Chapter 135 Your second brother is pretty good...
After listening for a while, Wang Zhou got bored. He moved closer to Du Li and plopped down in his lap.
Du Li glanced down at him, at the top of a fluffy head, and smiled as he wrapped his arms around him.
Wang Zhou smiled secretly.
Du Min caught a glimpse of the father and son's subtle actions and chuckled to himself. He hadn't realized Wang Zhou had this side to him, like a proud cat, secretly angry, yet quietly approaching. If he were to be pressed down and rubbed at this moment, Wang Zhou would probably struggle to escape.
After chatting for a while, the four of them split into two groups and went back to their rooms to wash up. Meng Qing and Du Li accompanied Wang Zhou back to his room. She looked through Wang Zhou's clothes and bedding, while Du Li took care of serving him by washing his face and feet.
"Huh? Whose clothes are these?" Meng Qing rummaged through the clothes and found a set of women's undergarments. "Mine?"
“My maternal grandmother’s.” Wang Zhou crossed his legs.
Du Li leaned back and slapped his foot. "Behave yourself."
"How did your grandmother's undergarments end up here? Did she sleep here?" A vague thought crossed Meng Qing's mind. "Did your grandmother come to keep you company?"
Wang Zhou pouted, looking left and right with a flickering gaze.
Meng Qing stopped asking. She put her undergarments back into the trunk and asked, "Can your father and I sleep in your room tonight?"
Wang Zhou was eager to agree, and he nodded, "Sure."
"I'll go get the pillow." Meng Qing went out.
Du Li dried Wang Zhou's feet, then picked up the boy and placed him on the bed. "I'll go get some water. Take off your clothes yourself."
Wang Zhou grunted in response, glancing at his father's figure out of the corner of his eye. As soon as Du Li walked out, he immediately dropped his act and rolled around on the bed, overjoyed.
Meng Qing walked to the door with her pillow in her arms. Hearing the noise inside, she peeked out and stood outside the door with a smile, waiting.
"Why don't you go in?" Du Li brought over a glass of water.
"Waiting for you." Meng Qing glanced inside the door and stepped inside.
Wang Zhou sat on the bed quietly unbuttoning his clothes, then took off his coat and trousers and crawled into the quilt.
After washing up, Meng Qing and Du Li lay down as well. Meng Qing asked about Wang Zhou's studies and whether he had learned to ride a horse.
Wang Zhou talked on and on, and gradually he became sleepy and fell asleep with his eyes closed in the warm and cozy bed.
After Du Li waited until he was sound asleep, he picked up Wang Zhou and moved him to a different position so that he wouldn't kick Meng Qing's stomach when he turned over in the night.
"This kid is quite awkward. I hope he doesn't take after me." Du Li laughed. "I guess he does. I am a bit awkward, especially when I was a child."
Meng Qing chuckled softly, "You're only just realizing? He was like this when he was a kid."
"When?" Du Li forgot.
“There was a time when you stayed in Jiayufang for a long time. It must have been the year you delivered food to Lao San. You went back for a while, and when you came back, he pretended not to recognize you, but he was secretly watching you behind your back,” Meng Qing recalled.
Du Li remembered; there was such a thing.
"When are you going to tell him you're pregnant with your second child?" Du Li asked. "I'm afraid he'll be upset if I don't tell him today?"
“He shouldn’t be upset. You have a good relationship with the third brother, and I have a very good relationship with Meng Chun. His uncle and third uncle treat him very well, so he probably won’t reject his siblings. But he’s been acting strangely today, so we should all keep an eye on him,” Meng Qing explained. “I’ll talk to him when he’s willing to tell us whether he cried or not.”
Du Li felt a pang of sadness. "I only went back to that house when my mother was pregnant with our third child. If she had had the same feelings for me back then, I wouldn't have felt awkward for so many years. Luckily, Wang Zhou isn't me."
"Qingniang, let's go back to Luoyang and take Wangzhou with us," he suggested.
"Ask him before you leave, let him choose for himself," Meng Qing said.
"Alright then." Du Li closed her eyes. "Time to sleep."
