Fang Zichen and Zhao Ger were leading the four children by the stream, catching shrimp.
Guaizai crouched downstream, staring into the water. "Daddy, the shrimp in the basket are almost full! Come quick and scoop them out, or they'll get away! Father, don't herd them yet—wait a moment!"
Gungun and Dandan were also hopping about beside him, shouting, "Daddy, come! Daddy, come!"
At the sound of his little bamboo-horse friend's voice, Liuliu jolted, shot out of the carriage like an arrow, and ran to the roadside, shouting excitedly, "Guaizai—"
[竹马 (zhú mǎ): lit. Bamboo horse; fig. A childhood playmate]
Guaizai froze, turned his head, and suddenly his eyes went wide, his breath quickening. He abandoned his basket and dashed toward the roadside, stopping just half an arm's length away. They stared at each other, as if afraid to believe it was real.
"Liuliu?"
"Guaizai?" Liuliu frowned. The person before him had thick lips and swollen eyelids—so different from the little bamboo-horse friend in his memory, the difference was huge. He hardly dared to recognize him. "Is it really you?"
"It's me! It's me!" Guaizai rushed forward and hugged him, tilting his head up. "Guaizai is such a handsome lad—rare even under heaven—and you still can't recognize me? Why are you here? Guaizai missed you so much, I'm so happy!"
His voice hadn't changed. Recognizing it, Liuliu grew happy too, gave him a tight hug, and then they stuck together like glue, refusing to let go.
The two of them were all tangled up, calling "Liuliu" and "Guaizai" over and over, as if they'd run out of words and could only repeat those two names.
Zhou Ger and Aunt Liu called out to Guaizai, and he got happy again, jumping up in excitement. "Uncle Zhou! Grandma Liu! You're here too! Oh, and Jiaojiao!"
Fang Zichen and Zhao Ger came over as well.
Seeing Lin Xiaoxia's family, the two weren't especially surprised—they'd been expecting them around this time, going by the days. But when they spotted the Liu family, they were taken aback for a moment, though their faces quickly lit up with joy.
Zhou Ger touched Guaizai's face, looking him up and down carefully, his eyes growing warm. It wasn't until he saw Zhao Ger leading Gungun and Dandan over that he sniffled and said happily, "So these two must be Gungun and Dandan, right?"
When the two children had reached a month old, Zhao Ger had sent word to Yuanzhou, so Zhou Ger knew their names.
"Mm!" Zhao Ger patted Gungun and Dandan and taught them, "Say hello to Uncle Zhou."
The little ones piped up crisply, "Uncle Zhouzhou."
Zhao Ger pointed out the others. "This is Grandma Liu, this is Grandpa Liu, this is Aunty, this is Sister Jiaojiao..."
The children called out to each in turn.
Zhou Ger crouched down, eager to pull them closer, and studied them carefully. Gungun and Dandan used to be plump and fair as jade—now they were just plump. But no matter how Zhou Ger looked at them, he still found the two little ones utterly adorable. Aunt Liu and Uncle Liu were even more thrilled, each scooping up one, gently pinching their tiny hands and patting their heads, unable to take their eyes off them for even a moment.
Uncle Liu, afraid of scaring them, kept his voice as soft as he could. "Are you Gungun or Dandan? Can you talk yet? Are you scared of Grandpa?"
Dandan wasn't scared at all! He'd seen plenty of old folks in the village. Every time those grandpas and grandmas saw him, they'd give him a little snack, so he was used to it. He immediately opened the big pocket on the front of his clothes and said, "Grandpa, put it in here."
Uncle Liu was taken aback, not understanding what he meant. Zhao Ger explained and said to just let him be, no need to fuss. But Uncle Liu laughed, carried him over to the cart, fished out a steamed bun, broke it in half, and gave one piece to Gungun and one to Dandan.
Dandan was delighted, chuckling away—clearly the lively type. He was the kind of child who'd call anyone "mother" as long as they fed him, and without a second thought, he planted a big, smacking kiss on Uncle Liu's cheek.
Liu Xiaowen watched from the side, full of envy. These two little ones were just adorable.
