The Beautiful Brother of the Orion’s Family (Wearing Book) - 230

 

| TBBOTOF | 230

At the Wei family,

With one hand supporting his chin, he slightly furrowed his brows, looking like he was deep in thought.

When it comes to bathing, he could only use a damp towel to wipe the children down. Right now, Xu Ze was preparing to undress the kids. If it weren't for them running around energetically every day, they actually wouldn't need to bathe daily in the winter; washing once every few days would be enough.

Xiao Bao had already finished bathing and was sitting on the edge of the bed, swinging his legs and obediently letting his hair dry.

This bronze heater was bought by Wei Dong from the county. He purchased over ten of them and gave one to each family member. It could be filled with charcoal, and it had a thick cotton cover on the outside. It could be held in the arms or placed in the bed. 

However, since their heated kang was warm enough, they didn't need it for sleeping at night, but it did come in handy for keeping warm when going out.

The chubby boy looked at one person, then at the other, and sighed.

Xu Ze had just finished wiping down Er Bao’s long legs. When he turned his head, he saw the chubby boy sitting there sighing repeatedly.

He put the cloth back in the basin, washed it, and then wrung it out.

"What’s wrong? Your dad just left, do you miss him already?" he asked with a smile.

The chubby boy smacked his lips, stared at him for a while, then suddenly asked, completely off-topic, "Brother Ze, are you getting married?"

What does it mean to be stunned by unexpected words?

That's exactly it. Luckily, Xu Ze had already finished wiping Er Bao's body; otherwise, with that one question, he might have scrubbed Er Bao's skin red.

Er Bao, wrapped in a blanket, rolled around on the bed, kicking his legs to refuse Xu Ze's attempt to dress him.

He could dress himself!

After recovering from his surprise at the chubby boy's question, Xu Ze quickly shook his head and said, "No, no, I'm still young. There's no way I'd get married so early. Besides, who would I marry?"

He hardly ever leaves the house, so where would the rumor about him getting married even come from?

Liu Ge'er smiled and asked the chubby boy, "Who told you that?"

The chubby boy rubbed his chin, starting to think deeply, trying to remember.

Xu Ze and Liu Ge'er exchanged a glance, and they both saw the amusement in each other's eyes.

Xiao Bao's hair was already half-dry, and after letting it air out a bit longer, it would be completely dry. Liu Ge'er put away the bronze hand warmer, tied up his hair, and then picked up a small round box nearby. 

Inside was baby oil that Tang Xu made himself using sheep fat and various fresh flowers. It didn't have any unpleasant smell at all; instead, it had a hint of floral fragrance. They usually used it to apply to the children's faces to prevent their skin from chapping in the cold winter wind.

At first, Tang Xu used to buy facial oils from the rouge and powder shop in town, but he later found them unsatisfactory and expensive, so he started making his own sheep fat oil. He had dabbled in this before, making all-natural sheep fat soap and sheep fat face cream, with simple ingredients that caused no side effects.

Since the children came along, he had always used this on them. He made quite a lot, enough so that everyone in the family practically had their own supply.

However, it seemed like only Tang Xu and the children used it daily; the rest of the family only remembered to apply it when their hands or faces got chapped, and then once their skin healed, they would forget about it again.

Xiao Bao loved this face oil. He enjoyed the fragrance and used his little hands to rub it all over his face. After he was done, he lifted his face to show Liu Ge'er proudly.

Liu Ge'er gently touched his face, which was smooth and soft, so tender.

Just then, after being silent for a long time, the chubby boy suddenly clapped his little hands with a loud "pop."

Everyone in the room was drawn to the chubby boy's sudden sound and turned their heads to look.

The chubby boy raised his little hand and pointed at Xu Ze, then said in his cute, childish voice, "Brother Ze, just now my father said to tell you that if Brother Zhao Ming likes you, he should tell you!"

Liu Ge'er was stunned and turned to look at Xu Ze.

