0p0 Chapter 150 Sneezing, Someone Mentioned It
Chapter 150 Sneezing, Someone Mentioned It
Ding Hongmei walked angrily down the road, "Why? Why do you all look down on me? I'm a college student, and you bunch of country bumpkins are just muddleheads."
Ding Hongmei kept muttering to herself. A stray cat lying by the roadside heard her, scratched its ear, meowed angrily at Ding Hongmei a few times, and then darted into the bushes.
Ding Hongmei was so angry that her eyes and nose were crooked. "Well, even a stray cat dares to look down on me."
She bent down, picked up a stone from the grass, and was about to throw it at the stray cat when a ball suddenly appeared and hit her squarely in the face, right on the nose.
Ding Hongmei cried out and fell to the ground, covering her nose with her hand. It felt sore, and fresh blood was flowing out.
"My ball, haha, found it, my ball."
A small child appeared, completely oblivious to Ding Hongmei, and turned to leave while holding a ball.
Ding Hongmei stared fiercely at the boy's back, her hand gripping the stone so tightly it hurt, as if she was about to smash it on the boy's head at any moment.
"Oh my, isn't this a red plum blossom?"
The woman's voice brought Ding Hongmei back to her senses. The ruthless expression on her face instantly softened, and she said gently, "Hello, sister-in-law."
“Your nose,” Hong Hui asked.
Ding Hongmei smiled, her gaze falling on the boy beside her. The ball in the boy's arms was still stained with her nosebleed.
Hong Hui followed the gaze and smiled sheepishly, "My Jinbao is naughty, but he definitely didn't do it on purpose. Are you alright?"
After saying that, Hong Hui glared angrily at the girl huddled in the corner on the other side, "Zhao Di, are you looking for death? I told you to keep an eye on Jinbao, and this is how you keep an eye on him? All you do is slack off and cheat all day long."
As she spoke, Hong Hui dragged the girl to Ding Hongmei and slapped the girl across the face, saying, "I told you not to watch your brother."
"I didn't, no, please stop hitting me."
"Hit, hit sister!" The little boy clapped his hands excitedly, which made Hong Hui hit her even harder until the girl's cheek was swollen high.
Then Hong Hui looked at Ding Hongmei and said, "Look, I've already taught her a lesson."
Ding Hongmei was disgusted inside, but she put on a gentle face and said, "Sister-in-law, it's not the child's fault, please don't hit him."
"Hey, Hongmei, the red bean cake you brought me when you came to my house last time was really delicious. Do you still have any? My Jinbao has been craving it ever since he tasted it. He keeps asking for it every day, and he won't eat if he doesn't have any. I can't do anything about it." Hong Hui hugged the snotty-nosed little boy in her arms and asked Ding Hongmei with a shameless grin.
Ding Hongmei smiled, but in her heart she was thinking about how to keep the little brat from starving. "Okay, there's some left at home, I'll bring it over for you later."
Hong Hui immediately beamed, "No need for you to deliver it personally, I'll come to your house later."
In order to get food, Hong Hui didn't delay and happened to arrive at the Ding family's house with Jinbao at mealtime. Ding Hongmei was eating the food she had brought from the army canteen.
Hong Hui's eyes lit up as soon as she came in, "Braised pork!"
Jinbao immediately twisted his body off Hong Hui and, without any hesitation, rushed to the dining table. His dirty hands grabbed a piece of braised pork from the lunchbox and started eating.
Hong Hui patted Jinbao's head, pretending to be embarrassed. "That's just how my child is. He's treating you like an acquaintance and wants to be close to you, not treating you like a stranger."
Ding Hongmei's smile was almost gone. "You deadbeat!"
"It's alright, since Jinbao likes this braised pork, let him have it."
Jinbao wolfed down his food, swallowing saliva mixed with the broth, which disgusted Ding Hongmei. She thought, "Why don't you just choke to death?"
She deftly took out a few pieces of red bean cake from the cupboard. "Here, sister-in-law, take these." All she wanted now was to get this shameless mother and son out as quickly as possible.
But Hong Hui didn't stand on ceremony at all. While Ding Hongmei was getting her red bean cakes, she looked around Ding Hongmei's house inside and out. When Ding Hongmei came out, she asked, "You have paintbrushes at home? You're an artist too?"
Ding Hongmei nodded reservedly, "Yes, I am an art teacher."
Hong Hui immediately clapped her hands, "That's great! My Jinbao is still young, and I've been thinking about getting him some knowledge. I think painting is a good option. How about I leave Jinbao with you, Hongmei, and you can teach him to paint every day? My child is smart, he'll definitely learn it."
Ding Hongmei looked down at Jinbao, who was wiping his greasy paws on his clothes after finishing the braised pork, and said with disgust, "Sister-in-law, this isn't right. I don't have much time to do this because I'm usually busy with work."
Hong Hui was a little unhappy. "My son is destined for great things."
If Ding Hongmei weren't concerned about her image, she would have rolled her eyes at her immediately. However, she then had an idea and smiled at Hong Hui, saying, "Although I don't have martial arts skills, I can recommend someone to you."
"Do you know Shu Yun next door? Sister-in-law, you've lived in the family compound for a long time, so you must know her better than I do. I heard she's published a lot of comic books by drawing, and the royalties are quite high. I think it would be very suitable for Jinbao to have her teach."
Upon hearing that the royalties were substantial, Hong Hui's eyes immediately lit up. "You're right, I'll go find Shu Yun right now."
She picked up Jinbao and kissed his dirty little face. "Our Jinbao is going to learn to draw. Aren't you happy? When you earn money in the future, you can buy candy for Mommy."
Jinbao didn't understand any of this, but when he heard there was candy, he immediately clapped his hands and exclaimed, "Oh, oh, oh, I want to eat candy!"
"Achoo!" Shu Yun, who was patting Ah happy's head next door, couldn't help but sneeze.
Seemingly believing her son to be exceptionally talented, Hong Hui brought a bag of brown sugar to Shu Yun's house the next day.
Upon seeing the person, Hong Hui pushed Jinbao forward, saying, "Shuyun, I heard you're a great artist. You've published several comic book editions and made a lot of money. My Jinbao has loved drawing on the ground since he was little, so he must have a talent for art. I was thinking of having him taken in by you."
"Quick, Jinbao, call Teacher Shu."