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Chapter 5: Reality
You really don't look like Uncle Qin's son.
─── ⋆⋅☼⋅⋆ ───
The child, confused, asked, “Show what?”
"Show off—" Madam Zhou quickly stopped herself.
The child couldn't keep secrets. If her son heard, not only would he nag her, but it might even lead to her being forbidden from taking care of Miaomiao.
She had only just gotten a grandson; she couldn't let that happen.
"Tell everyone that Miaomiao has a father, and your father has a son, which is Miaomiao," Madam Zhou coaxed him. "Don't you want everyone to know you have a dad?"
The child nodded eagerly. That was exactly what he wanted.
Madam Zhou was satisfied.
The child wanted to get down and walk.
However, Madam Zhou was nearly five-foot-seven tall, so bending down to hold the child made her uncomfortable.
"Grandma will hold you. Grandma likes Miaomiao."
"Grandma not tired?"
Madam Zhou was momentarily stunned, realizing the child was concerned about her, and she immediately felt happy, hugging the child tightly. "My big grandson, you're so thoughtful. Grandma's not tired, she's in good health.." She turned to the two little brothers. "Lock the door."
"It's locked," Gu Wuyi replied. He had seen many children, some as well-behaved as the little monk, but none so young yet so considerate of their elders. Miaomiao was the only one. "Miaomiao, do you want your brother to give you a hug?"
【Gu Wuyi → Gu Da】
The child compared his height to Madam Zhou's and decisively shook his head, wrapping his arms around his grandmother's neck.
Gu Wuyi was not a real child so he didn't get upset. He could even laugh when he noticed the little one didn't want him to hug him because he was short. "Afraid your brother can't lift you? Don't want to tire your brother out?"
The child nodded directly.
Gu Lao’er hung the key around his neck and, unable to resist, said, "You really don't look like Uncle Qin's son."
The child replied loudly, "I am!"
He suddenly made a move, and Madam Zhou nearly didn't manage to hold onto him. She quickly patted his back, comforting him, "You are. What your second brother means is that you're more obedient than your dad."
"Daddy is also obedient," the child said sweetly, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
Madam Zhou choked on her words, and her expression became quite complicated, as if it were hard to explain.
The two brothers almost laughed.
Qin Feng was indeed obedient, but only when it came to work.
Once he left the Northern Railway Factory, he was a completely different person.
If he wasn't wearing work clothes or plain-colored shirts, and instead wore a jacket and wide-legged pants, he would look just like a second-rate thug on the street.
Even when the mayor personally stamped that he was the youngest engineer at the Northern Railway Factory, no one believed it.
Little Miaomiao was puzzled. What was going on with his two brothers and Grandma?
Seeing the confusion on his face, Madam Zhou couldn't help but say, "He's your dad's biological son."
Father and son had the same thick skin.
Gu Wuyi almost laughed, but he was afraid the attention would turn to him, so he quickly changed the subject, "Grandma, there's no need to see us off.”
"I'll watch you go in," Madam Zhou said as she hugged Miaomiao and stood at the entrance, watching them.
The two brothers were helpless and could only obediently go to Wuli Village Primary School.
Actually, they hadn't always gone to the village school; they used to attend the city's No. 5 Primary School with the children of workers from the Northern Railway Factory.
Wuli Village Primary school wasn't far from the Northern Railway Factory's staff residence, only about 200 meters away.
The brothers' parents hadn't passed away; they had run off.
When Old Gu was still alive, he was highly respected, and the factory workers didn't dare to gossip.
After the elderly man passed away, Qin Feng was worried that the workers would gossip at the staff residence, and the children might hear leading to the brothers being bullied at school. So, after discussing with them, he decided to transfer them to the village’s primary school.
Qin Feng was the only person from Wuli Village to study abroad, and he had the highest level of education in the village. No matter who had grudges against the Qin family, everyone treated Qin Feng very kindly, either out of fear that they might need him one day or because of a kind of admiration for the strong.
Even if the villagers in Wuli Village discussed the Gu brothers at home, it was with envy, thinking how lucky they were. Despite being orphaned, and with their grandfather gone, they still had Qin Feng, a promising and capable adoptive father.
