Chapter 138: I Am a Happy Little Fairy

“Cheng, what do you do for a living? You seem to have such extensive experience teaching children,” Zhu Qiaoxia remarked in disbelief.

Even though Cheng Xiaolin was younger than her, it seemed unlikely she had specifically studied child-rearing.

Cheng Xiaolin smiled and replied, “Sister Xia, we used to work in Beijing. I was a kindergarten teacher there for quite some time, so I’ve developed my own methods for educating young children.”

“I knew it!” Zhu Qiaoxia exclaimed with a look of realization. “Cheng used to be a kindergarten teacher. No wonder little Mengmeng is so well-behaved.”

“Well-behaved?” Cheng Xiaolin felt a bit dizzy. She knew her daughter well, and in her mind, Mengmeng was rarely associated with being well-behaved.

While the two chatted, Mengmeng noticed her mother wasn’t paying attention to her. She glanced at the little boy beside her, who had stopped crying, and asked, “I’m Mengmeng. What’s your name?”

“Bingbing,” the little boy replied, looking at Mengmeng with a bit of apprehension, afraid she might hit him again.

“Mengmeng,” she repeated, unsure how to write his name. She waved her hand and asked, “Do you want to play on the slide?”

“Let’s go!”

The two of them ran off to play on the slide together.

After Cheng Xiaolin and Zhu Qiaoxia finished discussing a phase of child-rearing, they turned back to find the kids had just slid down the slide. In the short time they were away, the children had become quite familiar with each other.

Zhu Qiaoxia, knowing her son’s usual behavior, sincerely remarked, “Cheng, your daughter’s personality is really wonderful.”

What could Cheng Xiaolin say to that? It seemed like even if she spoke ill of Mengmeng, Zhu Qiaoxia wouldn’t believe her.

After lunch, Cao Shujie and his father, Cao Jianguo, noticed that his mother and wife hadn’t returned yet. Looking eastward, Cao Jianguo saw his wife talking to another woman, though the distance made it hard to see her clearly.

Cao Shujie was puzzled. “Did she run into someone she knows?”

“Dad, are you still eating?” Seeing his father put down his chopsticks and sip tea, Cao Shujie asked.

Cao Jianguo waved his hand. “I’m stuffed. No more for me.”

“Alright, I’ll settle the bill, and we can explore some more places this afternoon. We’ll head back by four at the latest,” Cao Shujie planned.

With over a hundred kilometers to travel, even on the highway, it would take two hours. He figured they could be home by six in the evening.

Though Cao Jianguo wanted to return earlier, he was worried about the fifty cattle on the mountain, fearing they might not have eaten enough and would lose weight, which would be a loss for their family. But he didn’t want to spoil the mood by suggesting they leave now.

After his son paid the bill and returned with two bags, Cao Shujie packed the remaining fried meat and crispy ribs to take home for dinner, planning to enjoy them with some drinks.

At the children’s playground, Cao Shujie saw his mother standing outside the fence and called out, “Mom, let’s go.”

Wang Yuelan turned to see her son and pointed inside the playground. “Mengmeng is still playing. She doesn’t want to leave. How about we let her play a bit longer?”

“Mom, she’s been playing for quite a while. We still have other places to visit,” Cao Shujie replied.

Then he called into the playground, “Honey, let’s get ready to go.”

Hearing her husband’s voice, Cheng Xiaolin turned to see Cao Shujie standing outside the fence. She told Zhu Qiaoxia, “Sister Xia, my husband is calling me. I have to go. Let’s chat on QQ another day when we’re not busy. If you have any questions, feel free to leave me a message on QQ.”

“Alright, Cheng, if I encounter any issues with teaching my child, I’ll ask you,” Zhu Qiaoxia said.

The two had hit it off during their conversation and had added each other as QQ friends.

During their chat, Cheng Xiaolin learned that Zhu Qiaoxia’s family ran a business, though she didn’t ask for specifics. This time, Zhu Qiaoxia had brought her child alone, as her husband was busy at home. Knowing this, Cheng Xiaolin admired her greatly.

When Cheng Xiaolin called Mengmeng to leave, the little one started to act up, not wanting to go. But seeing her father glaring at her, she quickly ran to her mother’s side, staying far from her father to avoid getting scolded.

Zhu Qiaoxia laughed heartily at Mengmeng’s behavior.

