Chapter 21: Three-in-One (Part 2)

After parking her bicycle, Mother Qin went into the kitchen. Aunt Zhang was still cooking. The Qin family’s dinner was later than that of other households. Father Qin came home late. If dinner was made too early, the food would be cold by the time he got back. That was still manageable in the summer, but in the winter, cold food didn’t taste good and would need reheating—troublesome. So Mother Qin had Aunt Zhang make dinner later.

“Where is Qin Shun?” Mother Qin asked as she entered the kitchen.

Aunt Zhang replied, “He said he went to report to the public security bureau. He hasn’t come back yet.”

Mother Qin let out a snort. “He sure knows how to take it easy—just got here and dumped the kid on you, then went off to the bureau.” Her voice was full of disdain.

Aunt Zhang smiled. “That’s not the case. Today, it wasn’t me entertaining Wenjing and Jiadong, it was our Dongdong. He took them to the park all afternoon, introduced them to other kids. They had a great time playing with Dongdong.”

When she heard that, Mother Qin’s tone softened with joy. “Oh? How did Dongdong entertain them?” She had full confidence in the grandson she raised. Dongdong had the best temperament—generous and good-natured. If there was ever an argument, it had to be the other child’s fault.

“This afternoon, when Qin Shun brought Wenjing and Jiadong back, Dongdong took out his tin box and gave them snacks. After lunch, he took them to the park to play…” Aunt Zhang recounted everything about the children’s interactions.

Mother Qin couldn’t help but smile. “He’s like a little grown-up.”

Aunt Zhang took the opportunity to praise him. “I’ve never seen such a well-behaved child at such a young age. He’s just like Qin Zhan, especially in how considerate he is. But Qin Zhan was very quiet as a child—not like Dongdong, who’s chatty.”

“That’s true, Dongdong is a little chatterbox.” Thinking of that nonstop-talking little mouth, Mother Qin felt amused. After a pause, she asked, “How are the other two kids? They seem a bit shy. Wenjing was already quiet two years ago when she came. She didn’t talk much, not like the children raised in our Qin family. They haven’t been back in two years. They don’t seem much different, but at least they’re polite.”

Speaking of this, Mother Qin felt regretful. Such a young girl should be at her most lively and innocent age.

Aunt Zhang said, “The two children don’t talk much; they’re indeed quiet, but their personalities are both quite good. They also get along very well with Dongdong. Dongdong also likes his older brother and sister.”

Mother Qin said, “It’s good that they get along. There’s a lot of time in the future to bond. You should also pay some attention during daily life.”

Aunt Zhang said, “I’ve been watching… I noticed that the two children’s clothes are a bit old.” When she said this, she didn’t hesitate. Since she was a young girl, she had followed Mother Qin. Their relationship didn’t require her to beat around the bush when speaking. And she also knew Mother Qin’s personality and wouldn’t misunderstand her intentions.

“I saw that too.” Mother Qin had already met them. How could she not notice? “Qin Shun and Li Yuelan are divorced. From now on, you’ll also need to take care of these two children. Later, I’ll give you some cloth coupons and money. Take them to buy a few new sets of clothes. If you don’t find anything suitable, go to the tailor shop I often visit and have some made. If that really doesn’t work, I’ll take them myself on the weekend.”

“Children should be dressed up properly. Look at how Li Yuelan raised them. Qin Shun too, acted like a blind man. When he was born, he had a brain. How has it only been a few years, and he’s already lost it?”

Aunt Zhang didn’t know how to respond to that. Since it was the birth mother criticizing her own son, she couldn’t join in. But in her opinion, Qin Shun’s judgment was indeed lacking. Li Yuelan was pretty, but in the capital, were pretty girls rare? Someone like Qin Shun in the past, this was like being bewitched and having his soul taken away.

The two of them chatted for a while, then heard movement in the courtyard. Qin Shun had returned.

