Chapter 125

This time Zhuo Yun did not come out to greet Xu Ran in person because he was reluctant to let go of his son.

Xu Ran went to the living room by himself and saw Zhuo Yun sitting on a chair with something in his arms. The child was wrapped in clothes, so Xu Ran couldn’t see what it looked like. He walked over and patted Zhuo Yun, “Hey, brother, I’ve been away for a long time. You didn’t come to greet me, and now aren’t you going to take a look at me?”

Zhuo Yun didn’t even raise his head. “What’s so good about you? You are so big. How can you compare to my baby?”

He lowered his voice when he said ‘baby’, which brought goose bumps to Xu Ran.

Xu Ran said, “Come on. You wouldn’t let go of the baby. Don’t you care about Shuwen?”

Zhuo Yun immediately retorted, “Nonsense. Shuwen adores baby more than me. If he hadn’t fallen asleep, I would not have been able to take the baby out. Do you want to hold the baby? He’s beautiful.” As he said, he carried the baby to Xu Ran’s arms.

Xu Ran had never held a baby before, so he took the baby carefully. He felt it light and soft in his hands, and Xu Ran got stiff, afraid that his movement would hurt the baby.

Zhuo Yun taught him as he watched. “You hold him like this. I tell you, I was the same as you in the beginning, but I got used to it after I held him for a few days. Your boy is about to be born. If you don’t learn how to hold a baby, you can only look at your baby instead of holding him. How pitiful!”

Xu Ran thought for a while and agreed. He then focused on learning how to hold a baby from Zhuo Yun. The two men were studying how to hold a baby in the living room, which was a funny scene. However, the two of them did not feel it at all, and there were only two children watching them with eager eyes. Fortunately, there were no servants around. If this spread out, they would be a laughing stock for a good while.

When Xu Ran could finally hold the baby expertly, he realized that he did not know the name of the baby yet.

Xu Ran asked Zhuo Yun, “Zhuo Yun, what’s your baby’s name?”

“Oh, his name is Zhuo Qingshu.”

Xu Ran got the meaning of the name once he heard it. Zhuo Yun showed his love for Qin Shuwen all the time, but the name sounded very nice.

The baby was sleeping soundly, and he didn’t wake up when Zhuo Yun taught Xu Ran how to hold him. He had grown prettier during these days. His cheeks were red, and the shape of his face was perfect. He would become a beauty when he grew up.

Xu Ran was about to discuss this with Zhuo Yun when he felt someone was tugging at his trousers. He looked down and saw the twins were earnestly looking at the baby in his arms.

Well, he had forgotten about his own children.

Xu Ran sat down on the chair with little Qingshu in his arms, so that the twins could see the baby.

Xu Ran said to the twins, “Tangtang, Guoguo, this is your brother. He is a Ge’er. You should protect him, okay?”

The twins nodded earnestly, and then stared at Qingshu with unblinking eyes in amazement.

Seeing that the baby was taken care of, Zhuo Yun went to Qin Shuwen. He didn’t worry about the baby when he left it to Xu Ran.

Xu Ran and his sons sat in the living room, playing with the baby. He didn’t discuss any business.

Qin Shuwen was in confinement, so it’s not convenient for Xu Ran to go to him. At lunch Xu Ran found a chance to return the baby to Zhuo Yun, who took the baby to Qin Shuwen.

The things that the servants brought back were all at Zhuo Mansion. After lunch, Xu Ran took out the things one by one and told Zhuo Yun which gift was for whom. After that, the rest was for the Qin Family.

Xu Ran asked Zhuo Yun to go to the Qin family with him, but Zhuo Yun said that Qin Shuwen’s family had told him to wait on Qin Shuwen without going anywhere during the confinement.

Since Zhuo Yun said so, Xu Ran couldn’t force him, so he had to drive the carriage to the Qin Family with the twins and the gifts.

The Qin family knew that Xu Ran had gone to take the provincial exam. After arriving at the Qin Mansion, Xu Ran and the twins were greeted warmly. The Qin Family was very happy with the gifts that Xu Ran brought all the way from Qingzhou County.

Elder Daddy Qin started to regret not having more Ge’ers. Xu Ran was such a good person. When he thought that Liu Tong was also very nice, he dropped the idea.

The Qin family invited them to stay for dinner, but Xu Ran saw that it was getting late, and he had two children with him, so he refused.

Elder Daddy Qin saw that Xu Ran had children to look after, so he didn’t insist, asking him to visit them often.

…

Xu Ran forgot to visit Xu Houcai after he went back in the evening. After dinner at home, he felt sleepy and he went to bed. It was until the next morning that he remembered this.

