Chapter 20 It doesn't matter, my wife can watch it as she pleases
Zhiqi quickly cleared the weeds from the ground, and Jiang Ning waved to him.
Huo Zhiqi jogged over.
Jiang Ning patted the person next to her, "Come up."
Zhiqi grabbed onto the swing and climbed up by kicking his little legs.
Jiang Ning gave him a handful of candy and a cookie.
"You've worked hard, this is a reward for you." Jiang Ning patted his head.
The unique fragrance of a girl wafted from the side, and Huo Zhiqi blushed again. Sister Jiang seemed to really like patting his head. He lost his mother when he was very young and had never experienced the feeling of being cared for by a mother.
Huo Zhiqi looked at the candy and cookies in his hand. Uncle Wang's family also had them, but Aunt Wang and Grandma Wang had never given them to him.
He heard Grandma Wang say more than once that she wouldn't let him eat these things.
He was staying at someone else's house and knew he couldn't compete with them for food.
Jiang Ning peeled a piece of candy and put it in her mouth, her mouth filled with the aroma of fruity candy. She noticed that Zhiqi next to her wasn't eating anything while holding something.
Thinking that this child was precocious and wondering if he liked to eat these things, she picked up another piece of candy, unwrapped it, and put it to Zhiqi's mouth.
Huo Zhiqi subconsciously opened his mouth, and the sweet taste exploded in his mouth. The sweetness he had never tasted before made his scalp tingle.
Shen Mo was applying cement to the pool when his legs went numb from squatting. He straightened up and stood for a while, and out of the corner of his eye, he saw a big and a small boy sitting on the swing.
The two girls' small feet, hanging from the edge of the swing, swayed gently.
Seeing this, Shen Mo was momentarily dazed, then bent down and continued working.
"Sister Jiang."
The candy in Huo Zhiqi's mouth had already melted, but the sweet taste lingered.
Jiang Ning turned her head to look at him, "Hmm? What's wrong?"
Huo Zhiqi lowered his head, his face turning red, and didn't say a word.
Jiang Ning tapped his head. "What's wrong? Speak up. Why are you acting like a girl, all shy and hesitant?"
Jiang Ning could tell that this child had developed this personality from living under someone else's roof for a long time. He didn't dare to express his inner thoughts, and he would swallow back any ideas he had after realizing they were impossible.
Upon hearing Jiang Ning say that he looked like a girl, Huo Zhiqi's eyes widened immediately. He jumped off the swing, raised an arm, and patted his arm, saying, "I don't look like a girl. I'm very strong."
Jiang Ning raised an eyebrow. "So what were you trying to say just now?"
Huo Zhiqi lowered his head again.
Jiang Ning leaned against the swing ropes.
Alright, this kid is used to being quiet and reserved, forcing him won't work.
"......."
The little guy pouted as if he was saying something, but Jiang Ning couldn't hear him clearly.
"What?"
Huo Zhiqi mustered his courage, raised his head, and said, "Can I continue learning English from you?"
Jiang Ning was surprised that this little guy was so eager to learn. At this age, when most kids love to play and slack off, aren't they?
Jiang Ning: "Sure, as long as you don't complain, I can keep teaching you."
The little guy seems to have learned to do things quickly and decisively, I don't know who he learned it from.
As soon as Jiang Ning agreed, he ran into the house, took out his torn schoolbag, and then pulled out a pen and notebook.
“There are no tables or chairs outside, let’s go inside and write.” Jiang Ning chuckled and led Huo Zhiqi inside.
Little did they know, Shen Mo had overheard their words.
Shen Mo scanned the courtyard and finally settled on the spot under the big tree, where he could put a table and chairs.
Huo Zhiqi is very smart, quick to understand, and learns quickly. Jiang Ning likes him more and more.
At five o'clock in the afternoon, Jiang Ning went to the kitchen to see what to make for dinner. As soon as she entered the kitchen, the little guy packed his schoolbag and ran out of their yard.
Jiang Ning didn't even have time to call him.
Over here, Shen Mo also finished setting up the pool completely in one afternoon.
As Shen Mo took off his wet vest, he walked into the room and saw a glass of water poured from the kettle on the table.
After finishing her water, she realized that Jiang Ning was the only one left in the room.
He asked, "Where is Zhiqi?"
