Running a business was hard, the stocks were stuck, and raising a child needed a lot of money.
Beauty Pei snorted disdainfully. Lu Qin probably thought he was dreaming after drinking too much, gulping those two bottles of wines seemed to not be in vain.
Seeing President Lu looking so spirited, completely unlike someone having work troubles, he decided to hold on to his stocks for now; they should bounce back up.
But in doing so, he wouldn’t have much cash on hand.
With his head wrapped in gauze, Pei Dundun properly felt the warmth of paternal love like gentle spring rain.
For a while, he didn’t want to tear off this talisman of protection.
Father and son bathed Orange together, took it for a health check the next day, and bought cat litter and cat food, among other things.
The villa had ample space, and Pei Rong considered buying the largest cat climbing frame, but he worried that Pei Dundun would climb on it with the cat.
Cats were agile and unafraid to fall, but human children were different. Pei Dundun was unpredictable, and Pei Rong couldn’t bear to imagine the scene of his son jumping off the cat climbing frame.
However, unexpectedly, Pei Dundun was acting sensible: “Dad, let’s not buy toys.”
Dad had a hard time supporting the family.
Dad was raising him and now was also raising Orange. He couldn’t let Dad spend more money.
Pei Rong: “Really not buying?”
Pei Ge had never liked small things since he was a child; toy cars had to be big, bowls had to be big, spoons had to be big, even the cat he liked was the large Siberian Forest Cat.
So, this cat climbing frame must be to Pei Ge’s taste.
Pei Dundun: “I’ll just play with Orange.”
Pei Rong felt relieved; Pei Dungun might have made a loss in business, but it seemed like he had grown a little.
Orange was quiet and lovely, keeping Pei Dundun company, and the little one behaved a little less mischievously. Otherwise, Pei Rong might have to send the child to kindergarten in autumn.
Kindergarten?
Pei Rong remembered that a kindergarten teacher was a person who could control a hundred beasts. Skills like that weren’t just for show; he needed to find time to consult with a teacher.
Over the next two days, Pei Rong observed the interaction between the cat and the child, becoming more convinced that the cat was here to repay kindness.
Pei Dundun loved running around, and Orange would lead the way. It never went to dangerous or easily fallible places, nor did it try to escape through the iron gate.
Pei Dundun took out a fishing rod and quietly went to the water’s edge to fish for the cat, but Orange bit his trouser leg, not letting him get close to the water.
Pei Dundun was quietly causing trouble, while Orange loudly meowed to sound the alarm.
After getting a cat, the consumption of food at home increased. Whether it was a bone with a little meat on it or just a bone, Pei Dundun and Orange would gnaw on them every day.
In the villa, there was a large room that connected three rooms. Inside, there were various large toys for Pei Dundun to play with. Both the child and the cat could spend hours playing in there.
Separated by a door, Pei Rong could hear Pei Dundun’s milk-like laughter from inside, sometimes saying “Orange Orange,” and sometimes “meow meow.”
Pei Rong was relieved. He often went to the estate to handle matters and help Jiang Yan with the sanatorium.
Uncle Zhang and Uncle Yu took care of the orchard and helped with the cooking. Their wives cleaned the villa once a week, excluding the toy room and bedrooms.
Pei Rong wasn’t accustomed to having others enter his bedroom; he preferred to clean it himself. In fact, if it weren’t for having a kid, Pei Rong wouldn’t even need to do a weekly thorough cleaning.
No matter how Pei Ge’s toy room was tidied up, it always ended up messy. Pei Rong told the maid not to bother and let him learn to put things back in place after playing.
In contrast, the father and son’s bedroom had clean and tidy floors and sheets. Before Pei Dundun entered, he would consciously wipe his hands and feet with two wet tissues, sometimes even wiping his dusty face.
Pei Rong bought mini brooms and mops to let Pei Dundun maintain the cleanliness of the toy room himself.
Pei Dundun, with his buttocks raised, pushed the rag and wriggled to clean the floor, making it seem like he was in a crawling phase. With a milk-like laughter, he accidentally stuck to the ground while wiping: “The room is really too big.”
Pei Xiaoge wiped his sweat, stuck the gauze that wouldn’t come off back together, and turned to grab the bottle on the small stool to replenish water.
Orange meowed twice in a certain direction, and Pei Dundun moved his limbs, like a rabbit, crawled under the slide, opened a box, and looked inside, nodding earnestly, “Orange, don’t worry.”
