Chapter 175: The Little Fool in the Group Favorite Story – 18

While cooking the porridge, Xie Hui added some lean meat to it, giving it a rich and savory flavor.

When he brought it to the table, Ning Ning didn’t dare defy his father. He held his spoon and quietly drank his porridge.

Xie Hui picked up a slice of cured meat. This type, marbled with fat and lean, had the best flavor—not too greasy, not too dry. Every bite was full of aroma.

“Ah, this is really delicious.”

The little one, quietly drinking his porridge, froze mid-scoop when he heard that. He looked up at his father, eyes full of grievance, and let out a soft whimper.

“Originally, Daddy was going to have porridge for lunch too,” Xie Hui said patiently, seeing the boy’s eyes turn red with frustration. “But Daddy felt so upset by you earlier, he needed a little cured meat to make up for it.”

These past few days, they had indeed been eating porridge for lunch. In the winter, aside from radishes and cabbage, there weren’t many fresh vegetables. Ning Ning didn’t like pickled ones, but he did enjoy lean meat porridge.

Xie Hui wasn’t the kind of parent who forced his child to eat things just because they were healthy. If Ning Ning didn’t like something, Xie Hui would just make something tastier for him.

The cured meat had originally been bought for the New Year, but today seemed like the perfect time to use it—to tease this disobedient little rascal he couldn’t bear to hit.

“I’ve told you how many times now? If you’re sleepy, go outside and walk around. Don’t sit by the fire.”

If Xie Hui hadn’t been nearby at the time, this little one might’ve dozed off and toppled right into the fire.

As punishment, he’d made him stand against the wall. Ning Ning, knowing he’d done wrong, had said he’d use the time to memorize his lessons. But before long, he started nodding off again.

“Daddy, I know I was wrong…”

Xie Hui nodded slightly when he heard the apology.

“Good. Don’t let it happen again.”

Even though Ning Ning was craving the cured meat and felt wronged that his father wouldn’t let him have any, he didn’t dare complain. He quietly finished two bowls of porridge.

Seeing him so obedient and sensible, Xie Hui felt a pang of guilt and forced himself to look away.

There were times to feel sorry for the child, and times when he shouldn’t. If he gave in every time he saw that pitiful face, then the punishment would lose all meaning.

That afternoon, since it hadn’t snowed, and the firewood at home was running low, Xie Hui decided to take Ning Ning up the mountain to gather more.

Before they left, he put the hat he’d made for Ning Ning last time on the boy’s head.

“If you behave well this afternoon, then tonight…”

Before Xie Hui could finish his sentence, Ning Ning had already run over and hugged his leg, looking up with sparkling eyes full of anticipation and joy.

“We’ll have cured meat tonight too, right?”

Xie Hui gently pinched his nose and nodded.

“Mm.”

Kids loved to play, and with patches of snow still on the mountain, Xie Hui kept a firm hold on his hand the entire time.

The weather was decent that afternoon, so quite a few people were also out gathering firewood. Xie Hui ran into two others on the way.

The reason he’d never helped the Xie family before wasn’t just because of old grudges. He truly believed they didn’t deserve it.

One of the people he passed was a former hunter from the village. After an accident left him with a limp, he still climbed the mountain in the dead of winter to gather firewood and sell it to better-off villagers for a bit of silver.

As long as someone was willing to work, they wouldn’t starve.

But those who refused to lift a finger and expected everything handed to them—what kind of world did they think this was?

Motivated by the promise of cured meat, Ning Ning behaved exceptionally well. On the way down the mountain, he even carried two sticks of firewood himself, his little legs moving fast as he trotted ahead.

Before the New Year, when Xie Hui was visiting the village chief’s family to arrange a trip to the county town, he’d asked them to bring back some wheat flour. He planned to make dumplings for the holiday.

The Xie family used to make dumplings during the New Year too, but the client and his son had never once gotten to eat any.

Thinking of how greedy this little one was, and remembering the memory from the client’s past—standing quietly at the door, watching the Xie family feast—Xie Hui decided he’d make it up to him.

On New Year’s Eve, Ning Ning, who usually only ate one bowl of rice, devoured three big bowls of dumplings.

Afterward, he was so full he could barely walk. Seeing him so stuffed, Xie Hui couldn’t bring himself to feel happy.

But the little one was completely unaware of his father’s thoughts. After eating, he ran over to the fire and sat watching the flames flicker across the snowy ground, finding the scene fascinating.

After tidying up the kitchen, Xie Hui stepped outside and saw the boy secretly playing with snow again. He cleared his throat.

The little rascal, who had just packed a handful of snow into a ball, immediately pulled his hand back when he heard the cough.

As the snow fell harder, Ning Ning sat by the fire, watching it with growing curiosity. He wanted to reach out and see if he could catch a flake.

He glanced cautiously at his father, then, when he thought he wasn’t looking, stretched his hand out.

Xie Hui didn’t like letting him play in the snow. The boy didn’t know his limits, and last time he’d soaked half his clothes. In winter, that could easily lead to a cold.

