Chapter 123 Sweet Taro, Nan Nan Goes Home...
Zong Suyi squatted on the ground, poking around with a twig. He drew a line on one side, blocking the ants' path, and built an insurmountable mountain on the other, blocking the way. The ants wandered around in circles, bewildered, while the culprit was amused and laughed with trembling shoulders.
The joy of self-entertainment is always short-lived. Before long, Zong Suyi threw away the branches, filled in the deep ditch, leveled the mountain, and mercifully released the ants back to their nest.
The cicadas kept chirping, which was very annoying and irritating.
Zong Suyi kicked a pebble off the ground, exhaled into the air, and angrily swung his fist forward a few times.
That rascal said he was going to find something to eat, but he hasn't come back even though it's almost dark!
He broke off a branch from the side and used it as a whip, waving it wildly. His gaze was so focused that it seemed as if he were whipping someone, imagining the scene of some arrogant person being beaten and screaming in pain. Zong Suyi couldn't suppress the smile on his lips.
However, even after waving his arms until they ached, no one came back.
Zong Su gritted his teeth in frustration, wondering if he had been bewitched by a mountain spirit!
The moment the thought crossed his mind, he was enraged. He threw the branch away and squatted on the ground, his whole body like a kettle about to explode.
Stinky woman, stinky woman!
Not long after he got angry, he started wiping away tears again, feeling that his life was extremely miserable. He had worked so hard to bring his baby into the world, only to have it abandoned in this desolate place, far from any village or town, while that other person was off having some fun!
After crying for a short while, he stood up, supporting himself on a nearby tree trunk. He lowered his head, stroking his belly with a face full of tenderness. "My little one, even though your mother is a bad person, Daddy will definitely pull himself together for you!"
Meanwhile, the woman traveling with them huddled at the back, keeping a safe distance.
She wiped away her cold sweat, took a few steps back, and glanced at Zong Suyi with lingering fear, thinking to herself: Don't be fooled by the fact that the master's husband is handsome and well-built, he's actually a wild and crazy madman, isn't he?
She was crying and laughing, angry and furious—oh dear! She needs to run away; if she goes berserk, she won't be able to handle it!
Zhang Ting was completely unaware of the commotion her husband was causing.
When she returned carrying the child, Zong Suyi had already calmed down and was sitting idly on a stone bench, fiddling with a handkerchief. When she saw her return, her eyes lit up instantly, and she ran over in surprise.
He smiled and said obediently, "My lady, you're finally back. My wife and I have been waiting for you."
Zhang Ting was initially pleased to see him being so ingratiating, but then she noticed that the woman in the car, Tang Dahua, was cowering behind the car, and her eyes held a hint of pity. What else could she not understand?
His gaze fell on Zong Suyi's obedient and virtuous face. What didn't she understand about the woman beside him? Who knew how she was cursing him in her heart and throwing another tantrum for others to see.
Zhang Ting put the child down, glanced at Zong Suyi's smug look, deliberately looked down at his belly, and said gently, "My dear child, Mommy missed you too."
What?
Why do you only think about the baby? Don't you miss him?
Zong Suyi pouted in anger, crossed her arms, and turned her head to one side.
snort.
Zhang Ting chuckled and put her arm around his shoulder. "Still throwing a tantrum? Aren't you afraid the kids will see you being so childish?"
Nan Nan looked up at the fairy brother next to the strange aunt, her eyes widening in amazement and her mouth agape.
Wow! This fairy brother is so handsome and beautiful, as beautiful as the moon at night!
"The baby hasn't been born yet, how could he see it?" Zong Suyi muttered, then turned his gaze to a child on the ground, as black as coal.
He leaned against his wife's chest, raising an eyebrow. "Where did you pick up this little piece of coal?"
"I encountered this while catching rabbits. I got separated from my family and fell and injured myself. There was a tiger attacking in the forest, so I brought the person back first."
Upon hearing that Xiao Meitan had been separated from her family and injured herself, Zong Suyi frowned, slowly squatted down, and beckoned her over: "Xiao Meitan, come here." She was as thin as a bean sprout, clearly not eating well. Zong Suyi wondered what her parents were thinking, letting such a young child run around like that.
Nan Nan walked over, a little happy but also a little reserved, and said shyly with her little hands clasped together, "Handsome brother, Nan Nan isn't called Little Coal, Nan Nan is called Nan Nan."
"Okay, little coal." Zong Suyi glanced at her and replied lazily.
The child's hands were black and covered in filth. He frowned in disgust, but still pulled Little Coal closer to check her injuries without hesitation. What he saw shocked him. The child's palms, the backs of her hands, and her knees were all injured, especially her palms, which were scraped raw and bleeding profusely.
This child looks well-behaved, so why are his parents treating him like this, leaving him to wander alone in the wilderness?
He stroked his belly, deep in thought. If the child were born, he would give her the best of everything in the world so that she would not suffer the slightest grievance!
“It’s Nan Nan, not Little Coal,” Nan Nan retorted, clenching her little hands.
Zong Suyi suppressed his anger, slowly stood up and snorted lightly. What Nannan? In his eyes, she was just a little coal!
He bent down and pushed the small coal shovel forward toward the carriage.
"Little Coal, come with me to treat your wounds first."
Nan Nan's repeated rebuttals were ineffective, and she gradually accepted the new name "coal" and went to the pretty car with the handsome older brother.
Wow, she's never seen this kind of car before!
"Handsome brother, you and the weird aunt are not only good-looking, but your car is also very beautiful."
A strange aunt? A handsome brother?
