The day for little He Ran’s school break finally arrived. The day before, Qiu Yu had bought all the snacks the child loved. On that day, they prepared only a small amount of goods to sell, ensuring they wouldn’t delay picking him up!
He Zifeng even took leave from the yamen.
But they were still late.
At the private school, Teacher Lin primarily taught basic lessons. The children, aged four to seven, were mostly picked up by their parents early. Before long, Gouzi’s father arrived with an old cart to fetch Gouzi. Seeing little He Ran still waiting eagerly, he said, “Uncle will take you back.”
Little He Ran shook his head. “No, my dads will be here soon.” He then stepped back, formally bidding him goodbye, “Goodbye, Uncle!”
Gouzi’s father couldn’t persuade him and had to take his son home first. Once they left, little He Ran’s face fell, and he quietly wiped away a tear. Turning to a nearby child who was also waiting, he murmured, “Do you think my dad forgot the date?” His little face carried a look of worry.
Unbeknownst to him, his dads were watching from the wall opposite. The little one’s expression was fully visible to them.
He Zifeng found He Ran amusing and couldn’t help smiling.
Qiu Yu, however, was distressed. “Hurry up and go to him! Don’t just watch! He’s going to cry soon.” In hindsight, he regretted agreeing to He Zifeng’s suggestion of borrowing this courtyard to spy on their son. He found the whole idea unreliable but still got roped in. The way their son eagerly looked out, occasionally moving a stone to stand on so he’d be more visible, was both funny and heartbreaking.
He Zifeng jumped down from the wall and then helped Qiu Yu down. “Let’s go get our son.”
They locked the courtyard door—a property of Bingzi, one of the yamen’s guards. He often used the place for naps after patrolling or hosted drinking and card games. He’d even invited He Zifeng before, and upon learning that the back courtyard faced the private school, He Zifeng borrowed the keys to observe his son.
Leading their horse Qinghua, they rounded the corner to hear their son’s delighted cry, “Daddy!” He Ran dashed over, and He Zifeng scooped him up in one swift motion, hoisting him onto his shoulder before cradling him in his arms. The little boy clung tightly to his father’s neck, his small face pressed against He Zifeng’s chest.
He Zifeng, holding his son, said to Teacher Lin, “Thank you for taking care of him. I’m taking him home now.”
Hearing this, He Ran turned to Teacher Lin with an embarrassed smile. In his sweet, childish voice, he added, “Teacher, next time I’ll bring you some meat. My little dad makes really tasty meat!”
Teacher Lin chuckled at his adorable student and replied, “You eat more yourself. Now hurry home.”
“Goodbye, Teacher!” He Ran shouted cheerfully, managing to be both well-mannered and endearingly childlike.
As they walked, He Ran started to grumble, “Why didn’t you come earlier?”
“Ranran, do you blame daddy ? ” He Zifeng asked, planting a quick kiss on his son’s face.
Blushing, He Ran buried his face in He Zifeng’s chest, mumbling, “No, that’s not the case..”
“Good boy!” He Zifeng praised.
Watching the affectionate scene, Qiu Yu said, “Enough already. Let’s save the chatter for home.”
Noticing Qiu Yu, He Ran eagerly stretched out his arms, signaling to be carried.
As soon as Qiu Yu picked him up, He Ran tilted his head and asked, “Little Dad, did you miss me?”
“Just a little,” Qiu Yu replied.
He Ran made a gesture the size of a large watermelon. “This much?”
“Yes,” Qiu Yu said, smiling.
Moved, He Ran started demanding kisses and hugs, overwhelming Qiu Yu with his clinginess.
He Zifeng helped them into the carriage as He Ran excitedly asked, “Is this all ours?”
“Yes,” Qiu Yu said, holding the boy and explaining each item in the carriage as they rode home, the child’s laughter filling the journey.
Since picking up their son, a smile hadn’t left He Zifeng’s face.
The moment they arrived, Gouzi and some village kids came by to invite He Ran to play. Although the private school had playmates, its small courtyard and thirty children weren’t the same as running wild in the village. He Ran eagerly wanted to join but waited for his father’s permission.
“Go play, but be back in time for dinner,” He Zifeng said.
With a cheer, He Ran dashed off hand-in-hand with his friends.
Qiu Yu watched, half-amused, half-exasperated. “That little rascal said he missed me, but it was all lies. Barely home, and he’s already running off.” He reminisced about when He Ran was just over a year old and would follow him everywhere, unlike now when he couldn’t keep up with him.
“He’s been studying hard in the county. Let him have fun,” He Zifeng said.
