Chapter 35 is all his treasures.
Wenbin arrived the next afternoon.
He had just finished working at the pig farm and still had a faint smell of feed on him. Afraid of bothering the children, he took off his outer shirt and shook it out at the gate before coming in.
"Sister!" He walked into the east wing with a smile on his honest face, rubbing his hands together.
Wen Xiaoxiao was leaning against the headboard, with her two children lying side by side beside her, covered with a thin floral quilt.
Wenbin leaned closer to take a look, and his eyes lit up immediately.
The two little babies' faces were smaller than his fists, their skin was rosy, their eyes were closed, and their little mouths moved occasionally.
He was so engrossed in watching them that he wanted to reach out and touch them, but he was afraid that his rough hands would hurt them. In the end, he only dared to use one finger to touch the eldest brother's cheek very lightly.
"You're such a rare person," he said softly, his tone full of tenderness. "Like you, girl, even your nose and mouth are similar."
Wen Xiaoxiao smiled, the first genuine smile she'd had in days: "Brother, please sit down."
Wenbin sat down on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), stared at the child for a while, and then asked as if he remembered something, "Have you chosen a name yet?"
Wen Xiaoxiao shook her head: "I haven't had time yet. Mom said we'll talk about it after the baby's one-month celebration."
"No rush, take your time, we need to come up with a good name." Wenbin said, his gaze falling on his sister's face. She looked better than when she was in the hospital, but the fatigue in her eyes was still evident. She had lost a lot of weight, and her wrists were so thin that it made his heart ache.
He wanted to ask Zhao Qingda if he had come back, but he swallowed the words back, afraid of upsetting his sister.
At this moment, the second child suddenly started to cry softly, his voice as delicate as a kitten's meow. Then the eldest child was also awakened, and he pouted as if he was about to cry as well.
"I'm afraid she's hungry," Wen Xiaoxiao said, a hint of unease flashing across her face.
Wenbin immediately stood up: "Then I'll go back first, there's still some work to do at the field. Take good care of yourself, and let me know if you need anything."
Then leave her 50 yuan so she can use it to buy food.
He walked to the door, then turned back and urged, "Eat more, you've gotten so thin."
After seeing her brother off, Wen Xiaoxiao put the money away.
Days passed by.
Zhao Fei felt like he was being scratched by cat claws.
He wanted to see his children, his two youngest daughters whom he had only met briefly a few times.
I also want to see Wen Xiaoxiao, to know if her wound still hurts, if she can eat, and if she can sleep well at night when the child is crying.
But Li Yugu is now almost inseparable from him.
She slept in the same room with Wen Xiaoxiao that night, saying she would help take care of the child so that Wen Xiaoxiao could get more rest.
Zhao Yidi is very sensible. Knowing that her grandmother had to stay with her aunt and younger sister, she slept in the west wing by herself without crying or making a fuss.
Zhao Fei no longer had an excuse to wander around the east wing.
That afternoon, Li Yugu was washing diapers for the baby in the yard.
After finishing her homework, Zhao Yidi moved a small stool and sat down next to her father.
Zhao Fei looked at his daughter, a thought suddenly struck him, and he asked casually, "Yidi, would you like to go see your little sister?"
Zhao Yidi's eyes lit up: "I want to! Are they awake yet?"
"Why don't you go and see for yourself?" Zhao Fei patted his daughter's head. "Go and help Grandma see if your little sisters need their diapers changed."
Zhao Yidi happily ran into the east wing.
Zhao Fei sat in the yard, holding a screwdriver, pretending to repair an old chair, but his ears were perked up.
Five or six minutes passed, and there was still no movement inside.
Three or four minutes later, Zhao Fei cleared his throat and called into the house, "Yidi! Come out quickly, don't disturb your aunt and sister!"
Zhao Yidi's clear voice rang out: "Dad, let me see again! My little sister is reaching out her hand!"
Zhao Fei was secretly overjoyed, but his face remained serious: "This child..." He put down the screwdriver, stood up, and dusted off his hands. "I'll go call her out."
He walked to the door of the east wing, knocked gently, and then pushed the door open to go inside.
Wen Xiaoxiao was leaning against the kang (a heated brick bed), with her two children lying beside her. Zhao Yidi was lying on the edge of the kang, curiously touching her younger sister's little hand with her finger.
Upon seeing Zhao Fei enter, Wen Xiaoxiao instinctively sat up straighter, a hint of panic flashing across her face, but she quickly regained her composure.
"Big brother," she greeted softly.
