| TBBOTOF | 347
Although Wei Dong returned back alone, the house suddenly became lively.
Tang Xu was also able to focus on his tasks, mainly tending to the poultry and livestock in the backyard, as well as managing the vegetable patches in the front and back yards.
Wei Dong was strong. Every morning, he would push a cart up the mountain to chop firewood and cut grass, loading it full before hauling it back home.
The younger children loved following him outside, and within a few days, they had all tanned noticeably. Their bodies also became visibly stronger.
Especially Er Bao, this child truly took after Wei Dong. Though he is only a little over four years old, he was already a head taller than Xiao Bao.
Da Bao, seeing that his younger brother was bigger than him, was not happy about it. He didn’t say much, but at mealtimes, he would compete in eating. If he saw his brother finish his meal and put down his bowl, he would force himself to eat another half bowl.
Tang Xu scolded him twice, but the stubborn kid refused to listen. In the end, he ate so much that he got indigestion, suffered from a fever, vomiting, and had diarrhea for two days.
Only then did he finally come to terms with reality and accept the situation.
As the weather warmed up, the hens, ducks, and geese in the backyard began laying eggs, and the household supply of eggs increased.
Since there were many people at home and a number of workers helping out, the eggs were not sold this time. Instead, everyone got a boiled egg to eat every day.
The men helping build the house all said that working for the Wei family was especially satisfying, not only was there no bossy interference, but they also got to eat eggs daily.
Every couple of days, there was even a meat dish. Compared to other jobs where such treatment was unheard of, working here was a real pleasure.
Wei Dong entered from outside the gate, pulling a wooden cart loaded with grass. The long and short blades were loosely tied together, looking fresh and vibrant green.
Tang Xu was in the vegetable garden with a few children, pulling weeds. Hearing the commotion, he looked up and locked eyes with his man.
A smile unconsciously spread across his face. He tossed the weeds in his hand onto an empty patch of ground beside him, patted the dirt off his hands, and walked over. “Go wash up, I’ll start making lunch.”
Wei Dong had been out cutting grass since early morning. This was already his third trip back, and there was now more than enough to feed the poultry and livestock in the backyard.
“Alright.” Wei Dong nodded, glancing at the children with a soft expression. “They can now tell the difference between vegetables and weeds?”
“They can. They love pulling weeds now, even competing to see who can pull the most,” Tang Xu said, turning to look at the children before shifting his gaze back to Wei Dong. “You mentioned that you were going to buy people, when do you plan to go?”
The idea of buying people had been proposed by Wei Dong. On this trip back from Yongcheng, he brought news that the northern region had suffered both war and a harsh winter, forcing many to flee their homes.
Although the weather had warmed, countless people had already died from cold and starvation.
Some families, in order to survive, had no choice but to sell their children.
When Wei Dong was in Yongcheng, he had seen many people with straw markers stuck in their heads, signifying that they were selling themselves. At the time, he had bought two boys around thirteen or fourteen years old and left them there.
Three days ago, when he was delivering liquor to the town’s tavern, he noticed that human traffickers had brought in a large number of people for sale. That made him consider buying a few more.
There were too few strong laborers at home. When he was around, things were manageable, but if he had to leave, Tang Xu and the two hired hands alone wouldn’t be able to handle all the work in and around the house.
So, after discussing it with Tang Xu, they decided to buy a few more people.
“I’ll drive the cart to town this afternoon to take a look. Do you want to come?” Wei Dong asked.
Tang Xu was actually quite tempted. He hadn’t gone out for a long time. Most days, he was tied down by the younger children, and he also had to check on the construction site from time to time.
Hearing his man’s question, he was a little moved.
But after thinking it over, he shook his head and said, “If both of us go, the three little ones will definitely want to follow. It’s better if I stay.”
Wei Dong frowned slightly, he didn’t want his husband to be so overworked.
“Have them stay home and practice writing and reciting. The Tongsheng exam is next month; they can’t just play around every day.”
Tang Xu was stunned for a moment, instinctively calculating the ages of his three children in his head.
“……” Letting a four and five year old take the Tongsheng exam? Putting aside whether they could even pass, how could their father say it with such confidence?
Seeing him stay silent, Wei Dong reached out and poked his soft cheek, smiling. “What’s wrong?”
“Listen to yourself, chubby—no, Da Bao is only five years old! Why would he take the Tongsheng exam? At their age, they should be playing happily. There’s no need to push them so hard with studying,” Tang Xu objected.
Wei Dong raised an eyebrow and placed a broad hand on his head, gently pressing down. “Don’t get so worked up, you look like you’re about to pounce and take a bite out of me.”
Tang Xu glared at him, but he was indeed a little tempted.
Mostly, it was because in the past two years, the restaurant in town would regularly send people over to deliver spice packets, and along with them, silver.
Since he was a homebody by nature, and there was never a shortage of food or drink at home, he had little motivation to go out.
Wei Dong understood him well. Tang Xu spent most of his time at home with the children, while Wei Dong was often away for months at a time.
Even when he was home, he was either busy handling family matters or stuck inside during the cold winter months.
So, even though Tang Xu had just refused, Wei Dong still wanted to take him out for a bit.
Thinking of this, Wei Dong said, “Then let’s just take them with us. They’re easier to manage now and won’t run around recklessly. A trip out would be a good way to relax.”
“Alright!” Tang Xu agreed.
But to his surprise, after lunch, none of the children wanted to go.
“Why don’t you want to go?” Tang Xu asked in confusion. At their age, shouldn’t they love going out to run around?
Xiao Bao cupped his chubby cheeks and spoke softly, “Rabbit~”
Rabbit?
Tang Xu turned to his second son. “What about the rabbits?”
“We need to change the hay in their nest, and we still have to bathe Fat Cat,” Er Bao explained.
Then he reached over, grabbed Xiao Bao’s bowl, and quickly finished the remaining half-bowl of rice in a few bites. Wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, he added, “Dad, you can go with Father.”
Tang Xu's eyelid twitched, and he turned to Dabao. "What about you? You don’t want to go either?"
Da Bao sighed, spreading his hands with an exaggerated expression, even furrowing his brows slightly. "Master told me to memorize my lessons. There's a test tonight. I do want to go! But, Dad, can you buy me a sugar figurine? I want a tiger."
"I want a rabbit!" Er Bao chimed in immediately.
"I want Sun Wukong!" Xiao Bao added enthusiastically.
Tang Xu nodded before looking at Sun Yang. "What about you? Are you coming with us to town, or staying home?"
"I'll stay and watch over my younger brothers." Sun Yang smiled at Tang Xu. "I'll help Er Bao change the rabbit’s bedding."
Tang Xu ruffled his hair. "What kind of sugar figurine do you want?"
Sun Yang thought for a moment before replying, "An eagle. I saw one in the sky the other day."
Tang Xu was surprised. "In the sky? You actually saw one?"
They lived near the mountains, but he had never spotted an eagle before.
Sun Yang nodded. "It flew so high! But in just a moment, it was gone."
Tang Xu didn’t think much of it and turned to Yue Ge’er. “What about you? What do you want?”
Yue Ge’er hadn’t expected that he could also get a sugar figurine, so he quickly said, “Anything’s fine.”
“Alright, I’ll get something for you then.” Tang Xu smiled at him, and not wanting to dwell on it further, he added, “You all finish eating, then go wash up. After that, take a nap. No running around, and no going near the mountain, understood?”
“Got it, Dad!”
3 Comments
Thanks for the chapter! Suspicious...
ReplyDeleteThank you for the chapter!!!
ReplyDeleteThank you!
ReplyDeletePost a Comment