CH 68

The down jacket his youngest uncle purchased for Xu Fan was too big, the down jacket for him was too small, and the one he purchased for Xu Zhao was the perfect size… His youngest uncle toward Xu Zhao… It had to be impossible. His youngest uncle liked delicate and refined men, not the type like Xu Zhao.

Not Xu Zhao! Xu Zhao was even more delicate and good looking. But his youngest uncle truly did treat Xu Zhao very well and understood him very well. Why was that?

Besides the college entrance exam, this was the first time in Cui Qingfeng’s life that he encountered such a hard problem. It was hard to solve and understand. He felt that he was certain but then confused, and certain then confused again. As he lay in bed, he kept turning this question over in his head. If it was true, what would he do? And if it wasn’t, then what would he do as well…? After a while, he pondered numerous sceneries. It was true. It wasn’t true. It was true. It wasn’t true.

In mind was filled with his youngest uncle and Xu Zhao.

On the other hand, Xu Zhao wasn’t thinking of Cui Qingfeng. Instead, he was thinking of Cui Dingchen and how Cui Dingchen could have gifted him such an expensive gift. Although due to the skill level of this era, the technique wasn’t very good, and it was low quality, this piece was a bit thinner and warmer than a normal down jacket. It had to be of a higher grade.

“It must be expensive?” Mother Xu asked.

Xu Zhao nodded.

Mother Xu couldn’t help but touch the fabric. Although she couldn’t identify what kind of fabric it was, it had to be made from a good material. She couldn’t help but say, “Should we return it?”

“We already accepted. How could we return it?” Xu Zhao said.

“So what should we do?” Mother Xu asked.

Xu Zhao thought for a bit. Since they had already accepted it, he said, “We’ll buy him something else later as a return gift.”

“That’s fine as well. The temperature has been falling again and it should snow in a few days. You should wear this, and you definitely won’t be cold.” As Mother Xu was speaking, she glanced at Xu Fan, who was on the bed, and said, “Xu Zhao, look. What do you think our Sanwa is doing?”

Xu Zhao looked back. Xu Fan was currently standing by the bed and whimpering as he wore his new clothes. It was the down jacket Cui Dingchen had bought. Although it was a bit too big, it still didn’t fit the Xu Fan who was wearing the cotton-padded jacket. But Xu Fan insisted on wearing it and put all his strength in trying to wear the new clothes.

“Xu Fan, what are you doing?” Xu Zhao asked.

Xu Fan’s right arm had already been stuffed through the left sleeve of the down jacket. His face was full of accomplishment as he said, “Daddy, I’m wearing my new clothes. I look so good.”

Xu Zhao: “…” He hadn’t even worn it and was already saying he looked good. Even if he was obsessively narcissistic, this was still a bit too much.

Mother Xu: “…”

“That’s not how you wear it.” Xu Zhao patted Xu Fan on the butt, then took off his new overalls and old cotton-padded jacket in exchange for the down jacket. He happily asked, “Daddy, do I look good?”

“Very good.”

Xu Zhao half-heartedly said the words to Xu Fan as he walked to the kitchen to school hot water to wash Xu Fan’s hands, face, feet, and butt. Since it was already winter and the perfect time to gain weight, Xu Fan did indeed get a bit fatter. However, he didn’t gain too little or too much weight. He looked very good.

After washing, Xu Zhao stuffed Xu Fan under the quilts. Xu Zhao also followed under the quilt. He wrapped his arms around Xu Fan and chatted with Xu Fan. “Xu Fan, today is your birthday. Daddy wishes you a happy birthday again.”

“Thank you, Daddy,” Xu Fan very politely thanked him then asked, “Daddy, I can eat a birthday cake on my birthday.”

“That’s right. There will always be birthday cake on your birthdays.”

Xu Fan immediately continued, “U-um, Daddy. I want to celebrate my birthday again tomorrow.”

“Why?”

“The birthday cake was very delicious.”

“…” Xu Zhao’s temples throbbed as he said, “Xu Baobao, your birthday can’t be celebrated everyday.”

“Why not?” Xu Fan asked.

“Because your birthday is the day of your birth. Other days aren’t called that.”

“But I want to eat cake.”

Xu Fan’s milky voice made Xu Zhao unable to restrain his emotions. He couldn’t help but have a bit more patience as he asked, “Do you like eating it?”

“Yes,” Xu Fan replied.

“Then Daddy will make money and buy you more.”

“Daddy, when will you make money?”

“Soon.”

“Then I want to eat two big cakes.”

“You little foodie.”

Xu Zhao kissed Xu Fan’s little face and involuntarily remembered the words Xu Fan said tonight. He said he wanted to become Sun Wukong so that Daddy wouldn’t be tired. He wanted to protect Daddy. Xu Zhao felt moved again and couldn’t help but ask, “Xu Fan, how do you know Daddy is tired?”

Xu Fan’s watery eyes looked at Xu Zhao.

Xu Zhao explained and asked again, “You said you wanted to become the Great Sage the Equal of Heaven so that Daddy didn’t have to ride the bike. You would fly Daddy in the air since Daddy was tired. How did you know Daddy is tired?”

Xu Fan thought before saying, “Because Daddy was sweating.”

He was very attentive. He even knew that his daddy was sweating. Xu Zhao hugged Xu Fan and asked again, “Sweating means being tired?”

Xu Fan thought again then imitated the way the adults gasped and said, “Daddy is already like this. It’s very tiring like this.”

