Chapter 54: Send Spring to Dad

The three of them sat down and lit up cigarettes.

Su Peng took a puff. It was his first time smoking such a good cigarette, and he found the smell of money incredibly alluring.

But once he sat at the mahjong table, he felt a pang of regret.

He planned to play a few rounds and leave.

His father had repeatedly warned him that no matter how much he messed around outside, he couldn’t gamble; it was a path of no return.

Luckily, tonight he was destined to win, not lose.

He couldn’t come again, and he couldn’t let his family know about this.

Su Peng intended to play only a couple of rounds, but his luck was surprisingly good.

In a one-yuan-per-round game of Landlord, he won hand after hand, using powerful combinations.

He won several yuan each round.

With the two brothers’ mournful faces, he became more and more energetic.

He lost track of time and played until nightfall.

He won over two hundred yuan.

Over two hundred yuan!

That’s a huge sum. Even a respectable person with a job in the city would have to save for months without eating or drinking to accumulate that much money.

He won that much in just a few hours, casually playing cards.

The two brothers opposite him were almost in tears from losing.

Su Peng was on a winning streak.

He urged them to deal again: “Come on, again.”

The two actually wiped away tears.

“Big brother, you said you were a newbie, but you’re not a newbie at all! You’re clearly a veteran.”

“There are no newbies who play as well as you.”

“And look at your luck, it’s incredible.”

“What the hell, we’ve lost everything, if we lose any more, we’ll have to take off our pants for you.”

“It’s dark outside, let’s call it a night, brother.”

The two pointed to the sky; only then did Su Peng notice that it was dark outside.

Although he was a little reluctant, the more than two hundred yuan in his pocket made his head spin.

Who says gambling only leads to losing money? This thing is clearly easy, and the money comes quickly.

Those who lost must have been unskilled.

Humph.

Su Peng felt that even if he went to other card rooms, he could be considered a gambling king.

It was dark, and his companions had run out of money; continuing wasn’t practical.

Su Peng stood up with some regret.

“Okay.”

“Let’s not play anymore.”

“Let’s call it a night.”

The card room owner charged an hourly fee for tea. Su Peng, now with money, was generous.

The money came too easily; he didn’t feel bad spending it.

He directly threw 50 yuan to the owner.

“Boss, keep the change, treat the brothers here to beer.”

It’s cold outside, but these card players don’t care; smoking, drinking, and playing cards are commonplace.

“Alright!”

The people playing cards nearby immediately flattered Su Peng.

“Boss is making a fortune, making big money.”

“Boss is generous.”

“Boss, you’re lucky today, shall we play together tomorrow, boss?”

“Sure.” Su Peng readily agreed.

Then he went home. At this hour, there were no buses back to the village, and he didn’t have a bicycle, so he had to walk home. Even walking home, his heart was still burning with excitement.

Su Ai, after dinner, separated from Qi Xiuer and saw Su Peng outside the card room before cycling home.

Ji Yang was in the yard, sitting in a wheelchair weaving baskets.

His slender, fair hands moved back and forth among the vines; occasionally, a vein or two would bulge with effort, showing his strength.

His hair had grown quite a bit, unlike the harsh buzz cut he had when Su Ai had just returned.

He got the buzz cut after he became crippled because it was difficult to manage his hair due to his limited mobility.

In fact, Ji Yang’s hair has always been slightly longer and slightly messy.

It suits his temperament very well.

These days, Ji Yang is increasingly resembling the Ji Yang from her memories.

Ji Lele was helping his father pass tools when he suddenly turned his head and saw his mother coming back, immediately jumping up.

“Mom!”

The little guy was wearing a blue thin sweater and light gray straight-leg jeans. The little child looked like a delicate child model, extremely cute.

Ji Yang looked up and saw Su Ai pushing a bicycle.  A large bunch of wildflowers were in the bicycle basket, and some things were hanging on the handlebars.

Ji Yang looked at the flowers, then at Su Ai, feeling that the whole spring had come alive.

“Have you eaten?” Ji Yang asked.

Su Ai nodded while answering: “Yes.”

With one hand supporting the bicycle, she bent down and caught her son, who was rushing towards her like a little cannonball, lifting him up.

Suddenly raised high, Lele hugged his mother’s neck and mumbled unhappily.

“Mom, you went out to play today without taking Lele.”

“You left very early this morning and didn’t tell Lele.”

“Lele is angry.”

The little one puffed out his cheeks, then released Su Ai’s neck, crossing his arms to express his dissatisfaction.

Su Ai was immediately amused by her son.

“Then tell me, what should we do?”

Ji Lele was only expressing his anger, but hadn’t thought of a solution.

He was momentarily stumped by Su Ai’s question.

What to do?

He didn’t really want to be angry with his mother, so what should he do? He couldn’t easily forgive his mother either.

Ji Lele’s eyes flickered, and his gaze fell on the flowers in the basket.

The red, yellow, and purple flowers were strikingly beautiful.

“Well, seeing as Mom brought back flowers for me, I’ll forgive you this time.”

“But next time, Mom must remember to take Lele with you.”

“Otherwise, if Lele gets angry, it’ll be hard to coax him.”

“He gets super angry.”

“Awoo!”

The child made a tiger-like sound.

Su Ai immediately burst into laughter.

“Lele, Mom has been tired all day, come down quickly, it’s tiring to hold you.” Ji Yang’s reason was impeccable, but he refused to admit the slight awkwardness in his heart.

His son had all her attention, not giving him even a little.

He actually wanted a hug too.

Lele immediately wriggled down from his mother’s arms, tiptoed, and reached for the flowers.

But Su Ai stopped him: “Don’t be disappointed, my apology to you is a different gift; these flowers are for Dad.”

Ji Lele was stunned.

“Ah?”

The child immediately started fidgeting unhappily: “Then why does Dad have flowers, but I don’t?”

“Does Mom like Dad more? Doesn’t like Lele?”

Tears welled up in his eyes.

Su Ai quickly shook her head in denial: “Of course not.”

“Lele can walk, and Lele can see the flowers outside whenever he wants, but Dad is not mobile and can’t go out. Spring has arrived, but Dad can’t see it.”

“Mom wanted to bring spring to him.”

“This is a jar of marbles for Lele, do you like it?”

Lele is a sensitive child, but he is also very obedient and listens to reason.

Upon hearing his mother’s explanation, he thought it made sense; Dad couldn’t see spring.

Mom brought spring home, so he didn’t need to see it.

Plus, Mom also bought him a gift, so Lele was no longer angry.

Shaking the jar of glass marbles in his hand, Lele showed his white teeth: “Thank you, Mom, Lele is not angry anymore.”

He then ran to his father: “Dad, I’ll also bring spring back for you to see in the future.”