When these words reached the ears of the two brothers, it didn't hurt them. In addition, Old Qin had been teaching at the school, even though he only taught the second graders, the students didn't dare to bully his grandchildren.
Little did they know, Gu Wuyi and Gu Qingkuang had wholeheartly accepted the Qin family, starting from when Qin Feng transferred them to the village school. The thoughtfulness he showed in making such a decision meant that even if he later got a wife and changed his mind, they wouldn't hold it against him.
On the other hand, Madam Zhou didn't want to be gossiped about by relatives and neighbors. Since Old Engineer Gu left the house to Qin Feng, they felt they should help take care of his grandchildren properly. So, when she saw the two brothers go into the school, she returned to the village.
At the village entrance, Madam Zhou remembered her plan and let Miaomiao walk by himself.
The child, with his short legs, walked slowly, giving some people the chance to stop Madam Zhou.
Earlier, when the villagers saw Qin Feng running back with a child, before they could clearly see who it was, Qin Feng disappeared like a gust of wind. Later, when the family went to the factory's staff residence, it happened to be mealtime or cleaning time for most households, so by the time they came out of their homes, the family had already left.
Now, they could finally got a good look. Some were shocked and lost their colors, some had their jaws dropped, and some hastily rubbed their eyes, fearing that they had seen wrong.
Madam Zhou couldn't help but tsk when she saw the crowd looking like they had never seen the world before.
These people were all fooled by Qin Feng's good-looking skin.
One villager, coming to his senses, pointed at the child and asked in disbelief, "Is this your family's Xiao Feng's child?"
"If I say no, would you believe me?" Madam Zhou retorted.
The villager didn't think before shaking his head.
"He wasn't married, was he? When did this happen?" Another villager asked impatiently.
Madam Zhou replied, "The child is four years old this year. You can do the math."
That meant it happened four or five years ago, just when Qin Feng was abroad.
People often say that foreign cultures are more open-minded, and it turns out they were right.
No wonder, before Qin Feng went abroad, he was just an honest boy, but after returning, he seemed like a completely different person, especially good at showing off.
He had worked less than half a year and had already bought things like a rice cooker and refrigerator. They suspected that he had probably left money overnight to make a baby.
It was fortunate that the matches they introduced to him weren't to his liking. His parents said he had high standards, and they even complained that Madam Zhou and her husband didn't understand the young people of today.
After all the commotion, it was them who still didn't understand.
"Where's the child's mother?" a villager asked.
Without thinking, Madam Zhou blurted out, "Who knows?" Then, fearing the child might misunderstand and think too much, she quickly picked up Miaomiao. "As long as our Miaomiao has a dad, that's enough."
The child shook his head.
Madam Zhou's heart skipped a beat when she heard the child sweetly say, "And Grandpa and Grandma, big brothers and sisters, and Auntie."
Madam Zhou froze for a moment and then chuckled in disbelief.
"Yes, yes, Miaomiao still has us. Grandma forgot," she said, looking at the villagers. "Isn't that enough?"
A few villagers immediately realized their mistake, realizing they shouldn't have mentioned the mother in front of the child.
Fortunately, the child didn't start crying and asking for his mother.
Otherwise, they could forget about asking Qin Feng to tutor their kids.
They quickly tried to make amends, saying, "Right, Miaomiao has so many family members, that's more than enough. Especially your father—he's more capable than all of us put together."
The child nodded. Master had said that his Daddy was the greatest, even more capable than Master.
"You all are busy, the pots and pans haven't been cleaned, and the animals haven't been fed. I need to go feed them," Madam Zhou said. She wasn't familiar with the people at the village entrance and had only let Miaomiao walk by himself to let everyone know that Qin Feng was no longer a bachelor, not to show off.
A few villagers at the entrance immediately picked up on the situation and said, "Come and play at home in the future.”
The child decisively shook his head.
Madam Zhou quickly explained, "This child sticks to his dad. Earlier, he wouldn't even stay with me."
The villagers immediately understood.
It was perfectly normal for such a young child to stick to their parents.
