Chapter 143

Liu Tong was tired of eating eggs and chicken. He didn’t even want to drink the chicken soup and firmly refused anything related to the chicken.

Any food would end like this actually. People could still feel fresh after eating it once or twice. However, if they ate a certain food continuously for more than half a month, it began to cloy. Xu Ran understood all this, so he didn’t force Liu Tong to go on eating them.

Instead, he let Shao Yu prepare more vegetables for Liu Tong, and occasionally he could also serve him some pickled radish, which was appetizing.

Liu Tong felt that Xu Ran had been feeding him like a pig since he was pregnant, and he was getting fatter and fatter. It was clearly seen from the fact that his belly was still like a barrel even after his giving birth.

Liu Tong was very dissatisfied with himself. Being so fat now, he even felt walking very tiring. Xu Ran, however, was pleased. Liu Tong’s waist was now soft and fleshy. Xu Ran looked forward to the days after Liu Tong’s potpartum confinement. He dreamed of the moment when only two of them were together.

That day when Liu Tong was eating, Xu Ran sat beside him with little Baozi in his arms and asked him when Qingshu was born.

Liu Tong smiled, “You still don’t know about it? Didn’t Zhuo Yun tell you? Qingshu was born on the 10th of September, and on the twentieth of this month he will be a hundred days old. ”

“The twentieth!” Xu Ran looked a little worried.

Liu Tong asked him, “What’s the matter? Are you busy on the 20th?”

Xu Ran shook his head, “No. But Lin Hua and the others may came over that day. I will not be home if I’m going to Zhuo Yun’s house that day. All right. When they come, let Shao Yu keep them and arrange a room for them to stay first. I’ll see them when I come back at night. And they can leave the next morning.”

“All right.” Liu Tong nodded, “I will tell Shao Yu about this.”

“You eat first. I’ll take little Baozi outside for some fresh air. He hasn’t gone out for a whole day,” Xu Ran said and got up with little Baozi.

“Then be careful. Don’t let him catch cold,” Liu Tong reminded him.

“Got it.” Xu Ran closed the door after he went out. Then, with little Baozi in his arms, he wandered around in the yard twice before going to Tangtang and Guoguo’s room.

Both Tangtang and Guoguo now had two more things to do every day. Every morning after they got up, they would first visit their brother, and they would visit him again before going to bed at night.

With time passing by, Baozi looked kinda like Xu Ran. Because he had ewe’s milk and was taken good care of, he was chubby and well-nourished. It was now less than a month since he was born, but he had grown one or two jin.

Both Tangtang and Guoguo had planned to visit little Baozi after practicing calligraphy. They didn’t expect that Xu Ran would come with little Baozi. They were very excited.

They lay prone on the bed, coaxing and amusing little Baozi.

Xu Ran just went to check on their homework.

Xu Ran had taught the two children to recognize Arabic numerals and Pinyin（the Chinese phonetic alphabet), but he also told them that they could only learn these when they were at home. In the future, they could use these words to record their personal matters. In this way, it would be easier to explain their behavior even if they were found by others.

Although both Tangtang and Guoguo did not understand why they could not let others know about it, they still nodded obediently. Thus they would only learn Arabic numerals and Pinyin in the evening.

These numerals and Pinyin were all quite simple to write, but to read them out was quite difficult.

Xu Ran actually taught them these only after little Baozi was born. Seeing the words on the paper today, Xu Ran felt that it was about time to teach them more, so he asked them two, “Tangtang and Guoguo, can you write all the numbers and Pinyin out?”

Guoguo was amusing his little brother and ignored Xu Ran. Tangtang got up and replied, “Dad, we can write them now, but we can’t read them well. When will you teach us?”

Xu Ran noticed when Tangtang said this, Guoguo pouted. It seemed that he didn’t want to go on with the learning.

“I think you guys have practiced quite well. I’ll start teaching you how to read tomorrow. Didn’t you guys want to follow Uncle Gao Quan to the mountain recently? You can practice reading on the mountain there. It’s not safe for you to read at home because there are some visitors coming home from time to time. Remember not to let others know about this, or Dad will be in trouble.”

Xu Ran looked serious when he was speaking. Tangtang listened very carefully. Guoguo also turned to Xu Ran and replied, “Dad, I got it.”

“Well, it’s cold now. You guys should sleep early. I’m going back with Baozi .”

“Okay, bye, Dad,” the two children took off their clothes and got into the quilt while waving to Xu Ran.

Xu Ran felt Baozi waving his little hand, too. He closed the door for the two kids before returning to his room.

When he went back, Xu Ran found that their bedroom door was closed. Then he lifted the curtain from the window and found that Liu Tong had taken off his clothes. He was pinching the flesh on his waist that had grown for a long time.

Xu Ran was excited at the scene, and he felt hot in his body. As he was still holding the baby in his arms, he told himself not to let his mind in turmoil. Thus he closed his eyes and recited Qingxin Mantra (a mantra for clearing away the heart-fire)…

In the end, Xu Ran’s silent reading was even heard by Liu Tong inside. He quickly put on his clothes and called Xu Ran in.

