MLH | Chapter 30

At the west end of the village, Zhou ge’er had a vegetable plot, and his family relied entirely on selling vegetables to earn a little income, so he usually tended it very diligently.

Zhao ge’er had first led Guai Zai to Liu Shens’ house to ask, and after hearing that Zhou ge’er was not there, he came over here.

Zhou ge’er saw him and was a little surprised, “Zhao ge’er, why did you come?”

Guai Zai covered his chest, looked left and right, and Zhao ge’er patted him before he asked, “Uncle Zhou, where’s Liuliu?”

“There, over that way!” Zhou ge’er pointed in a direction.

That was a small flat area beneath the threshing ground, quite spacious, and the village children liked to play there the most.

Guai Zai looked up at Zhao ge’er, his eyes full of expectation, and Zhao ge’er smiled, “Go on!”

“Thank you, dad.”

Zhou ge’er saw that he was so tiny, yet he staggered and ran toward the threshing ground, and could not help laughing, “What’s wrong with him today? He never wanted to leave you before.”

“His husband bought him some mi jian, he said he wanted to share it with Liuliu, so he pulled me to come look for him.”

Mi jian cost quite a lot, and Fang Zichen was willing to buy it. Zhou ge’er sighed, “Your husband treats Guai Zai this well, there’s really not much difference from a biological one.”

Zhao ge’er did not speak.

Fang Zichen really did treat Guai Zai well.

In previous years, Meng, the widow from Xiaorong Village, had married Liu Gouzi from the village with her son, and Liu Gouzi treated that son with either beating or scolding, and even barely gave him food. Several times, when Zhao ge’er passed by outside his house, he had even heard him cursing in the courtyard, saying things like it wasn’t his own seed, and that even if he raised him, he still would not be close to him, and that it was bad luck, making him raise someone else’s son.

Whenever Liu Gouzi’s family bought meat, they would always drive that little son out of the house and not give him even a single bite. How unlike Fang Zichen, living in a shabby house with not a single decent piece of furniture at home, but as soon as he had silver in his pocket, he would keep bringing food home as much as he could, never minding that Guai Zai ate a lot.

By the threshing ground, eight or nine children had gathered, making houses out of mud.

Liuliu stood off to the side watching from a distance.

He and Guai Zai were always excluded by the village children. Liu Shens’ family was poor, and before, when Guai Zai followed Zhao ge’er in Ma family like a slave, both children belonged to the village’s lower class, so of course they were rejected by the village’s middle and upper classes.

Guai Zai ran a short distance, his little face flushed red.

“Liuliu.”

Liuliu smiled, walked over, and said happily, “Guai Zai, why did you come?”

“I want to give you a good thing.” He covered his chest, pulled Liuliu behind a tree, and after making sure no one was looking this way, took out the mi jian wrapped in oiled paper.

Liuliu had never seen mi jian before, “What is this?”

“Something tasty,” Guai Zai said. After breakfast, once Fang Zichen left, he gave Zhao ge’er two pieces, and now there were only three left in the oiled paper.

“I’ll give you one, it’s very sweet.”

Liuliu was half-believing, half-doubting, until one was stuffed into his mouth, and his eyes suddenly widened.

“It really is sweet!”

“Mm! Father bought it.” Guai Zai wrapped up the last two pieces again and stuffed them back into his clothes, and from behind them came a voice.

“What are you eating?”

It was Ma Erzhu’s youngest son, eight years old this year, a sturdy child. Guai Zai was just tall enough to reach someone’s chest, and before, in the Ma family, he had been beaten several times by Ma Xiaoshun. Seeing him now, he was inexplicably afraid. He lowered his head and subconsciously covered his chest, “N-no, not eating anything.”

“Impossible, I already smelled it. Say it, what did you eat?”

Guai Zai did not speak, and Liuliu was just about to step out when Ma Xiaoshun reached out and grabbed Guai Zai’s clothes, “Is it hidden inside? You little bastard, you still dare to lie, hurry up and take it out.”

“Not giving it to you～”

Guai Zai was tugged so hard that he staggered and nearly fell. How could Liuliu just stand there and watch his little friend being bullied? He immediately went to push Ma Xiaoshun, wanting to make him let go.

Unfortunately, Ma Xiaoshun was ‘tall and strong’, and after several pushes he did not budge at all. Instead, Ma Xiaoshun turned around and pushed him, and he fell to the ground at once.

“······Liuliu!!” Even a mud man had three parts of temper! Guai Zai got angry, shouted his battle cry, and clenched his egg-sized fist, striking lightning-fast at Ma Xiaoshun’s stomach.

“Ultraman fighting monster～ fighting monster～”

Ma Xiaoshun froze for a moment, seeming not to react to how this little bastard, whom he usually beat and scolded at will, dared to fight back. Only after his stomach took a punch did he come to his senses.

“You little bastard, you dare hit me!” He shoved Guai Zai to the ground in one go, mounted him, and used both hands together to pull at his clothes, “You still dare hide things, see if I don’t beat you to death.”

Guai Zai struggled hard, turned face-down toward the ground, and tightly protected his chest, simply refusing to let him succeed.

Liuliu got up and ran to call for help, and when Zhao ge’er came, his son’s clothes were about to be torn to pieces. The tiny little body was curled up on the ground, and Ma Xiaoshun was still cursing on the side.

“You little bastard, are you taking it out or not? If not, I’ll keep kicking you then!”

······

When Fang Zichen got home, he felt that something was off.

The courtyard gate was open, but the house was quiet.

