Chapter 29 Why did Mrs. Lou hit me? Don't look at me, look at Wen Xingrui...
"This is too difficult to dig! It will take at least two months to dig it all out!" An Fusheng leaned on his hoe, looking at the huge expanse of land in front of him. "If only someone could help us."
After breakfast, before the sun came out, An Fusheng started digging in the ground.
The ground was dug up like a wasteland. Although the soil itself wasn't hard, the roots of various plants underneath were intertwined, making it particularly difficult to dig. An Fusheng's hands were almost raw from digging, and he hadn't even dug up a patch the size of his buttocks. "No wonder they only dug up such a small area before."
An Fusheng rested his chin on the hoe handle, "I don't want to do this anymore."
There are many things in life that you shouldn't do. You must learn not to make things too difficult for yourself. An Fusheng threw down his hoe and went back to play with Wen Xingrui and Wen Xinghe.
Wen Xingrui was playing with a screaming chicken in his cage. When he saw An Fusheng come in, he threw the chicken away and reached out to him for a hug. He had been hugged for two days and now he didn't like playing by himself anymore.
An Fusheng opened the door, carried Wen Xingrui out, and placed him on the ground. "Stand."
Wen Xingrui didn't know how to stand. He bent his knees and knelt down, then pressed his buttocks back and sat steadily on the ground. Then he looked up at An Fusheng.
"You're pretty skilled, aren't you?" An Fusheng grabbed the back of his clothes, lifted him up from the ground, and tried to make him walk. "Stand up and walk."
Wen Xingrui looked up at An Fusheng and smiled, "Hehe."
"What are you laughing at? Go on, let's go find Sister Xinghe to play." An Fusheng turned Wen Xingrui's head back down.
Grabbing Wen Xingrui by the back of his collar, An Fusheng kicked Wen Xingrui's heels to teach him to take a step. Unexpectedly, after a few lessons, Wen Xingrui actually learned to lift his foot and take a step. "Not bad, young man."
Wen Xingrui's feet didn't have a fixed direction; they went east and west. An Fusheng didn't insist, as long as the general direction was forward.
An Fusheng grabbed the staggering Wen Xingrui and went to find Wen Xinghe.
Wen Xinghe was sitting on the carpet playing with building blocks, while Afu was quietly lying next to him with his eyes closed, resting.
"Little Xinghe, we've come to play with you." An Fusheng turned Wen Xingrui, who was kicking forward, halfway around. "Hey, time to turn."
"Big brother?" Upon hearing the voice, Wen Xinghe turned his head towards the door.
"Mm." An Fusheng dragged Wen Xingrui into Wen Xinghe's room. "We've come to play with you."
Wen Xinghe put down the building blocks in her hand and sat up straight nervously. No one had ever asked her to play with them before, and she didn't know what to do next.
"Wow, did you build this little house? That's amazing!" An Fusheng let go of Wen Xingrui and let him chase after Afu. He sat cross-legged on the carpet and casually placed two wooden blocks under Wen Xinghe's dilapidated house.
"Does it look like a real house?" Wen Xinghe asked.
“It doesn’t seem like it,” An Fusheng said.
Wen Xinghe was a little disappointed. "I don't know what the real house looks like. I've only heard Xingmou mention it once."
"You're amazing! I've never seen such a beautiful house in real life. I think your house is like a house from a fairy tale."
"Really?" Wen Xinghe's mood instantly brightened.
“Really.” An Fusheng’s tone was calm and natural.
Wen Xinghe smiled happily.
An Fusheng found building blocks quite fun and eagerly offered to help Wen Xinghe build a big castle, which Wen Xinghe readily agreed to.
The castle was quickly built, but with nothing else to do, An Fusheng felt a bit bored and asked Wen Xinghe, "Do you want to go out and play?"
Wen Xinghe shook her head. She couldn't see, so it didn't matter where she played. Going out to play would only cause trouble for others. After thinking for a moment, Wen Xinghe said, "Big brother, don't you need to dig the vegetable garden?"
An Fusheng: "..."
Wen Xinghe: "Big brother, shall we go play in the vegetable garden?"
An Fusheng: "...Okay."
An Fusheng led Wen Xinghe and Wen Xingrui to the vegetable garden in the backyard.
The weather has been sunny lately, and the soil that was dug out was dry. An Fusheng dug very carefully, breaking the clods of soil into small pieces and cleaning out all the debris. The soil felt fluffy and soft to the touch, which Wen Xinghe and Wen Xingrui liked very much.
An Fusheng found them a small mat to sit on and play in the dirt, while he himself had to pick up his hoe again.
When Wen Min returned from the hospital, she went straight to the kitchen to find something to eat. Lou Lan said that today's breakfast was yam balls, which were delicious. On impulse, she didn't even think about whether there was any left for her at home, and came back without eating breakfast.
"Fu-zai? Are you digging?" Wen Min asked, leaning against the back door of the kitchen.
As soon as she entered the kitchen, she heard the sound of digging in the backyard. She knew without guessing that it was An Fusheng.
An Fusheng stopped hoeing. "You're back. Have you had breakfast?"
Wen Min yawned. "No? Is there any food at home?"
“I left you some yam balls in the pot, there are milk sticks under the mesh bag on the counter, and there’s also some pickled plum duck I made yesterday in the fridge. You can eat all of these,” An Fusheng said.
"That's wonderful, Fu-zai, Mommy loves you so much!" Wen Min was touched; her own son was so thoughtful.
An Fusheng shuddered, goosebumps rising all over his body. "You...you should go eat, didn't you...you still need to catch up on sleep?"