After Xu Ran went in, he put little Baozi on the bed and pretended to forget what he had just seen. He said to Liu Tong, “Tongtong, it’s getting late. Let’s go to sleep. From now on, we have to let little Baozi develop a good habit of sleeping at night and playing at daytime. This way, it will be convenient for any of us to take care of him.”

Liu Tong said, “Baozi behaves very well right now. He is only naughty during the daytime, so there must be someone watching him at any time then. Ran, I feel that there are two more people now and we can do a lot of things at home.”

Xu Ran turned back and rubbed his nose, “You believe in my eyes now, right? Gao Quan and Shao Yu are both diligent and good to children. How about we give them each a big red packet on New Year’s Eve?”

This time, Liu Tong didn’t say following Xu Ran’s idea, but replied, “Okay.”

“Alright, let’s sleep. I have to go to town tomorrow and prepare a gift for Qingshu. I have to figure out what gift we can send to him.” With that, Xu Ran took off his clothes as well as shoes and climbed onto bed.

He put little Baozi in the middle and then he slept by the side.

…

The next day, Xu Ran got up early in the morning. After putting everything in the carriage, he went to get ready over ten pieces of sausage and put them in the carriage.

On the way, he kept thinking what kind of gifts he could prepare for Qingshu.

“Llongevity lock (ornament shaped like a lock worn by a child as a symbol of longevity)?” This idea popped up in Xu Ran’s mind.

Xu Ran thought about it carefully. He believed the longevity lock was also very good and suitable. Whether it was made of gold or silver, it was a meaningful gift. As Qingshu was a Ge’er, Xu Ran thought it was better to send him a silver one.

He could buy a set of it. In this way, Qingshu could wear the longevity lock on his neck with a small silver bracelet on his wrist. On each of his feet was a small bell. When he crawled around, the bells would clash and jingle making very pleasing sounds.

Thinking of such a scene, Xu Ran felt it was very beautiful.

However, as soon as he arrived at the town, he was stopped by someone. This person was none other than Du Xin.

Du Xin saw Xu Ran coming down from the carriage and threw himself at him, “Xu Ran, I have finally got you here. You don’t know how hard I’ve been waiting for you here. I’ve waited in all the parking places in the town and finally got you here.”

Xu Ran pushed him away immediately, “You are all right now. Why are you waiting for me?”

Du Xin immediately retorted, “Who said I’m all right? I am here looking for you because I need your help. You and I…”

Before Du Xin got to the point, Xu Ran started to touch his forehead. He really felt headache about it.

Xu Ran said, “Tell me directly why you’re looking for me. I am busy today. I can try my best to help you.”

“I…”

“But it’s definitely impossible for you to go to my house. You don’t have to say this,” Du Xin was silenced by Xu Ran before he could start the topic.

Du Xin replied unhappily, “How did you know that I was going to talk about this? Why don’t you let me go to your house? I’ve spent your money staying in the inn. You’ll save a lot of of money if I stay your house instead. Why don’t you agree on that?”

Xu Ran insisted and shook his head, “I won’t agree. It’s going to be the Spring Festival soon. Aren’t you going back yet? No matter how angry your dad is, he will definitely let you go home for the festival. After all, you are your dad’s only son.”

Du Xin touched his head and said, “Actually, I’m here to bid you farewell. A few days ago, I received a letter from my dad. He asked me to go home for the Spring Festival. He said he will deal with me after the festival. These days, I’ve been here waiting for you. It is not easy today for me to get yoiu here. However, you still refuse to let me go to your house.”

Xu Ran insisted, “No, it’s impossible. I’ll let you go when my child grows older. At the moment, I’m afraid you’ll steal my child away,”

Xu Ran said seriously. Du Xin couldn’t tell from his expression whether he was really joking.

Du Xin expressed his dissatisfaction, “How can I do such a thing? I can’t raise such a young child. I might probably throw it away even if I stole it. How can I do such stupid things? It’s for the sake of you that I want to go to your house. You see you can cook and make money.”

Xu Ran was speechless. He then replied, “I’m already a married man, so don’t keep me in your mind. You can go back and ask your spouse if it is true that he is also good at cooking and making money. You should keep him in your mind!”

Du Xin began to steer the conversation away, “Haha, it’s just a joke. Why are you so serious?  Besides, even if you didn’t get married, could I marry you? You and I are both men and neither of us is a Ge’er.”

Xu Ran gave no response. He supposed that Du Xin was going to leave, so he went to the carriage and found something to send to Du Xin, “This is all the food from my family. Take it home and ask someone to cook it for you. You can cook it together with bacon. You can get the money back from the inn as travelling expenses. It’s almost spring festival. There must be a lot of people going to your town, so It’s safer for you to take a ride. ”

Xu Ran babbled on and on, but Du Xin listened quietly.

The more Du Xin listened there, the more he felt that how nice it would be if Xu Ran were a Ge’er.

Actually, Xu Ran didn’t tell much before they separated. One of them went home while the other went to work on his own business.