Xu Ze had a bewildered expression, "Huh?"

The chubby boy put his hands on his cheeks and clearly repeated, "Father just asked Brother Zhao Ming if he likes you. If he does, then he should tell you. But Brother Zhao Ming said no, he said you're only ten years old and you probably haven't thought that much about it."

Xu Ze's face turned bright red, and his eyes started to wander.

Liu Ge'er couldn't help but laugh and said to Xu Ze, "Ze Ge'er, are you familiar with Zhao Ming?" 

Even as he asked, he felt a bit unsure himself, since they all lived under the same roof. They might see each other often enough to exchange greetings, but they hadn't really interacted much.

Xu Ze, with his face still flushed, thought carefully, then shook his head, and then nodded again, looking conflicted.

Liu Ge'er looked at him in confusion, "What do you mean?"

"Usually, we don't talk much," Xu Ze replied. "But when I'm fetching water, he helps me carry the bucket sometimes, and if I’m bringing in firewood, he lends a hand too. Other than that, there's not much else." Xu Ze rubbed his slightly warm cheeks, feeling that he didn't quite understand matters of love and relationships.

He really was still young, and talking about these things seemed a bit too early for him.

"I don't know what Brother Dong is thinking, talking to Zhao Ming about these things. It's not like I'm in a rush to get married," Xu Ze said, pouting, a mix of embarrassment and annoyance on his face.

Liu Ge'er tilted his head and thought for a moment before saying, "He probably just asked casually, don't think too much about it."

The chubby boy also nodded, "Brother Zhao Ming told my father to stop talking about it, so my dad stopped."

Xu Ze frowned, pinching the chubby boy's cheek, and asked through gritted teeth, "Your father already stopped talking about it, so why did you tell me?"

"Well, I thought it wouldn't be right to keep it from you. My dad says we should be good children who say whatever needs to be said," the chubby boy replied, rubbing his cheek and giving Xu Ze a big grin.

Xu Ze thought to himself that the boy had misunderstood his dad's words completely.

The chubby boy blinked and then asked him, "Brother Ze, so what do you think?"

"I’m not thinking anything! Now hurry up and wash your feet. Your dad said I have to get you all to sleep!"

"It's too early! I can't sleep! Tell us a story!" The chubby boy threw himself onto Xu Ze, wrapping his arms around his neck and shaking him.

Xu Ze was almost knocked over by the boy’s sudden leap. He steadied him, thought for a moment, and then shook his head, "I’m not good at telling stories. How about I call your uncle Xi for you? He's good at it."

"Okay! Uncle Xi tells great stories!" the chubby boy nodded eagerly.

Xiao Bao crawled down from the bed and made his way over to his older brother, pressing down on the chubby boy.

The chubby boy giggled and hugged him tightly.

The two brothers rolled around in a heap, and when Er Bao saw them, he jumped in too, bare-bottomed.

Liu Ge'er stood nearby, making sure they didn’t roll off onto the floor, but he didn’t separate them.

Meanwhile, Xu Ze went to call Wei Xi, who, at that moment, was still in the study with Tang Yang, memorizing their lessons. Earlier that morning, Old Sun had given them a lecture. 

When Xu Ze brought some pastries and flower tea to the study, he overheard a bit of the lesson, though it left him completely confused. However, the two boys were listening intently.

…

Elsewhere, Tang Xu knocked on the door of the Tang family’s old residence.

Although it was already dark outside, it was still only the hour of Xu (around 19:00), so the family members were likely still awake.

As expected, soon there was a sound from the courtyard, and Luo Pingping came out wrapped in a thick cotton jacket.

"Who is it? Who's knocking on the door at this hour instead of going to bed!"

"It's me, Auntie! Open the door!" Tang Xu called out loudly.

As soon as Luo Pingping heard that it was Tang Xu, her initial irritation vanished instantly, and she cheerfully responded, "Coming, coming~~~"

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