NOVEL NEXT Chapter 9
The sun gradually climbed up the treetops, casting golden sunlight through the dense branches and leaves of the pomegranate tree in the yard, sprinkling fragmented shadows on the ground.
This pomegranate tree was already there, symbolizing many children and much happiness.
When they first rented this yard, the pomegranate tree’s leaves were yellow for some reason. The homeowners also disliked it for only blooming flowers and not bearing fruit, intending to cut it down and fill in the yard.
Looking at the other houses, both inside and out were barren without any plants. He Yu herself was a plant lover and naturally preferred to be close to flowers, grass, and trees. Thinking that having a tree in the yard was good for enjoying the coolness in summer and sheltering from the rain in winter, she persuaded the homeowners to keep it.
After moving in, the fatal problem was discovered immediately: the tree roots and soil were excessively wet.
The area of the pomegranate tree’s root base was nearly two meters wide, with a circle of goose egg-sized gravel placed around the edge. The soil inside the stone circle was moist, leaving wet marks on the surrounding ground bricks.
After asking the homeowners, she learned that since the pomegranate tree was planted here, the family often casually poured water here, sometimes even including the water used for washing vegetables and rice in the kitchen.
It was really not easy for the pomegranate tree to survive for so many years.
After understanding the situation, under He Yu’s care, this half-dead pomegranate tree was revitalized in less than a year.
Lush and green, it was like a green umbrella covering this cozy little courtyard.
He Yu slept soundly in the early morning, if not thinking that the little one hadn’t eaten breakfast, she could have stayed in bed until noon.
After getting dressed and opening the door, she saw Wen Ze eating the red bean cake bought two days ago, his cheeks bulging, with a cup of steaming hot water in front of him.
“Shengsheng, why didn’t you tell Mom you were hungry?”
She glanced at the clock, a little after nine o’clock. It was normal to be hungry since breakfast was usually at seven-thirty.
Wen Ze pinched his thumb and forefinger slightly together, saying thoughtfully, “I’m a little hungry, not very hungry. I can wait until Mom wakes up.”
The little guy was very obedient, not indulging in the snacks she bought. So He Yu didn’t avoid buying things with him around.
The hot water was from the hot water bottle that had been boiled last night.
Wen Ze finished the last piece in his hand, then held up the untouched hot water. “Mom, do you want toodrink hot water?”
He Yu ruffled his fluffy head and reminded, “Mom won’t drink it. Shengsheng, did you forget to comb your hair?”
Wen Ze blinked and realized, “Oh, I forgot.”
Feeling the erratic movement above his head, he protested softly, “Mom, don’t rub it. My hair is already messy!”
He Yu maintained her posture and lifted her chin, “Drink your hot water obediently.”
The little guy had a typical child’s habit: he didn’t like drinking water.
Other kids might not like plain water but would drink sweetened water. Wen Ze was different; he didn’t like any kind of water.
He Yu even worried that if she didn’t watch over him, he would refuse to drink water and end up becoming dehydrated.
Wen Ze’s face fell, showing an extremely sincere cute expression, trying to resist a bit, “Mom, do you believe me, I already drank a cup, this is the second one. I poured it specifically for you, Mom.”
He Yu ruffled his hair a few more times, urging expressionlessly, “You can stop pretending, drink it quickly.”
The feeling of a child’s soft hair in her hands was great; it didn’t hurt at all.
Wen Ze was exposed but didn’t blush. He changed tactics, holding the cup with both hands and sipping slowly, one small sip at a time.
His little face showed bitterness and resentment, starting to hate himself for pouring so much water at once!
He Yu patiently waited for him to finish drinking. “What do you want for breakfast?”
Wen Ze burped, “Mom, I’m full.”
He Yu thought for a moment, “Then let’s not eat, I’ll buy you two pieces of clothing when we go out. If you’re hungry, we’ll eat on the street.”
Mother and son washed up together, and in less than half an hour, they were out the door.
He Yu couldn’t make clothes, so their clothes were either ready-to-wear or bought fabric to have someone else make them.
She was a bit hungry, so she bought two buns to fill her stomach first, leisurely strolling down the street. If she found suitable clothes, she would let Wen Ze try them on.
They also ate sweet popsicles, worried that Wen Ze might get a stomachache, so she let him take a small bite.
Their objective accomplished, He Yu didn’t know where else to go, when a sweet aroma wafted through the air.
“Wen Ze, do you smell that?”
Wen Ze sniffed, “I smell it. It’s from those people ahead, there was a bang just now.”
He Yu pulled him along, “It’s popcorn; let’s go buy some too.”
When they reached the popcorn stand, the white smoke hadn’t dissipated yet. A group of young children surrounded it.
