Chapter 183
The roof of the house where Fang Zichen and Zhao Ger used to live had been mostly broken. Back then, it was the height of summer, and Fang Zichen found it too hot, so he didn't fix it. Later, when it turned cold, he was busy with work and also didn't know how to do such repairs. So, Zhao Ger hired someone himself to properly cover the roof.
He also cleaned up the small side room next door and put a bed inside.
In the village, it was customary for families not to divide the household while the parents were still alive. Typically, several brothers lived together. After marrying, children were born one after another, so it was inevitable that the house would become crowded. In some families, several brothers and sisters often slept together in one room, or they slept with their parents until they were eight or nine years old and more aware of things, only then 'separating' from their parents' room.
Guaizai was still young and didn't understand anything, so it was fine for him to sleep with them. However, it was always inconvenient during intimate moments. Plus, since he had heard noises before and mistakenly thought they were ghosts, Zhao Ger prepared the room next door, intending for Guaizai to sleep alone.
In previous winters, without a quilt to cover him, Guaizai slept in his arms. Probably also afraid of kicking him, Guaizai always lay still in one position until dawn. Now that he had covers and a soft mattress, he loved to roll around on the bed hugging his feet. At night, he would also unconsciously kick off the quilt. Zhao Ger was afraid that if he slept alone, he might catch a chill, so he kept him in their room, planning to move him out when the weather warmed up.
Since no one slept next door, whenever he and Fang Zichen wanted to be intimate, they would go there.
He cleaned up every time afterward. Now that Xiao Feng was coming, he could move directly into that room.
When Fang Zichen returned in the evening, he was momentarily stunned to see Xiao Feng, but he didn’t say anything.
Zhao Ger was cooking in the kitchen. Xiao Feng, leaning against the wall, went in. Being aware that he was living under someone else's roof and doing nothing, like a useless person, made him uneasy. He always wanted to do some work.
Zhao Ger understood his feelings too well and didn't stop him, letting him sit by the stove to help watch the fire.
Zhao Ger stir-fried a separate plate of meat with garlic shoots. It was very fragrant. Fang Zichen and Guaizai ate ravenously, like starving ghosts. Xiao Feng didn't dare to take any. He didn't even dare to eat much of the white rice in his bowl. He asked Zhao Ger if there were any wild vegetable buns, saying he could just eat those. Zhao Ger said there weren't any, that the family only had white rice, and told him not to overthink it and to eat quickly.
The weather was cold, and his wounds weren't healing quickly. Sitting caused some pain in his chest, but he didn't say anything. With trembling hands, he picked up his rice, enduring the pain.
He kept his head down. Suddenly, a piece of meat appeared in his bowl.
Guaizai hadn't yet retracted his chopsticks. There was a greasy ring around his little mouth: "Brother Xiao Feng, eat meat! Meat is good to eat, so yummy!"
"Th-thank you!"
"You're hurt," Guaizai said. "Tomorrow, Guaizai will kill a chicken for you to eat. Chicken is so good to eat!"
Xiao Feng panicked, shaking his head repeatedly. "No, no need, no need."
"Need to, need to!" Guaizai hugged his bowl and moved next to him, leaning against him, saying very seriously, "You need to eat chicken meat when you're hurt to get better. Last time, father was lying in the medical hall too, and when he came back, he was almost done for. Then Guaizai killed a chicken for him to eat. After father ate the chicken meat, he got better right away!"
Upon hearing this, Fang Zichen almost choked. "You little rascal, what nonsense are you spouting? Believe me, I'll hang you in the outhouse."
"Ooh~" Guaizai scrunched up his eyebrows. "Why say that! Guaizai is just telling the truth. Father is bad~"
Seeing Fang Zichen's expression like he had eaten something disgusting, Zhao Ger couldn't help but laugh out loud.
Fang Zichen wanted to teach Guaizai a lesson, but Guaizai twisted his little buttocks the size of a bowl, just not letting him hit him.
The fire was still burning in the stove, the door was closed, and the kitchen was warm and cozy. Fang Zichen and Guaizai were bickering noisily. Zhao Ger didn't say a word, simply watching the two of them, his eyes crinkled with a gentle smile.
Xiao Feng tightened his grip on the chopsticks, a sudden sting blurring his vision.
This was a scene completely different from his home.
His younger brother was almost as big as Guaizai now, but he never called him 'brother' and would never put meat in his bowl.
When Liu Gouzi bought meat, he would always chase him out of the house, then close the door, not letting him see, as if afraid he would steal some.
He couldn't eat at the table. Every time, he had to serve Liu Gouzi first and could only eat after he had finished.
Liu Gouzi never had a kind word, and his temper was foul. No matter how well Xiao Feng served him, he was never satisfied, always cursing and grumbling at him.
Most men in the village shared common traits. Because they were poor and looked down upon outside, they wanted to show off their authority at home. Seeing others bow and scrape before them, begging pitifully, their pathetic self-esteem seemed to be satisfied.
The Ma family and Liu Gouzi were largely the same type of people.
The bedding had been aired, fluffy and soft, no longer damp and full of mildew smell.
Xiao Feng gently stroked it, not daring to sleep.
There was a knock on the door. Zhao Ger came in holding a pillow, with a bottle of medicine in his other hand.
"The weather is cold. Your Uncle Fang said your wounds probably hurt, so he told me to bring you this medicine. When you sleep, just pour a little on the wounds."
More money spent. Xiao Feng panicked. Before he could say anything, Zhao Ger spoke first: "Don't worry about the money. Focus on recovering from your injuries first. I know you might not be used to it yet, but from now on, you need to learn to treat this place as your own..."