“Dad…”

“Dad…”

Seeing that Qin Shun had come back, Qin Wenjing and Qin Jiadong were very happy. The two children ran over excitedly. Although they had had fun with their little brother all afternoon, without their father around, they were still a bit uneasy. Now that they saw their father was back, they finally felt at ease.

Dongdong saw them running toward Qin Shun. He paused for a moment, then also ran over, following them and also calling out, “Dad…”

Qin Shun, who had been about to speak with his son and daughter, suddenly froze when he heard Dongdong call him that.

Qin Wenjing, having become familiar with Dongdong, patiently corrected him upon hearing him call their father ‘Dad.’ “Dongdong, you should call him Uncle. You’re the son of our little uncle, not Dad’s son. You should call him Uncle.”

However… was Dongdong the kind of child who listened?

Clearly not at times.

His older brother and sister were his older brother and sister. If they could call him Dad, why couldn’t he? So Dongdong insisted, “Dad…” After saying that, he even gave a silly and cute smile.

He had seen the other children in the compound all have dads and moms. Even though his mom was sick, he still got to see her every week. But he had never seen his dad. When he asked Grandma about Dad, she said Dad was out fighting bad guys. So now that the dad who fought bad guys was back…

Thinking of this, he even asked, “Dad, did you beat the bad guys away?”

Qin Shun was helpless. He squatted down and patted Dongdong’s head. “Dongdong, I’m not your dad. I’m your uncle.”

Upon hearing that Qin Shun wouldn’t let him call him dad, Dongdong felt very wronged. His eyes welled up with tears, ready to cry at any moment.

At that moment, Mother Qin came over. “Dongdong…”

“Wah…” Hearing Grandma’s voice, Dongdong ran to her while crying and complaining. “Dad is bad, doesn’t want Dongdong, Dad is bad, wah…”

Mother Qin caught him and held him in her arms, gently patting his back. “Dongdong, he’s not your dad. He’s your uncle, your dad’s older brother. Your dad is still out fighting bad guys and hasn’t come back yet. He didn’t abandon Dongdong. We’ve even seen a photo of your dad. He looks different from this one, right?”

“Not Dad?” Dongdong still had tears on his face, but he stopped crying. “Didn’t abandon Dongdong?”

“That’s right, not your dad, and didn’t abandon Dongdong. He’s your dad’s older brother. Since our Dongdong has older brothers, your dad also has an older brother. Look at him—he’s fat like a pig. The dad in our photo is very handsome, right?” Mother Qin already disliked Qin Shun. Now she took this opportunity to speak up.

Qin Shun knew he had disappointed his mother and didn’t dare talk back.

“Photo?” Dongdong remembered. He pulled on Mother Qin and headed toward the room. “Dad’s photo, let’s go look.”

“Alright, alright, let’s go look at Dad’s photo.” Mother Qin let Dongdong pull her along.

Watching his mother’s back, Qin Shun softly said to his children, “Wenjing, Jiadong, Dad did wrong in the past. I didn’t apologize to your grandma, which made her angry. In the future, you must behave well and listen to her. Don’t make Grandma angry, okay?”

The two children nodded.

Inside the house, Mother Qin took out Qin Zhan’s photo for Dongdong. It was an ID photo, only a headshot, a small one, taken when Qin Zhan was still in school. Since there were extras, one was kept in his room.

One time, Dongdong, for some reason, missed his dad. Mother Qin went to Qin Zhan’s room and found this photo for him.

As for Ji Aihua, this father, Dongdong was still young and didn’t understand complicated matters like biological father, adoptive father, or sacrifice. So Mother Qin didn’t say anything. She planned to wait until Dongdong grew a few more years and could understand before explaining.

Dongdong took the headshot of his dad and ran out again.

Mother Qin followed behind. “Dongdong, slow down.”

“Okay,” Dongdong answered, but didn’t slow down. He ran to Qin Shun and looked up at him, eyes not even blinking.

Qin Shun was tall. If he didn’t lower his head, he might step on Dongdong. Seeing Dongdong stare at him like that, he bent down and asked, “Dongdong, what’s wrong?”

