Chapter 22: Dongdong’s Big Move (Part 1)

“My mother?” Qin Zhan’s sweat-drenched face showed a moment of surprise, his usually stern features briefly animated. He had a reserved personality since childhood; according to his mother, he resembled his uncle, who died young.

His uncle died before the founding of the country when delivering supplies to the front lines, and was killed by the enemy’s fire. Although the maternal grandfather’s family was deeply saddened, it was considered an honorable death.

The Yang family was a scholarly and wealthy household. There is an old saying: flowing dynasties, ironclad families. The Yang family descended from an ancient aristocratic clan.

Many such clans existed. Their main branches may have vanished in the turmoil of war, but less conspicuous branches quietly endured generation after generation.

Although these branches were minor, even now, they were beyond ordinary families’ imagination.

However, the Yang family’s wealth was nearly exhausted by then. His maternal grandfather had once supported an entire army by himself, which is how his father and mother met.

His father often said his mother was a heroine who rivaled men. Back then, she arrived at their army dressed in military gear, bringing supplies and attracting much attention. He only won her heart after overcoming numerous hardships.

Qin Zhan did not like hearing his father’s courtship stories, but his father forced him to listen as a child. First to his eldest brother, then second brother, then eldest sister. They ran off after hearing about it, leaving young Qin Zhan with short legs unable to run fast, so he was forced to listen.

But his mother had never called him first before. Why now?

Today was a match between two teams. Qin Zhan was a judge but his mother called, so there must be something urgent. He informed the leader and left.

Meanwhile, Mother Qin checked her watch; ten minutes had passed. She and the guard had agreed to call again after ten minutes. At first, she had called Qin Zhan’s office, but no one answered, so she called the security office, thinking her son was on a mission.

She dialed again, and the phone was quickly answered: “Hello, this is Qin Zhan.”

Hearing her son’s familiar voice, Mother Qin spoke: “It’s me, Zhan Zhan. When will you come back? You last came back three years ago. Can you get leave this time?”

Though she was not in the military, her husband and sons were, so she understood the system better than most family members.

Qin Zhan recalled that his last trip back to the capital was to see the Ji family, already three years ago. He felt guilty. “Yes, I can get leave. How has Dongdong been these years?”

“Do you still remember that you have a son?” Mother Qin retorted sharply.

Qin Zhan: “…” Taking in Ji Dong was out of necessity due to the Ji family’s situation. He felt responsible. But after returning to the unit, besides sending two cans of milk powder each month, he had gradually left Dongdong’s care to his mother. “I neglected him.”

“As long as you know that,” Mother Qin said. She called because of Dongdong. “Dongdong is now three and beginning to understand. Seeing other kids with parents, he knows his mother has been unconscious for a long time. But he always asks about his father. I haven’t told him about Comrade Ji Aihua; he wouldn’t understand. I just said you’re out catching bad guys. Recently, he started nursery school. Yesterday, he got into a fight. Some kids teased him for not having parents. That night, he hugged your photo and cried for a long time. It’s our fault. We thought treating him like a grandson was enough for him to live well, but parents are indispensable in a child’s growth.”

“It’s my fault.” Qin Zhan once thought adopting a child was just taking care of him. Now he realized that adopting means taking responsibility as a father. “I’ll come back in a few days.”

“Okay.”

Mother and son did not talk more; this was not the era for long phone calls.

In the compound,

Dongdong didn’t know his father was coming soon. Yesterday, he fought with a child named Xu Mingyang. The Xu family’s house was far from the Qin family’s, so the kids didn’t play much and were not friends.

Yesterday morning, Dongdong carried his little backpack and happily rode a children’s tricycle to nursery with his brother.

Qin Jiadong also had a children’s tricycle. Mother Qin bought it for him because she saw how much he liked it. He really loved it and followed his younger brother riding along every day.

The two brothers riding tricycles to school were the brightest sight in the whole compound, becoming the coolest kids there.

After arriving at the nursery, they parked their tricycles at the classroom door. The nursery was inside the compound and only accepted children of residents, so it was small with only one class.

“Dongdong, Brother Jiadong, you’re here,” said Ping’an, who had arrived earlier. Ping’an lived next door to the nursery and was one of the first children to arrive.

“Ping’an!” Dongdong was excited to see his good friend, his eyes shining.

“Ping’an,” Qin Jiadong said shyly. Though more lively at home, he remained timid around others.

The three children happily returned to their seats. Dongdong took out a milk bottle from his backpack and drank quickly. Normally, he drank milk at home before school, but today the milk powder was made late. He ate first but was too full for milk. Aunt Zhang poured the milk into a bottle for him to bring and drink.

