WRA CH68

Chapter 68: Sending the Cubs to the Countryside

Xiao Guazi followed Dou Manning home.

Shen Ku had moved out of the corrugated-iron shack on the construction site long ago. He had initially bought a luxury flat, but upon discovering his wife was a coffee Yao who loved soil, he bought another villa with a garden.

“Hello, Uncle Shen,” Xiao Guazi greeted in a milky voice.

Shen Ku looked at Xiao Guazi, who was covered in colorful scribbles like a watermelon, and paused: “Is today a dad-swap activity?”

Xiao Guazi nodded: “Yes.”

Shen Ku asked Dou Manning, “Which house did our son go to?”

Going to Zhou Sicheng’s house was fine, but going to Chu Ren’s house was concerning.

Xiao Guazi was chubby, round, and sturdy, whereas Bai Chu was the lightest in weight. Shen Ku harbored deep suspicions that the food at Chu Ren’s house was substandard—it was entirely possible that couple were strict herbivores.

Dou Manning still wanted to stick to the cover story: “I don’t know~ I just picked up a random baby. I don’t know where our baby went either.”

Shen Ku: “…”

He opened the poverty alleviation foundation app to see if Zhou Sicheng had donated money yet.

Fuck, he did.

The richest man’s donation efficiency was truly second to none.

Shen Ku suspected this was a form of pay-to-play extortion. The measly pennies Engineer Shen earned on the construction site each year were entirely spent on his wife’s group-tour fees.

Shen Ku thought about it. Following the pairwise exchange principle, Dou Shen should be at Chu Ren’s place.

He sent a message to the group chat.

[Shen Ku: Feed him well.]

[Chu Ren: Who are you looking down on?!]

Putting on an apron, Shen Ku prepared to properly entertain Xiao Guazi, since it was his first time visiting alone, before sending him back.

“What do you like to eat?”

Xiao Guazi: “Uncle, baby isn’t a picky eater!”

Shen Ku nodded, “Yam and carrot meatballs, steamed egg with shrimp and tofu, and millet porridge. Does that sound good?”

Xiao Guazi: “Sounds good, Uncle.”

Dou Manning took Xiao Guazi to bathe, scrubbing him twice before finally getting him clean and fair again.

While bathing, Xiao Guazi scooped water in the tub with a toy construction truck.

He could fit into Dou Shen’s clothes, so Dou Manning picked out a loose pair of overalls. Even before eating, Xiao Guazi’s belly was already round and plump.

Once he was washed, dinner was served.

Xiao Guazi fed himself independently. After eating for a bit, he tilted his head up to look at Shen Ku: “Uncle Shen, does your construction site need truck drivers?”

Shen Ku couldn’t help but recall the period when Zhou Sicheng delivered cargo to the site. Was Zhou Sicheng planning to return to his old profession?

“Your daddy wants to come?”

“Not Daddy. Baby.” Xiao Guazi introduced himself to Chief Project Engineer Shen with absolute gravity, “Baby can drive trucks.”

A baby truck driver was out of the question. Shen Ku asked, “You know how to drive?”

“Great-grandpa taught me.” Xiao Guazi popped another meatball into his mouth, his large, round eyes pleading with Shen Ku, “Uncle Shen, please take baby to the construction site to work tomorrow!”

Shen Ku didn’t dare agree, nor did he dare let his wife reject him on his behalf, terrified his wife would actually say yes.

People truly changed in old age. Back then, Zhou Qingyun hadn’t allowed Zhou Sicheng a single breath of entertainment, yet now he indulged the fourth generation in goofing off like this.

Xiao Guazi flexed his whole-milk chubby arms: “Uncle Shen, I have muscles.”

Shen Ku said with difficulty, “Baby, your task is to attend kindergarten.”

Xiao Guazi was thoroughly disappointed. His dinner-table job application having failed, he buried his head back into his food.

Dou Manning gently put food in Xiao Guazi’s bowl. How could the Yao not adore a baby they had personally delivered with their own hands?

Xiao Guazi finished the entire bowl of porridge cleanly, wiping his mouth himself.

Clearing the dishes, Shen Ku thought to himself: This appetite truly fits a construction-site cub.

At 7:00 PM, the three families assembled at Raid Leader Xiang’s home to swap the babies back.

