| TBBOTOF | 297
Wei Dong took Liu Yao up the mountain for three days to pick fruit, bringing all of it back. They also ended up cleaning up the surrounding area.
Tang Xu even cracked apricot kernels.
The chubby kid walked at a leisurely pace, but Er Bao also followed them up the mountain. He was stronger than his brother. Although he was exhausted, he managed to keep up without complaint.
For a while, the chubby boy was quite dejected about not being able to jump around like a monkey. But eventually, he recovered, running up and down the hillside in the backyard every day, full of energy.
Four-and-a-half-year-old Wei Junsong had already learned how to figure things out on his own.
Er Bao had grown taller than his brother. He was growing to look just like Wei Dong, almost a mirror image of him in physique and appearance.
Xiao Bao, on the other hand, took after Tang Xu. He was small and delicate, with strikingly beautiful features.
As for the chubby boy, the couple’s first child, he was a blend of both parents’ features. Though not as tall and strong as Er Bao, he was still robust and not short.
His face was refined and handsome, and even at his young age, you could tell he was going to be very good-looking when he grew up.
Of course, the three children had distinct personalities.
As Old Sun put it, the chubby boy had a clever and discerning mind. Da Bao was smart, and Er Bao was straightforward and honest but not foolish—he had his own wits about him.
Xiao Bao, meanwhile, was delicate and soft-spoken but firm in his convictions.
In summary, despite their young age, these three little ones were not easy to fool.
Speaking of this, there’s another story. A while back, when the weather was nicer and not as hot, a few men from the same village who were building houses nearby had their wives bring their children over to watch the excitement.
Some came to look for other work opportunities, while others had heard there was an elder here who taught children to read and write, and came to inquire.
Tang Xu's three kids usually didn’t play much with other children outside. They mostly stayed at home to play around, and even when they went out, it was usually riding on a mule cart with the adults.
So, when they saw the visiting children, they found it quite exciting.
Er Bao, being the social one, joined in the fun and dragged his older and younger brothers to the new house, shouting about wanting to make new friends.
Tang Xu’s parenting style was essentially hands-off. As long as the kids weren’t doing anything dangerous, he didn’t intervene.
So, when the three kids ran off, he didn’t say anything.
Sun Yang saw this and, after greeting Tang Mei, decided to follow along.
At first, the ten or so kids played well together. Er Bao brought out quite a few wooden toys that Wei Dong had made for him. However, some of the kids seemed to like the toys so much that they didn’t want to give them back to Er Bao.
At that moment, Er Bao was furious and went over to snatch the toys back from the other kids.
Though young, Er Bao was much taller and sturdier than other children his age—even those two or three years older couldn’t match his height.
With all the grabbing and tugging, things escalated, and since Er Bao wasn’t the type to back down, he swung his fist and started hitting.
Of course, the chubby kid and Sun Yang weren’t about to stand by and watch their younger brother get bullied, so they jumped in to help.
The situation quickly spiraled out of control, turning from a few kids fighting over toys into a full-on brawl among ten or so children.
Xiao Bao stood off to the side, cheering and rooting for his brothers. Though his voice wasn’t loud, his excitedly waving fists made it clear how invested he was.
Usually, the adults wouldn’t intervene in such scuffles since they were common occurrences.
But Er Bao was too strong—his punches were heavy, and after a few swings, he had the other kids crying.
At that point, the adults couldn’t just stand by and rushed in to break up the fight.
Seeing some of the crying children being pulled back by their parents, Xiao Bao quickly ran over to grab Er Bao’s hand, tugging at him and saying, “Brother, let’s go~”
Er Bao huffed and glared at the wailing children one last time before shaking off Xiao Bao’s hand and running off.
The chubby kid saw his younger brother running off and quickly turned to Sun Yang. "Brother Yang, let’s run too!"
Sun Yang was stunned for a moment but then nodded. "Run!"
With that, he grabbed the chubby kid and Xiao Bao by the hands and took off.
Luckily, their house wasn’t far, so it didn’t take long to get back. They slipped in through the back door only to find Er Bao already holding onto Tang Xu’s hand, complaining.
But perhaps because he was too worked up, Er Bao’s words came out jumbled and stammering.
“They took! Fought! Fighting!”
Tang Xu frowned as he listened, bent down to brush the dirt off Er Bao’s clothes, and asked curiously, “What did they take? Who hit you? Did you hit them back?”
“The pony! They took the pony!” Er Bao huffed and pouted.
Just then, Xiao Bao came running over, hugged Tang Xu’s leg, and looked up at him with wide eyes. “We were playing! Brother let them play with the pony, but they tried to take it, so Er Bao snatched it back, and then they hit Brother!”
Tang Xu raised an eyebrow and examined Xiao Bao’s clean, tidy clothes. “You didn’t fight back?”
Xiao Bao shook his head firmly, puffing out his cheeks. “They’re bad!”
Tang Xu nodded slightly and then turned to look at Sun Yang and his eldest son.
Sun Yang felt a little uneasy, worried that he might be scolded for the fight.
The chubby boy’s eyes darted around, and he leaned in to help clarify the situation, speaking with remarkable clarity.
"...Not only did they take Er Bao's pony, but they even tried to touch Xiao Bao's face. Brother Yang stopped them several times! But they wouldn’t listen and kept trying to touch Xiao Bao, and Xiao Bao didn’t want it!"
After finishing, the chubby boy looked up at Tang Xu, his eyes full of anticipation. "Dad, this isn’t Er Bao’s fault, nor is it ours. They started it first!"
Tang Xu sighed and asked, "Did you get hurt?"
The chubby boy shook his head. "No!"
Tang Xu waved his hand. "Alright, go wash up and change your clothes."
