Xiaopang’s mother saw the hand he extended, with dirt and scratches on it.

“It was indeed Xiaopang who started it,” the first person who noticed chuckled.

When others came to see, Xiaopang and Erbao were already wrestling, so they didn’t know who started it.

Now that this person spoke up, Xiaopang’s mother asked him, “Did you start it?”

“It wasn’t me.” Xiaopang knew his mother quite well. If she knew he started it, she would definitely get angry and scold him, so he clenched his teeth and denied it.

“Oh Xiaopang, I saw with my own eyes that you started hitting Erbao,” the person added.

“It was you who hit me!” Erbao also accused, “And you knocked over my little basket. If you break my little basket, you have to compensate me with another one. My grandpa made it for me.” Erbao said, then started searching for his little basket on the ground.

Soon, he found his little basket. “I was going to Xiao Shan’s house to deliver something, and you pushed me down on my way back.”

“My brother was indeed going to deliver something,” Yibao stared at Xiaopang’s mother, as if to say if she believed Xiaopang’s bullying of Erbao, he wouldn’t be polite.

If kids get into a fight and neither admits to starting it, Xiaopang’s mother might still be unsure. However, with adults witnessing it, Xiaopang’s mother tends to believe the other side more.

“Why did you hit Erbao? People saw it. Are they lying to frame you?”

At first, Zhuang Xiaopang kept quiet, but eventually his eyes reddened, and he shouted, “It’s all their fault, Yibao and Erbao! If it weren’t for them, my dad wouldn’t have left, and you wouldn’t cry every day! I hate them! I want to hit them! I want to beat them! Sniff sniff…”

“Mom, why do you blame me? Why won’t you help me? Sniff sniff…”

“Dad, Dad, where are you? I miss you so much! Sniff sniff…”     

Hearing this, Xiaopang’s mother felt uneasy.

She sighed deeply.

At this point, how could she not understand? Zhuang Daming must have run away from home, not just gone out to avoid trouble as his parents claimed.

If he had gone out to avoid trouble, he could have sneaked back at midnight and said something.

But he didn’t.

It had been over a month, and there was no news at all.

And his parents kept insisting he went out to avoid trouble, showing they knew about it, otherwise they wouldn’t have been so sure.

No matter how she asked, they wouldn’t say anything.

Xiaopang’s mother felt bitter, but there was nothing she could do.

With Zhuang Daming gone, she still had Xiaopang.

Xiaopang was her child whom she had carried for ten months.

What could she do? Could she just ignore him? But watching her son fight Yibao and Erbao because of Zhuang Daming, she not only felt heartache but also felt it wasn’t worth it for her son.

When Zhuang Daming left, did he ever think about what they would do?

“Xiaopang, it’s not Yibao and Erbao’s fault, it’s your dad’s fault.” Xiaopang’s mother gently rubbed his head, wiping the dirt off his face. “He did something wrong and left, so don’t blame others.”

Zhuang Xiaopang looked at his mother in confusion.

She had never said such things to him before.

“Mom?” Being young, he had never thought his parents could be wrong.

All he knew was that Yibao and Erbao said his dad hit someone’s butt, and the next day his dad disappeared, leaving him without a dad.

Not only did he lose his dad, but the other kids also stopped playing with him.

He wanted to play with them, but they said their mom wouldn’t let them play with him, saying his dad was a bad guy who hit people’s butts.

Zhuang Xiaopang’s dad disappeared, he lost his friends, and he began to resent Yibao and Erbao, feeling that everything was their fault.

Zhuang Xiaopang couldn’t understand these words; he stubbornly bit his lip.

In his heart, his dad was the best dad and wouldn’t do anything wrong.

Seeing this, Xiaopang’s mother had to be firm. “Xiaopang, apologize to Erbao. If you apologize, we’ll go back home for dinner. If you don’t apologize, you won’t have dinner today.”

“But Erbao hit me too, and he even asked his brother to hit me together. So many of them hit me, why should I apologize?” Zhuang Xiaopang protested.

“Because you hit Erbao first,” Lin Haiwen said, “You hit my brother first, so of course, I hit you back. If you didn’t hit Erbao, I wouldn’t hit you. Apologize to Erbao, and I’ll apologize to you.” He was already studying and understood reasoning.

Zhuang Xiaopang was wrong for hitting someone, and he was also wrong for bullying someone smaller than him.

So Zhuang Xiaopang apologized, and he was willing to apologize.

But Zhuang Xiaopang remained silent.

Xiaopang’s mother was really angry now. “Are you trying to make me angry? Apologize quickly! Do you still want to have dinner?”

“I won’t apologize! I just won’t apologize! I hate them, and I hate you too! I won’t eat!” Zhuang Xiaopang pushed his mother away and quickly ran off.

“Xiaopang…” Xiaopang’s mother followed after him.

One of the main characters left, and the spectators saw there was nothing much to watch, so they dispersed and went inside to prepare for dinner.

At this moment, Lin Qingmei saw Lin Guodong and Ning Shu standing outside and called out, ” Third Uncle, Third Auntie.”

The girls from the old house came with Lin Haiwen.

Since Zhuang Xiaopang was alone, Lin Haiwen and Lin Haiquan were enough to handle it.

As the eldest sister, Lin Qingmei naturally wouldn’t intervene.

