Seeing Liu Zonghe looking at him in surprise, Liu Nanfeng asked, "Did I say something wrong?"
"Why are you asking him?" Liu Zonghe asked, regaining his senses.
"Just asking. You still haven't told me if you know him."
"No," Liu Zonghe replied.
Then he lowered his head and continued to process the fish in his hands.
Liu Nanfeng walked forward, circled Liu Zonghe a couple of times, and examined him closely.
"You brat, what are you doing? Get lost and don't interfere with my work," Liu Zonghe said indignantly, holding up the scissors in his hand.
It was as if he was saying, if you don't leave, I'll cut you.
Liu Nanfeng took a few steps back and looked at his house again.
As his gaze fell upon Zhan Zhongxiao next to him, seeing him looking at him, he walked over and said, "How is it? Are you getting used to it?"
"It's quite good," Zhan Zhongxiao replied.
He was beginning to suspect that Liu Nanfeng already knew his identity. He knew what Su Jinxiu had said yesterday, and that he had met with the water ghost last night.
He had overheard Liu Nanfeng's conversation with A Cai because Su Jinxiu was guarding nearby, so he hadn't revealed himself.
However, from Liu Nanfeng's conversation with A Cai, he could tell that Liu Nanfeng was not repulsed or discriminatory towards "outsiders."
The reason for this concern was not that he was being overly cautious, but rather that humans were full of discrimination among their own kind, let alone towards outsiders. Since ancient times, there had been a tradition of discriminating against "outsiders." Even with the current cultural openness, discrimination still existed.
"My mother called Wenhui's mother last night. From what her mother said, she's quite satisfied with you."
When Liu Nanfeng said this, Zhan Zhongxiao, who was about to speak, immediately became shy and forgot what he wanted to say.
"But you're quite something, graduating from the Mathematics Department of Rongcheng University of Technology and majoring in Computer Science for your postgraduate studies. No wonder you can do freelance work online to support yourself."
However, Zhan Zhongxiao had been good at math since childhood, and his other subjects were average. It was quite surprising to Liu Nanfeng that he could get into Rongcheng University of Technology.
"I've won many awards in mathematics competitions, so I didn't participate in the college entrance examination. I was admitted through recommendation."
Liu Nanfeng: ...
"Wenhui has always studied well, otherwise she wouldn't have gotten into the Biology Department of Xiamen University. If you two were together, you'd be a perfect match."
Among the three of them, Liu Nanfeng's academic performance was actually mediocre. He didn't have any particular strengths. He was able to get into Jiangnan University entirely because he studied intensely for the last year of high school.
However, Liu Nanfeng considered himself luckier than the other two because it was through Jiangnan University that he met Su Jinxiu.
Hearing Liu Nanfeng say this, Zhan Zhongxiao seemed very happy. He habitually patted his stomach, causing a ripple of flesh.
Liu Nanfeng couldn't help but reach out and pat his belly, which was soft and very comfortable.
"My mother said you're a distinguished-looking person, strong as an ox, and honest and kind... Haha..."
Liu Nanfeng couldn't help but laugh when he thought of Yu Huilan's praise for Zhan Zhongxiao over the phone yesterday. It seemed Yu Huilan had a knack for matchmaking.
When Liu Nanfeng said this, Zhan Zhongxiao realized that this wasn't being strong, it was being fat. No matter how good the words were on the phone, the truth would be revealed as soon as they met.
He looked down at his own chubby belly, his face filled with gloom.
"Why don't you try to lose some weight?" Liu Nanfeng suggested.
He was doing it on purpose, after all, pandas weren't fat for nothing.
When Liu Nanfeng said this, Zhan Zhongxiao immediately lowered his head, touched his belly, and sighed dejectedly.
Liu Nanfeng secretly chuckled to himself. He realized that Zhan Zhongxiao was still the same as when he was a child, his emotions easily swayed by what others said.
Liu Nanfeng ignored the fat man who was lamenting his fate there.
