Chapter 463: 463: Can You Marry into My Family?

Qiao Xiaomai watched this scene silently, then she smiled and diverted the topic, “Where is Sanlang? Why I don’t see Tong Sanlang?”

“After he finished his work, he went around here,” Tong Tiehu replied.

Upon hearing this, Qiao Xiaomai gave a long sigh of acknowledgement, thinking that having light agility would be really nice.

“Wait for him for a while. When he returns, you two can go home together and let him get your meal,” Tong Tiehu said again.

“Grandpa Tong, it seems a bit rude if you put it that way.”

“For you, everyone else in this family is an outsider anyway. It’s normal to be considered as such,” said Tong Tiehu, keeping a straight face.

Upon hearing this, Qiao Xiaomai blinked and nodded, “Let’s do as Grandpa Tong said.”

Just then, Tong Sanlang returned.

Seeing Qiao Xiaomai, he was slightly surprised. Looking at the sour plum soup in his family’s bowls, he immediately understood.

Then his guilt deepened.

Tong Tiehu sternly said, “Go home with Xiaomai, and give her the money for food. We ran out of white flour at home; mill some, then go back to study.”

Tong Sanlang responded.

Glimpsing his family silently sipping the sour plum soup, he pursed his lips and climbed into Qiao Xiaomai’s ox-cart.

As he started to move the cart, Qiao Xiaomai sat on the cart holding an umbrella. Once the Tong family was out of sight, he finally said, “I’m sorry.”

“Why are you apologizing? It’s okay.” Qiao Xiaomai took an ice cream box from the space and poked his back with her hand, “Here, have some to cool off.”

Tong Sanlang turned around, looking at her small smiling face and asked, “Are you really not upset?”

“I’m not upset at the moment.”

Tong Sanlang raised an eyebrow and took the ice cream. “What Grandpa and I meant is, you should start acting high and mighty and stop taking care of my family.”

“Hmm?” Qiao Xiaomai was puzzled.

“I just thought about it and actually, from the start, my mother and sister-in-law didn’t have a good impression of you,” Tong Sanlang replied while eating the ice cream.

“With the situation back at my house before, it’s normal for them not to have a good impression.”

“No, no, no, that’s not the reason. It’s more because of Zhu Cuiying. At that time, she was hoping that Qiao Meipan or Qiao Ying would marry me. Therefore, she often visited our place to chat with my sister-in-law. After hearing a lot from her, my sister-in-law formed a bad impression of you.”

“Then she influenced my mother’s opinion, causing her to have a bad impression of you as well.”

Upon hearing this, Qiao Xiaomai fell into silence, “…”

This seemed terribly unfair to her!

“After that, when you came to ask for Grandpa’s help, my sister-in-law wanted to spread gossip about your family. Grandpa scolded her, and that’s when the conflict started,” Tong Sanlang recalled the occurrences of the past few months, analyzing each event for her. “Also, the last time the goat milk that was sent back by Dami caused another dispute.”

Qiao Xiaomai interjected, “…That wasn’t my fault.”

“Of course it wasn’t. It was my fault. I had no idea she wanted that bucket of goat milk, so I asked Dami to take it back.”

“It was her fault! Don’t you, as the grandson of the Tong family, have the right to decide about a bucket of goat milk? She just likes to make trouble!” Qiao Xiaomai retorted.

Tong Sanlang gave a wry smile, “Anyway, the prejudice is already deep. After today’s incident, it will only get deeper.”

Qiao Xiaomai stared at him, her black eyes moving restlessly, “Is there a possibility that your family will split up?”

“Split up?” Tong Sanlang was taken aback for a moment, “No. Both my elder brother and second brother don’t want that to happen.”

“Then can you marry into my family?” Qiao Xiaomai asked again, “My dad and Dami are easy-going and very good to get along with.”