Every baby was clean and fair-faced, wearing unfamiliar yet perfectly fitting clothes, looking like display babies in a boutique window.

Xiang Zhen felt his idea had been brilliant. Scooping up Xiao Guazi, he showed off to his husband: “Look! I told you Xiao Guazi isn’t a dirty baby.”

Self-deception at its finest—Zhou Sicheng had already seen the moldy version of the sunflower seed.

The three Yao babies huddled together to play post-dinner games.

Sitting on the floor in a circle, they played card-chain solitaire, taking turns laying down cards. When collecting cards, because their arms were too short and the line of cards was too long, they had to lean forward and stretch their arms as far as they could reach.

At times like this, they were truly effortless to look after.

All the fathers agreed that sending the babies to kindergarten was a wonderful move, and had naturally paid the kindergarten ample compensation for mental damages.

However, the three Yao babies had transferred in midway through the term. Summer vacation was fast approaching, and kindergarten was about to close.

Xiang Zhen asked the Yao: “Summer vacation is coming. Many parents are arranging summer activities. Do you have any plans?”

Dou Manning: “Is this a mandatory task for human babies?”

Bai Qi: “Pretty much.”

“Yes,” Xiang Zhen stated, demonstrating that he took parenting seriously. “I saw it on short videos. For summer vacation, there are usually a few choices: send them to grandma’s in the countryside, sign up for summer camps, study tours, interest classes, or parent-child outdoor activities.”

Oh?

Bai Qi and Dou Manning were both intrigued, studying summer camps together.

Xiang Zhen discovered that the most popular outdoor study tour camps right now were mountain camping and farming experiences, costing several thousand yuan per child.

The military-style summer camps featuring wilderness survival drills were even more outrageously expensive.

Dou Manning thought it was far too pricey as well—equivalent to a month of Shen Ku’s salary.

Xiang Zhen pondered, “What if we just take the cubs and hike through the mountain trails from here to Auntie Guihua’s house ourselves?”

Dou Manning: “Accomplishing great things without spending a dime.”

It simultaneously checked off visiting grandma, wilderness exploration, military survival drills, agricultural study, and parent-child hiking! Signing up for commercial camps covering all that would easily cost over a hundred thousand yuan.

Bai Qi thought it sounded fantastic too. Ever since little Bai Chu was born, he hadn’t visited the countryside yet. Chu Ren had raised the snake baby with extreme delicacy; it was high time to hone his wilderness survival skills.

Xiang Zhen: “At our pace, with the babies, it’ll take at most a week to walk there.”

Dou Manning: “We don’t need to pack much. We can just ship our clothes straight to Auntie Guihua’s house by express courier.”

Bai Qi: “It’s the wilderness anyway; braving the elements is the simplest thing.”

On the other side of the room, Shen Ku had initially squatted behind Dou Shen, worried he wouldn’t understand the rules and lose all his cards in a daze, offering a pointer or two.

Then Chu Ren drifted over.

Immediately afterward, Zhou Sicheng followed, terrified his son would be cheated.

Three 1.9-meter-tall fathers squatted behind their tiny cubs, glaring intently like predators and casting three massive shadows. Anyone who didn’t know better would assume there were millions of yuan at stake.

Xiao Guazi looked up at his dad. Daddy Zhenzhen had said Daddy Zhou Sicheng was the sun, but Daddy was blocking all the light baby needed to play cards.

Never mind, baby could still see.

Initially, Chu Ren hadn’t understood why Bai Qi enjoyed hanging out with Xiang Zhen and Dou Manning so much, eagerly participating in activities that looked downright brainless. Bai Qi was clearly an intellectual with a golden touch, fully capable of matching wits back and forth with major entertainment investors alongside him.

Yet the moment he met his own kind, Bai Qi’s brain automatically downshifted, and his laziness vanished entirely.

However, over the past year, Xiang Zhen was on the verge of being elected union chairman at Zhoufu Group, and the raw, earthy essays Dou Manning wrote had won literary awards; the Yao’s progress was astonishingly fast.

Yet through it all, they preserved their unchanging, innocent hearts.

No deceit, no intrigue—only pure whimsy and romance. Humans reminisced about childhood while looking down on childishness; they missed the days of calling friends out to play, yet remained chained by their smartphones.

The Yao never scoffed at childishness; they simply set off at a moment’s notice. Thus, their entire lives remained an era of innocence.

