At noon, He Yan came back under the escort of the police. He had already learned about the escape of the man with the short hair from the locals, but his expression was not as worried as Su Ting's. He looked quite calm.

In the afternoon, he wanted to play basketball with his classmates. There were no courts on the streets, so they usually went to Fudan University to play basketball, thinking that they would meet many people. He also wanted to go out for some fresh air. Su Ting agreed, but before he left, she told him, "Don't be alone. Come back after playing basketball."

He Yan agreed immediately: "Okay."

Seeing her brother was about to go out, she also clamored to go, but Su Ting was afraid that He Yan would not pay attention to her when he was having fun, so she did not let her go out. The little girl pouted and was very unhappy.

He Yan saw this, touched her head and consoled her, saying: "We are going to play basketball, there are no other girls there, it must be boring for you to watch alone."

Slowly humming: "You're lying! Every time you play basketball, there are so many girls watching you."

"We don't know those people, do you dare to play with them?" He Yan asked without waiting for a slow answer, "Even if you dare, I won't let you play with them. What if they kidnap you?"

Although the girls who watched them play basketball in school were generally college students, there were occasional exceptions. After all, Fudan University was open to the public on Sundays, and non-students could enter as well.

If you meet a good person, everything will be fine, but if you meet a bad person, no one can imagine what will happen.

So if his friends didn't bring their younger siblings, He Yan wouldn't bring Man Man along either. He didn't feel comfortable letting his sister play with strangers, so he coaxed her by saying, "How about I bring you something delicious when we get back?"

He slowly stole a glance at Su Ting who was sitting in front of the living room window and asked in a low voice, "What's delicious?"

"What do you want to eat?"

She slowly couldn't answer. She had less pocket money than her brother, only fifty cents a day.

But among her peers, she was considered a wealthy woman. She could buy most of the snacks sold in the supply and marketing cooperatives. If she came across something expensive, she could buy it with a little help. Otherwise, she would ask her father or brother to buy it for her. After all, if they bought it for her, her mother would only say a few words if she saw it.

For a moment, she couldn't think of anything special she wanted to eat, but her pocket money wasn't enough to buy it. She thought for a while and asked, "Can I buy a toy?"

"Sure, what do you want?"

"doll."

He Yan said worriedly, "This isn't sold at the nearby supply and marketing cooperative. Can I buy it for you later?"

"How long is a while?"

"Before the New Year?"

"How long will it take?"

"Chinese New Year is coming at the end of the month, I will definitely buy it for you this month."

I slowly calculated the time in my mind and said, "Okay, you must remember to buy it for me."

"Don't worry, I won't forget," He Yan pushed open the door and said, "Mom, am I going out to play?"

"Well, stay slowly."

"I know!" Manman said loudly, and saw his brother off diligently. After saying hello to his friends, he skipped back home and asked Su Ting for credit, "Mom, I didn't go out. Am I good?"

Su Ting raised her eyes to look at her, raised the corners of her lips and said, "Did your brother agree to your request?"

He froze up and denied it flatly: "No."

"I'm your mother, how could I not understand you? Tell me, what did you ask your brother for?" Su Ting snorted, thinking that the two of them had just stood at the door and conspired for so long, they thought she couldn't see, right?

Seeing Su Ting's determined face, he slowly confessed: "My brother promised to buy me a doll."

"Don't you have a lot of dolls in your room?"

Blinking slowly, he said innocently, "But I still want it."

Just like there is always a piece of clothing missing in a woman's closet, there is always a doll missing from her bed!

Su Ting: "...Okay."

…

Although He Yan promised to buy a doll for Man Man, he still brought food when he returned - three roasted sweet potatoes.

It is a kind of enjoyment to eat a hot roasted sweet potato in the cold winter. Su Ting's eyes lit up when she saw it and asked, "Where did you get it?"

He Yan said: "There is a stall selling this at the entrance of Fudan University."

In 1979, when the reform and opening up was just underway, not many people dared to do business, and those who went out to set up stalls were all sneaky, fearing that they would be caught. But as time went by, everyone was convinced that the policy had really changed, and they gradually became bolder.

Although from last year to this year, the eight kings have been arrested for speculation and profiteering, and those with big businesses are now trembling with fear, those who run small businesses will be fine as long as they pay attention to the degree and do not cross the line.