"Yes, on school days, Mrs. Lou has to pick up and drop off the children, so I get even less sleep. But I also have to work today." Wen Min went back to the kitchen with a long face and rummaged for food. At this moment, only food could soothe her wounded heart.
Wen Min lifted the lid of the pot, revealing a bowl of yam balls floating halfway in the red tomato soup. The bright red broth was dotted with yellow egg bits and green vegetable bits, making it look incredibly appetizing.
There was hot water in the pot, so the bowl was a little hot. Wen Min took the bowl out and placed it on the counter to cool down. "Such a simple way of keeping things warm is quite rare."
Wen Min glanced at the microwave oven on the shelf, which hadn't been bought long ago but was covered with a thin layer of dust. "Is this microwave oven of such poor quality? It broke down so quickly?"
Of course, there's something even more down-to-earth. Wen Min lifted the pink, umbrella-like lace mesh bag on the counter and asked, "When did you buy this?"
Wen Min picked up a milk stick and ate it. "Not bad, it's rich in milk flavor and quite delicious."
After the bowl cooled down, Wen Min held the bowl, dragged a stool to the back door of the kitchen, and sat down to eat breakfast while watching An Fusheng dig. An Fusheng's digging movements were skilled and rhythmic, and it was quite relaxing to watch. "Fuzi, I didn't know you could dig so well."
Such praise is usually ignored. An Fusheng remained calm and continued digging at his own pace, but the hoe he used to dig the ground was clearly going deeper.
"But how long are you going to keep digging like this?" Wen Min said casually.
Hmm? Does she have some high-tech and grueling work to do again?
An Fusheng hadn't even had time to pull the hoe out of the ground when he stopped and looked at Wen Min eagerly: "Does our storage room have a tillage machine?"
He remembered that besides the lawnmower, there were several other machines in the storeroom.
"No, we don't farm, so how could we possibly have a machine with that kind of function?"
Well, one shouldn't be greedy after getting what one wants.
An Fusheng pulled out the hoe and continued to work hard.
After finishing a bowl of warm yam dumplings, Wen Min felt warm all over and more relaxed than ever before. However, as soon as she relaxed, drowsiness followed. Wen Min let out a big yawn, her eyelids starting to droop. Thinking about the pile of work she still had to do, Wen Min couldn't help but groan, "Aaaaaah! Cows need to rest, horses need to rest, don't cows and horses deserve to rest? Aaaaaah! Why?"
After howling for a while, Wen Min reluctantly went to work. Before leaving, she didn't forget to leave a piece of advice for An Fusheng: "Fuzi, I suggest you give Wen Xingrui a bath before your mother-in-law comes home, otherwise I'm afraid she'll beat you."
"Huh? Why did Aunt Lou hit me?" An Fusheng looked at Wen Min, puzzled.
"Don't look at me, look at Wen Xingrui." Wen Min raised his chin, gesturing to An Fusheng.
An Fusheng looked at Wen Xingrui, who was standing like an ox, his hands on the ground, his buttocks sticking up high, and his head hitting the mound of dirt on the ground. An Fusheng felt a surge of anger.
"Wen Xingrui!" An Fusheng shouted.
Wen Xingrui stopped and looked up at An Fusheng.
An Fusheng walked over and picked up Wen Xingrui, "Why are you hitting the ground with your head? Do you want to grow horns or have an itchy scalp?"
Wen Xingrui's hair was covered in dirt. An Fusheng patted it, and the dirt fell off Wen Xingrui's hair in a flurry.
"Close your eyes."
Wen Xingrui closed his eyes tightly.
Although Wen Xingrui can't speak or walk, he is already three years old and can understand many things, especially when he senses that adults are angry, his comprehension ability increases significantly.
The mound of earth he had built himself felt soft and comfortable when he lifted it with his head, and Wen Xingrui wanted to keep lifting it.
"Although I think you can still use your hair even if you just pat it dry, Aunt Lou might not think so. You'd better hold back."
"You heard what Aunt Wen just said, right? Aunt Lou even hits people. Someone like you who can't run away will only get beaten." An Fusheng pressed the cleaned-up Wen Xingrui back onto the cushion. "Sit here obediently and play with your hands. You're not allowed to play with your head, understand?"
This is not An Fusheng's fault. In An Fusheng's memory, when he was a child, his grandmother often took him to work in the fields. Usually, his grandmother would work in front while he dug the soil behind her. After his grandmother finished working, she would pull him up, pat him off the dirt, and take him home.
Only occasionally, when An Fusheng got dirt in his hair, would his grandmother nag him a bit while brushing the dirt off. So An Fusheng thought that playing with dirt was fine, as long as he didn't get his head dirty.
He had no idea that for Lou's mother, who loved cleanliness, being covered in dirt meant being dirty, and if the dirt was intentional, she would most likely get a beating.
Wen Xingrui sat obediently on the mat and continued to build the mound with Wen Xinghe.
An Fusheng continued digging.
The sun gradually climbed overhead, and the temperature rose higher and higher.
After digging all morning, An Fusheng's palms started to burn. "If I keep digging, I'll probably get blisters, and then it won't be convenient to cook."
An Fusheng put away his hoe. "Forget it. Rome wasn't built in a day, and neither can a large vegetable garden be dug up in a day."
An Fusheng picked up the two children from the ground. "Let's go play in the open space. It's sunny there."
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Author's Note: I originally planned to update a chapter last night, but I suddenly had to work overtime, so I couldn't. I'll update an extra chapter tonight, but it might be very late, so please don't wait. Thank you for reading.
Happy Winter Solstice everyone!
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