Chapter 34: Shopping

Afterward, they went up to the second floor and found a clothing store that catered to teenagers.

“Dad doesn’t know what styles you like, so I won’t choose for you. Pick whatever you want. If you like something, try it on. If it looks good, we’ll buy it,” Chen Liyang said as he stood in the store, looking at his eldest and second sons.

He was still carrying Zhou Wanning’s new clothes, while Zhou Chengxi and Zhou Chengbei carried their own.

Hearing him call himself “Dad” so naturally made the two older boys feel somewhat uncomfortable. Still, they said nothing and obediently went to pick out clothes.

They both liked simple styles. White T-shirts and gray casual trousers gave them the fresh, youthful energy unique to boys their age.

It had to be said that although the two of them were thin, they were natural clothes racks.

Even such simple clothes looked as though they had been tailor-made for them.

Seeing how good they looked, Chen Liyang had them pick out another outfit each. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have enough clothes to change into.

Once they got home, he was going to throw their old clothes as far away as possible.

He couldn’t change the way the original owner had treated them in the past.

But now that he was here, he might not be able to give them a life where they were born in Rome^[1], but at the very least, he could make sure they had enough to eat and warm clothes to wear, without having to worry about making a living.

He had originally wanted them to buy sandals, but neither of them liked wearing them. Luckily, the store had shoes that went well with summer clothes, so they each bought a pair of canvas shoes instead.

Afraid of getting their new clothes dirty, they refused to put them on right away, no matter what he said. So after buying the clothes and shoes, they were still dressed as they had been before.

Summer clothes were light and thin, yet they felt heavy in his hands. To the children, these weren’t merely new clothes. They represented the dignity of living human beings. At last, they no longer had to live like beggars, wearing clothes that other people didn’t want.

Once all the children’s clothes had been bought, Chen Liyang decided to buy two outfits for himself as well.

The original owner had plenty of clothes, but most of them were gaudy and, to be honest, hideous.

If he had to wear those clothes outside, he would rather stay home for the rest of his life.

So he picked out two outfits at the men’s clothing store next door. He never chose clothes based on how expensive they were, only on how comfortable they felt.

As a result, his clothes ended up being the cheapest of all, making him look like a father who would rather inconvenience himself than let his children go without.

Chen Liyang didn’t think much of it. As long as they were comfortable, that was enough.

Zhou Chengdong, however, noticed that the two outfits Chen Liyang had bought came to only 180 Yuan. The cheapest were the short-sleeved shirts, two for just 50 Yuan.

In the past, Chen Liyang wouldn’t have bought clothes like these, let alone spared them a glance.

He used to say that when a man went out into the world, the most important thing was how he dressed. A man like him couldn’t afford to look too shabby.

So even when the family had been struggling financially, the clothes he bought for himself had always cost several hundred or even over a thousand Yuan.

What he did today was completely unlike him.

The children could only feel that Chen Liyang had changed far too much, so much so that it was as if another soul had taken over his body.

After leaving the clothing store, Chen Liyang remembered that the electric fan in the older boys’ room was broken. It was so old that there was no point in repairing it.

So he took them all down to the basement level, where there was a large supermarket selling various household appliances and goods.

When Zhou Chengdong learned that Chen Liyang wanted to buy electric fans for their rooms, he was no longer as surprised.

In just a few short days, Chen Liyang treating them well had already become the most natural thing in the world.

It had been so hot the night before, yet he hadn’t hesitated to move the electric fan from his own room into theirs. That showed how important they had become to him.

Now that they had come out, he hadn’t forgotten to buy them electric fans either. This heartfelt concern, the way he kept them in mind at all times, did it mean that he truly regarded them as his sons?

Chen Liyang felt a little uncomfortable under his eldest son’s gaze, so he explained, “I know the weather’s getting hotter and hotter, and an electric fan isn’t all that effective. It’s just that I don’t have much money on hand right now. We’ll make do for the time being. After a while, I’ll definitely have air conditioners installed in your rooms.”

“You’ve misunderstood. Having an electric fan is already very good. Don’t waste that money on air conditioners,” Zhou Chengdong said, his voice unconsciously much gentler than before.

Being able to maintain this kind of life already felt like extraordinary happiness to him. How could he dare ask for more?

What if the family spent too much money on air conditioners and ended up right back in poverty?

Following the staff member’s recommendation, Chen Liyang chose the floor fan with the best value for money. It cost 128 Yuan and blew with incredible force.

By the time they left the shopping center, it was already half past eight in the evening. Outside, the streets were already ablaze with lights, crowds, and traffic.

The family of six walked along the street without drawing much attention.

Yet they gave off the warm impression of a loving father and devoted children. Life didn’t need to be grand or earth-shaking. Simple happiness was enough.

Once they got home, Chen Liyang had the two boys take the fan back to their room, then took Wanning to the bathroom to give her a bath.

Although people said that daughters should avoid bathing in front of their fathers once they grew older, Wanning couldn’t bathe by herself. Usually, her four older brothers took turns bathing her.

But today, they still hadn’t done their homework. Chen Liyang had sent them off to study instead. What mattered most to them now was their education. Knowledge was what could change their fate.

So the task of bathing her naturally fell to him.

Chen Liyang was an ordinary man, so he naturally wouldn’t harbor any improper thoughts toward a five-year-old girl.

Still, when he saw how little flesh there was on Wanning’s body, his heart ached fiercely.

Tomorrow, he would have to buy an old hen and stew some soup for the children, so they could properly nourish themselves.

Zhou Wanning was very well-behaved during her bath. She neither cried nor fussed. If not for the way her eyes occasionally shifted, she would have looked just like a cloth doll.

Chen Liyang had never bathed such a young child before, so his movements were somewhat clumsy. Still, he was very gentle, as if even the slightest increase in force might break Wanning’s bones.

“Wanning, are you still angry with Dad? Is that why you don’t want to talk?

“But Dad was the one at fault. You can’t punish yourself for my mistake.

“If you never speak again for the rest of your life, your four brothers will worry about you forever. Do you really want them to keep worrying about you?”

Chen Liyang chattered away as he bathed Wanning.

He knew Wanning wouldn’t answer him, but he kept talking to her to stimulate her nerves. Maybe one day, she would finally speak.

Still uneasy, the eldest brother stood outside, watching through a crack in the door and catching every word Chen Liyang said.

When he saw that Chen Liyang had finished bathing Wanning and was getting her dressed, he finally returned to his room.

“You still don’t trust him, do you? He didn’t do anything to Little Sister, did he?” Zhou Chengnan asked as he did his homework, having heard him return.

“No. Just do your homework. We have a lot to do today.” Zhou Chengdong didn’t elaborate. He picked up his ballpoint pen and began working on a math test.