Xibao, after finishing his business in the toilet, joyfully bounced into the house. He tumbled in like a ball with his father, Lu following him into the yard to clean up. Feng Qingxue could hardly contain her laughter as she hugged Xibao and showered him with kisses.
"Baby, you’re so good and smart. How did you think to use the cake as bait?" How can I not be proud of having such a son?
Xibao giggled from her kisses, leaning his face back, pouting, and eagerly returning the kisses, leaving Feng Qingxue’s face wet with drool.
As for Feng Qingxue’s question, Xibao looked clueless.
Seeing Xibao’s confused face, Feng Qingxue was stunned for a moment, "Xibao, Mommy is asking why you used cake as bait?"
"Fishing! Fish! Fish!"
When father Lu came in, he said "Xibao, do you remember the next line for the poem ’Jiang Taigong fishing’?"
"Got hooked!" Xibao exclaimed loudly.
"The correct line is ’willing to be hooked’. You knew it yesterday, how could you forget it today?" Father Lu looked at Xibao with affection, "Xibao has a good memory but his speech isn’t fluent. But it’s normal for boys to start talking late. Xibao reminds me of your elder brother. He was able to recite many poems at the age of two or three. I want to nurture Xibao well, and I’m sure he will surpass his brother in the future."
Feng Qingxue was slightly puzzled initially but she quickly realized that Father Lu was referring to Lu Jiang’s elder brother, Lu Tianjun, and Lu Tianzhi’s father, Lu Ting. She only found out his name was Lu Ting after a long time in the marriage. It was said that he was exceptionally gifted, so much so that calling him a prodigy was not an exaggeration.
"Father, with your wealth of knowledge and the praises you receive from the old leaders, of course you should be the one teaching Xibao."
Could Xibao have performed so well in the event of revenging Wang Zhonghua without Father Lu’s teachings?
Although he was praised for his bravery for one day, he soon returned to his mischievous nature, eating, drinking, and playing all day long. He roamed all around Houhai with Father Lu and Wang Zhonghua, still speaking rather incoherently, but he was familiar with everyone in the neighborhood and was loved by all.
One day, when Wang Fengqiao came back from grocery shopping, she saw him and Wang Zhonghua squatting at someone’s doorway enjoying their food. The old lady of the house seemed delighted and had no issue sharing her food, and kept praising Xibao to Father Lu for his good behavior.
On a trip to the flea market with Father Lu, Xibao was warmly calling out to everyone he met.
"Grandpa, Grandma, Brother!" He greeted everyone enthusiastically, receiving big smiles in return.
Immediately a tall and thin young man invited them, saying, "Old man, little guy, you’re here again? Come see my stuff, I’ve gathered all the old things from my house. See if there’s anything you like."
It was freezing and the flea market was quite desolate. People wouldn’t be selling their old stuff unless it was absolutely necessary.
Xibao, bundled up like a baby bear, cheerfully approached to touch and observe the items.
There were a lot of old things, but Father Lu didn’t see much that was worth collecting. He spotted an old circular chair made of rosewood which he couldn’t take home, but he still bought for two yuan, thinking the homeowner would appreciate it.
And so, Xibao dragged the chair forward, its legs scraping on the ground and making a dull sound.
"Grandpa, let’s go!" Xibao called back.
Lu left the tall young man and caught up briskly.