He placed the medicine by the bedside and put the pillow on the dark blue bedding. "When I first got together with your Uncle Fang, I was often afraid that I ate too much or didn't do enough work, that he would look down on me. I would instinctively try to please him. But your Uncle Fang told me, people shouldn't be like that. No one has to please anyone else..."
Fang Zichen, who had been about to knock, paused and withdrew his hand.
Going in now probably wouldn't be appropriate.
Zhao Ger didn't know what he said to Xiao Feng. It wasn't until Fang Zichen had coaxed Guaizai to sleep that Zhao Ger returned.
Fang Zichen, bored, poked Guaizai's face, then pinched his nose, then took a strand of hair and tickled Guaizai's little nose. Guaizai slept restlessly, instinctively reaching up to rub his nose, undisturbed as ever, then turned over and continued sleeping.
Fang Zichen pinched his soft bottom and sighed, "What a little pig!"
Zhao Ger closed the door but didn't get into bed. He just sat to the side, looking at him with an indescribable expression.
"What's wrong? Aren't you sleeping?"
Zhao Ger took a breath. "The day before yesterday, when you helped Xiao Feng bathe, did you..." He paused, as if considering his words. "...notice anything different about him?"
Fang Zichen said, "No!"
Zhao Ger: "Think carefully."
Fang Zichen thought seriously for a moment but still said, "Nothing! What's wrong with him?"
Zhao Ger looked at him without speaking, his face glowing with a warm hue in the light.
Fang Zichen looked back at him somewhat comically for a few seconds. "Actually, if you ask what's different, there really is one thing."
Zhao Ger pressed: "What?"
Fang Zichen glanced toward the door. "Come closer." When the other moved nearer, he whispered, covering his mouth near Zhao Ger's ear: "I noticed his little birdie is especially small. He probably suffers from micro-p*nis syndrome..."
Before he could finish, Zhao Ger hit him: "Don't talk nonsense."
"I'm not talking nonsense, really. Some people are born with underdeveloped p*nises. Do you know Wang Xiaohu who works at my shop?" Seeing Zhao Ger nod, Fang Zichen continued: "He married a wife before, but later his wife cheated on him. I heard from other workers it was because his little birdie was small, his wife despised him, so she cheated on him."
Zhao Ger: "......"
Fang Zichen shook his head and sighed. "Xiao Feng's situation is not good! I originally thought I'd reluctantly give him the ox p*nis to eat, but this kid doesn't appreciate it, actually doesn't even want to eat it."
"He doesn't need to eat that." Zhao Ger dropped a bombshell, shocking Fang Zichen. "Xiao Feng is a ger. You wiped his body so many times, didn't you notice?"
Fang Zichen blinked, as if he hadn't quite understood. "What did you say he is?"
"He is a little ger," Zhao Ger said.
Fang Zichen chuckled softly.
"Have you lost your mind? Even though I've only been here for over half a year, I know that Widow Meng remarried into our village's Liu Gouzi from Xiaorong Village a few years ago, bringing a son with her. You can't not know that, right?"
Zhao Ger just looked at him, not speaking.
Fang Zichen stopped laughing. "He really is a ger?"
"Mm," Zhao Ger said. "It's absolutely true."
"......" Fang Zichen turned over, pulled the quilt over his head, feeling too embarrassed to show his face.
If Xiao Feng really was a ger, then his previous series of actions could only be described with the word 'pervert'. Even though he didn't know at the time, now that he knew, he didn't know what Xiao Feng must feel, but he himself felt both ashamed and embarrassed.
Back then, thinking Xiao Feng was a young man, flicking his little bird, patting his buttocks—he had no psychological pressure about it. In modern times, his second brother often compared sizes with classmates in the bathroom, having him as a witness! He really didn't think such things were a big deal. But with a different identity involved, his face really burned with shame.
He had become a dirty old man!
He was guilty.
If Xiao Feng was a ger, then his reaction of extreme shame and indignation when Fang Zichen wiped him down made sense.
Gers and ordinary men didn't have too great a difference. But compared to men, their p*nises tended to be more petite and delicate, and their facial features were more gentle.
Zhao Ger was afraid he'd suffocate under the quilt and tugged at it. Fang Zichen stuck his head out and asked Zhao Ger what they should do now. Should he go apologize to Xiao Feng, kneel and beg for forgiveness or something?
Zhao Ger gave a soft, knowing laugh. "Forget it. What's past is past. You didn't know at the time. If you go apologize now, he'll probably be even more embarrassed. Just pretend you forgot about this."
Fang Zichen curled his lip.
There really was a little red dot on Xiao Feng's arm. However, that red dot wasn't very obvious. Moreover, that area had been beaten before and was badly bruised. When Fang Zichen wiped him down, he did see it. But when bruising is severe, subcutaneous tissue also contains blood. Plus, the preconceived notion that Xiao Feng was a boy was firmly planted, so he never thought of anything else.
If he had thought of it, could he have acted that way toward Xiao Feng?
Definitely not.
He was someone who had worn a red scarf and attended moral education classes.
[The Chinese Young Pioneers is a national youth organization under the Communist Youth League, designed to instill patriotism and socialist values in children aged 6 to 14 through collective activities and the symbolic red scarf]
Forgetting this matter was probably for the best. Fang Zichen, as if thinking of something, asked, "Why is he staying at our house? Why didn't he go back?"
Zhao Ger hadn't told him about this beforehand, so now he explained Xiao Feng's situation at the Liu family.
"I want to let him stay at our house. Is that okay?"
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