The white rose I picked up cried and said she liked me.

Right now, in the vegetable garden in the backyard.

"Aaaaaaaahhhhhh, stop chasing me!"

"Hehe ...

"What are you doing? Haha, ouch..."

"Hehe ...

"Keep chasing me with those tonics!"

"Hehe ...

...

Xu Xi trudged through the muddy ground, taking small, quick steps, followed by several angry hens flapping their wings and chasing after her relentlessly.

Zhao Lin, who was watering and fertilizing the vegetables in the field, saw this and quickly picked up a broom to chase the chickens back into the coop.

"Phew, I'm saved!"

Xu Xi squatted on the ground, panting heavily, her body already drenched in sweat.

Zhao Lin walked over and looked at her helplessly.

"What are you doing, Xu Xi? Why are those old hens chasing you so fast?"

Xu Xi's eyes curved into crescent moons, and with a sly smile, she pulled two warm eggs from the pocket of her floral cotton-padded jacket.

"I saw two eggs in the henhouse, so I went in and took them when the hens weren't looking. But when I was retreating, the hens discovered me and started chasing after me and pecking at me."

She puffed out her cheeks, her tone tinged with grievance.

"Hmph! These hens are so mean. I only touched two eggs, why are they chasing me like this..."

As she spoke, she bared her teeth, raised her little hand and made a claw shape, waving it towards the chicken coop, pretending to be fierce.

(ﾒﾟ panﾟ)ﾒ.

But as soon as she finished speaking, the hens in the coop seemed to be enraged. They immediately flapped their wings and slammed against the fence, making even more rapid clucking noises, as if they wanted to break through the fence and settle scores with her.

Startled, Xu Xi quickly shrank her neck and buried her head in her knees, muttering "I'm sorry, I'm sorry" while secretly glancing at the chicken coop to observe.

She only breathed a sigh of relief after the hens gradually calmed down.

She patted the dust off her trouser legs and chuckled, "Luckily, Linlin, the floral cotton-padded jacket you gave me is thick enough that they can't peck through it at all."

Seeing her smug and triumphant expression, Zhao Lin didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

"The eggs laid by the hen are meant to hatch into chicks."

"You stole their eggs right in front of them, isn't that just like a child trafficker kidnapping someone in public?"

That's why they chase you so recklessly.

"Oh, is that so?"

Xu Xi was startled. She looked at the eggs in her hand and immediately felt a little guilty.

"Then how about I give the eggs back to the mother hen?"

As she spoke, she walked toward the chicken coop.

Zhao Lin chuckled and quickly grabbed Xu Xi's arm.

"Okay, okay, I'm not teasing you anymore."

"For an egg to hatch into a chick, the hen must be stepped on by a rooster before laying the egg."

"I've already locked the rooster up in a separate cage. The egg you're holding won't hatch into a chick."

"Conversely, once a hen sees eggs in her nest, she will assume she has eggs to hatch and will stop laying new ones."

"Oh, I see."

Xu Xi muttered to herself, looking at the egg in her hand, and suddenly felt that her actions were not so sinful.

"But no matter what, you can't steal eggs in front of the hen, or you'll easily get chased by her."

Zhao Lin brought a bag of chicken feed and arrived at the gate of the chicken coop.

The hens saw the food and swarmed around it, clucking loudly.

Zhao Lin scattered a handful of chicken feed on the ground, and the hens immediately lowered their heads and began pecking at the food.

Once the hens' attention was completely drawn to the chicken feed, Zhao Lin tiptoed into the coop, took the eggs from the ground, and then quietly walked out.

The hens continued to eat their rice with their heads down, unaware that a few more of their eggs had disappeared.

"Wow, Linlin, you're amazing!"

Xu Xi glanced at the egg in Zhao Lin's hand, her eyes lit up, and she gave her a thumbs up.

"Wow, Linlin, you're amazing! That's like a clever maneuver—you used every stratagem imaginable, hahaha..."

"No, no, there isn't."

Zhao Lin touched her hair shyly.

"I learned it all from the villagers. When I first started collecting eggs, I used the same method as you, and the hens chased me all over the yard."

As soon as she finished speaking, the two girls burst into laughter, their silvery laughter echoing in the courtyard and splashing into the full water vat, creating ripples.

The laughter didn't last long before a low cough came from the courtyard gate, interrupting the laughter.

"Brother, weren't you in class? Why are you back?"

Following the direction of the sound, Xu Xi saw Xu Nian standing at the gate of the courtyard.

"Something came up."

As Xu Nian spoke, her gaze turned to Zhao Lin.

"What's wrong?"

Zhao Lin put away her smile and walked up to Xu Nian.

"Qi Yu said that a child named Zheng Xiaona didn't come to class today and wants you to go to her house to see if something happened."

"Zheng Xiaona?"

Zhao Lin's expression immediately turned serious: "Okay, I understand."

She put down her farm tools, dusted off her hands, and walked outside.

Xu Xi and her brother exchanged a glance. "Brother, I have a feeling things aren't that simple. Let's go check it out together."

"Okay, sure."

Xu Nian nodded and followed along with Xu Xi.

The country road was rugged and uneven, with wild grass swaying in the wind on both sides. Zhao Lin looked serious and walked quickly.

Xu Xi and Xu Nian jogged along, barely managing to keep up with her pace.

"Linlin, is there something wrong with this child named Zheng Xiaona?" Xu Xi asked.

Zhao Lin frowned and gently shook her head: "Zheng Xiaona is a diligent student and very intelligent. I heard from A-Yu that she's the top student in the class. It's just..."

"Just what?" Xu Xi pressed.

Zhao Lin sighed: "Her family situation is a bit complicated. Her mother passed away two years ago, and she and her younger brother live with their father."

"Single-parent families are indeed a bit unfortunate," Xu Xi thought for a moment, "but it's not that complicated, is it? There are many families in the village where elderly people are raising children, and they're all doing well."

"The main problem is that her father isn't a normal person."

Zhao Lin clenched her fists slightly.

"He has a severe tendency to violence, possibly due to some mental issues. He is very extreme, and villagers avoid him for fear of getting into trouble."

"In addition, he was very old-fashioned, sexist, and believed that women were born to be men's slaves."

"Zheng Xiaona's mother was beaten to death by him just because she said a few things he didn't like."

Upon hearing this, Xu Xi was startled, and the worry in her eyes was instantly replaced by anger.

"What a beast."

Her teeth were clenched so tightly they made a bang.

Xu Nian gently patted her shoulder and softly comforted her, "Don't rush, let's go check the situation first."

"Um."

...