Only when he got closer did he faintly hear some sobbing.

It was coming from the room where they slept. He ran in in just a few steps and saw his son sitting on the edge of the bed, a tiny little bundle, head hanging low as he sobbed in a small voice, while Zhao ge’er was squatting in front of him.

“What happened?”

Guai Zai looked up, his eyes watery, and called with a crying voice, “···Father～”

The skin on the back of his hand had been scraped off, and tiny bits of sand were lodged in the flesh that was faintly seeping blood. His hair was a mess. Fang Zichen remembered that the clothes he had on were newly made, and Guai Zai treasured them so much that whenever he played with him before, he was always careful and protective. But now they were wrinkled and filthy, and there were even a few footprints on them.

“He got beaten.” Zhao ge’er’s eyes were also a little red, and he told him roughly what had happened.

“……”

Fang Zichen’s expression was hard to describe.

He had been rubbing someone on the ground in the town, and as a result his son had been rubbed on the ground in the village.

Was this retribution?

Zhao ge’er went out to fetch water, and Fang Zichen pulled over a stool and sat in front of Guai Zai,

“Does it hurt?”

“Mm!” Guai Zai hung his head, his hand hurting so badly it kept trembling.

Fang Zichen held his wrist, leaned in, and blew on it, “Why did you fight?”

“He wanted to snatch my thing. I didn’t give it to him, so he hit me.” Guai Zai looked full of grievance.

Fang Zichen was puzzled.

Guai Zai did not even have half a toy. What did Ma Xiaoshun want to snatch from him?

Just as he was about to ask, Guai Zai took the oil paper out of his clothes with the other hand that was not hurt as badly and held it out toward him, “Father, here～”

“Mi jian?”

“Mm.” Guai Zai nodded.

“Why are you giving it to me?” Fang Zichen took it and opened it. There were only two pieces left inside, and they had been squeezed flat.

“Why give it to Father? Father doesn’t even eat this.”

“Something tasty,” Guai Zai said, “very sweet, very sweet, Dad eats, Guai Zai eats, Father also eats.”

Fang Zichen could not quite describe what he felt. An eighteen-year-old youth had hot blood, could feel pity for the weak, could feel indignation at many unfair things, and could have brotherly loyalty to stab for a brother, but would not cross age and produce something like a father’s love.

Yet hearing Guai Zai’s words now, his eyes started to ache.

“Just now your dad said you gave him two pieces, gave me two pieces, and then gave Liuliu one piece, so didn’t you only eat one piece?”

“Mm!”

“Not heartbroken?”

Guai Zai looked at the mi jian in his hand, then quickly moved his gaze away, “Guai Zai is small, one piece is enough, Father is an adult, should eat a lot, a lot.”

Zhao ge’er brought water in, wiped his hand clean, and then used a needle to pick out the little stones from the flesh.

The whole process was not not painful. Guai Zai did not make a sound, tears the size of beans rolling down, quietly sobbing. Only when the pain became severe would he make very small sucking-in breaths.

Fang Zichen could not help, so he could only keep saying from the side, “Zhao ge’er, be gentler, oh my, son is crying, be gentler.”

Zhao ge’er did not speak. When he called again, she simply handed him the needle and very tactfully suggested, “Why don’t you do it?”

Every time it picked, Guai Zai’s hand would shrink. He also felt heartbroken, and truly could not bring himself to do it anymore.

Fang Zichen waved his hands repeatedly, “You do it.”

That needle was so tiny. If he really did it, his son’s hand would probably get stabbed with several holes.

It took a very long time, but finally it was done, and Guai Zai’s eyes were swollen red and high.

Fang Zichen coaxed him, “Why don’t you sleep for a bit first, okay? When you wake up, it won’t hurt anymore.”

Guai Zai nodded and gave a soft, nasal “Mm.”

Fang Zichen squatted down to take off his shoes. His little feet fit in his hand with room to spare, white and tender, with round little toes, like five plump tangyuan lined up by size, quite cute.

Guai Zai’s toes moved, tickling his palm. Fang Zichen licked the corner of his mouth and began acting like a monster, “Oh my, such white pig trotters! I really want to take a bite.”

Guai Zai wanted to pull his feet back, but he was being held firmly. Seeing him open his mouth and slowly come closer, he immediately forgot his grievance and forgot the pain, and cried out from the stimulation.

“Feet stinky stinky, monster cannot eat, monster cannot eat. Dad, save me～”

“Hm?” Fang Zichen leaned in and sniffed, then immediately covered his mouth and nose and cried out in horror, “Fuck, how can it be so臭, no, it’s so臭 I’m going to vomit, ugh～” He made a retching motion, as if he really had been stank to the point of vomiting.

Guai Zai seemed to have found something fun again, and laughed hehehe, pushing his little feet insistently under Fang Zichen’s nose, excitedly shouting,

“臭死 monster, 臭死 monster.”

“No way～”

Fang Zichen stood up, swaying as he toppled onto the bed, his body twitching once, leaving behind his last words,

“Uh, the monster got臭死, Ultraman won again.”

Guai Zai crawled over and lay on his chest, laughing nonstop.

Zhao ge’er could hear it even in the courtyard. Just now he had been looking all wronged, but now he was making trouble again, and Zhao ge’er could not help laughing.

Guai Zai was still too young after all, his head could not keep things for long. After making trouble for a bit, he fell asleep, looking completely heartless.

His two hands were loosely clenched and placed on either side of his head. Only after Fang Zichen saw that they had not pressed on the wound did he get up and go out.