Dad is so slow.
Mom is so slow.
Mom and Dad are both so slow...
Hengheng pouted, her little face showing both displeasure and patience, until Wen Qing and Ji Yanjun finished tidying up.
"Hmph!" He lay on the bed and ignored everyone.
"Hengheng," Wen Qing called out.
Hengheng didn't respond, pouting her little lips.
Wen Qing and Ji Yanjun looked at each other in bewilderment.
Wen Qing whispered, "She's angry."
Ji Yanjun nodded.
Wen Qing: "Should I go and try to coax her?"
Ji Yanjun nodded again.
Wen Qing smiled and walked to the bedside, squatted down, looked at her chubby and delicate son who looked like a doll in a painting, and whispered, "Hengheng."
Hengheng turned her head to one side.
Wen Qing turned to the other side and called out, "Hengheng."
Hengheng turned her little face this way again.
Wen Qing reached out and cupped his face: "If you don't pay attention to me, I'll kiss you."
"snort!"
Wen Qing leaned in and kissed him on the face. Hengheng initially kept a straight face, but after being kissed, tickled, and hugged by Wen Qing, he couldn't help but giggle and hugged Wen Qing's neck, saying, "Mommy, no kiss, no kiss."
"Tell me, are you still angry? Are you still angry?"
"No births, no births of birds."
Wen Qing then let go of Hengheng and said, "Let's go to Grandma's house."
"good."
Hengheng was happy, and he became a chatterbox all the way, telling Ji Yanjun and Wen Qing how happy he was.
"Mommy, I'm so happy, I feel like I'm flying!" Hengheng said in his childish voice.
Ji Yanjun and Wen Qingxiao.
As soon as the car stopped in Shuiwan Village, before Hengheng could even go find Xiaodao, Erpao, and Lele, the children knew it was Hengheng as soon as they saw the black car. They all surrounded him, calling out, "Hengheng!"
"Hengheng, you're here."
"Hengheng!"
Hengheng was extremely excited. As soon as he got off the bus, he was grabbed by several children of the same age. Before he could spend more time with Yao Shiling, he ran away.
Yao Shiling kept watching as Hengheng was taken away by Zhang Fangfang, and she still felt guilty about it.
Wen Qing pulled her back: "Mom, don't watch him. Let him go play with Xiao Dao and the others."
"What if they get kidnapped again?"
“There are so many eyes watching in the village,” Wen Qing said. “We can’t just tie Hengheng to our shoulders because Zhang Fangfang did something bad once, can we?”
Yao Shiling turned to look at the group of children, ranging from seven or eight years old to as young as Hengheng and Xiaodao, who were just over three years old. There were also some elderly people watching over them, so she felt relieved.
"Come on, I made you a few outfits, try them on." Wen Qing took Yao Shiling's arm and led her into the courtyard.
Ji Yanjun carried large and small bags from the car into the main room.
"Mom, where are Liangliang and Pengpeng?" Wen Qing asked.
“I went to Shanwan Village to visit a classmate. I left early this morning,” Yao Shiling replied.
Ji Yanjun has some business to attend to in the county town and won't be back until the afternoon.
So, only Wen Qing, Yao Shiling, and Hengheng were left at home.
Hengheng was playing like a madman. Yao Shiling called him back for dinner, but after he finished eating, he ran out of the yard again. From afar, you could hear him calling out in his sweet, childlike voice, "Xiaodao, have you finished eating? Let's go play!"
"The Second Artillery Corps is ready."
"Lele, hurry up!"
"..."
Yao Shiling shook her head upon hearing this: "He's getting more and more cheeky, and his voice is incredibly loud."
"Her crying is even louder." From the moment Hengheng was born, her cries were louder than those of an average person.
Yao Shiling smiled.
Looking at Yao Shiling, Wen Qing felt at ease. Perhaps she had wronged Yao Shiling too much in her past life, so in this life she always wanted to spend more time with Yao Shiling. For the whole afternoon, Wen Qing followed Yao Shiling to sweep the yard, turn over the cabbages to dry, and sift the corn kernels.
Yao Shiling would check on Hengheng every ten or twenty minutes, worried that Hengheng might be taken away or that someone might bully him. She found that Hengheng was surprisingly popular with everyone.
However, when Ji Yanjun returned, Hengheng was covered in mud and ran back crying loudly.
Yao Shiling quickly stepped forward and asked, "Hengheng, what's wrong? Yanjun, why did you hit the child as soon as you got back?"
Ji Yanjun threw away the tree branch he was holding and went into the yard with a sullen face.
Hengheng sobbed in Yao Shiling's arms, "Daddy, hit me, waaaaaah..."
Wen Qing stood up and asked, "Yanjun, what's wrong?"
Ji Yanjun said with a stern face, "Hengheng, Xiaodao, Erpao, and Lele were playing hide-and-seek. Hengheng and Xiaodao were afraid of being found, so they avoided Lele along the riverbank. While avoiding her, the two of them went along the riverbank to look for holes and started catching shrimp. They caught one and threw it, mud and all, onto the bank. Right there on the bank was a patch of corn kernels that Aunt Li was drying."
As a result, Xiao Dao said that Heng Heng could not throw mud as far as he could, so the two of them simply stopped catching shrimp and started a mud-throwing competition, throwing mud all over Aunt Li's corn kernels.
Just then, Aunt Li noticed and shouted, "Who threw this mud?" Xiao Dao took off running. Heng Heng was stunned for a moment, but when Xiao Dao shouted, he quickly followed. Ji Yanjun saw this and apologized. Then he picked up a tree branch and hit Heng Heng on the bottom. Heng Heng burst into tears and ran towards the Wen family's yard while crying.
Xiao Dao also ran back in fright.
Ji Yanjun shouted after him, and Hengheng ran quickly with her short legs.