This was the second time Jiang Ning had seen his bare upper body, and she couldn't take her eyes off him for a long time.
Shen Mo also noticed that his wife seemed to really enjoy looking at his body. It was okay, his wife could look all she wanted.
Jiang Ning's eyes remained fixed, but she followed his words, "Zhiqi ran away. The kid was in such a hurry, I don't know where he went."
Shen Mo glanced at the time. "We should be going back to Chief Wang's house for dinner."
Jiang Ning nodded, then asked curiously, "Why is Zhiqi being raised by someone else? Where are his parents and family?"
Faced with Jiang Ning's question, he unusually did not blurt out the answer. After a moment of silence, he said, "His mother passed away from illness when he was three years old. As for his father, he was a comrade-in-arms in my regiment. Unfortunately, he died in battle three years ago. Zhiqi has no other family members now, so he is temporarily being cared for by the commander."
Five years ago, after Zhiqi's mother passed away, his father took him to the army to be cared for. However, the rope always breaks at its thinnest point. Three years ago, during a mission, Zhiqi's father was also killed in action.
Jiang Ning was stunned for a moment; she hadn't expected that the child was so young and already without parents.
I thought he was just temporarily living with someone else, but it turns out that he had to live with someone else because his mother passed away and his father died in battle. There was no one left in the world to support him, no wonder this child is so sensitive.
"Jiang Ning".
Jiang Ning was still feeling sorry for Zhiqi's ordeal when she heard Shen Mo call her name.
"Um?"
Jiang Ning turned her head and saw Shen Mo's hesitant expression. She asked, "What's wrong?"
Shen Mo looked at her, his hesitation turning into determination. "If possible, I hope to have Zhiqi come to our house for dinner often."
Jiang Ning didn't think anything of it and said without hesitation, "Sure, I really like Zhiqi."
Raising children these days is much easier than raising them in the modern world. It's just a matter of adding a couple more chopsticks. In the modern world, everyone is a troublemaker, starting with their children.
She does hope that her child can be happy. Children in the future won't be like children now, where a single piece of candy can make them happy for a long time.
Shen Mo couldn't detect any reluctance in Jiang Ning's expression.
Back then, the question of Zhiqi's place in the military was a long-standing dispute. Most of the families with wives who came to live with them were unwilling to adopt him. Later, the commander learned of the matter and allowed Zhiqi to be temporarily fostered in his home, thus preserving the commander's reputation.
However, Zhiqi was only temporarily fostered because the chief's mother had always disagreed with adopting Zhiqi, and the chief could not go against his mother's wishes, so he had to propose temporary fostering.
Shen Mo knew that Zhiqi wasn't doing well at the commander's house, but the men in their unit often had to go on missions and couldn't take care of a child who was only a few years old.
The soldiers in his regiment had all secretly slipped money to Zhiqi, but he always refused to accept it and even tried to return it to them.
—
At dinner time, Chief Wang and his family sat down at the table to eat.
Huo Zhiqi noticed that most of the meat on the table was in Wang Xiaotian and Wang Xiaodi's bowls, and the rest was in Uncle Wang's bowl.
Wang Lianshan placed a piece of meat in Zhiqi's bowl and said, "Zhiqi, eat more rice. It's the time when you're growing."
"Thank you, Uncle Wang," Huo Zhiqi said.
Wang Lianshan had a habit of reading the newspaper while eating. After putting some meat on Huo Zhiqi's plate, he lowered his head to eat and read the newspaper.
They didn't notice at all that the meat in Zhiqi's bowl had been taken away.
When Wang Xiaotian took the meat from Zhiqi's bowl, he even made a funny face.
Aunt Wang and Grandma Wang pretended not to see it, and Grandma Wang even smiled and patted her grandson's head.
Huo Zhiqi was already used to it, picking up the green vegetable leaves on the table to eat.
After finishing half a bowl of rice, Huo Zhiqi went to the kitchen to get a second bowl when a sarcastic voice sounded behind him, "You're just a little kid, one bowl is enough. What if you eat two bowls and get too full? Then you'll say we haven't taken good care of you."
Huo Zhiqi remembered the bowl of white rice that Sister Jiang had shoveled into his mouth and pounded into his mouth at noon. The bowl of rice he had just eaten was less than half of what Sister Jiang had served him.
He lowered his head and placed the bowl on the stove.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
