Chapter 134
The sunlight shone through the shade of the trees and fell sporadically on the official road. There were also people on the road who, like Yin Zheng, could not afford to take the ox cart and were busy hurrying on their way.
When Jiaojiao opened his eyes drowsily, he found himself in a very strange place. He blinked in confusion and moved his little hands and legs which were numb from sleep.
Noticing some movement coming from the backpack, Yin Zheng knew that he was probably awake, so he walked to the shade of a tree nearby and put the backpack down.
When the clothes covering the backpack were lifted up, Jiaojiao, who was sitting in the backpack, looked up in confusion.
After finding out it was her father, Jiaojiao immediately stretched out her little hands happily asking for a hug.
Yin Zheng bent down and carried him out. Jiaojiao tilted his head back and rubbed his father's chin, calling out in a sticky voice, "Dad."
"Yeah." Yin Zheng responded softly and took out the chicken leg that he had wrapped earlier from his arms and gave it to him.
Jiaojiao, who was hungry just after waking up, took the chicken leg and bit it with a big bite. Her satisfied little look was so endearing.
While Jiaojiao was gnawing on the chicken leg, Yin Zheng took out the two eggs he had cooked earlier, peeled them, and fed them to Jiaojiao while he was eating the chicken leg.
Jiaojiao took a bite of meat and a bite of egg, and her cheeks were bulging with food. She felt a little overwhelmed, but when her father fed her, she still tried hard to open her mouth and stuff it in.
Yin Zheng stopped feeding Jiaojiao after noticing this, and waited for him to swallow the food in his mouth before taking out a bamboo tube filled with water and feeding him.
Jiaojiao gulped down a few mouthfuls of water, breathed a sigh of relief, and smiled at her father.
Seeing this, Yin Zheng poked his fair and tender little face and raised the corner of his mouth slightly.
After eating an egg and half a chicken leg, Jiaojiao couldn't eat anymore. Yin Zheng finished off the rest of his meal and carried him to the stream to wash his oily hands and face.
After washing his hands and sitting by the stream to rest for a while, Yin Zheng put Jiaojiao into the backpack and continued to head towards the town.
In order not to add weight to her father, Jiaojiao originally wanted to walk by herself. However, after she pulled her father's trouser legs and walked a few steps, she sat down on the ground.
Looking down at Jiaojiao who was dazed after falling, Yin Zheng's gloomy eyes showed a hint of smile.
He squatted down and picked up Jiaojiao. Jiaojiao came to her senses and looked down at her father's legs, then patted her own short legs in confusion, raised her head and mumbled something to her father.
Yin Zheng didn't understand, but he guessed that he was wondering why he couldn't walk.
Normally, a one-year-old child can already walk unsteadily, but this child was two years old and still couldn't walk. Perhaps this was the reason why he was abandoned in the mountains.
Yin Zheng thought about it and tightened his arms. He turned around, put Jiaojiao into the backpack, and walked towards the town with her on his back.
After selling the roe deer, I will take the child to the clinic.
Yin Zheng's backpack was so big that Jiaojiao had to stand on tiptoe to expose the top of her head.
After Yin Zheng discovered this, he stopped, gathered a bunch of grass from the side, put it in the backpack, and pressed it tightly to use as a footrest for Jiaojiao.
After returning to the backpack, Jiaojiao discovered that he could see outside without standing on tiptoe. He immediately grabbed the edge of the backpack and looked outside curiously with his black eyes.
Yin Zheng carried Jiaojiao on his back and hurried on his way.
The sun in early spring is not scorching, but if you stay in the sun for a long time, you will still feel stuffy.
As he was walking, Yin Zheng noticed something unusual and looked up. He found that there was a large leaf above his head, swaying and blocking the sun for him.
He turned his head and looked back, and found Jiaojiao standing on tiptoe, holding up a leaf stalk to shade him from the sun.
When Jiaojiao found that her father was looking at her, she blinked, shook the leaves in her hand, pointed at the people on the road who were covering their heads with leaves and rushing along the way, and mumbled in an incomprehensible baby language.
Yin Zheng looked away. Although he didn't understand what the child said, he could probably understand that the child was saying that everyone else had it, so his father should have it too.
After walking for a distance, Yin Zheng stopped and picked a few large leaves from the side. He made a straw hat for Jiaojiao and himself that could barely block the sun, and then continued on his way.
After getting the hat, Jiaojiao no longer held up leaves to block the sun for her father. Instead, she curiously put her little hands on the edge of the backpack and stood on tiptoe to look outside.
Passersby would occasionally meet Jiaojiao's ignorant and curious gaze, and after a moment of hesitation, they would exclaim in their hearts, "What a handsome child!"
