Qiuyu is a great cook. She missed her son who hadn't been home for many days, so she used all her cooking skills.
Xiao Heran ate until his belly was round before he got off the table.
That evening, the little guy fed Qinghua himself, and even touched her when she wasn't looking, jumping up and down with joy. After washing his little hands and feet, he insisted on squeezing between his two dads to sleep.
He Zifeng mocked him from the side, "Didn't you say you were all grown up?"
The little guy just laughed and snuggled into his arms, then closed his eyes and pretended to be asleep. He Zifeng could hear his son's laughter just by tapping his little face with his finger.
Qiu Yu wouldn't let He Zifeng disturb their son's sleep, and only then did He Zifeng reluctantly let go. He'd never realized before how adorable children were. The little guy even insisted on hugging his neck; it was better to have a boy, he was so clingy.
He Zifeng looked at his son, his eyes filled with tenderness. It's only because the child is young that he's willing to cling to him; once he grows up in a few years, he won't be so attached to him anymore.
After Xiao Heran came back, he ran wildly all over the mountains and fields with Gouzi. He was tired after a long day and fell asleep in no time.
Qiu Yu kissed her son. The little guy had eaten milk cake today, and his breath smelled of milk.
The child was held by He Zifeng at the very back of the bed, and was covered with his own little blanket.
Qiu Yu lay in the middle, while He Zifeng lay on his side, holding one of Qiu Yu's legs up with his hand and insisting that she wrap her legs around his waist. Then he ran his hand along the side of her leg.
Qiu Yu's breathing became erratic from the agitation, but He Zifeng, being rather irreverent, said to him, "It's not convenient today."
Qiu Yu immediately covered He Zifeng's mouth with both hands, preventing him from saying these words.
He Zifeng opened his mouth and bit his hand lightly.
Caught off guard, Qiu Yu was startled and immediately withdrew her hand. Before she could glare back at He Zifeng, she was pulled into a tight embrace and kissed by him.
Perhaps it was because her son had returned that Qiu Yu was unusually gentle; he had wanted to kiss him for a long time.
Qiu Yu got angry, broke free, and bit He Zifeng's lip. She didn't control her strength well and drew blood. Qiu Yu was annoyed at this.
He Zifeng didn't care at all and said, "Go to sleep, I won't bother you anymore." Then he hugged Qiu Yu and went to sleep.
...
The next day, He Zifeng indeed had a small wound on his lip, which his son asked about.
He Zifeng said with interest, "Oh, it was a kitten that scratched it."
Qiu Yu stood by, furious but unable to speak out.
Xiao Heran asked, "Where is the cat?"
He Zifeng coughed lightly, unable to tease any further, and said, "They probably ran away."
Xiao Heran is popular now; he had just finished breakfast when the village children called him to go out and play.
Soon it got gloomy outside, and Qiu Yu called her son back. The little guy had barely stepped inside when a torrential downpour began. He Zifeng said, "I'm going to the county to deliver the braised food they ordered to the inn and the escort agency, then I'll be back." This autumn rain was coming on strong and didn't look like it would stop easily.
Their small business in the county didn't even have a rain shelter, so they had to stop operating whenever it rained.
Qiu Yu found him a raincoat and a bamboo hat, and carefully tied them on for him.
Seeing how considerate Qiu Yu was, He Zifeng asked, "Are you not angry anymore?"
Qiu Yu glanced at him and said, "Who's angry with you? You're the one who wasn't honest, so you deserved to be bitten by the cat."
He Zifeng leaned close to his ear and said, "That cat is too naughty. We must give it a good spanking when we catch it."
Qiu Yu's face flushed red again. Then He Zifeng drove the carriage away with the two buckets of braised pork bones and disappeared into the rain.
Seeing the rain, Qiu Yu was a little worried. Little He Ran said, "Daddy, hug me."
Qiu Yu held the little boy in his arms and said, "You just like your father, always bullying people." His tone held a hint of barely perceptible doting affection.
Xiao Heran said, "That's right, I'm my father's son. Of course I look like him!"
Qiu Yu carried her son back into the house. After the rain, the house was cold and damp, so she lit the kang (a heated brick bed). Soon the house was warm. Qiu Yu, holding an umbrella, tidied up the small shed and the yard before returning to the house.
As soon as they got back inside, his son made him lie down on the warmest spot on the kang (heated brick bed).
Qiu Yu and her son lay down, chatting idly. The little guy said that Master Lin was very gentle and had even praised him. The little guy was quite proud of this, except that the food wasn't very good; it was mostly radishes and cabbage, and they only got to eat meat once every seven days.
Qiu Yu said, "It's going to be cold this time, so I'll pack you a few extra clothes. Remember to change." After thinking for a moment, she added, "When you leave this time, I'll bring you two bottles of chili sauce!"
"Okay," Xiao Heran replied.
The two were very comfortable in the room, and soon they fell asleep in each other's arms. Soon, Qiu Yu heard a rustling sound. Startled awake, Qiu Yu thought a thief had broken in. Just as she got up, she saw a familiar person return.
When He Zifeng came in, he immediately took off his straw hat and raincoat in the outer room, because the rain was just too heavy.
