Chapter 61
No good words came out of the woodcutter"s mouth in the back mountain, and several little monks had heard them several times. However, apart from Little Jing Kong who had never forgotten his words, the other three couldn’t remember them.
But what he understood was just the literal meaning. After all, dumplings were really delicious, and after all, he really wanted to play with JiaoJiao.
"Never say that again." Xiao Liulang said in a serious tone.
"Why?" Asked Little Jing Kong while blinking his eyes.
Xiao Liulang replied, "JiaoJiao will not like it."
After saying that, he cast a glance into the kitchen un.o.btrusively.
She was far from them so she should not have heard him say ‘JiaoJiao’.
When Gu Jiao brought the food from the kitchen, the two men in the family had already determined their relationship.
Xiao Liulang pointed to Gu Jiao and said, "She’s your big sister, your adoptive big sister."
There couldn’t be any confusion here.
Besides, Gu Jiao already had a younger brother anyway, so it wouldn’t hurt to have one more.
Little Jing Kong already understood his family relationship with Gu Jiao. Sighing like an adult, he said, "Fine, although I‘m not her only younger brother, you’re not her only man either."
He patted his chest, expressing that he was also JiaoJiao’s little man!
Xiao Liulang：“…”
Little monk, you’re really quite arrogant on your first day at home.
To show that he was a responsible little man, Little Jing Kong also helped Gu Jiao set the dishes.
As a matter of fact, the little monks in the temple worked harder than ordinary children. They trained martial arts, attended cla.s.ses, and did manual work, without missing a single one. Therefore, despite his small stature, Little Jing Kong did things very well.
Dinner was dry pot wild mushroom dish, scrambled eggs with green peppers, corn noodle soup and cabbage stuffed steamed buns. With the current conditions at home, it was already possible to have meat in their meals, it was just that people were too busy to go to town to buy some meat today.
Looking at the table full of vegetarian dishes, the little monk could not conceal his little disappointment, "There’s no meat?"
Xiao Liulang said, "Aren"t you a monk? Can monks still eat meat?"
Little Jing Kong replied earnestly, "But I already descended the mountain so I’m no longer a monk!"
Xiao Liulang"s eyes rested on his little bald head.
Little Jing Kong quickly covered his little bald head with his little hands and said, "My… My hair will grow!"
Xiao Liulang said solemnly, "Our family can"t afford meat."
Little Jing Kong let out a sound of realization and looked at the furnishings at home. They were so shabby, it seemed like they were really poor.
"Oh." Instead of keeping on clamoring for meat, he took his little hands off his head and went to pick vegetarian dishes with his chopsticks.
Little Jing Kong wasn’t a picky eater, he was very easy to feed!
Gu Jiao sn.i.g.g.e.red and said, "Your brother-in-law is just teasing you. I’ll let you have meat tomorrow."
"En!" Little Jing Kong beamed, then he thought of something and his solemn little face glared at Xiao Liulang, "Bad brother-in-law!"
Little Jing Kong"s appet.i.te indeed couldn’t be underestimated. Fortunately, Gu Jiao made enough steamed buns.
After dinner, Gu Jiao went to clean the dishes, and Little Jing Kong insisted on washing his own dishes.
This was a habit formed in the temple. In order to make them stand on their own feet, their eldest senior brother would let them put on their clothes, wash their faces and rinse their mouths, and wash the dishes by themselves.
But Little Jing Kong still needed help in taking a bath. After all, he was too small, not even as tall as the bath barrel.
Even though there was no bath barrel at home, only a wooden basin, he was truly too small that he still wouldn’t be able to take a bath by himself if given the wooden basin.
Gu Jiao had never bathed such a small child before so she found this quite novel.
She took the basin to the kitchen. She had just cooked here earlier and there was still lit firewood on the stove; it was even warmer here than the elderly woman"s room. Moreover, whenever the water in the basin became cold, hot water could be added to it from the pot just at the side.
Gu Jiao went back to the room to get clothes for Little Jing Kong.
Little Jing Kong obediently sat on the small stool and waited for Gu Jiao.
But who knew he wasn’t waiting for Gu Jiao, but instead Xiao Liulang.
Compared with the cold Xiao Liulang, who somewhat treated him with dislike, Little Jing Kong certainly preferred Gu Jiao, who showed endless kindness towards him and was bought by his cuteness from time to time.
"Alas." Little Jing Kong sighed.
He was disappointed.
Xiao Liulang：“…”
After taking a bath, it was time for Little Jing Kong to go to bed.
There were three rooms in the house, meaning there was no spare room for Little Jing Kong. Gu Jiao thought that since the other party was still small, it wasn’t a problem to squeeze with others.
The elderly woman"s room was the warmest, so it was the first choice.
"Go and sleep with Grandaunt." Gu Jiao handed him a small pillow to bring.
