Chapter 6
6.
Normally, Cheng Lingjun would pick up the child and go straight home, but this time he didn't move, standing there lost in thought.
Li Guang raised his head and said, "Father, aren't we going home yet?"
Cheng Lingjun smiled and said, "Wait a little longer. Dad remembers that Xiao Guang's classmate is a girl named Niu Xiaojia, right?"
Li Guang nodded, looking confused, and asked, "Yes, what's wrong?"
Cheng Lingjun pointed to a child in front of her and said, "Look, is that her?"
Li Guang followed his finger and said, "It's her. She likes to wear two little braids and hop around like a little rabbit."
Cheng Lingjun said, "Rabbit... Dad remembers, she kept a litter of rabbits at home, right?"
Li Guang scratched his head. "Right? She seemed to have mentioned that Dad likes rabbits?"
If Cheng Lingjun remembered correctly, there was a family in Dahuai Village whose surname was Niu, but they didn't raise cattle. Instead, they raised rabbits. Few people in the village raised rabbits. These little creatures were easy to kill and difficult to raise. Only this family was very patient and raised a whole litter of them.
Li Guangdao said, "She often went to the ridge to cut grass after class, saying she wanted to feed her own rabbits. I still remember that."
Cheng Lingjun nodded and walked towards the child. Just then, Niu Xiaojia also hopped out. She did indeed look as lively and cute as a rabbit, with rosy cheeks and a strong, sturdy little body. She was carrying a book basket and hopping out, stepping on the blue bricks one by one.
She was focused on the game at her feet when she suddenly heard a few soft calls: "Miss Niu, Miss Niu Xiaojia?"
Was someone calling her? Niu Xiaojia looked up blankly, glanced around, and saw no one else around her. A stranger was waving at her from the front. Was he pointing at her and calling her?
The man nodded, and Niu Xiaojia went over. Only then did she notice a familiar face standing behind him. She exclaimed, "Li Guang? This is... your father?"
Li Guang nodded silently, his expression somewhat stiff.
Niu Xiaojia said, "So it's your father, Father Li Guang! I thought you were calling someone else. You don't need to call me 'Miss,' just call me by my name. It sounds weird."
At home, everyone calls her by her full name. When her father is in a good mood, he calls her Jia Mei'er, and when he's in a bad mood, he calls her Niu Xiaoya. Most people in the village call her Xiao Jia. Even Teacher Liu has never called her that. Li Guang's father is really strange.
The little girl seemed lively and outgoing, and Cheng Lingjun quite liked her. He smiled and said, "Then I'll call you Xiaojia. Xiaojia, I heard from Xiaoguang that you keep rabbits at home?"
Niu Xiaojia blinked her big eyes and said, "Yes, Daddy Li Guang also likes little rabbits?"
She looked at Li Guang again and said, "Does Li Guang still like it?"
Li Guang's face flushed slightly. He glanced at his father, who simply smiled without saying a word. Then he looked at Niu Xiaojia, who was waiting for his answer, and said stiffly, "I... I don't really like anyone..."
He didn't even know how to bring up whether he liked rabbits or not. He had hardly ever seen a rabbit before, so he could only give a casual answer. But he was wondering why his father had suddenly asked about this.
"Oh," Niu Xiaojia said dismissively, "That's because you haven't seen my pet rabbits. They're so cute, lots of people want to pet them, they're pink and white..."
"White?" Cheng Lingjun asked, "Do you have any other colors?"
“No,” Niu Xiaojia said, “My mother bought two rabbits in town. They are both white. They have given birth to several babies. Raising them is not easy. I am the one who feeds them!”
Every morning she would go to see the rabbits, feed them grass, and then hurry to Lady Liu's house. When she came back, she would cut grass, dry it, feed the rabbits again, and clean the cages. She was very busy every day.
Niu Xiaojia put her hands on her hips and said, "Li Guang, if you want to touch my little rabbit, I can take you."
"I didn't even think about it!" Li Guang said, his face flushed. He had never interacted with Niu Xiaojia before, but Niu Xiaojia loved to talk. Once she started talking about her rabbits, she couldn't stop. He knew that many children in the private school had been to Niu Xiaojia's house. He had no interest in rabbits or anything like that. In fact, he thought Niu Xiaojia was too noisy and always making a racket.
"Hmph, you'd better not regret this..."
Niu Xiaojia had a smug look on her face, as if the whole world loved her little rabbit. Li Guang couldn't stand her and grabbed Cheng Lingjun's clothes, trying to take her home. But Cheng Lingjun patted his hand, stopped, and asked, "Xiaojia, do you know if there are other people in the village who also raise rabbits?"
"I don't think so," Niu Xiaojia thought for a moment and said, "I've never heard of it. My mother didn't want to buy it in the first place, but if it weren't for me..."
If it weren't for her persistent pestering, and her mother's restraint in suppressing the urge to beat her in front of everyone, making her promise that if she bought the rabbit, she would be responsible for taking care of it, then her mother would not have bought it.
Cheng Lingjun nodded and said, "Thank you, Xiaojia. I'll bring Xiaoguang to your house to see the little rabbit when I have time. We'll be going now."
