Zhuang Zhuang, I’ll Take Him

Xiaoguo ignored his words. With a gentle tug, she pulled Mrs. Kong up.

“Old Kong!”

Mrs. Kong cried out in shock. When Xiaoguo heard this, she was even more certain of their identities. She had guessed right.

“Don’t be afraid!” Teacher Kong was so startled that he stood up, but he quickly sat down as he had no other choice.

Xiaoguo retracted her gaze and arranged for Mrs. Kong to sit on the other seat. She looked like she was using a lot of strength, but her movements were actually very light.

Mrs. Kong could feel the change in her grip and looked at her strangely.

Xiaoguo first winked at her mischievously. Then, with her back facing Mr. Kong, she whispered something in her ear. Mrs. Kong, who had been feeling uneasy just now, instantly calmed down. Her eyes kept blinking at Xiaoguo in disbelief.

Xiaoguo snickered and apologized inwardly. “I’m sorry.”

“I’m not lying to you. We just arrived in the county today. We came out in a hurry and didn’t take the money. We really have money at home.” Mr. Kong, who had been observing them, saw his wife’s stunned expression and subconsciously thought that she was in shock, so he said eagerly.

Xiaoguo pretended to be impatient and interrupted him. “Actually, I can treat you to a meal for free without charge, but…”

“But what?” Mr. Kong looked wary and did not forget to comfort Mrs. Kong behind her with his eyes.

At this moment, Mrs. Kong was not afraid at all. However, because of Xiaoguo, she still pretended to look frightened.

“But…”

Being led by her voice, Mr. Kong was anticipating nervously for what she was about to say.

Xiaoguo chuckled and said sarcastically, “Do you think you’re Teacher Kong? If you are, I will not charge you for the meal!”

“I am Mr. Kong, Kong Bang!”

Mr. Kong felt like he had taken a stabilizer. If he is Mr. Kong, she probably wouldn’t make things difficult for them.

“What?!”

The few people who were still watching the show could not sit still when they heard this. Even Ruyi and Zhuang Zhuang, who were cooking in the kitchen, poked their heads out and looked at him in surprise.

Hearing him admit it, Xiaoguo’s aura instantly softened. She smiled and said, “You’ve finally admitted it.”

“!?”

The anger on Mr. Kong’s face instantly disappeared. He watched in confusion at the change in Xiaoguo’s attitude. After putting two and two together, he realized that he might have been tricked.

“This… Hahahahaha…”

Mr. Kong laughed out loud and stroked his beard. He had been teasing people all his life, to think that he is now at the receiving end of being teased.

“Old man, everyone makes mistakes.” Mrs. Kong stood up and walked to his side with a smile. She patted him and teased him.

Ruyi and Zhuang Zhuang walked out of the kitchen. Qin Anming pulled Xiaoguo to the side and asked softly, “Is it really Teacher Kong?”

Xiaoguo nodded and said, “I just found out too.”

“How did you find out?”

Mr. Kong was quite sure that there were no loopholes in his plot, He couldn’t understand how she found out and turned the tables on him.

“If you had looked at me less, I wouldn’t have noticed.” Mr. Kong’s acting skills were indeed not bad. Other than this particular flaw, there were no other flaws.

As soon as she said that, Mr. Kong instantly laughed out loud. So that was the reason.

Ruyi and the others looked like they had seen their idol. They looked at Mr. Kong with stars in their eyes and hid behind Xiaoguo. They wanted to go forward, but they were feeling shy.

“Hello, Teacher Kong and Mrs. Kong. I’m Jiang Danhe’s wife, Qin Xiaoguo. This is my son. His name is Jiang Qingwen, and his nickname is Zhuang Zhuang. He’s four years old this year.”

Xiaoguo quickly introduced the few people hiding behind her. “This is my brother, Qin Anming. This is the lady boss of the noodle shop, Xu Ruyi. This is Uncle Xu, Ling Long, Fu’er, and Xiao Cui.”

After the introduction, she apologized sincerely to Mr. Kong again. “I’m really sorry for pranking you.”

