The Beautiful Brother of the Orion’s Family (Wearing Book)- 17

 

| TBBOTOF | 17

Wei Dong stood in front of Tang Xu, seeing him dazedly looking at him, clearly exhausted. Without hesitation, he reached out and grabbed the edge of Tang Xu's backpack, lifting it up.

Tang Xu straightened up as the backpack was lifted, then felt his shoulders lighten as the backpack landed in Wei Dong's hands.

He breathed heavily, wiping the sweat from his face, and muttered a thank you.

Wei Dong grunted in response and started walking forward with Tang Xu's backpack.

Tang Xu hurried to catch up. Without the weight pressing down on him, he felt revived.

Seeing the village in the distance, Tang Xu breathed a sigh of relief.

Wei Dong handed the backpack back to him, saying, "I'm leaving."

"Ah, thank you so much," Tang Xu said, clutching the backpack in his hands. He took out the purchased sugar and offered it to Wei Dong. "Please, you must accept this."

Wei Dong shook his head. "No need. You treated me to the cakes." Then he walked away briskly.

He didn't head towards the village but followed the mountain path upwards.

Tang Xu stood in place, watching him disappear into the forest, suddenly realizing that he hadn't asked for the man's name!

He slapped his forehead in frustration, lamenting that the man was truly a good person, one who did good deeds without seeking recognition.

Putting the sugar back into his backpack, Tang Xu knew he had to hurry home.

The Tang family's house was in the middle of the village, so Tang Xu encountered many villagers returning from the fields on his way back. They looked surprised to see Tang Xu, with his dirty face and carrying a backpack.

"Xu Ge'er, did you go to town to buy things yourself?" a middle-aged woman approached, peering into his backpack and noticing the items wrapped in oil paper. "And you bought meat too?"

There was a butcher in the village, so villagers usually bought meat from there. Seeing Tang Xu bringing meat back from town surprised the woman.

Tang Xu smiled and nodded. "It's busy on the farm lately. My dad and mom are working hard in the fields, so I wanted to get them some meat to replenish their energy."

The woman was even more surprised and praised, "Xu Ge'er, you're so filial. Hurry home now, your parents are back."

Tang Xu nodded, bid farewell to the woman, and continued walking home with his backpack.

Who was that woman? He didn't even know her surname.

At the Tang house, as soon as Liu Xiangxiang entered the courtyard, she called out, "Xu Ge'er, come out! Lazybones, are you hiding in the house sleeping again?"

Tang Li heard the commotion and came out of the kitchen, saying, "Mother, Brother hasn't come back yet."

"Not back yet?" Liu Xiangxiang widened her eyes, hands on her hips, scolding, "He took so much money with him. Did he run off with some wild man? I knew he was an ungrateful wolf!"

"Mother," Tang Xu stood behind Liu Xiangxiang, his voice gentle, "who's the ungrateful wolf you're talking about?"

"Ah Ge! You're finally back!" Tang Yang heard Tang Xu's voice and rushed out of the house. "Ah Ge, if you didn't come back, I would've starved!"

Tang Xu placed the backpack aside and ruffled Tang Yang's hair with a smile.

Not bad. It seemed the delicious food these past few days hadn't been in vain; this little rascal had grown closer to him.

Tang Li also looked pleased. Seeing Tang Xu's clothes soaked and his face dirty, she said, "Ah Ge, I've heated some water. Go wash up first."

Tang Xu nodded in thanks and glanced at Liu Xiangxiang, who was glaring at him. Before she could start scolding, he handed her a small money pouch. "Mother, here."

"What's this?" Liu Xiangxiang raised her hand in confusion, feeling the weight of the money pouch in her palm.

Tang Xu carried the backpack and walked towards the courtyard as he explained, "I sold the dried mushrooms in town today for five hundred wen, bought meat and sugar. The rest is all inside."

Liu Xiangxiang stood there in a daze, holding the money pouch, showing no reaction as if she hadn't heard him speak.

Seeing her reaction, Tang Xu quickly walked to his room. "Li mei, please bring me a basin of hot water."

Tang Li acknowledged with an "oh" and went back to the kitchen to fetch water.

Tang Xu placed the backpack on the ground and took out the five hairbands, placing them on the bed. Then, he carefully hid the silver coins under the blanket.

Tang Li brought the basin in and immediately saw the five hairbands placed on the bed. Her eyes widened with excitement, and she couldn't help but think, "They're so pretty, I want one too!"

Setting the wooden basin on the table, her gaze kept drifting towards the bed. Finally, feeling embarrassed, she asked, "Ah Ge, can I have one of these hairbands? Just one, please, I beg you."

Tang Xu directly grabbed the five hairbands and handed them over. "These were originally for you. You played a part in selling those dried mushrooms, so I didn't know what else to give you. When I saw these hairbands, I thought they were pretty and bought them," he reached into his pocket, took out three copper coins, and pressed them into her hand, speaking in a low tone with a serious attitude, "Hide these copper coins and don't let Mother know."

Tang Li's eyes widened in disbelief. Not only did Ah Ge buy her five beautiful hairbands, but he also gave her three copper coins!

These were copper coins! They were tightly clutched by her mother, and no one dared to touch them!