Dongdong looked at him, then looked at the photo in his hand. Then he grinned, showing his small rice-grain teeth, smiling very happily. “Not Dad.”

Qin Shun: “…I’m your un—”

Before he could finish, Dongdong added, “Dad is handsome. Dongdong’s dad is the most handsome.”

Qin Shun: “…” Although the two brothers didn’t look exactly alike, they were still from the same parents. There was still some resemblance. Was Dongdong saying he was ugly? Alright, he had been busy with family matters and his job transfer lately, and hadn’t cleaned up properly. But he wasn’t ugly, was he?

“Pfft…” Qin Wenjing laughed out loud.

Qin Jiadong curiously asked, “Dongdong, is that your dad’s photo?”

Dongdong nodded. “Dad’s. Photo.”

Qin Jiadong stretched his neck. “Can I take a look?”

Dongdong was generous. “Here…” He held the photo out in front of Qin Jiadong. But when Qin Jiadong reached out to take it, Dongdong didn’t let go. “Dongdong holds it.”

Qin Jiadong had a good temper and didn’t fight for it. He just looked at it like that. He looked at the person in the photo, then at his own dad, and seemed to reach a conclusion. “…Your dad is young. My dad… is old.”

Kids didn’t know how to say young and mature. A teenage headshot of Qin Zhan compared to a thirty-something-year-old Qin Shun really was one young and one old. With more than ten years of difference, he could even be his dad.

Qin Shun: “…” What a filial son.

Mother Qin, who followed Dongdong out, couldn’t help but curl her lips when she heard Qin Jiadong’s words.

When Father Qin came back, he found the atmosphere at home was better than he expected. The children were watching TV. Mother Qin and Qin Shun sat on either side of the children. Mother Qin wasn’t sulking. Qin Shun didn’t look downcast either.

Father Qin was a little surprised. Though it wouldn’t have mattered if his wife scolded his son, now that nothing had happened, he found it odd.

“Grandpa…” Seeing that Grandpa had come back, Dongdong ran over to greet him.

Father Qin patted his head.

“Dad…” Qin Shun stood up. Unlike the guilt he felt facing Mother Qin, in front of Father Qin, he was nervous. He always felt that he had let down the teachings he had received over the years and was afraid of seeing disappointment in his father’s eyes. Probably because he admired his father too much, he was even more worried.

Qin Wenjing and Qin Jiadong also stood up with him. They looked at Father Qin cautiously. Facing Mother Qin, Qin Wenjing had the courage to bring her little brother forward to greet her. But in front of the uniform-wearing Father Qin, Qin Wenjing felt the aura was too strong and didn’t dare approach.

Father Qin nodded. “Mm, as long as you’re back.” Then he looked at Qin Wenjing and Qin Jiadong and showed a kind smile. “Wenjing and Jiadong are back too. From now on, just live here peacefully and treat this as your home.”

Mother Qin rolled her eyes. “Why do you sound like an outsider?”

Only then did Father Qin realize—oh, that’s right. This is their home. But because the eldest son had moved out for so long, he hadn’t considered that his eldest son’s home was here too.

At this moment, Aunt Zhang brought out the dishes. “Time to eat.”

During the meal, Qin Shun felt his concept of “home” had been refreshed again. He remembered that meals at home used to be quiet. Not because of a strict rule of no talking while eating, no speaking while sleeping—Chinese people didn’t follow that. Chinese families often discussed matters at the dining table.

It was just that the family members weren’t talkative, so mealtimes were usually quiet.

But now, look at how talkative his parents were.

He saw his mom put a piece of fish belly into Dongdong’s bowl. “Dongdong, this piece is the most tender. Hurry and eat it.”

Then he heard his dad say, “Dongdong, didn’t you say you didn’t want to get fat? Eating meat will make you fat.”

Then he saw Dongdong eat the fish without hesitation. Then he explained, “Eating meat makes you fat fat. Walking and working don’t make you fat.” And it even rhymed.