Instead, he looked at his father, Liu Zonghe.
He had already cleaned the fish offal and was washing it with well water.
"Awang," Liu Nanfeng suddenly called out.
Liu Zonghe, who was busy, immediately froze, then turned his head and glared at Liu Nanfeng.
"What are you calling me, you brat?"
"Awang?"
In A Cai's memory recall, Liu Nanfeng saw that Awang looked vaguely familiar.
When A Cai went to Awang's house to find him, it was vaguely in the location of their old house, but there were added neighbors on the left and right. However, decades had passed, and there were bound to be changes.
And when he saw Liu Zonghe, Liu Nanfeng finally understood why Awang's appearance seemed familiar. It was because Awang was his father, Liu Zonghe.
"I'm your father. Are you allowed to call me by my childhood nickname?"
Liu Zonghe was not as agitated as Liu Nanfeng had expected, he just said softly.
Then, he asked curiously, "How did you know?"
"Grandpa told me before," Liu Nanfeng casually lied.
Liu Zonghe seemed to realize something and then asked, "Then why are you asking about this now?"
"I was just curious. Aren't you called Awang? Why haven't I heard anyone in the village call you that? And your given name doesn't have the character 'Wang' either."
Actually, childhood nicknames and given names being completely different was not unheard of, but as far as Liu Nanfeng knew, it was quite rare in the Liu Jiaqiao area. Most of the time, it was just an abbreviation of the given name.
"My original name was Liu Wangwang..."
It turned out that Liu Zonghe's original name was Liu Wangwang, and his current name was changed by Liu Nanfeng's second grandfather later.
That is to say, in A Cai's memory recall, Awang's second uncle, who worked in the city and often brought him delicious food.
From Liu Zonghe's words, Liu Nanfeng roughly understood what had happened after A Cai drowned.
Awang was taken to the city by his second uncle to study. Because his second uncle felt the name Wangwang was too unpleasant, he changed it to his current name.
From then on, Awang stayed in the city.
Awang's second uncle's health had always been poor, so he never got married and passed away from illness before he was forty.
Awang took over his second uncle's position and stayed to work in the factory where his second uncle had worked.
And so it went for many years.
Although they often met by the river, A Cai could no longer recognize Awang from back then, and Awang could not see A Cai from back then.
Moreover, sometimes when Awang came to fish, A Cai would cause trouble for him, making him return empty-handed.
But Awang enjoyed it immensely, often coming to the riverbank and sitting there for a whole day.
After Liu Nanfeng understood the whole story, he didn't know how to tell Liu Zonghe, because he didn't want Liu Zonghe and his wife to be exposed to these things too early. He even thought it would be fine if they just lived a simple life.
Just then, Su Jinxiu, who had finished washing the dishes, walked over and whispered in his ear, "You can tell him in a dream."
Liu Nanfeng's heart rejoiced. That's right, he had the ability to enter dreams. Telling them in a dream would be the best, and he could even let them meet in a dream.
It seemed his "skills" were not yet proficient.
"Wife, you're so smart."
Liu Nanfeng couldn't help but praise her with a finger.
"Of course, whose wife do you think I am?" Su Jinxiu showed a bit of pride appropriately.
This was also what Liu Nanfeng loved most about her, always so considerate.
As they were talking, Yu Huilan returned from outside.
"Oh, Mom, why are you back so soon?" Liu Nanfeng asked in surprise and went to meet her.
She had gone to deliver fish, but according to her usual habits, if she encountered any distant relatives, a few casual chats would take up the entire morning. How could she be back so quickly today?
"Your fourth aunt gave me a bowl of her homemade steamed pork. It's hot, and I was afraid it would spoil, so I came back early."
That made sense. That was reasonable.
Liu Nanfeng glanced into the bucket she had carried out that morning. Good heavens, it was a bucket full of harvest.
Besides the steamed pork she mentioned, it was all vegetables.
