For the first time in his life, Luo Wangshu ate so many strawberries that he was stuffed, yet still wanted more. He sprawled on the grass unwilling to move, while Li Miaomiao copied him, spreading her arms and legs into a giant starfish shape.
“Auntie, this place is so pretty.”
Luo Wangshu curled his lips proudly. “Of course it is. Don’t you see whose place this is?”
Back then, in order to “save” this space, he had spent tens of millions buying huge amounts of high-quality jade to “feed” it. Cough, of course, he’d gotten the idea from some novel. Later, when he ran out of money, that was the end of it. A few acres of land were enough for him—he wasn’t greedy.
“Auntie, Miaomiao wants to eat corn.” Li Miaomiao wrapped herself around Luo Wangshu affectionately.
Luo Wangshu helplessly tapped the tip of her nose. “You, ah you. Besides eating, what else can you do? Corn, huh… I can consider planting some, but Miaomiao has to go find seeds.”
“Okay! Miaomiao has lots and lots of seeds at home.”
“No need for too many, just…” Luo Wangshu thought for a moment. “Five.”
“Mhm!” Li Miaomiao smiled happily. “Miaomiao wants boiled corn.”
Luo Wangshu said, “Wouldn’t grilled corn taste better?”
“Eh? How do you eat grilled corn?”
“You roast it over charcoal. After it’s cooked, brush on a layer of oil and sprinkle chili powder and salt over it. Golden and shiny, super fragrant…”
“Gulp—”
Luo Wangshu looked toward Li Miaomiao. Embarrassed, she grinned and wiped the drool from the corner of her mouth.
“So hopeless.” Luo Wangshu crossed his legs and laughed.
Li Miaomiao huffed proudly. “Miaomiao learned it from Auntie!”
“Am I as gluttonous as you?”
“Yes!” “No!”
“Yes!” …
Inside the space, the two endlessly repeated their childish argument. Outside, however, the situation was far from optimistic.
After inserting the final needle, Mo Fang let out a long sigh of relief and used the cloth Li Guang handed him to wipe the sweat from his forehead.
Mrs. Li asked with a pale face, “How is he? He’s not going to die, right?”
Mo Fang glanced at her before saying to Li Niu and Li Chunhua beside her, “He’s temporarily out of danger, but he’ll still need several days to recover. Don’t let the wound touch water.”
Li Niu and Li Chunhua nodded repeatedly. “Thank you, Doctor Mo! You’re the great benefactor of our family!”
Li Guang smiled weakly at the words. His vision suddenly went black, and he only managed to stay standing by holding onto the doorframe.
“You damned jinx! How many people do you want to kill before you’re satisfied?!” Mrs. Li cursed at him furiously. She grabbed the hoe nearby and swung it straight at his head.
Everyone’s eyes widened. If that hit landed, the child would definitely die.
But before the hoe could strike, someone caught it midair.
“Have you caused enough trouble yet?” Li Hu stared coldly at Mrs. Li, his gaze anything but friendly.
Mrs. Li struggled a few times but couldn’t break free. In the end, she let go and sat down on the ground, crying loudly.
“My life is so miserable! I gave birth to such an unlucky thing. I can’t even discipline my own child without other people interfering, boohoo—”
Li Chunhua also pretended to wipe tears that didn’t exist and stepped forward to support Mrs. Li.
“Mother, our family’s fate is bitter. This time it was Father. Next time it might be your daughter.”
Li Guang stared blankly at the crying mother and daughter. Li Niu knew full well that his mother and sister wanted the boy dead, but it had nothing to do with him, so he merely watched coldly from the side.
“Little brother, please, I’m begging you. Stop bringing harm to Father and Mother. If anything must happen, let it happen to me instead. Father and Mother are already old, sob sob…”
Li Chunhua had originally been born quite pretty. Her almond-shaped eyes brimmed with watery tears, making people feel pity for her.
The men standing nearby silently turned their heads away. It was another family’s private matter, and it wasn’t appropriate for them to interfere.
