The bath took over an hour, with the water changed six times. Su Youli was wrapped in a towel, sitting in the arms of Shen Yan, who had also been cleaned up. A small towel with a panda design was on his head, absorbing water. The little one’s hair was fluffy and soft; when wet, his natural curls were even more pronounced. Tang Dou handed Shen Yan the child’s hairdryer and let him dry the little one’s hair.
Long fingers ran through the little one’s curly hair. Shen Yan suddenly thought of his mother. She had a head of fluffy, curly hair. The warm, gentle breeze was so comfortable that the little one rubbed his eyes, yawned twice, and within two minutes, was fast asleep in Shen Yan’s arms. For Su Youli, the amount of exercise that day had indeed been excessive. The sun had already set. Shen Yan carried the little one back to the side room and gently placed the sleeping baby under the covers.
“You watch Youyou while he naps. I’ll tidy up the room.”
Tang Dou nodded. The little one on the bed lay on his side, a small hand tucked under his face, his soft cheeks squished together. Tang Dou sat beside him, gently fanning him with a fan. Meanwhile, Shen Yan cleaned up the main house and even helped feed the chicks and ducklings in the yard. Life in the village was peaceful and tranquil. Orange light slanted in, gilding the old-fashioned windows.
Through the cracks in the door, one could glimpse the sleeping baby lying quietly under the covers. A ray of sunset mischievously crept upwards, landing perfectly on the baby’s lashes. As if feeling it, the little one, in a haze, lifted a soft, white, chubby arm, rubbed his eyelids, and rolled over. With a creak, the wooden door was pushed open, and two little heads peeked around it.
Mi Le put a finger to his lips. “Shh, Youyou is still sleeping.”
Niu Niu quickly covered her mouth and nodded vigorously. Youyou was still asleep. They couldn’t wake him. The little one, still dreaming, was woken by the rustling sounds. He opened his eyes a crack. He didn’t have any morning grumpiness; he just needed a little time to fully wake up.
He lay on the pillow, slowly blinking his big eyes a few times, then softly called out, “Daddy~”
“Youyou, you’re finally awake!” Mi Le, who had been sitting in the corner playing with his straw grasshopper, heard his little brother’s voice, jumped up, and darted to the bedside.
Grandpa Tian’s bed was an old wooden one, quite high. Mi Le stood on tiptoe, resting his hands on the edge of the bed and his chin on his hands, looking at Youyou. The little one’s cheeks were slightly flushed from sleep, his eyes bright and watery, his curly hair a bit messy. In short, he looked even more adorable.
“Lele gege,” the little one on the bed called out in his soft, milky voice after finally waking up.
The three children chatted and played in the room. Su Youli got up and dressed himself. The bed was a bit high, and the floor wasn’t very even. The little one remembered what his big brother had said and didn’t climb down by himself. Soon, Shen Yan came in from outside.
Seeing that the little one was awake and had dressed himself, Shen Yan picked him up, pinched his cheek, and asked, “Youyou, are you hungry?”
The little one first obediently called out “Big Brother,” then shyly touched his belly and nodded.
Shen Yan smiled, carried the little one outside, and said to the other two children, “Niu Niu, Lele, let’s go eat at Grandma Zhang’s house.”
After the sun set, it got dark quickly. Unlike the neon-lit big cities, few cars passed through the village, and there were only a few streetlights on the main road. Su Youli was held in his big brother’s arms, his head resting on his shoulder, his little face rubbing gently against his brother’s broad shoulder.
“Big Brother, I want Brother Xiao Tang,” the little one suddenly said.
Shen Yan pretended to be hurt. “Youyou, why do you only remember Brother Xiao Tang?”
The little one couldn’t detect the sourness in his brother’s voice. He said seriously, “Brother Xiao Tang is good to Youyou!”
Thinking of how Tang Dou took care of the little one in every detail, Shen Yan felt inferior.
He sighed and said, “We’re filming the show right now. Brother Xiao Tang can’t be on camera. You can play with him tomorrow.”
Su Youli nodded vaguely and struggled to get down. Shen Yan bent down and put him on the ground. Mi Le and Niu Niu immediately came over to hold his hands. The ‘Mushroom Hunting Squad’ was reunited, laughing and chatting as they hopped and skipped toward Grandma Zhang’s house.
Shen Yan walked leisurely behind them, his hands in his pockets. The children’s laughter seemed like the most beautiful sound in the world. This was the last night for everyone in Nianbai Village. The production team had specially invited the four landlords and Grandpa Bai to join them for dinner. They set up a long table banquet, with chicken, duck, fish, and meat of every kind. Grandma Zhang did the cooking, with others helping out.
The little one saw Grandpa Bai sitting there with his cane from afar. He ran over and called out, “Grandpa Bai!”
Grandpa Bai loved him too. He raised the hand holding the cane and rubbed the little one’s hair.
“Grandpa Tian!” The little one also saw Grandpa Tian coming out with a dish and got very excited.
Tian Hai was known in the village for being fierce. He had thick eyebrows and large eyes when he was young, with deep features that had become even more pronounced with age. He never smiled, so the village children were all afraid of him. What child would be as fearless as Su Youli, daring to go up and grab Tian Hai’s pant leg?
Tian Hai stepped over the threshold and felt a tremor in his heart when the little one called him “Grandpa.” He saw the white, rice-cake-like little one run over and tug at his pant leg.
Tian Hai looked behind him. No one was watching. He secretly used his chopsticks to pick up a piece of meat and gave it to him.
“Is it good?”
Su Youli nodded, chewing the food, his cheeks moving. Tian Hai smiled and told him to go play over there, careful not to get burned by the dishes being brought out. After a full sleep, the little one was bursting with energy. With no more instructions from the director, he could go wherever he wanted. He took Shen Yan’s hand and ran over to the production team’s tent.
Shen Yan bent down and let the little one lead him toward where the people were. Throughout this journey, Shen Yan could clearly feel that the little one had become a bit braver. But only a bit. The production team was very considerate of the little one, and he could feel the kindness of the uncles, aunties, brothers, and sisters.
Of course, Shen Yan had his own measure of it. It was all because his Youyou was particularly likable and never caused any trouble for the production team. Who wouldn’t like an angel baby like Youyou? The little one was very curious about the row of tall, large black frames. He pointed, touched them, but didn’t dare use any force.
“Uncle, are you tired?” The little one looked up at the cameraman who had been following him.
The cameraman smiled and shook his head. The little one thought the uncle must be very tired because he had to carry that heavy machine every day. No one could keep their lips from curving upward. They all took out their phones and snapped pictures of the little one.
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