She knew that three copper coins could buy a block of tofu or a candied hawthorn stick, but she had never owned her own copper coins before!

The coins in her hand still carried Tang Xu's warmth, and Tang Li's heart was in turmoil.

She felt like her Ah Ge had changed a lot since he recovered from his illness. He had never been like this before. He used to be afraid to even go out and rarely spoke to people. Whenever Mother scolded or hit him, he never talked back. But now, everything had changed.

Ah Ge suddenly started cooking delicious meals, began arguing with Mother, and became very talkative and smiley.

Tang Li glanced at the copper coins in her hand again, shook her head, and handed them back to Tang Xu. "Ah Ge, I can't take them. You keep them."

"If I give them to you, just take them. Don't let others know, keep them for yourself. If you see something you like, you can buy it," Tang Xu looked at Tang Li, realizing that she wasn't as selfish as the book depicted. Although she had some flaws in her personality, they were not irreparable. "This is your reward for helping out. I hope you don't think it's too little."

Tang Li's eyes became slightly teary, and she nodded vigorously, biting her lip.

Tang Li quickly closed her palm to conceal what she held, but it was too late. Liu Xiangxiang had already noticed the hairbands in her hand and erupted, "You bought hairbands too?! How dare you waste money like this! You little..."

"Mother," Tang Xu interrupted her scolding, his expression cold as he stared at her, "The dried mushrooms were picked by Ah Li and Ah Yang in the mountains. I sorted and dried them. I sold them in town for five hundred copper coins. The meat and sugar I bought are for the whole family to share. Buying the hairbands is to thank Ah Li for her hard work. Not only will I buy her hairbands, but I'll also make sugar paintings tomorrow as a reward for Ah Yang. If Mother thinks I did wrong, then return the money pouch to me, and you can refrain from eating the meat and sugar."

Liu Xiangxiang gasped, clutching the money pouch tightly. "You're dreaming! This is my money!"

"Mother, that's the money I gave you," Tang Xu calmly soaked his cloth towel in the basin, wrung it dry, and wiped his face methodically, "Today, I can give you copper coins, or someday I can earn silver. But if you keep yelling and arguing like this every time, then in the future, I won't give you any money even if I earn it."

"How dare you! You ungrateful wretch, you're asking for trouble! I've raised you for so many years, and this is how you repay me! Are you trying to kill me with anger? You're unfilial!" Liu Xiangxiang screamed at the top of her lungs.

Tang Xu glanced at Tang Li and instructed, "Take the basket to the kitchen, take out the items, wash the meat, and don't discard the large bones. I bought them to make soup for our health."

Tang Li glanced at her mother, feeling a bit scared, but she obediently nodded and quickly left the room with the basket.

Liu Xiangxiang was furious, her face flushed with anger.

Tang Xu wiped his neck with the cloth, "How am I unfilial? If you think so, then go to the yamen and report me. Let the county magistrate judge whether I'm an unfilial son or you're an unkind mother."

After his remark, Tang Xu smirked at Liu Xiangxiang, but to her, the smile seemed sinister.

As if startled, she took a sudden step back, pointing at him nervously, "You... you're not Xu Ge'er, you're a demon! You're a man-eating demon!"

Tang Xu resisted the urge to roll his eyes and replied dismissively, "Yes, yes, I'm a demon. I'm here to eat you, the demon. When I'm not happy, I'll eat you while you're asleep!"

Liu Xiangxiang was so frightened that her body trembled, and she stumbled back, then turned and ran.

Tang Xu snorted lightly, "Those with a guilty conscience fear ghosts knocking at their door. Mother, take your time running!"

Liu Xiangxiang nearly tripped over her own feet but was luckily caught by Tang Erhu as he entered the courtyard.

"Why are you running? Did Xu Ge'er come back?" Tang Erhu had just returned from outside the house and was a bit delayed compared to Liu Xiangxiang.

Tang Xu heard his father's voice and shouted from inside the house, "Dad, I'm back! Let me clean up first before we talk!"

Upon hearing Xu Ge'er's voice, Tang Erhu couldn't help but smile involuntarily. "Alright, take your time, No need to rush," he replied.

Liu Xiangxiang stood pale next to them, clutching the money pouch tightly. Her heart pounded wildly, and her breathing quickened significantly.

However, she quickly composed herself. When Tang Erhu glanced at the money pouch in her hand, she instinctively pressed it against her chest. She forced a strained smile and said, "Xu Ge'er gave it to me."

Tang Erhu nodded in understanding, not probing further.

Liu Xiangxiang usually managed the household finances, and Tang Erhu had a rough idea of the family's financial situation. He knew that most of the money was spent on Tang Rui's education. Therefore, when he saw the money pouch in Liu Xiangxiang's hand, he assumed it was the leftover money from buying alcohol.

Liu Xiangxiang went back inside and emptied the money pouch, counting the coins meticulously three times. Then, she covered her chest with her hands, her face contorted with rage.

Three hundred and forty-eight wen!

Only three hundred and forty-eight wen left!

That wastrel!

He actually spent one hundred and fifty-two wen!

Liu Xiangxiang's heart ached, making it difficult for her to breathe.

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