"Mom, that's a lot of stuff. Let me carry it," Su Jinxiu said from the side.
"How can I let you carry it?" Yu Huilan sidestepped Su Jinxiu's outstretched hand.
Then she directly handed the bucket to Liu Nanfeng.
"No common sense at all, why don't you help me carry it? You complain about me, but don't annoy me either! If you had half of Jinxiu's quick wit, I promise I wouldn't complain about you."
Liu Nanfeng: ...
"Mom, Nanfeng is very good. He's not like you say."
Su Jinxiu couldn't bear to see Liu Nanfeng being nagged by Yu Huilan, so she chimed in.
"See, your wife is so thoughtful, she even knows how to protect you."
Yu Huilan took Su Jinxiu's hand and walked inside, not even glancing at Liu Nanfeng.
"Mom, if you keep doing this, I won't come back."
Liu Nanfeng said "angrily."
"If you don't come back, then don't come back. What's the use of coming back? You glance, sleep for a night, and then you run away. We have to busy ourselves, and if you don't come back, I'll be more relaxed."
Good heavens, so that's the root of the problem.
Liu Nanfeng understood why her attitude had changed so drastically after sleeping over for one night; it was because she was reluctant for them to leave.
"Mom, we have our own things to do."
"What can you have to do? You're unemployed. What can you possibly have to do?"
"How can you say that? I'm delivering food, aren't I? And I need to write, plus Jinxiu's shop needs people."
"Don't do food delivery anymore. It's tiring and pays little. It's better to help Jinxiu in the shop. As for writing, can you write every day? You're just idling around, and only Jinxiu indulges you. Sigh..."
Yu Huilan said, sighing deeply, regretting her son's lack of ambition.
Looking at Yu Huilan walking into the house, Liu Nanfeng said to Su Jinxiu somewhat speechlessly, "Am I that bad?"
"It's okay, I don't mind."
Su Jinxiu chuckled, her laughter full of joy.
"What do you mean by that? Explain it to me clearly."
Liu Nanfeng said, poking her waist with his finger.
Su Jinxiu immediately blocked and dodged, begging for mercy in a low voice. For a moment, only their laughter could be heard.
"Look, their relationship is so good. You're just worrying for nothing," Liu Zonghe said softly to Yu Huilan.
Yu Huilan remained silent. To be honest, it wasn't that she looked down on her son, it was just that Su Jinxiu was too outstanding.
Beautiful, wealthy, knowledgeable, her personality, and her way of dealing with people were all beyond reproach; she was simply a perfect daughter-in-law.
Yu Huilan could honestly say that in all her years, she had never met a better girl than Su Jinxiu.
Therefore, no matter how much she thought her son was great, she still had a feeling that he wasn't good enough, so she couldn't help but be a little anxious and worried about problems in their relationship.
Her enthusiasm for Su Jinxiu's return was not just because Su Jinxiu respected her and treated her well. In her subconscious, it was more about hoping that she would treat her daughter-in-law well. If something were to happen between them, given her kindness, she wouldn't hurt her son too deeply.
Of course, Liu Nanfeng didn't know this, and even Su Jinxiu hadn't noticed it. But as her pillow companion, how could Liu Zonghe not know her thoughts?
"Forget it, let them be. I'm just worrying for nothing."
Liu Zonghe smiled and remained silent. He knew that these words were just for show. The next time Liu Nanfeng and the others returned, they would have forgotten all about it.
After lunch, Yu Huilan began moving the slaughtered chicken, eggs, vegetables, oil, and other items into the car.
"Mom, you really don't need to bring so much."
"The car is carrying it, and you're not getting tired, so why so many opinions?"
"I just think it's unnecessary. We can take the chicken and eggs, but let's leave the vegetables. They can't be stored for a long time, and they'll spoil in a day or two. Besides, we can buy these anytime."
"If they spoil, just throw them away. We have plenty of our own grown produce. Can you trust the taste of what you buy outside as much as what you grow yourself?"
