Baoguo hadn’t left yet, and Xiang Rui didn’t come today. It was left to Heizi’s wife and Ma Chao’s wife to try and calm things down. Yan Fei, feeling awkward to speak, summoned his courage and eventually said, "She’s going back to school soon, Aunt Yu Mei, don’t be mad. Let her hurry off to school with Han Qing!"

Turning around, he saw Old Gao looking a bit clueless and couldn’t help saying, "Old Gao, why don’t you go up and mediate instead of standing here? Right, they’re going to school soon, if you’re free, why not see them off?"

Old Gao and Lin Yumei were just shy of a marriage ceremony, with Lin Xiumei acting as the matchmaker. Fang Xiaoqing, rare as it was, had no objections either, which pleased everyone—knowing that kids from single-parent families often disliked having a step-parent.

It used to be a running joke among them that Old Gao, having been to the police station once, not only secured his wife but gained a good stepdaughter for free. This joke arose because after Old Gao had been to the police station for beating up some thugs on her behalf, Fang Xiaoqing’s attitude towards him changed significantly.

When she first lost her father, the days for her and her mother were tough. Now, having someone, though not particularly adept at sweet talk but capable of shouldering their burdens, meant a lot to them.

As for the rumors of Old Gao being a murderer, that wasn’t a big deal either. After living together so long, everyone knew what kind of person he was.

Seeing the soon-to-be family of three entering the house, everyone dispersed with a smile. Xu Xiaoyan then asked, "When do you think Old Gao and Aunt Yu Mei will host the guests? The sooner it’s done, the better. With Old Gao around, Aunt Yu Mei won’t have to deal with frequent trouble from her mother’s family."

The deeply ingrained local belief of favoring males over females isn’t easy to change. In the case of Lin Yumei and her daughter, though they were doing relatively well, they were still somewhat disdained by some for not having a man in the house.

If Old Gao and Lin Yumei held a ceremony, then Fang Xiaoqing’s uncle would have to be less casual when he came calling, adopting the proper decorum required for asking favors—probably even wary, given Old Gao’s reputation.

But at this moment, there wasn’t anyone to rush Old Gao and the others into holding the ceremony. Yan Fei thought for a while and said, "Let’s wait for aunt to come work here and mention it. They probably won’t go big anyway, maybe just a small celebration at the site to show they mean it."

Lin Yumei was contemplating a second marriage, already with a child in tow. Old Gao didn’t exactly have a commendable reputation, and neither was young. The likelihood of them holding a grand wedding was really small.

Xu Xiaoyan pondered for a moment and nodded, about to say more when Yan Fei pulled her into the office, "How about we chat more?"

The girl, remembering the bold statements she just made, blushed, "Psh, can’t we chat now? If you have something to say, just say it quickly."

Yan Fei was unabashed, "Nothing much, just wanted a kiss! You said it was okay just now, time to keep your word!"

"Get lost!" The girl was even more embarrassed. "You can’t do proper work even during the day, can you? You weren’t here this morning, and so many people were looking for you. Now you’re back and hiding in the room, people will think we are up to something!"

"What we do is none of their business," Yan Fei rolled his eyes.

Unfortunately, he couldn’t out-talk her and had to turn to make a round at the construction site...

On the site, everyone greeted Boss Yan enthusiastically. Starting work early allowed everyone to make money, and they all thought highly of Boss Yan—unaware the real reason he had pushed for an early start was simply his eagerness to get his father-in-law on-site.

This just goes to show, those ancient emperors who lost their empires over beautiful women were somewhat understandable. After all, Boss Yan had got half the village to pick up their tools and head to the site early, all just to see his wife sooner...