Li Hu tossed the hoe aside. The heavy thud startled the crying pair.
After remaining silent for a long while, Mo Fang finally said, “If you want to argue, go home and argue. This is my house. Keep making noise, and I can’t guarantee what I might do.”
The moment those words came out, everyone shut their mouths. Though who knew how many thoughts were still twisting around in their minds.
Luo Wangshu estimated that enough time had passed before finally coming out, only to hear Mo Fang’s words.
Since there was no major problem anymore, the injured man was carried back home. Mrs. Li repeatedly hinted both openly and secretly that Li Guang should leave too, but Mo Fang pulled him back. Since they had no gifts to offer anyway, Mrs. Li didn’t dare say anything else and left gloomily.
After everyone was gone, Li Guang raised his eyes to look at Mo Fang. His face was covered in tear stains.
“Great-Grandpa… it really wasn’t me. Father wasn’t harmed by me… it wasn’t me.”
Mo Fang rubbed his head and said unusually gently, “Mm, it has nothing to do with you.”
“Father!” Li Miaomiao saw Li Hu and happily threw herself at him.
Li Hu scooped her up in one motion. “Good girl, Miaomiao. Let’s go home.”
“Okay!” Li Miaomiao turned back and waved her little paw at Luo Wangshu. “Auntie, Miaomiao’s going home now.”
Luo Wangshu nodded and blinked at her. Li Miaomiao immediately understood and blinked back. In the world of foodies, everything could be understood without words.
Li Hu watched them in confusion. Why did he feel like after only being away a few days, his daughter had already been lured away?
Mo Fang pulled Li Guang into the main hall and sat him down. “Stay for a meal.”
Li Guang sniffled, endlessly repeating, “It wasn’t me.”
Luo Wangshu walked over to Mo Fang and asked, “Old man, what exactly happened?”
Mo Fang glared at him irritably and shoved the wooden basin in his hands toward him. Luo Wangshu chuckled and took it.
“Sigh.” Mo Fang sat by the stove, exhaustion written all over his face. “When Xiao Guang was born, a fortune teller said he was born to bring disaster upon his family. On top of that, Mrs. Li nearly died giving birth to him, and that same year the taxes increased heavily, leaving them deep in debt. So they believed Xiao Guang was some kind of demon.”
Luo Wangshu paused while washing the rice. “What does that have to do with Xiao Guang? Besides, he’s their biological son!”
“Exactly.” Just thinking about it gave Mo Fang a headache. “Xiao Guang survived all these years thanks to your Uncle Li’s family helping him. The child is smart too. Such a pity.”
“Then what happened today? Why did things get so ugly?” Luo Wangshu asked curiously.
“Today, Li Dalei took Xiao Guang up the mountain to gather firewood. He sat around comfortably while making Xiao Guang go alone into the deeper mountains to chop wood. Then a giant rock rolled down and hit him. Xiao Guang was the one who carried him back down the mountain, yet Mrs. Li insisted it was Xiao Guang’s bad luck again. Judging from today’s scene… they were planning to beat him to death.”
At this point, Mo Fang stopped speaking. His eyes were filled with helplessness and regret.
“How can they do that…” Luo Wangshu shook his head, goosebumps rising all over his back.
From the corner of his eye, he looked at the child sitting blankly on the stool. It felt as though a giant boulder was pressing down on his chest, making it hard to breathe.
After washing the rice, Luo Wangshu skillfully started the fire and cooked the meal.
“I’m warning you, don’t do anything reckless. No matter what, it’s still another family’s business. As outsiders, we can only do so much.” Mo Fang deliberately emphasized the words “outsiders.”
For some reason, Luo Wangshu felt there was another meaning hidden beneath those words. Confused, he looked at Mo Fang, only to see the old man clasp his hands behind his back and slowly walk toward the rocking chair before lying down.
So they were just going to watch the kid go back and die?
Luo Wangshu sighed. Maybe he should make egg fried rice for lunch?
“Cough cough!”