"What about the oil? Wow, there's even a bag of rice. Mom, this is too much."
"What's too much? You lazy bum, you just don't want to carry things home."
Yu Huilan was very angry and reached out to hit Liu Nanfeng. She raised her hand high and brought it down lightly, patting Liu Nanfeng's back a few times to her satisfaction.
"Nanfeng, forget it. It's also Mom's good intentions, so let's take it."
"My daughter-in-law is sensible." Yu Huilan, who was still angry moments ago, was beaming.
Meanwhile, Zhan Zhongxiao was feeling troubled. He had two chickens in his left hand and a basket of eggs in his right. His kitchen hadn't been used in a long time. How was he going to prepare them when he took them back?
After thinking about it, he leaned forward, deciding to talk to Yu Huilan about it.
At this moment, Liu Zonghe stood by, his hands behind his back, watching them pack silently.
Seeing him, Liu Nanfeng remembered the matter of entering dreams and quietly gave Su Jinxiu a look.
Su Jinxiu understood immediately and said with a smile, "It's okay, I'll teach you tonight."
Since Liu Nanfeng acquired the ability to enter dreams, he had only used it twice. The first time he tried to enter Su Huamei's dream, it was unsuccessful. The second time he tried to enter Su Jinxiu's dream, she detected him and guided him to have an incredibly romantic dream.
Therefore, he was still unfamiliar with the abilities and characteristics of entering dreams.
In fact, dreams are very magical. In the world of dreams, there are no restrictions on space, time, logic, etc. One can meet someone in a dream instantly even if they are thousands of miles away.
If developed and used properly, entering dreams is actually a very powerful ability.
Don't know what Zhan Zhongxiao said to Yu Huilan, but in the end, he returned with the items "disheartened."
"Dad, Mom, we're leaving then. Take care of yourselves at home. If anything happens, call us."
"Uncle, Aunt, goodbye. I'll come to see you again next time."
"Drive safely. Call me when you get home."
"Next time you come back, don't bring so many things, it's a waste of money. And you too, Dundun. Come empty-handed, otherwise Auntie won't welcome you."
...
Amidst their earnest admonishments, Liu Nanfeng slowly started the car and gradually increased its speed.
But when he looked in the rearview mirror, he saw Liu Zonghe still standing at the village entrance, watching them from afar, and Yu Huilan chasing after him, still waving her hand.
"Sigh..." Liu Nanfeng sighed helplessly in his heart, then stepped on the accelerator, increasing his speed as he drove away until their figures were no longer visible.
"Nanfeng, take these two chickens and the eggs with you."
"This is Mom's good intentions. How can I take them back?"
"But you know, I haven't used my kitchen in a long time. I don't even know how to prepare them when I take them back."
"What's the trouble? Buy an induction cooker and a pot, it's that simple. If not, I'll buy them for you."
Hearing Liu Nanfeng's firm attitude, Zhan Zhongxiao gave up his idea.
When they arrived in Jiangcheng, Liu Nanfeng took him directly to the entrance of Xingfu Yuan residential compound.
"Thank you," Zhan Zhongxiao said from outside the car, carrying his belongings.
"No need for thanks. Go on up. We'll keep in touch on WeChat and have dinner together in a couple of days."
"Okay."
After Liu Nanfeng started the car and left, Zhan Zhongxiao finally remembered that he still hadn't figured out if Liu Nanfeng had discovered his true identity.
Liu Nanfeng parked the car in the garage and carried the items from the back seat. Fortunately, he was strong now, otherwise he wouldn't have been able to carry them all at once.
Su Jinxiu wanted to help, but Liu Nanfeng didn't let her.
Seeing him trying to be strong, Su Jinxiu watched him with a smile. The way men try to be strong was indeed very cute.
"You're back."
As Liu Nanfeng entered the door carrying the items, he saw Su Huamei come out of the room wearing a sexy nightgown.
Su Huamei was back.