It is rare to see such fair and lively children in Hengyang Town. They look like they were carefully raised by wealthy families in the county. Even the children raised by the masters in the town are not as fair and tender as them.
After walking for another quarter of an hour, we finally arrived in town.
The town is very lively. The villagers from several nearby villages rely on selling eggs and farm products to earn enough money to buy oil and salt. Therefore, the town has a good flow of people and looks very lively.
Yin Zheng carried Jiaojiao on his back and walked towards the restaurant.
It is just the beginning of spring, and the wild animals in the mountains that have been hungry for the whole winter are coming out to look for food. During this period, few hunters dare to go up the mountain to hunt, for fear of encountering hungry bears and tigers.
Therefore, Yin Zheng's roe deer and hares sold very well. The manager who bought ingredients in the restaurant took a look and bought them all without saying a word.
Three hares were sold for ninety coins, and a roe deer was sold for one ounce and two cents.
After getting the money, Yin Zheng took Jiaojiao to the clinic to see if there was anything wrong with his leg.
The doctor felt Jiaojiao's short legs, took her pulse, and checked her tongue. He waved his hand and said, "It's nothing serious. She's just a little weak and deficient. The child is still young. Just go home and take good care of her."
As he spoke, Dr. Zhou looked at the confused kid in front of him and couldn't help but took two candies and stuffed them into his hand.
Ultimately, it's because they don't eat enough. Most of the children in the village have this symptom.
Sitting in her father's arms, Jiaojiao looked down at the candy in her hand, then looked up at him.
Doctor Zhou couldn't help but reach out and touch his head, his old eyes full of kindness.
Jiaojiao didn't hide and let him touch her head.
Jiaojiao looked down at the candy in his hand curiously, then put the thing in his hand into his mouth. A light sweetness spread from his mouth. He blinked in surprise and quickly raised the candy in his other hand to Yin Zheng's mouth: "Daddy, ah."
Looking at this scene, Dr. Zhou couldn't help but stroke his beard and nodded continuously. This little kid is really filial.
As the saying goes, a child's future can be seen at the age of three. This kid will not be a bad person in the future.
When they came out of the clinic, Yin Zheng and Jiaojiao each had a piece of malt candy in their mouths.
Yin Zheng glanced up and carried Jiaojiao to the pastry shop across the street to buy some cakes, fruits and malt sugar. He then went to a nearby clothing store to pick out two sets of fine cotton-padded clothes for Jiaojiao.
The weather in early spring is still cold, so Yin Zheng picked two sets of cotton-padded clothes, one thin and one thick, so that he can change them according to the weather changes.
In addition to clothes, he also bought two pairs of small cloth shoes for Jiaojiao, and he also bought himself a piece of clothing made of fine cotton cloth.
Jiaojiao had tender skin and loved to rub against him. He was wearing coarse linen, and the child's face turned red after being rubbed against him several times. Yin Zheng felt very uncomfortable watching this.
After buying the clothes, Yin Zheng thought about it and went to the scholar who wrote letters for others under the bridge. He spent five cents to have the child's handwriting changed.
He heard yesterday that the child called himself "Jiao Jiao".
How should I put it? This name doesn't sound very nice, so I thought of asking someone to change it to a homophone.
"How about the character Jiao?"
The scholar wrote the word "Jiao" on a palm-sized piece of paper and handed it to Yin Zheng: "Jiao means white, like the moon rising brightly. The word is gentle and elegant, and the meaning is bright and clear. It is indeed a sunny day at dawn, and even more so the gentle wind and bright moon..."
While the scholar was reciting some incomprehensible words, Yin Zheng stared at the word "Jiao" on the paper for a long time, then carefully folded the paper with dried ink in half and put it in his arms.
Before leaving, Yin Zheng went to the pork shop and spent twenty-seven cents to buy three pounds of pork, and then went to the wine shop to buy half a pound of rice wine before going back.
When returning, Yin Zheng still did not take the ox cart. He was a fast walker. It only took him half an hour to walk a distance that would take an ordinary person an hour, which was not much slower than taking an ox cart.
And walking such a distance is really nothing for Yin Zheng.
After returning to Lijia Village, Yin Zheng did not go home immediately. He first went to the village chief's house to ask the village chief to register Jiaojiao's household registration.
"Oh, you're here, why do you bring so many things!" When Wang opened the door and saw the things in Yin Zheng's hand, she smiled so much that her eyes became slits.
He quickly took the meat and wine from Yin Zheng's hand, turned his head and shouted to the village chief who was cutting tobacco in the house: "Old man, the second son of the Yin family is here, stop cutting your tobacco."