"Raising kids—you've really got the touch," Zhou Ger said to Zhao Ger. "These three children are so plump I can barely see their eyes. How do you do it? You'll have to teach me. My Liuliu eats plenty but never seems to put on any weight."
Zhao Ger: "..."
Fang Zichen: "..."
How else? Go poke a wasp's nest, and they'll plump right up.
If Liuliu had come a few days earlier, he'd probably be so plump now that his eyes would be squeezed shut too.
Xiao Feng laughed out loud at the side.
Zhou Ger looked at him and said, "Xiao Feng has grown up now."
Aunt Liu nodded, looking pleased. "Indeed he has. He's become quite handsome, really filled out. If I saw him out on the street, I might not even recognize him."
Over the years, Xiao Feng had shot up in height. His skin was fair and smooth, and though he wasn't exceptionally striking, he had that wholesome, boy-next-door look—warm and sunny.
Xiao Feng gave a shy smile.
Everyone exchanged warm greetings for a good while.
Though Anping County was in the south and didn't get snow, winter there was still bitingly cold. The wind howled, cutting straight to the bone. Earlier, when the children had been chasing each other around in the fields catching shrimp, they hadn't felt the chill. But now that they were standing still, the cold was starting to creep in.
Fang Zichen picked up the bamboo baskets and buckets they'd brought. "Let's head home first! It's cold out here."
"Right, right, right."
Liuliu didn't want to get back into the carriage. He and his little friend—Guaizai—were holding hands, swinging them back and forth, gazing at each other and calling out to one another with great affection.
Gungun and Dandan ran over to join them. Guaizai changed the subject: "Liuliu, these are my number one and number two little brothers. My daddy gave them to me. Do you have any little brothers?"
[Here Guaizai uses 小弟, which literally means "little brother" but is usually used for "sidekick / follower." The usual term for a biological younger brother is 弟弟.]
Liuliu shook his head, looking a bit disappointed. Then Dandan trotted over to him, seemingly unafraid, and kept turning his head to stare at Liuliu with curiosity. Liuliu tried to take his hand, and Dandan didn't flinch—he even smiled. Liuliu beamed and squeezed Dandan's little chubby hand. "No. My daddy can't make any."
Guaizai was holding Gungun's hand. He frowned at this. "How come he can't? Have you ever seen Uncle Liu and Uncle Zhou sleeping on top of each other?" When Liuliu nodded, Guaizai went on, "Well, if they sleep on top of each other, then how come there's no baby? If it doesn't work the first time, try twice! You have to keep at it and never give up. Do you cheer them on from the side?"
"No. My daddy and father never want me in the room when they're sleeping."
"No wonder! Next time they're sleeping on top of each other, you come get Guaizai. Guaizai will help you, and then by next year you'll have a little brother! Little brothers are so cute. When my daddy and father sleep on top of each other, Guaizai cheers them on—and look, my daddy got me little brothers! Two of them at once!" Guaizai said smugly. "Guaizai has to kiss this one, then kiss that one—such a bother! But I guess kissing them a lot has its perks. When I grow up and have a fulang, I'll already have plenty of practice."
Zhou Ger and the others hadn't gotten back into the carriage either. They'd been sitting too long, and their backs and waists were sore. Walking was much more comfortable than riding. Zhao Ger had been walking behind with Zhou Ger and Aunt Liu, chatting, when he overheard Guaizai's comments. Zhou Ger's face flushed with embarrassment. Li Yanmei and Aunt Liu, however, burst out laughing. Zhao Ger couldn't hold back any longer—he walked up and gave Guaizai two firm smacks on the bottom.
"What did daddy tell you about running your mouth again? What did daddy say last time?"
Guaizai looked wronged. "Daddy said not to talk to outsiders about it. But Liuliu is Guaizai's brother, not an outsider!" And what's so wrong with sleeping on top of each other anyway? If you can't even talk about it, then why do it at all?
It's not even comfortable sleeping that way.
Ah, grown-ups are so hard to understand.
Guaizai let out a long, dramatic sigh.
Aunt Liu and Li Yanmei watched him and couldn't help but find it amusing. More than two years had passed, and Guaizai was still the same—that little mouth of his just kept running, always saying things that made people laugh and cry at the same time.
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