The Beautiful Brother of the Orion’s Family (Wearing Book) - 352

 

| TBBOTOF | 352

“Dad! What’s that?”

“Dad! Can this be eaten?”

“Dad! Look, I caught a bug!”

“Dad, look at me, look at me! Look at this rock~”

“Dad! This flower is for you to wear!”

“Dad! Dad! Daaaad…”

“Uncle, my dad said this can be eaten, so I picked a lot.”

“Uncle, look, did I pick this one right?”

“Dad, look at me!”

Tang Xu was surrounded by a bunch of little kids chirping noisily, and he was getting a serious headache. Since going up the mountain, he hadn’t even had a chance to pick wild vegetables—he was too busy answering all their endless questions.

More than half an hour had passed, and aside from the various mushrooms the kids had tossed into his basket, there was only a small handful of mugwort he had casually picked.

Finding a fallen tree trunk, Tang Xu let out a heavy sigh.

Wei Dong saw how exhausted he looked and handed him a bamboo flask of water, teasing slightly, “Tired?”

Tang Xu lifted his eyelids, shot him a glare, gave a light snort, and lowered his head to drink the water.

“Dad!” Da Bao ran back, his face dripping with sweat and streaked with dirt and grime.

Tang Xu looked at him with distaste and took out a cloth to wipe his face.

Da Bao’s cheeks were flushed red, his eyes bright and shiny. He lifted his hand and pointed excitedly, shouting, “Er Bao climbed a tree to get bird eggs!”

Tang Xu froze for a moment, then suddenly shot to his feet. The bamboo flask in his hand shook violently, spilling some water.

“Er Bao!”

His eyes searched around and soon landed on his second son, who was hugging a tree trunk and climbing up not far away. Beneath the tree, a few other kids were looking up with their arms outstretched, watching nervously.

Tang Xu felt dizzy and panicked, immediately striding over.

Wei Dong grabbed him in time. Tang Xu turned and glared at him. “What are you doing? Let go! Why are you pulling me? Hurry and get Er Bao down!”

Even as they were speaking, Er Bao, agile as a little monkey, had already climbed quite a bit higher, now close to the bird’s nest.

Tang Xu's heart was in his throat. He didn’t even dare to shout, fearing he might startle his son and cause him to fall. He quickly walked over and tilted his head up to look at the tree trunk Er Bao was stepping on, it was fairly thick, at least.

He thought to himself that once the kid came down, he’d have to give him a good scolding for doing something so dangerous the moment he wasn’t being watched.

Wei Dong came over too, though he didn’t seem particularly worried. In his mind, boys climbing trees was totally normal, he used to climb higher than Er Bao when he was a kid.

Er Bao straddled the tree trunk, peering toward the bird’s nest. He originally intended to grab a couple of eggs if there were any inside, but when he looked, he found it completely empty.

Er Bao pouted and called down, “No eggs!”

“If there’s nothing, get down right now!” Tang Xu waved him down.

Er Bao blinked his eyes and grinned with a silly little smile. His chubby cheeks puffed up as he looked down at his dad.

Tang Xu squinted slightly, furrowing his brow as he asked, “You can’t get down, can you?”

Er Bao nodded honestly and said in a soft, sticky voice, “Daddy, I’m scared~”

Tang Xu facepalmed and turned to look at Wei Dong. “Hurry up and get him down.”

Wei Dong glared at his cowardly son, took two steps forward to stand under the tree, raised his arms, and said just one word: “Jump.”

Tang Xu’s eyes shifted between the two, estimating the distance, it had to be at least three meters.

“Er Bao, slow down. Sit down first and scoot forward a bit, don’t be scared.” Tang Xu nervously instructed him.

Er Bao blinked his big eyes that looked so much like Wei Dong’s. He had been a little afraid at first, but the moment he saw his father under the tree with arms raised, ready to catch him, all fear disappeared.