With a few cents in their hands, they eagerly looked at the freshly popped, chubby popcorn, chattering with the vendor about how much they wanted.
The children who got the popcorn shared the deliciousness with their little friends, not forgetting to suck the faint sweet taste off their fingers.
He Yu bought a tube made of folded newspaper, full of corn flavor. She fed Wen Ze a popcorn first, eagerly asking, “Is it delicious?”
Wen Ze nodded, “Delicious.”
At the front corner of the street, two tall men appeared one after the other.
Zhou Ke lazily looked around, “Tang Jingsong, why are we here? We don’t need to ask about these things; we know they’re expensive.”
It’s not that he couldn’t afford it, but he didn’t want to waste money on useless things.
Tang Jingsong searched for clothing stores, “Xiao Yuan did well on her exams.”
Tang Yuan mentioned casually that many of her friends wore dresses in the summer, with a hint of envy in her eyes.
The Tang family was better off than most families in the village, treating their children equally. Dresses were not convenient for girls to work in the countryside and were not resistant to dirt, so Tang’s parents had never made a dress for their daughter.
Tang Jingsong and Tang Yuan, with nearly ten years between them, had even fewer topics to talk about.
As an incompetent elder brother, this time he naturally wanted to satisfy his sister’s wishes. So he used the excuse of doing well in the exams to buy dresses as a reward.
Zhou Ke saw him lingering in front of the clothing store several times and understood, “Got it, you want to buy Xiao Yuan new clothes.”
“Why don’t you invite Xiao Yuan to come with us in the morning? Neither of us has ever held a girl’s hand; how do we know how to buy clothes for a girl?”
Tang Jingsong frowned, “I know Xiao Yuan’s height.”
Zhou Ke shrugged, not caring, “Okay, why don’t you invite me for a bowl of beef noodles in the morning? I can accompany you until dark.”
He was determined not to spend a penny unnecessarily; his money had to be saved to marry a wife.
There were more clothing stores on this street, and Zhou Ke stood at the door with his hands in his pockets, waiting to hear Tang Jingsong’s big talk.
Sure enough, after visiting three stores, he still had nothing in his hands.
Zhou Ke was about to mock him, but he caught sight of He Yu and Wen Ze sharing food a few meters away.
Instantly perking up, he greeted, “He Yu! What a coincidence, I didn’t expect to see you here.”
Tang Jingsong was still pondering what attracted him; he followed slowly.
A few seconds later, his gaze fell on the little boy beside the girl, and a bold guess formed in his mind.
He Yu was surprised and looked up, “It’s you guys.”
Out of politeness, she offered the popcorn, “Do you want some?”
Zhou Ke, even though he was a mix, knew he couldn’t grab food from a girl’s hand, “No, no, we don’t need any. Is this your little brother? He’s really cute, quite similar to you.”
Seeing that the conversation shifted to him, Wen Ze tilted his head and confessed his identity, “Uncle, this is my mom.”
Zhou Ke’s jaw dropped, looking at He Yu, then at the child, his pupils in shock, “You, you, you… you already have a child?”
Feeling that this wasn’t a very nice thing to say, he explained carefully, “I didn’t mean anything by that; it’s just that you look so young, not like someone with a child.”
This kid was estimated to be four or five years old, so if you counted back, she got married shortly after coming of age. Damn, which damn lucky guy didn’t act like a human being.
He even thought that fate had finally smiled on him and tied the red thread for him. He’d been excited for nothing for the past half month.
He Yu maintained a calm smile and introduced, “This is my son, Wen Ze.”
“Wen Ze, this is Uncle Zhou, and the one behind is Uncle Tang.”
Without her saying it, Wen Ze saw the other man, “Hello, Uncle Zhou. Hello, Uncle Tang.”
He knew this Uncle Tang.
Zhou Ke teased, even if he was unsure, he couldn’t pick food from a child’s hand, “Okay, okay, Wen Ze, say goodbye to Uncle Zhou.
Tang Jingsong lowered his head and exchanged a look with Wen Ze, then awkwardly looked away. Not having much experience with children, he awkwardly avoided eye contact and followed Zhou Ke in bidding farewell, “Wen Ze, goodbye.”
Wen Ze once again looked at the man who didn’t speak much, seemingly waiting for something.
He Yu was surprised; if she remembered correctly, the two had only exchanged one sentence, and Wen Ze had never been so proactive before.
Zhou Ke, with a smile on his face, nudged his dumbfounded friend’s elbow, gritting his teeth low, “Say goodbye to Wen Ze, you wooden man.”
Tang Jingsong lowered his head to meet Wen Ze’s gaze and, with no experience dealing with children, awkwardly looked away, mimicking Zhou Ke’s farewell, “Wen Ze, goodbye.”