Reborn in the 80s: Everyone Falls For Me
Chapter 204 - 203: The Falling Flowers Feel, The Flowing Water Remains Unmoved (2 updates)

Chapter 204: Chapter 203: The Falling Flowers Feel, The Flowing Water Remains Unmoved (2 updates)

Xu Niannian didn’t mind, "Sure, it’ll liven up the house a bit, just can’t bring it into the shop."

"I see..." Hearing that he couldn’t bring the dog to the shop, Xu Zhiqiang felt a bit sad but didn’t say much.

He knew that his sister’s shop was for dining, and dogs couldn’t be brought inside.

Xu Zhiqiang remembered how Xu Niannian had mentioned she would stay at home for a few days when she came back recently.

Yet she had left yesterday and come back today, so he couldn’t help but ask her why she had suddenly returned early.

Concerning the family matters, Xu Niannian felt her brother also had the right to know.

So, she told him a bit about the situation at home.

Primarily, she wanted Xu Zhiqiang to know that, although Yang Cuihua favored her, she indeed treated Xu Duoyu and the rest better than herself.

The reason they were not always allowed to eat their fill in the past was due to the poor conditions of their home.

Apart from Xu Niannian, Yang Cuihua and Xu Dawei hardly ever had enough to eat themselves.

Sharing this might come off as insensitive, but Xu Niannian still wanted to try to change the image of Yang Cuihua in her brother’s heart.

Peace and happiness in the family were the most important things.

The favoritism of Yang Cuihua and Xu Dawei caused significant harm to the three brothers.

Xu Niannian was trying to change, and she would be good to them.

Another crucial point she wanted her three brothers to know was that in reality, Yang Cuihua didn’t hate them.

She was a typical case of "sharp tongue but a soft heart"; all her threats about throwing the kids to the dogs were just scary words.

Now that Xu Niannian could earn money, she had improved the living conditions at home.

Although Yang Cuihua didn’t allow Xu Duoyu and his brothers to have rice, she did let them have enough cornmeal.

Haven’t the two brothers gained a bit of weight?

Not allowing them to eat their fill before was actually because there wasn’t enough grain at home.

However, Xu Niannian couldn’t deny that Yang Cuihua was indeed partial to her.

She could only do her best to lessen the antipathy and resistance her brother felt towards Yang Cuihua.

After listening, Xu Zhiqiang wasn’t as dissatisfied as Xu Niannian had imagined.

"As long as we have enough to eat, it’s fine. We didn’t even have cornmeal before, and we couldn’t get full even on rice bran," Xu Zhiqiang said.

Xu Niannian: "..."

All that worry for nothing.

In fact, even without Xu Niannian saying it, Xu Zhiqiang could guess.

With his mother’s personality, she would definitely not be so generous as to use the rice.

Being used to her favoritism towards Xu Niannian wasn’t a matter of just a day or two for Xu Zhiqiang.

Truly, he never exactly hated Yang Cuihua—it was more a feeling of being wronged and resentful.

The only thing he really hated was Xu Niannian, who kept bullying them relentlessly.

But ever since his sister was injured once, she became completely different from before, treating the three brothers very well.

As a result, Xu Zhiqiang’s feeling of resentment also vanished long ago.

They say that for those who have lived too bitterly, a tiny bit of sweetness can be enough to warm the heart.

It was like that for Xu Zhiqiang and his brothers.

Because they were bullied from a young age and appeared stubborn and sensitive, they thought they would hate Xu Niannian for the rest of their lives.

In reality, what they felt more was just an unwillingness to accept why they were the ones unloved.

This unwillingness mostly stemmed from a longing for familial affection.

So, even though the original Xu Niannian bullied them so much, as long as she was a little nice to them, they were incredibly reliant on her.

They also wanted to keep what they thought was the best for Xu Niannian.

As for Yang Cuihua’s current favoritism towards Xu Niannian, Xu Zhiqiang was not only not resentful but also felt that he should be good to her.

"In the next few days, I will help Zhiqiang and Duoyu find a good school, and maybe soon I’ll have our parents and Duoyu move over here," Xu Niannian shared her plan with Xu Zhiqiang and asked for his opinion, "Do you think that’s okay?"

It’s not that Xu Niannian couldn’t decide, but she wanted to let Xu Zhiqiang know that he too was a part of the family, no matter what, he had the right to voice his opinion.

They were a family; decisions needed to be made together rather than her unilaterally calling the shots and deciding on her own.

Xu Zhiqiang fell silent for a while, and Xiaohei the dog barked "ao ao" loudly in his arms, struggling to run onto the ground and frolic.

After a good while, Xu Zhiqiang finally looked up and asked Xu Niannian, "Zhicheng is already nine years old. Can he start in preschool if he comes to school here?"

He knew that the regulations and requirements in the county town were certainly more than those in the village.

Hearing him ask about the crux of the matter all at once, Xu Niannian was stunned for a moment before she answered him.

