Chapter 68 - 69: Delivering Food
“Alright, alright,” Chen Zhong gently patted Tang Yuxin’s little head, then took a small basket and placed four white buns and a plate of pickles inside. He put the basket in front of Tang Yuxin.
“Take it to your dad and second uncle, tell them it’s a loan from me.”
“Thank you, Grandpa,” Tang Yuxin hopped off the stool and picked up the basket. It wasn’t too heavy for her to manage. Holding the basket, she walked toward her family fields. Children around four or five years old were a common sight in the village. Unlike later years where children were strictly supervised for fear of cars and bad people, they now ran freely around the village.
Here everyone was familiar and cars were mostly tricycles. Bicycles were in minority, let alone private cars, hence why children were allowed to run freely and adults didn’t worry too much.
Tang Yuxin headed to her family’s field; it wasn’t far. For an adult, it would take about five minutes, but for a child, it might take up to ten.
At that moment, the two brothers Tang Zhinian and Tang Zhijun were already working on the second of their five sheds. They were planning to skip lunch that day.
The sooner they finished their work, the sooner they could start planting.
“Dad…”
Tang Yuxin stood at the edge of the field and called out to Tang Zhinian.
Tang Zhinian turned around suddenly and seeing his daughter, he felt a leap of surprise.
He quickly halted his work and ran over, squatting down in front of her.
“Xinxin, what are you doing here?”
Wasn’t she supposed to be at Chen Zhong’s house? How had she ended up at the field?
Tang Yuxin put the basket she was carrying in front of Tang Zhinian. “Grandpa lent it to us.”
Tang Zhinian didn’t know what was in the basket. He lifted it and uncovered it, finding four white buns and a small dish of pickles inside.
His expression turned complex, his eyes heated with gratitude. He didn’t consider himself unfortunate. His wife having run away with someone wasn’t a big deal; he still had his daughter, and she was his entire world.
He asked Tang Yuxin to grab the corner of his clothes as they both went to sit inside the tiny room in the field. This used to be where Tang Zhijun lived. It was common for people in the village to build small houses in their fields. It provided a place to watch over the crops and to live.
For a few years, Tang Zhijun lived here, leaving the house for his elder brother and sister-in-law. It was only after Sang Zhilan left that he moved back home, leaving this place vacant.
However, during busy farming periods, they still sometimes lived there.
“Zhijun, come to eat,” Tang Zhinian washed his hands in a nearby water basin and called Tang Zhijun over for lunch.
As soon as Tang Zhijun arrived, he spotted the four white buns.
“Bro, where did these come from?” He wiped his hands on his clothes and, being famished, immediately picked one up to eat without washing his hands. This was typical behavior for villagers; he’d never heard of anyone dying from it.
“Uncle Zhong lent us. Xinxin brought them over.”
Tang Zhinian also picked one up, stuffed some pickles inside, and started eating. Thankfully, they had brought a thermos of hot water. With two buns each and some water, their meals for the day were sorted.
Tang Yuxin sat obediently to one side. Her small face was flushed pink from the cold wind, but it was still baby-soft and extremely adorable. She always took good care of her face, so it didn’t get the severe redness often seen on the Northwestern plateau. The redness was normal and would fade once she got back home and warmed up.