So generally speaking, there are more and more people doing business in the past two years. Not only is the commercial street busy, but also on Saturdays and Sundays when there are many people, there are people setting up stalls in parks and at school gates.

However, Su Ting had never seen anyone selling roasted sweet potatoes before, maybe because she just came here today.

The sweet potatoes that He Yan picked were very good. They were not stringy at all and were cooked at just the right temperature, with oil oozing from both ends. After peeling the skin, the flesh inside was roasted to a golden brown color. You could just swallow it directly without chewing it.

The only problem was that they were too big. Su Ting and Man Man felt a little full after eating. Only He Yan was not affected. After exercising for an entire afternoon, his stomach was almost bursting with hunger.

Su Ting asked He Yan to take a shower while she went to the kitchen to cook noodles.

It was also noodles, but this pot was much richer than last night's. It had meat, shrimp, eggs and vegetables. When serving the noodles, Su Ting placed them on a plate, flattering herself that this bowl was worth at least thirty or forty yuan.

Well, based on the prices in a few decades.

The brother and sister were also very supportive. When they saw the noodles being served, they exclaimed "Wow" and picked up their chopsticks to eat them quickly. They are not picky about food and love rice and noodles.

To this day, Su Ting is still the pickiest eater in the family, but she is a little better than when she first came here. Back then, she would rather eat snacks than touch noodles, but now she will occasionally eat a little with others.

After dinner, He Yan and Man Man sat opposite each other at the desk by the window to do their homework.

When I was in the small class, I played mainly in class, but after I moved to the middle class, the content to learn gradually increased. This semester, I moved to the big class, and I had to do homework assigned by the teacher almost every day, and there was more homework during the holidays.

It can be said that the schoolwork of kindergarten students at this time is much heavier than that of children a few decades later.

But it is hard to say which generation of children has a harder life. After all, children nowadays just have to deal with the homework assigned by the teacher and don’t often attend interest-based classes.

A few decades later, as long as the family can afford it, they will enroll their children in interest classes, at least one, and there is no upper limit for more. Some children from wealthy families may have a daily schedule that is as busy as the most busy high school students.

But if the family does not have the conditions to send their children to interest classes, the children will usually have an easier life than children of this generation.

In addition to doing homework, Su Ting also teaches Manman to draw.

She is more talented in this area than her brother. After only learning for more than a year, she has already become quite good at painting.

But recently Su Ting has been considering letting Manman learn another skill, such as dancing. She doesn't expect Manman to achieve anything in this area, but she heard that children who learn dancing have good manners, so she wants her to learn for a few years.

Although she had an idea, Su Ting had no idea where to send Manman to study. This was not the time 2000 years later when interest classes were everywhere.

Although there are children's palaces, they are not for profit like in later generations, where parents can send their children as long as they pay tuition. In this era, it is free to attend interest classes in the children's palace, but the entry threshold for students is not low.

First of all, you must be a three-good student with excellent grades or have special talents. Secondly, you need to be recommended by the school. Finally, you will be assessed by the teachers of the Children's Palace. Those who pass the assessment can enter the Children's Palace to study.

He Yan followed this path. Because of his excellent grades, he was recommended by the school in his first year of junior high school and passed the assessment. However, after entering the Children's Palace, he did not learn specialties such as dance and painting, but entered the technology group.

It would be more reliable to send Manman to learn painting there than to send her to the Children's Palace to learn dancing.

Therefore, Su Ting can only think about learning dance for the time being and see if there will be an opportunity in the future.

While the two children were doing their homework, Su Tingwo was reading a book on the sofa. Although her eyes were fixed on the book, her mind was elsewhere.

She was still thinking about the buzz cut that escaped last night.

Although He Yan was wanted and the police station arranged for police officers to pick him up and protect him, Su Ting would not be at ease until he was arrested.

"Mom, Mom!"

Hearing the sound slowly, Su Ting came back to her senses, looked up and asked, "What's wrong?"

"I've finished my homework!" he said slowly, handing the homework book to Su Ting.

After Su Ting took it, she took a rough look and found that the kindergarten curriculum was still simple. The Chinese class was about copying new characters and words, and the math class was about addition and subtraction within ten.

