Chapter 177
Zhao Ger would mostly return to the village around sishi (9-11 AM) together with Zhou Ger. As the weather was cold, he always waited until Fang Zichen came home before entering the kitchen to cook.
Guaizai would go with him to the shop in the morning. Upon returning, Guaizai would be busy digging for earthworms and cutting grass for the goat. Sometimes, a few children like Liu Dali would come to help.
It was only after Fang Zichen had been home warming himself by the fire for quite a while that he saw his son come in from outside carrying a bundle of grass for the goat, all pulled out in a messy way. Fang Zichen couldn't help but feel ashamed.
He himself sought to slack off whenever he had a moment. Yet his son, after being busy all day, still thought about working whenever he had a spare moment upon returning home. He was truly a little workhorse, diligent and hardworking.
So filial and so hardworking!
The grass was full of rainwater. Seeing that the front of his son's clothes was all wet, Fang Zichen pulled him over and felt around. Discovering that the inner layers weren't wet, he then sighed in relief.
Offal items like duck intestines and duck gizzards were not sold at the shop.
People in town rarely ate offal or pig's feet, considering them unclean, but villagers did not disdain them.
Zhao Ger often shared some with Zhou Ger, letting him take them home to eat. After Li Yanmei's family arrived, he asked Li Yanmei if they ate such things. Seeing her nod, he then also saved some for them each time.
Duck intestines and gizzards, washed clean, stir-fried in hot oil with a bit of perilla and other seasonings—Fang Zichen could finish half a plate of it in one go.
Duck intestines shrink after stir-frying. When Zhao Ger cut them, he would leave them about the length of a finger, so they would be easier to pick up with chopsticks.
Guaizai also liked to eat them. As soon as Zhao Ger called him, he came running in from the backyard. He picked up a mouthful with his chopsticks, but halfway to his mouth, it dropped onto the table. He picked it up, chewed a couple of times, suddenly made a choking sound, and then his face turned red.
Fang Zichen hadn't reacted yet, only thinking that perhaps the intestines weren't cleaned properly today and his son had eaten some waste. But then he saw Zhao Ger throw down his chopsticks and rush over, fishing a piece of intestine out from Guaizai's throat.
Fang Zichen: "..."
Although these stir-fried intestines were fragrant, they also easily became tough. Sometimes even Fang Zichen chewed until his jaws ached. When swallowing, it always felt like half was stuck in his throat, half wedged between his teeth.
Seeing his son's eyes watering, Fang Zichen said urgently, "Are you alright?"
"It's fine," Zhao Ger said. "It's fine once it's out."
"You seem very experienced," Fang Zichen remarked.
Zhao Ger said,"When he ate wild vegetables before, he often did this."
"Son," Fang Zichen pulled him over, holding him between his legs, and said seriously, "Pay attention next time. You need to chew your food slowly and thoroughly. Otherwise, it's easy to end up barbecued this way!"
[芭比Q了 (bā bǐ Q le): lit. Barbecued; fig. a homophonic pun for "完蛋了 (wán dàn le)" meaning "to be doomed or finished"].
"Guaizai knowsh now."
Having received this assurance, Fang Zichen wanted to release him and let him go back to continue his meal. But Guaizai climbed onto his lap, wrapped his arms around his neck, and rubbed his face against his father's.
Fang Zichen felt he couldn't hold on much longer; his face was rubbed until it felt hot and prickly. Before, his son was soft and tender, looking like tofu, so delicate it seemed he could pinch water out of him. But after winter set in, his face had chapped, forming small scabs. It was like he had taken a trip to Tibet, with a ruddy complexion akin to 'plateau-red cheeks,' not smooth at all. The back of his hands was the same.
[Plateau-red cheeks: the ruddy or reddish cheeks commonly seen on people living in high-altitude regions due to sun and wind exposure].
Zhao Ger had bought him a box of moisturizing cream, but applying it didn't seem to have much effect.
"Father, they say Guaizai is a wild seed. What is a wild seed?"
Fang Zichen's face suddenly darkened. "Who said that?"
"That pretty auntie who likes to wander around the village entrance," Guaizai said, looking up at Fang Zichen, both cautious and unable to suppress his nervousness. "Father, what is a wild seed?"
Zhao Ger did not speak, his gaze fixed directly on Fang Zichen, his hands hidden under the table clenched tightly, nails digging in.
A ball of fire ignited in Fang Zichen's chest.
For more than ten seconds, he did not speak. The swelling anger blocked his chest, with no way to vent, making his heart ache.
Finally, after a long moment, he suppressed the tone of his voice.
"When your daddy gave birth to you, he happened to be working in the fields. You were disobedient, in a hurry to come out. He didn't have time to go home, so he gave birth to you right there in the field. Those born outside are called wild seeds. Those born inside the home are called domestic seeds."
"..." Zhao Ger's eyes widened.
Guaizai breathed rapidly. "Issh it true?"
He asked in such a small and trusting voice, with the slightest hint of a babyish tone. Fang Zichen, with a completely serious face, cupped his son's cheeks, gently rubbing his thumbs over them, his gaze meeting his son's. "Of course! Look, pigs raised at home are domestic pigs. Those born in the mountains, growing by themselves, are called wild pigs, right?"
Guaizai knew what a wild pig was. That was also a piggy, but it lived in the mountains. Every winter when it had nothing to eat, it liked to run out from the mountains.
When there were sweet potatoes, it loved to root in the ground too. The uncles in the village all wanted to catch it, to eat its meat!
He felt there was no flaw in Fang Zichen's words. "Yessh, yessh, it'sh like that."
"You must believe Father. Father is knowledgeable and talented, with broad horizons. Whatever he says is correct. Those who call you a wild seed are mostly narrow-minded and illiterate. You don't need to believe them, don't need to mind them. Just treat it as them farting. In the future, if anyone calls you a wild seed, you say her whole family are wild seeds." Fang Zichen said, "If she still dares to scold you, then come back and tell me. Father will help you strip off their skin."
Zhao Ger frowned. "You're going to teach the child bad habits talking like that."
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