The next morning, Du Wenjuan came to pick up the child to go to the zoo at 7:30, and was a little surprised when she saw the tidy living room.
"Does Mr. Jiang have a girlfriend?"
"No, Xingwang and I cleaned it together," Jiang Wangping said bluntly, "He has always been good at housework."
It is also possible that the rent is paid for by housework in a disguised form.
The child never stopped smiling when he saw his mother, and even took her to his room to read the final exam papers, the teacher's homework book filled with five-pointed stars, and the butterfly flowers stacked in the handicraft class. Find out all day.
Then before leaving, he hugged Jiang Wang very hard.
"Brother, goodbye!"
"Goodbye," Jiang Wang yawned: "Have fun."
Du Wenjuan glanced at her husband who was on the phone at the stairs, and smiled apologetically.
"Is Mr. Jiang free in the afternoon?" She folded her hands on Xingwang's chest, as if she was afraid that the child would get lost: "I have...fear of heights, and I can't play many sports, and it's not good to let the child go up alone."
"Huh? Yes." Jiang Wang spoke very well, thought for a while and said, "There are so many people and it's lively, why don't I call Teacher Shang Ji?"
"Okay, okay," the woman said with relief, "I'm afraid I won't find something to talk about, so I've worked hard for you today."
After the two of them picked up the child, Jiang Wang stretched his waist, went downstairs to buy it, and went upstairs to find Ji Linqiu early.
City a is very small, and it would be nice if you can visit the zoo for an hour and a half.
People also know that there are not many foreign animals that can be viewed, and they basically make money by feeding them. Black swans, alpacas, tigers, and bears can be fed with anything, and they are specially equipped with a lot of long forks that pass the meat through the barbed wire.
When Jiang Wang first came here, he accompanied Peng Xingwang once. The Monkey Mountain was in a mess, and the camels were already riding impatiently every day, and occasionally spit at people.
At that time, he also wanted to get acquainted with the children, so as not to be regarded as a human trafficker all the time, he bought four barrels of grain feed from the hawker, and just fed the pigeons so that hemorrhoids would squat out.
Thinking of this, the man couldn't help laughing, and knocked on Teacher Ji's door with soy milk and fried dough sticks.
Ji Linqiu likes to stay up late, and he hasn't woken up yet, so he knocked for almost half a minute before slowly coming over to open the door.
As soon as the door was opened, there was no stuffy and musty smell that is common in male dormitories, but a wind mixed with the aroma of gardenia blossomed out.
"Morning," Ji Linqiu's voice was a little hoarse: "The child has been sent away?"
"Going to the zoo." Jiang Wang handed him the soy milk fritters, leaning against the door frame and said, "They went to Honghe Park to play in the afternoon, their mother said they dare not sit high, and hoped that I would accompany them."
Ji Linqiu didn't answer, but raised his eyebrows and smiled again.
"Then Brother Jiang wants me to accompany you?"
"How dare I bother you," Jiang Wang boasted, "Ms. Ji's vacation is precious, and teacher training will be needed in two days. It's time to catch up on sleep."
Ji Linqiu still didn't answer, intending to embarrass him for a while.
The big-tailed wolf is very stubborn: "Real men never ride on a merry-go-round."
"I'm mainly," the man coughed, "I'm afraid you're too lonely, aren't you?"
Ji Linqiu blinked: "I look lonely?"
"Well, as long as Mr. Ji is single, I'm obliged to ask you to go out to play more. You just happen to be able to grab two meals. What a deal."
Teacher Ji took the breakfast and raised it up to take a closer look at the pancakes and fritters inside: "I like steamed stuffed buns."
"Definitely next time." Jiang Wang cocked his tail again: "I'll buy you twenty kinds of stuffing until you're full."
The two made an appointment to meet, and one went back to catch up on sleep and the other went out to check the accounts. Both were in a good mood.
Peng Xingwang dragged his mother along to talk about school affairs, and was very happy to see her smiling and listening to everything with great interest.
Chang Hua walked beside the two of them, occasionally finishing a few words in admiration.
The zoo is not big, and you can see the panorama after a fifteen-minute walk.
Peng Xingwang feels inexplicably as a host, and he must bring the two adults to have fun and not be bored. When he sees a peddler selling corn kernels, he specially greets him.
"Let's feed the swans!"
Du Wenjuan rushed to buy a small cup, mainly watching Peng Xingwang feed the geese, and then took him to take pictures together.
After a while, we went around to Monkey Mountain, and the staff of the scenic spot pushed the cart around.
