Chapter 423
Wang Jiazhi wrote in an article: People who have lost all hope must have something they are extremely obsessed with in order to keep living.
After celebrating the kitten's birthday, he said at night, "I think we should go back to our hometown in a few days to visit the old house and the ancestral graves. It's been several years since we've been back."
"OK."
They didn't say anything else.
Even though she was only away for five days, she still had to prepare a lot. She needed to pack for three people, especially in autumn, when the weather fluctuates wildly. Besides the clothes she wore, she also needed to pack two coats, both thin and thick. The two of them didn't mind, but the kitten needed to be prepared more carefully.
Because he would be away for a few days, he came back a little late the day before leaving and explained things in detail at the yamen.
It was almost ten o'clock when I came back. When I entered the room, I saw only a box on the bed, which she was packing. Kitty and the three cats were sitting on the bed, and Dabai was lying at her feet, watching her pack.
He also joined in watching her packing the boxes, watching from one box to two, then to three, with more and more things on the bed and floor.
He laughed and said, "We're not fleeing, do you need so many things?"
She even broke out in a thin layer of sweat while combing her hair. She said, "You won't feel it's too much when you use it."
There was no other way, so he went over to help them sort things out. The more things they sorted out, the more they sorted out. Before they knew it, it was already past midnight. Maybe because they had told the kitten that they were going out tomorrow, the kitten was particularly energetic today. The kitten kept watching them sort things out and showed no sign of being sleepy. It seemed that the furry pets at home were also infected and none of them slept.
The lights in the other rooms of the house were off, leaving only their own room a warm yellow glow. Through the branches of the sycamore tree, a shimmering light shone through the window, casting dappled shadows on the hostas in the garden. Perched on the sycamore tree was a beautiful, plush white owl. The light from the house shone upon it, and it opened its large, round eyes. Through the branches, it saw two people in the room sorting three large boxes. Inside the boxes, on the bed, and on the floor were a variety of skirts, shirts, windbreakers, woolen coats, floral dresses, and jackets... A cute little kitten, with its hair draped and wearing a small purple dress, sat on the bed. Three kittens and a large, furry dog surrounded it. It jumped up again, happily saying something on the bed...
They didn't finish packing until two in the morning and went to bed. The next morning, they loaded the three large boxes into the car and left.
In fact, the road is not that far. To be safe, we take more detours.
They changed trains around noon. It was Wang Jiazhi's first time riding in a first-class carriage. After sleeping so late the previous night, the kitten was still full of energy. She was a little tired, so she rested her head on his shoulder.
"This is my first time riding on a train like this."
He remembered that she always rode second class, and those who followed her said she was afraid of falling asleep and missing her stop, so she pushed herself forward no matter how tired she was. Thinking back on those days, they were all going through a tormenting time. Later, he learned that she was pregnant at the time, and the memory of it only made him even more terrified.
He was always worried that she wouldn't be able to take care of herself on the run, but she was doing so well and thoughtfully. It was really just him worrying too much. She'd been wandering around since she was sixteen, from a poor family, so she knew exactly what to look out for on a trip. He saw her packing her luggage yesterday, and it was amazing. She kept it neatly organized, saving space, and keeping fragile items well-protected.
"The third-class carriage on the Ningbo to Shanghai train was filled with the stench of cigarettes, sweat, and foot odor. Although it was just the beginning of May, it was already very hot in the south. Staying in such a stuffy and smelly space was truly unbearable, especially..."
These words suddenly popped up in his mind. They were well written, and he thought it was her style. But did she have this article? No.
She leaned against his shoulder for a while, then fell down and rested her head on his legs, her two small paws habitually hugging the woolen pants that she could not touch. He stroked her hair and back with his big paws, coaxing her to sleep.
She slept for a while, then woke up quickly. This was the happiest trip she had ever taken. No more dirty third-class carriages, no more suffering from the escape. She still had the person she wanted by her side. If he could stay with her, what did it matter if she rode third-class?
Wang Jiazhi vaguely recalled an article she'd written long ago. The train ride from Ningbo to Shanghai was the most agonizing. I scratched my skin raw from mosquito bites, and in the dead of night, I was exhausted and unable to sleep. Even the person next to me, who was sleeping by the window, seemed so blessed.
At that time, she thought, if only she could lean on someone. If only she had an ideal boyfriend. She wrote an article, hoping he would come find her. Even if life was hard, it was good for the two of them to be together.