Little Jing Kong went to the elderly woman"s room with the small pillow in his arms. Instead of rushing in, he stood at the door and looked at it seriously, then said, "If you agree to give me half of the hidden candied fruits, I will sleep with you."
The elderly woman instantly shut the door with a bang without saying anything!
Little Jing Kong returned to Gu Jiao"s room with the small pillow in his arms, "Grandaunt won"t sleep with me."
Thinking of the elderly woman"s strange temper and the violent slam of the door she just heard, Gu Jiao didn"t doubt him, pulled the quilt and said, "Then you can sleep with me."
"Good!" Little Jing Kong smiled radiantly, put the small pillow on the bed, and climbed up with his short legs. However, he was just halfway up when he was picked up by Xiao Liulang.
Xiao Liulang: "You’re sleeping with me."
Little Jing Kong: "I don"t want to sleep with you."
Xiao Liulang: "Yes, you do."
Little Jing Kong was grabbed away by Xiao Liulang into his room.
Xiao Liulang"s bed wasn’t as big as Gu Jiao"s, but it wasn’t that small either. It was more than enough to accommodate one big and one small pair of people. The stubborn Little Jing Kong refused to lie properly on one side, sprawling out on his back directly at the center of the bed just like a target’s bulls-eye.
Xiao Liulang put away his crutch and said with a frown, "Just sleep obediently."
Little Jing Kong rolled about on the bed, "I won"t."
Xiao Liulang said coldly, "If you continue on like that, I"ll throw you out of the bed and won’t let you sleep."
Little Jing Kong was about to speak.
But Xiao Liulang beat him to it, "The door is locked, so you won’t be able to go out here."
With the escape route blocked, Little Jing Kong could only fall silent.
Xiao Liulang raised an eyebrow and said, "You"d better behave well. Maybe I"ll consider letting you squeeze onto my bed."
Little Jing Kong stared blankly for a moment, then got up and said, "I should be the one telling you that. JiaoJiao said that I’m also a member of this family! So it’s me who is letting you squeeze with me!"
Xiao Liulang could understand the first two sentences, but what did the last sentence mean?
He said softly, "What do you mean you’re the one letting me squeeze with you?"
Little Jing Kong looked at him, crossing his hands at his lower back, and said, "Since I’m also a member of this family, I also have a share in the house! You and JiaoJiao are married, so you should be sleeping in the same room. That room is yours! This one is mine! But JiaoJiao won"t sleep with you, so right now, I’m taking you in!"
Xiao Liulang: I can"t refute it somehow...
Children were the last people you could judge by common sense. Little Jing Kong was still noisily bickering with Xiao Liulang like a gunfire one second ago, but as soon as he turned his head and lay down on the soft pillow, he was already drooling in sleep.
Xiao Liulang liked to be quiet. Naturally, he couldn’t get used to this little thing that was like a gunfire all night, but he really didn"t intend to throw people out.
He took Little Jing Kong off his pillow and tucked him into the quilt.
Xiao Liulang looked at this little guy who stole his limelight. Because of his arrival, everyone forgot that he had become the top scorer in the county exam.
Although his original intention in getting the top spot in the exam was not to show off, it still made him a little uncomfortable, like… something was missing.
Creak——
The door was gently pushed open a bit, then he heard Gu Jiao’s soft voice ask, "Are you asleep?"
"No." Xiao Liulang replied. After a pause, he looked at Little Jing Kong, who was fast asleep and added, "He"s asleep."
"Then I"m coming in." Gu Jiao came in quietly with an oil lamp in her hand, "I think your oil lamp is running out. You can use mine tonight."
"En." Xiao Liulang sat on the edge of the bed and answered lightly.
Gu Jiao put the oil lamp on his desk and said, "That... I still haven"t congratulated you on becoming the top scorer in the county exam."
Xiao Liulang"s eyelids lifted slightly.
"Here you go." Gu Jiao handed him something.
"What?" Xiao Liulang asked.
Gu Jiao smilingly said, "You have made so much progress, this is a reward for you."
Xiao Liulang turned his face away and said, "I"m not a child. Do I still need a reward?"
Having said that, he reached out and took it. It was a sachet made by Gu Jiao herself, which contained dried flowers that could aid in one’s sleep. The dried flowers were also processed by herself.
Gu Jiao whispered, "Always take the sachet with you so you can have a good sleep at night."
“You..." Xiao Liulang wanted to ask her how she knew that he was having difficulties sleeping.
Gu Jiao guessed what he wanted to ask. She smiled and said, "You forgot, we slept together before."
Xiao Liulang’s eyebrows moved, but his expression remained calm.
Gu Jiao was about to go back to her own room, but just as she took a step, she suddenly turned back, and leaned close to Xiao Liulang’s ear. Her breathing was like the orchid’s fragrance as she whispered, "Earlier... Did you call me JiaoJiao?"