It's rare to see such heavy rain in autumn.
When Qiu Yu saw him, a hint of surprise flashed in her eyes: "Why are you back?"
He Zifeng said, "The head constable didn't even go. Less than half of the men reported for duty and were sent home." He paused and then added, "The shops on half the street in the county were all closed. The heavy rain made the streets smoldering, and there wasn't a soul on the road."
Seeing that his breath was cold, Qiu Yu quickly warmed his hands and said, "Quickly change out of your wet clothes. Don't catch a cold!"
He Zifeng quickly changed his clothes, while Qiu Yu washed the rain-soaked clothes directly in a basin. The clothes were hung inside, and the dirty water was poured into the yard. This heavy rain would wash them clean.
The family of three was inside when Qiu Yu seemed to remember something. She went inside and grabbed a handful of roasted peanuts in their skins. They tasted delicious and were a nice little snack. Her family used to be unable to afford these, but now that they had some money saved up, they had all the snacks they needed.
The family of three was happily eating peanuts. Soon the torrential rain subsided considerably. Then they heard someone knocking on the door.
He Zifeng opened the door with an umbrella, and it was Shuanzi who came in. He said, "Second Brother He, He Fan was bitten by a bear. He's dying!"
"Huh?" He Zifeng said, "Why did a bear bite me out of the blue?"
Shuanzi said, "I don't know the specifics. It's not just him. Tie Niu and Da Tou are also injured. You should go check on them quickly. If you're any later, they might be gone."
He Zifeng said, "Shuanzi, you go first, I'll change my clothes and then I'll be there." Only then did Shuanzi go to inform the other families.
He Zifeng went back and told Qiu Yu, then was about to go over. Upon hearing this, Qiu Yu quickly gave him an ounce of silver and said, "Here you go."
He Zifeng took the money, turned around and left.
They then went to the He family's house. The He family's house was large, and all the injured people were carried there. It was still raining outside. There were five injured people in total. Only one barefoot doctor treated them, and all of them were injured.
When He Zifeng arrived, he found that not only He Donglai was there, but also Aunt He, who kept blinking her eyes when she looked at He Zifeng.
Xu Li saw so many people had arrived, and even brewed ginger tea. He Zifeng went to check on He Fan first, noticing several bandages on He Fan's body. It didn't seem as serious as Shuanzi had described: "What happened?"
Tie Niu's father angrily cursed, "These ignorant fools want to kill a bear? Aren't they tired of living? Don't they even know if they have the ability?"
He Fan said, "I want to make some money." He had heard that every part of a bear was a treasure trove—bear skin, bear paws, bear gallbladders, and even bear bones were in demand. So he gathered a few people and went to try their luck, but who would have thought that the enraged bear would be so terrifying. The group of them were smart enough to run away as soon as they saw things were going badly, but they were all injured to varying degrees.
After a while, Village Chief Liu Zi also came over and asked, "How are the people?"
The barefoot doctor said, "They all need to rest for at least a month." Then, like the others, he began to say that they shouldn't have provoked the bear. However, there was some good news: all five of them survived.
The doctor said, "This time, the consultation fee and the total cost will only be one tael of silver. When I came, these people had lost a lot of blood, and I used half a ginseng root. That's at least half a tael of silver. I didn't charge you any extra for the other medicines."
Tie Niu and Da Tou's families were the first to speak up: "Let's split this money equally among the five families!" Two hundred coins per family.
Aunt He said, "It should be divided among the four of you. My He Fan's thigh isn't even as thick as their arm, what does he know? You must have tricked him into going there, we haven't settled that score yet."
He Donglai remained silent, clearly sharing the same thought as Aunt He.
Tie Niu's father, who also had a fiery temper, was furious upon hearing this and said, "Your He Fan is innocent. Everyone knows he's cunning. These kids might all be on his side. Let me tell you, you guys surnamed He, don't bully people."
Xu Li quickly stepped in to smooth things over, saying, "Uncle, we'll definitely pay for it. Please calm down."
Seeing Xu Li bustling around making ginger tea for everyone, which was quite thoughtful, Tie Niu's father said, "At your age, you're still whining about two hundred coins. You've wasted your life. You're not as sensible as a child. If it weren't for Xu Li's sake, I would have slapped you today."
Big Head's mother also annoyed Aunt He, saying, "This is a matter for our Chishui Village. You, a married woman, shouldn't concern yourself with these things."
Xu Li had given all the money from selling soybean paste to He Donglai these past few days, and he didn't know why He Donglai wouldn't even give him this small amount of money.
He even got a scolding and a slap on the face. Xu Li was also embarrassed.
The doctor collected the money and turned to leave, but in his heart, he had a very poor opinion of the He family. He decided that he wouldn't easily treat them in the future, lest he not be able to get his money back for the medicine. He packed his bag, noticed that the rain had lessened a bit, and left.
He Zifeng hadn't visited the He family mansion in a long time. This time, he found it much emptier than before, since Xiao Wanshi had absconded with the money. They had pawned or sold off many things. What used to be the most luxurious mansion in the village now had a somewhat desolate feel.
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