 His eyes even sparkled with excitement, he looked like he couldn’t wait to jump.

Don’t be fooled by how little time Wei Dong usually spent with the kids; he knew his second son’s personality better than anyone. After all, the boy was just like him as a child—pure mischief. 

The moment he saw him blink like that, he smiled, raised an eyebrow, and said, “Jump already. Quit dawdling or we’re leaving you behind.”

Er Bao grinned widely, crouched down, and leapt straight off the tree, shouting as he jumped, “Waaah~!”

Tang Xu’s heart practically leapt out of his chest, but when he saw Wei Dong catch the boy steadily and securely, it finally settled back down.

Then he rolled up his sleeves, raised his hand, and gave Er Bao a good smack on the butt. “You little rascal! Why don’t you plan to fly next? Are you asking for death climbing up like that?!”

Er Bao clung to his father’s neck. The smacks on his butt didn’t hurt at all, he didn’t even flinch. Instead, he pouted and looked at his dad, mumbling, “There was a bird’s nest!”

“There are bird nests everywhere! What, you think you should take a look at every single one you see? I’m telling you, Wei Junzhu, if I ever catch you climbing trees to find nests again, I’ll break your legs!” Tang Xu stood there, hands on hips, glaring at him, heart still pounding with fear. 

Thank goodness Wei Dong caught him, if not, who knows how he would’ve gotten down?

The more he thought about it, the angrier he got. He smacked Er Bao’s butt twice more.

After getting smacked twice, Er Bao threw his head back and burst into loud sobs.

It didn’t even hurt, Tang Xu hadn’t used any force!

“Waaahh~ Father, father, daddy hit me… it hurts~~” Er Bao cried so heartbreakingly, tears rolling down his cheeks.

Tang Xu quickly rubbed his little butt. “I didn’t even hit you hard, did it really hurt?”

Er Bao pouted and whimpered pitifully.

Tang Xu glared at him. “Are you still going to do it again next time?!”

Er Bao sobbed and mumbled that he wouldn’t, but his face said otherwise.

Tang Xu sighed, then turned to the other kids nearby. His eyebrows drew together. “If any of you dare climb trees like Er Bao, I will definitely spank you if I catch you!"

The kids all shook their heads quickly, making it very clear they wouldn’t dare, at least not climb that high.

After that little episode, Tang Xu realized that what he thought would be a fun parent-child outing to pick wild herbs had turned into a big headache.

But since they were already up the mountain, it would be a waste to go back without picking anything. So he simply turned to Wei Dong and said, “You watch the kids. I’ll go over there and dig. On the way here I spotted a patch of mugwort, I'll grab some and we’ll steam some buns with it tonight.”

Wei Dong nodded and turned to pick up the basket from the ground, handing it to Tang Xu. “I’ll take the kids over there, there are some wild apricots. We’ll pick a few to take back.”

Wild apricots were small and sour, but the kernels inside, once cracked open and dried, could be used in traditional medicine. Old Wen had mentioned it before and told them to gather more whenever they saw any on the mountain.

Tang Xu nodded, then waved at Xiao Nuan. “Xiao Nuan, come with me to dig wild veggies. Let your brothers go pick apricots, okay?”

Xiao Nuan nodded obediently and ran over to Tang Xu’s side, looking up at him with a big smile.

That sweet smile from the little girl made Tang Xu’s heart go all soft. He stroked her dry, yellowing hair, thinking he really needed to improve her nutrition soon.

Holding her small, soft hand, Tang Xu turned and led her toward the small slope nearby.

Er Bao had already gotten down from his father’s arms by then. He stood on tiptoe to peek into the basket and, seeing it already had some mushrooms, scratched his face, turned, and took off running.

Wei Dong didn’t call him back. He figured he wouldn’t get lost. His son was smart enough, no matter what else he said.

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TL: Thanks again Chubbiest Cheeks! I didn’t think there would be another update this month lol ( ´ ▽ ` )