Chapter 9

The steaming hot meat dishes always took a bit longer to arrive. The women at the table casually picked at the greens on their plates, bored and chatting idly. Gradually, their gazes fixed on Wang Baoyu, the only male in the room.

"Wang Baoyu, how's it going with your godfather's lessons?" Liu Xiaojuan, the wife of the deputy village chief Tian Fugui, asked Wang Baoyu, who was eating with his head down.

Wang Baoyu was taken aback for a moment. He swallowed the celery in his mouth forcefully and said, "Just started, still a long way to go!" Wang Baoyu's words were honest; through this phase of learning, he indeed felt there was much more to learn.

"Don't be modest, Baoyu! You guys don't know, but Baoyu really has some skills! Last time he said I would have good fortune, and it really happened. I'm convinced." The speaker was Li Xiuzhi, who was still very excited about her unexpected good fortune. Li Xiuzhi shouldn't have been seated there, but Ma Shunxi always showed a very "people-friendly" attitude towards beautiful women, so Li Xiuzhi was immediately seated in the "VIP room," which made Zheng Fenglan glare at him fiercely.

Li Xiuzhi's words clearly surprised the women present. They hadn't expected that this young man could actually tell fortunes. They all showed eager expressions.

"Baoyu, give me a reading, how's my luck been lately?" Wang Yanqiu, the wife of the accountant Zhang Shiqu, asked.

"I can't do it yet!" Wang Baoyu firmly refused, thinking, "Why bother, I still have to enjoy a big meal and satisfy my hunger! Who has the time to chat with you women about this."

"Hey! A rascal learning fortune-telling, not giving anyone face. Fine, if you don't want to, it's not like it would be accurate anyway." The speaker was a fat woman sitting next to Wang Baoyu. Who was she? Li Cuiping, the wife of the village party secretary Chi Licai.

Wang Baoyu didn't say anything. Her appearance was repulsive, with a round, fat face, red and spotted like a rotten apple. She should be called Li Rotten Apple, not Li Cuiping.

Li Xiuzhi glanced at Wang Baoyu. She had wanted to speak up for him, but sitting at the table with the wives of village officials, she didn't want to offend anyone, so she kept quiet.

Seeing the atmosphere getting a bit cold, Zheng Fenglan, the wife of Ma Shunxi, who was seated at the main table, quickly smoothed things over, saying, "I didn't notice before, but today I see that Baoyu looks so gentle and scholarly!" Jia Zhengdao was a distinguished guest at their home today, and she didn't want to offend his son over a small matter.

Wang Yanqiu didn't mind Wang Baoyu's refusal and followed up, "I was just saying, look at Baoyu, his nose is a nose, his eyes are eyes. If he wore a wig, he'd definitely be the most handsome in this room!" She smacked her lips, still savoring the thought.

Liu Xiaojuan saw this and smirked, saying, "What, listen to this talk, who has eyes that aren't eyes, a nose that isn't a nose? Did you feel like you lost out by marrying our brother Shiqu? Luckily, Baoyu is young, or brother Shiqu would have been upset if he heard this."

"Not young, not young, this age is just right!" Li Cuiping said with a wicked smile. As soon as she finished, everyone burst into laughter. Wang Yanqiu, the youngest of the group, in her early thirties, clearly couldn't handle the teasing. Her face turned red with embarrassment, and she said, "Why are you all making fun of me? When the chicken and duck come, I'll see if you can shut up!"

As soon as Wang Yanqiu finished speaking, steaming hot meat dishes were brought in on a black lacquer tray. The smell revealed that the first dish was chicken stewed with mushrooms. At this moment, everyone was chatting casually, but their eyes were all slanted towards the tray, and their chopsticks were held steady, ready to strike. The moment the dish was placed on the table, a dozen arms swiped at it.

Wang Baoyu's eyes sparkled, already aiming for the chicken leg peeking out from the mushrooms. He raised his chopsticks and, with a speed that was "faster than lightning," was the first to grab the chicken leg among the falling chopsticks.

Wang Baoyu felt a surge of joy, just as he was about to bring the meat back, another pair of chopsticks, from his side, crossed his, making a grating sound that made his teeth ache. They almost simultaneously grabbed the meat, and the force was so strong that Wang Baoyu couldn't pull it back no matter how hard he tried.

Wang Baoyu was really angry, thinking, "Who the hell is trying to steal from me!" He turned his head and saw it was Li Cuiping, the fat woman, who was grinning at him, as if saying, "Little one, you think you can steal food from me? Not a chance!"

Wang Baoyu said softly, "Aunt Cuiping, why are you competing with a junior for food? Your family doesn't lack for food, does it?"

His voice was low, but the women at the table still heard and saw their actions, and the room filled with laughter again.

Li Cuiping, unperturbed, said provocatively, "Baoyu, aren't you good at fortune-telling? Why didn't you predict that I would want this chicken leg too?"

Wang Baoyu was really angry, thinking, "What the hell, you're really picking a fight with me, and I haven't even provoked you!" At this moment, he suddenly remembered overhearing the conversation between the village party secretary Chi Licai and Gong Xiangjun while using the toilet, and he understood a bit. This wasteful woman must have had a bad night with the secretary, who was not performing well.

Thinking of this, Wang Baoyu's face also showed a wicked smile, and he said to Li Cuiping, "Aunt Cuiping, in front of a real Buddha like you, how dare I show off? But if I tell you something no one else knows, and it makes you laugh, will you give me this chicken leg?"

"Based on your skills? Fine, since it's lively today, I'll give you a chance. Speak up, if you do well, you get the meat." Li Cuiping's face showed disdain as she said this.

Wang Baoyu, with a wicked smile, leaned close to Li Cuiping's fat face and whispered, "Aunt, from your facial features, your cheeks are red, and your eyebrows droop. If I'm not mistaken, you don't get enough to eat every night, right?"

"What? Not enough to eat?" Li Cuiping was momentarily taken aback and asked reflexively.

"I mean, Secretary Chi, that thing, can't satisfy you." Wang Baoyu almost whispered into Li Cuiping's ear, as if he could bite her. This action made the women present very curious.

"How can he not satisfy you?" Li Cuiping's face turned red to the roots of her ears, and she asked in a low voice.

"Hehe, Aunt, you're still pretending, it's all written on your face. Strong on the outside, weak on the inside, long but not firm, how can it satisfy you?" Wang Baoyu said with a mysterious, low laugh.

Li Cuiping's face alternated between red and green. No one likes to admit their partner is inadequate. She said angrily, "I get enough!"

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