Fourth Mo's face burned as if on fire; the sudden exposure of that year's events caught him completely off guard.
His nephew and niece-in-law's contemptuous looks made his old face flush with angry embarrassment, unable to stay any longer, he snorted coldly at Grandma Sun before leaving.
He thought his second brother had kept the secret for him, thinking that his sister-in-law was clueless. Fourth Mo's mind was smaller than a needle's point; at that time, there were only the two brothers left in the family. The clan's ancient grandfather had the brothers draw lots; to his dismay, he was the one who drew it.
He had always remembered this incident because his second brother went off to the military and couldn't get back at him, so he took out his anger on the sister-in-law. Their family only had the two brothers left, he always thought his second brother had kept it a secret, but unexpectedly, the brother had told the sister-in-law, and now the sister-in-law had told the little beggar, leaving him humiliated.
Once Fourth Mo left, his granddaughters swiftly followed.
Finally, there was peace at home; the three adults sighed helplessly. The matter of the children had always been Zhao Li's taboo, not leaving a descendant for grandfather was a heartache for grandma. Fortunately, they still had the mischievous Lan Tian at home.
Lan Tian pounced over and clung to Grandma Sun's neck, coaxingly asking, "Grandma, you still have me. When I grow up and get married, I'll bear you a great-grandson. The great-grandson will carry the Mo surname, okay?"
A six-year-old child talking about marriage and childbirth made everyone laugh.
Grandma Sun felt a heartwarming comfort as she stroked Lan Tian's head, "Alright, alright, grandma will wait for you to bear me a great-grandson. As a young girl, shouldn't you feel shy talking about getting married?"
"The aunt is also waiting for Lan Tian to bear me a grandson, best to have two, one for grandma to look after and one for me."
"Okay," Lan Tian promised confidently, patting her little chest, and went with Mo Yuanle to the Medicine House to memorize the medicine recipe.
After eating breakfast and with a backpack for school, Lan Tian stepped out of the yard, then dashed back. Zhao Li washed clothes in the yard and, seeing her return, thought she had forgotten something, "Did you leave something behind?"
"No, I'm bringing a couple of extra oranges for Shitou to eat." Lan Tian's lies came easily now, smooth and natural, aside from Mo Yuanle who could sense something off, in the eyes of Grandma Sun and Zhao Li, Lan Tian was a well-behaved and considerate child.
She ran into the utility room, found the basket behind the door, dropped her backpack into it, and began stuffing oranges into her backpack, bulging it out until she could fit no more, and then stopped.
The military backpack was so large; when filled, it weighed several pounds. Lan Tian heaved and hauled it out with great effort, shouldering it unsteadily, staggering under its weight, its straps painfully digging into her shoulders.
This won't do! Lan Tian took out half of them, just barely managing to walk with it. Zhao Li only caught a glimpse of her darting shadow and called out, "Don't run too fast."
The jujube tree by the eastern wall of the courtyard was laden with ripe fruit today; every single one plump, half-red half-green, bountiful and heavy, the branches bent under the weight, propped up with supports.
Mo Yuanjun just returned from the fields and was washing his face in the yard. When he saw the jujubes on the tree, he picked one, casually wiped it on his clothes, and popped it into his mouth; it was not bad, both crisp and sweet.
He hung the towel on the rope beside him and started picking jujubes, cradling a wooden basin around the tree.
Outside, on the road, children went to school one after another, glancing involuntarily toward the intersection ahead.
From afar, he saw a girl dressed in bright red pants, bouncing towards them. He washed the jujubes in the basin, dried them, and, cradling the basin, stepped out of the courtyard.
Lan Tian was thinking about getting along with the boys, cultivating relationships, when suddenly, someone popped out to block his path.
Lan Tian stared blankly at Mo Junhua who stood blocking the path with a wooden basin, glanced at the jujubes inside the basin, then back at Mo Junhua, with an expressionless face, she asked uncertainly, "For me?"
Their parents were honest and simple people, and both her elder brothers had inherited these traits from their parents; being straightforward to a fault, you could not get a peep out of them no matter what, and they had two younger sisters who were sly as foxes. Teenage Mo Junhua had no choice but to shoulder the entire family.
Mo Junhua was used to keeping a stern face and it didn't bother him. But there seemed to be a child who didn't really want to get close to him. When they first met, Mo Junhua noticed the child was unconsciously on guard against him, a feeling the child probably wasn't even aware of themselves; this made Mo Junhua quite displeased.
After beating around the bush and asking his younger sisters if he seemed scary to others, Chuntao and Chunhua had no idea what he was intending, as they had grown up under his strict authority since they were young.
Of course, it wasn't just the two of them who were afraid of Third Brother; the two elder brothers were scared of him too, not to mention the father and mother.
Mo Junhua often reminded them earnestly to be honest, so the two of them who were sincere nodded their heads dutifully.
As their heads bowed, Mo Junhua looked at them with a dark face, a cold gaze frightening them until their faces turned pale and they felt a chill in their hearts. Mo Junhua thought for a moment and then asked them how to interact with children, their expression was as if they had seen a ghost, shocked to the core!
When Mo Junhua left, his face was as dark as the bottom of a pot. Once he left, Chuntao shuddered with realization, remembering a child familiar with her Third Brother; it was none other than Grandma Sun's granddaughter, Lan Tian. She rushed to the doorway to make amends, next time she sees the child it would be best to smile.
For this reason, Mo Junhua practiced in front of the mirror for a couple of weeks, his attempted smiles stiffer than wood boards, better not to smile at all, lest he scared someone witless.
Seeing the child stood there dumbly, a wave of softness washed over Mo Junhua. He cracked a smile, showing a mouthful of white teeth and automatically reached out to touch Lan Tian's braided hair, rubbing it. It was so fluffy and cute; in reality, he wanted to pinch the little one's cheeks even more.
"I've tried them, they're really sweet."
Lan Tian mentally ranted, Oh my goodness, is this really Mo Junhua?
So different from his past self; back then, he was an ice-cool man with a frosty gaze, enough to turn anyone into an icicle. Now he was like a warm-hearted man, his smile as welcoming as the spring breeze, as if peach blossoms were blooming behind him. Lan Tian was dumbstruck staring at him.
In their past life, having lived together for decades, she had never seen him smile. When he was with that woman, there was a hint of softness in his face. To see him smile was harder than her becoming immortal.
Mo Junhua had an impressive appearance, not the square face of the present but the popular face shape of the future, even more outstanding than a celebrity's.
His contour was as if God sculpted the most perfect work of art, with smooth and masculine lines, sword-like eyebrows, bright eyes, a straight nose, and thin lips. His eyes sparkled with life when he smiled, as though they cradled the brilliance of the stars.
There was a spark in Mo Junhua's eyes, seeing the smile worked, he offered another big grin. Taking advantage of the child's distracted stare, he reached out towards the child's face, but unfortunately, Lan Tian, as if anticipatorily aware, stepped back subconsciously, causing his hand to miss.
Mo Junhua's bright eyes dimmed.
He quickly opened the child's backpack and filled it with jujubes. Grabbing two handfuls, he carried the wooden basin back home.
Lan Tian looked at the heap of jujubes in the backpack, hesitated for a moment, and then ran after Mo Junhua, reaching out to grab the hem of his clothes, "Big brother, these are for you."
She opened the backpack and counted, there were eight oranges. Lan Tian kept four for her little friends, putting the other four into Mo Junhua's wooden basin. Then she scurried off with a pitter-patter of her feet.
Mo Junhua glanced at the oranges in the basin, and as he watched the child running away, his lips curled slightly before he entered the yard.