Man Man became very smart and simple addition and subtraction were no problem for her. However, her handwriting was very average and the only word she could boast about was "neat".

But she started learning to write when she was in the middle class, and it has only been more than a year now. It is already very good that she can write to this level.

When He Yan first entered primary school, his handwriting was very average. It got better in the second and third grades. After entering junior high school, his handwriting became less rigid and gradually developed his own style.

After that, no matter what grade he was in, even if he went to high school and changed schools, the teachers in his class would call him when they needed to copy the blackboard, and when the class or school needed to make a bulletin board, the task would basically fall on him.

Therefore, Su Ting was not picky about her calligraphy and planned to review it again in two years. If she had not made any progress by then, she would buy her a copybook for her to practice.

After checking the work, Su Ting said, "Yes, everything is correct."

She slowly shouted with joy, turned around and climbed onto the desk, looking at He Yan who was writing furiously and boasted, "Brother, I've finished my homework!"

"Really? Is today so great?"

Slowly he said proudly, "Yes, my mother just checked my homework, and it's all correct!"

Obviously, they were in the living room, and He Yan heard the conversation between Manman and Su Ting just now, but he still pretended to be a little surprised and praised: "You are so smart!"

Slowly, with her hands on her cheeks, she looked at her brother doing his homework and asked, "Brother, why haven't you finished your homework yet? How much do you have left?"

But before He Yan's answer, it was his mother's voice that rang out: "Slow down, don't disturb your brother from doing his homework, come and sit down."

He said "oh" slowly, left the desk and sat on the sofa.

After sitting for a while, she gradually felt a little bored and asked, "Mom, can I go and bring Xiaohong down?" Xiaohong is her favorite doll.

"Can."

Slowly jumped off the sofa and ran upstairs to get the toy.

Because she always slept in the master bedroom when her father was not around, she went straight to the master bedroom after going upstairs. After getting the toy, she wanted to go downstairs, but before she ran out of the room, she heard the sound of a car outside. She ran to the window, opened it, looked downstairs, and shouted loudly, "Dad!"

He Dongchuan, who was downstairs, heard the voice, got out of the driver's seat, looked up, waved his hand and asked, "Where's your mother?"

"Mom is downstairs and my brother is doing his homework."

He Dongchuan responded, walked around the car and into the yard. Su Ting and He Yan, who were sitting in the living room, also heard the voice. The latter came over, opened the door and shouted, "Dad."

He Dongchuan nodded, took off his leather shoes at the entrance, changed into slippers and went into the house.

Su Ting had already stood up from the sofa and asked him when she saw him, "Have you eaten?"

"I ate it." He Dongchuan walked over and hugged his wife.

Originally, he just wanted to hug her briefly, but after he actually hugged her, he was a little reluctant to let go, until Su Ting pushed him and whispered, "The children are here."

He Dongchuan let go of his wife, turned around and saw He Yan, who was standing at the entrance, turned around, and Man Man, who was squatting on the stairs and peeking through the railing, covered his eyes with his hands, revealing an attempt to hide something.

He Dongchuan: “…”

Should he say that the two children have grown up, or should he scold them for being cunning?

…

Because she didn't want to tell the two children about the escape of the buzz cut, when He Dongchuan went upstairs to take a shower, Su Ting hurriedly followed him and said, "I'll go with you."

He Dongchuan raised his eyebrows and went upstairs side by side with Su Ting.

After entering the house, Su Ting wanted to speak directly, but before she could make a sound, He Dongchuan pressed her against the door panel and blocked her mouth.

Su Ting raised her eyes in surprise, and her mouth opened wide. He Dongchuan took the opportunity to invade, sweeping her mouth, and at the same time used his free left hand to unbutton her cotton padded jacket one by one.

He did this series of things so smoothly that when Su Ting came to her senses, her cotton padded shirt, his military coat and military jacket had been taken off, and his hand had touched the hem of her sweater.

Su Ting quickly held down that hand and placed her right hand on He Dongchuan's chest: "What are you doing?"

"Take off your clothes."

"Why are you taking off my clothes in the shower?"

He Dongchuan said frankly: "Didn't you say you wanted to take a bath with me?"

Su Ting almost couldn't catch up with the words and said angrily: "I said I would go upstairs with you. Who said I would take a shower with you? I took a shower in the afternoon!"

