Before they knew it, it was time for Xiao Heran's school holiday. A day in advance, Qiuyu bought all the things the child liked to eat. She only prepared a small amount of goods for the day, so that if they sold out, they wouldn't be late for picking up the child!
He Zifeng even made a special request for leave from the government office.
But they were still late.
At the private school, Scholar Lin mainly taught elementary education. The children were all between four and seven years old, and the locals had come to pick them up early. After a while, Gouzi's father drove his old horse-drawn carriage to pick up Gouzi. Seeing that Xiao Heran was still waiting expectantly, he said, "Uncle, let me take him back with you."
Xiao Heran replied, "No, my father will be here soon." He then took a step back and greeted him formally, saying, "Goodbye, Uncle!"
Dog's father couldn't persuade him otherwise, so he had no choice but to take his son back first. As soon as they left, Xiao Heran's face fell. He secretly wiped his eyes and said to the child next to him who was still waiting for his parents to pick him up, "My dad probably forgot the date, right?" There was a bit of worry on his little face.
Completely unaware, his father was right on the opposite wall, and the little brat's appearance was completely seen by his two fathers.
He Zifeng looked at He Ran and found him amusing no matter how he looked at him, a smile playing on his lips.
Qiu Yu felt sorry for him: "Go quickly, don't look anymore! Ranran will cry in a moment." She knew she shouldn't have listened to him and insisted on borrowing this courtyard to see what her son was like and whether he had been tricked away by someone else.
Qiu Yu thought it was all too unreliable, but she couldn't resist He Zifeng's persuasion and got on board. His son was quite amusing; at first, he stood there looking around, but soon realized that his parents had come to pick him up, and he got a little worried. He found a rock somewhere, moved it over, and stood on it, as if afraid He Zifeng wouldn't see him.
He Zifeng jumped down from the wall, then reached out and picked Qiu Yu up, saying, "Let's go pick up the child."
He left the courtyard and locked the door with his key. This was Bingzi's private property; no one lived in this courtyard. He usually just stayed here, occasionally coming over after exploring the streets to take a nap. Or, when his buddies were free, they would come over to play cards and drink. He had even invited He Zifeng over once. He Zifeng noticed that the backyard faced his son's private school, so he borrowed the key to come and check on his son.
He Zifeng led Qinghua over and walked around the street when he heard his son's joyful voice: "Daddy!" Then he came running over. He Zifeng reached out and scooped his son up on his shoulder, then switched arms and held him in his arms. The little guy wasn't afraid at all; he was so glad his dad had come. He wrapped his arms tightly around He Zifeng's neck and pressed his little face against his father's chest.
He Zifeng, holding the child, said to Master Lin, "I'm taking the child with me. Thank you for taking care of me."
Upon hearing this, Ranran turned around and gave Master Lin an embarrassed smile, realizing that someone had seen him acting cute with his father. He said in a childish voice, "Master, I'll bring you meat when I come back. My little daddy's meat is so delicious."
Master Lin looked at his adorable disciple with amusement and said, "You should eat more and go back early."
"Goodbye, Master Lin!" Ranran said loudly. The little one was quite good at handling things.
But now, nestled in his arms, she looked like a child.
At this moment, Ranran started to hold him accountable: "Why didn't you come sooner?"
"Does Ranran blame her father?" He Zifeng kissed her.
Xiao He Ran buried her face in He Zifeng's chest shyly, not letting him kiss her, and finally said, "No, not at all."
He Zifeng said, "Magnificent!"
Seeing the father and son being so affectionate in broad daylight, Qiu Yu said, "Alright, let's talk about it when we get back."
When Xiao Heran saw Qiu Yu standing nearby, he reached out his two little hands in a fawning manner, wanting to hug her as well.
Qiu Yu had just held her son in her arms when little He Ran tilted his head and asked, "Daddy, have you missed Ranran?"
"I'll think about it a little bit," Qiu Yu said.
Little He Ran gestured with his small hand to indicate the size of a large watermelon: "Do you think so?"
"Yes," Qiu Yu said.
The little one was so touched, he wanted kisses and affectionate touches.
Qiu Yu was also at a loss. How could this child, who had no one to teach him, be so skilled?
He Zifeng ushered Qiu Yu and Xiao He Ran into the carriage.
Then Xiao Heran asked excitedly, "Are they all ours?"
"Hmm." Qiu Yu looked at her son, who was curious about everything, and held him in her arms, explaining everything in the carriage one by one.
The journey home wasn't boring at all; I could hear my son's laughter everywhere.
Since picking up his son, He Zifeng has never stopped smiling.
As soon as they got home, Gouzi brought the village kids to find He Ran: "Come on, let's play." Although there were playmates of the same age at the county private school, there were thirty children in a courtyard. It was naturally not used to for children like them who had been running around in the village since they were young. As soon as they came back, they wanted to play wildly with the village kids for a few days.
Xiao He Ran was somewhat tempted to go; after all, he was still a child and had a playful nature. Looking at He Zifeng, he didn't dare to cause trouble until his father gave the order.
He Zifeng said, "Go have fun, and come back for dinner early."
The little guy's smile immediately lit up: "Ah!" Then he grabbed his friends' hands and ran out.
