Chapter 36 You went to escape? His clothes were wrinkled, his hair…
These past few days, Wen Min and Lou Lan have been extremely busy. An Fusheng thought it was because they needed to run between the hospital and the orphanage recently, and that things would get better after this period. However, he discovered that in addition to running between the hospital and taking care of the children, they also had a lot of administrative work to do.
An Fusheng was stunned. "Does that mean you'll always be busy?"
"Yes, work is never easy. You'll have more free time when you retire," Lou Lan said matter-of-factly.
An Fusheng: "..."
With both mothers too busy, the housework naturally fell to An Fusheng.
After breakfast, the children went to school, and An Fusheng started doing housework.
"Now I know why Aunt Lou didn't let them get their clothes dirty."
An Fusheng was holding the pants Wen Xingrui had worn yesterday. The pants had already been washed in the washing machine, but the two stains on the knees were still not clean.
"Family rules are so important, especially the one that forbids lying on the ground!" An Fusheng decided that from today onwards, he would also become the enforcer of the family rules.
"To understand Aunt Lou, to become Aunt Lou, all you need to do is wash clothes once," An Fusheng muttered to himself as he tossed Wen Xingrui's pants into the basin to hand wash again.
After washing the clothes, An Fusheng seamlessly transitioned to mopping the floor.
By the time An Fusheng had dragged the entire building inside and out, it was almost eleven o'clock.
"We're out of vegetables for lunch today, so we need to go buy some more." An Fusheng had arranged to meet He Zhi yesterday to pick up some things at noon. "I'll go buy some vegetables, come back and cook quickly, and then go over there in time."
An Fusheng was busy working all morning and didn't have time to play with the children. Wen Xinghe was alright, quietly playing with his building blocks in his room, but Wen Xingrui was so bored that he started banging on the railing.
An Fusheng released Wen Xingrui from his small cage. "Stop barking. Come on, I'll take you to buy groceries."
Before An Fusheng could even put him down properly, Wen Xingrui hurriedly walked towards Wen Xinghe's room. When he got to the door, he leaned over and barked at Wen Xinghe.
"You still know to call your sister?" An Fusheng said with a smile.
"Big brother? Are we going down there to dig?" Wen Xinghe asked.
These past few days, her older brother has been taking them to the vegetable garden downstairs. While he digs the ground, she and Xingrui play in the dirt. The dirt is soft, and the wind in the vegetable garden is also soft. Wen Xinghe likes it very much.
“We’re not digging today, let’s go buy groceries, shall we go together?” An Fusheng asked.
"Huh?" Wen Xinghe asked incredulously, "I'm going too?"
"yes."
Wen Xinghe hesitated. She really wanted to go, but she was afraid of troubling her older brother.
An Fusheng had gotten to know her a little better over the past few days and noticed her concerns. He said, "The market is very close. We don't need to buy much today, so it won't be too much trouble. Just treat it as a trip."
"Okay..." Wen Xinghe's will changed very quickly.
Since Wen Min said yesterday, "We have so many children, what tools do we lack?", An Fusheng had thoroughly explored the house's possessions while cleaning today. As luck would have it, he actually found quite a few useful things, such as a stroller.
An Fusheng put Wen Xingrui into the stroller, hung a bag for vegetables on the back of the stroller, and took Wen Xinghe's hand. "Let's go buy groceries."
This was the first time Wen Xinghe had ever left the orphanage.
The reason it's called the first time isn't because she had never been out before, but because the few times she had gone out to the hospital for vaccinations, her mother had always carried her directly to the car. This was truly the first time she had explored the world outside the welfare home on her own feet.
Seeing that Wen Xinghe was walking unevenly on flat ground, An Fusheng led him to the tactile paving. "This is tactile paving. Doesn't it feel better to walk on it?"
He only learned that this was a special path for the blind when he overheard two girls scolding someone for parking illegally on the blind path while he was buying groceries.
"Mm." Wen Xinghe nodded.
The uneven ground increased the tactile sensation underfoot, making Wen Xinghe feel much more at ease, and her steps became much more firm.
“Mother Wen said she’ll send me to a school for the blind once she’s done with this busy period,” Wen Xinghe said. “The school for the blind will teach me how to walk on tactile paving.”
"Wow, does that mean you can go out and have fun by yourself from now on?" An Fusheng was happy for Wen Xinghe.
“If I can learn, that’s fine.” Wen Xinghe’s heart is full of anticipation when he talks about the school for the blind. “My mother said that the school will also teach us to read and recognize characters.”
"Really? That's amazing!" An Fusheng found it incredible, but he was also quite certain of what Wen Xinghe said.
The market was very close; even though they walked slowly, they arrived in about ten minutes.
Before they even officially entered the market, the bustling noise of the crowd reached their ears. Wen Xinghe asked excitedly, "Big brother, have we arrived yet?"
"Um."
"So many people!" Wen Xinghe was both excited and a little scared, and he unconsciously gripped An Fusheng's hand even tighter.
"Don't be afraid, just hold my hand."
As soon as An Fusheng finished speaking, the old woman who was selling eggs at a stall outside the market waved to him from afar.
"Young man, here to buy groceries again!"
"Yes, you're here to sell eggs again today?"
"Yes! Anyway, we have nothing else to do, so we sell the eggs our chickens lay."
The others also greeted An Fusheng.
An Fusheng walked towards them and asked, "What dishes are served today?"