Zong Suyi corrected her unhappily, "Call me handsome uncle." If he called her brother, wouldn't that mean he was a generation below Zhang Ting? He didn't want that!
When Nan Nan saw him suddenly become serious, she shrank back uncomfortably.
Inside the carriage were items for treating and cleaning wounds. Zong Suyi carried Xiao Meitan into the carriage, poured water to clean her wounds, sprinkled a small amount of wound medicine on them, and then carefully bandaged them up.
Nan Nan stared intently at him with her big, round eyes, and suddenly said, "Handsome big brother... no, no, handsome uncle, you're just like Nan Nan's dad, you have a sharp tongue but a soft heart, you're actually very gentle."
Zong Suyi put away the bottles and jars, glanced at her, and proudly turned her head away, "Your father is not as good as me. He actually lost the child."
Little Coal quickly waved his chubby little hands, "No, no, it's Nan Nan's fault. Nan Nan accidentally ran away. It has nothing to do with Daddy. Handsome brother, don't blame Daddy. Daddy is a very good Daddy!"
"Where did they go? If my wife hadn't brought you back, little coal, you might have been eaten by jackals and tigers."
Nan Nan clutched at her clothes, shrinking back as she said, "Mother went to the mountains to find food."
Zong Suyi nodded. His wife also went out hunting every day. "Where is your father?"
Nan Nan blinked her eyes. "Daddy is digging taro. It's fragrant, soft, pink, and sweet." She licked her lips, and her stomach rumbled.
"Nannan wants to go home and eat sweet and fragrant taro."
Taro? What is that? These days, following Zhang Ting around, Zong Suyi has tasted almost everything he had never eaten or used in the first half of his life.
But this was the first time Taro had ever heard of it.
Hearing from Xiao Meitan that this thing was soft, sweet and fragrant, Zong Suyi swallowed hard, and his stomach rumbled.
Little Coal covered its mouth and giggled, "Brother, you're hungry too."
Zong Suyi rarely lost his authority in front of children. He blushed with embarrassment and said weakly, "Don't laugh! And you should call me uncle. I'm the husband of that aunt outside."
Before Xiao Meitan could react, Zong Suyi angrily lifted the carriage curtain and got out.
It's so embarrassing to snort in front of kids!
After Zhang Ting prepared the rabbit meat, he stir-fried it with wild chili peppers and served it in a fragrant dry pot.
The woman carried the dishes to the stone slab beside her. Zhang Ting squatted down by the river to wash her hands. Just as she was about to turn around and go back, someone hugged her waist tightly. She instinctively hugged the other person back.
Zong Suyi nestled in her arms and muttered to herself. At the end of her speech, she angrily tried to punch the object next to her, but she immediately withdrew her hand after it was halfway through.
Zhang Tingruo, oblivious to what was happening, secretly amused. "That's it?" she patted his head. "A child might hear it, but why should you care, sir? She might forget about it tomorrow."
"Really?" Zong Suyi was somewhat skeptical.
"Of course, would I, as your wife, lie to you?"
Zong Suyi glared at her, thinking: You've lied to me a lot, using all sorts of lies, good and bad, red, green and yellow, on me.
Zhang Ting seemed to sense something, coughed lightly, and put her arm around his shoulder as they walked toward the stone slab. "Let's have lunch quickly, my lord is hungry too."
They invited Tang Dahua to help Xiao Heiwa wash off the dirt, and then the group sat down by the stone slab and ate heartily.
After the meal, Zhang Ting picked up the little black baby and wanted to take her to find her parents.
Zong Suyi followed slowly, saying, "Wait for me."
Zhang Ting turned around and asked in surprise, "What are you going to do? You have to cross a dense forest, and there might even be jackals and tigers. It's very unsafe."
Zong Suyi licked her lips. How could she say that she was craving taro? She had just heard Xiao Meitan say that roasted taro was the best.
"My lady, I'm worried about you. Please let me go with you." He frowned slightly, his eyes gazing at her tenderly, and he gently tugged at the hem of her dress.
Taro, roasted taro, fragrant and sweet roasted taro.
Lately, for some reason, even though he was full, he has become extremely greedy and has to keep something in his mouth all the time.
Zhang Ting glanced at him indifferently, taking in all his reactions. Holding the child in one arm, she took his hand with the other. "Come on, stay close to me, and don't run around."
"Mmm-hmm." Zong Suyi nodded excitedly.
Zhang Ting was very good at tracking and investigation. She came to the place where she first met the child and followed the trail back to find her. It took her an hour and a half to walk there before she arrived at the taro field.
A group of people were chattering and shouting, surrounding a thin, dazed man in the middle.
The women who returned home late scattered, taking wooden sticks, hoes, or sickles for self-defense, and went into the mountains to look for someone.
Upon arrival, Nan Nan struggled to get down and ran towards the middle of the crowd with her short legs.
"Father, Nannan is back."
This sound, like heavenly music, pulled the distraught man back to reality. His eyes refocused, and he turned and ran towards the source of the sound, almost stumbling and falling to the ground. He quickly steadied himself and rushed over without hesitation.
He collapsed to the ground, clutching his child tightly and wailing, "Daddy's Nannan is finally back! How could Daddy live without you!"
The cries were heart-wrenching, gripping everyone's hearts.
Zong Suyi stood frozen in place, his mind drifting to his father. So much time had passed that his father's face was now blurred in his memory, and he could only vaguely recall a few images.
It has only been a little over three years since we were separated, but it all feels like a lifetime ago.
He turned his head and buried it in his lover's arms, hiding the torrent of tears welling up in his eyes.
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