Leaving Qiu Yu standing there, she said with a mix of exasperation and amusement, "This little brat said he missed me on the way home, but it was all a lie. He's barely been home and has already run off again." It's nothing like when he was a little over a year old, when he followed Qiu Yu everywhere and was so clingy. Now, he's impossible to control.
He Zifeng said, "He's been studying in the county for so long, he must be tired. It's good for him to go out and have some fun."
Qiu Yu glared at He Zifeng: "You think you're such a good person!"
He Zifeng leaned in and gave him a light, fleeting kiss on the lips. Qiu Yu thought he was a shameless rogue who always resorted to this tactic when he couldn't win an argument, but she still blushed uncontrollably.
He Zifeng's favorite was his wife, Qiuyu, and he wanted to tease her a little more, but before he could even try, Qiuyu went back to the kitchen to fry fish, using that as an excuse to escape.
Qiu Yu had prepared almost everything before leaving in the morning; all she needed to do was stir-fry it a bit when her son got back. There was a braised fish, braised chicken, meatballs, and a stir-fry. Making four dishes for the family was quite a luxury.
Just as Qiu Yu was about to enter the kitchen, she turned around and saw He Zifeng still standing there, a smile in his eyes. This time, not only did her ears turn red, but she also put on a fierce look and said, "Ranran loves to eat the red berries in the forest. Go and pick some for her."
He Zifeng said, "Okay."
After saying that, he took a small bamboo basket and went into the mountains to pick fruit. Once inside the woods, he picked a few large leaves and used them to line the bottom of the basket. He then continued into the woods. This time, his goal was clearly to find snacks for his son; he wasn't interested in mushrooms or wild vegetables at all.
The berry trees are on the mountainside. The red berries on top are loved by the villagers. The berries on the lower branches have all been picked clean, but there are still quite a few on the trees.
He Zifeng was tall and planned to pick half a basket. Each red berry was only the size of a finger, and picking them one by one was quite laborious. He couldn't just pull off branches to pluck them off in large bunches, as that would damage the tree and prevent it from bearing fruit next time. However, he thought about how his son and Qiuyu both loved to eat them. He worked with great enthusiasm and finished picking them in about 15 minutes.
He Zifeng remembered that there were two wild peach trees on the mountain, so he went a little deeper. Sure enough, few people knew the location of the wild peach trees, and the peaches they bore were large and sweet. In the past, the villagers did not know that these peaches were mostly given to the birds on the mountain.
He Zifeng picked the ten best ones, then covered them with some wild vegetables from the mountains. This was a village custom; they did this to avoid others coveting the good finds.
On his way back, He Zifeng unexpectedly saw He Fan and He Xiaobao. The two were disheveled and looked quite embarrassed.
He Zifeng said, "What are you doing here?" This place is already close to the deep mountains, and there are wild beasts in the forest. Only experienced hunters dare to come here. Unlike He Zifeng, they have no prior training. If these two encounter danger, they will only become food for the wild beasts. He said, "Let's go down the mountain quickly."
Hearing his second brother's words, He Fan explained, "We want to catch a rabbit." The family is practically starving. Recently, Brother Wan Hai has made some money selling soy sauce, but he's changed his ways, eating only the worst coarse grains and going half a month without meat. They're really craving it.
People go to the outer edge of the mountain year-round, but there are no rabbits or pheasants there. If you want to eat them, you have to go deeper into the mountains.
Whether it was because the three of them made a lot of noise or not, they heard a tiger roar coming from the forest, so the three of them quickly went down the mountain.
Returning empty-handed, both were somewhat dejected. He Zifeng rummaged through the bamboo basket, pulled out a handful of red berries, and said, "Here."
The two were quite happy to get the red berries. They wiped them with their hands and put them in their mouths; they tasted sweet and sour.
Once He Zifeng reached the foot of the mountain, they parted ways. He Fan, with his young nephew in tow, said, "Let's not come up the mountain again." Thinking back, he felt a little scared; if something had really happened, he couldn't afford the consequences. Luckily, he had met He Zifeng.
When He Zifeng returned home, he saw that his daughter Ranran had already gone home and was petting her little rabbit. These meat rabbits used to live in the forest, where they had many natural enemies and often went hungry. Now, thanks to proper care, they've grown to over eight pounds. The male and female rabbits will be able to breed and have babies in a few days.
As if by magic, He Zifeng showed Xiao Heran the red berries and large peaches in the basket.
"Wow." Xiao Heran clapped his hands in a very obliging manner.
He Zifeng washed it for him and put it on a plate. Qiu Yu came out and brought out a plate of red bean milk cake, handing it to Ranran. It cost five pieces, which was eighty coins. If they hadn't been thinking of letting the children try it, they wouldn't have bought something so expensive.
After receiving the cake, Xiao Heran broke it open and gave one piece to Qiuyu, one piece to He Zifeng, and kept the small piece for himself. The sweet and fragrant cake was a favorite of the entire family.
He Zifeng said, "If you like it, I'll buy it for you again next time."
"Thank you, Dad," the son said in his childish voice.
He Zifeng rubbed his son's chubby little face and said, "Why are you being so polite with your father?"
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