The late-night phone call finally affected Zhang's mother's mood. She tossed and turned and couldn't sleep well. When she finally heard the crowing of a rooster in the village, she suddenly turned over and sat up.
Father Zhang, who was lying beside her, heard the noise in a daze and thought his husband was going to the toilet. He was not awakened until she lit the oil lamp and groped under the pillow for his watch.
"It's not dawn yet, go back to sleep."
"You go to sleep, I'll go find my son."
"Looking for my son..." Father Zhang shuddered and finally came to his senses. "Old woman, didn't I tell you that our Xiaowu is busy teaching our grandson?"
Mother Zhang rolled her eyes and said, "I know, I'm hungry, I'm going to have breakfast." Then she changed into her going-out clothes and left. She is so willful, what's wrong?
Zhang Dad looked at the pitch black outside and couldn't think of sleeping anymore. "A partner is a companion in old age. What if she falls?" He was much smarter than Zhang's mother. He simply picked up the flashlight, put on his pants, and put on his clothes as he walked.
It was the middle of the night, and he couldn't raise his voice to ask his wife to slow down, so he could only quicken his pace and chase after her, muttering to himself how stupid he was. With the speed of the old woman, there was no way she would fall.
Zhang Guoqing was also getting ready to go when he heard footsteps outside. The four of them, father and son, turned their heads to look at the door at the same time.
Although Zhou Jiao couldn't hear clearly, she could read the expression on his face. "Is there anyone there? Brother, go and take a look."
Ping An watched his father leave and gave her a comforting smile. "From the noise, it must be my grandma. It's okay, Mom."
Liuyi blinked his big eyes and said, "Then there was the sound of my grandfather's footsteps."
"My grandfather was even muttering, wondering what medicine this old woman had taken that made her pass away so quickly." Wuyi imitated Father Zhang's tone perfectly.
Zhou Jiao raised her eyebrows when she heard that. Her hearing had improved again.
"I'll go take a look, you guys protect mom."
"Yes, sir."
Zhou Jiao looked at her three sons with amusement as they saluted. "Alright, stop playing. I'm going in to bring breakfast. Your grandparents must be starving since they didn't eat much last night."
"My poor mother, if I had known earlier, I should have asked Aunt Chen to come along."
"...You said you have to be self-reliant out there."
"Silly boy, I'm just worried that grandpa and grandma won't have enough to eat."
"You're the fool. There's a cafeteria."
"I told mom you called someone a fool again. She said you were being disrespectful and needed to be punished."
"Are they brothers?"
"Even your brothers have to supervise you."
"You didn't call me second brother, but Sixth Brother."
"You took advantage of my extra weight and pushed me away and ran away. I haven't blamed you yet, and you actually let me call you second brother? You're so flattering!"
"It's no use imagining anything. Facts speak louder than words. I was born first, which means I came before you."
"My second uncle and his family don't rank their children based on age."
"Hmph, there's no point in talking too much. You're the youngest in our family."
Zhou Jiao listened to her two young sons arguing with a smile. After putting away the dishes, she stopped them and said, "Okay, your grandparents are coming over."
"Mom, can we still go up the mountain today?"
"It should be fine, maybe later."
"That's fine. I estimate that after a few more trips up the mountain, the two of us brothers can complete this basic mission. Liuyi, don't you agree?"
"Well, it's a pity it's too far away."
"We can go up to the paddock."
Liuyi frowned and said, "This is the only arrangement for now. Dad said that my brother has learned almost everything, and we can take him to the deep forest in the south when there is a chance."
Wuyi looked at Zhou Jiao sadly, "Why didn't mom let us out earlier?"
Liuyi rolled his eyes. If he came out early, he'd be a premature baby, just like Sha Erzi. Alas... he also wanted to grow up quickly and venture out into the world.
The little ones have their own worries, but the old man's worries disappeared when he saw his eldest son, and he happily held his son's hand.
"Why are you coming out? And..." Before she left, Zhang's mother swallowed the words, but her eyes couldn't lie, and she looked up at the sky.
"It's still early. Mom, you didn't eat enough last night, did you? Jiaojiao prepared breakfast early in the morning. There's your favorite rice porridge, which is thick..."
Ping An waited until the mother and son were connected, then quickly walked over to Zhang's father in the back and said, "Grandpa, were you woken up by my grandma? Take a break after eating. You still have to go to work in the city tomorrow. Don't be busy working in the fields today. Dad and I will go work for half a day later."
Father Zhang took his hand and said with a smile as they walked: "Okay. You don't have to go. There are too many people in the team, and they didn't include us in their plans."
Ping An smiled and nodded. Of course, they were helping out purely on a voluntary basis and didn't ask for work points. If they were really targeting the father and son, he wasn't his father, so he didn't have to consider the family relationship.
"The team is busy these days and it's easy. I won't come here. I'll come again in October when the harvest comes. I won't be tired then."
In fact, how can working in the fields be easy?
This time we were busy for thirteen or fourteen days. All the crops in the fields were stored in the team's warehouse. We still had to plant some corn, sweet potatoes, and various beans.
But Ping An couldn't say this either. "Grandpa, we're not with you. You should take care of yourself and don't get tired. Otherwise, we'll feel bad when you're outside."
Seeing that his child felt sorry for him, Zhang's father explained cheerfully, "Okay. Our roots are here, so if we can help, we'll do so. After all, we won't let outsiders take advantage. We all have the same ancestors."
Come help with the autumn harvest so we can store the grain earlier. Otherwise, if it rains suddenly, all our hard work for the year will be wasted."
Ping An felt that the old captain had chosen the wrong person. He should have let his grandfather be the deputy captain. He was such an honest person, much better than that great-grandfather.
The little guy still didn't understand his grandfather. What was Father Zhang's all about? Staying out of the spotlight. Otherwise, how could he have saved nearly a thousand yuan for his sons when the family was divided?
Over the years, he has been proud of the Zhang family's connections in the county, but he doesn't say much in front of others. He calls himself a farmer who likes to exchange fine grains for coarse grains even if he has them at home.
The elders of their generation just wanted to live a stable life. They had seen the Japanese invaders and bandits, and they had long remembered that the first bird to stand out would be the first to be caught, and they hoped that everyone would think they were honest people.
While drinking white rice porridge, Zhang's father and mother kept urging their family to set off early if they wanted to go up the mountain, as it would be inconvenient if they delayed any longer.
"Dad, how about we come together? Mom and Jiaojiao are safe in the wooden nest, and we can pick wild fruits nearby. What do you think? Let's just go on a family trip to the mountains."
Look at what this kid said. If Daqing Mountain was really so safe, everyone would have gone in there long ago. It’s not like Father Zhang has never been to the mountains or hunted before.
Without waiting for his wife to reply, he quickly made the decision, "Your mother and I can't walk fast, so don't delay, go early."
Mother Zhang waved her hands quickly, "I'm busy. You guys go play by yourselves. Be careful to protect the children. If even a hair falls, I'll beat you up."
Zhang Guoqing nodded happily and repeatedly to show his assurance.
He really wanted to take them into the mountains, but no matter how powerful the medicinal powder his wife prepared was, he couldn't take care of so many people by himself, so he had to give up.
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