Chapter 650 - 337: Consequences of Taking the Medicine, Part 2

Chapter 650: Chapter 337: Consequences of Taking the Medicine, Part 2

"The cherries should be red by now, and the peaches must be almost ready too, right?" Juhua grabbed a small basket and hurried to the backyard.

Yun Ying smiled. "The cherries are red. Those poor birds... Uncle Zhang caught a whole bunch of them, and the rest are too scared to come—your family’s dog is vicious!"

In just a few days, the backyard was completely transformed. Many of the peaches were showing red tips. The cherry tree was the most captivating sight of all—clusters of exquisite red fruit nestled among green leaves. Just looking at them was a delight. The plums and apricots had also grown larger, but they were still far from ripe.

Juhua walked under the cherry tree, reached for a branch, and gently pulled it down. She then began to pick the biggest, reddest fruits. Yun Ying smiled as she picked some as well, remarking that the fruit was more lustrous and translucent than agate.

After picking half a basketful, Juhua stopped. She washed the cherries in the front yard, left some for He, and then, carrying the rest, headed to her family’s home with Yun Ying.

Liu Yunlan was feeding the pigs, carrying a bucket of slop to the sty in the backyard. Under a peach tree, little Hulu sat in a modified baby walker—one that couldn’t spin a full 360 degrees—quietly watching his mother bustle back and forth.

Whenever Liu Yunlan headed to the backyard with the bucket, he would stare intently at the path. Once she reappeared with the empty bucket, he would lower his head again to play with a little cloth doll on his walker. His Aunt Juhua had made it for him; it was a strange creature, not quite a cat and not quite a tiger, but he clutched it tightly and refused to let go. Even when his mother later made a prettier one, he wouldn’t part with it.

Juhua arrived just as Hulu was staring longingly down the path. Her heart melted at the sight. She called out, "Hulu, my sweet baby, is Mommy ignoring you while she feeds the pigs?"

Hulu turned his head at the sound of her voice. Seeing it was Juhua, he immediately stood up in his walker, his eyes filled with excitement. A faint smile touched his lips as he stretched his arms toward Juhua, his small hand still clutching the cloth doll tightly.

Juhua hurried forward a few steps, pulled a small stool over to sit on, and drew the walker in front of her. Then she lifted her face veil, cupped Hulu’s chubby little face, and gave him a big kiss. "Hulu," she said to the little boy with a beaming smile, "Auntie can’t lift you. How about you be a good boy and stay in your walker to chat with me, okay?"

Yun Ying watched her with amusement. "He’s not paying any attention to you, yet you’re still talking up a storm." Though she said this, she couldn’t resist stepping forward to coo at the little boy. She picked out a ripe cherry, squeezed out the pit, and fed the flesh to him.

Little Hulu had grown sturdier and could stand steadily while leaning on his walker. He had fair skin and bright, jet-black eyes. His small face was square like his father’s, giving him a robust and adorable look. A patch of soft black hair lay flat on his round head, and two little teeth had come in. When he grinned, he was utterly delightful.

Liu Yunlan emerged from the back of the house. Seeing them, she smiled. "Juhua, you’re here! I was just thinking of bringing Hulu over to see you in a bit. You slept for three days; are you feeling all right?"

Juhua smiled. "I’m feeling great, just hungry. I wolfed down two bowls of rice. Sister Yunlan, it’s best not to leave the baby alone. You can feed the pigs when Mother is home." ’What if someone came and took the baby?’ she thought. ’The regret would be unbearable. And the cats and dogs needed to be watched. Animals don’t know any better; it would be terrible if one of them hurt the child by accident.’

Liu Yunlan’s heart skipped a beat. She nodded quickly. "I understand. I was just in a bit of a rush today. Thank you for reminding me. If anything happened to the baby, it would be a disaster. It won’t happen again."

Juhua smiled and said no more on the matter. She ate several cherries herself, then tore the flesh from another and held it in front of Hulu, trying to coax him. "Hulu, say ’Aun-tie’... ’Aun-tie.’ Come on, eat this."

She repeated herself patiently many times, but Hulu didn’t make a peep. He just stared intently at her mouth with his jet-black eyes. Seeing how much she was enjoying the fruit, he couldn’t help but purse his lips and swallow.

Seeing him swallow, Juhua and Yun Ying both burst out laughing. Juhua couldn’t bear to tease him any longer and popped the piece of cherry flesh into his mouth.

Perhaps because he had never tasted that sweet-and-sour flavor before, Little Hulu furrowed his brow. He smacked his lips a few times, revealing his two tiny new teeth. After swallowing the cherry, he seemed to decide it tasted good, as his eyes immediately darted to the basket in Yun Ying’s hands.

Yun Ying laughed and stomped her foot. "Oh my! He has one and now he’s already eyeing the whole basket. Then again, there are plenty more in here!"

So they tried again to get him to call their names. Hulu ignored them completely. Instead, he grabbed Juhua’s hand with both of his, pried open her fingers, and plucked two cherries from her palm, about to shove them into his mouth.

Juhua quickly snatched them away. While pitting them, she said to him cheerfully, "You can’t eat them like that!" She showed him the cherry pits she’d removed, threw them far away in front of him, and only then put the flesh into his mouth.

Hulu stared at the distant pits for a good while before turning his head to look at the other cherry in Juhua’s hand. Sure enough, Juhua again threw the pit far away and fed him the flesh.

Juhua said happily to Yun Ying, "Did you see that? This little guy is so smart! He’s just a tiny thing and already knows how to grab food for himself. Don’t mind that he’s quiet; he understands everything perfectly. I used to worry that he was a bit slow on the uptake because he doesn’t talk, but who knew he’s actually sharp as a tack. Our Hulu is just too cool for idle chatter." After saying this, she leaned over and gave the little boy a loud SMACK of a kiss.

Far from being upset at having a kiss stolen, Little Hulu looked positively blissful. He even touched his own lips to Juhua’s cheek, which delighted her so much that she kissed the little boy two more times, hugging his head and refusing to let go. (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, please consider supporting it with recommendation votes and monthly passes on qidian.com. Your support is my greatest motivation!)