In the following days, Hu Zi had mixed feelings. He liked cooking, but he didn't like washing dishes and cleaning up, and he even less liked taking care of children.
An An, however, likes her brother very much. She smiles at him foolishly every day and reaches out for a hug.
Hu Zi played with him every day with a fierce face, so the first word An An learned was not "Dad" or "Mom", but "Brother".
When An An called him brother for the first time, Lu Shi's face became colder than before. He didn't expect that the child he raised would not call dad the first word.
After Hu Zi stopped going to school, the gap between him and Maomao gradually widened. Every time he went to play with Maomao, Maomao was busy doing homework, and sometimes she would share interesting things at school with him.
Hu Zi was envious and jealous at the same time. He felt that he had lost a good friend and that the two of them were no longer the same kind of people.
Gradually, Hu Zi no longer liked to go play with Maomao. One day, Maomao's classmates came to his house to play. Hu Zi heard their voices in the yard, and his heart flew away.
Seeing that Hu Zi looked dejected, Lu Shi took him to Maomao's house. Several children were playing hide-and-seek, and Hu Zi was eager to try and join in.
But his proposal was rejected by a kid named Ling Cong, who was very smart.
"We don't know you and we don't want to play with you."
At this time, Maomao came out and introduced:
"His name is Hu Zi, and he lives next to my house."
Although the other children were not happy, they still accepted Hu Zi for Maomao's sake.
However, when playing, everyone would always unconsciously exclude him, and Hu Zi would be absent-minded in playing.
Finally, Hu Zi had no choice but to return home in disgrace. He cried and complained to Lu Shi:
"Uncle Lu, they don't like me."
Lu Shi's expression did not change, and he said in a calm tone:
"That's normal. They don't know you, so they definitely don't want to play with you. They are all Maomao's friends, not yours. If you don't go to school, you won't have any interaction with them."
Hu Zi is only seven years old and cannot understand many things. He doesn't understand why his best friend Maomao also abandoned him.
Lu Shi analyzed word by word:
"Hu Zi, people change, just like the people you knew back home. They made new friends after you left. Even if you don't change, you can't expect others to wait for you in the same place."
Hu Zi didn't say anything, quietly thinking about what he said when he landed.
After Zhang Weifang came back, he added fuel to the fire:
"Huzi, it's okay. Maomao has new friends, and you can make some too. Many children in the village don't go to school. They work in the fields every day, so they should be able to play with you."
Hu Zi was still unhappy, but he also wanted to make new friends, so he suggested going back to his grandma's house to stay for a few days.
Zhang Weifang was overjoyed. Her goal was to let Hu Zi experience the true meaning of life.
Two days later, Lu Shi sent Hu Zi back to his hometown. Hu Zi was very happy and wanted to make friends.
Zhang Qiaona and Zhang Jiuyun both expressed warm welcome to Hu Zi's arrival.
Lu Shi didn't say much, just told Hu Zi not to want to go to school and let him stay at home for a few more days.
After leaving his parents' control, Hu Zi was sad for two seconds before he recovered. He was looking forward to the new life that was to come.
As a result, Hu Zi became disappointed after staying there for three days and cried and shouted that he wanted to go home.
In his hometown, not only did he have poor food and accommodation, he also didn't make any new friends. People of his age all went to school, and he could only play with the fourth child from Ruyi's family next door every day.
It’s a pity that I can’t play with him often and I have to help with housework.
His uncle and aunt were also in school, so during the day, only his grandma and grandpa were at home with him.
It was the weekend, and the kids were all on vacation. The kids from the neighborhood were very curious about Hu Zi, and they surrounded him and asked him all sorts of questions:
"Hey, Huzi, why don't you go to school?"
"Yeah, we all have to go to school."
"I know, I know. He has a stepfather at home and he definitely doesn't like him, so he doesn't let him go to school."
"Really? Is your stepfather good to you? What about your biological father?"
Faced with everyone's heart-wrenching questions, Hu Zi was so angry that he almost cried. He shouted loudly:
"No, Uncle Lu is very good to me. It's me who doesn't like going to school."
"Tsk, who knows what you're saying? Otherwise, I wouldn't let you go back to the village alone."
Hu Zi couldn't hold back his tears after all, and he ran back to his grandmother's house crying:
"Grandma, I want to go back home. Call my mom and ask her to pick me up."
After Zhang Qiaona found out the reason why Hu Zi was crying, she went straight to the house and scolded those people. However, more and more rumors spread about Hu Zi, and some even said that Zhang Weifang had abandoned Hu Zi.
Zhang Weiren now lives in the dormitory of the commune and only goes home occasionally when he has time. When he returns home and sees Hu Zi, he feels indescribable disappointment.
"Huzi, who said going to school is useless? My job, your mother's job, which one doesn't require a degree? If you don't go to school and others bully you, you'll just cry."
"If you go to school, you'll know what's right and what's wrong, and how to argue with others."
Zhang Weiren took out a few more tickets and asked Hu Zi to identify them, but unfortunately Hu Zi didn't recognize them at all.
"See? You can't even recognize the simplest bills now. You don't even know how much to pay when you go out to eat."
Zhang Weiren tried his best to persuade Hu Zi, hoping that he could understand the importance of studying. Hu Zi didn't know what to do for a moment.
He just wants to go home now, but unfortunately, Zhang Weifang did not give him this opportunity. Since he has returned to his hometown, he must experience rural life.
Hu Zi slowly followed his grandfather to learn how to weave baskets and heat the kang.
He is not needed for cooking at home because the food at home is cornmeal and whole grain flour, which he doesn't like to eat, and he doesn't know how to cook.
There was no meat to eat in his hometown, and Hu Zi had been craving meat for a long time. It was not until New Year's Day that he finally ate the meat he had been craving. Even though it was only added with salt and pepper, he thought it was very delicious.
After Hu Zi left home, Zhang Weifang was lost for a long time, but she did not take him back. This was the only chance she gave Hu Zi, and she hoped that Hu Zi could change.
Hu Zi has gradually adapted to life in his hometown, but he is more looking forward to returning home as soon as possible.
Even though his grandparents were very kind to him, Hu Zi still felt that he was being excluded, and it seemed that no one here welcomed him.
Especially his aunt Zhang Weifen, who asked him in a sarcastic tone every day if he was abandoned by his mother, which made Hu Zi feel very uncomfortable.
When Hu Zi is not at home, An An calls his brother at the front door every day, which makes Lu Shi so angry that he wants to beat him up.
An An learned to call her brother and mother, but she couldn't call him father, which made Lu Shi very distressed.
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