"Feeding the monkeys is also very fun!" The child said with a smile: "Some monkeys can even salute. I saw it when I came with Brother Jiang last time!"
Chang Hua used to buy a feeding bowl full of banana segments, and when he brought it back, he said in a mocking tone, "It costs fifteen for a bowl? You really know how to do business, and you've saved the monkey's feed money."
Du Wenjuan laughed awkwardly: "After all, there are human costs."
The man snorted, still thinking that opening a zoo was a bloody profit.
Peng Xingwang was a little embarrassed, and reached out to touch the two hundred yuan in his pocket, thinking that it was a pity that his brother specially gave the pocket money in advance today.
In fact, he had already saved a lot of pocket money, but his brother insisted on giving it.
The bird viewing area is very noisy, the parrot starlings have been bickering, and many people are taking pictures with sunflower parrots.
While chatting with his mother, Peng Xingwang quietly looked at Uncle Chang's expression, and found that he was not interested and kept yawning.
"Shall we go see the alpacas? It's fun over there!"
"Okay." Du Wenjuan was also very happy today, laughing until crow's feet appeared: "Mom likes this too, take me there."
Peng Xingwang nodded, and led her to walk forward quickly.
"Slow down!" Chang Hua said, "Your mother is tired."
Peng Xingwang was stunned for a moment, thinking that he was negligent.
Du Wenjuan's eyes showed some hesitation, she nodded and said, "Xing Xing is good, let's go slowly."
The alpaca was walking leisurely in a small lawn. There are always many children here on weekends, and there are a few students who happen to be Peng Xingwang's classmates.
"Xingwang?! You are coming to the zoo today!"
"This is my mother!!" Peng Xingwang was afraid that they would not see it, so he said proudly: "I have already said that my mother is very beautiful, right!!!"
"It's so temperamental!"
"Hello, Auntie! Xingwang is very good at school!!"
"Did you really have the Dalmatians from the movie??"
The children looked at Chang Hua curiously: "By the way, who is he?"
Chang Hua's eyes changed slightly, and he looked at Du Wenjuan inquiringly.
"It's Uncle Chang," Du Wenjuan and a few parents of her classmates nodded, and explained with a smile: "Today, I also specially came to play with Xingwang."
Chang Hua pursed his lips.
While chatting, the administrator came over with a cart filled with fruits and fodder.
"Twenty yuan a glass! There will be no more when sold out, come and feed the alpacas!!"
"Kids, let's see what alpacas like to eat the most!"
The children roared and ran over to surround the car, and Peng Xingwang also ran over when he heard the sound.
"Stop!" Chang Hua frowned and stopped: "I've already fed it three times, what are you in a hurry for?"
Du Wenjuan opened her mouth to speak, but Chang Hua said again: "You have to be sensible, my mother came to see you specially, you just want to play with mother more, there is no need to spend such unreasonable money."
Peng Xingwang stood still in a daze, holding the hundred he took out of his pocket in his palm.
Du Wenjuan was startled when she saw it clearly: "Honey, where did you get the money?"
"Yes... Brother gave it to me." Peng Xingwang lowered his head and said, "Then we won't feed it anymore."
"This is obedient. In the future, when you live with your mother, you must learn to be diligent and thrifty." Chang Hua said with satisfaction: "We are not poor, but the money must be spent wisely."
He motioned Du Wenjuan to take the two hundred, led the two to bid farewell to the children, and continued on their way.
"Your cousin is quite rich, what kind of business does he do?"
Du Wenjuan was very disturbed and wanted to return the money to Jiang Wang later: "I don't know too well...it seems to be opening a bookstore."
"Hey, the bookstore is making so much money now?"
The child panicked for a while, and asked his mother in a low voice: "Can we live together in the future?!"
"Isn't it great?" Du Wenjuan looked gentle: "Mom has always missed you very much, and came to look for you as soon as the work and residence settled down."
Peng Xingwang paused for a short breath, as if some spell had finally been lifted.
It's not that my mother doesn't want me anymore, she's busy with other things, my brother really didn't lie to me.
Chang Hua called at eleven o'clock at noon, but Jiang Wang deliberately delayed for a while, saying that the company still had something to do, and came to pick him up at twelve o'clock.
He deliberately drove a spacious commercial vehicle, and looked at Peng Xingwang's expression first when picking up people.
Ji Linqiu sat in the co-pilot and watched for a while: "They were talking and laughing, they seem to get along well."
The three came up one after another, and the car turned around and drove towards the western restaurant next to the park.