“It’s okay, Xiaoguo. If you don’t prank him, he will prank you.” Mrs. Kong took Xiaoguo’s hand and sat down. She said lovingly, “This is the first time I’ve seen him suffer. Usually, he’s the one who teases others. It’s all thanks to you that I get to witness this.”

Mr. Kong did not speak. He just laughed heartily at the side.

Xiaoguo was secretly glad that she had made the right decision. She was feeling a little hesitant just now. Would it be too risky? But the outcome turned out to be surprisingly good.

At that time, Mr. Kong was probably testing her to see if she would pay for his meal. However, she found out his real identity and caught him off guard. It worked out very well in the end.

“Zhuang Zhuang?”

“Hello, Teacher Kong.”

When Zhuang Zhuang heard Mr. Kong call his name, he stood obediently in front of him, feeling a little nervous.

“Okay, okay!”

Mr. Kong was so happy that he couldn’t stop smiling. The happiest thing about this was that he had met Zhuang Zhuang. At that time, he had deduced that Jiang Danhe’s son must be a good boy judging from the general’s steadfast character. That was why he agreed to meet the boy. He didn’t expect Zhuang Zhuang to be such a treasure.

However, he did not expect the wife of the steadfast Jiang Danhe to be so mischievous.

Mr. Kong had already decided to take in Zhuang Zhuang, but there were still many things that they had not discussed in detail. Besides, this was not a good place to talk. Hence, he decided to return to his residence and discuss further.

Xiaoguo nodded repeatedly at this decision.

But before going back, there was one more thing.

“I really didn’t bring any money today. I’ll go home immediately and when I get back, I’ll get someone to send you the money. What do you think?”

When Ruyi heard his words, she quickly waved her hand to indicate that there was no need.

“There’s no need to make a special trip. Just make the payment when you come back for noodles next time.”

Xiaoguo smiled and spoke on behalf of Ruyi.

Mr. Kong thought about it carefully and nodded. “Sure!”

He was not someone who would make use of his fame to take advantage of others. He was not a free-loader. He would settle the bill the next time he came back.

He decided to come back for noodles at noon tomorrow. He would like to try out something else on the menu.

Xiaoguo gestured to Qin Anming and the others. Then, she used the donkey cart to bring Zhuang Zhuang and the elderly couple towards their house.

“This is so nice. I thought we would have to walk back.” Mrs. Kong sat in the donkey cart and said happily, “It’s all thanks to Xiaoguo. Otherwise, our old arms and legs would have to suffer.”

“Haha, it’s all thanks to fate.”

Xiaoguo smiled. If it wasn’t fate, how could they have bumped into each other by chance?

“That’s right, that’s right. It’s fate.”

Mr. Kong responded to Xiaguo’s words and stroked Zhuang Zhuang’s head. He looked at him lovingly and said, “If Zhuang Zhuang hadn’t pulled us in, we would have gone to another restaurant.”

Xiaoguo didn’t know what he meant and asked curiously, “Zhuang Zhuang?”

“That’s right.”

Mr. Kong told her about Zhuang Zhuang pulling them into the shop.

Zhuang Zhuang quickly added how he figured out their conversation, making them laugh as a result.

When they returned to their residence, Mr. Kong brought Zhuang Zhuang to his room to chat. Meanwhile, Xiaoguo chatted with Mrs. Kong in the house.

The old couple that Xiaoguo saw moving the boxes in the earlier part of the day, turned out to be the servants of the Kong couple 30 years ago. Now, they have returned to Yonghai County to retire with the Kongs.

Xiaoguo also found out that Mr. and Mrs. Kong had lived in Yonghai County since they were young. The house here was the one they used to live in before they shifted out. When they went to the capital, the house was left empty. Now that they were back, they would never leave this house again.

The more Xiaoguo and Mrs. Kong chatted, the more they got along. Not long after, Zhuang Zhuang and Mr. Kong appeared. Both of them looked very happy.

“I’ll accept Zhuang Zhuang as my student.”

As soon as she said that, Xiaoguo clapped her hands happily. “This is wonderful!”

“The day after tomorrow is a good day. Let’s fix the apprenticeship banquet on that day.”