"Zhao Heng is a very smart child. He was considered an upper-middle-class student at Shengming Academy. After coming here, he studied under Mr. Su and occasionally helped the teacher teach the children to read and do math. I remember once, the weather suddenly turned cold, and he came up with a solution. He got some wheat straw, put it in a burlap sack, and sewed it up stitch by stitch. Nobody knew what he was doing. Later, after he finished sewing it, he laid it on Dahei's bed, and we all realized that this child had put a lot of thought into keeping Dahei warm. Strangely enough, after that, he and Dahei became good friends."

"I thought Zhao Heng was a smart child, and with a little guidance, he would surely amount to something. In order to help Zhao Heng build confidence, I specially made him a set of clothes and treated him like these other children. I didn't expect that he would grab my arm excitedly, his eyes red, and say that he wished he were my son. This is very disrespectful, but it shows one thing: Zhao Heng lacks maternal love!"

"How could I not know all this? It's just that I sold my only house back then, all to try and cure his mother's illness. But things didn't go as planned, and his mother still passed away. I didn't want to either, but what could I do? And this brat is blaming me at such an inopportune time?"

"My lord, please don't blame Zhao Heng for this. Zhao Heng is just a child. In his heart, he not only wants a mother to love him, but more importantly, he wants a stepmother to help him take care of his father's life. You should be happy that Zhao Heng is such a filial and sensible son. How can you blame Zhao Heng?"

The magistrate was stunned. Indeed, for so many years, Zhao Heng had always wanted a loving mother, but his father had never fulfilled this wish. Now that Zhao Heng had this wish, it was understandable. Zhao Heng actually thought of having a woman to take care of his old father, but what about him? He didn't understand his own son at all. The magistrate's heart was filled with endless guilt.

He thought that Zhao Heng was now in Daling Village and would eventually forget about his father, the county magistrate, as he grew older. He never expected that Zhao Heng would still remember him!

The children in the school all gathered around, and a chubby little boy grabbed Zhao Heng's arm: "Mr. Zhao, thank you for buying us the schoolbags!"

"That's right. Mr. Zhao teaches us to read and write every day, and he even secretly buys us food, but he can't bear to eat it himself!"

"Sir, you...you can't hit Mr. Zhao!"

A group of children suddenly stood in front of Zhao Heng. Actually, the magistrate didn't reach out to hit Zhao Heng, but wanted to pat him on the head and comfort him. Unexpectedly, he was stopped by the children.

Upon hearing this, the magistrate's eyes welled up with tears. He silently berated himself, "So, so my son is so sensible. Not only has he become a teacher in the school, but he is also so respected by so many people. It is I, his father, who has failed to understand him!"

Zhao Heng also misunderstood, thinking that his father was going to hit him, and ran angrily towards Da Shan's house.

Liang Shuyan saw through the magistrate's thoughts, and guessed that the magistrate must have felt a little guilty just now. She didn't say a word and followed behind the magistrate.

"Sir, don't worry. Zhao Heng is just a child. He probably went back to the mountains out of spite!"

Li Zheng followed behind, constantly offering words of comfort.

In the Jin family courtyard, the people at the teahouse were busy, Jin Daya was cooking in the kitchen, and Dashan was still helping out at the construction site and hadn't returned yet. Zhao Heng stormed into Dashan's room and slammed the door shut.

At home, Zhao Heng was not used to wearing his young master's clothes. He was wearing a pair of patched clothes with shorts on the legs, sitting on a stool and leaning over the table.

When everyone saw the county magistrate enter, they hurriedly came over to greet him.

The magistrate nodded and then said, "By the way, have you seen Zhao Heng?"

Jin Daya, wearing an apron, pointed towards Dashan's room: "Just now, I saw Young Master Zhao run towards Dashan's house."

"Alright, you all go about your business. I'll go in and check on Zhao Heng."

No one dared to speak, each busy with their own affairs. Li Zheng glanced at Liang Shuyan and sat down on the bench next to her: "The magistrate won't scold Zhao Heng anymore, will he?"

"No, let's not disturb them, let them talk it out!"

The magistrate walked towards Jin Dashan's house and saw his son slumped over the table. He went up to him, patted Zhao Heng's head, and said, "Heng'er, are you angry with your father? Just now..."

The magistrate wanted to explain something, but found himself at a loss for words and didn't know what to say.

Zhao Heng's eyes reddened: "What's wrong, Dad? Didn't you have enough fighting outside? Now you've chased her to Aunt's house to commit violence again?"

Zhao Heng turned his head angrily and said something.

Normally, he would have given this brat a good scolding, but now that he, as the father, had misunderstood his son and wronged him, how could he still scold him?

He touched his heart, trying to calm his anger. His lips parted slightly, as if he wanted to say something, but he didn't.

Liang Shuyan stood at the door, gesturing frantically, signaling to the magistrate to coax him.

“Father, I don’t dare to be harsh with you. I know you’ve always been thinking about your mother, but I feel the same way. If your mother were still alive, why would I have sent you to Daling Village? So, please don’t mention this matter again!”

Everyone said the county magistrate was a blockhead, but Zhao Heng just couldn't believe his father was that kind of person. Now he finally realized that his father really was a blockhead. Didn't he know how to be flexible and find him a mother like Aunt Jin? Didn't his father know how to be a county magistrate and how to please a woman?

"Dad, why? Didn't Grandma tell you to find me a stepmother? Don't you even listen to Grandma anymore? I want a stepmother so I won't have to be taken care of when I grow up. But what about you? You're just a rough old man. When you come home, there's no food or laundry, no one to cook or do the laundry!"

The magistrate pondered for a moment: "I understand your intentions, but these things can't be rushed. You need to give me time, okay?"

Like a child, Zhao Heng wiped his snot on his father, the county magistrate's, official robes to indicate his agreement.

"Dad, a new jewelry shop has opened in town. Zhao Heng has inquired about it, and Auntie likes the red bracelet!"