Early in the morning, with the first light of dawn and the air still carrying a hint of the coolness of the night, Chen Fenghua sat on the oxcart. Although the ride was a bit bumpy, he felt the gentle breeze on his face and took deep breaths of the fresh air.
Putting everything else aside, this place is pretty good.
Amidst the green hills and clear waters, she had just seen a deer or roe deer dart past in the woods from the oxcart; its eyes were dark and its meat looked delicious.
"This is your hometown?"
Qi Ye shook his head. "No, my hometown is closer than this."
Not his hometown?
Shen Fenghua was taken aback. Then why send the child here?
Perhaps sensing the doubt in Shen Fenghua's eyes, Qi Ye explained, "This is a place my comrades found. I have no relatives left in my hometown who I can entrust to. Even if I take the child back, I don't know who to give him to."
Orphaned.
Shen Fenghua quickly extracted the key words.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to bring up your sad story."
Qi Ye shook his head and said softly, "It's not your fault, it's my own fault for not saying it."
Once Shen Fenghua started the conversation, Qi Ye began to talk about his own relatives. His parents had died early, and he had two older brothers, one older sister, and two younger sisters, all of whom were now married and had established their own careers.
We don't usually have much contact.
Shen Fenghua was indeed shocked by this number of people, "Six siblings in total?"
"Yes." Qi Ye replied, a hint of sarcasm flashing in his eyes.
Shen Fenghua pursed her lips, feeling that she still needed to give him a heads-up beforehand. "I have an older brother who is married and has twin boys. I also have a younger sister who is in her first year of high school. My parents are still alive, and my grandparents live in the city, but I also have a maternal grandmother in the countryside."
At this point, Shen Fenghua awkwardly brushed her wind-blown hair aside. "I grew up with my maternal grandmother, so we have a very close bond."
"That's to be expected."
"..."
The oxcart swayed and rocked, and the two men chatted idly, so the time didn't pass too long.
The sun rose, its blinding light bringing with it a stifling heat. Shen Fenghua squinted uncomfortably, and in the next instant, a willow-leaf hat was placed on her head.
She looked up and caught Qi Ye's slightly evasive gaze. His voice was low and his speech was faster than usual. "The sun is a bit strong. I came in a hurry and didn't think to bring a hat. I was sorry for not thinking of that."
Shen Fenghua's fingertips twitched slightly. "No, I didn't even think to wear a hat."
She swallowed hard and gave a bright smile. "But thank you for the hat. It's definitely gotten a lot hotter now."
"I'm glad you don't mind." Qi Ye felt ashamed, blushing and his heart pounding at the sight of Shen Fenghua's smile.
Shen Fenghua thought, "I really don't mind, I'm even a little surprised."
Seeing her get sunburned makes her think of making a hat out of whatever she has on hand. What does that mean?
This means that the man is meticulous and, when he discovers a problem, he doesn't raise it, but solves it directly.
They have a sense of responsibility and accountability.
Shen Fenghua and Qi Ye have no emotional foundation whatsoever. If they are to live together as a couple, it depends on their character. Whether they can shoulder the responsibilities if they do get married remains to be seen.
Because of this hat, Shen Fenghua and Qi Ye seemed to communicate more easily.
As soon as you enter the village, you can hear the noisy laughter of children, interspersed with screams.
The driver: "We've arrived."
Qi Ye rolled down first, but Shen Fenghua wasn't as quick and efficient. She slowly moved down, but...
She felt that the man had suddenly become a little strange, and why was he frozen?
When she got down and stood still, looking at the children in the distance, her eyes almost popped out of their sockets.
"this……"
Before she could finish speaking, the man beside her was swept away like the wind. Shen Fenghua gritted her teeth, and thinking of Qi Ye's reaction just now, a terrible thought suddenly popped into her mind: those two children, could they be...?
Good heavens, what's this called?
One wave subsides, another rises?
With things having come to this point, Shen Fenghua had no choice but to bite the bullet and say, "Stop!"
Shen Fenghua roared and rushed over with his bag. Qi Ye was a man of action; he jumped into the water, scooped up a child, threw him onto the bank, and swam towards the middle of the river.
In the middle of the river, there was a raised mound with a tree stump on top. A skinny little boy had his lower body submerged in the water, while his upper body was above the surface. His two arms, which looked like tree branches, were tightly gripping the wooden stump.
Even Shen Fenghua was heartbroken watching that scene; it was far too dangerous.
Shen Fenghua rushed to the shore and hurriedly picked up the little cub who was lying on the ground, dazed. As soon as she held him, Shen Fenghua's heart sank. He was rough to the touch, and his whole body was probably just bones with no flesh.
"I……"
Before she could even speak, Shen Fenghua was tightly wrapped around the neck by the little brat who had regained his senses, and burst into tears.
Shen Fenghua was so shocked she almost choked, and quickly patted him reassuringly, "Don't be afraid, don't be afraid, you're safe now."
Sigh, seeing these two who fell into the river reminds me of her godson. When he fell into the water before, she pulled him out; he was so heavy, it was hard to hold. This…
Light and airy.
The children realized something was wrong and tried to run away.
Did Shen Fenghua really let them escape?
"Stop!" She freed one hand to hold the child, and pointed the other in the air. "Who dares to run? Anyone who runs now is a fugitive! They'll be arrested and thrown in jail. Let's see who dares to run!"
Shen Fenghua was someone who had been a minor leader before, and the demeanor he possessed was something that rural children had never seen before.
They were really intimidated. They stood there, too afraid to move. After looking at each other, one by one, they started to shed tears!
Cries erupted everywhere, and Shen Fenghua's anger flared up instantly, soaring into the sky!
"Cry! Now you have the nerve to cry? No one is allowed to cry! Anyone who cries will be sent in first!"
As soon as she finished speaking, the entire room fell silent. Looking at Shen Fenghua's face, everyone showed a look of horror, realizing that Shen Fenghua might be serious, and their fake crying turned into real crying.
Just now there was thunder but no rain, but now that the thunder has stopped, a torrential downpour has begun.
Shen Fenghua said fiercely, "Crocodile tears!"
Qi Ye carried a child up from the river, put the wet child on the ground, and gave him a push, saying, "Go over there."
The child clenched his fists, his whole body trembling. Qi Ye pushed him, and he stiffly moved closer to Shen Fenghua. Shen Fenghua glanced at him and felt like she was suffocating. She also turned cold towards Qi Ye.
"This is what you call your son?"
It was full of sarcasm.
Qi Ye didn't know how to explain. When he left, the child was perfectly fine. He just never expected that in less than two months, the child would turn out like this...
"sorry."
Shen Fenghua scoffed, "You don't need to apologize to me. It's the child who's suffering, not me."
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