Meng Qing slept too much in the afternoon and couldn't fall asleep. She lay with her eyes closed for a long time but couldn't feel sleepy. Her mind wandered and she suddenly wanted to eat bamboo rice. The more she thought about it, the less she could sleep, so she simply got up and secretly got out of bed to get dressed.
Du Li was awakened by the rustling noise. Still half asleep, he asked, "Going to the toilet? I'll go with you."
"No need, you go to sleep. No thieves will get into the government office, you don't need to keep me company," Meng Qing said softly.
Du Li thought it made sense, so he closed his eyes and fell asleep again.
When he woke up again, he felt around and found nothing beside him. He was startled and suddenly couldn't fall back asleep. Had the person who went to the outhouse gone? He quickly got up and ran out to look for someone. As soon as he went out, he heard a noise in the backyard. He went over and saw Wangzhou's horse blocking the kitchen. There was still light in the kitchen.
Upon closer inspection, Meng Qing was sitting by the stove, stuffing rice into bamboo tubes. There was a pile of bamboo on the stove, and knives and axes were all in use.
Du Li stood outside for a while, but the people inside were so busy that they didn't notice him at all. He yawned and left.
Just as Du Li went back to his room and lay down, Du Min came out again. He followed the noise to the backyard, looked around for a while, and then went back to his room.
When the rooster crowed for the second time, Meng Qing's bamboo rice was ready. She felt sleepy and yawned as she ate two to taste. She then fed three to the bluebird that had kept her company for most of the night. She closed the kitchen door, gathered her clothes, and went back to the front yard to sleep.
She entered the room, and Du Li woke up with a start. Smelling the aroma of rice, she asked, "Is your meal ready?"
"It's ready, you know? Do you want some?" Meng Qing took off her clothes and climbed onto the bed. "Fresh bamboo rice, the bamboo flavor is very strong, even the white rice is delicious."
“I’ll eat,” Wang Zhou suddenly interjected.
Meng Qing and Du Li both looked at him. "You're awake?"
"Um, I want to eat bamboo rice. What is bamboo rice?" Wang Zhou asked, rubbing his eyes.
Du Li sat up. "Don't get up, I'll go get it."
Du Min, who was sleeping next door, woke up when he heard the noise. He put on his clothes, opened the door, and went out. "Is the bamboo rice ready?"
"How did you know?" Meng Qing asked, puzzled. "It's steamed, and your second brother went to get it."
Upon hearing this, Du Min shrank back into the house. When Du Li brought over the bamboo rice, he took three to his bed to eat.
Wang Zhou, also wearing a padded jacket, leaned out and ate by the bedside.
Unaffected by them, Meng Qing lay down and fell asleep.
After finishing his meal, Wangzhou couldn't fall asleep and said, "Dad, I want to read."
Du Li: "...Go to sleep."
"I can't sleep." Wangzhou was wide awake. "Dad, go to the study and get me any book."
Du Li resigned himself to his fate. He went out to get a book. After getting the book, he lit a lamp for Wang Zhou. After finishing all that, he sat back in bed, but he couldn't fall asleep.
"Your mother tossed and turned for the first half of the night, and you tossed and turned for the second half." Du Li gritted her teeth as she tucked the blankets around the two people lying down and sitting on either side of her.
He listened to the boat but didn't dwell on it; his mind was already absorbed in the book.
After the rooster crowed three times, another hour passed and it was dawn. Du Li felt sleepy, so he dressed Wang Zhou, sent him out, and went back to bed.
Wang Zhou was preparing to go to school, and Du Min was also going to Beiman Mountain. The uncle and nephew met at the dinner table, and Du Min sighed, "We are the only two unfortunate people."
Wang Zhou picked up the bowl of soy milk and handed it to Du Min, who tacitly raised his bowl to clink with it. The uncle and nephew finished their bowls and went about their own business.
*
When the sun was high in the sky, Meng's mother arrived. Meng Qing was awakened by her loud voice. When he opened his eyes, he saw her sitting on the edge of the bed.
"Mother, why are you here?" Meng Qing closed her eyes again.