Sun Yang looked down at the dirt on his clothes and quickly brushed it off. He then asked, "Uncle, aren’t you going to say anything?"
Tang Xu shook his head. "What's there to say? You’re not hurt. Go on now, take them both and get cleaned up."
He then turned around and waved at Xiao Bao, saying, "Come on, let's go over there and see. We need to get your brother's toys back."
Xiao Bao obediently held Tang Xu's hand, then turned to wave at his two brothers. "Go get the toys!"
Er Bao, a little embarrassed, remembered he had been so focused on complaining that he’d forgotten to retrieve the wooden toys.
When they arrived, they saw that the children who had been crying earlier were already calmed down, each holding one of Er Bao’s wooden toys.
Xiao Bao shook Tang Xu's hand excitedly and pointed at the kids. "Those are all Brother’s toys! Don’t let them play with them!"
Tang Xu looked down at him and smiled. "Then you go help your brother get them back."
Xiao Bao blinked, a little hesitant.
Tang Xu crouched down and gently rubbed his cheek. "Go ahead. I believe you can do it."
Xiao Bao snuggled closer to Tang Xu, looking a bit scared.
Seeing his fearful expression, Tang Xu thought for a moment and then nodded. "Alright, we’ll go together. You’ll be in charge of getting the toys back, and I’ll stay by your side."
Xiao Bao considered it for a moment, then nodded in agreement.
Tang Xu glanced around and noticed a cloth bag tossed aside, probably the one Er Bao had used to carry his toys. He picked it up, patted it, and then raised an eyebrow at Xiao Bao.
Xiao Bao pursed his lips and ran up to the little boy who was being held by a woman. He pointed at the wooden pony in the boy's hand. "That’s my brother’s toy, give it back."
The little boy, still with tear stains on his face and dirt all over his clothes, paused when he heard Xiao Bao speaking to him. He clutched the pony tightly and hesitated, "I really like this... can you give it to me?"
Xiao Bao shook his head and reached out his hand. "No, it’s my brother’s!"
A few other boys, watching the exchange, glanced at Tang Xu and then at the wooden pony in their hands. They really wanted it, but since the adults were around, they felt it wouldn’t be proper to just snatch it.
One boy, who hadn’t been involved in the earlier scuffle and had played with Xiao Bao quite a bit, approached him and softly asked, "I really like it... can I borrow it? I’ll return it to you in a few days."
Xiao Bao shook his head again. "No, it’s my brother’s!"
The boy thought for a moment and then asked, "Well, do you have a pony?"
Xiao Bao nodded, "I do."
"Then can you lend me yours?" the boy asked with a smile.
Xiao Bao shook his head firmly. "No."
The boy pouted, clearly disappointed. With a little huff, he threw the wooden pony at Xiao Bao and sulked.
Xiao Bao ran over, handing the wooden pony to Tang Xu, then turned back to ask the other children for theirs.
Every time one of the kids returned a toy, another would do the same. Although the children were reluctant, none of them refused.
Throughout the entire process, Tang Xu and the women didn’t intervene at all, leaving the children to sort it out among themselves.
There might be some gossip from a few of the people afterward, but Tang Xu didn’t mind—after all, the goal had been achieved.
Once they returned home, Xiao Bao proudly handed the cloth bag to Er Bao, lifting his little chin and saying, "I got all of them!"
Er Bao immediately rushed over to hug his younger brother, rubbing his face against his and praising, "Xiao Bao is amazing!"
Xiao Bao hummed proudly, "Of course! I’m awesome!"
Afterward, Tang Xu took the three children into the vegetable garden to catch bugs for about half an hour.
As the rain began to fall, everyone quickly gathered the bamboo trays they had been drying and moved them under the eaves to keep them from getting wet.
Fortunately, the rain wasn’t heavy—just a light drizzle—that made the air feel much cooler.
"Let’s have hot pot for dinner tonight," Tang Xu suddenly suggested.
Tang Mei and Tang Li both paused, then looked at him. Tang Mei exclaimed in surprise, "Hot pot in this heat?"
"It’s raining, and the wind will blow through the front and back windows, so it won’t be hot. It’s been a while since we’ve had it, and I’m craving it," Tang Xu said, already salivating at the thought. "It’s settled then. Ah Li, go to the ice cellar and get some lamb and beef. Cousin, you cut the sauerkraut into strips. Go ask Ah Dong to start the charcoal."
Normally, they used large firewood to cook, and the charcoal was saved for hot pot meals.
Tang Xu also needed to slaughter a hen to make broth and slice the meat. Suddenly, he felt overwhelmed with tasks.
The whole family sweated through the meal, but everyone was thoroughly satisfied, especially the three old elders, who were so content that their eyes were nearly closed.
After dinner, the rain finally let up. The sky hadn’t darkened yet, and the air was fresh with a distinct earthy scent.
Tang Xu didn’t bother with the cleanup; instead, he grabbed Wei Dong and headed out.
"What are they up to?" Liu Yao asked curiously, tilting his head at Tang Li.
Tang Li shook her head, placing the dishes into a large basin. "Why do you care so much? By the way, you and my brother-in-law were out the whole day. What did you two do?"
Recently, Liu Yao had been spending most of his time running around with Wei Dong, hardly staying at home.
"We went up the mountain," Liu Yao said with a grin, "Today, I was learning from my brother-in-law how to use a slingshot to hunt wild pheasant."
Tang Li stared at him for a while before asking, "Where is the pheasant? Did you catch one?”
Liu Yao chuckled awkwardly. Of course, they didn’t catch any. Neither he nor Wei Dong had any luck.
But they’d made a plan to try again tomorrow!
The more he tried, the braver he became!
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