Peng Xingwang was also tired. After coming up, he drank most of the bottle of water, and then he seemed to remember some good news, and happily lay down next to Jiang Wang.
"Brother! Mom said she would pick me up to live there!"
Jiang Wang paused for a few seconds, and said naturally: "Good thing, you don't have to worry about writing essays in the future."
Du Wenjuan couldn't help apologizing again: "You have worked so hard to take care of Xing Xing for so long, and I have really caused you two troubles."
"When we pick up Xingwang tomorrow, you can also have a good rest for a while."
Peng Xingwang was stunned.
"tomorrow?"
"Tomorrow, of course," Chang Hua saw that the child was a little scared: "Don't worry, uncle will find you the best elementary school in our country, and there are foreigners among the English teachers."
Ji Linqiu smiled, and handed the freshly baked chocolate bread to the child sideways.
"Hungry, let's have a cushion first."
Peng Xingwang said thank you, took it with both hands, and did not divert his attention.
"Why tomorrow?"
"Because adults have to go to work on Monday," Du Wenjuan apologized: "After becoming an adult, there will be no winter and summer vacations, and you have to go to work from Monday to Friday."
"Don't be afraid of the stars, let's go to Cizhou to stay for a while," she said softly, "If you're not used to it...it's okay to come back."
"I'm definitely used to it," Chang Hua continued, "Ours is much better than this."
Peng Xingwang didn't expect this matter to be so urgent, and his mind didn't come back for a while.
It is equivalent to saying that he will study in another city in the second grade, and all the friends he just met will be gone.
more importantly…
"Will my brother go to Cizhou?"
"Probably not," Jiang Wang looked at the lights at the intersection and said, "But Teacher Ji and I will come to see you, we will."
Ji Linqiu glanced at him and nodded tacitly.
"The teacher will miss you very much."
Peng Xingwang was a little anxious, but he didn't know what to say, so he called his brother very loudly.
"Here." Jiang Wang looked at him through the rearview mirror.
Peng Xingwang felt sad all of a sudden, and reached out to hug his shoulders tightly.
"Brother," he murmured, "do I really want to leave tomorrow?"
On the way Jiang Wang came, he had been mentally well-constructed, but now he suddenly softened his heart without principle.
Ji Linqiu glanced at him disapprovingly.
I have to cut through the mess quickly. Jiang Wang thought so. If it is delayed for too long, the child will not be able to let go of both sides, and the problem will be even greater.
"You can take it a little longer. You can stay for ten days and a half a month longer. At worst, I'll send you there sometime later."
Peng Xingwang panicked.
He suddenly felt that ten days and a half month was not enough.
But his mother was by his side, and he said that wanting to stay was a kind of betrayal.
"Can't brother go to Cizhou?"
Jiang Wang shook his head.
"I work here."
It is impossible for him to integrate into Du Wenjuan's life, even for the sake of the stars.
Du Wenjuan sensed that the child's mood was not right, so she hurriedly smoothed things over: "It's okay, it's okay, let's have fun today, and we can discuss it tomorrow."
Chang Hua answered absently.
The afternoon sun is very good, which is a good time to go to the park.
Honghe Park is a combination of a playground and a walking place. There is no place like Happy Valley here, but some small entertainment facilities in a large open park.
Du Wenjuan is afraid of heights, and Chang Hua lacks interest. Instead, two unrelated big men play with the children the whole time.
Riding the merry-go-round together, riding the small roller coaster together, and then bumping around in the bumper car hall with the child in my arms, the three of them laughed loudly, as if they were born to be a family.
After all the projects that required ups and downs were finished, Du Wenjuan led Xingwang to fish for goldfish to do handwork, while Chang Hua sat beside him, chatting and laughing.
Jiang Wang breathed a sigh of relief, leaning against the street lamp to smoke.
"What about you?" He tilted his head and said, "One?"
"Won't."
"Isn't supporting teaching very boring." Jiang Wang laughed: "It's quite pure, I thought you could learn everything."
Ji Linqiu was still looking at the mother and child beside the goldfish pond, and said for a while, "She's not afraid of heights, is she?"
"Yeah." The man glanced back, and said lightly: "It's good to connect this node back."
No wonder you choose to pick up the stars at this time.
If you miss this time, you may never have another chance in the future.
"But having said that, as his big brother, I can still continue to care about him." Jiang Wang suddenly remembered something: "Xiaoshengchu, junior high school, plus all the college entrance examination questions, I can cover it here, can't I?"
"When he transfers to another school, I'll see if the child has rounded up their school tutoring bag by the way."