So Xu Ran left home early. The door of the Xu Mansion was closed, and Xu Ran was too embarrassed to knock on the door. Thinking that Xu Houcai might have gone to farm in the field at this hour, Xu Ran went to the Xu family’s field from memory. However, when he was halfway to the field, he recalled that the field had been sold…

Xu Ran heard that they had rented two mus of farmland from the village head, but he didn’t know where it was. It was really difficult to find someone in this age.

Xu Ran was about to go back when he saw Xu Houcai walking to the field with a hoe.

Xu Ran quickly went forward. Seeing that there was no one around, he started to talk at ease, “Dad, are you going to the field?”

Xu Houcai was delighted at sight of Xu Ran. “Yes. Ran, are you back from the provincial exam?”

Xu Ran nodded. “Yes, I came back the day before yesterday. Dad, I heard from Tongtong that you came to look for me. What is the matter?”

“Nothing. I just wanted to see you. I’m growing old and I’ve figured it out. When I’m still able to work, I’ll earn more money so I won’t need anyone to support me when I’m old. As for your Daddy and your brother, leave them alone. I can’t take care of them, and I don’t want to do that anymore.”

As Xu Houcai spoke, he looked extremely weary as if he had resigned himself to his fate.

In fact, it was Elder Daddy Xu who had dragged him down. Although he assumed the responsibility of Elder Daddy Xu, he should know who he should look after. No one could stop him if he wanted to live a miserable life.

They were talking at the roadside, where people were coming and going. They might be seen by someone, who might tell Elder Daddy Xu. Xu Ran didn’t want to give Elder Daddy Xu an excuse to go to his home and make trouble, so he left without saying much to Xu Houcai.

Xu Houcai went to farm in the field with a hoe. The two mus of land was not enough for a family, but Xu Ran didn’t know what to say when he saw that Xu Cheng and Elder Daddy Xu were not interested in helping.

It wasn’t until he returned home and saw his family that he felt a little better.

…

Xu An was making the Chinese chess especially for Mr. Hu. Xu Ran had asked Mr. Hu and found he really couldn’t read. Xu Ran thought of asking the twins to teach him. The children would take it seriously since it was the first time that they taught people how to read.

Xu Ran told the twins his plan, and both of them agreed and promised they would do their best.

When they started, they found it was not easy. Tangtang was fine. He was gentle, and he liked reading, so he patiently repeated the words with Mr. Hu.

Guoguo couldn’t do that. He didn’t like studying. After teaching Mr. Hu for a while, he lost patience and went to Gao Quan to learn martial arts.

Xu Ran intended to take him back, but Mr. Hu interceded for him, so Xu Ran let him off. Xu Ran asked Tangtang to leave as well and he started to teach Mr. Hu.

Xu Ran taught in a much more vivid manner, and he could even tell short stories when teaching characters. Mr. Hu had never heard of these stories and found them intertesting, so he listened attentively. When listening to the stories, he remembered the characters. He learnt much faster than when he was with the twins.

Mr. Hu finally remembered the characters after learning for a few days. Xu An had made the chess pieces and chessboard, waiting for Xu Ran to tell him what characters to be carved.

Xu Ran wrote down the characters to be carved on the chess pieces. He went to the town and bought the dyes to color the pieces.

The chessboard was marked with the border of two opponents with different colors, which was quite easy to recognize.

Xu Ran gave Mr. Hu a task, asking him to find a partner, who should be on good terms with him and had a lot time to his own. Mr. Hu should teach his partner how to read. After the chess pieces were made and colored, Xu Ran would teach them how to play Chinese chess.

Mr. Hu had heard many stories from Xu Ran these days, and he remembered quite a few of them. He was thinking of showing off to his old friends, so he took the task happily and went to find a partner.

Meanwhile, Xu Ran went to farm in the fields a few times and planted some potatoes. Gao Quan and Shao Yu planted wheat and rape in five mus of land, and they planted potatoes and turnips in the remaining five mus. Turnips would be their major vegetable when it was winter.

When it was almost the end of the month, the chessboard and chess pieces were finally ready for use. At the same time, the results of the provincial exam was going to be released. Xu Ran got nervous.

He kept pacing up and down in the room all day, even Liu Tong, who was very patient with him, got annoyed and asked him to go out and teach Mr. Hu to play Chinese chess.

Mr. Hu was very enthusiastic. He had been busy for so long and had taken pains to learned how to read. His efforts were going to pay off. How could he not get excited?

Therefore, he kept pestering Xu Ran all day, who finally gave way. Xu Ran got less nervous and started to concentrate on teaching Mr. Hu to play Chinese chess.