Chapter 67

Looking at Erbao’s nervous and cautious expression, how could Ning Shu bear to blame him? Besides, it wasn’t his fault to begin with.

When someone does something, why should they be afraid of what others say?

Ning Shu hugged Erbao and patted his back gently. “I’m not angry. As long as what our Erbao did is right, and there’s a reason for it, I won’t be angry.”

Erbao didn’t quite understand his mother’s words, but he knew that his mother wasn’t angry, so he felt relieved.

He grinned foolishly. “Mother, I’ll go call my brother and Sanbao back.”

“No rush.” Ning Shu held his little hand. “Tell me, after Zhuang Xiaopang called his dad and mom, did they hit you or scold you?”

Erbao shook his head. “They didn’t hit us, but they were very fierce. Zhuang Xiaopang’s mom asked us who his dad was spanking on the mountain. Brother Yibao said it was a auntie’s butt, but we didn’t see clearly which auntie it was. Then Zhuang Xiaopang’s dad said we were lying. He said kids shouldn’t lie, and that we were making things up. He also said if we kept making things up, he would hit us. Then Brother Yibao and I said we didn’t make things up. Then Zhuang Xiaopang’s mom said… said… ‘You don’t need to scare the kids. Today, I must find that vixen…’ Then Brother asked Haicai to go call grandpa and grandma. Mother, is that auntie like you, a vixen?”

Ning Shu: “…”

Lin Guodong looked at Ning Shu puzzled. “What does this mean? Did someone call you a vixen?”

Before Ning Shu could answer, Erbao said, “No way. Brother and I saw two educated youth quarreling before. One of them called the other a vixen. I asked mother, and mother said a vixen refers to a beautiful girl. Mother is the most beautiful in the brigade, so she’s also a vixen. The auntie that Zhuang Xiaopang’s mom wants to find, who got spanked, is also a vixen, so she’s the same as mother.”

Lin Guodong: “…” His son’s logic was irrefutable to a normal person.

Ning Shu gave him a look that said, “That’s how it is,” feeling quite helpless.

“Although ‘vixen’ refers to a beautiful girl, it’s also an insult. You can’t call me a vixen in the future, okay?”

“Okay.” Erbao had one advantage: he followed whatever his mother said.

If his mother said ‘vixen’ was an insult, then he wouldn’t say it. However, “Mother, when Yibao, Sanbao, Haicai, and I followed grandpa and grandma to the field, we saw the bad vixen.”

“What?” This was surprising. “Did you really see her? Didn’t you say you didn’t see clearly which auntie it was?”

Erbao grinned. “We didn’t see clearly which auntie it was, but we saw the color of the auntie’s clothes, and it was the same color as the clothes of the auntie we saw in the field.”

So, Zhuang Xiaopang’s dad was having an affair with a woman in the brigade?

This was a big deal.

Ning Shu lightly pinched Erbao’s ear. “Comrade Lin Erbao, many people wear the same color of clothes. You can’t conclude that it’s the same person just because two people wear the same color of clothes, understand? If they’re not the same person, you’ll wrongly accuse someone innocent.”

Actually, she personally thought it was likely the same person. But she didn’t want the children to be involved in this matter, so she had to caution them.

“Think about it, if someone saw Yibao doing something bad, but they didn’t see his face clearly, only the color of his clothes, and then they said it was you doing the bad thing, would you be angry?” Ning Shu asked seriously.

Erbao thought for a moment. “If Brother did something bad and mother wanted to punish him, but someone mistakenly thought I did it, I wouldn’t be angry. Mother would be punishing me instead of Brother.”

Ning Shu: “Yes, she would.”

How else could she answer? She couldn’t say she wouldn’t.

“If mother wanted to punish Brother, and someone thought I did the bad thing, I wouldn’t be angry. Let mother punish me instead.” Erbao was very loyal. He didn’t want his mother to punish his brother.

“…Lin Guodong, I can’t handle your son. It’s up to you,” Ning Shu surrendered.

Lin Guodong didn’t say much. He put down the hoe and reached out to his son. “Lin Erbao, go fetch Yibao and Sanbao.”

“Okay.” Erbao took his father’s hand and happily followed along.

Seeing that Lin Guodong didn’t say much, Ning Shu didn’t say anything either. Children of this age have their own understanding.

When you suddenly ask them to accept concepts they’ve never encountered before, they won’t understand it right away.

So… she’d better hurry and send him to kindergarten.

Thinking about the scratch on her son’s face, Ning Shu went to the village’s health clinic again.

Dr. Zheng, upon seeing Ning Shu, wasn’t surprised at all. “Got into a fight?”

Ning Shu smiled. “You’re really sharp. He got into a fight with a friend and got scratched on the face. I’m worried it might scar, especially with the cold weather. Do you have any antiseptic?”

“Zhuang Xiaopang was here half an hour ago to apply red medicine.” Meaning, he knew because Zhuang’s family had mentioned it. “Bring the child here, and I’ll apply some red medicine.”

Upon hearing it was red medicine, Ning Shu hesitated. She asked, “Do you have iodine?” She vaguely remembered reading a report in her past life that red medicine contained mercury, but she couldn’t remember the specifics, so she was reluctant to let her child use it.