But in the end, it still ended in a tragedy. He didn't look for her, and she lived a hard life alone. Then things got worse and worse, and she died at a young age.
Because she knew she didn't deserve it.
She couldn't remember the exact words; it was so long ago, a lifetime ago. But she could still recall one sentence: In this bleak and hopeless life, she also hoped that there would be a ray of light to save her from the sea of suffering.
She slept for a while and then woke up again. She took out the snacks she had made and some cut fruit for them to eat. It was lunchtime now, and the guards had brought over some food.
After dinner, she peeled sugar-roasted chestnuts for them to eat.
She held the kitten in her arms and said, "We went out together last time, when you were still in your mother's belly."
He recalled the flirtatious sister-in-law in her novel, who always invited a group of men to her house to play mahjong and spoke frivolously. She once told someone her daughter was named Yue Chang because her birthday was Mid-Autumn Festival. When someone said they remembered her daughter's birthday was not on Mid-Autumn Festival, she replied, "Since the figure appeared, it was on August 15th."
He whispered in her ear: "How did you come up with this, and when was that child."
She was hugging the child, her face flushed red like a peeled lychee. She covered her face with her paws and said, "How can I know... How can it be so accurate to the day?"
Others are “、”, they are “……”, they are so precise that they are geniuses.
Because I was too shy, I bumped into his legs and buried my face in them.
This little one is just like that, so shy when she's dressed. She was so wild and playful just a moment ago, like a little wild cat, but once she put on her clothes and rode back in the car with him, if he looked at her a few more times, she'd shyly lower her head, not daring to look at him, her face flushing. That timid little cat is so endearing.
He deliberately teased her and stared at her, watching her face grow redder and more shy.
"Huahua~~"
The kitten stood up and put its two little paws against the window. They looked over and saw a long row of hibiscus flowers planted on one side of the railway track. The hibiscus flowers were pink with single petals, and their five round petals made up a round flower. They were particularly pink and cute.
The big round pink flowers were reflected on the car window, and the shadows of the three of them were reflected in the flower shadows on the car window, just like the picture on a New Year's card, a family of three surrounded by a circle of beautiful pink flowers.
After getting off the bus, we changed to a car and walked for another two hours before changing to a tricycle. The car had the curtains pulled down, and it was completely covered, so we couldn't see anything outside.
It was her first time riding in a tricycle with him. They were both a little too thin, so there was still plenty of space to sit in. After a while, they heard the sound of raindrops hitting the awning.
"Is the rain heavy? Let's take shelter before we go." He asked inside, and his voice drifted out along with the sound of rain.
"The rain is not heavy, let's go quickly."
It was still very hot at noon, but it became cool at night. I put my hands in his coat and felt more comfortable.
In this enclosed and dim little space, listening to the sound of rain outside, feeling each other's warm breath, unable to see what is happening outside, there is a sense of unrealistic eternity.
Wang Jiazhi wanted to stay like this forever. She leaned her head on his shoulder, put her hands into his coat, and held the kitten's paws to keep them warm. She didn't know what the outside world was like, and she didn't need to care about what the outside world was like. It would be like this forever.
The kitten crawled into his coat and fell asleep in his arms. It was warm as hell to hold such a big kitten in his arms.
She was lost in thought when the kitten woke up and turned around. A cute kitten head popped out from the collar of his coat. He smiled and said, "You know we're almost home, so you woke up~"
The kitten let out an "Ah" of joy.
The car stopped and Wang Jiazhi felt a little disappointed.
The awning was opened, and several people holding umbrellas came to greet them. Wang Jiazhi saw that it was already dark. A courtyard shrouded in mist and rain was far less prosperous than she had imagined. Hostas and small chrysanthemums bloomed in front of the house, and a layer of mist hung in the light rain. It felt like a retreat, like picking chrysanthemums under the eastern fence.
The kitten was still nestled in his coat, held by him.
An old man came over and said, "Master, Madam, and Miss."
He smiled and nodded. The kitten smiled at the old man.
They sat down in the main hall. He asked a few questions about what had happened in his hometown in recent years. The old man smiled and said, "Everything is fine."
The old house is not big, and this old man is the only one looking after it.
After a few simple words, he carried the kitten into the house.
