mtl008 Chapter 448 Oh, a new pet?
Chapter 448 Oh, a new pet?
About half an hour later, sure enough, a faint flapping sound came from afar.
Li Xiangyang opened his eyes slightly and saw several bats circling above the courtyard, occasionally swooping down and crashing against the gate.
The knocking sound rang out again, with a strange rhythm—it was the sound of bats hitting the door.
Immediately afterwards, a strange "coughing" sound came from the grass in the corner of the courtyard wall, as if someone was coughing.
Li Xiangyang held his breath and quietly moved his body closer to the source of the sound.
Under the moonlight, a hedgehog was curled up in a corner, and its cries sounded very much like a human cough.
Li Xiangyang couldn't help but laugh. What kind of knocking and coughing was that? It was just the work of bats and hedgehogs!
He tiptoed closer to the hedgehog, quickly covered it with the prepared burlap sack, and put it inside.
At this moment, Zhang Weiping poked his head out: "Brother Xiangyang, I heard that sound again, is it that ghost...?"
"What ghosts or anything like that?" Li Xiangyang waved the sack in his hand. "The ghost you were talking about is right here in this sack!"
Zhang Weiping looked horrified: "You...you really caught a ghost?"
Li Xiangyang shook his head, picked up the hedgehog, and walked over: "Let's talk inside."
Back in the main room, Zhang Weiping's family anxiously surrounded him. Li Xiangyang carefully opened the burlap sack, revealing the hedgehog inside.
"This...this is..." Zhang's mother's eyes widened.
“A hedgehog!” Li Xiangyang said. “The coughing you heard was coming from it.”
"What about the knocking?" Zhang Weiping was still skeptical.
"Someone smeared eel blood on your door, which attracted bats. The sound of the bats hitting the door is the knocking you heard," Li Xiangyang explained.
"But... how could this be..." Zhang Dashan's weak voice came from the inner room. He had woken up at some point and was standing there, leaning against the door frame, his face pale.
Li Xiangyang looked at him: "Uncle Zhang, this isn't a ghost knocking on the door; someone is deliberately trying to scare you. Think carefully, who have you offended recently?"
Zhang Dashan's face turned ashen, and he muttered, "Since I stopped being the production team leader, I haven't offended anyone... Could it be...?"
"What?" Li Xiangyang pressed.
Zhang Dashan hesitated for a moment before finally revealing the truth: "Two years ago, while clearing land, we dug up a lot of copper coins. I... I didn't report it; I secretly sold them to antique dealers. They wanted to know where I got them, but of course I couldn't tell them. They tried to bully me, cough cough... Back then, I had a pretty good relationship with the people of Yangjia Village..."
Li Xiangyang suddenly realized: "So this is another antique dealer, deliberately trying to scare you?"
Zhang Dashan nodded, his voice trembling: "Most likely..."
"That's right." Li Xiangyang nodded. "This isn't some kind of ghost knocking; it's human doing. Wash off the eel blood on the door, and everything will be fine."
Zhang Weiping and his mother breathed a sigh of relief and thanked him repeatedly. Zhang Dashan, however, sat in a chair with a complicated expression, both relieved that it wasn't a real ghost coming to claim his life and worried that the matter of the antiques would be investigated.
Li Xiangyang carefully put away the hedgehog and prepared to go home: "Uncle Zhang, I won't interfere in your matter. But in the future, don't go too far. Think about how many people you've offended over the years. Consider this a warning."
Zhang Dashan lowered his head and remained silent, his face a mixture of regret and fear.
Stepping out of the Zhang family's courtyard, night had fallen. Li Xiangyang gave a self-deprecating laugh, realizing he'd played the role of an overly kind person.
As for how this matter will unfold in the future, he will never get involved again, even if it kills him.
When he got home, Li Xiangyang gently knocked on the door.
Li Xiaoyun was not asleep at the time. She heard the knocking and, after confirming it was him, opened the door.
"How did it go?" Li Xiaoyun asked anxiously as they returned to the room.
Li Xiangyang laughed and put the sack he was holding on the ground: "This isn't something you can just arrest like that."
"Huh?" Li Xiaoyun jumped back in surprise, then saw Li Xiangyang open the sack, revealing the hedgehog inside. She couldn't help but slap him angrily, "What nonsense!"
Li Xiangyang sat down and told Li Xiaoyun the whole story.
"I see," Li Xiaoyun said suddenly, "How interesting, using this method to scare people."
"It's folk wisdom," Li Xiangyang laughed. "But it's also a way of doing justice. Zhang Dashan has done plenty of wicked things in his life, so it's good that he was scared."
Li Xiaoyun then asked, "Then why did you bring this hedgehog back?"
"Let's keep it," Li Xiangyang laughed. "Its cry sounds so much like a human cough, how novel! Besides, hedgehogs eat insects, keeping it in the yard is a good thing."
Li Xiaoyun shook her head and laughed, "You always do such strange things. Alright, go to sleep, you must be tired after a whole night of this."
Li Xiangyang nodded, settled the hedgehog in the yard, and then went back inside to rest.
Lying on the kang (a heated brick bed), Li Xiaoyun was already asleep, her breathing even. Li Xiangyang looked at her face, which was becoming more full and rounded from the pregnancy, and his heart was filled with happiness and contentment.
Having experienced the pain and regrets of his past life, he is now reborn and cherishes the happy life he has now.
Outside the window, the moonlight was like water, and all was quiet.
After getting onto the kang (heated brick bed), Li Xiangyang carefully wrapped his arm around Li Xiaoyun's waist and gently pulled her back against his chest.
Li Xiaoyun instinctively snuggled closer to him, resting her head on his arm.
The gentle moonlight spilled onto the kang (a heated brick bed), illuminating the two people sleeping in each other's arms.
Li Xiangyang closed his eyes, a satisfied smile on his lips, and gradually drifted into a peaceful dream amidst his even breathing.
The next morning, Zhang Weiping came again, this time specifically to bring eggs to Li Xiangyang as a token of his gratitude.
"Brother Xiangyang, thanks to you so much," Zhang Weiping said gratefully. "My dad slept very well last night and is much better this morning."
Li Xiangyang took the eggs and laughed, "No problem at all. By the way, have you washed the eel blood off the door?"
"It's clean!" Zhang Weiping nodded repeatedly. "I scrubbed it several times with hot water first thing this morning, and there's not a trace left."
"That's good." Li Xiangyang patted his shoulder. "Tell your father to do more good deeds and less scheming in the future, so he can live a peaceful life."
Zhang Weiping nodded in agreement, but a complex expression flashed across his face. After all, that was his own father; although his actions were unethical, the bond of blood was undeniable.
"Alright, go back now." Li Xiangyang waved his hand, turned around, and walked into the courtyard.
In the yard, Li Xiaoyun was feeding the hedgehog she had brought back the night before. The little guy had already adapted to the new environment and was happily eating the food on the ground.
“Look how well-behaved it is,” Li Xiaoyun said with a smile.
Li Xiangyang walked over, squatted down, and looked at the hedgehog: "It's quite a clever little thing. How about we keep it as a pet?"
“Okay,” Li Xiaoyun nodded, “it’s quite cute.”
Just then, Wang Ergou's voice came from outside the courtyard: "Brother Xiangyang, are you home?"
"Come in, the door isn't locked," Li Xiangyang replied.
Wang Ergou pushed open the door and immediately spotted the hedgehog on the ground: "Oh, a new pet?"
"Yes, we caught him last night." Li Xiangyang stood up. "What's up?"