Chapter 168: The Little Fool in the Group Favorite Story – 11

Seeing the anxious glimmer in his eyes and the pitiful look on his face, Xie Hui didn’t immediately give in like he used to.

Instead, he crouched down to meet his gaze and patiently asked,

“Hungry? Then what does Ning Ning want to do when he’s hungry?”

Ning Ning had thought that just saying he was hungry would be enough. He didn’t expect his daddy to keep asking questions.

It wasn’t until his stomach started growling again after a while that he began to get a little flustered.

“Daddy…”

“Hmm? What does Ning Ning want to do? Can you tell Daddy clearly?”

Xie Hui guided him gently, full of patience, but to his surprise, it was the little one who broke down first.

He took two steps forward, threw his arms around his daddy’s neck, and started crying in grievance.

“Waaah… Daddy…”

Seeing him cry made Xie Hui’s heart ache. As he carried him to prepare the meal, he couldn’t help but reflect—had he pushed the child too hard?

Fortunately, Ning Ning didn’t need much coaxing. As soon as Daddy started the fire, he wiped away his tears all on his own.

After his crying fit, Ning Ning became extra clingy. Xie Hui tried to get him to stand aside, but the little one used both arms and legs to latch onto him tightly, refusing to let go.

At over five years old now, and with his appetite growing ever since they split from the family, Ning Ning had gotten heavier. Carrying him was starting to become a real strain for Xie Hui.

“When someone’s hungry, they need to eat, understand?”

“Eat… food!”

Xie Hui had intended to teach him to say the phrase properly, but Ning Ning misunderstood and just kept nodding his head, babbling nonsense that made no sense.

By the time Xie Hui finished cooking with the boy in his arms and served the food on the table, he was sweating down his back from exhaustion.

He kept reminding himself not to hold Ning Ning to the standards of a typical child. After all, Ning Ning hadn’t grown up under normal circumstances.

According to the client’s memories, when Ning Ning had just started to talk, even his baby babbling would annoy the Old Madam.

Once, she had even stuffed his mouth with a filthy rag to shut him up.

After the meal, Xie Hui looked up at the sky and instinctively felt that rain was on the way. He went to bring in the things that had been drying outside.

Ning Ning sat under the eaves, holding the rooster in his arms, carefully wiping its feathers with a scrap of cloth.

At first, the rooster hadn’t wanted to play along, but after being caught a few times by Ning Ning, it had given up resisting.

Whenever Ning Ning held it, it would droop its head with a look of utter resignation.

Xie Hui suspected the only reason it tolerated Ning Ning was because the boy diligently dug up worms for it every day.

The next morning, Xie Hui weeded the fields, had lunch, then took the prepared wild ginseng and set off toward the county town with his son in tow.

When they ran into acquaintances along the way, he simply said he was going to collect payment from the man who had asked him to build a cabinet last time.

The county town was bustling. Their area wasn’t too remote and happened to be at the crossroads between north and south, so traveling merchants were a common sight.

A mature wild mountain ginseng could fetch a high price from these merchants. They’d buy it here and resell it elsewhere at double the price without batting an eye.

On the way, Xie Hui thought it over and decided it would be better to sell it to the County Magistrate.

Though the price might not be as high as what the traveling merchants offered, the ginseng could be used during childbirth by the magistrate’s future daughter-in-law. A life was worth more than any amount of silver.

Moreover, if Xie Hui planned to settle and build a future in this county town, he would need the County Magistrate’s favor.

As luck would have it, today was the magistrate’s day off at home. Xie Hui brought his son to the magistrate’s residence and stopped at the gate.

“I found something rare in the mountains. May I trouble you to ask if the County Magistrate might be interested?”

The mountains around their county were known for producing rare goods. And since the County Magistrate had come from the capital, he often paid higher prices than regular merchants for anything of quality.

The gatekeeper had seen plenty of locals bringing in mushrooms or other mountain goods.

“What is it? Tell me first.”

If it was just mushrooms again, he could judge the quality himself and wouldn’t need to bother the magistrate.

Xie Hui set down his basket. Ning Ning stood obediently by his side, clutching his daddy’s sleeve in fear of the unfamiliar place.

When Xie Hui lifted the top layer to reveal what was inside, the gatekeeper’s expression changed instantly.

Wild mountain ginseng was rare and hard to come by. The magistrate had been searching for it for quite some time, even writing to relatives in the capital to keep an eye out.

Like a pillow delivered just as someone dozed off, the gatekeeper didn’t hesitate and invited Xie Hui inside.

“Wait here. I’ll fetch the steward to take a look.”

As soon as the steward heard someone was selling wild mountain ginseng, he rushed over. The magistrate had mentioned it several times lately, and the steward had been fretting over where to find some.

After the gatekeeper left, a maid brought over tea and refreshments.

The steward recognized the ginseng immediately. After confirming its authenticity, he began discussing the price with Xie Hui.