Every autumn rain brings a chill, especially in the countryside, and the room feels even more damp and chilly. The bed is already made, a mahogany frame with a pale blue cloth curtain fastened with copper hooks. There are a pair of white cotton pillows embroidered with purple mandarin ducks, and a navy blue and white phoenix quilt cover.
"We're here. We'll sleep here tonight."
He put the kitten on the bed, and the kitten jumped and danced on the blue quilt.
It was even colder after I took off my coat, so he smiled and said, "It's a good thing you brought a sweater."
They took out the sweaters and put them on, and put on the little purple, dark blue and peach flower sweater that the kitten's mother had knitted.
Wang Jiazhi suddenly said with a sense of melancholy, "If her grandmother were still alive, she would definitely make lots of beautiful clothes for her."
Perhaps it was because I followed him back to his hometown to pay homage to his parents, and I thought of my mother's lonely grave thousands of miles away.
A hot water bottle had been placed in the quilt beforehand, and the three of them snuggled into the quilt. The kitten had a small hot water bottle under its feet, and the other two had a large one under their feet.
"Is it cold?"
He took her in his arms.
"It's like hibernating in a tree hole," she laughed.
"I used to live in this house. My father said the sunshine was good and it was just right for me to study. After I went away to study, I rarely came back. After renovating the old house, they lived here."
"Um."
She looked at the pine table by the window and said, "Is that your desk?"
"Yes, they are still in the house. I never come back, and I don't know when I will die outside. Maybe when they see this table, they think it's like they see me sitting in front of it and reading when I was a child."
She knew what he meant. This house was his previous residence, but before they got married, it was converted into the main house and his parents lived in it. He and Mrs. Yi had never lived in this house before, so as not to make her feel uncomfortable.
Mrs. Yi said she was going back to the country to live. The old house was so simple and far away from the hustle and bustle that she had never lived there for a day. If she really lived there, she would commit suicide. She was living in the county town. Someone was an official in another place and the old house in her hometown happened to be vacant, so he came to her to ask her to stay there temporarily.
After a while, the little girl brought dinner over and said, "I haven't used the earthen stove to cook for a few years. The food in the countryside is fresher, and the rice cooked here is more delicious than in the city."
The kitten was really well-behaved. It had been weaned for a while. Wang Jiazhi told her seriously, "You can't eat it anymore."
She thought she might not understand, but she really didn't want to eat. She didn't cry or make a fuss, she just didn't want to eat. She refused to eat even if you offered her food.
My mother was so shocked that she couldn't believe it. Is it so easy to wean a child?
"My child couldn't be weaned at that time. There was no other way. I smeared soy sauce on bitter melon and told him to eat it, saying it tasted bad so I thought he wouldn't eat it, but it still didn't work. After crying for a while, he still wanted to eat."
He held the child in his arms and fed him. Many of the vegetables were grown by the elderly woman in the backyard. The bamboo shoots were dug from the nearby bamboo forest. The fish was either bought at the market or caught in the river. Grandma's cooking was homely, and Wang Jiazhi thought of her grandmother. She hadn't tasted the flavors of the countryside in over a decade.
Mom, grandma, uncle, they have all been gone for a long time.
My cousin should go to the ancestral grave to pay homage.
She took a few bites of food and then leaned her head on his shoulder. It was already dark outside and the rain was still falling.
He can also paint a man's life like this.
It was just after seven o'clock when they finished eating, so they packed up and went to bed early. They had never slept so early before, and they were both tired after a bumpy day, but the kitten was still full of energy.
"Is there a market nearby? I'll get up early tomorrow and buy some fresh autumn peaches and some other things. My father-in-law loves autumn peaches the most."
"Someone has already prepared it. Don't go."
After all, she hasn't been back for many years. Although she will be fine under someone's protection, he is still worried about her going out alone, and he can't follow her.
A while ago, Wang Jiazhi was sorting through her previous manuscripts to look for inspiration, and among them was an article titled "Game of Chess" that she wrote when she was in college.
"The Second Prince was renowned among the other princes for his indifference and modesty. He showed little interest in state affairs and social interactions. He seldom left the house, spending his days reading, practicing calligraphy, drinking tea, and chanting Buddhist scriptures. The Emperor could not be more pleased with his son.
The princess was personally chosen by the emperor and empress. She came from a prominent family and was dignified and virtuous. The couple treated each other with respect and dignity. The prince was also very smart and sensible at a young age. He could recite the Three Character Classic at the age of three.
