Chapter 82◇
◎Frozen Big Bones◎
Feng Ran remembered that she had also been accidentally injured before, and immediately understood Huang Que's sadness. Being smashed was really too painful. Even now, when she thinks about it, her bones still ache. Huang Que was so young, and she definitely couldn't fight back when she was bullied. She couldn't even beat the other person.
Overcome with sympathy, Feng Ran couldn't help but promise, "Little Sparrow, don't worry, you're mine now. If anyone dares to bully you, I'll beat them to a pulp. If I can't beat them, I'll have my husband bury them in money!"
Fang Yuan had come to take Huang Que away so he wouldn't disturb the young couple's sweet moments, but upon hearing this domineering remark, he felt a wave of dizziness wash over him. This kind of parenting style would either produce a brute or a spoiled brat.
Huang Que was deeply moved. He really wanted to hug Feng Ran and see if her arms were as warm as his mother's. As soon as he opened his arms, he saw Duan Jingchuan's warning look. He bent his legs and threw himself into Duan Jingchuan's arms.
Oh, you've got the wrong one. Well, it's kind of heartwarming. My sister often snuggles in her husband's arms, and now he's snuggling in his, which means my sister is hugging him. Hold on tight, he won't get beaten up under my sister's watchful eye.
In reality, Huang Que was completely frightened by Duan Jingchuan's possessive gaze earlier and dared not pounce into Feng Ran's arms.
Duan Jingchuan hadn't expected the sparrow to pounce on him so directly. He just wanted to throw him out, but the little one in his arms kept trembling. Thinking that he might not be able to go home, he felt a little pity. Not knowing what to do, he gently patted him and said softly, "Madam is right. No one will bully you anymore."
Huang Que frowned deeply, trying to force back the tears in his eyes, and responded with a nasal sound. As long as he was here, he was the happiest child, and he never wanted to go back to that cannibalistic place.
He longed for his brother-in-law to be his father and his sister to be his mother; he just wanted to be an ordinary child.
In Feng Ran's eyes, it was like a yellow sparrow happily running into Duan Jingchuan's arms and snuggling against him. Feng Ran looked on with hope, "Husband, the little one is so cute. Why don't I have a little one yet?" She then touched her belly regretfully.
Ever since the last misunderstanding, Duan Jingchuan explained to her how long it takes to tell if someone is pregnant and how to conceive, but she still doesn't have a baby. She really wants a baby like the one in front of her, a soft and sweet little one who can call her "Mom."
Duan Jingchuan's ears turned red, and he whispered, "It will happen." He then lightly covered Huang Que's ears with his hand, afraid that Huang Que would hear something he shouldn't.
Huang Que, who was drowning in his own sorrow, was completely overwhelmed by the two people's question and answer. Feeling the hands near his ears with a dark expression, he wanted to say, "Don't underestimate me just because I'm young. I've heard and seen so much of this."
But the two people in front of him, one shameless and the other unimaginable in his unrestrained manner, made Huang Que bury his head even deeper. He was just a child and still had to be shy. He couldn't handle his sister's questions either.
Feng Ran felt wronged. Her husband liked to coax her. In bed, he would often say that twisting like this would result in babies, lying like that would result in babies, and she would cooperate with everything. But she still didn't have any babies. Could it be that the species are different and have reproductive barriers?
Just then, a sudden gust of wind blew up, and a fallen leaf, which seemed to have come from nowhere, slapped against her lips with a soft "plop."
"Eek!"
Feng Ran mumbled "Give me a hug" while quickly prying Duan Jingchuan's arms off Huang Que.
Seeing that Feng Ran wanted to hug him, Huang Que happily reached out to Feng Ran.
To his surprise, Feng Ran simply grabbed him by the collar and pulled him out of her warm embrace. Before he could even react, his little bottom was already on the ground.
?
Duan Jingchuan's arms had changed; Feng Ran was now nestled in the embrace he had once held, and she looked somewhat familiar. He swore that if it weren't for the inconvenience of sitting on the ground, Feng Ran would have curled up right in Duan Jingchuan's arms.
Duan Jingchuan was completely oblivious to him, focusing intently on wiping Feng Ran's mouth with a handkerchief, and whispering soothingly, "See, Feng is telling you, we'll have a child soon."
Huang Que wanted to say that he was very aggrieved, okay? He was only five years old and a few months old!
Fang Yuan looked thoughtfully at the happy family of three in front of him. Suddenly, a smile flashed across his lips, and he consciously walked away a little. He felt that it was a good thing for Huang Que to have more contact with the couple.
If Huang Que could hear Fang Yuan's thoughts at this moment, he would definitely be spewing nonsense.
They weren't having a good time at all; they'd clearly achieved the feat of being the only one injured in the whole world! Look how gentle your brother-in-law is now. Don't think I don't know how much he disliked me when he pounced on me just now. The hand that patted him wasn't a hand; it was a frozen bone!
Unable to bear it any longer, Huang Que's mischievous scheme began to surface. With an innocent and sincere face, she said, "Sister, if you have children, your brother-in-law will definitely be holding the baby every day and won't have time for you."
Duan Jingchuan's fingers, which were gripping the handkerchief, froze. He stared blankly at Feng Ran, and sure enough, her previously blissful face turned bitter. Before Feng Ran could say, "Then don't want the child," Duan Jingchuan quickly said, "There's a wet nurse to take care of her." The deeper meaning was that he wouldn't neglect his wife.
Feng Ran was still filled with grief. She realized a big problem at this moment. The child she wanted was like the little dumpling in front of her, five or six years old, who didn't cry or fuss, and could even pat her back, massage her legs, and serve her fruit. If the child was three or four times smaller, she would need to hold and coax him every day. What would she do then? She only wanted to hold the ones that tasted good. What if she gave birth to a little devil?
