It was another weekend, and Aunt Chen had asked for a few days' leave to go home because her daughter had given birth. Zhou Xiaozheng, who had taken a break from his busy schedule, observed Ping'an's emotions for a few days and planned to have a heart-to-heart talk with the children while there were no outsiders around.
So that afternoon, the whole family gathered in the study on the first floor.
Going to the study whenever there was something important to do had become a family tradition. Even the twins, who were used to being taken to the study by Zhou Xiaozheng for instruction, became more reserved and obedient, moving their little stools to sit down.
Zhou Xiaozheng looked at the three brothers standing in a row, ready for battle, staring at him with moist eyes, "No need to be so serious."
Although he said so, his stern face and eyes without a trace of smile were still seen by the twins, and he did not dare to be careless at all.
Ping'an looked at his parents and grandmother sitting on the sofas on both sides, and stared thoughtfully at his grandfather tapping his fingers on his knees - it seemed like a serious topic.
Sitting there, Zhou Xiaozheng kept an eye on the three brothers. At this moment, he caught a glimpse of the three children staring at his fingers, and laughed to himself.
He cleared his throat and said, "Ping'an, Grandpa has seen that you haven't been out for the past two weeks. You should be feeling more relaxed. Do you want to give you some more time?"
Miao Lishan almost burst out laughing. She still remembered that some time ago, the little guy actually said that he needed to think carefully and take some time to calm down.
"Grandpa, I'm in a good mood now."
Zhou Xiaozheng glanced at his wife who was about to speak, then looked at Ping An, "That's good. Is there anything you want to tell me?"
Ping An nodded and looked at his two younger brothers beside him, "You go first."
Little Liuyi nodded heavily and cleared his throat like his grandfather, "Something's going to happen in the compound. It's very dangerous inside and outside now."
Zhou Xiaozheng smiled and said, "Go on."
Encouraged by this, Liuyi smiled and waved his little hand generously, "Let Wuyi fill in the gaps."
The adults present almost laughed out loud when they saw this. They looked at each other, some turned their heads away, some lowered their heads, but Zhou Xiaozheng remained calm and continued to look at Wuyi.
"Yeah, that's right. It's very dangerous." Wuyi agreed seriously, and then explained, "Three more children are missing from our class. Just like in the city, something happened at home."
"Many adults in the compound were frowning and unhappy. The older brothers in the front yard pulled their bicycle seats up really high, and the adults couldn't stop them."
"Some older brothers even said that if we continued to stop them, we would destroy the good situation and that they wanted to sever ties with the feudal patriarchs. Yesterday, Liuyi and I followed the older brothers and sisters as they discussed how to capture a few of them to establish their authority in the courtyard."
Zhou Xiaozheng lowered his eyes, "What did they say later?"
"They had different opinions. Then they said they should take care of the city first and not let another group take all the credit. Then they rode off on their bikes again."
"Liuyi and I came back and told my brother, and he said they were looking for death and we should just watch from the side."
Zhou Xiaozheng nodded in agreement and looked at Ping'an with relief.
Ping An stood up and said, "Grandpa, I have already told my brothers not to eavesdrop in the future. It would be too dangerous if we accidentally followed them out of the compound."
Zhou Xiaozheng looked at the twins again, "What do you mean by 'A gentleman does not stand under a dangerous wall'?"
Liuyi and Wuyi immediately stood up and recited in unison: "It is fate; accept it as it is. Therefore, those who know their fate do not stand under a rock wall. To die by fulfilling the right path is to have a righteous fate; to die in fetters is not to have a righteous fate."
"Why?"
"A gentleman should stay away from dangerous places. This involves two aspects: first, taking precautions, being aware of potential dangers in advance and taking preventive measures; second, leaving a dangerous situation promptly if one finds themselves in one."
The two brothers said in unison, and Wuyi cleverly said, "Grandma Chen is following us, we won't leave the compound gate."
Zhou Xiaozheng nodded with satisfaction. "Sit down. Grandpa believes that you three are good children who keep your promises. Remember Grandpa's most basic requirement for you: saving your life is the most important thing at all times."
The three brothers looked at each other, smiled happily and nodded at him.
Since we're talking about the issue of danger, Zhou Xiaozheng glanced at his daughter and lowered his eyes. "Your analysis is very reasonable, and that's worthy of praise."
"elder brother?!"
Ping An winked at his two younger brothers, who were practically wagging their tails in triumph. "Silly brothers, this is just the beginning..."
"Next, grandpa will assign homework to you three. It's a bit difficult this time..." Zhou Xiaozheng deliberately looked at them without saying anything halfway through his words.
"Grandpa, we are not afraid."
Liuyi and Wuyi nodded at the same time.
Zhou Xiaozheng smiled and said, "That's good. For this assignment, Ping'an, you should stop participating in those activities..."
Ping An nodded. He was still young, so no one would blame him if he didn't go out. For the past two weeks, he had refused, citing the cold weather and the need to take care of his younger brother.
"...As for Children's Day and May Day, unless your parents take you out, you can't leave the adults without permission, except when you're at the nursery. Can you please stay out of the house unless you have nothing to do?"
Wuyi frowned and asked first, "Grandpa, is there any danger?"
Without waiting for Zhou Xiaozheng to reply, Liuyi rolled his eyes at him and uttered his catchphrase, "Fool."
"You're stupid! Can't I just ask?"
"It's so hard to talk to you."
Zhou Xiaozheng ignored the three-year-olds' quarrels and burst into cheerful laughter. The younger generation's excellence was enough.
The twins looked at him in amazement, then looked at Ping An, who was completely bewildered. Why didn't their grandpa criticize them but was smiling so happily?
Zhou Jiao frowned and looked at Zhang Guoqing.
The couple noticed the seriousness in each other's eyes, but they didn't know what could have endangered the safety of their family and made her father so cautious?
The couple didn't need to ask this question.
Zhou Xiaozheng patted the heads of his three grandsons in turn and said, "You're all good kids! Now you can go upstairs and play."
"Well, I'm the best, Grandpa. I won't argue with Liuyi anymore."
"Grandpa said they were all good kids." Liuyi gave him a sidelong glance of disdain. "Forget it, forget it. If you act stupid again in the future, I won't laugh at you."
"I'm the best of you." Ping An glared at his two younger brothers and pulled them away. If you keep talking nonsense, there will probably be more bickering.
Watching the three babies leave, Zhou Xiaozheng saw his daughter frowning slightly and smiled. There was still a baby waiting for him to explain the reason.
"Okay, stop frowning like a little old lady."
"dad?"
Zhou Xiaozheng smiled at her comfortingly, "It has nothing to do with our family. Someone will start to take action against the Liang family soon. We can just watch the show."
Zhou Jiao looked at him suspiciously.
"Use your smart head to think about how to avoid suspicion."
Look, her dad's at it again. It's likely her dad had a hand in this, and who knows when he set it up? Zhou Jiao thought about all the things she'd prepared. Wasn't it all in vain?
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