Qing Xuanzi waved his hand: "No need to be so polite. Jiaojiao must be hungry. Go and cook. After you finish eating, you can take her back to live. Just bring her here in the morning."
"Brother Qingxuan, why don't you and Jiaojiao stay at the family compound for a few days?" Fu Ya asked again, her tone filled with anticipation.
Qing Xuanzi shook his head: "Forget it. You're not home during the day, and I'm afraid someone will come knocking on the door. I'm too lazy to deal with it."
Rong Lianhu thought of Aunt Ma and nodded decisively, saying, "Last time, that aunt asked me to ask you if you could get some white rice, flour, milk powder, or something for her baby Baozhu."
“I didn’t tell you, and later I told her you didn’t either. But I always felt like he was watching our family. If you really went to the family compound, he might really start bothering us.”
Qing Xuanzi frowned: "Is that the old lady who took care of Jiaojiao for you before?"
Rong Lianhu nodded, and Rong Zhiyuan chimed in, "If my sister were still at her house, she might have given all of her food to Feng Baozhu."
Fu Ya gently scolded, "Zhiyuan, you can't talk nonsense."
Even the usually composed Zhigao said, "I don't think my brother is talking nonsense. Aunt Ma always asks the children in the compound for candy and cookies to give to Feng Baozhu."
The three adults looked at each other, all feeling that Granny Ma was spoiling her granddaughter too much, almost to the point of madness.
Fu Ya said, "Never mind, I'm going to cook."
Rong Lianhu also got up to help, and a sumptuous dinner was sure to follow in the courtyard.
After the meal, Qing Xuanzi asked about Rong Lianhu's promotion.
Rong Lianhu grinned and said, "Brother, you noticed I got promoted?"
Qing Xuanzi gave him a cold glance: "I could tell before you were promoted."
Speaking of his promotion, Rong Lianhu solemnly expressed his gratitude: "I am able to get promoted smoothly this time thanks to Brother Qingxuan. Thanks to the laboratory's efforts last time, as well as the Sun Ming incident, I was able to be promoted first."
Qing Xuanzi hummed in agreement: "Tell me what position you're being promoted to? Why do you look like you've been plagued by backstabbers lately?"
Rong Lianhu was surprised: "Are you saying that my being wronged by someone is related to my promotion?"
Qing Xuanzi nodded, neither agreeing nor disagreeing.
Rong Lianhu thought for a moment and said, "The deputy regimental commander of the First Regiment suffered a relapse of his old injury and could not walk with his left leg. He retired, and I was promoted to be the deputy regimental commander of the First Regiment."
After a moment of silence, he continued, "Normally, such promotion opportunities would be given to the battalion-level officers under our regiment. But since I have more military merits and a higher rank than them, the position naturally fell to me when the brigade headquarters opened up."
Qing Xuanzi nodded: "Be careful lately, don't let anyone plot against you."
Rong Lianhu nodded: "I know, they're just trying to intimidate me. Nothing serious will happen, and I'll be careful."
Qing Xuanzi nodded slightly, his tone serious: "Better safe than sorry. Don't let the villains succeed, and don't let yourself suffer."
Rong Lianhu laughed heartily: "Don't worry, brother, I'm not so easy to bully. Besides, with you backing me up, what do I have to be afraid of?"
Qing Xuanzi didn't say anything more. He knew that Rong Lianhu was a smart man who knew when to keep a low profile and when to be tough.
Seeing that it was already late, Fu Ya said, "Let's go back. We have to work tomorrow."
Rong Lianhu glanced at his watch; it was indeed getting late. He called to his three siblings, who were playing nearby, "Zhigao and Zhiyuan, it's time to go home."
"Jiaojiao, do you want to go home with Daddy?"
Rong Jiaojiao shook her head and ran to Qing Xuanzi's side: "Father Xi, baby is sleepy."
Fu Ya said, "If she doesn't want to go back, then she doesn't have to. We have to go to work early, and she'll have to be woken up if she hasn't had enough sleep. She's not comfortable sleeping at home."
Rong Lianhu felt a little regretful, but he still withdrew his hand and called to his two sons, "Let's go, your sister should go to sleep."
Rong Zhigao and Rong Zhiyuan said goodbye to their younger sister: "Goodbye, little sister! I'll come see you again after school tomorrow!"
Rong Jiaojiao peeked out from Qing Xuanzi's arms, waving her little hands incessantly: "Gaga, let's meet!"
Rong Lianhu patted his youngest son's head and said, "Let's go!"
After saying that, he walked out the door first...
In the days that followed, Rong Lianhu's family would get their dinner from the canteen and bring it to town to eat. It wasn't that Qing Xuanzi's canteen wasn't big enough, but rather that they didn't want to cause trouble.
After staying in the courtyard for half a month, Qing Xuanzi couldn't stay any longer. After saying goodbye to Rong Lianhu's family, he took Rong Jiaojiao back to the mountains and promised to come down the mountain early for the New Year.
Back on the mountain, Qing Xuanzi began training Rong Jiaojiao's balance again.
In the early morning, sunlight filtered through the leaves and dappled the courtyard. Qing Xuanzi brought Rong Jiaojiao into the courtyard.
He placed two low wooden stakes, stepped on one of them with one foot, and said to Rong Jiaojiao, "Jiaojiao, come on, just like your master, we only stand on one foot."
Rong Jiaojiao watched Qing Xuanzi's actions with curiosity in her eyes. She walked to the wooden stake, imitated Qing Xuanzi, lifted one foot, and tried to stand on the stake.
However, her body immediately swayed, and she almost fell.
Qing Xuanzi quickly reached out to support her and encouraged her, "Don't be afraid, take it slow. Your master is here to protect you. Let's try again, okay?"
After Rong Jiaojiao steadied herself, she looked up at her with her little face and said, "Father Xi, baby, stand up."
Qing Xuanzi gently ruffled her hair: "Okay, baby, stand up. This time, put your weight on the soles of your feet and feel the balance of the wooden stake."
Rong Jiaojiao tried again. This time, she was more careful. Although she was still a little shaky, she managed to stand on the wooden stake for a few seconds.
"Father, the baby is standing!"
Rong Jiaojiao shouted excitedly, her little face full of pride.
Qing Xuanzi smiled and praised, "Very good, Jiao Bao, you did a great job. Try again, and try to stand for even longer this time."
When Rong Jiaojiao heard the praise, her eyes crinkled with laughter. She adjusted her posture again, trying to make herself stand more steadily.
This time, she actually stood on the wooden stake for more than ten seconds before wobbling and jumping down.
"Father Xi, baby is amazing!" Rong Jiaojiao excitedly grabbed Qing Xuanzi's hand, her little face beaming with joy.
Qing Xuanzi nodded, smiling with satisfaction: "Indeed amazing, baby is making rapid progress."
In the morning, Qing Xuanzi and Rong Jiaojiao took turns practicing their balance on each foot for an hour.
In the afternoon, Qing Xuanzi tied two sandbags to Rong Jiaojiao and himself to train their arm stability.
He tied sandbags to the hands of the two men, stood with their arms outstretched, parallel to the ground, and held that position.
Qing Xuanzi's movements were precise and steady; his arms seemed to be cast in iron, remaining completely still.
"Jiaobao, just like your master, straighten your arms and hold the position."
Qing Xuanzi spoke gently, his eyes full of encouragement for Rong Jiaojiao.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com