As the tiny figure ran through the morning mist of the sunrise, leaping into his eyes with a brilliant smile, Axiu's long eyelashes wet with mist trembled as he opened his arms towards the girl.
The light that burst out of his dark eyes dimmed the sunrise.
"Brother Axiu!" The little bun crashed into his arms and knocked him backwards two steps, but made the smile on his lips even brighter.
Grandma Liu grimaced at the back. She really wants to rush and pull Nannan away.
Axiu raised his eyes and glanced at her, "… Grandma."
"…." Forget it, wait till Nannan is older and tell her the difference between men and women.
Now even if she explains it to her, she wouldn't understand.
"Brother Axiu, have you been waiting for a long time?" The clothes on him were wet.
"Not long, I just came for a while."
Liu Yusheng stretched out her small hand to wipe away a layer of moisture from his face and smiled, pretending to believe him, "Don't come out and wait in the future, grandma will send me over."
He merely smiled in silence.
Since he'll still do it, there's no need to speak out. He didn't want to be perfunctory and trick her.
The whole journey to the cabin was filled with the soft tingling voice of the little girl.
Today, the path seemed extra short.
There is nothing more heartbreaking for Grandma Liu than the fact that her granddaughter seems to have become someone else's wife.
When the two buns were sent back to the hut, Wanrong was sorting out her medicinal basket, putting her water bag and small shovel in it.
"Wanrong, I've sent Nannan over. I'll come back for her at noon." Grandma Liu walked into the kitchen and put down the basket of vegetables, "I have brought you another basket of vegetables, feel free to eat them. I will bring some to you every day in the future."
"Madam…" Wanrong's face was flushed, "Then I'll take them cheekily, the vegetables in your house is delicious."
It's really tasty, and more superb than any mountain and seafood she's ever had.
Grandma Liu was pleased, "I'm not boasting, but the vegetables planted in our patch are really delicious. They're juicy, fresh and tender with a bit of sweetness in them. Now, neighbors on the left and right often come to my vegetable patch to pick vegetables, hahaha!"
Wanrong laughed along. Although she was one generation short, Mrs. Liu's character is cheerful and open-minded. Talking to her always makes people unconsciously relaxed.
"Nannan, then Grandma will go home first and pick you up later!"
"Bye Grandma!"
The two little ones are crouched down in front of the sand, already practicing their character writing, glancing over to her merely at the corner of their eyes.
Grandma Liu's heart was sour.
What the eye doesn't see, the heart doesn't grieve over. She might as well go and come back for her precious granddaughter later.
Only when Grandma Liu left the door did Axiu finally glance at the door and his taut spine relaxed.
"Shengsheng, I'll teach you to recognize ten words every day. Would you like me to take you to the mountain later to play?"
Ten words? Too few, Liu Yusheng thought about it and clapped her hands, "Fifty words a day!"
"I'm afraid you'll forget them easily if you learn too much at once."
"Brother Axiu, I'll memorize it all! If you don't believe me, let me write it for you!" Underestimating her? The words of this era are much the same as in modern times. It's just a matter of turning the simplified into the traditional ones.
If it wasn't so scary, she could "learn" one Three Character Classic in a day.
She picked up a small branch and brushed the sand to write down all the few words that Axiu had just taught, including what he had written yesterday, the names of the two of them.
It was chicken scratch, but it's all right, because there's not a single stroke that's written wrong.
Liu Yusheng lifted her little chin and looked at Axiu haughtily. Her little eyes seemed to be urging, "Quick, praise me, praise me!
The corners of Axiu's mouth stretched a bit as he stared at the tiny figure of the baby, his eyes deepening a bit.
He reached out and rubbed her little head. He'd been wanting to do so early on.
"Shengsheng is so smart. Then, learn fifty words a day."
The furry touch under his hand made his smile widen even more.
When Wanrong was ready, the two little ones followed her towards the forest.
Along the way, two children's voices alternated, and the forest path was livened up with their vitality.
"Man at birth is fundamentally good in nature. Their nature is much the same, their habits become widely different…."
"A jade that is never cut will never be of use. A man who never studies will never understand reason…"
Wanrong looked back at the little ones from time to time, and the smile on her face never fell.
Such a picture, like the stillness of the years, is a pleasure to be around.
While going up the trails, Wanrong would stop and dig upon seeing herbs while at the same time, not forgetting to teach Nannan knowledge about medicine and herbs.
The speed at which Nannan absorbed knowledge was so fast it surprised her.
Normally, as long as she has explained it once, she could memorize all of it. And when she sees that herb again afterwards, she could recognize it immediately.
The little girl originally claimed that she wanted to learn herbs. She thought it was because the little one was so eager for new things. But her performance surpassed her expectations, so she changed her attitude and taught more meticulously.
While Nannan was focused on her teaching, Axiu stood aside, staring at her intently.
For every unexpected performance she makes, floats a smile.
It was he who underestimated her.
There are wild animals in the deep forest of Mount Luofu, and few people go further up the foot of the mountain.
However, herbs there are more abundant than those at the foot of the mountain.
Before noon, the medicine basket was filled. Sitting down and resting, Axiu led Liu Yusheng round three winding loops to a slope.
In front of their eyes, there is a huge expanse of bright red fruits, hidden between green vines.
"Little red fruit!" Liu Yusheng exclaimed in delight.
"Shengsheng, this is snake berries. Do you want some? I'll go pick some for you." After a pause, Axiu tensed a little, "I tasted it, it's sweet, not sour."
He was hoping she would like it.
Because there was very little he could give her right now.
And these snake berries, aren't worth much.
Liu Yusheng nodded her head like a chicken pecking rice, "I want to eat them very much, thank you, Brother Axiu!"
"Then behave and wait here, don't move, the snakeberry vines have thorns, be careful or you'll be pricked."
"En! Brother Axiu should also be careful."
While picking snake berries, he would look at her frequently.
Her eyes curved into a beautiful crescent as he placed a handful of snake berries in her tiny palm.
Axiu felt his heart swell with joy.
A snake berry was stuffed into her mouth, and Liu Yusheng's small mouth was filled to the brim. The unique sweetness sliding through her taste buds made her narrow her eyes in satisfaction.
The fruit was unwashed but she could eat it all. That damned neat freak was really getting farther away from her.
"Delicious?" Axiu asked.
"Yum!" Liu Yusheng nodded and picked a large one from her hand and handed it to his mouth, "Brother Axiu, eat one too!"
Biting the snake berry into his mouth and savoring the sweetness she was tasting, a shallow smile appeared in the bottom of Axiu's eyes, "Shengsheng."
"Hmm?"
"I'll give you more and better things in the future."
"Okay."
The breeze blew the boy's bangs, revealing an extremely delicate face and eyes as gentle and charming as the starry sky on a midsummer night.
At that time, Liu Yusheng merely took it as a joke.
Not knowing that the little boy etched the promise in his heart and did so for a lifetime.