“You’re always the good guy,” Qiu Yu teased.
He Zifeng leaned in and stole a quick kiss. Qiu Yu huffed, calling him shameless, but his face betrayed him, turning a bright red.
He Zifeng’s favorite thing was teasing his Qiu Yu. He wanted to playfully provoke him again, but before he could try, Qiu Yu excused himself to the kitchen to fry some fish, escaping in the process.
Before they set out that morning, Qiu Yu had prepared most of the food, leaving just the final stir-fry steps for when their son returned. The dishes included a braised fish, stewed chicken, meatballs, and a small stir-fry—a four-dish spread, which was already quite extravagant for a family meal.
Just as Qiu Yu was heading into the kitchen, he glanced back and saw He Zifeng still standing there, smiling. This flustered him, and even his ears turned red. Trying to act stern, he said, “Ranran loves the red berries from the woods. Go pick some for him.”
“Alright,” He Zifeng replied, grabbing a small bamboo basket and heading into the woods.
Upon entering the forest, he lined the bottom of the basket with large leaves before heading deeper. His goal this time was clear—to find snacks for his son. He ignored the mushrooms and wild greens along the way.
The berry tree was halfway up the mountain. Its bright red fruit was beloved by the villagers, so the low-hanging branches had already been stripped clean. However, plenty of berries remained higher up.
Being tall, He Zifeng planned to pick half a basket. The berries were small, about the size of a fingertip, so picking them one by one was time-consuming. He couldn’t just break off a branch and strip it bare—that would damage the tree and ruin next year’s harvest. But thinking about how much Qiu Yu and their son loved these berries, he diligently worked for about half an hour to fill the basket.
He then remembered there were two wild peach trees further up the mountain and decided to go check them out. Few people knew about these trees, which bore large, sweet peaches. In the past, the fruit had been mostly enjoyed by the birds.
Picking the best-looking peaches, he gathered ten and covered them with some wild greens to keep them hidden—a common trick among villagers to avoid tempting others with their finds.
On his way back, He Zifeng unexpectedly ran into He Fan and little He Xiaobao. The two looked disheveled and were clearly in rough shape.
“What are you two doing here?” He Zifeng asked. They were already close to the deep forest, an area with wild beasts that even experienced hunters avoided. These two had no training and would be nothing more than a meal for a predator. “Hurry and get down the mountain,” he ordered.
He Fan, recognizing his second brother’s voice, explained, “We were trying to catch a rabbit.”
Their household was on the brink of starvation. Recently, Big Brother Wan Hai had made some money selling soy paste, but he had drastically changed his ways, eating the cheapest coarse grains and going weeks without meat. The craving for meat had driven them to this.
The outskirts of the mountain had long been hunted clean of rabbits and pheasants, so they ventured deeper in hopes of finding something.
Their movements must have been too noisy, as a tiger’s roar echoed through the forest. All three of them quickened their pace downhill.
Returning empty-handed, He Fan and He Xiaobao were visibly disappointed.
He Zifeng pulled out a handful of red berries from his basket and handed them over. “Here.”
The two brightened up, gratefully eating the berries after wiping them clean. The sweet and sour taste lifted their spirits.
When they reached the foot of the mountain, He Zifeng parted ways with He Fan and Xiaobao. He Fan, holding his nephew’s hand, warned, “We’re not coming up the mountain again. That was too close.” The more he thought about it, the more scared he became. If something had gone wrong, he wouldn’t have been able to repay the cost. Thankfully, they had run into He Zifeng.
Back home, He Zifeng found little He Ran already back, playing with his pet rabbits. These meat rabbits had previously struggled in the wild but had grown plump under their care, now weighing over eight pounds each. With one male and one female, they’d soon be breeding.
Like a magician, He Zifeng revealed the basket of red berries and peaches to his son.
“Wow!” He Ran clapped his hands in delight.
He Zifeng washed the fruit and put them on a plate. Qiu Yu emerged with a tray of red bean milk cakes, handing them to He Ran. The five cakes had cost 80 wen, a luxury they wouldn’t usually afford if not for their desire to let the kids have a taste.
Taking the cakes, He Ran broke one into pieces, giving a piece to Qiu Yu and another to He Zifeng. He popped a small piece into his own mouth, savoring the sweet and fragrant flavor. The whole family enjoyed the treat.
“If you like them, I’ll buy more next time,” He Zifeng said.
“Thank you, Dad,” He Ran replied in his sweet, childish voice.
He Zifeng ruffled his son’s fluffy little cheeks and said, “Why be so polite with your dad?”
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