Heavenly Blessed Baby: Fleeing Famine, Busy to Prosper!-Chapter 56: Better You Than Me

As soon as she heard she could get off, Qi Manman immediately lit up like a little flower, no longer caring about walking ten steps or not, nodding quickly for fear that her mother might change her mind.

Qi Manman was finally carried off the cart by her own mother as she wished.

Mrs. Qi looked disapprovingly at Yi Meng: "Meng Niang, this won’t do, she’s still so young. What if she gets tired?"

"Mom, it’s fine. She’s been cooped up all day. It’s good for her to come down and stretch her legs and breathe some fresh air."

Yi Meng didn’t know how to say that she suspected the little girl might be up to something again and could only explain it that way.

Just as Mrs. Qi was about to say something, Qi Shilang shouted out, "I want to get off too! Fourth Aunt, I also want to walk ten steps!"

The cart with Qi Quanyin’s father couldn’t get there in time when he heard the voices, so he could only ask his wife to go up front to see what was going on.

Ai Zhaodi, having walked all afternoon, felt her legs were leaden. Upon hearing she should check the front, she immediately said, "I’m not going! Mom’s up there; what could go wrong?"

"You’re something else; Xiao Shi is up there, and he just shouted a couple of times. Go see what’s happening."

Qi Quanyin wasn’t unsympathetic to his wife, but hearing his son cry out made him uneasy: "Manbao hasn’t even called out, yet he’s already shouting. He might need to... you should go check so we don’t always trouble your fourth sister-in-law."

At this, Ai Zhaodi’s eyes lit up instantly.

Whether her son needed to go or not, she didn’t really mind. With mom and fourth sister-in-law around, surely the little boy wouldn’t soil himself.

But if she went up front, she could walk beside Manbao just like her fourth sister-in-law!

Thinking of the sweet little girl, her heart grew restless.

She had wanted to go before, but she had to help push the cart now and then and couldn’t keep running back and forth.

Besides, if she went too often and her mother-in-law misunderstood her as not trusting Xiao Shi with her, that wouldn’t do either.

With a justified reason to stand beside Manbao, Ai Zhaodi suddenly was eager to quicken her pace.

Qi Quanyin, not hearing any verbal response from his wife, was surprised to see her suddenly move as if on fire, heading forward, leaving him momentarily speechless.

Qi Zheng, however, cast a disappointed glance at his fifth son and scolded, "Look at you, a grown man, can’t even push your old dad! Starting tomorrow, you’ll push the cart. I won’t sit in it anymore—better off walking on my own two legs!"

He finished by pulling out his pipe, striking a fire twice, and took a couple of puffs.

Qi Quanyin suppressed a cough from the smoke, but he didn’t dare.

Coughing isn’t something that can be held back, so in the end, he quietly let out a couple of muffled coughs.

He thought he had kept the noise low enough for his father not to hear, but forgot he was holding onto the cart’s handle.

With each cough, vibrations ran up his arm to his hand and consequently to the handle, causing the entire cart to tremble unnaturally.

Qi Zheng paused his smoking, straightened his back, and turned to look at his fifth son pushing the cart.

Seeing his son stifle his cough until his face turned red, he got even angrier: "Stop, stop. I won’t sit in your cart anymore! Can’t even enjoy a smoke without you griping, I won’t ride it anymore!"

Qi Zheng slapped the cart board, ready to jump off.

Regarding his smoking habits, the younger ones at home wouldn’t dare mention it, and his wife didn’t bother him much.

But ever since having a granddaughter, not only did his wife clamp down, but so did the younger ones, especially his fourth daughter-in-law, who was the strictest.

Fourth daughter-in-law, who knows what prestigious family she stayed with before, always seemed to have the most rules.

Before he could only not smoke in front of the children, but since having a granddaughter, he’s not allowed in any place she might appear. 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

If it weren’t for the fact that the little girl was a delightful treasure, Qi Zheng would’ve certainly flipped the table long ago.

And now even the stinky brat of a fifth son dares to resent him; it’s unbearable!

Qi Quanyin looked innocent: "Dad, I didn’t say anything!"

"You’d dare to say? What, you’re going to say I can’t have a couple of puffs? You ungrateful thing, I should have dropped you the moment you were born!"

Qi Zheng’s stream of insults left Qi Quanyin unable to get a word in.

The sixth son behind them, Qi Quanli, couldn’t help but shrink back, slightly lowering his head, trying to let his fifth brother shield him, lest he accidentally court his father’s wrath.

Meanwhile, Yi Meng and her daughter were unaware of the happenings behind them.

At this moment, Yi Meng was pulling her daughter’s hand into the nearby bushes.

The grass wasn’t tall, so Yi Meng tapped the wild grass with a stick as she walked.

Ai Zhaodi and Qi Shilang followed behind.

Qi Shilang was being pulled by his mother, complaining, "Mom’s hand is hard; Fourth Aunt’s hand is soft, don’t want to be held by Mom."

His words were like a little knife, stabbing right into Ai Zhaodi’s heart.

Displeased with his own mother, this little brat might be more trouble than he’s worth.

Yi Meng heard too, and felt both amused and awkward: "Xiao Shi, you can’t talk like that. No one’s hand in this world is as comfortable as your own mom’s. If you dare criticize her again, Fourth Aunt will spank you with a stick."

Qi Shilang quickly used his free hand to cover his bottom, his little face filled with concern as though expecting a spanking any moment.

Yi Meng, seeing the child no longer talking nonsense, then told Ai Zhaodi, "Sister-in-law, kids speak without meaning to."

"Oh, Fourth Sister, we’ve known each other far longer than this brat has been alive; how could I hold a grudge over such a thing!"

Ai Zhaodi hurried a few steps, slipping her arm through Yi Meng’s holding the stick, then tilted her head slightly to look at Qi Manman walking on the other side and whispered, "But Fourth Sister, if you’re feeling guilty, maybe you should let me take Manbao for a couple of days, huh?"

A lovely, sweet daughter—she’s been wanting one for a while!

Yi Meng was taken aback.

Great, yet another one wanting to take my daughter.

Yi Meng felt both happy that her daughter was so beloved and frustrated that everyone wanted to take her.

Her mother-in-law was understandable, given the role; she couldn’t disagree. But when it came to her sister-in-law, well, that was different.

"Sister-in-law, you know how much Mom dotes on Manbao, like she’s her own eyes. Even if I agreed to let you look after Manbao for a couple of days, Mom wouldn’t be okay with it. What do you think about that..."

In such matters, it’s every woman for herself. Mother-in-law, you’re already using your status to compete for my daughter; you surely wouldn’t mind helping fend off another who wants your granddaughter, right?