"I have consulted with the nearby elementary school. Considering Zhicheng’s age, he should at least be in second grade. Yuexiang Primary School is quite good, and I plan to find a way to transfer him and Duoyu here, with Duoyu attending preschool, where keeping up with the learning pace is not an issue."

"As for Zhicheng, I’ll tutor him and help him catch up as quickly as possible. The teaching quality in the county is indeed much better than in the village. There’s only a primary school in the village; for middle school, one would have to go to the town. In the future, we will face the same issue. Our family’s shop is located in the county town; we can’t possibly let mom, dad, and Duoyu and Zhicheng stay in the countryside all the time."

Xu Niannian tried her best to analyze the current situation and future scenarios for Xu Zhiqiang.

Xu Zhiqiang stroked the dog’s fur and listened to Xu Niannian speaking earnestly; he couldn’t help but feel moved again.

"I’ll follow whatever you say, sister. You call the shots," Xu Zhiqiang said earnestly, his voice choked with emotion, even though he hadn’t intended to cry.

The young man’s face was taut, and his youthful features were gradually maturing, revealing a silhouette more like a man, and he didn’t look as green anymore.

This was the first time Xu Zhiqiang had been away from home for such a long time, and the first time he had been separated from his two brothers for so long. He actually missed them quite a bit.

He just never dared to say it.

After all, he watched Xu Niannian busy herself every day, knowing how hard she was working and didn’t want to add to her worries over these matters.

"What are you crying about, you silly boy?"

Seeing that his eyes were somewhat red, Xu Niannian said with a laugh while tousling his soft hair, her eyes filled with compassion.

Chen Xiaorou happened to bring three bowls of porridge out of the kitchen and, seeing Xu Niannian and Xu Zhiqiang talking, she blushed and did her best to minimize her presence.

When Xu Niannian noticed, she patted Xu Zhiqiang on the shoulder: "All right, let’s have porridge. Jin Yu cooked it."

"My brother-in-law is back?" Xu Zhiqiang was shocked when he heard this!

Xu Niannian grunted, "Don’t you know? Hasn’t he been to the store?"

Xu Zhiqiang shook his head honestly.

It wasn’t until after dinner, with Jin Yu still not back, that Xu Niannian took the opportunity to sit down with paper and pen and start teaching Xu Zhiqiang to recognize characters.

Chen Xiaorou also sat down next to them.

Xu Zhiqiang was very earnest, and for every character Xu Niannian taught him, he would try to write it down carefully.

He would read each character ten times, aiming to remember the shape and pronunciation before practicing more slowly.

Xu Niannian noticed that whenever Xu Zhiqiang was writing, Chen Xiaorou would thoughtfully smooth out the blank paper he was using for practice.

Not only that, there was a glass of water on the table for Xu Zhiqiang, and whenever he reached out for a drink, Chen Xiaorou had already attentively handed it to him.

Xu Niannian watched her brother, who was engrossed in writing, with interest.

Out of the entire family, Xu Zhiqiang was the only one who resembled her facial features. Since Xu Niannian was good-looking, Xu Zhiqiang was naturally not far off.

All of a sudden, Xu Niannian remembered Chen Xiaorou saying that she had attended junior high school.

Out of the blue, she asked, "Xiao Rou, I remember you saying you’ve been to junior high, right?"

Chen Xiaorou was startled, unsure why Xu Niannian would suddenly bring this up, but she answered honestly, "I finished the second year."

"Hmm," Xu Niannian nodded lightly, tapping her fingers on the tabletop.

"How about this. From now on, I’ll assign Zhiqiang’s learning tasks every evening, and you can teach him. You can ask me about anything you don’t know. Would you be willing to do that? Don’t worry, I’ll pay you accordingly," Xu Niannian proposed.

Xu Zhiqiang just looked up at Chen Xiaorou for a moment upon hearing this and then immediately returned to his writing.

Chen Xiaorou, dazed by the sudden happiness that hit her, hurriedly and eagerly said, "Ye—yes, that’s no problem. I’ll teach Zhiqiang well. No—no need for your payment."

"Why not? You deserve it. I can’t keep bothering you for nothing," Xu Niannian said, looking toward Xu Zhiqiang.

She found her brother completely unresponsive.

Well, another blockhead.

Chen Xiaorou’s smile was shy as she spoke, "If it weren’t for your kindness in taking me in, Niannian, where would I find a life as good as today’s. If anyone should talk about payment, I still don’t know how to thank you."

Having lived under the same roof for over twenty days, Xu Niannian might not understand all of Chen Xiaorou’s personality and mindset, but she could at least guess pretty well.

Gratitude was one thing, but this girl especially disliked taking advantage of others and had an optimistic approach to life.

To be honest, Xu Niannian quite liked her.

If Xu Zhiqiang were to be with her, she would be very supportive, it was just a pity that at the moment, it seemed to be a case of unrequited love.