He Dongchuan said "oh" in disappointment, but within three seconds he asked again: "Do you want to wash it again?"

Su Ting said nothing, just raised her head and gave him a death stare.

Although Su Ting didn't say that she had something serious to discuss, after sleeping in the same bed for so many years, there was still a tacit understanding between husband and wife. It was just that he was not in a good position to talk too much, so he asked: "...wait until I finish taking a shower before we talk?"

"Go ahead." Su Ting raised her chin.

Seeing that his wife really had no intention of taking a bath with him, He Dongchuan sighed, took off his shirt and hung it at the end of the bed, then walked to the closet shirtless to find his pajamas.

Before entering the bathroom, He Dongchuan deliberately glanced at Su Ting. She was thinking about something and didn't even glance at him. He had to go into the bathroom to take a shower with regret.

It was half an hour later that the bathroom door was opened again. Su Ting was so sleepy that she leaned against the head of the bed with her eyes half closed.

He Dongchuan walked over and touched her face and hands, which were all cold, so he bent down and picked her up, preparing to put her on the bed. However, as soon as her body was suspended in the air, Su Ting woke up, rubbed her eyes and asked after being put down, "Are you done washing?"

"Yeah." He Dongchuan said as he reached out to unbutton Su Ting's pants.

Although Su Ting was still a little confused, she was very alert. She held his hand and asked unhappily, "What are you doing?"

He Dongchuan was angry and amused. He stretched out his hand, pinched her cheek and said, "Take off your clothes and go to bed."

"I don't sleep."

"So what are you going to do?"

"I have something to tell you."

"Well, you say." He Dongchuan said as he shook out the quilt and covered Su Ting.

Su Ting lowered her head and rubbed her face. When she felt more sober, she spoke: "Last night, Xiao Yan was held back by a group of people."

He Dongchuan, who was relaxed at home, suddenly became serious when he heard this: "What happened?"

"The story begins three days ago..." Su Ting started from how He Yan bravely rescued his classmate from two young people from society, and went on to talk about how he was surrounded last night, walked to the police station, and worked with the police to capture the four people.

He Dongchuan was very sensitive. Before Su Ting finished speaking, he asked, "Did the leader run away?"

Su Ting was surprised: "How did you know?"

"Five people surrounded Xiao Yan, four of them were caught, and the leader was kicked by him. He must have fallen behind when he was chasing people. If anyone escaped, it could only be him." After analyzing, He Dongchuan asked, "Why hasn't he been caught yet?"

Su Ting shook her head and said, "No, I went to the police station today, and the police said that before they went to Cuntou's home to arrest him last night, he had already packed up his things and ran away."

"What arrangements are there at the police station?"

"They said they had already reported it and contacted other police stations, as well as people at the train station. Once they found the person, they would immediately arrest him. In addition, they said they would arrange for police officers to pick up Xiaoyan from school every day." Su Ting pondered and said, "But I always feel uneasy because the person has not been caught."

He Dongchuan fell into deep thought, and after a long while he said, "I'll go to the police station tomorrow to inquire about the situation."

"Um."

"What else happened this week?"

Because the couple do not live together, they would talk about the latest news when they meet on Saturdays and Sundays. Of course, He Dongchuan asked these questions now to distract Su Ting and make her less worried.

Su Ting nodded: "Yes, there is one more thing. Wang Jingfang wrote to tell me that Shanghai Fine Arts Film Studio contacted their publishing house and wanted to buy the copyright of the Three Fires series from me."

"Shanghai Fine Arts Film Studio?"

Su Ting thought He Dongchuan didn't know what this unit did, so she explained, "They make animated films and animated series, and they want to adapt the Three Fires series into an animated film."

"Sounds good."

"Well, I asked Xiao Yan for his opinion the day before yesterday. He was reluctant at first because he was afraid that too many people would see his dark history after the cartoon became popular. But then he suddenly changed his mind," Su Ting said as she remembered, "Ah! I told him to think about it for two days and then ask him for the final decision tonight." She threw off the quilt and was about to go downstairs.

But before she could lift the quilt, He Dongchuan held her down and said, "You go to sleep. I'll go downstairs to ask him for his opinion. It's a good opportunity to ask him about what happened last night."

