Chapter 816 - 420: His Dad!

Chapter 816: Chapter 420: His Dad!

Zhang Huai laughed. "You’re talking big! How can they compare? In knowledge, character, or cleverness in a fight? Let me tell you, don’t even think about comparing your son to Sanshun’s boy in swimming, or to Zhao Feng, the youngest son of Mr. Zhao San, our Third Uncle, in fighting. Don’t try to compare him with Hulu in steadiness and patience. As for our Banli? I’m afraid your Xian’er can’t hold a candle to his cleverness."

Juhua smiled at his words. "Keep bragging, you’re his father after all. Banli is just mischievous, not clever," she thought.

Li Changyu couldn’t help but laugh. "If we compare like that, he really can’t match up."

After bustling about, the large group made their way back to the village in a lively crowd. Upon reaching the riverbank in front of the Zhang family’s home, the two groups had to part ways.

Wan’er held Juhua’s hand. "Juhua, come to my house when you have time and chat with me."

"I’d love to go out and play," Juhua said with a smile. "But look at these two kids. Can I leave them alone? Besides, it’s almost time to plant the rice seedlings. There are a lot of chores at home, so I don’t have much free time."

Wan’er nodded. "That’s true. I also have to help my mother-in-law with the chores. My husband and father-in-law will be very busy during the planting season."

"When it’s time to pick peaches, you can come out and play again," Li Changyu said to her.

Wan’er blushed with excitement. She held onto Juhua and whispered for quite a while before finally letting go and leaving.

Huai Zi looked up at the peaches on the tree. "The peaches will need a few more days, but the cherries are ripe. We’ll get up early tomorrow to pick cherries," he said to Juhua. "Juhua, are you tired after walking around for so long?"

"Not too tired," Juhua said with a smile. "I didn’t carry them for long anyway. Weren’t you holding them the whole time we were walking? Huai Zi, we should also save up to buy more land. Things are different now. In the past, we lived freely, and it didn’t really matter how much money we had. Now that Yangzi is definitely going to become an official, it won’t be easy for him without some family wealth. We can’t possibly expect him to resort to corruption and accept bribes, can we? If our family has a solid foundation, he’ll have confidence when serving as an official outside. Social interactions and entertaining colleagues and superiors all require silver."

Huai Zi nodded. "I was just thinking about that. The family hasn’t had any major expenses in recent years. Once we collect the yields at the end of the year, we’ll buy more land. If we save like this for a few years, the family will be able to help out when he takes up an official post." In his letters, Yangzi mentioned that the family didn’t need to worry about his educational expenses, presumably because everything had been arranged from above.

Seeing that he had already thought of this, Juhua said no more. They were brothers after all, and blood was thicker than water. Since they enjoyed the conveniences brought by Zhang Yang’s political career, they had to make some contributions to the family. It was nice to live their own quiet life, of course, but if anything happened to Zhang Yang, could Zhang Huai possibly escape the consequences? Because of this, Juhua had decided to change her previous lazy habits, roll up her sleeves, and build up the family’s wealth. Besides, their current conditions were much better than in previous years, making it naturally easier to put her plans into action.

In the afternoon, Huai Zi continued to take the Liu family’s father and son to catch fish fry. Juhua first took a nap with her son and daughter. After getting up, she went to the backyard. Seeing that the cherries on the tree were indeed rosy and glistening, she asked Pu Pao to bring a small basket to pick some for the evening. To prevent birds from pecking at them, she and Pu Pao had sewn many small gauze bags and covered the cherries on the lower branches. It was somewhat effective.

She washed the cherries and let them dry, then picked out the larger ones. Using a small wooden pestle, she gently mashed them, removed the pits, and stirred them into a paste with a spoon. She put the paste in small bowls and fed it to Banli and Cong, who had just woken up. She also had Pu Pao prepare some to send to Jing’er. The bright red cherry juice dyed the two children’s lips even redder. Whenever a trace of crimson hung from the corners of their mouths, the little ones would stick out their pink, tender tongues and lick it continuously. Juhua’s heart melted at the sight. Unable to resist, she leaned in and gave each of them a playful nibble on the cheek. Banli didn’t show the slightest displeasure at having a kiss stolen; instead, he giggled happily. Cong also pursed her lips and smiled at her mother, looking absolutely delighted.

Upon entering the courtyard, Huai Zi saw this scene and couldn’t help but smile. In his heart, however, he wanted to steal a kiss from the children’s mother even more. Coaxing the toddlers, Juhua smiled with a playful pout—different from her usual relaxed and carefree demeanor, she looked exceptionally touching. He leaned the fishing net against the courtyard wall to dry, then went to the well to wash his hands and face. Sitting down next to Juhua, he took the bowl from her hand. "I’ll feed them," he said.

He glanced at Juhua with a smile. Seeing that she had just eaten a spoonful of cherry juice, making her lips as red as rouge, he really wanted to lean in and suck on them. But Pu Pao was right beside them feeding Jing’er, and Grandma Liu was also in the courtyard bringing in the laundry. He had to suppress his burning desire and turn his head to tease his daughter and son instead. However, his eyes were deep and filled with rising tenderness. Seeing this, Juhua blushed slightly. She hesitated for a moment, about to call him "Huai Zi" out of habit, but then it occurred to her that she was already the mother of two children. Calling him that felt a bit too youthful now, so she opted for a more mature address. "Dear..."