“Pfft…” Father Qin laughed heartily. “You do have a brain, huh? Eat first. If you get fat, then walk, right?”

Hearing Grandpa praise him, Dongdong happily replied, “Mm, Dongdong has a brain.” As he spoke, he used the hand not holding chopsticks to point to his own head. “Brain. Here.”

Qin Shun hadn’t come back to his senses for a long time.

Mother Qin served fish belly meat to Dongdong first, then also served Qin Wenjing and Qin Jiadong meat from the back of the fish, which had more meat and fewer bones. “Wenjing and Jiadong, you should eat too. Don’t just eat vegetables. Kids need to eat more meat for nutrition to grow strong.”

“Thank you, Grandma,” Qin Wenjing hurriedly said. She thought to herself, Grandma is really kind. At their maternal grandmother’s house, they only got some fish soup—just a small half bowl. As for the fish meat, it all went into their cousins’ and uncles’ stomachs.

“Thank you, Grandma,” Qin Jiadong also imitated his sister’s words. But he added, “Will I grow as strong as my little brother?”

Immediately, Mother Qin laughed: “Yes, just as strong as your brother.” But she did not tell the children not to thank her. In her view, saying thanks was a form of politeness, not cold or distant.

After a harmonious dinner, Qin Shun was called by Father Qin to the study to discuss matters, while Mother Qin and Aunt Zhang took the children for some activity before giving them a bath.

When Mother Qin bathed Qin Wenjing, she asked about their life over in the county town: “Wenjing, you’ve been living at your maternal grandmother’s for a while. Grandma hasn’t been with you and doesn’t know you well. Would you be willing to tell Grandma about your life there? Grandma wants to understand you and Jiadong better. For example, what do you and Jiadong like to eat and play with? Or what have you eaten before?”

Mother Qin asked very skillfully. To Qin Wenjing, this meant Grandma cared about them, so she was happy. At first, she spoke cautiously, but later she gradually opened up and told her grandmother everything she knew.

Mother Qin successfully learned what she wanted, including how Li Yuelan treated them and what kind of life they had in the county town.

After the kids finished their bath, Qin Shun’s talk with his father was still ongoing. Qin Wenjing took her brother back to their room to sleep. Mother Qin followed to check on them, saw Qin Wenjing handling her brother well, and felt reassured to return to her own room.

In the room, Dongdong was asleep while holding his father’s photo.

Mother Qin took Qin Zhan’s photo from Dongdong’s hand and set it aside. She did not sleep but waited for Father Qin to come back. She recalled what she heard from her granddaughter during the bath, and her heart was full of anger.

It was one thing that the grandchildren were poorly clothed and fed, but they were now of school age and still not enrolled. Was Qin Shun, as an adult, dead? No matter how busy he was, didn’t he know about these things?

The more she thought, the angrier Mother Qin became. When Father Qin returned, she unleashed all the anger she could no longer contain on him.

Father Qin didn’t expect Qin Shun to be so irresponsible, so the next day, he contacted the Public Security Bureau and assigned Qin Shun the most exhausting and difficult tasks.

Qin Shun, busy and confused, didn’t know why.

Although it was already October, the first semester had just started recently. Mother Qin took a day off and enrolled Qin Wenjing and Qin Jiadong into school. Qin Wenjing attended the primary school for children of government employees, and Qin Jiadong went to the nursery in the compound, also called the daycare or kindergarten.

Children needed to be three years old to enter the nursery. Dongdong, only two, didn’t qualify yet, which made him very jealous. Every day, he rode a children’s tricycle to take Qin Jiadong to the nursery gate and picked him up at mealtime. This made Qin Jiadong the envy of the nursery children. Everyone admired him for having such a good little brother.

Among everyone’s envy, Dongdong finally turned three years old and could go to the nursery with his older brother.

1963, XXX Army Unit.

“Deputy Commander Qin, phone call, your mother is calling,” the guard at the door ran to the training ground out of breath.