Chapter 307 Heroes

As April arrives and the weather warms up, the heating that had been running all winter is turned off.

Nan Zhiyi settled Xiaoman on the small bed on the first floor, covered her with a thick quilt, and then tiptoed outside.

Zhang Yueran is preparing to return to school.

Nan Zhiyi handed her several cloth bags: "Aunt Feng probably ate most of what she asked you to bring. Take these snacks, fruits, and the meat sauce and pickled vegetables that Aunt Wu made herself. Share them with your roommates. Don't always make do."

Zhang Yueran accepted the heavy supplies, exclaiming, "Ah, having a sister is like having a treasure! With you, it's like having another mother!"

After she finished her antics, carrying her bags, Nan Zhiyi escorted her all the way to the bus stop.

After seeing Zhang Yueran off, Nan Zhiyi packed some bedding and daily necessities.

Previously, when Gu Xiao was at home, he had already moved some frequently used items to a courtyard house not far from Peking University.

Nan Zhiyi thought that since the heating had been turned off anyway, and Gu Xiao was away and there were no classes next Saturday, she would take Xiaoman to the courtyard house for the weekend. It would be a change of environment and let her son experience a different place to live.

When Sister Zhang heard that she planned to stay overnight with her child, she was very worried: "Just you and Xiaoman? Isn't it safe? How will you get meals? Can you manage taking care of a child by yourself? Maybe I should come with you?"

Nan Zhiyi comforted her, "You're only staying for two nights. The courtyard is all-inclusive, and there's no danger if you lock the door. You can just buy something outside for meals or cook something simple yourself. You can relax for a couple of days, don't worry, there won't be any problems."

Sister Zhang knew she couldn't persuade him, but she was still uneasy. She didn't try to persuade him further, but instead gave him many detailed instructions.

She continued, describing her plan: "On Friday, I'll tell the milkman that I won't be delivering milk over the weekend. I'll also take advantage of the sunny weekend to do a thorough cleaning of the house, air out the thick bedding, and put it away..."

"I was just thinking of giving you a break, and you're already thinking about packing..."

"This is nothing. I can take a break while the quilts are airing out."

Nan Zhiyi sighed with relief that she had found a great helper.

During the week, Nan Zhiyi took some time to visit the courtyard house twice.

She checked everything inside and out to see if she was missing anything for the night.

Open all the windows to let in fresh air; the stuffy atmosphere inside was dispelled by the fresh spring breeze.

Taking advantage of the fine weather, she also carried the bedding out to air it in the yard, and would come back to collect it after school in the afternoon.

Looking at the still bare land in the yard, Nan Zhiyi suddenly remembered that in this season of spring warmth and blooming flowers, it was time to find a knowledgeable gardener to plan and design the planting of some flowers, trees and shrubs.

On Friday afternoon, after finishing her class, Nan Zhiyi specially called a taxi to go home.

After picking up the simple luggage that had been prepared in advance and the excited Xiaoman, the mother and son got into the car amidst a series of instructions from Sister Zhang and headed towards the courtyard house.

Although Xiaoman didn't understand exactly where they were going, going out alone with his mother was a little adventure for him.

He sat in the taxi, surprisingly well-behaved, his two little hands resting on his knees, his big, dark eyes curiously looking left and right, capturing the passing street scenes outside the window.

When we arrived at the courtyard house, there was still some light in the sky.

Nan Zhiyi led her son by the hand and walked into the courtyard. "Son, look, this is also our home, another home."

Xiaoman stood in the empty courtyard, looking around. Apart from the houses, the courtyard was deserted.

"Mom, why is this place so empty? There's nothing here at all?"

Nan Zhiyi didn't brush him off and explained seriously, "Because we haven't started tidying up and decorating here yet. Just like when you draw, you need a blank sheet of paper first, right? Tomorrow, Mom will take you out, and we'll find a gardener who knows how to grow flowers to make this place beautiful, okay?"

She has always been like this. Whenever her son asks, she will try her best to explain as long as she can. She never tries to fool him as if he were a child who doesn't know anything.

Xiaoman nodded and was pulled by her mother to walk around the backyard and rooms.

He ran around, measuring the space with his little steps, and finally concluded: "This place is so big! The house is so big too!" After saying that, he let go of his mother's hand and went to explore every corner on his own.

Nan Zhiyi let him discover things on his own and took care of organizing the items she had brought.

After everything was almost tidied up, she called to her son, "Xiaoman, come on, Mom will take you to a small restaurant nearby for dinner."

Xiaoman ran over as soon as she heard this and corrected her, "Mom, this is called eating out!"

Nan Zhiyi was amused by him and affirmed, "Yes, it's eating out. These past two days, Mom has been taking Xiaoman out to eat and have delicious food."

Xiaoman was very supportive, "Great! Let's go out to eat something delicious!"

At night, the mother and son slept on a canopy bed in the main room.

Xiaoman was very interested in the bed. She circled it several times, climbed up and down to study it for a long time, and finally lay down inside, staring blankly at the hanging bed curtains. Suddenly she said, "Mom, we are sleeping in a small room."

Nan Zhiyi hugged her son's soft body and kissed his forehead: "Yes, this is a little house made of a bed. You've been playing for most of the day, so close your eyes and go to sleep."

Xiaoman snuggled against her, found a comfortable position to lie down, and let his mother pat his back rhythmically.

The room fell silent.

After a while, just when Nan Zhiyi thought her son had fallen asleep, Xiaoman suddenly whispered, "Mom, I miss Dad."

His voice was exceptionally clear in the silence, "Where did Dad go? Will he ever come back?"

Nan Zhiyi's heart is both soft and bitter.

She replied softly, "Silly son, Daddy went out to work. He'll be home soon after he finishes."

Xiaoman pressed on, "What does Daddy do for a living?"

Nam Ji-yi tried to explain in a way her son could understand: "Dad's job is to work with many, many uncles and aunts to protect our country and people like us."

Xiaoman's little head was filled with new questions: "What is a country? Is it very big? Why do we need to protect it?"

Nan Zhiyi sighed softly and hugged her son even tighter.

“Son, the country is very, very big. The place where we live, and many other places, are all part of the country. We, and the children you know, your aunt, your grandma, we are all people here. Your dad and those uncles and aunts are here to protect us, to protect our home, and to keep us from being bullied by bad people. They work very hard and are great and powerful heroes.”

Xiaoman tried hard to understand these complex concepts.

After a while, he said, "Then I want to be a great hero when I grow up!"

Nan Zhiyi paused in patting her son's hand, the word "no" almost slipping out.

She was all too aware of the burdens and risks behind being a hero.

But in the end...

She swallowed back the words that were on the tip of her tongue, and simply hugged her son tighter: "Son, you're still Mommy's little baby. Let's be little babies and grow up healthy and happy, okay? We can talk about being a great hero later."

Xiaoman was fairly satisfied with the answer, snuggled closer to her mother, and gradually fell asleep.

Nan Zhiyi couldn't fall asleep for a long time. In the darkness, listening to her son's breathing and thinking of Gu Xiao far away, she was filled with mixed feelings.