When the weather was mild, the couple enjoyed playing chess in the garden while their children played nearby. The palace attendants all said, "It is rare for the prince and princess to be so harmonious. They are truly a perfect match."
He once said to the princess: "Having a wife like you who has given birth to such a good son is enough for my life. What more could I ask for?"
The princess smiled and said, "I'm just afraid that over time, the prince will get tired of this happy life and want to have a grand and exciting life, asking for trouble and making it unforgettable."
…
She admitted that she liked him at first sight, so she avoided him even more deliberately. She tried very hard to avoid seeing him, but he always came to see her.
What he wants he will never let go.
He held her in his arms and said to her: "When I become emperor, we can be together legitimately and you won't have to suffer this injustice."
Her enemies and close associates all said she was stupid.
In this life of despair and torture, she once truly believed that she had a home, with her beloved at home, and she would have her own children, and that it would last forever...
The old eunuch said: "No matter how beautiful a woman is, she will eventually be covered in dust without even a coffin."
The following spring, the mountain was once again covered with white rhododendrons.
On a beautiful spring day, the Second Prince and the Princess were still happily chatting and playing chess in the garden, while the Crown Prince was diligently practicing calligraphy beside them.
The peach blossoms are blown down,
Spring and autumn are blown away,
The moment I understood the most was in my dream.
Long-lived wandering,
Wake up and be a guest again,
Everyone lives their own life at the beginning and end of the year.
So what if it's everywhere?
What about spring?
They all couldn't get what they wanted.
Fortunately,
Ordinary human affairs,
Write an ordinary song.
They chatted for a while, and before they knew it, the kitten fell asleep in his arms.
He reached out and stroked the kitten's hair, and said with a smile, "This is your first time walking such a long distance. You must be tired, right?"
With his other hand he stroked her hair and back, and soon she fell asleep too.
"'I'm so nervous! I'm the worst talker. I don't want them to dislike me.'
"No, they just told me that you are the best and I am out of my league."
'No way, you lied to me again.'
'Really, my dad also said...' he whispered in her ear.
"You're disgusting~" She shyly pulled up the quilt to cover her head.
The next day she got up very early. The kitten got dressed and went to the yard to play with the cats. However, he was rarely lazy and curled up in the quilt, resting his head on the pillow and watching her pack up the snacks for the offerings.
He was very surprised and asked when these snacks were made. He was in the government office the day before he left, and she made snacks for the whole day.
Wang Jiazhi said, "My mother-in-law likes to eat fermented osmanthus cake, jujube flower cake, and red bean cake. I just made a lot of osmanthus jam a few days ago. My father-in-law likes to eat mung bean cake and Longjing tea cake."
He was no longer surprised at how she knew all this. Wang Jiazhi also felt that no one would believe that anything could happen in a dream.
After packing up, they went out to visit the graves. It had rained a little yesterday, and the air was especially good this morning. Although it was late autumn, there were still some wild flowers along the way besides wild chrysanthemums that had not yet withered.
The kitten picked flowers from the roadside as he walked, and when he arrived, he had picked a lot of them.
Wang Jiazhi looked at the scenery along the way, and especially when she arrived at the destination, she felt as if she had been there before, especially the huge white orchid tree in the northeast corner, which looked so familiar.
The Yi family's ancestral tombs consisted of only two, housing his grandparents and parents. The white orchid tree grew some distance from the two graves, blooming alone in a corner, seemingly aloof from the crowd.
The little kitten also kowtowed obediently, and then he didn't say anything for a long time, just looked at the tombstone with some melancholy.
She knew there was nothing to say, what else could she say? Or maybe he was talking to his parents in his mind right now.
He smiled at the kitten and said, "Can you give the flowers to Grandpa and Grandma?"
"Okay~"
The kitten scattered the colorful flowers on the grave.
"Are you happy? Just as you wished, I found you a tall daughter-in-law and a tall granddaughter too. You are so happy."
Wang Jiazhi was shocked. It turned out that this was how he usually talked to his father. It was completely different from what she had imagined.
In her dream yesterday, he whispered to her that her father-in-law had said several times that when marrying a daughter-in-law, he must find a tall one so that the children born will be tall.
Now she thought, Mrs. Yi wasn't that tall after all. It showed that some things were just ideal plans.
At this time, the kitten heard a "meow". The kitten ran over to find two kittens standing on the white orchid tree.