Luo Wangshu frantically tried to control the fire and stir-fry the rice. “Old man! Hurry up and help me tend the fire! The eggs are burning!”
Mo Fang slept comfortably, even snoring softly.
Damn it! There’s smoke everywhere and he can still sleep?!
Left with no choice, Luo Wangshu called to the other person instead. “Xiao Guang! Can you help me with the fire?”
The wooden statue-like boy finally reacted a little. He blinked at Luo Wangshu, who was coughing from the smoke beside the stove. In the end, unable to keep watching, he walked over.
With tears in his eyes from the smoke, Luo Wangshu watched the child—who was at least a whole round younger than him—clean up the disaster area while he himself only needed to finish frying the rice.
“Well, um… I only know how to make egg fried rice. Don’t mind it, okay?” Luo Wangshu said. He tasted a bite himself first. Aside from being a little burnt, everything else was fine. Only then did he relax and scoop a bowl for Li Guang.
Li Guang stared blankly at the bowl of egg fried rice in front of him. “This…”
“Don’t judge it by how it looks. It actually tastes pretty good. Eat, eat.”
Luo Wangshu scooped a bowl for himself too, and the last bowl was for Mo Fang.
“Old man, time to eat!” Luo Wangshu carried the bowl and chopsticks over to Mo Fang. The old man opened his eyes groggily and took them.
“This isn’t poisoned, right?”
The corners of Luo Wangshu’s mouth twitched. “If you think it’s poisoned, then don’t eat it!”
As he spoke, he reached out to snatch it back, but Mo Fang turned away and leisurely took a bite.
Luo Wangshu hadn’t really intended to grab it anyway. He huffed and went back to eating on his own.
Mo Li wouldn’t be back until evening, which meant there wouldn’t be any good food until then. Truly depressing.
Li Guang shoveled rice into his mouth with trembling hands. Luo Wangshu originally wanted to tell him not to eat so quickly, but after noticing the wounds on the boy’s wrists, the words stuck in his throat no matter what.
To end up with such a family…
Luo Wangshu suddenly felt emotional. Luckily, the people he met were Mo Li and the others. Sometimes the food wasn’t especially good, but at least there was always a portion for him.
After the meal, Li Guang seemed to have made a huge decision. He looked at Luo Wangshu, who was cleaning up the dishes, and asked, “Auntie, can I wash them?”
Luo Wangshu smiled instinctively. “No need. You’re tired today too. Why not go rest in the room for a while? I can handle this.”
Li Guang stubbornly stared at him. After a long moment of eye contact, Luo Wangshu finally surrendered.
“Alright then. But be careful not to get your clothes wet.”
Luo Wangshu placed the dishes into the wooden basin filled with rice-washing water. Li Guang rolled up his sleeves and washed them skillfully, looking far steadier than Luo Wangshu, who was scrubbing the wok.
There weren’t many dishes. After cleaning everything up, Li Guang looked steadily at Luo Wangshu and said, “Auntie, the egg fried rice you made was really delicious.”
Luo Wangshu widened his eyes. Delicious? At best it was just edible.
“Auntie.”
Li Guang suddenly dropped to his knees with a thud.
“Hey! What are you doing? Get up quickly.” It was Luo Wangshu’s first time having someone kneel before him, and he hurriedly tried to help him up. Though Li Guang was small, he was surprisingly strong. Luo Wangshu couldn’t lift him at all.
Li Guang heavily knocked his head against the ground three times.
“Thank you, Auntie. Thank you, Great-Grandpa.”
Luo Wangshu was speechless, his mind completely blank. It was only a bowl of egg fried rice. Was it really necessary?
After standing back up, Li Guang smiled faintly.
“Auntie, I’m going back now. Please thank Uncle Li for me.”
“How about staying here for two more days? We can squeeze together somehow.”
Li Guang shook his head. “No need. Would going back earlier or later make any difference?”
Even though he knew exactly what awaited the boy after he returned home, Luo Wangshu could only watch his back as he left.
Maybe… maybe nothing would happen?