Orange put his claws on the box, squinted his round eyes as if tracking prey.
Pei Ge walked aside, pulled out one of his own vests, and tried to put it on Orange: “Uncle Jiang is coming back, Dad and I are going to pick him up.”
“Orange should dress up nicely.”
Airport.
Aunt Zhao wanted to relocate her daughter’s grave on her memorial day and bring her ashes back to her home country, so she didn’t accompany Pei Rong. Jiang Yan simply asked her to wait for him. Aunt Zhao’s legs were not convenient, so he could take care of her on the plane.
Pei Rong needed them too much and personally went to the airport to welcome them.
Jiang Yan lifted Pei Ge up in his arms and asked, “Pei Ge, have you been happy lately?”
Pei Ge nodded. “Yes, I’ve been happy, especially since Uncle Jiang came back.”
“You’re quite sweet-tongued.” Jiang Yan then glanced up and down at Pei Rong, noticing he had lost some weight. “Taking care of a child alone must not be easy.”
Pei Rong replied, “Indeed, but luckily, his attention is mostly on raising the cat now.”
Otherwise, Pei Dundun would spend the whole day calling for “Daddy”. When he wasn’t calling for his father, it was even more terrifying because he’d be up to mischief.
After some time apart, Aunt Zhao had weakened considerably. Jiang Yan had pushed her wheelchair when they got off the plane.
Pei Dundun supported the wheelchair and called “Grandma” several times. He even magically produced an egg, saying, “Free-range egg, for Grandma to eat.”
Pei Rong remarked, “No wonder he refused to eat it this morning; he wanted to keep it in his pocket.”
“Thank you, Xiao Dundun.”
Aunt Zhao, being attentive, suddenly pointed out a hole in Pei Rong’s sleeve, saying with concern, “Have you been too busy? There’s a hole in your clothes, and you didn’t notice.”
Pei Ge having three holes in his clothes in one day was nothing unusual. Beauty Pei was as passive as a salted fish; most of the time, his clothes wouldn’t even have a wrinkle.
Upon hearing this, Pei Rong raised his hand to look at his elbow and saw a hole the size of a fingernail, but couldn’t recall when it got there.
“I haven’t been too busy lately; Xiao Dundun has been quite easy to handle.”
Pei Dundun proudly hugged his father’s thigh.
Pei Rong drove them directly back to the villa.
Jiang Yan held Pei Xiaoge, pinching his chubby arms and saying, “Seems like you’re adapting well to taking care of the child alone. Now I can go to work with peace of mind.”
Pei Rong guessed, “Are you going to work at Dr. Wen’s hospital?”
Jiang Yan smiled. “Yes, I’ve been accepted. I’ll start officially in half a month. While I’m still young enough to hold a scalpel, I’ll dedicate a few more years. When I’m older, I’ll take over at the sanatorium.”
At home, Pei Dundun was not as tall as the wheelchair’s armrest and insisted on pushing Aunt Zhao to visit the orchard.
Aunt Zhao doted on him greatly. She pretended to be pushed while spinning the wheelchair herself, and the two of them circled the villa.
Jiang Yan’s smile faded, and he whispered, “Aunt Zhao’s condition isn’t very good. She hasn’t fully recovered from the last fall.”
Five years ago, Aunt Zhao’s will to live was weak, and she was on her last legs. Pei Rong used high-end medical means to prolong her life.
Two and a half years ago, Aunt Zhao fell, coinciding with Pei Rong’s pregnancy. The birth of the child gave her a lifeline mentally.
In these two years, Aunt Zhao had earnestly taken care of Pei Rong during his pregnancy and Pei Xiaoge during his infancy. Many things they were clueless about, they had to rely on Aunt Zhao’s experienced guidance. Aunt Zhao was their backbone.
Pei Rong was extremely grateful and felt he could only do more himself; he didn’t dare to ask Aunt Zhao not to help.
He feared that one day Aunt Zhao would feel her life had lost its purpose. But that day would inevitably come. When Pei Dundun grew up a little, Aunt Zhao felt it was time to let go. She returned to her home country with her daughter’s ashes, and with that, she let go of the breath she had been holding, her physical health rapidly declining.
Their relationship was not like three years ago when Aunt Zhao and Pei Ge established a simple support relationship because of their somewhat similar situation. Through daily interaction, an unbreakable bond formed, and even though Pei Rong was mentally prepared, he still felt saddened.