The kitten meowed at them twice. At this time, there were still a few flowers on the tree, and you could smell their intoxicating fragrance.
He picked up the kitten and asked her to stretch out her hands to pick the flowers. The kitten put a flower in her mother's hair.
Wang Jiazhi was wearing a deep blue cheongsam today, with large white orchid flowers made of white gauze on it. The kitten was held in her mother's arms and leaned close to her to smell the fragrance of the flowers on her hair.
On the No. 3 bus back home, the kitten sat on their laps, the small space filled with the fragrance of white orchids tinged with rain. They each held one of the kitten's paws.
She placed her palm against the kitten's and said, "The lines on our three palms are the same."
He also put his hand on it and said, "You have the same palm prints as your parents."
She remembered that in her previous life, he told her that he would take her back to his hometown if he had the chance.
I didn't expect that he would actually bring her here today.
When they arrived at a place, they changed cars.
She asked, "Where are we going?"
"Go meet someone else."
The kitten stood on his lap, with its two little paws pressed against the car window, looking out curiously. This was the first time she had been away from home for so long, and she was very excited about this trip.
Passing by a school gate, he hugged his daughter and said, "Look, this is where Dad goes to school."
You can also see Leifeng Pagoda from a distance.
She said, "I've been here before. You said you liked riding your bike from the Broken Bridge to Leifeng Pagoda, and I wondered if you went to school here."
"So you've been here with your child."
He smiled, isolated from the students outside. She thought he must have thought of many things, the time when he was studying, when he was full of vigor and vitality. It was just a pity that she was not there in those years.
When we got there, we climbed a mountain road. Looking down the mountain, we could see the West Lake in the distance.
Another grave, looking new, but untended, with grass growing tall. She thought of her mother's grave, how desolate it must have become over the years, and felt a pang of sadness. Even though he had someone tend it every year and showed her photos of it afterward, she still felt sad.
He went to pull the weeds around, and she came to help. The kitten, having learned from its previous experience, picked some chrysanthemums and scattered them on the grave.
This time he just watched quietly without saying a word.
After we got down the mountain and into the car, he said, "This is my professor at university. His wife died when he was in his twenties, and he lived a life of loneliness. Because he refused to remarry and end up with no descendants, his parents, out of anger, refused to give him any of their property. But he seemed content with his poverty and lived a peaceful life. He passed away two years ago."
She laughed and said, "People who can live comfortably certainly don't force or restrict themselves. They choose the path that makes them most comfortable. But many people ridiculously insist on imposing their own version of happiness on others, insisting on assuming that others live in pain, when they don't want that. The ancients long ago said, 'You are not a fish, yet you can still find joy in the fish.' Yet, most people never understand this in their entire lives." At this point, she laughed and said, "But you're definitely not one of them."
"oh?"
"I think so."
Many of his actions are obviously unorthodox.
When he got home he took her and the kitten for a walk around the neighborhood.
She had said she wanted to go mushroom picking, and he said, "There should be plenty in the back hills right now, let's go."
It rained yesterday, and today there are really a lot of mushrooms growing on the mountain.
It’s just that the types of mushrooms here are different from those in her hometown. She only recognizes a few types of mushrooms in her hometown.
He told her which ones were edible. The kitten was very happy. It was her first time picking mushrooms. She filled her hands with mushrooms and put them into the bamboo basket. Then she hopped around like a little rabbit to pick new ones.
They were beside the basket, watching the kittens come and go happily.
After having children, Wang Jiazhi often wondered what children, at this age without memories, think about. They experience joy and sadness, but quickly forget everything. It would be great if they could be like this when they grow up.
He made a bracelet for her and the kitten with small chrysanthemums, and they wore them on their hands. Wherever they went, they were scented with the fresh fragrance of chrysanthemums.
On the way back, he took them to a wild lotus pond. There were many lotus pods in this season, but only one was still in bloom, but it was about to wither. Most of the white petals had fallen, and there was a lotus leaf underneath, like a jade plate holding the delicate, snow-white petals.
He smiled at her and said, "Very few people come here. When I'm on vacation, I like to come here to read. It's quiet and I can smell the fragrance of lotus flowers." He then said to the kitten, "Dad always came here to play when he was a child."
Wang Jiazhi really likes this place. It is isolated from the world and no one disturbs her. There are so many beautiful lotus flowers to keep her company.
