LW chapter 88: Extra 4

 

Zhuangzhuang was only two years old, yet he was already much taller than other children his age. He looked very much like Zhou Yuan and had the same temperament. Perhaps it was because he heard Zhou Yuan say every day that he had to protect his little father. Whenever Chen Qing invited him to play, he stayed by Chen Qing’s side, afraid that others would bully him.

Chen Qing hurriedly held Zhuangzhuang’s hand and gently touched his forehead, worried that he might have been hurt by the collision.

The man who was hit got up and cursed. Li Xin immediately stood in front of Chen Qing and Zhuangzhuang, saying, “If you have the guts, say what you said again.”

The man felt embarrassed. Chen Qing was easy to bully, but Li Xin was not. He had never been bullied since he was young. He also knew why this man liked to gossip about him. It was because he had just given birth, and news that Qi Shuning had passed the imperial examination had spread again in the village. Some people harbored evil thoughts.

Since Li Xin had just given birth, he could not have intercourse at this time. Therefore, some people wanted to send their siblings into his household, even if only as concubines.

However, no one expected Qi Shuning to be so resolute. He refused, saying that as a husband, there was no reason to take concubines. He not only refused them but also scolded those who had such thoughts. Scholars scold people without using dirty words, but their scolding is vicious. Not wanting to offend Qi Shuning, they resented Li Xin, and now that they knew he had been in the capital for three years, they spoke out against him.

The man left in shame. Li Xin squatted down to look at Zhuangzhuang and scratched his nose. “Our Zhuangzhuang is truly amazing,” he said.

Zhuangzhuang lifted his little face proudly.

After a while, Zhang Yin arrived with An’an and Ningning. Soon, they all went together to Li Xin’s house.

Because of the children, the courtyard became much messier. Li the blacksmith went to the carpenter to learn woodworking in his old age, just to make toys for the children. His greatest achievement was making a small wooden horse for each child.

Chen Qing and Zhuangzhuang often came to play, and the children quickly became friends, leaving Chen Qing and Li Xin to talk.

“He should return next year, right?” asked Chen Qing.

Li Xin nodded. Although he said he would take the children to Beijing when he had free time, the journey was too long and difficult with children. Li Xin had only gone to Beijing to see him once last year.

Qi Shuning’s life in Beijing was not as glamorous as the villagers had imagined.

“Let’s not talk about him. Your Zhuangzhuang has really grown up, and he protects you.” Li Xin turned to look at the children running in the yard. “Where is my sworn elder brother?”

“He went to the county town,” Chen Qing replied.

Li Xin looked up at the sky. “I don’t know when Qin Xia will return.”

Since Qin Xia had never fathered a child since his marriage, he left with Meng Shuanzi. Last year, word got around that he was injured while saving Meng Shuanzi. He returned home to recover for two months before he got better. Afterwards, unable to sit idle at home, he went out again with Meng Shuanzi and has not yet returned.

The adults talked in the courtyard while the children ran around in circles. Zhuangzhuang had long arms and legs. Though he was the youngest, he ran faster than his two brothers. Seeing that they could not catch up with him, An’an and Ningning began to cry.

Zhuangzhuang stopped, pulled out the little handkerchief embroidered by his father, and gently wiped his brothers’ tears away.

Li Xin began to laugh. “Look at Zhuangzhuang. How considerate he is!”

Chen Qing laughed too. “Zhuangzhuang was taught by Zhou Yuan.”

Before he turned one, Zhuangzhuang had essentially grown up in Zhou Yuan’s arms. He would cry whenever he was put down, so Zhou Yuan carried him almost constantly. When he was younger, he would lie in Zhou Yuan’s arms. As he grew older, Zhou Yuan carried him on his chest and on his back.

Zhuangzhuang learned to walk on his first birthday. As was the custom for a one-year-old, Chen Qing had also prepared objects for him to choose from. But, unlike his brothers, who played with everything, Zhuangzhuang had a clear purpose. The first time he walked, he went straight to Zhou Yuan’s knife, hugged it, and refused to let go.

Zhou Yuan was very satisfied. If the child was like him, then there would be two people protecting Chen Qing in the future.

“He’s a good teacher, and that’s how boys should be,” Li Xin praised.

After studying at the Hanlin Academy for three years, Qi Shuning was appointed county magistrate of Pingqing County under the Qujiang Prefecture, taking office as a seventh-rank official.

It should be noted that Qi Shuning was from Qinggang Town in Pingqing County.

He had to go to Pingqing County to take office before August 15th and had to bring Li Xin, An’an, and Ningning with him.

Seeing how much the children had grown, Zhou Yuan suggested they accompany Qi Shuning to his office and take the opportunity to travel.

With Zhou Yuan and Chen Qing accompanying him, Li Xin was not too sad to leave home. When they arrived in Pingqing County, Qi Shuning wanted to stroll around the county town, so Zhou Yuan accompanied him. Chen Qing accompanied Li Xin to buy some daily necessities.

After ensuring everything was in order, Chen Qing and Zhou Yuan took Zhuangzhuang home. The three children cried sadly. Li Xin, who rarely cried, wept when he saw them leave.

Chen Qing comforted him. “I’ll come visit you often in the future. The two places are not far apart.”

After seeing Chen Qing and the others off, he felt fortunate to have his children around and did not feel depressed all day. Ten days later, Li Xin said he wanted to continue blacksmithing.

Qi Shuning clapped his hands together. After studying at the Hanlin Academy for three years, he had the air of a scholar and the dignity of an official. “It’s only two years before we leave this place. If you want to continue blacksmithing, we’ll find two helpers to look after An’an and Ningning.”