Hearing that Yin Zheng was coming, Li Gensheng, who was cutting tobacco with his eyes half closed, was puzzled. He couldn't understand why Yin Zheng, who had never interacted with the villagers, came to see him.
When he came out of the house and saw the little baby in Yin Zheng's arms, Li Gensheng immediately understood why Yin Zheng came to see him. He sighed and asked him to go into the main room.
"Have you made up your mind and are you sure you want to raise it?" Li Gensheng asked Yin Zheng again and again.
Yin Zheng nodded: "Yeah."
Seeing his firm expression, Li Gensheng didn't say anything. He took out a pen and ink, carefully looked at Jiaojiao's face, then lowered his head and began to write.
Although literate people are rare these days, as the village chief, Li Gensheng still knows a little bit of reading and writing, otherwise how could he have taken the position of village chief.
"By the way, which Jiao?" Li Gensheng suddenly raised his head and asked.
Yin Zheng took out the paper from his arms: "This Jiao."
Li Gensheng looked at the word for a while and said, "This is a good name."
After finishing writing, he took the household registration fee handed over by Yin Zheng. The household registration was preliminarily completed. The next step was to wait for it to be sent to the government office for registration at the end of the year.
After doing all this, Li Gensheng stared at Jiaojiao who was sitting in Yin Zheng's arms. Seeing that he was not afraid of strangers and was looking at him curiously with his head tilted, he couldn't help but smile. He reached into his pocket and took out three copper coins and stuffed them into Jiaojiao's little hand: "Use this to buy some malt candy."
Jiaojiao stared at the copper coin in her hand, and then stuffed the copper coin into her mouth.
Yin Zheng, who had been paying attention to him, reached out to stop him, took the copper coin from his hand and put it into the pocket in front of his belly: "This is not for eating."
Yin Zheng discovered the pocket on the child's belly last night.
The child's clothes were very strange, and the fabric was also very peculiar. Yin Zheng had never seen anyone dressed like this before, but it might also be because he had never been out of the county and had seen very few things.
Jiaojiao, who didn't understand, looked up at him and blinked. Yin Zheng patted his head and patiently explained it twice more. Only then did Jiaojiao understand and nodded, waving her hands and saying, "No."
Don’t eat it.
Li Gensheng, who was sitting opposite, was very surprised to see this scene. The child didn't even cry because the things in his hands were taken away? This was rare!
Yin Zheng was a little surprised by Jiaojiao's sudden "no", and he couldn't help but poke his fair little face.
From what he learned yesterday, he knew that the child could only say the two words "Dad" and "Jiaojiao". He didn't expect that before he taught him, he would say the word "No".
After coming out of the village chief's house, Yin Zheng walked back with Jiaojiao in his arms. Thinking of the word "no" he had just uttered, he remembered that he had asked him to change the name of his father to "daddy".
Yin Zheng pointed at himself and said to Jiaojiao, "Daddy."
Jiaojiao blinked doubtfully and shook her head, "Dad."
"Daddy."
"dad."
"Daddy."
"dad."
It usually takes a quarter of an hour to walk this distance, but in order to teach Jiaojiao to call him daddy, Yin Zheng actually took three quarters of an hour.
When they returned home, no one was there. Old Man Yin and Mrs. Wu were still working in the fields, tilling the soil with hoes. The villagers had no time to look after the children during the busy farming season, so they would take their children to the fields for easy care. Therefore, Yin Youzhi and Yin Youbai were also taken to the fields.
In previous years, Yin Zheng was the main person working in the fields at home. Usually at this time, he would be turning the soil non-stop. This year, in order to pay the salary to Yin Youcai, Mrs. Wu asked him to stop working in the fields and go to the mountains to hunt roe deer and sell them in the town.
This resulted in Old Man Yin and his colleagues having to get up early and work late every day to plow the fields in order not to miss the sowing time. Yin Youcai, who was studying in the town, had no intention of asking for leave to come back from the town to help.
Yin Zheng scooped up some water to wash his and Jiaojiao's hands, took out a piece of chestnut cake from the oil-paper bag and gave it to Jiaojiao to chew on. Then he held Jiaojiao and sat in the shade of the yard, and continued to teach Jiaojiao to call him daddy.
He pointed at himself very patiently: "Daddy."
Jiaojiao was very confused, but still said firmly: "Dad."
At the hour of You, Old Man Yin, Mrs. Wu and Little Mrs. Wang came back exhausted, carrying hoes.
Hearing the noise coming from the kitchen, Wu immediately put down her hoe and walked into the kitchen. Without even bothering to ask Yin Zheng why he hadn't gone to work in the fields since he had returned, she quickly extended her hand to Yin Zheng: "The money from selling the roe deer and rabbits."
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