Madam Zhou secretly let out a sigh of relief, then immediately walked away, afraid that talking too much would backfire.
After walking for a while, she looked back and confirmed that the villagers weren't looking in her direction. She stopped, then called for Miaomiao to walk on his own again.
As expected, Miaomiao walked about ten meters, getting close to their home, and she deliberately called out loudly, "Miaomiao, slow down, wait for Grandma." Neighbors from all around, hearing her voice, came out of their homes and were stunned when they saw the child's appearance.
When they finally snapped out of it, just as she expected, they all asked, "Where did this child come from?"
These people are not outsiders; they were distant relatives of the Qin family.
They constantly claimed to have Qin Feng's best interests at heart, while subtly undermining him.
They often murmured behind his back, wondering what use Qin Feng's abilities were if he hadn't married by the age of thirty. They believed that he shouldn't have gone to college or studied abroad in the first place. Who could he possibly find to marry with such high standards? If not for that, the child would already be walking and talking by now.
The only thing people could criticize about the Qin family was Qin Feng's unmarried status. They'd say that in the village, people of his age who weren't elderly or too poor all had children and grandchildren by now.
Seeing the expressions of the villagers matching those at the entrance, but with even more satisfaction, Madam Zhou asked knowingly, "Can't you tell just by looking?"
"Feng's son?" Qin Feng's eldest paternal uncle’s wife gasped.
Miaomiao was so startled that he stopped walking.
Madam Zhou quickly picked up her grandson, "Lower your voice, you're scaring my grandson."
""You're scaring your grandson," Qin Feng's eldest aunt couldn't help but remark.
"Don't you pamper your own grandson?" Madam Zhou wasn't going to take it any longer. She had felt somewhat guilty when she didn't have any grandchildren before, but now that she had a big grandson, who looked so much like Qin Feng, she wasn't going to hold back.
Qin Feng's eldest aunt was left speechless.
Madam Zhou proudly hummed and said, "Miaomiao, let's go home. From now on, stay away from them."
The child obediently nodded.
When Qin Feng's eldest and second aunts saw how well-behaved the child was, they couldn't help but feel envious. But then, remembering they couldn't even manage their children themselves, they were unwilling to let it go. "Why isn't the child's mother here?"
Madam Zhou couldn't let them know that her son was irresponsible, nor could she let them know that the child's mother wasn't involved, or they would have more to gossip about. "Now that we have a grandson, who cares about the mother? Besides, our Miaomiao doesn't need a mother, right?"
As expected, the child, raised in a temple, had no idea what a mother was. "I have a daddy," he said proudly, looking at them.
Failing to provoke the child into crying or causing a scene, Qin Feng's eldest aunt pushed further, "Xiao Feng's mother, I'm not saying anything, but you're really realistic."
Madam Zhou didn't bother to respond.
However, out of the corner of her eye, she saw a figure and immediately said, "That's not as good as your reality. You dare to treat your daughter-in-law like a servant girl, then encourage everyone to follow your example because you bought her with money. If you don't make use of her, it'd be a waste."
Qin Feng's paternal cousin’s wife came out of the house and couldn't help but look at her mother-in-law.
The eldest aunt hurriedly explained to her daughter-in-law.
Madam Zhou, unaffected, picked up Miaomiao and headed home.
After entering the courtyard and closing the door behind her with her leg, she set the child down. "Miaomiao, play by yourself. Grandma needs to scrub the pots and wash the dishes."
The child nodded his little head, following her closely.
Worried about bumping into him if she went in and out, Madam Zhou thought for a moment, grabbed a small chair, and placed it by the kitchen door, letting the child sit there.
No matter where she went—whether to the main room, the kitchen, or the yard to press water—she could always keep an eye on him.
The child had been in the temple all day, and since the temple was halfway up the mountain with no one to play with and no space to run around, his nature had become very well-behaved.
Madam Zhou tidied up the kitchen, then cleaned the main room. By the time she finished, Old Qin had returned with the groceries.
The child did not make any noise until then.
The more well-behaved he was, the more Madam Zhou's heart ached for him.
She took off her apron, washed her hands, and couldn't help but pick him up.
