Catching crickets, tying grasshoppers, catching dragonflies, catching cicadas, catching fireflies at night, and racing to catch beetles, Ping An and the twins are living a happy life in the capital.

It was the weekend again, and Zhang Guoqing learned that the watermelon harvest season had officially begun. He planned to take his three sons to the western suburbs to experience life in the countryside early in the morning.

He used his power to drive a sidecar out of the compound gate for personal gain. A pair of young brothers in the car grabbed the handrails tightly and started howling loudly.

"Fly, fly faster."

“Ah…ah…”

Ping An beside him smiled brightly, holding onto the safety belts that held his two younger brothers, feeling the cool breeze.

After driving for a while, Zhang Guoqing slowed down and shouted, "How was it? Was it great?"

The three brothers nodded repeatedly and responded loudly.

With the continuous fancy games played by their father Zhang Guoqing, the children's sense of loss without their mother around was much alleviated.

This time, the four of them were headed for Zhou Xiaozheng's farm in the countryside. Being located near a mountain had an advantage: dryland watermelons were especially sweet.

Zhang Guoqing brought the children here to play, not only to let the twins know about rural life, but also to bring some watermelons back to the welfare home for his sons to show their love.

A large watermelon weighs three cents per pound, and a hundred pounds costs only three yuan. Even a small slice for each child is enough to make them happy for a long time.

Captain Zhou had sent a message a few days ago, and when he heard the sound of the motorcycle, he immediately came to the drying yard. As expected, he was right, it was this kid with his pups.

"Uncle, I'm busy."

"Why did you bring the children here? There are mosquitoes everywhere. Be careful."

"Alright. Darlings, hurry up and call for help."

After saying hello, Zhang Guoqing led his three sons and Captain Zhou back, saying as they walked, "The busy farming season isn't over yet, is it? Is everyone eating in the cafeteria?"

Captain Zhou knew he couldn't hide it, so he rolled his eyes at him. "This bastard doesn't act like a father, he's always tormenting his son. You can't live a good life in the city, why come here to reminisce about the good old days?"

"At noon, we had flatbread and corn porridge. Aren't you worried about the children going hungry?"

Without waiting for Zhang Guoqing to reply, Ping An patted his chest and assured him that his three brothers would be fine. The twins, who had been led astray by him, nodded repeatedly in support of their brother.

Although it is said to be an experience of life, apart from letting the children see what the children in the village are busy with during the busy farming season, it is impossible for Zhang Guoqing to really let the children do farm work for a long time.

He first fed his three sons water, changed them into long sleeves and long pants, and then took them to the wheat field to play with the children in the village.

He didn't ask whether he wanted to pick up wheat ears or go digging for loaches and eels with the older kids. He just followed them quietly and watched them blend in.

Ping An had been to the countryside with him many times and knew what he meant. He guided his younger brothers to gather wheat ears and put them into cloth bags first. After all, he knew that when the three brothers were soaked from the heat, his father would be the first one to take them away out of pity.

Seeing fleas on the children in the village and white lice eggs on the girls' heads again, Ping'an glanced at his father speechlessly.

Fortunately, the three brothers are bald, otherwise they would have been infected by being so close!

The two little kids had no idea. They cheered happily and squatted down to pick up the trash. They wished that all the little brothers and sisters would leave.

Ping'an looked at his brothers with pity. "Silly brothers, you've fallen into a trap! Even if you pick up a lot, it's not ours. Dad will say it's public property."

Ping An shed tears for himself when he thought about how he was deceived by his father in previous years.

After more than an hour, Zhang Guoqing saw that the twins were really slowing down, so he pulled the brothers up and said, "Recite the ancient poem 'Pity the People' for Dad."

"When the sun is high in the sky,

Sweat drips onto the soil.

Who knows the food on the plate,

Every grain of rice is hard-earned."

Zhang Guoqing applauded, "You guys are amazing! Do you know how to grow wheat?"

The twins shook their heads.

"Ping'an, explain it to your brothers," Zhang Guoqing said as he handed his eldest son the kettle. In the countryside, people drank well water from a ladle, so he was still a little uneasy.

Ping An took two sips and handed the drink to his two younger brothers, signaling them to drink if they were thirsty. He began, "Before planting wheat, you first need to plow the land and fertilize it with farmyard manure, which is fermented feces. Before planting wheat, spread the manure evenly on the ground."

"That's not all. Look at these neat rows of land, aren't they? They were all planted bit by bit by the farmer using a harrow."

"After planting the wheat seeds, we have to weed regularly while waiting for them to mature, and carry water and manure for irrigation. Finally, when the wheat finally matures, we have to bend over and separate the crops before it rains. After they dry, we have to pay the tax."

Ping An said this, looked around, and whispered, "We can only grow one crop of wheat a year in our hometown. After paying the public tax, each family can only keep 16 kilograms of wheat in a good year."

"You're still young now. In two years, when you're as old as your brother, you'll understand that being a farmer is the hardest and most tiring, and you get the least to eat. The good things are all taken by the city dwellers, so everyone wants to go to the city to work."

Zhang Guoqing cleared his throat and looked at his eldest son, who shrugged at him, feeling a bit amused. "Now you understand how hard farming is, right? You should cherish food and not be picky about it."

Liuyi nodded and stretched out his hands, "Dad, I'm dirty and want to wash my hands."

"Daddy, I'm itchy, let's take a shower."

It's quite good that he's been able to hold on until now before making any demands. Zhang Guoqing couldn't bear to see his son suffer; it wasn't like he was crazy and planned to make his son a farmer.

As he led his sons to the river, he kept muttering about how much wheat could be harvested from the piece of land they had just stood on, how much finished product would be available, and how long it would last for the three brothers to eat.

He washed the three children one by one in water, put them back into long-sleeved shirts and long pants, and took them to the cafeteria for dinner. For this, he paid four taels of food coupons and two cents.

Of course, lunch wasn't just flatbread, nor was it just corn porridge. For the hardworking members of the production team, they prepared loofah soup, a stew of mixed vegetables with three or five small pieces of meat, and two plates of seasonal vegetables.

Such a meal made everyone smile with satisfaction. They grabbed their chopsticks and stuffed the food into their mouths, not forgetting to call their children to eat quickly.

Zhang Guoqing and his son were accompanied by Captain Zhou and his men. They didn't need to go too fast, but they also didn't want to interrupt their lunch break. Everyone was tired and wanted to relax.

At first, the twins were not happy when they saw the food. They pouted and looked at Zhang Guoqing. After Ping An whispered in their ears that Dad had already paid and they would be losing out if they didn't eat, they immediately grabbed the wooden spoon and ate obediently.

Zhang Guoqing didn't care how much the children ate. He felt embarrassed to let the children eat as much as they wanted.

After a while, I let the children eat some bread and pastries, then took them to catch some loaches and fish, took some photos as a souvenir, and when the sun set and we finished weighing the watermelons, the trip was over.

Five hundred kilograms of watermelons sounds like a lot, but there weren't many piled there. As in previous years, these watermelons were taken to the city on the production team's ox cart the next day, and one hundred kilograms were left and tied to the back seat of the sidecar.

The children abandoned by God in the welfare home are not all angels with broken wings. Many healthy children also appear here from nowhere.

Zhang Guoqing understands these children’s sensitive inner world too well – they want to love but are afraid of being hurt, they want to fit in but are afraid of being discriminated against.

Growing up in an orphanage, he dared not show a trace of pity and could only let his sons play with them and make them laugh.

There is no need for sympathy, let alone unfulfilled promises.