No! After much painful reflection, Feng Ran decided to solve this problem.
"I owe you a life-saving grace, so I'll repay you by raising your child. If I ever have a child, I beg you to raise it to look like you and then send it back to me." Feng Ran said these words without batting an eye, her face full of gratitude and a desire for repayment.
Why would he think his sister is kind?! Huang Que gasped. He, barely six years old, was already going to be a temporary father!
Duan Jingchuan clearly couldn't listen anymore and murmured, "Madam, Huang Que is still young."
“It’s okay. By the time your seeds are effective, he might be sixty years old. Raising ten or eight won’t be a problem.” Feng Ran grinned, revealing a set of white teeth, her eyes gleaming.
Duan Jingchuan responded to Feng Ran by pushing her up with one hand and moving to the other side to sit. Before Feng Ran could say anything, Duan Jingchuan picked up the chicken leg from Huang Que's hand and shoved it into her mouth.
Phew, it's quiet now, and safe. Today should be a peaceful day.
Duan Jingchuan and Huang Que reached an inexplicable understanding.
With a chicken leg that the two of them had worked together to bring her in her mouth, Feng Ran's eyes curved into crescent shapes. She generously spared their frights and focused on the food in her mouth.
The carriage had only traveled for half a day and was still in the outskirts of the capital. Many people were carrying farming tools out to till the land, a scene that none of the three had ever seen before.
Feng Ran and Huang Que were completely baffled as to why these people were rummaging around in the empty field. Duan Jingchuan had a guess in his mind. Although he had never seen it in person, he had read about it in books. Seeing the two people's inquisitive expressions, he couldn't bring himself to express his guess.
Three pairs of inquisitive eyes fell on the only teacher, Fang Yuan.
Fang Yuan braced himself and stepped forward, unsure why these three unconventional people had summoned him. After hearing their questions, Fang Yuan stiffened his neck and looked into the distance. He could only think that these three had good eyesight; he couldn't even see the old farmer tilling the field in the distance.
Fang Yuan stroked his half-long beard. "Winter has just passed, and all things are reviving. Turning the soil in spring can remove the sprouting weeds in advance, so they won't compete with the seedlings for nutrients later." He was quite knowledgeable about this matter. He came from a farming family, and he knew much more about things in the fields than the average pedantic scholar.
Duan Jingchuan nodded to himself; this was roughly in line with his understanding.
Completely ignorant, the two, one big and one small, couldn't be explained so easily. Feng Ran raised her question first, "Isn't it said that you have to cut the weeds and remove them at the root? Why not pull them out in the autumn before they mature? There are so many seeds in the soil now, how can you turn them all over?"
“Yes, a few days ago my sister and I were playing house and built a house with mud and water. But after a while, the house cracked, while the ground remained unchanged, with the mud not being touched much. Doesn’t this prove that turning over the soil makes the fields dry faster? If it doesn’t rain in the spring, how can farmers cultivate their fields?” Huang Que then raised her own question.
When Feng Ran first asked her questions, Fang Yuan remained calm, even inwardly mocking her ignorance of farming. He reasoned that farmers had been doing it this way for thousands of years, which proved it was correct. But when it came to Huang Que, Fang Yuan's smug expression froze. It wasn't because Huang Que's questions were ignorant, but because they triggered his suspicions.
Yes, everyone knows that turning over damp things often will make them dry faster, so why is turning over fields in spring rather than winter?
Fang Yuan was confused. Seeing the three people looking at him suspiciously, he wished he could find a crack in the ground to crawl into. How could he be a teacher if his knowledge was not up to par!
Realizing that she wouldn't find the answer no matter how much she stared at Fang Yuan, Feng Ran decided to rely on herself. Holding Duan Jingchuan's hand with her left and Huang Que's hand with her right, she said, "Let's go find the answer!"
The distance was still far, so they couldn't walk to find the answer. The group set off in a grand procession, heading towards the fields that were only visible as black dots to the naked eye.
"Sister, if even the master doesn't know the answer, how could the farmers possibly know?" Huang Que got into the carriage in a daze, not understanding why Feng Ran said that the other side could provide the answer she wanted.
Feng Ran said with certainty, "They've been doing this for generations. Even if they don't know the answer, they can still answer our questions."
Fang Yuan wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, feeling even more ashamed. He had just been mocking Feng Ran in his heart, but now it seemed that he was the one who was ignorant! He was so confident in his talent that he couldn't even answer a simple question.
The horse-drawn carriage rumbled along and soon arrived at the fields.
Duan Jingchuan got out of the car first, picked up Huang Que, then helped Feng Ran up, and gave Fang Yuan a warning look, which made Fang Yuan tremble.
This field must belong to a wealthy family's estate. The people tilling the field were dressed in the same clothes and had marked their respective work areas with flags. Feng Ran glanced at them briefly and said, "Old man, may I take up a little of your time to ask you some questions?"
When the old men saw the group driving two horse-drawn carriages with goods following behind, they knew that the group must be rich and noble, so they dared not be presumptuous and asked in a friendly manner, "What would you like to ask?"
Feng Ran remained silent, but patted Huang Que's shoulder, gesturing for him to come forward.
Huang Que rarely initiates conversations with people, even during his time as a wanderer he barely spoke. Now, feeling somewhat uncomfortable being pushed forward by Feng Ran, he imitated Duan Jingchuan's usual demeanor and, emboldened, voiced his earlier question.
The old man in the gray short jacket laughed heartily, "Young master, you don't know this, but we used to turn the soil in the autumn too, but we always ran into problems."
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