Su Ting stopped and said, "That's fine."

…

When He Dongchuan went downstairs, He Yan was still doing his homework. Man Man, listening to her mother, did not disturb her brother and played house with a doll.

She played the role of a mother, coaxing her baby to sleep. She gently patted the doll's belly and said, "Little baby, go to sleep. When you wake up, you will be a good baby again."

But after seeing her father, she quickly forgot about the game, ran to He Dongchuan with her doll in her arms and asked, "Dad, have you finished your bath? Where's Mom?" She asked while looking towards the stairs.

"Mom is asleep." He Dongchuan touched the girl's head and asked, "It's late, can you go back to your room and sleep slowly?"

"What about dad and brother?"

"Dad has something to talk to my brother about. We will go back to sleep after we finish talking."

"Can I listen to you guys talk before I go to sleep?"

"Can't."

"Why?" asked slowly and unhappily.

Because Man Man was too young, and he was afraid that she would have nightmares at night after knowing these things, He Dongchuan did not want her to know these things, but the reason he gave was: "We have to talk for a long time, but it's very late, you have to go upstairs to sleep."

Slowly sighing in disappointment: "Then can I sleep with my mother at night?"

Every time her father came over, she would be driven back to her room to sleep. As time went by, she gradually became experienced. But she knew that her parents would become more talkative after rejecting her once. Since her request was rejected, she thought she could make another request.

Don't be fooled by her young age, she is actually very smart.

Sure enough, Dad readily agreed to her second request: "Sure." Anyway, she fell asleep slowly and soundly, and he could take her back to the room anytime after she fell asleep.

Man Man had no idea what his father was thinking, but when he nodded, he went upstairs happily.

He Dongchuan sat at the desk and watched He Yan do his homework.

As the end of the month approaches, He Yan has a lot of homework to do, but he works very quickly. In less than three hours since he finished his meal, he has already finished two test papers and has also finished the last page of this test paper.

About twenty minutes later, He Yan wrote the last word, closed the pen cap, and called out, "Dad."

He Dongchuan nodded and said, "I have heard everything from your mother. I want to ask you some more details."

"What details?"

He Dongchuan started to ask questions about what happened in those two nights, and He Yan answered them one by one. He didn't have many questions, and the game of questions and answers ended in ten minutes. He Dongchuan fell into deep thought again.

Seeing his serious expression, He Yan became nervous and asked, "Dad, will the person who escaped really come back to take revenge on me?"

"Afraid?" He Dongchuan asked.

"Not really. I just don't know if he will come or when he will come. I feel a little uncertain," He Dongchuan said with his chest straightened. "But even if he brings people to take revenge on me, I can beat them all down!"

"Very confident." He Dongchuan chuckled, "Tomorrow I will go to the police station to ask for details and see if I can find out whether he is still in Shanghai."

He Yan's eyes lit up: "Dad, can you catch him?"

"Not necessarily. Let's see tomorrow." He Dongchuan answered and then asked, "What do you think about the Three Fires series being adapted into an animated film?"

The topic changed so quickly that He Yan was slow to react: "Did Mom ask you to ask?"

He Dongchuan nodded: "Well, she said that you were reluctant at first, but then suddenly changed your mind and asked me to confirm it with you."

He Yan gave a positive answer: "I have thought about it and have no opinion."

"Are you not afraid of people knowing about your dark history?"

He Yan felt embarrassed and complained, "Why did Mom tell you all this?"

"I'm your father, is there anything I can't know?" He Dongchuan laughed, "Tell me why you changed your mind."

He Yan knew that whenever his parents encountered something, they would tell each other directly without hiding anything. Since his mother had guessed the reason why he agreed to the adaptation, it was impossible for her not to tell his father.

Therefore, He Yan felt that his father was asking the question even though he already knew the answer.

But my dad clearly wanted to hear him say it himself... He Yan gritted his teeth and said, "I think so many people have read the comics, it doesn't matter if one more or one less person reads it, they don't know it's me anyway. And what I draw isn't considered a dark history, there are so many readers who like me."

He Yan stole a glance at his father and added, "Also, I have agreed with my mother that the money from selling the adaptation rights will still be split 50-50."

He Dongchuan: “…”

I understand now that his son is not only hypocritical but also a money-grubber.