A red dragonfly landed on a lotus pod. Looking closely, there was also a blue one landed not far away.
Wang Jiazhi said to him, "Look, the dragonflies in the lotus pond aren't afraid of people, because they know we can't get in to catch them. Dragonflies and butterflies land on the lotus flowers back home, and they fly away as soon as they get close. I always feel like those fragrant herbs in the Book of Songs should be secluded in secluded valleys. It would be bad if they were contaminated by the mundane world in the human world."
He smiled and said, "Yes, there are Fusu flowers on the mountain and lotus flowers in the marshes. I feel that lotus flowers and Fusu flowers should be isolated from the world, blooming and growing in uninhabited places. The so-called exiled immortal can also be compared to this: a fragrant herb that was originally extraordinary and should be isolated from the world is brought down to the mortal world, suffers a disaster, leaves behind a legend, and then returns to where it belongs."
"But this legend is filled with endless torment and pain. In the eyes of the world, it's a legend, but to the legend itself, it's endless suffering. The only thing that can comfort me is perhaps the vanilla, which is worthy of being tortured and destroyed, worthy of being placed on the altar as a sacrifice to heaven and earth. Those vulgar, ugly, poisonous weeds have no right to this torture. Of course, they can grow and flourish, and the more flourishing they are, the more disgusting they become. When the orchid is plucked and sacrificed to heaven and earth, it has already left its roots and died. After serving as a sacrifice, even the last part of its body slowly withers and falls apart."
They both were very reluctant to talk about this, fearing she would have another attack. But if she kept it to herself, it would easily cause another attack, so sometimes she had to say a few words.
When they got home, the kitten was a little sleepy. After cleaning up, she put the kitten in her arms, told them to go to sleep, and went to cook.
When he woke up, it was already dark outside. The lights were on in the house, bathing the room in a warm yellow glow. A white porcelain vase had been placed on the table, filled with lilies and small chrysanthemums picked from the yard. She had no idea when she'd put them there. Looking out the window, he could see a bright, round moon in the sky. In the moonlight, a kitten was leisurely licking its paw.
I seemed to be back in my childhood, in this house, with this pine table. I also liked to put flowers on the table, and I could see the moon outside the window when I woke up at night.
I turned around and saw the kitten sleeping soundly in my arms. But it was no longer a child. I was so old now and was no longer the same as before.
He was feeling a little melancholy when the kitten woke up and started to act cute with him. The kitten felt so warm in his arms.
After a while she came in and saw that they were all awake, so she told them to go and eat.
It was the first time she had seen him so relaxed, without having to worry about anything. In the past, even when he was at home, he would still receive phone calls.
Wang Jiazhi made soup with the yellow mushrooms that the kitten had picked. He saw it and smiled, "This looks like what my mother always makes."
"Try it and see if it tastes like it."
He drank and laughed, "Almost."
She dreamed of going back to her hometown with him for the first time. Her mother-in-law told her that he liked to drink this kind of mushroom stewed chicken soup. Only add onions, ginger and salt, and stew it for a short time, because he didn't like it if it was too oily.
He sighed, "I haven't tasted this flavor for many years."
The kitten was also eating obediently beside them. They always liked to feed the kitten. Grandma felt that she was a servant and should not interfere in the master's affairs. But she thought to herself, how could such pampering make the kitten develop the habit of eating on its own in the future? If a child is used to being fed, he will refuse to eat when no one feeds him. Her own child was like that. At first, he was inexperienced and would eat when he was fed, but later he would refuse to eat if he was not fed. It took a lot of effort to change him.
But... the kitten eats its food even without anyone feeding it, and has a good appetite. So far, I haven't found any food it won't eat. It's already tall, and this will only make it grow faster.
My mother was surprised. Aren't children from poor families supposed to be hardy and take on family responsibilities early? Aren't children from wealthy families supposed to be spoiled and pampered? It's impossible for my own poor family to have a harder time raising their own children than those from wealthy families.
When the kitten grew up, Wang Jiazhi accidentally discovered that the old magazine sent by Xiaoshuang had more than a dozen fruit personalities, and the kitten turned out to have the same lemon personality as him.
She had long since accepted this reality. As expected, she was the only fool in the family.
She was still shocked that the kitten had become the class leader at the age of eight or nine.
The class had a monitor, but Kitty disdained the role, believing it wasn't worth investing so much energy managing the trivialities of the children for the sake of a false reputation. Furthermore, many elementary school monitors were known for their arrogance and bullying, which Kitty despised even more.