“Come over and see for yourself, we have everything you need,” another old man said.
When the elderly folks saw that An Fusheng had brought another child with him today, who appeared to be blind, they were both curious and concerned: "Is this also your child?"
“Yes,” An Fusheng said frankly.
After chatting with the elderly couple for a while, An Fusheng realized that everyone had previously mistaken Wen Xingrui for his son. This time, An Fusheng took the initiative to say, "She is my sister, and the person in the car is my brother."
Whether it's her younger sister or her daughter, the fact that the little children are blind is enough to break the hearts of the elderly. Several old men and women gathered around and chatted with Wen Xinghe in soft voices.
"What's the little girl's name?"
How old are you this year?
"Whatever dishes you like to eat, Grandpa and Grandma have them all."
This was the first time Wen Xinghe had ever chatted with so many people. Although he was a little flustered, he answered all the grandparents' questions earnestly.
While An Fusheng was buying a few groceries, the grandparents' feelings for Wen Xinghe had changed from liking and sympathizing to loving him.
After buying today's groceries, An Fusheng went to the duck vendor and bought more than four catties of duck offal. He planned to make some pickled plum duck offal to take to He Zhi and the security guard. In An Fusheng's mind, when visiting someone, it's always better to bring something than to go empty-handed, and all he knew was how to cook.
After buying groceries and getting home, it was already 12:30. Wen Min was not eating lunch again today, so after consulting with Wen Xinghe, An Fusheng decided to make a lazy person's rice cooker rice.
Making rice in a rice cooker is very simple. Just dice sausage, carrot, mushrooms, etc., stir-fry them briefly in a pan with some oil and salt, then put rice and water in the rice cooker, place the stir-fried vegetables on top of the rice and cook them together.
To make the flavor even richer, An Fusheng also put a tomato in the rice cooker.
Half an hour later, the rice is cooked. Drizzle a few drops of sesame oil on top, sprinkle some chopped green onions, mash the tomatoes with a rice paddle, and mix the rice and vegetables evenly.
While the rice was cooking, An Fusheng also prepared the pickled plum duck offal.
Although it was a lazy person's meal, it was very flavorful, and the two children loved it. They ate without restraint, and An Fusheng only knew that it was a good thing that the children liked to eat, without understanding the principle of not letting children eat too much. As a result, the two children ended up stuffing themselves until they were dizzy from the food...
An Fusheng was very pleased that the children fell asleep quickly today…
After the children fell asleep, An Fusheng took two boxes of pickled plum and duck offal to Hezhi Company again.
The security guard spotted An Fusheng from afar as usual. "Young man, what brings you here again?"
An Fusheng stepped forward and said, "I still have some things in the company. Last time the boss wasn't there, so I couldn't open the door. I came here specifically to get them."
"That's true." The security guard asked, "Is your boss here today?"
"Yes, I called him yesterday and we made an appointment."
"That's good, that's good."
An Fusheng handed a lunchbox to the security guard, saying, "I made some pickled plum duck offal again today. I brought you a box so you can have a snack when you're bored."
"Your pickled plum duck giblets are really delicious. I saved some to take home for my grandson last time, and now he asks me to bring him some every day after get off work." The security guard laughed heartily. "The thing is, I've looked all around here and haven't seen anywhere that sells these. Where am I supposed to get them for him every day?"
The security guard put the lunchbox on the table, saying, "I'm not eating this time; I'll leave it all for him."
"If the child likes it, you can make it for him yourself; it's very easy to do," An Fusheng said.
"Then tell me how to do it, and I'll try it at home."
An Fusheng explained the recipe for pickled plum duck offal to the security guard in detail, and also thoughtfully recommended the pickled plum sauce he had bought. Although An Fusheng had not tried other pickled plum sauces, the one he bought was indeed very good.
After chatting with the security guard for a while, An Fusheng went upstairs to find He Zhi.
After the only employee ran away, he not only had to be both the boss and the employee, but also slept less than five hours a day. He was exhausted and fell asleep shortly while waiting for An Fusheng at the company.
When An Fusheng arrived, He Shi was sleeping peacefully on the sofa. An Fusheng lingered at the office door for a long time, wondering whether he should make a sound to wake him up.
However, this problem did not trouble An Fusheng for long, because He Zhi's phone rang.
He Zhi was startled awake from his dream. He answered a phone call in a daze, and when he looked up, he saw a sneaky figure passing by the door. He Zhi was so frightened that his deep sleepiness vanished instantly.
"Are you crazy?!" He Zhi hung up the phone and threw it aside, yelling at An Fusheng angrily, "What are you doing standing around at the door instead of coming in?"
"Hello, Mr. He." An Fusheng said, "I...I'm here."
"I didn't even know you were here." Her sleepiness was gone, but her morning grumpiness had returned. He Zhi, with a long face, asked impatiently, "Why are you only arriving now?"
An Fusheng confirmed that yesterday He Zhi had only told him to come over at noon and then hung up before he could ask for the specific time. Although it was not noon now, he did not feel that he was late. However, An Fusheng did not argue about it. He was very busy and had to hurry up and take care of his child.
An Fusheng said, "My younger siblings have no one to take care of them, so I can only go out after they fall asleep."
He Zhi then noticed that An Fusheng seemed different today. His clothes were wrinkled, his hair was messy, and his skin seemed darker than before. He Zhi asked suspiciously, "Did you go on a refugee's journey?"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com