Then she looked at Cao Shujie and asked with a smile, “Cheng, aren’t you going to introduce us?”

“Oh, of course!” Cheng Xiaolin quickly apologized and introduced them. “This is my husband, Cao Shujie.”

“Shujie, this is Sister Xia. Earlier, Mengmeng and her son bumped heads in that tunnel. I came over to check on them…”

Listening to his wife recount the incident, Cao Shujie was surprised that so much had happened in such a short time.

…

After saying goodbye to Zhu Qiaoxia, Cao Shujie and his family went to explore the area around Huaxi Mountain and finally found the rafting site they had been looking for.

It was a nearly two-kilometer river course where rafters bumped along in inflatable boats, eventually gathering in a large lake where they could have water fights.

Cao Jianguo and Wang Yuelan, being older, didn’t dare try it. Mengmeng was too young to participate, so only Cao Shujie and Cheng Xiaolin, under Mengmeng’s reluctant gaze, enjoyed the romance and thrill of rafting together.

When they returned from the lake, Mengmeng glared at them, declaring she didn’t like them anymore, leaving Cao Shujie and Cheng Xiaolin feeling a bit embarrassed.

By then, it was already past 3:30 PM. Cao Jianguo asked his son, “Shujie, it’s getting late. Shall we head back?”

Wang Yuelan had wanted to return for a while. Since leaving in the morning, she had been thinking about all the little things at home.

“Alright, let’s head back,” Cao Shujie agreed. On the way, they bought some cooked food and then took the nearby highway back to Cao Family Village.

The journey took 1 hour and 40 minutes, and they finally arrived back at Cao Family Village.

After parking the car in front of the house, Cao Shuchao, a neighbor who was wandering the streets with nothing to do, saw them and came over to greet them.

He looked at Cao Shujie with a hesitant expression, as if he had something to say.

Finally, he asked, “Shujie, I noticed your house was closed all day. What have you been busy with?”

Cao Shujie smiled and replied, “Brother Chao, we had some errands to run, so we went to the county town to buy a few things.”

Hearing this, Cao Shuchao didn’t ask any more questions.

Wang Yuelan got out of the car and hurriedly opened the door to go inside while Cao Jianguo was unloading other items.

Cao Shujie was still chatting with Cao Shuchao when he heard the sound of dogs barking from inside the house. He said to Cao Shuchao, “Brother Chao, I need to check on things at home. Let’s chat again sometime.”

“Sure, go ahead,” Cao Shuchao said.

Recently, after finishing the busy farming season, Cao Shuchao and his group had helped plow the second batch of land contracted by Cao Shujie. With nothing else to do afterward, they were idle again.

When he saw Cao Shujie earlier, he had thought about asking if there were any long-term job opportunities available. However, seeing that the family had just returned and seemed quite tired, he felt it wasn’t the right time to ask.

He planned to find another opportunity to ask Cao Shujie privately.

Even if the pay was a bit less, not having to leave home and being able to take care of his family would be satisfying enough for him.

Inside the house, after putting things down, Wang Yuelan first found some vegetable leaves to feed the gray rabbit they were raising, then prepared food for the cat and four dogs, ensuring they had a good meal.

Seeing her son come in, Wang Yuelan said, “Shujie, this rabbit has grown quite big. Mengmeng doesn’t play with it much anymore. How about we eat it?”

Cao Shujie glanced at his daughter playing outside and said, “Mom, let’s find some time to butcher it so we don’t waste feed.”

They had originally brought the rabbit down from the mountain to make his daughter Mengmeng happy. However, after the initial novelty wore off, Mengmeng lost interest as the little gray rabbit grew into a big gray rabbit. She remained fond of the four dogs and Little Wild Cat Huahua, though.

“Then I’ll really butcher it and stew it in a couple of days,” Wang Yuelan confirmed uncertainly.

Cao Shujie nodded, “Mom, just do it when Mengmeng isn’t home. It’s fine.”

After taking care of the four dogs and one cat, Wang Yuelan washed her hands and prepared to make dinner.

They had bought some ready-to-eat food on their way back, but the steamed buns were still cold, so Wang Yuelan decided to make some porridge.

After unloading the items from the car, Cao Shujie and his father, Cao Jianguo, rode their electric bikes up the mountain.

