The next day, He Zifeng got up and went to the small kitchen to prepare some light porridge and side dishes to eat with Qiu Yu.
After eating, he hitched up the horse carriage to send him back to the village.
As soon as they arrived home, they saw the snowman they had built last time.
Their little child heard the sound and ran out happily. Seeing He Zifeng and Qiu Yu, he said: “Daddy, Little Daddy.”
He Zifeng naturally picked him up. Ran Ran had become much more solid during this time. He Zifeng kissed him once – the little child’s cheeks were all soft and squishy. He said: “You’ve grown taller.”
Little He Ran immediately puffed out his chest, his eyes showing pride. His beautiful eyes rolled around, and he deliberately pouted: “Daddy only cares about going out to play by himself and doesn’t take me along.”
He Zifeng laughed and said: “Alright, you’re already a big child. You’re about to have your birthday – how can you still cling to Daddy?”
Qiu Yu knew that the county office was busy and was afraid he would be delayed at home, so he quickly took the little child from He Zifeng’s arms and said: “Alright, let Daddy go handle his business first! Your daddy said he’ll come back to accompany you for your birthday.”
As they were speaking, He Zifeng was about to leave. Little He Ran was reluctant to let him go and said: “Can’t we just pretend today is my birthday?”
These words sounded so pitiful. He Zifeng’s heart couldn’t bear it either. He said: “Good child, next time I come back I’ll bring you a gift.”
Although Little He Ran wasn’t happy, he still nodded his head.
He Zifeng quickly left. After becoming a father, he couldn’t stand being separated from his son.
Fortunately, Ran Ran’s birthday was right around the corner.
After returning to the county, He Zifeng even had a pure gold little ruyi lock made. It also had the two characters for “peace and safety” on it. Normally it could be hidden inside clothes, and if something happened it could also be exchanged for money.
Besides this, he also bought Qiu Yu a jade hairpin that was very plain. It had no patterns on it, but the jade was lustrous and translucent. Even someone who didn’t understand jade would know this one was extremely good.
For several consecutive days, the county operated smoothly and shops gradually opened.
The main street recovered its former liveliness. The county magistrate now didn’t ride in a carriage and liked to walk around the main street when he had nothing to do, occasionally asking everyone what they still lacked or needed.
The county surviving this heavy snowfall was itself a miracle.
When they heard how miserable those refugees from outside were, they treasured their current life even more. Now they could earn some money, and every household didn’t have to worry about having food to eat. They heard that the county magistrate was going to make a batch of ready-made clothes and was recruiting female workers.
Whether male or female in the household, everyone could find work to do, and their status was quite good.
Seeing that Little He Ran’s birthday was approaching, He Zifeng asked for leave in advance from both the county magistrate and Head Constable Zhu, and went back once.
As soon as he entered the village, he saw a bright color from far away. Their little child was actually wearing a bright red little cloak, waiting for him at the door. When he saw his own blue-flowered horse galloping forward, the little fellow excitedly jumped up and down: “Daddy!”
He drew out the word in a long voice, and as soon as they met he started acting coquettishly.
His shout brought Qiu Yu out from inside the house, and Fang Shi also came out.
He Zifeng got down from the horse carriage and led the horse to the stable. He unloaded the cart that was hitched on top and parked it in the courtyard.
Before he had finished his work, he felt the little fellow constantly tugging at his trouser legs. As soon as He Zifeng reached out his hand, the little child automatically jumped into his arms.
He Zifeng held Ran Ran in his arms, and the little fellow kept kissing him continuously.
While being kissed, He Zifeng said somewhat helplessly: “Alright, alright.”
Their Ran Ran would be five years old after finishing his birthday today. Looking at his beautiful little face, plus his clever little eyes, he was incredibly adorable.
Qiu Yu knew that today was a special day and had even dressed him up in advance.
Ran Ran had gotten up this morning and put on this set of bright red little clothes. It really had to be said that milk babies were suited to wearing fresh colors. He looked very handsome.
Fang Shi saw how good the child’s relationship with him was and said: “From the moment Ran Ran opened his eyes, he was looking for Daddy.”
Qiu Yu said: “Ran Ran just has a good relationship with his daddy!”
The child heard this sentence and looked at Qiu Yu somewhat uneasily, saying: “I’m also good with Little Daddy.”
He really kept the water level even.
He Zifeng said: “It’s cold outside, let’s go back inside.” He said he had also brought gifts for them.
Several people all became curious and wanted to go unwrap the gifts, so they entered the house.
As soon as they went in, the warm air instantly enveloped He Zifeng. The house was heated very warmly, with both the heated brick bed and the heated wall burning hot.
He Zifeng took out several gifts. For He Ran was a golden ruyi lock, for Qiu Yu was a jade hairpin. For Fang Shi were two silver ingots, each weighing five taels of silver.
These silver ingots were specially recast by wealthy families at additional cost. They were exquisite and lovely, very substantial to hold in hand, and could be played with.
He Zifeng had specifically found someone to trade for two of them. His mother was always overly polite with him, and the house lacked nothing, but giving her anything was not as practical as giving money.
Fang Shi had never seen such exquisite ingots. Although she liked them, she was embarrassed to take them. She said: “I don’t need silver, you all keep it to spend.”
He Zifeng said: “Mother, just take them. It’s convenient for you to keep them for your own use.”
Fang Shi refused twice, but seeing that He Zifeng was genuinely giving them to her, she reluctantly accepted them.
