Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Though Li Du knew his furry children were intelligent, gentle, and would never harm people, he still refused to let them go near the other kids.
He could empathize with the other parents and understand that they would not want their own children to interact with potentially dangerous animals.
Besides, he had no interest in dealing with these people. After he rested a bit in the villa, he brought his children home together with his father, to their old house.
Back at the suburban farmland, Li Du’s parents had prepared some vegetables and crops. They did not work these days, but they did tidy up a part of their land to build a greenhouse. In it, they grew some strawberries, peaches, cherries, and vegetables like cucumbers, eggplants, and peppers. They planted these not for money but to help them use their time productively. At the same time, they had fresh fruits and vegetables to eat over the New Year.
One downside was that it was tough work cleaning up the greenhouse, even if they only had the one.
Li Du went in to get rid of the bugs growing in the crops. His parents did not use pesticides so he had to work by hand, which irritated him quite a bit. “Dad, can’t you and mom take things easy for once? Why would you build a greenhouse when you can just get stuff from the supermarket?”
His dad, who had been spraying pollen over the corn, smiled and said, “What do you know? It’s safer eating something I grew myself. You don’t know how serious the food safety problem here is, so it’s safer to just grow your own.”
His mother added, “At least we’re growing these on our own land. Look at Old Lady Cao, she’s actually using the lawn at the villa to grow vegetables. She’s even rearing chickens and ducks in someone else’s garden. How shameless.”
Li Du remarked, “There are such people everywhere. This is none of our business, why should we bother about this if the management isn’t?”
His father shook his head and said, “What management? This is just how things are in the residential area in this county. The villa looks great and the arrangement sounds ideal, but the management is actually terrible.”
His mother added, “Yeah, they’re only on time when they have to collect management fees. We’re better off going back to the house in our village, honestly. There are no management fees to be paid there and we’re surrounded by people we know. It’s so much more comfortable.”
Li Du offered, “Why don’t you move abroad? Sophie and I are preparing for our wedding anyway, and it’s not too good that our family is always separated, no?”
Li Du’s father side-eyed him. “Hmph, you’re finally getting married? Hurry up and do that, but we won’t be moving over even after the wedding. You know how it is, there’d be tension if you live with your parents-in-law.”
His mother added, “Unless you want children. If you have children, we can go over to take care of them for you.”
Li Du chuckled. “And there won’t be tension if you’re taking care of our children? I’ve discussed this issue with Sophie — we’ll be raising our children on our own. Sophie’s fine with this since we’re already taking care of these brats — ah, no!”
He turned back to point to Ah Meow and the others only to see that they were playing with the fruits and vegetables.
Ah Bai clutched onto its little pocket as it bounded up and down, shoving peaches and strawberries into the pocket indiscriminately. It did not matter whether the fruits were ripe; he was still stashing them.
Ah Meng was jumping up and down the ground, loosening the soil in the greenhouse. The few holes it dug had collapsed, which made it angry, so it gritted its teeth and continued digging more holes. In the end, a row of green onions fell sideways.
Ah Meow went about on a rampage with a flick of its tail. Its tail was long and powerful, much like a whip, so each flick left bruises on the fruits and vegetables.
Crispy Noodles and Ah Ow were no better. They had made such a complete mess of the back half of the greenhouse that it was almost painful to look at.
The brats knew they were in trouble when Li Du turned around so the whole bunch of them rushed towards the entrance to escape, but the door to the greenhouse was shut. Their escape was blocked.
Li Du smiled coldly. “Let’s see how you escape from here. I’m going to teach you lot a lesson!”
The furry little ones had proven themselves when they had been obedient in front of the elderly residents, so Li Du’s parents defended them. “Alright, that’s enough, don’t hit them.””All you know to do is hit, and you still want to raise your children by yourself? How are you going to do that?”
As they were persuading Li Du, the brats continued to try to find a way out. The little wooden door to the greenhouse might have been shut, but the sides were made of plastic and not sturdy.
Ah Meow ran over to tear one side down with its paw. With a loud meow, it tore a large, gaping hole in the plastic. It leaped through the hole and the other brats followed its example. The plastic of the greenhouse was very quickly torn to shreds.
Li Du’s parents were stunned, unable to believe what they had just seen. The two of them took a look at the plastic that was now blowing in the wind, then chorused, “Beat them, beat them properly!”
Li Du chased after the brats with a bamboo pole in his hand, but his father shouted after him, “Wait, listen—”
“You don’t have to say anything more, I’ll give them their due!” Li Du said back fiercely.
However, his father countered even more aggressively, “You listen to me, leave through the door! Your brats might have left through the sides but you have to leave through the door. Are you trying to tear down my greenhouse?!”
There was a lot to deal with here. The greenhouse relied entirely on the plastic sheet to maintain its temperature but now the entire large sheet of plastic was useless after the damage dealt by the brats.
Li Du’s father had initially wanted to use tape to fix the sheet but he wasted a whole afternoon in vain. Ultimately, he could only settle for cutting a large piece of plastic to tape over the hole from the inside, much like mending torn clothes.
Sophie had her own things to deal with after they were back in the county, which was to check on the results of her investment.
During the Mid-Autumn Festival Party last year, she discovered a young piano prodigy — a teenager by the name of Cao Yulin. She had bought the teenager a piano last year and even rented a house for his family in a bid to improve their living conditions.
Even after she left for America, she had been deeply invested in this case. She kept in frequent contact with Cao Yulin and gifted him with a few video recordings of piano lessons and piano masters’ performances.
Cao Yulin was in a completely different situation than he had been in a year before. On top of Sophie’s help, he also received help from Li Du’s parents who frequently offered his family financial assistance.
Cao Yulin would work for Li Du’s parents when he had spare time after school or his piano lessons. He would help them with stuff like cleaning up the villa, managing the greenhouse and teaching the two of them how to use computers or smartphones to connect with modern society.
Before the lunar New Year, Cao Yulin had stopped by Li Du’s home with some gifts and Li Du’s parents invited him to stay for dinner. Then, after discussion, the two families spent Lunar New Year’s Eve together.
Cao Yulin’s family comprised just him and his sick father and it was not much fun for the two of them to celebrate the New Year, but Li Du’s parents became acquainted with the father and son and they felt that they could celebrate together. The more the merrier, anyway.
On Li Du’s end, he brought Brother Wolf, as well as Godzilla and his bunch. There were already enough people at the gathering but on these occasions, the more the merrier indeed.
On the night of the Lunar New Year’s Eve, Li Du’s parents prepared a scrumptious feast for the reunion dinner. They spent the festival in the villa and it just so happened that there was a piano there. Sophie used the piano when she was back but when she was not home, they let Cao Yulin use it from time to time.
Riding the high of the festival, the teenager excitedly played an improvised piece.
Li Du’s appreciation for music had increased greatly in all the time he spent with Sophie. Now, when she had time, she would often study medicine and play the piano, so Li Du had learned quite a bit from her.
The moment he heard the teen play, Li Du could instantly tell that the boy was a bona fide talent and that he had greatly improved from the previous year. He was a lot more skilled now, and the piece flowed as naturally and smoothly as water, a satisfying performance for the audience.
This moved Li Du greatly. After the performance ended, he waved the boy over and brought him to a corner. He asked, “What do you think about going overseas with me after the Lunar New Year?”