"Hmm," Zhao Fei responded, his gaze first falling on the two children. Half a month had passed, and the children had grown a bit, their faces were rounder, their skin was fair and tender, and they were sleeping soundly with their eyes closed.
An indescribable tenderness welled up in his heart, and as he looked at the life connected to him by blood, his throat tightened.
He looked at it for a while, then looked at Wen Xiaoxiao: "Does the wound... still hurt?"
Wen Xiaoxiao shook her head: "Much better."
"You need to rest more, don't rush to work." Zhao Fei said, took two steps forward, took a small red cloth bag out of his pocket, and quickly stuffed it into Wen Xiaoxiao's hand, "It's for the baby's one-month celebration."
Wen Xiaoxiao touched the hard, ring-shaped object and was startled. She unfolded a corner of the red cloth, and a flash of golden light revealed a solid gold bracelet, quite heavy.
"This is too valuable, I can't..." she hurriedly tried to push it back.
"It's for the child." Zhao Fei pressed her hand down, then released it in an instant. "Keep it." His voice was low, but brooked no refusal.
Wen Xiaoxiao's fingers curled up, gripping the cloth bag that still held his body heat.
She lowered her eyes and softly hummed in agreement.
Zhao Fei glanced at the child a couple more times before saying to Zhao Yidi, "Alright, you've seen enough. Let your aunt rest." He took his daughter out the door and closed it behind him.
Wen Xiaoxiao opened her palm only after the footsteps of the father and daughter had faded into the distance.
She stroked the cool bracelet, her heart burning with passion. It was supposed to be for a child, but it was an adult size.
The older brother has her in his heart.
This realization filled her with both sweetness and apprehension.
She carefully hid the bracelet inside the pillowcase, sewed the opening closed with needle and thread, and then breathed a sigh of relief.
In the evening, after finishing his meal, Li Yugu saw that it was still early, so he took Zhao Yidi to the village store at the entrance to buy salt and take a stroll.
The courtyard finally quieted down.
Zhao Fei sat anxiously in the main room for a few minutes. When he heard that there was no more noise outside, he tiptoed to the door of the east wing and knocked.
"Xiaoxiao, it's me."
Wen Xiaoxiao said in a slightly nervous voice, "The door isn't locked."
Zhao Fei pushed the door open and went in, then closed it behind him.
Wen Xiaoxiao was sitting on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), while her two children slept side by side inside the kang.
"Auntie took Yidi out and won't be back for a while." Zhao Fei walked to the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), his gaze falling on the child, then looking at Wen Xiaoxiao, "Have you named the child yet?"
Wen Xiaoxiao shook her head: "Not yet. Mom said that when the baby is a month old, Qingda will choose the name..." Her voice lowered when she said that name.
Zhao Fei was silent for a moment, then said, "The eldest brother is called Zhao Yizhen, and the second brother is called Zhao Yibao."
He paused, then lowered his voice, "Treasures...all treasures."
Wen Xiaoxiao suddenly looked up at him.
Whose treasure is this? Is it the Zhao family's, or... his?
She lowered her head, flustered, and said, "The name... is quite nice."
"Hmm," Zhao Fei responded, sitting down at the other end of the kang (heated brick bed), with two sleeping children between them.
Looking at Wen Xiaoxiao's downcast profile, the words he had been holding back for days suddenly welled up in his mouth: "You still don't look well, you need to eat more. Did you drink the pig's trotter soup?"
"I drank it."
"Does the baby cry at night? Do you sleep well?"
"It's alright, Mom helps take care of it."
"If... if you need anything and it's inconvenient to tell Li Yugu, just tell me."
"Um."
The questions and answers were all the most ordinary and trivial things.
But in this stolen moment of tranquility, every word is imbued with an indescribable warmth.
Wen Xiaoxiao clutched the hem of her clothes, listening to his deep voice, her heart aching with a bittersweet feeling.
She wanted him to stay a little longer, but she was terrified of being discovered. This internal conflict tore at her, making her restless and uneasy.
Finally, she raised her head, her voice soft and urgent: "Big brother, you...you should go quickly. Mom should be back soon."
Zhao Fei's words came to an abrupt end.
"Take good care of yourself." He left those words behind, turned and went out the door, gently closing the door behind him.
As Wen Xiaoxiao listened to his departing footsteps, she slowly slumped down and leaned against the bedding on the kang (a heated brick bed).
She raised her hand and touched the pillow; the hard bracelet inside pressed against her palm.
Treasure. She murmured those two words to herself.
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