The family gathered around the small table to celebrate Ran Ran’s birthday.
He Zifeng hadn’t come back for a long time, and Ran Ran spent most of the time as if he had grown onto He Zifeng’s body, unwilling to come down.
He Zifeng was also happy to let him cling to him, occasionally lowering his head to fiddle with the little fellow’s hands and little feet.
Finding it stuffy inside the house, he carried the child outside to play.
When He Zifeng came back, it was like New Year’s.
Qiu Yu and Fang Shi wanted to make something delicious in the evening and didn’t accompany them in their fooling around.
Fang Shi heard He Ran’s laughter from the courtyard and said: “No wonder he clings to his daddy so much. We don’t play with him at home.”
She had just seen He Zifeng lift Little He Ran above his head, playing “flying” with his son. Little He Ran had never played like this before and found it extremely enjoyable.
He was so happy after playing once that once wasn’t enough – he wanted to play repeatedly.
After playing for a while and working up a sweat, He Zifeng brought his son back inside the house. He quickly changed into a different set of clothes to prevent catching cold.
Such a small child catching cold was no joke.
Little He Ran had indeed become much more independent than before since going out to study and coming back. He could change clothes by himself now.
The child had suffered quite a bit with them before, and now that life was slightly better, Qiu Yu seemed to be compensating. He kept buying good things for the child – the child had more clothes than the adults.
He had just been wearing red, like a little auspicious boy in front of the God of Wealth. Now Ran Ran had chosen a blue set from the wardrobe himself.
Wearing it made his complexion appear even fairer, very much like a little scholar.
He Zifeng couldn’t help but feel proud looking at him – this was his and Qiu Yu’s baby. He looked as spirited as a little young master.
All his clothes were carefully coordinated by Qiu Yu, and every piece looked good.
He Zifeng moved close to Qiu Yu and said: “Don’t I have any?”
This person Qiu Yu was one way in front of He Zifeng and another way in front of others. In front of Fang Shi, he kept his distance from He Zifeng. As soon as He Zifeng came near, he would dodge away. Looking at him, you’d think the two weren’t even familiar.
When He Zifeng said this, he felt somewhat embarrassed and said: “It’s in the clothing chest.”
He Zifeng was puzzled – what was there to be embarrassed about? Hearing Qiu Yu say this, he returned to the room and indeed found a new set of clothes. It was light gray, possibly made with special weaving techniques, with a layer of soft luster.
It looked very expensive just from appearance.
He Zifeng was reluctant to wear it and still wore his previous fine cotton cloth clothes.
When He Zifeng came out, Qiu Yu was startled to see what he was wearing. He was wearing exactly the same as before.
But his demeanor had already changed after his training in the county town. Even though they were ordinary clothes, when worn on him they actually had some dignity, making the person appear even more heroic and upright.
The family was playing and fooling around inside the house when they heard footsteps running over from far away.
He Zifeng’s home was located in a remote area. The neighbors all lived far away. The crunching sound of running on snow was very loud.
This meant someone was specifically coming to find him, so he immediately went out to take a look.
After going out, he discovered the person was Shuanzi. He said: “Second Brother He, your father’s side is causing trouble again. It might go to court.”
Originally they had divided the family. They had fought so bitterly at that time that everyone didn’t really talk about the affairs of the He family’s old residence.
But this time was different – it had blown up big. If it went to court, they couldn’t avoid He Zifeng. Having heard this morning that he had returned, Village Chief Liu had sent him to find the person.
He Zifeng said: “Day after day, never any peace. You go ahead first! I’ll be there shortly.”
Hearing him say this, Shuanzi went back.
As soon as He Zifeng returned to the house, Fang Shi and Qiu Yu inside had both heard and said: “Then you should hurry over there!” They were afraid that if he went late, something else would happen.
He Zifeng said: “Let’s all go together.” It wasn’t snowing outside, and staying inside the house was stifling. It was more comfortable to go outside.
Little He Ran also wanted to go out and play. He Zifeng indulged him and directly picked him up, saying: “Let’s go.”
Qiu Yu didn’t approve, saying: “He’s already so big, being carried around will make the village people laugh at him.”
Who knew that as soon as Little He Ran heard Qiu Yu say this, he immediately wrapped both arms around He Zifeng’s neck, afraid that his daddy wouldn’t carry him anymore.
He Zifeng laughed and said: “Alright.” His little child was even more delicate than Qiu Yu.
He persuaded Qiu Yu, saying: “It’s his birthday today, let him be happy.”
Qiu Yu couldn’t say anything more, but he gently poked his son’s cheek with his finger, saying with indulgence and helplessness: “You, really.”
Several people went together. When their family headed toward the He family’s old residence, many people also followed in that direction.
During this snowy period, these people had no reason to go out and were feeling restless from being cooped up. With such excitement happening, there was no reason not to join in the fun.
Seeing He Zifeng’s family, they all praised: “From far away I was looking wondering whose child that was, so very handsome. Only when I got close did I realize it was He Ran.”
The person next to them agreed: “Both daddies are good-looking, how could the child not be good-looking?”
“Exactly, just like a little young master.”
He Zifeng said: “This child can’t handle praise. When no one praises him, he praises himself. Now if he gets praised, he’ll really lose his way.”
The people nearby laughed and said: “Look at what you’re saying.”
He Zifeng and Qiu Yu could now be considered to have made it. When the family was divided back then, they looked so pitiful. Now they had finally made it through – not easy at all!
