Chapter 731 - 377: Shi Tou’s Dissatisfaction (Part 2)

Chapter 731: Chapter 377: Shi Tou’s Dissatisfaction (Part 2)

Everyone burst out laughing. Seeing his playful spirit was as strong as ever, Juhua figured his studies must have been incredibly restrictive. She smiled and said, "Anyway, you only have a few days left to have fun, so you can do whatever you want. Here in the village, if you want a meal at someone’s house, they’ll all be happy to host you."

Zhang Yang laughed. "Go ahead and play your heart out. At least you won’t have anyone nagging you when you go back to the academy. Don’t want to sleep now, do you? He used to hide in a tree and sleep all afternoon. We’d all be looking for him everywhere and couldn’t find him, which made the master so mad he’d blow a gasket. He’d punish him by making him recite texts and practice calligraphy, but the kid could always do it perfectly. It’s really infuriating."

Qin Feng chuckled as he watched Shi Tou, giving his ear a hard tug. "He’s a little rascal, always has been since he was a kid. How on earth did you pass the Scholar exam?"

Amid the gales of laughter, Shi Tou pouted at Zhang Yang. "What’s there to be infuriated about? You score better than me every single time."

Zhang Yang gritted his teeth. "Better scores? You were sleeping while I was studying! How is that a fair comparison? I’ll never compete with you in this lifetime—I’d have died of anger long ago if I did."

The Zhang family knew this better than anyone. Huai Zi laughed and explained to Qin Feng that Yangzi’s diligence was forced out of him by Little Shitou, adding that if Shi Tou ever got serious, no one else would stand a chance. 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ

Little Shitou said irritably, "You guys have no conscience, saying things like that! It’s like you think I slept through the academy for years and just happened to pass the Scholar exam. How could anything in this world be that easy? Did none of you see me when I was studying, writing, and listening attentively to the master’s lectures? I just took a few breaks to play when I could, and that’s all anyone remembers. Brother Yangzi, you tell them. That Qian Lin, he spent class daydreaming about the Bright Moon Building’s Oiran, and all his poems are about sappy romance. Did he work as hard as me? I memorized everything the master taught, word for word, and I reviewed it at night, too. Who’s the one who supposedly played around all day?"

Seeing him worked up, Yangzi quickly comforted him. "It’s just because you’re so smart, everyone’s envious. I know you put in the effort. Otherwise, would our master have let you slack off? Would he have even told the tutor not to be too strict with you?"

Only then did Little Shitou sullenly shut his mouth.

Juhua, on the other hand, thought his method of studying—balancing work and rest—was far better than those bookworms who never let a scroll leave their hands.

Zhao Qing, however, tilted her head up and asked Yun Ying, "What kind of fruit is an oiran? Is it tasty? Even if it is, you shouldn’t think about it in class. That Qian... whatever, he’s not focused."

Yun Ying was dumbfounded, not knowing how to explain it to her. Juhua didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

Zhang Yang shot Little Shitou a fierce glare. Little Shitou hastily told his sister, "An oiran is a type of flower. It’s poisonous. Don’t go asking people about it, or they’ll wonder what you’re up to."

Zhao Qing nodded in innocent confusion and didn’t ask any more questions, allowing Yun Ying to finally breathe a sigh of relief.

Just then, Aunt Liu came in holding an old padded jacket and asked Grandma Liu with a smile, "Mother, put on another jacket. You’ve been sitting for a while, you should go to bed. It’s not good for you to stay up so late."

Grandma Liu smiled at He. "I must be getting muddle-headed. I got so caught up having fun and was so happy watching all these children that I completely forgot the time. Old folks like us are light sleepers anyway, and I wasn’t even feeling tired."

With that, she stood up, saying her body was sore from sitting so long and it was best to go rest. Pu Pao and Aunt Liu quickly helped support her, said their goodbyes to He and the others, and went back to their own house to sleep.

By the time the gathering broke up, it was already midnight. Qin Feng and Yun Ying still went to stay with the Zheng Family.

Juhua and Huai Zi washed up and went into the bedroom. They each took one of the twins, helped them relieve themselves, fed them, and only then did they finally rest.

She had just closed her eyes and drifted into a deep sleep when a "GIGGLE GIGGLE" came from the small bed. From the sound, it was Banli. Juhua startled, about to get up and see what was happening.

Huai Zi was also woken. He held her down and said, "You sleep, I’ll go check. He just ate, so it can’t be anything serious." He threw on a jacket, got out of bed, and went to peer into the small bed.

Because there were little ones in the room, the oil lamp on the table had been left lit, casting a quiet, dim yellow glow. He came to the bedside and bent over to look closely. Both babies were sleeping soundly, but Banli still had a smile on his face, like the lingering trace of a pleasant sound. He scanned the area again and suddenly noticed a small cat lying at the foot of the little bed. It looked up at him, and when it saw him bend down, it let out a "MEOW—" and rubbed against his feet, acting cute.

Huai Zi’s heart skipped a beat. ’It must have been the cat,’ he thought. ’It must have gotten on the bed, its furry body brushing against Banli’s face.’ Banli always giggled like that when he was being tickled. He was suddenly very angry, and also very scared. If the cat had accidentally scratched Banli’s face, it would have been a disaster.

He bent down, scooped up the little cat, and was about to take it out of the room. Juhua had heard the meow and couldn’t stay in bed any longer. She also threw on some clothes, got up, and said, "How did that cat get in here? Did it climb onto the small bed? This is exactly what I was afraid of, which is why I don’t let the cats in the bedroom—they always find the warmest spots to curl up. Take it to the kitchen and toss it in the stove pit, otherwise it’ll just climb back on the bed."

Huai Zi said quickly, "Why are you up again? I was just about to take it out."

But Juhua couldn’t rest easy. In the end, she picked up Banli and Cong, placed them on the big bed between the wall and herself, with Huai Zi on the outer edge as a barrier. After all that commotion, she couldn’t get back to sleep. It felt like she had only just dozed off for a moment before the sky began to brighten.

She really wanted to laze in bed for a while. After all, the New Year’s Day visitors would just be villagers who would stop by for a moment and then leave; no guests would be coming from far away. But was being a mother ever that easy? ’Once you become a mother, you have to be responsible!’

The two little ones were already awake. They weren’t crying, but they were babbling nonstop. Juhua pulled the covers over her head and groaned internally: ’Mornings with no sleep are pure agony!’

Huai Zi knew Juhua’s habits. Seeing her curled up in his arms, refusing to move, he found it quite amusing. "You go back to sleep," he said. "I’ll take them out. Mother is there to watch them. We’re just having dumplings for breakfast, nothing else to do. We can have Aunt Liu give them a feeding first, and you can feed them again when you wake up."

His words had the opposite effect. The moment he said it, Juhua was reminded that she was their mother and couldn’t rely on others. She sat up with her eyes half-closed, first pulling on her jacket, then blindly grabbing one of the babies. Without looking to see which one it was, she hugged it to her chest, bundling it tightly in the quilt. "Go fetch some water so I can wash up," she said to the baby’s father. "I’ll feed him first. Take the baby’s clothes and warm them in the foot stove before bringing them here. Oh—"

As she was talking, her hand felt that the baby was soaking wet, and the dampness had already soaked her own chest. Her eyes flew open. She threw back the quilt and held up the baby in her hands to look: the lower half of his body was completely soaked, and the wetness had spread above his waist.

This was definitely Banli—Cong never made this kind of mess!