Ji Linqiu sighed a long time: "That's... so sweet."
The two chatted for a while, Ji Linqiu went to play glue dropping with Peng Xingwang, and Du Wenjuan came over to drink some water and rest.
Du Wenjuan looked at her husband who was answering the phone again in the distance, and said with emotion: "It's not easy to take care of children. You two are really patient. Teacher Ji is really kind."
Jiang Wang hummed, and changed the subject: "Actually... this child sometimes trembles in the middle of the night while sleeping."
"I noticed it a few times when I was tucking him in. Sometimes when I got up to go to the bathroom at night, I would see the little light in his bedroom turned on."
"Probably because I was always beaten before." The man lowered his eyes and said, "Although I am much happier now, I still dream about bad things."
"However, with you by his side, the nightmare may gradually disappear in the future."
Du Wenjuan's eyes turned red immediately, and just as she was about to agree, an old couple with a child came over not far away.
"Wenjuan?! Is it Wenjuan??"
"Hey, Grandpa Huang!"
The old couple were very happy to see Wenjuan who had grown up, and saw Jiang Wang standing next to her, praising her again and again.
"You cousin, amazing, amazing!!"
"He opened several bookstores in our city and donated a lot of money. He is a great benefactor!"
Jiang Wang was suddenly praised so hard that his ears felt hot next to his young mother.
"Don't be so polite." He tried to stop: "It's all trivial."
"Hey, Wenjuan, if you have time to talk about getting married to your younger brother, my niece is very nice!" The grandfather persevered, and said with a thumbs up: "Young man is so handsome! He has a good heart and is considerate in everything he does. Send eggs to us old people!"
Du Wenjuan held back a smile to bid farewell to the two elderly people, looked at their backs and said, "That's great."
"I envy you very much." She turned to look at Jiang Wang, and admired from the bottom of her heart: "You can do the business you like, you can make friends everywhere, it's very free."
The roots of Jiang Wang's ears were already burning, and his face was a little red. He coughed forcefully and pretended to be fine: "You can do it too. You're only in your early thirties, and now there are many opportunities."
"Me," Du Wenjuan laughed a little awkwardly: "My life can be seen as old at a glance."
"But it's okay. Now that I have taken back the stars, I have one less regret." She said gently, "You also take care of yourself. It's hard work to wander outside alone."
Jiang Wang looked at his mother's young face, something was melting and rolling deep in his chest.
It was as if something he'd been ignoring had fallen out of a safe, dangling in his empty chest.
"Yes, I will."
"They are all family members, even if the surname is Jiang, they are still my relatives," Du Wenjuan said solemnly: "We will keep in touch in the future."
Peng Xingwang played all day, and went back to Jiang Wang's house to sleep at night as usual.
Ji Linqiu left early after dinner, and Jiang Wang sat with them for a long time before finally taking Peng Xingwang home.
When he returned to his familiar and warm home, the man was stunned for a while, and then he reminded Peng Xingwang.
"You should pack your bags."
"You can take whatever you like, brother, help you get a suitcase."
The child didn't move when he heard the words, and stood there not knowing what to do.
Jiang Wang squatted down so that he could look at himself.
"What's wrong?"
Peng Xingwang's eyes turned red.
"I don't know," he shook his head quickly, "I don't know what to do."
He really wanted to say, brother, I don't want to leave, but he was supposed to be with his mother, and all the children in the world would be with their mother.
— and his mother has come to pick him up.
Jiang Wang condemned himself for being completely unprincipled, he patted the child's head and said, "Then I won't accept it."
"Just treat it as if you are going on a trip with your mother, go to a new place for a few days, and come back to see your brother when you get tired, okay?"
Peng Xingwang looked at him in a daze: "Can I really come back to see you and Teacher Ji?"
"Really, don't you remember my mobile phone number?" Jiang Wang has never been so gentle: "As long as you call me, I will come to see you by plane."
"Why?" The child said in a daze: "Mom picked me up, and your mission is over."
"Besides, it's too nasty," Jiang Wangnao couldn't do anything about him, rubbed his face and said, "Hurry up and take a bath."
Du Wenjuan was worried that the children would not be able to get along with them, so she specially bought a ticket for the 5:30 p.m., but now it seems that it is too late.
Jiang Wang only brought a change of clothes for the child, and basically did not bring toys and books. The only thing he remembered was to repeatedly remind the child to bring all the summer homework.
Ji Linqiu didn't wait for Jiang Wang to ask this time, and took the initiative to come over to see him off together.
