Yang Mutao had given him a few days off. He could still rest for one more day tomorrow. Zhao Ger was going to the town to sell chili sauce in the morning, so Fang Zichen would stay home to look after Guaizai.
He had drunk liquor yesterday and didn't sleep until very late at night. This morning, he simply couldn't get up.
When Zhao Ger got up, still half-asleep, he reached out to stop him. "How about taking a day off today?"
He, the one putting in the effort, was tired. But Zhao Ger, the one lying down, probably wasn't much better off than him. After every session, Zhao Ger was exhausted.
"It's fine." Zhao Ger placed Guaizai next to him, took a thin quilt, and tucked them in. "It's still early. Sleep a bit more."
"Oh," Fang Zichen said, his voice confused. "Then come back early. I'll miss you."
Having changed locations, Guaizai rubbed his eyes, saw Fang Zichen, smiled, and called out to him in a milky voice again. He snuggled into his arms, hugging his arm. Zhao Ger leaned close to his ear and softly instructed him twice.
Guaizai hummed in agreement. "Daddy, rest assured. Guaizai guarantees completion of the mission!"
"Good." Zhao Ger closed the door and went out.
When Guaizai woke up and saw Fang Zichen still lying down, he blossomed into a smile.
He knew that if he woke up and Fang Zichen was still there, it meant he didn't have to go to work, could stay home all day, and play with him.
Zhao Ger had anticipated this early on. If no one called him, Fang Zichen could sleep until noon.
Guaizai pouted, kissed Fang Zichen once, then climbed down by himself from the edge of the bed.
He went to the kitchen, fetched water, rinsed his mouth and washed his face. Finished, he moved a small stool next to the stove and started a fire.
Zhao Ger had prepared the buns in advance and left them in the pot. All he needed to do was light the fire and steam them until they were cooked through.
Zhao Ger didn't dare hope that Fang Zichen would cook breakfast for Guaizai.
Last time he had a day off, Guaizai, used to eating breakfast, woke up and said he was hungry. Fang Zichen held him, eyes closed, and coaxed him, saying, "Be good. If you fall asleep, you won't be hungry. You should eat less. When a person is hungry, they usually only have one worry. But once full, they have countless worries. So, many worries come from being too full. Father hopes you will be a carefree, happy child. So, promise Father, let's not eat, okay?"
"Mmm..." Guaizai really stopped saying he was hungry and slept with him all morning.
Zhao Ger had no choice but to let Guaizai be self-reliant. He also thought, let him cook, and then call Fang Zichen to get up and eat.
The older one was unreliable, so he could only pin his hopes on the younger one.
Halfway through steaming the buns, there was a knocking sound outside, followed by someone calling him.
"Guaizai..."
It was the little playmates from yesterday.
Guaizai pattered outside to find several children standing there, including Liuliu. "What are you guys doing here?" he asked.
"We came to see if you wanted to go play with us," one of them said.
Guaizai shook his head and patted his belly. "Guaizai hasn't replenished energy yet."
The little friends didn't understand. "Huh? What?"
"Tummy hungry, no energy now. Need to eat full, then have energy," Guaizai said.
One child took a sweet potato off from around his neck and handed it to him. "Then here, eat this."
This child's family's land was far away on the eastern mountain. A round trip took almost one shichen (2 hours)
His parents got up in the morning to go work over there. There were no elders at home to help. They wouldn't come back for the midday meal. Afraid the child would go hungry, they roasted a sweet potato and, having no pocket, tied it with a rope and hung it around his neck.
The parents went to work, and the child wandered and ran all over the village.
The village had people coming and going. Whenever a stranger appeared, everyone would keep an eye out, so they weren't afraid of the child getting lost.
To the children, the sweet potatoes—with their pleasant, powdery texture and natural sweetness—were a far greater treat than the coarse rice porridge mixed with wild greens or the hard, barely edible cornbread they usually ate.
They rarely ate breakfast. Waking up in the morning, their stomachs were often hungry. Giving it to Guaizai now showed considerable generosity.
"No, thank you," Guaizai said, shaking his head. He remembered Zhao Ger's instructions clearly and felt the full weight of his responsibility. "I can't go out to play. I still have to cook for Father. If I don't, he'll starve!"
Fang Zichen: "..."
Fang Zichen heard this as soon as he stepped out the door and felt speechless.
He, an adult, having a child cook for him? If this got out, what would people think?
He wasn't always unreliable. Last time, Zhao Ger was here, so he didn't get up.
This time, Zhao Ger wasn't here, and he was also afraid his son would go hungry. Wasn't that why he got up right on schedule!
He called out, inviting the group of children into the house.
There were only two lonely sticks of firewood in the stove, the flames hadn't even caught properly yet. If one was really hungry, the buns probably wouldn't be cooked through even by the time they turned cold and hard.
He added a few more sticks.
There were only six buns in the pot. One each definitely wouldn't be enough to share. Eating himself while the children watched eagerly—even if they weren't his own children, seeing them so dark and skinny was inevitably heart-wrenching.
Besides, his family wasn't lacking these few buns at the moment.
He ate one bun and gave one to Guaizai. The remaining four, he split each in half and gave them to the children.
These buns were practically like meat to the children. At first, they knew to be polite, shaking their heads and saying they didn't want any. But watching Fang Zichen eat, they swallowed their saliva with audible gulps, their throats nearly getting scratched.
"Eat! Don't be polite!"
One child took it. "Thank you, Uncle Fang!"
The water vat was empty. After finishing the bun, Fang Zichen let the children play in the field outside the house and went to fetch water himself.
After fetching water, he chopped firewood. Zhao Ger was diligent, the kitchen and yard were both clean. Only a few sets of clothes in the basin hadn't been washed yet.
Washing these clothes... seems a bit difficult.
But could this level of difficulty possibly stump someone as brilliant, wise, and handsome as me?
What a joke!
He took the washing paddle, carried the wash basin, raised his hand, and signaled. Immediately, eight children followed behind him noisily, like a mother duck leading a brood of ducklings.
Guaizai hadn't finished his bun yet, still holding it in his hand. Fang Zichen watched him peck at it like a little chick, taking tiny bites, his eating manner quite delicate.
Watching him, Fang Zichen felt anxious on his behalf.
"Son," he bent down, the wash basin tucked under one arm. "Is your bun tasty?"
They were all buns made from the same lump of dough, the filling inside was the same, steamed together in the same pot. The taste should be identical.
Guaizai nodded vigorously. "Tasty!"
"Then let Father have a taste, okay?" Fang Zichen asked, smiling.
"Okay!" Guaizai said. "Must learn to share good things. Guaizai will give Father some, but Father can only have one bite!"
"Okay," Fang Zichen said. "Father will only take one bite."
Guaizai stood on tiptoe and raised the bun. Fang Zichen took a bite, like a bottomless pit, taking a huge mouthful. Instantly, only the small piece held in his hand remained of the entire bun.
Guaizai: "..."
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