What was supposed to be a serious matter turned into a source of amusement for the villagers, who were amused by Hengheng's crying and running. Aunt Li said it was alright, but Ji Yanjun didn't let it go so easily.
"Ji Heng, come here right now," Ji Yanjun said sternly.
Yao Shiling wanted to say something, but Ji Yanjun's imposing aura made her hesitant to speak. She put her arm around Hengheng and looked at Wen Qing.
Wen Qing remained silent.
Hengheng burst into tears.
"Ji Heng!" Ji Yanjun only called Hengheng "Ji Heng" when he was angry.
Hengheng immediately stopped crying and began to sob softly.
“Come here, don’t make me say it a third time,” Ji Yanjun said.
Hengheng raised his big, watery eyes, looked at his grandma, then at his mother. His grandma looked troubled, and his mother didn't say anything. He stood up, sobbing, and walked over to Ji Yanjun.
Ji Yanjun picked up a stool and sat down. Looking at Hengheng, he asked seriously, "Did you throw the shrimp on the corn kernels?"
"It's me," Hengheng answered, her voice trembling.
Yao Shiling felt sorry for her, but knew she shouldn't speak at this moment.
Wen Qing watched from the side.
Did you throw the mud on me?
"Um."
"Hmm what?" Ji Yanjun raised his voice.
Hengheng jumped in fright: "I threw it."
"Aunt Li asked who threw the mud, and why you ran away?" Ji Yanjun asked.
Hengheng's long, curled eyelashes fluttered, and a few more golden tears fell.
"Don't cry. How have I always taught you?"
Hengheng immediately stopped crying and said, "A real man should be brave enough to take responsibility for his actions."
"Do you dare to take responsibility for your actions?"
"No."
“Come on, go apologize to me.” Ji Yanjun stood up.
Ji Yanjun walked ahead, and Hengheng obediently followed behind.
"Hengheng," Yao Shiling called out with heartache.
Wen Qing pulled Yao Shiling aside and said, "Mom, it's okay, let him go."
"But he's still so young."
"Mom, everyone has personality flaws, but if someone guides them, they can always make up for and improve themselves."
Yao Shiling sighed. Ji Yanjun usually doted on Hengheng, so why was he so frightening when he became strict? Yao Shiling and Wen Qing waited at home while cooking.
Before Ji Yanjun and Hengheng could return, Wen Liang and Wen Peng were brought back.
"Sister, why is Hengheng helping your husband sift corn kernels by the river?" Wen Liang asked.
Wen Peng said, "That's right. There was a lot of mud stuck to the corn kernels, but it's all dried up and can be easily sifted off. Hengheng was very serious, reciting poems while sifting."
"What poems should we recite?" Yao Shiling asked.
"Hoeing the fields at noon, sweat drips onto the soil. Who knows that every grain in the bowl is the result of hard work?" Wen Liang said.
Yao Shiling turned her head and said, "Yanjun is too strict with Hengheng."
Wen Qing smiled and said, "It's alright."
The family waited until dark before they saw Ji Yanjun leading Hengheng into the yard by the hand. The two, one big and one small, looked very alike and both had stern faces.
Yao Shiling quickly stepped forward and hugged Hengheng: "Little Hengheng, are you hungry?"
Hengheng looked up at Ji Yanjun.
Ji Yanjun walked towards Wen Qing, who smiled, took his hand, and asked, "Are you hungry? The food is ready; I made it."
Ji Yanjun finally smiled. He had thought Wen Qing would blame him, but he was surprised that she understood him and treated him gently. He was very gratified and tightened his grip on Wen Qing's hand.
For dinner, Hengheng ate a lot as usual, but he wasn't as lively as before.
In the evening, Wen Qing washed him clean, changed him into cotton pajamas, and applied a layer of white prickly heat powder to his forehead, which was covered in prickly heat. She asked, "Was Hengheng sad today?"
Hengheng looked at Wen Qing with bright, sparkling eyes.
Wen Qing stroked his face and said, "Hengheng, you may not understand your father's intentions now, nor can you understand what your mother is saying, but this matter will always affect you. Even if you don't remember this little episode in the future, its influence will always stay with you."
Hengheng blinked and said, "Dad carried so many bags of corn, they were so big and heavy, I'm so sad."
Wen Qing smiled, hugged Hengheng, and kissed his chubby little face: "Come on, let's go to sleep with Mommy and Daddy."
At first, Hengheng and Ji Yanjun slept together, but because of what happened in the afternoon, there was some awkwardness and distance between them. Ji Yanjun leaned against the pillow and read a book.
Hengheng stared at Ji Yanjun, and after a while, she called out, "Dad."
Ji Yanjun pretended not to hear.
"Dad!" Hengheng raised his voice.
Wen Qing laughed from the side.
Ji Yanjun, still reading his book, asked, "What is it?"
"Daddy, tell me a story." Hengheng chuckled, revealing his tiny white teeth, looking exceptionally cute. Ji Yanjun put down his book and looked at him. He paused, then stopped smiling. Ji Yanjun then asked, "What story do you want to hear?"
"Listen to the stories of the immortals!"
"Won't."
Hengheng scratched her head with her little hand and said, "Then let's listen to the monster's story, the story of the big monster."
"Okay," Ji Yanjun agreed.
Hengheng immediately laughed again, and as usual, snuggled into Ji Yanjun's arms, lay on his arm, and listened attentively to the story.
Ji Yanjun smiled faintly, then looked at him and asked, "Did it hurt when I hit you today?"
"It hurts, it hurts so much I cried," Hengheng answered softly.
"Will this continue in the future?"
"No, not like that."
Ji Yanjun asked, "Then what should we do?"
Hengheng answered firmly, "A real man should be responsible for his actions, just like a man!"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com