Xie Hui had assumed that if the ginseng was only for the magistrate’s future daughter-in-law during childbirth, it wouldn’t fetch much.

But as it turned out, the magistrate needed it now—to help his son recover his health.

In the end, they settled on a generous price. After receiving the silver, Xie Hui took his son to the street where the traveling merchants gathered.

The price they got for the wild mountain ginseng was much higher than Xie Hui had expected. The steward had offered more than he ever imagined.

“Is there anything Ning Ning wants?”

Ning Ning, who was being led by the hand, tilted his head up in confusion. When he realized his father was staring at him, he even cocked his head to the side, clearly puzzled.

Xie Hui hadn’t expected a real answer. He’d asked the question more out of instinct than anything else.

Here in this place, Xie Hui had spoken with several traveling merchants before finally managing to buy a small packet of seeds from one of them.

According to that merchant, he couldn’t say for sure whether the seeds were actually for medicinal herbs, even though the person who sold them to him claimed they were.

Xie Hui had never seen what medicinal herb seeds looked like, but he bought them anyway and tucked them into the basket on his back.

After that, he went to the fabric shop. Once he’d asked about prices, he decided to buy cloth and make the clothes himself.

The price difference between fabric and ready-made clothing was just too great. What you’d spend on a single piece of clothing could buy enough fabric to make three.

Xie Hui’s own clothes were a bit worn out too. They’d been through a lot over time, and no matter how hard he washed them, some stains just wouldn’t come out.

Now that he had this unexpected bit of income, he didn’t hold back. He bought some dark-colored fabric for himself.

For Ning Ning, he chose bright and cheerful light-colored cloth. After buying the fabric, he picked up some rice and a variety of other daily necessities, planning to get everything they needed in one trip.

Just as they were about to head home, they passed by a pastry shop.

Xie Hui noticed that Ning Ning, still holding his hand, had started quietly swallowing his saliva. He stopped walking and crouched down, meeting his son’s curious gaze as he asked seriously,

“Ning Ning, do you want to eat that?”

The word “eat” was one of the few that truly resonated with Ning Ning. His eyes lit up instantly, staring at his father with eager anticipation.

But Xie Hui wasn’t satisfied with just that reaction. He held Ning Ning’s hand a little tighter and asked again,

“Do you want to eat it? If you do, then tell Daddy.”

At first, Ning Ning didn’t quite understand what Xie Hui meant. But as the seconds ticked by, he started to get anxious, his eyes turning slightly red with frustration.

“Daddy…”

Xie Hui didn’t rush him. He waited patiently, his gaze filled with encouragement.

“Wan… wan eat…”

Finally, hearing those words come out of Ning Ning’s mouth, Xie Hui smiled in satisfaction and led him into the pastry shop. They bought two portions.

One was the kind Ning Ning had pointed to himself. The other was chosen by Xie Hui, meant as a gift for the Village Chief’s household.

If it weren’t for the Village Chief, things wouldn’t be going nearly as smoothly for him in this world. Xie Hui had always been someone who repaid kindness clearly and without delay.

“Ning Ning, Daddy’s carrying a lot right now. Can you help Daddy take this to Grandpa Village Chief?”

Standing in front of the Village Chief’s house, Xie Hui handed the pastry to Ning Ning.

After carrying so many things and walking along the mountain path, Xie Hui was completely exhausted.

This time, Ning Ning responded quickly. He took the pastry and ran into the Village Chief’s yard, where the old man was drying mushrooms in the sun. Ning Ning handed it to him.

Once he was sure the Village Chief had taken it, he turned and bolted off faster than a rabbit.

The Village Chief stood there, bewildered, holding the pastry. By the time he stepped out of his yard, the father and son were already far down the road.

On the way home, Xie Hui held Ning Ning’s hand and praised him,

“My Ning Ning is amazing.”

Whether Ning Ning understood the meaning behind those words or not, Xie Hui wasn’t sure. But after the compliment, he noticed Ning Ning staring intently at his hand.

It was already a bit late when they got back, past their usual mealtime. Earlier, when Xie Hui had asked Ning Ning to deliver the pastry, the boy’s hand had picked up the scent of the treat.

“There’ll be food once we get home.”

“Mm…”

Hearing that soft response, Xie Hui took it as his son’s way of replying.

Once they got home, he set everything down in the courtyard and went straight into the kitchen to start preparing lunch.

He could be frugal in other areas, but when it came to food, he wouldn’t let Ning Ning go without.

Even though the boy was still a bit slow-witted, he could still get upset. And once he was upset, he was hard to coax.

Last time, Xie Hui had taken a little too long making dinner, and Ning Ning had sulked for ages, sitting on his little stool with his back to his father in silent protest.

Even when Xie Hui picked him up, he stubbornly insisted on keeping the same sitting posture, as if still perched on the stool, using his own way to stay mad at Daddy.