"Dad!" Li Guang cried out in alarm, grabbing his father's arm and kicking his legs outward with all his might.
Cheng Lingjun wasn't pulled down by his strength. Instead, she walked in the direction her son was going, and only after they were far away did she pat Li Guang's hand and say, "Alright, alright, don't be shy."
Li Guang angrily loosened his grip, but his hand didn't let go of Cheng Lingjun's clothes. He stomped his foot and said, "Dad, what were you saying? I don't like rabbits!"
“Okay, okay, I don’t like it,” Cheng Lingjun said with a smile, “but since they invited you and they’re your classmate, shouldn’t you go and see them? You might become good friends.”
“Who would want to be friends with her…” Li Guang shook his head and said, “I’m lucky to have a father.”
Cheng Lingjun just smiled. Li Guang had little contact with people before, and his family treated him coldly because he was a boy. After the two left that home, Li Guang clung to him even more, and was afraid of the slightest thing. It was rare to send a boy to a private school full of girls, but he did not want Li Guang to keep his heart closed, so he took the initiative to find Lady Liu and explained the details. Lady Liu was also understanding and took Li Guang in, promising to take good care of him and not let the other female students bully him.
In retrospect, his decision was right. Li Guang has visibly become more cheerful, and it would be even better if he could make some friends he could talk to.
Li Guang had no idea what his father was thinking, he just wanted to get home as soon as possible, but he found that he was going the wrong way home and was heading towards the village entrance. He grabbed his father and wanted to go home, but his father said that taking a walk was also good. So the two of them walked to the village entrance. During the walk, he heard his father ask several people in the village some strange questions.
"Did anyone go to Guping Town this morning?"
"...Have the people who went gone returned?"
"Nothing much, just wondering if there are any interesting or unusual things in town."
"Oh? Aunt Wang's daughter is back... She just got back, right? I saw that the person across the street from my house came back a long time ago, so I thought she had gone to town with someone."
"You mean she didn't go? She even came back carrying a lot of firewood and wild fruit. That's really strange."
"Okay, okay, I'll ask Aunt Wang... I just wanted to find some interesting toys for my son, thank you."
As Li Guang listened, his eyes widened. His father usually didn't talk much with the villagers, so why was he talking so much today? Was he buying him something? But surely the family didn't have any extra money?
Having asked the question he wanted to know, Cheng Lingjun turned to walk home, only to find Li Guang with his head down, looking unhappy. He quickly asked, "What's wrong, Xiao Guang? Are you feeling unwell? Are you hungry?"
Li Guang shook his head, bit his lip, and whispered, "Dad, I don't want any interesting toys. Don't buy them for me."
"Why?" Cheng Lingjun was somewhat surprised. Although his words were an excuse, if Li Guang really wanted it, he could find a way to buy it for him. He didn't expect Li Guang to say directly that he didn't want it.
Li Guang hugged his leg and shook his head. Cheng Lingjun couldn't hear his voice, so he squatted down and put his ear close to his face. Only then did he hear him whisper, "I know it wasn't easy for Dad to bring me out. I don't want toys, I just want Dad..."
Cheng Lingjun was speechless for a moment. It turned out that Xiao Guang had seen and remembered all his hardships. He was so young, yet he already knew everything.
Cheng Lingjun simply held Li Guang and said softly, "Those hardships are in the past. As long as Xiao Guang is happy, Dad doesn't ask for anything else."
All he wanted was to live a simple, ordinary life with Xiaoguang, and to take good care of Xiaoguang so that he could grow up safely. That was his greatest wish.
"Come on, let's go home. Dad will cook you some meat."
Cheng Lingjun took Li Guang's hand and walked towards home. Li Guang's eyes widened, and he asked, "Dad bought meat?"
"No, it's wild game from the mountains."
Li Guang's mouth was constantly drooling. His family could only eat meat once every few days. Sometimes it was when the villagers slaughtered pigs or chickens and his father bought some from them. Other times it was when someone went up the mountain to hunt a big wild game and couldn't finish it, so they shared it with everyone. But such situations were rare. Li Guang had only seen it once. At that time, several people carried a wild boar the size of a small mountain from one end of the village to the other. The hunter stood proudly at the front, enjoying the admiring gazes of everyone. After the parade, he even held a grand banquet and boasted for several days and nights before the dust settled.
Li Guang and his family also got some meat. The aroma of the wild boar was still fresh in his memory, and he even dreamed about it. At that time, his family had just moved there, and he still fantasized that this wouldn't happen often. As it turned out, he was overthinking it, and he never ate wild game from the mountains again.
I didn't expect to eat it again today!
Li Guangxin rushed home, looking around anxiously. "Where is it, Dad? Where's the wild boar meat?"
Cheng Lingjun pointed to the rabbit that was still in the corner and said to him, "This is wild game."
"This is... a rabbit?" Li Guang asked with a slightly frightened expression, "Is... can we eat this?"
Li Guang was young and hadn't seen many unprocessed animals; he had mostly seen cut-up fresh meat, especially rabbits. He recalled talking to Niu Xiaojia about her rabbits, and a subtle expression appeared on his face.
Cheng Lingjun rolled up his sleeves and said casually, "Of course, when has Dad's cooking ever disappointed you?"
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