“Ji Dong, you’re already a big kid, still drinking milk?” Xu Mingyang sneered. Big kids like them didn’t drink milk. Milk was for little kids.

Ji Dong said, “This was sent by my dad. Grandma said if I drink the milk Dad sends every day, I’ll grow up fast.”

“Your grandma lied to you. My mom said milk is for little kids.” Xu Mingyang licked his lips, wanting to drink it because it smelled so good. But his mom said milk was for little brothers, and he couldn’t have any.

Xu Mingyang’s mother had recently given birth to a baby boy. However, because she did not have enough breast milk, she could only feed the baby with formula. As a result, when Xu Mingyang saw it, he also clamored to drink it. So, Mother Xu told him that formula milk was for little kids, and that he was a big kid now and could not drink it.

It was not that Mother Xu did not love Xu Mingyang, but formula milk coupons were scarce and hard to obtain. If Xu Mingyang drank the formula, then the baby would have none left. So they had to prioritize the younger one first.

“Your mom lied to you. My grandma never lies to me. This was sent to me by my dad. I’ve been drinking this since I was a little kid. I only grew taller because I drank a lot of milk. Look, I’m taller than you.” Three-year-old Dongdong spoke fluently. Although he was still chubby, he was indeed much taller than other children his age.

“My mom would never lie to me.” Xu Mingyang got angry when he heard Dongdong talking about his mother. “I also heard my mom say that you don’t have a dad or a mom. Your dad is dead, and your mom’s whereabouts are unknown. She must have abandoned you. You said the milk was sent by your dad, but you are obviously lying. Kids who lie are not good kids.”

“You are the one without a dad or a mom. Your dad is the one who died. Your mom is the one who abandoned you.” Dongdong glared fiercely at Xu Mingyang. “My mom is sick and in the hospital. I’ve been to see her. My dad is fighting bad guys. I even have a photo of my dad.”

Qin Jiadong also chimed in, “My little uncle is fighting bad guys. He’s not dead. My little aunt is in the hospital. I went with Dongdong to visit her.”

Sometimes when Mother Qin took Dongdong to visit Ning Xin, she would also bring Qin Jiadong along. However, Qin Jiadong was unaware of the real situation. To him, since Dongdong was his little uncle’s son, then of course Dongdong’s mother was his little aunt.

When Xu Mingyang heard Dongdong say his dad was dead, he angrily lunged at him. “My dad is not dead. He comes home every day. Does your dad come home every day? How dare you say my dad is dead? I’ll beat you to death.”

“I’ll beat you to death too.” Dongdong put his milk bottle on the table and also lunged at Xu Mingyang. Dongdong weighed more than Xu Mingyang. He tackled Xu Mingyang to the ground and then sat on top of him.

Seeing this, Qin Jiadong also sat down without hesitation on Xu Mingyang’s legs, pinning them down.

Xu Mingyang struggled and twisted on the ground like a little dinosaur.

“Do you admit you were wrong?” Dongdong pinned down Xu Mingyang’s hands and asked, his little face red with anger.

Xu Mingyang was clearly a stubborn child. Everything his mom said was right. “I didn’t do anything wrong. My mom said your dad is dead, your mom ran away, you and your grandma are liars, your dad didn’t send you any milk.” Boohoo… he wasn’t wrong.

Dongdong got even angrier. Angry Dongdong unleashed his ultimate move… he put his little hands inside Xu Mingyang’s shirt and started tickling his armpits.

“What are you… hahaha… hahaha…” Xu Mingyang burst into intermittent laughter, twisting even more violently.

“Do you admit you were wrong?” Dongdong asked while using his ultimate move.

“I… I’m not wrong, you… you don’t have a dad or a mom, your dad is dead, hahaha…”

Dongdong was even more furious. “Brother, take off his shoes and tickle his feet.”

“Okay.” Right now, Qin Jiadong was a loyal little brother. He might not listen to his dad, but he must listen to his little brother. He had a special attachment to Dongdong. Dongdong was the first to reach out to him. In his heart, Dongdong was not only a little brother but also a ray of sunshine.

Soon, Xu Mingyang’s shoes were taken off, and the two brothers teamed up to unleash their ultimate move on him.

But Xu Mingyang was more stubborn than they imagined. He simply refused to admit he was wrong.

“What are you doing?” The kindergarten teacher arrived at this moment. When she saw Dongdong and Qin Jiadong pinning Xu Mingyang to the ground, she was shocked.

The people living in the compound all had status. Even though their status varied, they still had status. No matter whose child got hurt, even a little, she as the teacher, would get scolded. And now…

Dongdong and Qin Jiadong quickly got off Xu Mingyang when they heard the teacher’s voice.