After weighing the pros and cons, Li Xin decided to stay with An’an and Ningning. However, he could not sit idle, nor could he be trapped in the back courtyard. When Qi Shuning could not go out, Li Xin would take An’an and Ningning everywhere to play.

In the first case Qi Shuning tried in court, the person kneeling before him was his stepmother. Less than ten years had passed, and she had grown old. When she lifted her eyes and saw Qi Shuning sitting in judgment, her whole body trembled.

Two years later, Qi Shuning’s term ended, and he was transferred back to Luohe Village to take over the county magistrate position previously held.

Li Xin, who had been away for two years, returned to Luohe Village with his children.

Time passed, and in the blink of an eye, Zhuangzhuang, An’an, and Ningning were five years old.

Over the past five years, Zhou Yuan had gradually handed over the affairs of the escort agency and now only needed to collect dividends annually. He did not strive for wealth. He only did so to provide for Meng Qi and Shuanzi, and now he steadily collected dividends while studying farming. The family lived a peaceful and smooth life.

Although An’an and Ningning were young when they left, Zhou Yuan took Chen Qing and Zhuangzhuang to visit them over the past two years. The children were not strangers to each other.

Zhuangzhuang was similar to Zhou Yuan. Although he was younger than An’an and Ningning, he was much taller than them.

Meng Qi had been married for many years with no news of pregnancy. Fortunately, Meng Qi’s mother was not unreasonable. She had not forced Meng Qi to divorce for years. This year, she finally became pregnant, and her due date was around the Spring Festival.

Over the past two years, Qin Xia had fathered a son who liked to follow Zhuangzhuang around all day. Using his height and strength to his advantage, Zhuangzhuang soon became the leader of the village children.

Zhuangzhuang still had faint memories of his two brothers and remembered his father’s instructions to stand tall and upright as a man, to protect his Little Father and those weaker than himself.

Although Meng Xiaodou often cried, Zhuangzhuang had to protect him because he was the eldest brother and Meng Xiaodou was younger and shorter.

There were many children in the village, some of whom were older than Zhuangzhuang. However, no children two years older were as tall as Zhuangzhuang. He had practiced martial arts with Zhou Yuan since he was young. He was strong, and the older children in the village could not beat him in a fight.

After Li Xin and Qi Shuning took office, Chen Qing took responsibility for looking after both families. The blacksmith, Li, was fine, still working and enjoying life. However, Zhang Yinwith Li Xin away and Niu Niu only returning during the Spring Festival, she suddenly felt alone.

So, when Chen Qing wasn’t busy farming, he would take Zhuangzhuang to spend time with Zhang Yin. Zhang Yin loved Zhuangzhuang very much.

Now that Li Xin had returned, Chen Qing wanted to give them some time to get close again before bringing Zhuangzhuang over to play with them.

Three days later, Chen Qing took Zhuangzhuang to Li Xin’s house.

Zhuangzhuang held Chen Qing’s hand. “Little Father, you said my two distant brothers have returned?”

Zhuangzhuang was too young to remember, but he recalled Chen Qing taking him out to meet An’an and Ningning.

Chen Qing nodded. “Yes, Zhuangzhuang will play with your two brothers in the future, okay?”

Zhuangzhuang listened closely to Chen Qing, patted his chest, and promised he would.

When they arrived at the Li household and Zhuangzhuang entered the gate, Li Xin tied a jade pendant around his waist.

“Zhuangzhuang has grown so tall.”

Zhuangzhuang’s personality was not as introverted as Chen Qing’s. He showed Li Xin his white teeth and smiled happily.

“Little Father, I’ll take my brothers to play horse battle!” Zhuangzhuang ran to Chen Qing to ask his opinion.

Chen Qing looked at Li Xin. After all, Li Xin and the others had just returned, and Chen Qing was worried that An’an and Ningning might not be used to it.

Li Xin nodded happily. Children need to socialize and integrate into their environment quickly.

In Pingqing County, to avoid affecting Qi Shuning, Li Xin rarely let the children participate in social activities. As a result, An’an and Ningning became withdrawn, so they needed Zhuangzhuang to introduce them to the village.

Soon, Zhuangzhuang took An’an and Ningning to play with the village children. Li Xin had much to say to Chen Qing, and the two chatted about their current situations.

As they spoke, they heard a child crying outside. Chen Qing realized that Zhuangzhuang must have beaten someone again. He hurried out with Li Xin to the place where the village children often played. He saw Zhuangzhuang beating up two older children by himself. Chen Qing’s scalp went numb.

He pulled Zhuangzhuang aside and scolded him. “Didn’t you tell your father that you wouldn’t hit people again?”

Zhuangzhuang wiped the dust off his face. “They were mean and bullied my brothers!”

Chen Qing looked and saw the two older children still clutching An’an and Ningning’s sachets.

An’an and Ningning had always lived in the county town. They were always clean and carried fragrant sachets. The older village children disliked outsiders, so they snatched the sachets from them.

When Zhuangzhuang saw this, he remembered his mission and fought them like a little wolf. The two children were no match for Zhuangzhuang, who beat them without them being able to fight back.

Their parents came and, when they saw their children still holding An’an and Ningning’s sachets, remembered Qi Shuning’s identity. They told their children to apologize to Zhuangzhuang.

Zhuangzhuang wiped his face again. “Apologize to my brothers!”

He stood like a general who had won a battle, protecting his kin, with a proud expression on his face.

 

---

You can read the full completed story here with instant full access. ✨