If Zhuang Xiaopang had more people on his side, she wouldn’t watch her brother get beaten up.

Lin Guodong nodded.

Ning Shu smiled and said, “Qingmei, Haiwen… Thank you for coming to help Erbao. It’s late now, everyone go back home first, and come to our house for lunch tomorrow.”

“Third Auntie, it’s unnecessary. Erbao is my little brother, helping him is what we should do,” Lin Qingmei said.

Ning Shu always liked sensible children. “Helping your little brother is what you should do, and as Erbao’s mother, I should thank you. Alright, listen to the adults, go back home and have dinner. If you don’t go now, your parents and grandparents will worry.”

She appreciated their help for Erbao.

Although it was a small matter, Ning Shu was willing to give the greatest kindness to those who were good to her son.

At the same time, she did this for a reason: she hoped that in the future, when her son got into fights with others, there would still be people to help them.

She would rather someone help her son when he got into a fight, pay for medical expenses, than see him get hurt by others.

“Dad, Mom…” Yibao and Erbao ran to their parents.

Ning Shu touched their heads and then held their hands. “Let’s go, it’s time to go home for dinner.”

“Let’s go home for dinner. Mom, I was awesome today with Zhuang Xiaopang. I didn’t lose!” Erbao boasted happily.

He really was a forgetful little rascal.

Yibao interrupted, “If it wasn’t for Brother Haiwen, you would have been bullied by Zhuang Xiaopang. Didn’t I tell you not to fight with him? If you can’t win, you should know to run away. You can run home and call me, and then we can fight him together.”

“But he hit me. I can’t just run away like a coward,” Erbao said confidently. “I want to be a hero like the Little Lin Comrade in Dad’s story, not a coward on the battlefield.”

“A good soldier,” Lin Guodong praised.

Hearing his dad’s praise, Erbao became even more proud, holding his head high.

“But if you can’t win and still don’t run, then you’re a fool,” Lin Guodong added.

Erbao felt puzzled.

What did his dad mean?

Lin Guodong continued, “You can run away and bring someone back to fight, that’s what smart people do. Little Lin is a smart person. If he encounters bad guys and can’t win, he won’t fight desperately, but will use his intelligence.”

“What’s intelligence?” Erbao, who hadn’t even graduated from kindergarten and had a limited vocabulary, couldn’t understand the meaning of such a profound word.

Ning Shu wanted to laugh but held it back. Explaining profound concepts to Erbao was like talking to a duck, and she didn’t have that patience.

But Lin Guodong clearly did.

He was very patient. “I’ll tell you what ‘zhiqu’ means when I tell you stories tonight.” He cherished the opportunity to spend time with his son.

He wanted to make up for the five years he hadn’t been around his children, so he would use stories to teach them every lesson.

In Ning Shu’s words, this kind of patience was probably only possessed by top students, which she definitely couldn’t match.

However, Erbao accepted it eagerly. “That’s great! From now on, I’ll use ‘zhiqu’ whenever I fight with Zhuang Xiaopang. That way, I’ll win every time, and he’ll definitely be furious, hahaha…”

Lin Erbao’s cunning plan to outsmart Zhuang Xiaopang impressed his father.

Yibao didn’t say anything, but he listened attentively.

He also wanted to learn ‘zhiqu’, so even if his silly brother didn’t learn it, it didn’t matter.

With him around, no one could bully his little brother.

Seeing them off, Lin Qingmei took her younger siblings back to their old house.

“Did you win the fight?” Lin’s mother asked with a smile when they returned.

They had heard Yang Youfu shouting so loudly just now.

But children fighting was normal to them, especially since all eight of their children were out, so they didn’t need adults to intervene.

“Of course we won,” Lin Haiwen said proudly. “Zhuang Xiaopang alone couldn’t beat us, but…” He glanced at his older sister and then at his grandmother, smiling slyly. “Grandma, Third Aunt invited us to dinner at their house tomorrow noon. Can we go?”

He had been longing for his Third Aunt cooking for a long time, but never had the chance to taste it.

Every time he saw Haicai come back with a round belly after eating at his Third Aunt, he couldn’t help but envy him, wishing he could become the five-year-old Haicai and go eat at Third Auntie’s house.

Now that he finally had the chance, he was thrilled.

“I told Third Aunt that it’s unnecessary, I said it’s what big brothers should do to help their little brothers. But Third Aunt said she’s Erbao’s mother, so she’s thankful to us as well,” Lin Qingmei added.

Lin’s mother was very pleased. “You’re all good children. Helping each other among siblings is natural. Your Third Auntie remembers this, so she’s thanking you and inviting you for dinner. Remember, if someone helps you, you should remember this kindness.”

“We understand,” the children obediently replied.

“Then grandma, can we go for dinner tomorrow?” Lin Haiwu also brazenly asked.

“Go, go, go, you can all go… Since your third aunt invited you, then go,” Lin’s mother felt that adults were adults, and children were children.

Moreover, adults should not have any grudges between them.

“Yeah, we can go to Aunt San’s house for dinner tomorrow.”

“I won’t envy Haicai’s meals anymore.”

“I wonder what Third Aunt will cook tomorrow. Will there be braised pork?”

“Tomorrow the village is slaughtering pigs, so there should be braised pork, right?”

The eight children discussed excitedly!