Xu Mingyang was lying on the ground laughing weakly. Even with the teacher present, he had no strength to get up, and just lay there. This frightened the teacher. She thought something had really happened to him and quickly asked, “Xu Mingyang, what’s wrong? Do you feel unwell? Can you get up?”

Xu Mingyang was a clever one. When he heard the teacher ask this way, he immediately started rolling on the ground and kept shouting, “Teacher, my stomach hurts, my hand hurts, my foot hurts, boohoo… it’s all Ji Dong and Qin Jiadong who hit me, boohoo…”

“Teacher, I didn’t hit him. It was Xu Mingyang who said my dad is dead, my mom ran away, and my grandma is a liar. He was the one who said bad things first.” Dongdong could talk clearly and would not accept being wrongly accused.

At this time, Qin Jiadong also did not stay silent and bravely supported his brother’s words, “Teacher, my little uncle isn’t dead. He’s fighting bad guys. My little aunt didn’t run away. She’s sick and in the hospital. My little uncle always sends formula milk to Dongdong. We’ve picked up the packages together from the post office. My grandma is not a liar. It’s Xu Mingyang who falsely accused people.”

“Teacher, I heard it too. It was Xu Mingyang who first talked badly about Dongdong’s grandma, dad, and mom. He also hit Dongdong first,” said Ping’an. His body was weak, so he couldn’t join in the fight, but he could join in the verbal part.

When Xu Mingyang heard that so many people were siding against him, he rolled on the ground even harder, crying louder, “Boohoo… my stomach hurts… my stomach really hurts…”

The teacher could not worry about who was right or wrong anymore. When she came in, she saw Ji Dong and Qin Jiadong pressing down on Xu Mingyang. Now she saw him crying in pain and thought he was really hurt, so she quickly said, “Does anyone know where Xu Mingyang and Ji Dong live? Quickly go and call their guardians here.”

The children in the kindergarten were of different ages. The youngest were only three, and the oldest were five. Three-year-olds were usually accompanied by adults when sent to kindergarten. But the five-year-olds were trusted by their families to come alone.

So, when the teacher said this, some of the older kids said, “Teacher, I know where Xu Mingyang lives. I’ll go get someone.”

“Teacher, I know where Ji Dong lives. I’ll go get someone.”

Several children split into two groups and ran toward the Xu and Qin homes.

Today was a workday. Only Aunt Zhang was at home in the Qin household. When she heard the kindergarten kids say Dongdong was in a fight and someone needed to fetch a guardian, she became worried. How could their good and obedient Dongdong get into a fight? She asked the child about what happened.

The child had seen the fight between Ji Dong, Qin Jiadong, and Xu Mingyang and told everything honestly. After hearing it, Aunt Zhang cursed the Xu family repeatedly in her heart.

Over at the Xu family, there were more people at home. Both Xu Mingyang’s grandmother and mother were there. Xu Mingyang’s mother had just given birth and, upon hearing that her son was in a fight and crying on the ground, came over with the grandmother while holding the newborn baby.

Back at the kindergarten, Xu Mingyang rolled on the ground and wailed for a while. Eventually, he quieted down. Children also cared about saving face. Seeing that other children were watching him, he felt embarrassed to keep crying and rolling. He felt it was shameful, so he stood up from the ground himself.

The teacher was still worried. When she saw this, she said with concern, “Xu Mingyang, don’t move. What if you’re hurt and it gets worse? We’ll go to the hospital later.”

Hearing he had to go to the hospital, Xu Mingyang got frightened. He was most afraid of hospitals. Not only he—many kids were afraid of hospitals because they were scared of getting shots.

Just thinking of an injection in the butt made him want to crawl under a bed. So he quickly said, “Teacher, I’m not in pain anymore. I’m already fine. Look…” As he spoke, he jumped a few times on the ground. “It doesn’t hurt at all.”

The teacher was stunned. What kind of situation was this? “Really? You’re not lying to the teacher?” She was afraid the child didn’t understand and something serious would get delayed. If something hurts later, it could turn into a big issue.

“Really, I’m not lying, teacher.” Xu Mingyang said with a serious face, as if he had never lied.

Oh wait, in his view, Ji Dong and Qin Jiadong pressing him to the ground was hitting him. So he hadn’t lied.

The teacher nodded. “Okay then.” But when Xu Mingyang’s guardians arrived, she still had to report the incident. That way, if something happened later, it would not be her responsibility. “Now tell me what happened when you started arguing…”

Before the teacher could finish, Xu Mingyang’s family arrived.