Just like the three babies before them.

In reality, when toddlers averaging one and a half years old played cards, there were no rules to speak of; they played entirely on whim.

The calculating, shrewd fathers couldn’t find any leverage to help either, but simply watching the innocent children play seemed to help them reclaim their own childhoods.

While they were busy watching the babies, a chill suddenly ran down their spines.

Zhou Sicheng secretly thought: Oh no. His wife had been quiet for far too long.

Turning his head, he saw Xiang Zhen lying on the coffee table with a notebook, diligently writing and sketching.

“Zhenzhen, what are you doing?”

Xiang Zhen didn’t even look up: “We’re designing a summer camp for the babies!”

“Done!” Xiang Zhen snapped a photo of the hiking route map and posted it in the group chat.

Which mountains to cross, which rivers to ford, which mountain ranges to camp in overnight—with the help of modern map apps, it was laid out crystal clear in no time.

Looking at it, Zhou Sicheng’s vision went black: “Do you have any idea how many accidents have happened during unguided parent-child mountain treks?”

Xiang Zhen: “Those are humans. Yao won’t have accidents.”

Chu Ren was so anxious blisters were about to break out on his lips. This was the one-and-a-half-year-old baby he had waited ten years of marriage to finally have; how had he been swindled into going on a military wilderness drill?! Bai Qi had lived in the city for ten years; could he still match the wild survival instincts of Yao fresh out of the mountains? And taking the youngest baby on top of that—what if his unreliable companions abandoned him halfway in the mountains?

Bai Qi glanced at him lazily: “Looking down on me? Animals are better at trekking than plants. Your son is too.”

Shen Ku had hardships he couldn’t voice.

In fact, all three men suffered in silence—because according to this itinerary, not a single human among the three of them could physically keep up.

Professional backpackers covered 45 kilometers a day, taking 11 days to finish this route.

Yet their wives planned to finish it in six days and five nights! And that included time spent tutoring the babies!

Hearing this plan, the Yao babies cheered and hugged each other in delight. An activity far more exciting than kindergarten had arrived!

The vote was already two-to-one; the momentum was unstoppable.

The three powerless husbands could only swallow their frustration until finally, someone asked in a low voice:

“Wifey, what if I can’t keep up?”

No one knew who said it; the voice was low, rumbling out from deep within the chest.

The lively atmosphere fell silent for a moment.

Dou Manning: “Are you taking time off work?”

Bai Qi: “Wait at Auntie Guihua’s house.”

Xiang Zhen: “You can buy high-speed rail tickets!”

High-speed rail was an insult to a man.

Not taking the high-speed rail was setting oneself up for humiliation.

Yet could they stop their stubborn wives? Could they stop the Yao from teaching their cubs wilderness survival?

Nature was brutal; animals had to learn foraging, migration, and evading predators from their mothers from the moment they were born.

After several rounds of intense negotiation, Xiang Zhen tweaked the itinerary slightly, adding a minor detour so that each night’s camping spot was located on a mountain near a high-speed railway station.

This way, Zhou Sicheng could ride the bullet train to keep pace, waiting at the campsites to rendezvous with his wife and child and provide supply replenishments.

Xiang Zhen smiled. With his husband waiting ahead, trekking felt even more invigorating: “Hubby, you’re the best.”

Zhou Sicheng: “Don’t rush. I’m terrified.”

Day 1 of Summer Camp.

Reluctantly bidding farewell to his wife and child, Zhou Sicheng headed to the high-speed railway station.

Sitting in the business-class cabin of the Fuxing bullet train, he stared at the movement trajectory transmitted from Xiang Zhen’s smartwatch, sinking into silence.

Anyone who didn’t know better would assume his wife and child were riding a bullet train too.

This kind of speed… if Xiang Zhen hadn’t run back on his own accord back then, how could he have ever caught up?

Shen Ku sat in the same carriage, just a row away, questioning his own existence.

Is there really not a hidden railway line on that map?

Chu Ren stared at the two moving red dots on his phone screen. Long ago, he and Bai Qi had had a fight, and Bai Qi had run away from home; only now did he learn that his wife’s escape velocity was 250 km/h.

What a close call. If he hadn’t shamelessly gone to Auntie Guihua’s house to beg for his wife back, he might never have found him.

