Chapter 252
Zhao Ger chuckled softly, moved Guaizai to the side, lay down in the middle, and propped himself up on Fang Zichen's chest, pinching his chin. "What if someone sees you? Wouldn't you be embarrassed?"
"Who could possibly be here?" Fang Zichen said. "With no electricity, it's really convenient. Nobody sees you when you're relieving yourself."
Zhao Ger already knew what he meant by 'electricity' by now. He didn't say anything, just kept pinching his chin playfully.
Fang Zichen's heart itched with longing. He grabbed Zhao Ger's hand and bit it gently. "Are we sleeping or not?"
Some unknown bird was crying in the mountains, a mournful wail like a widow keening at a grave. Zhao Ger found it eerily unsettling.
He didn't speak, just burrowed closer into Fang Zichen's arms.
Fang Zichen patted his back and gestured with his chin towards the basket Zhao Ger had brought. "Didn't we bring the secret weapons? Sleep soundly. I'm holding you."
Zhao Ger thought about needing to get up early tomorrow to open the shop for business, thought about the silver they'd earned today, and felt his heart surge with excitement. He wished he could fall asleep immediately. He pulled Guaizai into his arms, and with Fang Zichen holding him from behind, he felt like he wasn't afraid of anything anymore.
The green mountains stretched endlessly outside the city walls. Birds sang incessantly, frogs croaked without stopping. It almost felt like being back in the village. Fang Zichen buried his head in the crook of Zhao Ger's neck, breathing in his scent. He only felt that time was peaceful and life was stable.
Daxiong came looking for them just as the sky was beginning to lighten in the early morning.
Arriving in front of the funeral hall, he saw the family still sleeping soundly and didn't know what to say.
He had originally thought that in this family, only Fang Zichen had courage. He hadn't expected that not only was he brave, but even his seemingly gentle fulang and their short, chubby son were also incredibly bold.
They could actually sleep in a place like this.
He really had to give them credit.
Truly, as the saying goes, people who share the same hearth share the same habits.
Fang Zichen, Zhao Ger, and Guaizai were all lying on their left sides. Fang Zichen held Zhao Ger around the waist, and Zhao Ger held Guaizai. Their sleeping postures were almost identical.
In the early hours, a slight breeze had picked up. Fang Zichen, eyes closed, had felt around and covered the father and son with a thin quilt. Now only their two heads were visible. As for himself, with his strong internal energy and vigorous constitution, he felt the temperature was just right.
Now he was sleeping soundly.
Daxiong didn't know what to say.
He considered himself brave, and he had been doing this job for many years. But on the nights he was on duty, he never dared to sleep.
Looking at Fang Zichen now, he had to concede defeat.
Zhao Ger woke up early. Seeing Daxiong sitting nearby, he was first stunned, then felt incredibly embarrassed all over.
Seeing his awkward expression, Daxiong couldn't help but laugh. "You young people, your skin is just too thin."
He was old enough to be Zhao Ger's father. Before taking this job, he had worked in an escort agency.
Escort agencies didn't just transport goods; sometimes they also escorted people.
Merchants in Yuanzhou came from all over, some arriving, some leaving. In the past, when smaller merchants returned to their hometowns to visit family, fearing bandits on the road, they would hire people from the escort agency.
Small merchants didn’t have much money, and it wasn’t affordable for a large group to stay at an inn, so they’d usually camp out in some rundown temple. Even the women would just lie down on the ground with everyone else. Having seen this kind of thing plenty of times, Daxiong didn’t think it was strange.
If this were at home, then such behavior would indeed be improper and indecorous.
Zhao Ger recalled autumn harvests in past years. Everyone would get up early to go to the fields to cut rice. At noon, when the heat became unbearable and if they lived far away, some women and fulangs would indeed lie down directly in the shade of a tree to rest.
Thinking about it this way, he wasn't so embarrassed anymore.
Guaizai rubbed his eyes and sat up, his hair a total mess.
Zhao Ger nudged Fang Zichen.
Seeing that Daxiong had arrived, Fang Zichen perked up, no longer drowsy. He immediately got up and started rolling up their bedding, preparing to leave.
Zhao Ger called him back. He poured some water from the flask they'd brought, wet a handkerchief, and handed it over. "Wipe your face first."
After the whole family had wiped their faces, Zhao Ger carefully smoothed each of their hair. If this father and son pair entered the city with bed-head like that, people might mistake them for beggars from who knows where!
Only when they were all tidied up did he announce they could go home.
Guaizai waved to Daxiong again. "Bye-bye, Uncle!"
Seeing him constantly marching in place, Daxiong didn't know what the child was trying to do. But it looked like he was desperately needed to go to the toilet, which was somehow amusing. "Alright, go on back!"
Fang Zichen and Zhao Ger walked slowly behind, while Guaizai ran ahead. When he ran too far and saw they hadn't caught up, he would run back again.
He could run quite far now. If it were modern times, he might even be able to run a marathon.
Fang Zichen had an outstanding appearance, a tall and straight posture, and was very recognizable. The soldiers guarding the city gate remembered him well. Seeing him now, they nodded. "Fang Xiucai."
"Mm. Morning!" Fang Zichen was as friendly as ever. He clasped his hands behind his back like a official on an inspection tour and asked, "Have you had breakfast yet?"
"Had it, had it."
It was still early, and not many people were entering or leaving the city.
Even villagers from outside wanting to come to the market wouldn't arrive for a while. So, after Fang Zichen walked away, a few government soldiers gathered together.
"This Fang Xiucai, his appearance is really good."
"Mm, and he doesn't put on airs."
"He's also very good to his fulang. When the two of them left the city yesterday, they were chatting and laughing, all lovey-dovey. If not for them bringing their son, I'd think they were newlyweds!"
"Not all newlyweds are all lovey-dovey like that! I wasn't like that right after I got married. My wife, she complained my technique wasn't good, my movements weren't fast enough. The next morning, she'd give me the cold shoulder."
"Hey, you little bastard! So that's why you were thrusting your hips against the wall all the time back then. I thought you were just horny and wanted to f*ck the wall! Turns out you were practicing your technique."
"Go f*ck your mother! Can't you watch your mouth?" the man said through gritted teeth. "Wait till I master my divine technique, then I'll show that wife of mine a thing or two."
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