In the real world, iodine was introduced into China in the 1960s and was widely used in the 1980s and 1990s, but domestic production began in the 1990s. So at this time, iodine would have been imported from abroad.

But this is a novel world, and Ning Shu didn’t know if there was iodine here.

Dr. Zheng was surprised. “You know about iodine too. You’re quite knowledgeable for a high school student. But I don’t have iodine here. It’s expensive. It’s okay not to apply anything for this scratch. If you’re worried, just use the red medicine.”

Ning Shu said, “I understand. Thank you, Dr. Zheng. Since the child isn’t here right now, I’ll go find him first. If it’s serious, I’ll bring him back, but if it’s not, I’ll leave it.”

Dr. Zheng said, “I’ll be here, so you can come anytime.”

Ning Shu said, “Okay.”

In the field, Yibao sat with Sanbao on the ground, playing with mud. Haicai was also there, enjoying the joy of playing with mud that adults wouldn’t understand.

“Erbao, Yibao, Haicai…” Erbao’s loud voice rang out behind them.

The three children looked up and saw not only Erbao but also their father (third uncle) coming.

“Dad…” Seeing their father, Yibao seemed to have found his backbone and finally felt relieved.

“Guodong…” Lin’s mother saw her son and put down what she was doing.

Lin Guodong came to his son and saw that the three children were fine, with no injuries on their faces. He asked, “Does anywhere hurt? Did you get hurt?”

Yibao shook his head. “No. Erbao fought with Zhuang Xiaopang, and Haicai and I grabbed Zhuang Xiaopang’s hands. We didn’t get hit.”

When Yibao mentioned him, Haicai smiled shyly.

Lin Guodong nodded. “Well done. You are siblings, and you should stand together against outsiders.” Whatever conflicts there were among siblings, they should keep them within the family.

When facing outsiders, they must stand united. “Haicai, come to our house for dinner tonight. Let your third aunt cook something delicious.” He had noticed in the past few days that Ning Shu had not mentioned the children from the old house, but she seemed to like Haicai.

It was clear in her words and actions, and he could see it clearly.

Haicai blinked. “I didn’t help Third Aunt today, so I can’t go for dinner.”

“You helped Yibao and Erbao in the fight today, so you can go,” Lin Guodong said.

“Really?” Haicai’s eyes lit up.

“Really.”

“Laosan…” At this moment, Lin’s mother also came over and whispered to Lin Guodong, “Do you know about Erbao and the others fighting with Zhuang Xiaopang?”

Lin Guodong nodded. “Erbao already told me, but he’s young, so he didn’t explain it clearly. Mom, can you explain it again?”

Lin’s mother nodded. “I’m not sure about the specifics. Your dad and I were at work when Haicai came to find us. He said Zhuang Xiaopang’s parents went to your house to bully the children. When they found out that you and your wife weren’t home, we hurried over.”

When we arrived, nothing had happened yet.

Zhuang Daming’s expression was not good, and his wife was arguing with him. When they saw us, Zhuang Daming’s wife explained the situation.

She said she wanted the children to tell her who the “vixen” was.

Zhuang Daming, on the other hand, said the children were lying.

I thought it wouldn’t be right to say anything while you two weren’t home, so I told them we’d discuss it when you returned in the evening. They might come over during dinner.

Later, when I brought the children to work, I asked them about it, but they didn’t say anything except that they promised not to tell Mom.

It seems you two also know about this.”

Lin Guodong admitted, “The children saw it when they went to the bamboo forest to dig bamboo shoots in the morning. They probably thought everyone had gone to work and found a secluded place, thinking no one would see them, but they were seen. Ning Shu also told the children not to talk about it, but when their children came to provoke ours, our children couldn’t keep it to themselves.”

Lin’s mother added, “It’s embarrassing for their family. If they want to make a fuss, let them. But… when I went to your house in the afternoon, there were several children playing at your house. The children heard about it and will probably tell their families in the evening, so it’s likely that this matter will spread by tomorrow. If it does, the Zhuang family will probably have a hard time dealing with it.”

“No need to worry.” Lin Guodong didn’t think much of the matter.

Seeing her son so calm, Lin’s mother was also relieved. If it were any other son, she wouldn’t be so at ease, but Laosan was different, so she was very reassured.

“Then I’ll go to work first.”

“Yeah.” After agreeing with Lin’s mother, Lin Guodong took the children back.

Ning Shu saw them return and carefully checked the children again.

She was relieved to find that only Erbao had a scratch on his face, and the others were fine.

“Why don’t you take Erbao to the town health clinic to have a look? The scratches on his face need to be treated,” Ning Shu said to Lin Guodong.

It wouldn’t matter if the scratches were on her own face, but it was different for Erbao.

If they left scars, it wouldn’t look good. Plus, children’s hands are dirty, and who knows where Zhuang Xiaopang scratched him.

What if it gets infected with bacteria? All in all, it’s just worrying too much.

Lin Guodong wasn’t worried. “It’s fine. Who hasn’t left a few scars when they were young? If you’re not reassured, you can go to the health clinic and apply some red medicine.”