But watching him sneakily try to catch snowflakes, Xie Hui didn’t stop him. Instead, he moved a stool next to him and reached out his own hand.

“Let’s see who can catch one first.”

“Okay!”

While this side was filled with warmth and laughter, things at the Xie family’s house were chaotic even during the New Year.

Xie Kangli had been spoiled by Old Madam since she was little. She didn’t even realize how much people’s attitudes toward her had changed. She still thought she was the precious little princess of the past.

On New Year’s Day, she threw a tantrum wanting dumplings. Her younger sister, hearing that, started crying for them too.

In the end, Eldest Brother Xie walked over and slapped each of them across the face.

“Eat, eat, eat! That’s all you two ever think about!”

Old Madam, who had always treated Xie Kangli like a treasure, didn’t even react. She had long since grown numb.

Eldest Brother Xie managed to borrow a bit of grain from other villagers, but knowing he’d have to repay it next year, he only took a small amount. With no work to do in the twelfth lunar month, their meals were nothing more than a few grains of rice floating in water.

Frustrated and irritable, he overheard Xie Kangli still whining about dumplings. Thinking back to how they’d spent last New Year, he grew even more furious.

That night, Xie Hui slipped a few copper coins under Ning Ning’s pillow.

As soon as the New Year passed, Xie Hui began preparing tuition to send his son to study with the scholar in the neighboring village.

That scholar had failed the imperial exams multiple times and eventually gave up, settling down to teach in the countryside just to make ends meet. He came off as a bit rigid.

When spring arrived, Xie Hui got busy with farming. The seeds he’d bought earlier were casually set aside.

He hadn’t expected that on Ning Ning’s first day of school, when he went to pick him up, the boy came out with teary eyes.

On the way home, though already six years old, he still clung to Xie Hui, wanting to be carried.

Even though Xie Hui had been exhausted from a long day, seeing how pitiful the little one looked, he still scooped him up into his arms.

“What’s wrong? Did someone bully you at school?”

Ning Ning wrapped his arms around his father’s neck and gently shook his head.

“The teacher… the teacher hits really hard.”

As he spoke, Ning Ning held out his little hand in front of his father.

His small palm was indeed red and swollen. After glancing at it, Xie Hui looked back at Ning Ning, and the tears that had been welling up in his eyes finally spilled over.

“Wuwu… Daddy, can I not go to school tomorrow? I’m scared, wuwu…”

For a moment, Xie Hui didn’t know how to respond to his little boy.

In this era, teachers weren’t like those in modern times. Using a ruler to discipline students was perfectly normal. Most parents, when sending their children off to school, would even ask the teacher to be strict and give them a good beating if they misbehaved.

They were just an ordinary family now. Xie Hui didn’t expect special treatment. Seeing his son cry so pitifully after being hit did make his heart ache, but there wasn’t much he could do.

“Why did the teacher hit you?”

“Because I couldn’t write that word. The teacher said I didn’t know how to hold the brush properly, and that when I rolled up my sleeves, I looked like I was about to start a fight.”

Xie Hui had to work hard to keep the corners of his mouth from curling up.

He had already noticed that Ning Ning’s grip on the brush was far from correct. He’d corrected him many times, but the boy still held it the same way.

Even someone as patient as Xie Hui found it frustrating. It was no wonder the teacher at school had lost his temper.

“So, did you fix the way you hold the brush?”

As soon as Ning Ning heard that, his tears started falling even faster. He pouted and said,

“If I fixed it, the teacher wouldn’t have hit me.”

Xie Hui patiently explained things to him again, but judging by the boy’s expression, it was clear he hadn’t taken it to heart.

“Daddy, do I really have to study? I don’t want to go to school anymore.”

Faced with this question, Xie Hui nodded seriously.

“Yes, you have to study.”

“If you don’t, once you’re a little older, you’ll have to work in the fields like Daddy, under the sun and wind every day.”

After hearing that, Ning Ning fell silent for a long time. It wasn’t until they reached home that he quietly asked,

“Daddy, can’t I become a carpenter for someone else instead?”

“You’re still too young for that.”

Most fathers in this era would’ve given their child another beating for wanting to quit school after just one punishment.

But Xie Hui didn’t like hitting children. Trying to reason with a child this young in a way he could understand was bound to take a lot more effort.

“Go on now, review what the teacher taught you this today. Daddy caught two fish while working today. I’ll make fish soup for you.”

The moment he heard there was something tasty, Ning Ning’s eyes lit up with excitement.

“Really?”

“Really. Now go on.”

With the promise of fish soup as motivation, Ning Ning obediently pulled out his books. While squatting under the eaves reading, he noticed two small packets of seeds his father had left there at some point. He picked up a twig and started digging in the dirt nearby.

He didn’t get much studying done, but he did manage to scatter nearly half the seeds.

It wasn’t until Xie Hui called him for dinner that Ning Ning guiltily put down what he was doing, washed his hands, and ran over to grab a bowl and chopsticks.

One day, when Xie Hui came home, he happened to notice that there seemed to be more weeds growing in the yard than before.