Chapter 146: Uncle Belongs to Xiaoxi, Not to Aunt

Zhong Di opened his slightly narrowed eyes and replied lazily, "We're not open for business today!"

If he remembered correctly, he had hung a "Closed" sign on the door. How could someone still be coming in? Wasn't this just disturbing his rest?

Wait, that voice sounded a bit familiar!

"Little brother, aren't you going to welcome me?" The voice rang out again.

Ah! That settled it. It was Sun Miaomiao. Was she always this idle? After all, who would just go out and wander around for fun if they didn't have plenty of free time?

"Oh, you're here. Have a seat," Zhong Di replied casually, then went back to squinting.

"Wow, are you eating seafood? I want some too."

The reason she had come over today was that she had seen the farm was closed, and after asking his sister—her future sister-in-law, she hoped—about the situation and learning that Zhong Di was all alone at the farm, she had made up her mind.

She couldn't let such a good opportunity for some one-on-one time slip by. If she hadn't had something very important to do in the morning, she would have arrived much earlier.

"If you want to eat, the bowls and chopsticks are in the kitchen. Go get them yourself." Since he was so familiar with Sun Miaomiao, there was no need to stand on ceremony as they had in the past.

"Why go there when these are right here?" Sun Miaomiao sat down directly and muttered, "There's even dipping sauce! Spicy is my favorite."

Zhong Di sat up abruptly. "That's... mine." Before he could finish his sentence, Sun Miaomiao had already picked up an oyster, dipped it in the sauce, and popped it into her mouth!

Why was Sun Miaomiao like this?

"Zhong Di, are you there?"

Just as Zhong Di was about to snatch the chopsticks from Sun Miaomiao's hand, another voice appeared. Zhong Di’s hand froze; if he started a struggle, who knew what kind of misunderstanding it might cause?

It was Su Rou’s voice.

What was going on? Were they coming over in groups now?

"Ah, yes, I'm here," Zhong Di replied, feeling a bit awkward.

"I’m on leave today and had nowhere to go. I saw on the farm's official account that you were closed, but I wasn't sure if it would be an intrusion to come by."

Su Rou’s voice preceded her arrival.

"Not at all. If you have nowhere to go, just coming over to hang out is fine." What else could Zhong Di say? Um? Waiting online, it’s quite urgent.

"Oh, Sun Miaomiao, you're here too?" When Su Rou saw that someone else was already there, her tone shifted instantly. The gap in her demeanor was not just a little bit... it was a massive gap.

Watching this inexplicably ignited gunpowder, Zhong Di felt that something was not quite right.

"Su Rou? Hmm... just because you can come, does that mean I can't? I was scrolling through Xianyin earlier, and I saw that some guy has been chasing you like crazy lately!" Sun Miaomiao's words also turned sour and sarcastic.

Zhong Di looked at the two of them—one dressed exquisitely with an outgoing personality, the other dressed simply with an introverted temperament... this...

Just as Zhong Di was feeling awkward, his phone suddenly rang, and he took the chance to escape the scene of the conflict.

"Sis, what's up?" Zhong Di asked as soon as he answered. Since they were closed today, his sister calling meant it must be something important.

"Are you the only one at the farm right now?"

"Ah... well, two friends are here." Zhong Di had been prepared for something significant, but the first question she asked turned out to be something so trivial.

"Alright, got it. I'm hanging up then." With that, Zhong Hui ended the call.

Hung up? How bizarre.

Zhong Di felt perplexed by his sister’s call; the whole interaction felt inexplicable.

He glanced toward the Herb Garden. The voices of the two women were growing louder, so he decisively gave up on going back. Returning to that scene was clearly not a good choice.

Hmm... the greenhouse was nearly finished, so he could go check on that. If he recalled correctly, the foundation piles for the fish pond shed were also done. They needed to be measured, and the fish still needed to be fed.

There was plenty of work to do; who had the time to deal with others?

That made perfect sense. With that thought, Zhong Di began to busy himself.

On the other side, Zhong Hui and Di Chunhua were out shopping with little Xiao Xi.

As for Zhong Tian? Shopping was too tiring; he’d rather find a few people to play chess with.

"Well? How is it?" As soon as Zhong Hui hung up the phone, Di Chunhua hurried to ask.

"Well, he said there are two friends. He didn't say if they were men or women, but it must be Sun Miaomiao and Su Rou. Their situation fits the best." Zhong Hui recalled the details as she spoke.

That very morning, Su Rou and Sun Miaomiao had both asked about the farm, questioning if it was really empty and who was there. Everyone else just asked if they were definitely closed, and once Zhong Hui confirmed it, they had no further questions.

Wasn't it obvious?

Earlier today, while out shopping with her mother, she had mentioned this, and the two of them had come to the same conclusion.

"There's a chance, definitely a chance. I think both girls are great; either one would be fine," Di Chunhua said, looking quite pleased.

"Mom, don't get your hopes up too soon. It might take Zhong Di a while to move on from the past," Zhong Hui said, feeling a bit worried about that aspect.

"Oh, but there's an opportunity, isn't there?"

"Mom, Grandma, what are you two talking about?" Just as they were discussing it, Xiao Xi chimed in with her milky voice.

"We're talking about how your uncle needs to find an auntie for you."

"Yeah, just like how your mom and dad are together."

Zhong Hui and Di Chunhua explained it respectively. Children loved to ask questions, and the two of them were happy to oblige; she was their little ray of sunshine.

After hearing what her mother and grandmother said, Xiao Xi frowned and declared loudly, "No, absolutely not."

"What do you mean 'no'?"

"Uncle can't find an auntie."

"Why not?"

"Because if Uncle has an auntie, he won't love Xiao Xi as much. Uncle belongs to Xiao Xi; he can't belong to an auntie."

Xiao Xi spoke in her little voice, looking very serious and assertive.

*Pfft!*

Zhong Hui and Di Chunhua both burst out laughing.

"You child, what are you thinking? You can't mix those two things up! Uncle will always love Xiao Xi. Uncle loving Xiao Xi and finding an auntie don't conflict at all!" Zhong Hui couldn't help but laugh and cry at the same time, wondering what exactly was going on in her daughter's head.

On the other side, Zhong Di first went to check on the fish pond. The temperature was good, and the foundation piles had all set. It wouldn't be long before the installation could begin.

He wasn't rushing this project as much as he was the greenhouse; it was more of a "do it while I have a spare moment" kind of job. Consequently, even though it was simpler, the progress was slower than the greenhouse.

*Quack, quack, quack!*

The ducks swam happily in the fish pond, the mandarin ducks played in pairs, and every so often, a few geese would go around causing trouble.

Those geese were truly overbearing!

After checking the shed, Zhong Di began to feed the fish.

Apart from some chopped chicken, he also fed them various composted manures, such as chicken and turkey waste.

Fermented chicken manure didn't have a pungent odor; it actually had very little smell, and it was excellent for feeding fish, who were accustomed to green fodder, corn, and wheat bran anyway.