"Don't sleep anymore. If you sleep well during the day, you won't be able to sleep at night, and you'll be making food in the middle of the night, bothering everyone." Meng's mother patted her, "Get up quickly, get ready, and come to my place for dinner."
"Understood," Meng Qing replied.
Mencius' mother didn't leave. She lowered her voice and asked, "When you came back, did Wangzhou cry?"
"No." Meng Qing opened her eyes. "He cried when we weren't home?"
"He cried. When he came back from Luoyang with his uncle, he started crying as soon as it got dark. His uncle couldn't comfort him, so he took him to me in the middle of the night. He slept with me all night, and after that, he came to my place every day, wanting me to sleep with him. This went on for about half a month. Then his uncle coaxed him to move back home. He slept with me for one night, and then asked me to come and sleep with him again." Mother Meng chuckled, but at the same time, her heart ached. "When Wangzhou wanted me to sleep with him, I had a feeling that the bond between you, me, and him—the bond that comes from blood—cannot be broken by money or power."
“You treat him well, and I treat him well, that’s why he has this dependence.” Meng Qing sat up, smoothed her hair, and asked, “Later, Wangzhou got used to being away from us?”
"Yes, he sent me back ten days ago, saying he wanted to sleep alone," Meng's mother said. "After that, I asked him if he still cried at night, and he said he didn't anymore, but I don't know if he was telling the truth. Qingniang, you should go to Luoyang again and take Wangzhou with you."
"I'll ask him." Meng Qing got out of bed and got dressed.
Mencius' mother went home first.
After Wang Zhou finished school, Meng Qing and Du Li took him to the Meng family for lunch, and then they returned to the government office in the afternoon.
This continued for five days, and the last bit of awkwardness in Wang Zhou's heart disappeared. He resumed his spoiled and unreasonable behavior in front of Meng Qing and Du Li. When he was being spoiled and told to leave Luoyang and return to Heqing County, he cried terribly.
Meng Qing took the opportunity to ask him if he wanted to go back to Luoyang with her, but he shook his head again.
“We’re leaving, so don’t cry again,” Du Li said.
"So what if you cried? It's no big deal." Wang Zhou's skin thickened again. "Which child doesn't cry when separated from their parents? I'll stop crying after I cry a few more times."
"Are you really not going?" Meng Qing asked.
“No, I’m not going. I have my grandparents with me in Heqing County, as well as my third uncle, my classmates, and my little pony.” Wang Zhou counted on his fingers. “I’m still quite happy during the day.”
“That works too. We’ll be back by the end of the year.” Meng Qing also preferred that Wang Zhou stay with Du Min to continue his studies.
"Are you and my dad leaving again next year?" Wang Zhou asked.
"I probably won't be going on long trips again. I'm coming back to have my baby next year," Meng Qing said calmly.
Wang Zhou looked puzzled.
Meng Qing patted her belly, "The place you stayed seven years ago has another child moving in."
Wang Zhou exclaimed "Wow!" and silently repeated the sentence, instantly feeling a sense of closeness to this unseen and intangible child.
“He will be born next June,” Meng Qing added.
“I was born in March,” Wangzhou said. “Is he a younger brother or a younger sister?”
"I don't know." Meng Qing shook her head.
"I want an older sister, like you," Wang Zhou chuckled.
Meng Qingbai glanced at him.
"You're so greedy." Du Li also felt the urge to roll her eyes. "You have a mother like that, and you still want a sister like that?"
Wang Zhou walked over to Du Li, stood on tiptoe, and put his arm around his father's shoulder. "Okay, I want to be an older brother like you."
Du Li remained silent. He looked at Du Min, who had just walked in, and asked, "Third brother, what do you think of me as your second brother?"
Du Min was puzzled.
Du Li asked again.
"Third Uncle, I'll have a younger brother or sister next year," Wang Zhou announced. "You didn't know that, did you?"
"I don't know." Du Min congratulated Meng Qing, then looked at Du Li and answered seriously, "Your second brother is pretty good. Congratulations on becoming a father again."
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Author's note: Happy National Day! [heart emoji] [heart emoji]
See you tomorrow night at 8 PM
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