Chapter 97
"Is Zhang Fangyuan out of his mind? It’s so hot it feels like rolling in boiling water, and he’s actually going up the mountain to chop firewood and bring it back. If he’s got nothing to do, he shouldn’t be wasting his time like this."
"Who knows what these rich people are thinking? Maybe he’s planning to build a new house?"
"Build what house? The wood he’s bringing back isn’t even good quality. Maybe he’s just gathering firewood to send to the guesthouse."
Seeing Zhang Fangyuan’s strong and sturdy servant, Wuzi, returned from the guesthouse and drove three horses up the mountain every day, hauling loads of wood back and forth, the villagers working in the fields couldn’t help but watch the spectacle.
"Who cares what he’s up to? Hey, didn’t your family make a lot of money selling grain this time?"
"Not really, the Wu family sold the most. What we sold is nothing compared to them."
The villagers chattered away, while outside the Zhang family’s house, a large temporary shed had been set up to stack the firewood.
"I want to go up the mountain! I want to go up the mountain!"
Little Ruili, seeing Wuzi hauling firewood down the mountain every day and hearing that his father and fourth granduncle were up there chopping wood, he tugged at Xu He’s hand, jumping and shouting, demanding to go up the mountain to play.
Xu He thought of the mountain with its dense trees, would be much cooler than the village. The two little ones had never been up the mountain before, and it would be a shame for village-born children not to experience climbing mountains or fishing in ponds. So, he agreed to take them up.
However, carrying two heavy children up the mountain wasn’t easy. Carrying one was manageable, but carrying two at once was impossible.
Xu He had to take advantage of Wuzi’s return trip to send a message to Zhang Fangyuan on the mountain.
His sons wanted to go up the mountain too, so Zhang Fangyuan needed to come down and pick them up.
While waiting for Zhang Fangyuan, Xu He rolled up the children’s sleeves, exposing their plump, pale arms, and carefully applied the expensive mosquito repellent he had bought in the city.
Normally, Xu He would be reluctant to use such precious repellent, but even though the mountain was cooler, it was damp and teeming with large, venomous mosquitoes. If the children got bitten, they would end up with nasty, swollen bumps.
After applying the repellent to Ruijin and Ruili, Xu He dressed them in long sleeves and pants. By the time he finished getting the two little ones ready, Zhang Fangyuan had already ridden back on his horse.
"Little troublemakers want to go up the mountain to play? Aren’t you afraid a big black bear will snatch you away?"
Zhang Fangyuan walked into the house, scooped up one of the children, and planted a kiss on their cheek. "Ugh, it tastes bitter."
"I just applied mosquito repellent to Little Ruili. The kids didn’t rub it off, but you did."
Zhang Fangyuan chuckled. "Bring the repellent with us. There are a lot of mosquitoes in the mountains."
The couple each carried one child and headed up the mountain together.
This year’s scorching summer had not only dried up the crops but also killed many old trees on the mountain due to the lack of rain. With the villagers busy tending to their fields, there was plenty of firewood to be gathered, making it an ideal time to collect wood.
In just over ten days, the family had already gathered over a thousand catties of firewood. However, to produce a thousand pounds of charcoal, they would need six or seven times that amount of wood.
Once Ruijin and Ruili arrived on the mountain, they were as lively as fish returned to water, running around happily. The couple let the children play freely, but Zhang Shicheng was extremely anxious and worried, worried that the kids might trip or get hurt. He could hardly focus on chopping wood.
Fortunately, Xu He took over his spot, so the workload remained the same.
"These two little ones are full of energy."
Zhang Shicheng ran after the children for a while and sweated profusely. He thought that chopping wood wasn’t as exhausting as chasing after them.
But he couldn’t help but adore the two chubby, fair-skinned children. Few village kids were as well-cared-for as these two, making them especially endearing.
Over the past two years, the children had grown faster than the crops in the drought-stricken fields. They had stretched out a bit and no longer looked like the chubby little winter melons they had been at one year old.
The strong farmer, Zhang Shicheng, picked up both children with ease: "Don’t run around and fall! Granduncle just found a bird’s nest. Let’s go see it!"
The two little ones were thrilled. It was their first time seeing a round bird’s nest made of twigs and debris, with two pairs of baby birds inside, their mouths wide open, chirping loudly.
Little Ruili’s round eyes widened: "Baby birds, baby birds!"
"There are four!"
Ruijin looked at the baby birds. Although his reaction wasn’t as excited as Ruili’s, his eyes sparkled as he chatted with his brother.
Zhang Shicheng was stunned for a moment. He turned to look at Zhang Fangyuan and Xu He: "This child can already count!"
The couple was also surprised. They had noticed that Ruijin was quiet but liked to follow along with the adults’ activities. They hadn’t expected him to suddenly show such intelligence by counting the birds.
"This child is smart. He should start his education early!"
Zhang Shicheng’s eyes lit up, filled with joy.
"The child is only two years old. Even if we start his education early, it will have to wait until he is three years old. It’s too early now."
Zhang Fangyuan was also pleased that his child was intelligent. After all, many villagers had privately speculated that Ruijin was slow-witted. However, he didn’t want to push the child too hard just to prove that the Zhang family’s child wasn’t stupid but smart.
"Now that the family is doing well, we’ll definitely send the child to school. It doesn’t matter if it’s a bit earlier or later."
Thank you for the updates!!!!
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