When Du Wenjuan left, she specially gave them two large boxes of Cizhou specialties, and held Peng Xing tightly, smiling and relaxing.
"See you later, we will take good care of the stars."
The child was still staring at the two of them in a daze, while Ji Linqiu waved goodbye through the ticket gate.
"We won't buy standing tickets to go in and wait, you are so familiar with it."
Jiang Wang was still a little reluctant, seeing the child about to enter the station, he squatted down and opened his arms.
"Come on, brother, hug another one!"
Peng Xingwang rushed over with his bag on his back and kissed him hard on the face.
"Brother, I will miss you! I will miss you so much after only one day away!!"
"Okay, the time is almost up." Chang Hua knew that he couldn't integrate into them, and frequently looked at his watch and said, "Hard seats are easy to be robbed of the luggage rack. We have to queue up early."
Peng Xingwang asked curiously, "Do I have a seat too?"
"You can sit on the box. It's less than 1.4 meters, so you don't need to pay for the fare."
Jiang Wang watched them disappear at the security checkpoint, and suddenly felt cold after standing for a while.
The world has become too quiet, and he is a little bit overwhelmed.
"Let's go," Ji Linqiu said in his pocket, "You're welcome, I know you're lonely."
"I still owe you 8,000 words of teacher's experience." Jiang Wang sighed: "I haven't written a composition for 800 years, can I just copy one from the Internet?"
"Of course not," Ji Linqiu took the car keys in his hand: "Go for a drink?"
Jiang Wang was still looking at the ticket gate, and when he turned around, he became pissed again, as if he didn't care about anything.
"These two days are poor, Mr. Ji please."
"Row."
On the other side, Du Wenjuan sat on the innermost side of the seat, and Chang Hua put several boxes onto the luggage rack with a little effort.
"After you get there," he said, wiping his sweat, "you sleep on the sofa for a few days first, and then I can set up a small bed when I free up the study room."
"When you arrive at the new school, you must pay attention to the lectures and give your mother credit." The middle-aged man patted his head, thought for a while and then took out the apple from his backpack: "Are you hungry? I'll give you instant noodles later?"
Peng Xingwang shook his head first, then realized something.
"I haven't decided whether to transfer schools yet." He said in surprise, "Didn't I say to go there for a few days?"
"Just kidding," Chang Hua saw that the children were all in the car, and didn't bother to hide it anymore: "You still want to come back here? Your mother is already in Cizhou, why come back?"
"But brother—" Peng Xingwang became anxious: "brother said it."
"Brother lied to you." Chang Hua interrupted directly: "You will be from Cizhou in the future, and you must live a good life with us."
Du Wenjuan's face changed slightly, and she wanted to stop him: "Don't do this."
"The car is about to drive, why are you still coaxing?" Chang Hua frowned: "He is eight years old, and it's not like sending him to suffer, so there's no need to be so cautious."
The train whistle sounded loudly in response to the scene, like a horn on the eve of war.
Peng Xingwang turned pale, and suddenly turned around and ran away.
He instinctively felt scared, and instinctively felt that he had to get out of here quickly.
"Star Hope!!"
"Come back!! The car is about to start!!!"
The child almost knocked down the uncle who was holding instant noodles, jumped off the train in a panic, and ran all the way to the ticket gate.
Du Wenjuan got up and wanted to chase, but the train was already moving slowly.
"Star Hope!!!"
Meanwhile, Jiang Wang was waiting for the roasted kidneys to be served.
He has too many emotional ups and downs today, and he is extremely hungry at night.
Ji Linqiu came over with two cans of cold beer, and then glanced at the crayfish on the next table.
"Let's have a pot too," he hesitated, "I'm not very good at spicy food."
"Men eat spicy food." Jiang Wang patted the table and said, "Fuck!"
Before the beer was opened, the phone rang suddenly.
"Jiang Wang!! Xing Xing has run away!! Go find him quickly!!!"
"Run away? Didn't he come with you—"
"Before driving, Chang Hua said something that shouldn't be said. The child was frightened and ran out of the car. Go find him!" Du Wenjuan was already crying in anxiety: "The train station is so chaotic and there are many traffickers, please You go, I'll find a way to come back!"
"Don't worry, I'll go there now," Jiang Wang stood up and said, "It's okay, he has two hundred dollars in his pocket, and he knows how to get a taxi back."
Du Wenjuan's face was pale: "Didn't Chang Hua return the money to you?"
"Give me back?" Jiang Wang frowned and said, "Give me back what?"
"Too bad, the kid has no money! Go find him quickly!!"