Suddenly, the red dots stopped near a body of water.

Presumably, they had found a nice spot to rest and let the babies splash in the water.

Zhou Sicheng immediately initiated a video call.

However, the signal was too weak, and the network was terrible.

Zhou Sicheng suspected all three of them video calling at once was jamming the line: “Engineer Shen, can you call later? Yield the signal to me.”

Shen Ku: “I’m using a satellite phone.”

Zhou Sicheng had no choice but to abandon video and switch to a satellite call as well.

When a Yao transformed, the items they carried suffered wear and tear.

Xiang Zhen’s phone broke after saying barely a single sentence.

Zhou Sicheng: “…”

A distinctly heavy, low-pressure atmosphere hung over the three brothers-in-law. Not a word of small talk was exchanged; upon arriving at the rendezvous point, they silently focused entirely on pitching tents.

After setting up the tent, Zhou Sicheng opened the insulated food containers, checking the hot food purchased at the foot of the mountain—it was still warm.

Standing before the tent, he gazed in the direction his wife and child were expected to appear.

Suddenly, a gust of wind swept through the mountains.

From the lush mountain path, Big Sunflower, carrying Xiao Guazi atop his head, dashed toward him in sheer excitement.

Zhou Sicheng sprinted forward, catching the flying Xiao Guazi in his arms.

Baby Xiao Guazi’s camouflage suit was tattered, looking as though he had rolled all over the mountains.

“You really turned into a wild baby.” Zhou Sicheng rubbed his cheeks. “Go change your clothes.”

Xiao Guazi: “Daddy, baby caught a crab!”

Zhou Sicheng: “Do you want me to help you raise it?”

Xiao Guazi said earnestly, “Daddy, baby crab didn’t want to leave his daddy, so baby didn’t take him.”

“Good baby.” Seizing the opportunity, Zhou Sicheng cajoled, “Daddy doesn’t want to leave baby either. How about you come with Daddy tomorrow?”

Xiao Guazi pointed at his camouflage outfit, saying solemnly: “Baby is in military training. Cannot be a deserter baby!”

Xiang Zhen silently brushed past his husband. I didn’t teach him that!

Under formidable logistical support, the six-day, five-night summer camp concluded successfully.

Auntie Guihua’s house had never been this lively; her mahjong buddies were green with envy.

“Guihua, you have a house full of children and grandchildren now!”

Li Guihua was both overjoyed and distressed: every morning, she woke up to nine mouths to feed, leaving no time for mahjong.

Whatever happened to staggering visits home? Having three sons truly was the most miserable fate.

She finally understood why some mahjong buddies vanished every winter and summer vacation.

In reality, her worries were entirely unfounded.

Because all the Yao’s husbands knew how to cook! Returning from mahjong every day, she simply sat down to eat. Li Guihua thought proudly: the Yao she personally trained in socialization truly had impeccable taste in husbands!

Xiang Zhen’s room was small but cozy. The last time Zhou Sicheng had lain here, he had been alone with a low-grade fever, sick with worry over his missing wife, an unspeakable heartache. Now, Xiang Zhen delightfully showed his husband and son the handicrafts he had made from scavenged materials; through his storytelling, these items took on a uniquely profound meaning. Zhou Sicheng used the sunflower fan to gently cool his napping wife and child. The summer afternoons stretched long, filled with ordinary bliss.

On the night of Qixi, the cubs chased fireflies in the courtyard. The adults set out seven lounge chairs and a table of melons and fruits, stargazing at the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl.

Li Guihua ate watermelon. She had received only three Yao emerging from the mountains: Bai Qi had been the earliest, and she had met Chu Ren long ago.

Zhou Sicheng had visited before as well.

Li Guihua knew these two love stories like the back of her hand.

Shen Ku was visiting for the first time. This engineer seemed to have had exceptionally smooth sailing; Dou Manning had never run away, so Li Guihua had never learned the details.

Li Guihua: “Manning, you and Engineer Shen seem to have had very smooth sailing.”

Zhou Sicheng: “Far too smooth. I suggest he does the cooking.”

Shen Ku: “Smooth?”

Waking up to find his wife and the entire coffee shop abducted and vanished into thin air—had he never experienced that despair?!

Li Guihua: “Then tell us about it. Auntie will judge who was in the right.”