Adults, even parents, cannot replace the role of playmates for children.
A large group of children were frolicking on the grass outside the camp area, gathering in threes and fives. Boys playing with boys, girls playing with girls, each group engaged in different games, chirping like little birds.
Xibao broke free from Feng Qingxue’s hand and ran towards them happily.
Feng Qingxue saw a small round figure rolling on the grass, rolling until it reached eight boys, and then stopped.
This group of boys weren’t very old, probably between five and eight. They were lean, their faces tanned and flushed, and their clothes were simple. Seven had patches and one did not.
Xibao looked up with his chubby face and smiled sweetly, "Let’s play!"
He reached out to one of the boys who was about five or six years old, but the boy immediately backed two steps away.
"I don’t want to play with you!" the boy cried out loudly.
The other four children echoed, "Exactly, exactly, we don’t want to play with you."
"You are too young, get lost!"
"Get lost, get lost quickly!"
"If he doesn’t leave, let’s move. The place over here is so big, there are horses, cows and sheep. Let’s go see if we can ride a horse, it will be so cool."
The last sentence came from the eldest boy, boasting a strong leadership quality, everyone agreed to his proposal.
The children scurried off, with Xibao urgently chasing behind them, "Let’s play! Let’s play!"
Feng Qingxue hurriedly followed them.
Although Xibao was chubby, he ran fast. Despite falling, he got up and continued running, following the other children and waving his arms to get their attention, until Wang Xiaowu stopped all the children, "That’s the cavalry’s training ground ahead. Who will be responsible if you get kicked by a cow or a horse? None of you are allowed to go there!"
Panting, Xibao ran up to one of the boys, reached out to touch him but was brushed away.
Feng Qingxue, who was following, felt embarrassed for him.
Seeing Xibao’s hat askew, his face red from the sun, and sweat on his forehead, Wang Xiaowu felt pity for him. He squatted down beside Xibao, adjusted his hat and asked, "How come you’re here, Xibao? Where is your mom?"
"Let’s play!" Xibao pointed at the group of children, looking at them intently. His pitiful look was heartbreaking.
Wang Xiaowu had an epiphany, "They’re not playing with you, are they?"
"Yes!" Xibao was on the verge of tears.
Wang Xiaowu stood up, his free hand holding Xibao’s, he asked the children, "You all are playing, why won’t you play with Xibao? Xibao is so well-behaved, not naughty at all."
"We don’t want to play with a baby!" the eldest child shouted, "Babies are the most annoying! They can’t run fast, they cry over anything. If we don’t play with him, he cries. If he falls by himself, he cries. He even likes to snatch other’s toys, and if he doesn’t get it, he cries. When an adult sees it, they accuse us of bullying the baby! We don’t want to play with a baby!"
"That’s right, we don’t want to play with a baby!"
The children echoed each other, standing and retreating together.
Xibao seemed to understand a bit and burst into tears, "Mom! Mom! Mom!"
The eldest boy pointed at him, and said to Wang Xiaowu, "See? We just don’t want to play with him and he cries like a baby. Adults will definitely be angry when they see this, and we’ll be the ones to get in trouble."
"So, you know that adults will be angry when they see this?" A woman who had somehow appeared slapped him hard on the back, her voice was crisp, "You know, but you still won’t play with your brother?"