Chapter 28: The Bond Between Father and Daughter

Ping’an Village.

The night was shrouded in mist…

Lu Kun drove the hand tractor back to the old house.

Looking at the house, even the sense of familiarity he’d felt not long ago seemed to have faded into strangeness.

“Sis, Daddy’s back!”

Er Ya heard the sound of the tractor, opened the door, and saw Lu Kun stepping down from it. She immediately called out with delight into the house.

“Oh, my little darling, Daddy’s missed you so much these days,” Lu Kun said as he scooped her up, pressing his forehead to hers and making her giggle uncontrollably.

“Daddy, I missed you too. I missed Mommy,” the little girl said, her eyes already brimming with tears, her face full of wounded grievance.

“Daddy, where’s Mommy? Did she not want me anymore?”

Tears streamed down Er Ya’s cheeks.

“That’s not true at all. Mommy just went to Grandma’s for a while, she’ll be back in a few days. You’re such a good girl—how could Mommy not want you, isn’t that right?”

Seeing the little one so heartbroken, Lu Kun felt a pang in his own heart. He hurried to wipe her tears and comfort her.

“Mm…”

She hiccuped as her sobs finally subsided, but her cheeks were already streaked, making her look quite the little mess.

…

“Daddy, you’re finally back! I got top marks on my homework, and the teachers all say I’m smart!”

“And, and—I helped chase off the bad guys for you!”

Lu Kun watched as the little one lifted her chin proudly, and he froze, taken aback.

Top marks and praise from teachers he could understand, but chasing off bad guys? What on earth?

Had something happened at home while he was away?

At this thought, his expression grew serious.

“Er Ya, tell Daddy—what bad guys did you chase off?”

Seeing his face turn stern, Er Ya thought she might be in trouble and began to stammer.

“Well…it was the bad people who came to the village to catch someone. Uncle Shitou said it’s because those bad people wanted to—um—make Daddy not able to come home…not able to have babies, that’s why you didn’t come home…”

She bit her finger, speaking in halting fragments.

Da Ya heard the conversation and hurried out to see what was happening—only to stumble at Er Ya’s words and nearly fall over.

Lu Kun stood there, mouth agape, at a loss for words.

Damn you, Shitou! What on earth have you been telling my daughter while I was gone?!

…

“Daddy, what does it mean to…you know, not be able to have babies?”

Er Ya mumbled as she saw him distracted.

Lu Kun’s face turned as black as the bottom of a pot.

Da Ya turned away, her cheeks flushed red.

“Girls these days mature so early—even a little thing like Da Ya knows about this already,” Lu Kun thought to himself, deciding it was high time to move away. He couldn’t let his girls’ hearts be stolen at such a young age.

“So, what exactly did your Uncle Shitou tell you?”

A dangerous glint flashed across Lu Kun’s eyes as he wondered if he should pay Shitou a visit with a brick tonight.

“Uncle Shitou said it means Daddy and Mommy couldn’t have a baby brother for me anymore,” Er Ya pouted, and then added, “They’re all bad people!”

Thank goodness.

At least Shitou hadn’t told her everything outright.

As for Da Ya? Lu Kun wasn’t sure how much a girl her age understood, but it probably wasn’t less than what boys her age knew.

“Daddy, is that your tractor?”

Er Ya had seen tractors before—in fact, there’d been one in the village last year, but it had been requisitioned by the township for ‘temporary use.’

As for how long ‘temporary’ meant? Well, even by the time Lu Kun was reborn, the tractor hadn’t been returned.

The little girl, sucking her finger, gazed longingly at the hand tractor parked out front.

Lu Kun simply lifted her onto the driver’s seat to let her have a taste of it.

“This tractor isn’t ours, sweetie. Daddy rented it from someone else.”

At these words, her excitement dimmed.

Even though she was little, she knew that if their family owned a tractor, they wouldn’t go hungry.

“Er Ya, we don’t have quite enough money yet to buy a tractor. But Daddy promises you—by the time you start first grade next year, our family will have a tractor of our own.”

Seeing her crestfallen, Lu Kun quickly offered reassurance.

At this, both girls’ eyes lit up.

Er Ya started calculating in her little head—she was still in kindergarten, so that meant by the start of school next September, they’d have a tractor.

Hooray!

She cheered inwardly, her face breaking into an exuberant smile.

Da Ya, on the other hand, thought further.

She’d heard the villagers say a brand-new tractor cost eight or nine thousand yuan.

Now that Daddy said they’d be able to buy one next year, did that mean the family was already doing well?

“Daddy, don’t worry. I’ll work hard, and I’ll definitely be in first grade next year!” Er Ya patted her chest, grinning from ear to ear.

Then she started poking and prodding around the tractor, eventually jumping up and down on the seat.

Da Ya, sharp-eyed, spotted the bag of clothes Lu Kun had left on the vehicle.

“Those are new clothes for you two—go on, take a look!” Lu Kun said, smiling as he caught Da Ya’s curious gaze.

No matter their age, girls always had a soft spot for new clothes.

Hearing this, Er Ya was overjoyed once more and hopped over to rummage through the bag.

She’d had new clothes recently—though last time, Lu Kun had only bought fabric, and Liu had sewn the dresses herself.

“Da Ya, Er Ya, have you eaten dinner? Are you hungry?”

Lu Kun had brought back some meat buns from town for the children, and they were still warm.

“We’ve eaten already. Uncle Shitou cooked noodles for us!”

“Oh? Does Uncle Shitou come by every day to cook for you?” Lu Kun felt a surge of gratitude for his loyal friend.

Both girls, more interested in the new clothes, nodded and then returned to their happy discoveries.

Lu Kun patted his own stomach, realizing he was still the hungriest; he ate three of the five buns himself, leaving one each for his little girls.