Seeing the child nestled obediently in his wife's arms, Old Qin felt a pang of envy. "Miaomiao, let Grandpa hold you?"
The child decisively turned his face away.
The old man frowned.
Madam Zhou chuckled. "Surprised? Do you know why?"
Old Qin didn't know.
"If you let him see you hit your son again, he won't even call you Grandpa."
Curious, Old Qin asked, "Really?"
The child turned his head and gave him a sideways look, resting on Madam Zhou's shoulder.
Madam Zhou laughed.
Old Qin felt embarrassed. "It was just so sudden. If I had known it was you, not just one, but even three grandpas wouldn't have been angry."
The child glanced back at him before quickly averting his gaze.
It seemed like he was saying, I don't believe you, you bad grandpa who lies to children!
Madam Zhou asked, "No class this afternoon?”
"Last class."
Old Qin glanced at the clock in the room, noticing the first class had just started. "It's still early."
"Put the vegetables away in the cupboard. I'll cook later."
Old Qin couldn't help but say, "It's still a long time before dark."
"Da Xiaozi and Er Xiaozi are growing and can't go hungry. Our Miaomiao only had half a steamed bun for lunch."
The child couldn't help but add, "And rice soup."
"That doesn't fill you up. You just pee it out," Madam Zhou responded. Since there was steamed buns, Madam Zhou also made rice soup, mainly because she found plain boiled water tasteless, and her son wouldn't let her give the child sugar water, saying it would rot his teeth if he ate too much sugar.
Old Qin couldn't help but turn to the child, seeing that he looked almost exactly like Qin Feng did when he was little. His hands itched. "Miaomiao, let Grandpa hold you for a while. Grandpa will take you to buy some candy."
The child again gave him the back of his head.
Madam Zhou chuckled, "Hurry up."
Old Qin gave the child a glare before going to rinse the shrimp he bought by the water well.
This pressure water well was also built by Qin Feng.
In the past, his parents would go to the village entrance to fetch water.
Back then, the water was unpolluted and clean, but carrying the water was tiring.
Qin Feng is a bit of a slacker, but his parents only nag him because he's so filial. Ever since he came back, he not only brought a clock for the house to make sure his father didn't have to rush to class. He bought an electric rice cooker, which saved Madam Zhou a lot of trouble when cooking, and he even drilled a well for the family.
Madam Zhou had also mentioned that he should save money to marry a wife.
Qin Feng bluntly said that he wasn't poor enough to make his relatives worry about him.
As expected, his salary was barely enough to get by, and even the poorest, most financially irresponsible relatives couldn't help but criticize him for not knowing how to manage his money.
When this reached Madam Zhou's ears, she sighed and complained on the surface, blaming Qin Feng for not being sensible. But once she returned to the house, she grumbled to her family, saying those people didn't know anything.
After that, Old Qin finished putting away the vegetables, and Madam Zhou directed him to place them properly before taking the child to their bedroom.
The child sat on the bed while she pulled out the cloth and cotton she had stored.
The weather had gotten warmer, and in a few days it would be too late to wear the thin coats. She planned to take advantage of the quiet evening to make three cotton vests for the three children.
However, when she had saved the fabric, she hadn't anticipated Miaomiao, and there wasn't enough cloth for both the older boys and Miaomiao.
In the evening, when Old Qin returned from class, Madam Zhou asked him to buy a few more feet of fabric from the market on the weekend.
When Da Xiaozi and Er Xiaozi came in, she added, "Later, bring the old clothes you two wore when you were little. I'll take them apart and make shoes for you."
Gu Laoda couldn't help but say, "Didn't we just make two pairs?"
"Cloth shoes wear out quickly. Besides, it's getting hotter, so we might as well prepare to make slippers."
In the past, when he begged his aunt to make shoes but she never made any for him. Now he have so many shoes that he can't wear them all.
The young Gu Da was a little unsure for a moment. "Isn't it tiring, how about take a break before making them?"
"It's not tiring, why take a break?" Madam Zhou noticed he hesitated, as if there was something on his mind. "Who told you something? Ignore whatever they say, it's fucking bullshit!”
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