My daughter had no intention of winning people's hearts, but when children asked her for advice, she could actually come up with effective suggestions. Word spread from one person to ten, and from ten to a hundred, until about the age of eight, people around her started to look to her for decisions.
Once, my daughter was going to participate in a painting competition and took a day off. As soon as she got back, her classmate's mother called her.
"My daughter has something to consult with Xiao*."
She held the receiver in her hand, unable to believe it.
Neither of them liked fussy, restrictive outfits, and Kitty, even at such a young age, was no different. While clothes should be beautiful, comfort always came before beauty. She disliked stockings, and Kitty was the same. In the fall, wearing a cheongsam without stockings was too cold. Once, while sorting through old clothes, Kitty found some of her father's old gowns. The next day, she watched her daughter leave the house wearing his blue gown, black pants, a beige scarf around her neck, and a few books. They were almost identical in height and build. Oh my!
"Dad's old clothes are just lying around, so I'll wear them."
Later, she made a few more similar ones based on the pattern. Girls wearing men's long gowns... Anyway, at the beginning, many girls in the school made the same men's long gowns, but it didn't last long, and not every girl could pull off this kind of clothing.
Today he ate a lot more than usual, which was a rare occasion. Actually, this was just a normal amount of food for other people.
"Just like when I come home from school once or twice a month, my mother cooks these dishes for me."
The other dishes were also made with his favorite foods, picked from the yard at home. It was just like when he was a child.
He laughed again and said, "But I can't say this any more. Otherwise, it will really become like marrying a bride. After marrying a bride, I have to find myself a mother to continue to serve me."
"What? That's not how it works. When a son gets married, the mother-in-law tells her about her son's preferences and asks her to take good care of him. When a daughter gets married, the father instructs the son-in-law to take over and continue protecting her. This is also a kind of transfer of responsibility, and both parties have to give."
He felt sad. Her father did not fulfill his responsibilities, and neither did he.
After dinner, they gave the kitten a bath. At home, they usually bathed her in the tub, but this was the first time they used a wooden tub. The pine tub was new and had a delicate woody scent. She picked some chrysanthemums from the yard and put them in the water. The little one played with the flowers while she bathed.
The servants all sighed that the kitten was very obedient and easy to take care of. As long as there were flowers and plants, or furry things, or either of the two, it would play quietly for a long time without anyone having to worry about it.
After washing, Wang Jiazhi smelled her body and could smell the sweet scent of chrysanthemum and pine wood.
After washing the kittens, they were already thin enough, but the wooden tub still couldn't fit two people, so she sat on his lap as usual. The bathtub at home could fit people, so she still sat there like that.
"It's so comfortable to take a bath like this." She rubbed her hand against his woolen pants.
"Yes, life in the country is about quieting the mind. Being close to the plants and nature brings peace."
He also remembered that when she was pregnant, she took a bath by herself with a big belly and used such a high bathtub, which always made him scared.
She lazily sank into his arms, a limp heap. She was truly exhausted today, and she asked him to wash her. Even afterward, she refused to get up, clinging to him. When the water cooled, he added a bucket of hot water. It cooled again, so he added another. Only when all the hot water was gone, and she was about to catch a cold if she continued, did she finally lazily ask him to carry her out to sleep.
When she started to act coquettishly, even a kitten would open its eyes wide. When she was in my arms, she was still lazily closing her eyes and whimpering, but when she lay down on the bed, she opened her eyes wide again and said, "Let's sleep."
When she sleeps, she always curls up in his arms like a kitten. Now that her belly is exposed, it means she is sleeping, but not in the right way.
In his previous life, after she left, he took in a kitten. He always felt that its demeanor was very familiar. Especially the way it would often turn over on its belly, inviting you to touch and rub its paws. If it deliberately didn't move, it would look at you with its big eyes, as if to say, "Don't you want to play?"
It was exactly like her. When they first got together, she was especially like that, clinging to him endlessly. She'd been like that before, either flipping over like a kitten or wrapping her soft arms around his neck, her eyes sparkling with anticipation. Sometimes he'd deliberately not make a move, and she'd just stare at him with those big eyes, meaning, "Don't you want to play?"
The initiative to start is in his hands, but the initiative to end is mostly in her hands.
The lyrics are taken from "Ordinary Song".
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
