Chapter 96
When Fang Zichen got serious, his entire aura completely changed.
It was like he had directly become a different person.
He looked at the Zhou family, the smile never leaving his face.
Yet, the Zhou family felt a chill down their spines, as if they had been targeted by a wild beast lurking in the shadows.
This beast had sharp fangs, a tall and large build, and an overwhelming presence—the sense of oppression emanating from him was impossible to ignore.
The Zhou family's nerves were stretched taut, yet they had no choice but to struggle to remain calm.
Fang Zichen found the mere sight of them utterly tiresome. His voice, laced with sharp impatience, cut through the silence: "Well? Are you going to get lost, or do you need me to show you how?"
Back then, if it weren't for pitying Zhao Ger, he wouldn't have voluntarily given those three taels of silver. Otherwise, for a family like the Ma family, trying to pluck even a single hair from him would probably be harder than reaching for the heavens.
If even the Ma family couldn't take half a advantage from him, then the Zhou family's meager skills made it even more impossible.
There was a small stone on the ground, probably brought back by Liuliu to play with. Fang Zichen kicked it, and the stone flew to the wall, embedding itself deeply into the earthen wall.
The Zhou family: "..."
Zhao Ger: "..."
Village Chief: "..."
The Zhou family scrambled away, fleeing as if for their lives.
Zhou's mother called out to Zhou Ger before leaving: "Zhou Ger~"
Her voice was very low, trembling, and seemed to carry some other emotion within it. Zhou Ger's nose soured, and he turned his head away.
Zhou's mother waited without getting a response and was dragged away by Zhou's father.
The show should have ended here. The villagers dispersed in twos and threes, discussing as they walked.
This incident was thrilling enough to keep them talking for ten days to half a month.
The Liu family's courtyard quieted down.
Fang Zichen was just about to puff out his chest and ask Zhao Ger, "Did your husband just seem incredibly dashing and reliable?" when his son's frantic cries for help interrupted him.
"Father! Daddy! Save me, save me... Guaizai is done for! Wuwu~"
Fang Zichen and Zhao Ger looked over and saw Guaizai standing on tiptoe on a small stool, his bun-sized bottom wriggling, his head stuck through the window.
Fang Zichen immediately ran over: "What's wrong?"
"Father~" Guaizai's head was stuck between two small wooden bars, unable to move. He had been standing on tiptoe for so long that his short little legs were tired. If he didn't stand on tiptoe, his head couldn't move, and his little neck was pulled painfully.
This feeling—anyone who has been hanged would understand.
Now Guaizai had tears in his eyes: "Father, Guaizai's... Guaizai's head hurts, done for."
Fang Zichen: "..."
So you know you're done for?
Fang Zichen was rendered utterly speechless.
The distance between the small bars on this window wasn't wide. Although Guaizai was small, his head was big. Fang Zichen had no idea how he had managed to squeeze it through.
If it were a fragile watermelon or pumpkin, it would probably have been crushed by now.
Liuliu saw his little friend in distress and extended a helping hand, even forgetting about his snack. He kept pulling at the small bars trapping Guaizai's big head, seemingly trying to break them.
But these small bars were made of hard wood, how could he possibly break them?
Aunt Liu looked left and right, unable to figure out how Guaizai's big head had managed to squeeze through so far.
When asked, Guaizai said in a childish voice: "Guaizai doesn't know either!"
He couldn't squeeze through at first either, but after squeezing left and right, up and down, turning his head almost 360 degrees, he barely managed to get it in.
Liuliu provided supplementary details from the side.
Everyone was astonished to hear that Guaizai's head apparently been lodged comfortably between the bars for a good while—long enough for a full conversation with Liuliu, and was only getting stuck now when trying to pull it out. They found it miraculous.
Fang Zichen touched Guaizai: "Have you been secretly practicing some kind of head-shrinking skill?"
Guaizai was feeling very uncomfortable now, tears about to fall from his eyes.
This wasn't easy to handle. Using an axe to chop it would inevitably shock and injure Guaizai with the force. Using a kitchen knife to slowly cut through it was even more out of the question.
Zhou Ger thought about it and went to borrow a saw from the old carpenter in the village.
Since Guaizai was born, Uncle Liu had liked him very much, treating him almost the same as Liuliu.
Every time he used bamboo strips to weave something for Liuliu, he would definitely make two.
One for Liuliu, one for Guaizai.
Guaizai didn't cry often. Now, his big, dark eyes welled up with tears, his head stuck and immobile, his small body soft and limp, hanging upside down outside the window. When he couldn't hold on anymore, his two little feet would flail a couple of times. It pained Uncle Liu's heart greatly.
When cooking dinner, the fire in the stove was very good. He had buried two sweet potatoes in the red-hot embers, they should be cooked by now.
His rough, calloused hand lovingly stroked Guaizai's little face, wanting to distract him: "Grandpa will go get the sweet potatoes for our Guaizai to eat, okay?"
"En~" Guaizai faced downward, both hands still gripping the small bars. Even stuck and unable to get out, he still didn't forget about food. He said: "Guaizai wants to eat!"
The sweet potatoes Uncle Liu brought were black and covered in ash, but a few blows cleaned them off. Although they didn't look very appealing, sweet potatoes roasted this way were "plump, thorough, and sweet." peeling open the soft, hot flesh, they were fragrant and crispy on the outside, sweet, soft, and fluffy on the inside. One bite was soft, glutinous, and sweet.
Zhao Ger picked up Guaizai to help relieve some of the pressure.
Now his whole body was suspended mid-air. Zhao Ger resembled a bell-ringing monk, and Guaizai was the bell hammer.
Uncle Liu blew on it to cool it down and, like a eunuch attending to the crown prince, thoughtfully brought it to Guaizai's mouth. Guaizai took small bites.
"Is it delicious?" Uncle Liu asked with a smile.
"Yummy," With something to eat, Guaizai smiled: "Sweet! Thank you, Grandpa Liu."
"Slow down," Uncle Liu loved his well-behaved appearance: "Is it still hot? If it's hot, grandpa will blow on it for you. My Guaizai has suffered."
Fang Zichen: "..."
He didn't know what to say.
In a situation like this, anyone else might have lost their appetite, but his son had a big heart.
And was strangely easy to comfort.
After eating, the area around Guaizai's mouth was black. He had eaten a whole large sweet potato, and his little belly was bulging.
Having finished eating, he seemed to remember the main issue, and the pain rushed back in that moment.
No comments:
Post a Comment