Oh my, Xu Fan really was attentive.

Xu Zhao fondly hugged Xu Fan and said, “Baobao, Daddy loves you.”

Xu Fan happily said, “I-I-I also love Daddy.”

“Mn, Daddy will tell you a story, so you should go to sleep.”

“I want to listen to a good story.”

“No problem.”

Xu Zhao searched his brain for a story and picked a fable to tell Xu Fan. After the story, the father and son started chatting. Xu Fan fell asleep in Xu Zhao’s arms, and under the warm “affection,” Xu Zhao also fell asleep not too long later.

The next morning, it was indeed colder, making it so that no one wanted to get out of bed. Xu Zhao had to get up, but Xu Fan still hadn’t woken up. It was the perfect time for Xu Zhao to deliver vegetables, sell vegetables, and deliver some to Fan’s Little Shop as well. Seeing Cui Qingfeng, Cui Qingfeng’s condition didn’t seem to be too good.

“What’s wrong?” Xu Zhao asked, “Did you not sleep well last night?”

“Mn, I didn’t sleep well,” Cui Qingfeng replied softly. Seeing the down jacket Xu Zhao wore, he asked, “Are you wearing the jacket my youngest uncle gave you yesterday?”

“Yes,” Xu Zhao replied honestly. “It’s very warm.” He didn’t feel cold the whole bike ride here. It protected him from the wind very well.

Cui Qingfeng looked him up and down, then asked, “Does it fit?”

“Yes. What about yours? Does yours fit?”

Cui Qingfeng looked at Xu Zhao’s down jacket, which looked like it was tailor-made for him. Cui Qingfeng felt even more depressed as he said, “Mine is a bit too small.”

“You can exchange it for a bigger one.” Xu Zhao became more and more similar to the people of this era, especially with how to live life better. He then said, “It’s better to get a bigger size. If it’s too cold, you could wear another sweater inside.”

“Mn, I’m planning on exchanging it.” Cui Qingfeng looked at Xu Zhao and couldn’t help but call, “Xu Zhao.”

Xu Zhao glanced at Cui Qingfeng and waited for Cui Qingfeng to continue.

Cui Qingfeng thought before asking, “What do you think of my youngest uncle?”

“He’s pretty good. Why?”

“Nothing, I was just asking.”

“Then do you like my youngest uncle’s type?”

“I can’t say for sure,” Xu Fan smiled and said frankly, “But I’m certain I like types like Xu Fan.”

“Types like Xu Fan?”

“Yeah. Cute and cares for people. He’s very good. I won’t chat with you anymore. I need to deliver and sell the vegetables. See you later.”

Xu Zhao rode the bicycle away.

Cui Qingfeng listlessly inside Fan’s Little Shop when Mother Cui came by. Seeing Cui Qingfeng being idle, she said, “Qingfeng, did you read the books your youngest uncle told you to? Why are you in a daze here? Let me tell you, you should read and study more while you’re watching the shop. You can listen to your youngest uncle’s advice later and take your driver’s license test to improve yourself, okay?”

Cui Qingfeng raised his spirits and asked, “Mom, Youngest uncle isn’t coming over today?”

“Why would he come here? He already left,” Mother Cui said.

Cui Qingfeng asked in surprise, “Left? For where?”

Mother Cui brushed the dust off her clothes and said, “It seems he took his car this time.”

“Where did he go? Why didn’t I know this?”

Mother Cui rolled her eyes at Cui Qingfeng. “You’re so lazy. When your youngest uncle came by, you were still sleeping. He went to East Prefecture.”

“When will he come back?”

“We’re not sure yet. Probably when we celebrate the Minor Spring Festival.”

“That long?”

“It’s not strange to be gone this long. It’s like this every year. What’s wrong?”

“It’s nothing.”

“If it’s nothing, then hurry up and read the book. Xu Zhao created an environment where you can learn while making money, yet you don’t know how to cherish this chance.”

“I got it, I got it.”

Mother Cui went to work while carrying her bag.

Cui Qingfeng sank into deep thought inside the shop. His youngest uncle went to the East Prefecture, and Xu Zhao probably didn’t know this. Reasonably speaking, his youngest uncle should have told Xu Zhao first. Therefore, did his youngest uncle like Xu Zhao or not… Cui Qingfeng pondered again “did he or didn’t he?” However, since his youngest uncle wasn’t here, how was he going to solve this problem?

Cui Qingfeng scratched his head. He didn’t even know how to contact him by phone in the East Prefecture. And with this problem in his heart, he silently paid attention to Xu Zhao.

Meanwhile, Xu Zhao was paying attention to the big greenhouse. Along with the cold and the temperature dropped, the crops also grew slower. In order to improve the growth rate, besides covering the big greenhouse with the grass curtain, Xu Zhao also opened the cold protecting shield, and every few days, he would burn straw and sawdust to warm the big greenhouse.

This was very effective. As Xu Zhao expected, the crops in the big and small greenhouses grew, letting Xu Zhao relax. After delivering and selling vegetables everyday, he unexpectedly earned a bit under a thousand Yuan. Even Da Zhuang’s family’s living standards rose a lot. However, the two families were relatively low-key. And so many villagers suspected that even though they were so busy, they didn’t make much money. They didn’t explain either.

When the Minor Spring Festival1 was approaching, Xu Zuocheng and the others who left with the tractor to work outside returned and caused a sensation in the entire village.