Having prepared a batch of hay and feed the previous night, no one had gone up to tend to the cattle during the day, which made Cao Shujie a bit uneasy.

Fortunately, everything was fine.

…

As mid-October arrived, time seemed to pass more quickly. Before they knew it, they were wearing another layer of clothing.

Mengmeng, wearing a hoodie, ran back and forth in front of Cao Shujie, trying to catch her father’s attention.

But seeing that his gaze remained fixed on his book, ignoring her, Mengmeng was displeased.

Her eyes darted around, and suddenly she had an idea. She called out “Daddy,” but Cao Shujie didn’t respond. So she pounced onto his lap, pressing the book under her body.

“Mengmeng, what are you doing?” Cao Shujie was engrossed in his reading, and his daughter’s interruption annoyed him.

Mengmeng, however, didn’t take her father’s irritation seriously.

“Daddy, play with me,” Mengmeng said.

Cao Shujie was about to say more, but seeing his daughter’s eager eyes, he softened. “Alright, let’s get your Little Trailer, and I’ll take you for a mountain patrol.”

“Hehe, let’s go!” Mengmeng instantly brightened up, happily following her father to find the Little Trailer.

As they walked, she sang the song her father taught her: “The Great King Sent Me to Patrol the Mountain… I’m wandering around the world.”

“Daddy told me to patrol the mountain… I’m a cute little demon.”

She couldn’t remember the next line or sang it wrong, making up her own lyrics, but Mengmeng was having a great time.

After getting the Little Trailer ready, Cao Shujie attached the harness and brought over Daha and Erha. He fitted the round harnesses onto their necks and called out, “Let’s go!”

The two dogs cooperated eagerly. Ever since they had run wild with Cao Shujie at the Yellow River Dam, their attitude towards him had changed.

Now they were very obedient.

It seemed they could understand most of what Cao Shujie said.

Cheng Xiaolin saw this and asked where they were going.

“I’m taking advantage of the warm weather to take Mengmeng up the mountain. Do you want to come?” Cao Shujie asked his wife.

Cheng Xiaolin, feeling lazy, preferred the comfort of home and shook her head. “No, you two go ahead.”

“Bye, Mommy!” Mengmeng, sitting in the trailer, held onto the railing and waved goodbye to her mom.

Cao Shujie held the leashes of Daha and Erha in one hand and the two German Shepherds in the other, asking his daughter, “Mengmeng, are you sitting tight?”

“Yes, Daddy,” Mengmeng replied confidently.

As they left home, Mengmeng undoubtedly drew the most attention.

It was hard not to, with four large dogs, each over 40 centimeters tall, catching everyone’s eye.

Besides, seeing Daha and Erha pulling the Little Trailer like oxen was amusing.

Some adults envied Mengmeng’s experience, having never played like this themselves. They also wanted to try being pulled by dogs in a trailer.

Cao Shujie led the four dogs slowly up the mountain. As they walked along the road, Mengmeng was shouting excitedly from the Little Trailer, thoroughly enjoying herself.

As autumn deepened, the old fruit trees on the mountain began to shed their leaves.

Not only the old trees, but even the saplings planted earlier in the year were losing leaves, though it was more pronounced with the older trees.

Cao Shujie knew this was normal and didn’t worry about it.

In his view, the fallen leaves would decompose into the soil over time, serving as natural fertilizer to nourish the land.

The only thing still showing signs of strong vitality was the circle of holly on the outskirts. However, with just these plants struggling alone in the late autumn and early winter, they appeared rather lonely.

Cao Shujie, holding the leashes of four dogs and accompanied by his daughter, walked to the northern contracted hillside. Standing outside the wire mesh fence, he watched the fifty cattle running around inside. He was calculating that after feeding them for another year, by this time next year, they would be ready for sale.

“Hmm, we could slaughter one for ourselves during the New Year,” Cao Shujie thought to himself.

In the coming year, he planned to purchase another batch of calves to raise slowly. This way, he could create a positive cycle and keep the money flowing; otherwise, it would be difficult.

The father and daughter played on the mountain for over an hour. As they were preparing to head home, Cao Shujie spotted his neighbor, Cao Shuchao, at the foot of the mountain.

“Brother Chao, what are you up to?” Cao Shujie called out in greeting.

He then heard Cao Shuchao ask, “Shujie, are you hiring anyone for long-term work here?”

(End of Chapter)