A domineering country girl flirts with her son, and Commander Huo can't resist.

In the afternoon, Huo Chen and Huo Ning would take a nap, and Qiao An told them to sleep at the other end of the kang (a heated brick bed) so as not to disturb Huo Fang.

She arrived at the main room, where Huo Jiyun was sitting on a stool.

Only she and Huo Jiyun remained in the room.

Joan sat opposite him.

"After Huo Chen and Huo Ning wake up, take them out to play."

"Over the years, since you haven't come back, many children in the village have said that the two of them are fatherless. Although they don't say it, I know that the children are uncomfortable."

"Now that you're back, spend some quality time with them."

Huo Jiyun nodded. "It's what I should do."

"I have to go to work tomorrow. I just became a full-time employee at the police station's canteen, so I need to perform well. I can't take leave just because you're back. I hope you can understand."

Qiao An spoke very politely and sincerely. After all, Huo Jiyun only came back once every four years, so the family should stay at home for a few days.

But the thought of spending time staring at each other blankly at home with Huo Jiyun was something Qiao An simply couldn't bear.

I thought Huo Jiyun might be angry, but to my surprise, he agreed, "I'll stay home and spend time with the kids. You go to work."

"I might go to town in a few days, about three days a week."

Joan tilted her head, looking puzzled.

To Huo Jiyun, this expression was strangely cute.

He quickly looked away. "On the way back, I ran into a distant cousin who asked me to work at a machine tool factory in town for a few days. I agreed."

cut!

What kind of helper is that? You can only fool kids.

Joan thought to herself, but put on a slightly surprised smile. "So capable, you must get a lot of money, right?"

Huo Jiyun's expression changed. "Uh...not much."

Qiao An didn't ask any further questions, and Huo Jiyun breathed a sigh of relief.

When the armed forces department of Jinshui Town learned of his return, they wanted him to help train the militia, and Huo Jiyun agreed.

Since it's a favor, it's free of charge.

He's not the kind of person who can stay idle. If he really stayed home for three months, he'd probably be scratching his head in frustration.

After Huo Chen and Huo Ning woke up, Huo Jiyun took them out to play.

As they were leaving, Qiao An gave each of them two White Rabbit candies, as usual, and also slipped two to Huo Jiyun.

"I'm not a child," Huo Jiyun said with some disdain.

"So what? Can't adults eat candy?"

Without saying a word, Joan stuffed the candy into his pocket.

Huo Jiyun wanted to refuse, but after a while, their hands became entangled.

Feeling the warmth of Qiao An's fingers, Huo Jiyun's face flushed red to the roots of his ears.

He quickly withdrew his hand, as if he had just touched a hot potato.

Qiao An suppressed a laugh, unable to bear looking directly at his bright red face.

I never expected Huo Jiyun to be such a pure and innocent young man.

After the one adult and two children left, Qiao An returned to the side room to see Huo Fang.

Because the wound was treated promptly, and she continued to use physical methods to cool herself down, her body temperature had now come down.

Huo Fang slowly woke up and saw a fair and handsome face as soon as she opened her eyes.

"Second Aunt..."

Huo Fang suddenly remembered that her second uncle seemed to be holding her.

My aunt also said that she would support my education in the future.

Is this not a dream?

"Fangfang, you're awake? Are you hungry? Your aunt will get you something to eat."

Qiao An didn't consider herself a particularly kind person, but when she saw Huo Fang, she still instinctively felt pity for her.

"Not hungry..."

No sooner had she finished speaking than Huo Fang's stomach rumbled.

"Aren't you hungry yet? Your stomach is protesting for you," Joan laughed.

Huo Fang also laughed, but her laugh was rather awkward.

"Just wait!"

Qiao An made Huo Fang a tub of milk powder and took out a few pieces of cake for her from the little wooden house.

Huo Fang is still injured and cannot eat greasy or spicy foods. We will give her some nourishing foods once she recovers.

After watching Huo Fang finish eating, Qiao An helped her lie down so she could continue to rest.

After tidying up the house and yard, Qiao An returned to the side room.

Huo Fang woke up at this time as well.

Seeing that she seemed to be in good spirits, Qiao An sat on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed) and chatted with her.

Huo Fang's eyes were glistening with tears. "Second Aunt, I'll go back as soon as I can get out of bed. Everyone's having a hard time right now, and I don't want to cause you any more trouble."

"Why go back? To get beaten to death?" Qiao An glared at her.

"If you go back, you'll be married off next year for the dowry, and I won't be able to save you then."

Huo Fang's face turned even paler.

"Once you get married, you have to have children, just like your mother. If your first child is a girl, you have to keep having children until you have a son. Have you ever thought about this kind of life?"

Hearing Qiao An's words, Huo Fang shook her head.

"If you don't want to live like this, then stay at your second aunt's house obediently."

"If you can be ruthless enough to break ties with your scumbag parents, good days are yet to come."

Huo Fang stared blankly at Qiao An, "But they are my biological parents. They gave me life and raised me. If I don't acknowledge them, it would be the greatest act of filial impiety."

"You unfilial bastard! They had you because they couldn't control themselves. They were having a great time making babies."

"Having children is their desire, and raising you is their responsibility."

"If you only give birth but don't raise the child, that's illegal. How can you consider doing something illegal as an act of kindness?"

"You can be filial, but you can't be blindly obedient, understand?"

Huo Fang felt dizzy listening to this, feeling that what her second aunt said made sense, yet also seemed unreasonable.

But in the end, she nodded as if she understood but not quite.

Huo Jiyun happened to be returning home with the child at that moment, and as soon as he entered the house, he heard Qiao An's earth-shattering and awe-inspiring remarks.

To be honest, Huo Jiyun thought Qiao An was right.

He felt that his parents were biased from a young age, giving all the good food and drinks to his eldest brother and third brother.

They would make new clothes for the eldest brother and the third brother, while he would always wear the eldest brother's leftovers.

When Huo Jiyun was a child, she asked her parents why her third brother didn't have to wear clothes that were considered "leftovers".

But as soon as he asked the question, he was beaten up.

Later, when the production team recruited workers, they directly nominated the eldest brother and the third brother, leaving him only to do the dirtiest, most tiring, and least rewarding jobs.

He even became a notorious bachelor in the village, and no one was willing to marry their daughter to him.

If it weren't for his accidental rescue of a high-ranking official, he would have been able to leave this place.

I'm afraid his life isn't much better today.

The most important reason he didn't want to come back all these years was that he didn't want to face Huo Shoutian and Liu Huying.

Huo Jiyun didn't disturb Qiao An and Huo Fang. He sat in the main room, remembering Qiao An mentioning at noon that she wanted to find someone to make furniture.

He's been gone for so many years and hasn't done anything for his family, so he might as well make a set of wooden furniture for Qiao An.

When Qiao An arrived at the main room, she found Huo Jiyun measuring something very carefully with his hands.

He felt a little awkward when he noticed Joan. "Didn't you say you wanted to have some furniture made? I know carpentry, I'll do it."

"You can do this too?"

Qiao An thought Huo Jiyun was only good at leading troops into battle.

"I've studied it before, but my skills can't compare to those of an old carpenter. However, I should be able to make a few pieces of furniture without any problems."

What do you want?

Qiao Anke became interested when furniture was mentioned.

She took out paper and pen and wrote things down one by one.