Chapter 16 Pat me He Feng rode his motorcycle from the village...

He Feng rode his motorcycle out of the village chief's house and drove straight home and parked in the yard.

The village chief also brought back the pickled fish. He put it in the kitchen cupboard and then realized that the door of the main room was still closed. He

pushed open the door and it was much cooler inside, but there was no sign of Song Qingshu.

He put the motorcycle keys on the big table and turned to the back door.

There were many trees and mosquitoes in the backyard. Song Qingshu and the child couldn't stay there for too long. Their fair and tender skin would definitely attract mosquitoes.

He Feng lowered his head slightly and walked through the back door. A large mulberry tree came into view, but it was a pity that it was a male and would not bear fruit.

Last time, Song Qingshu had touched a grasshopper on it.

He looked to the left. The grass was tightly wrapped around the tree. The path that originally led to the south was no longer visible. Across the river was Xili Village, where a few sheep were grazing.

To the right was also right behind the house. Before He Feng saw anyone, he heard a cry.

It was Song Qingshu's voice.

He quickened his pace and saw the little boy reaching out to pull Song Qingshu to help him stand up. The young man sitting on the ground had red eyes but was still trying to force a smile, saying that he was fine.

"Baby."

Song Qingshu suddenly looked towards the voice. He Feng's eyes fell on him. There were mosquito bites on his neck and a few red spots on his hands. He was sitting on the ground with his ankle bones protruding.

Perhaps seeing someone he could rely on, he curled his lips and felt like crying, but he still remembered Erdan by his side and whispered "brother" in a weak voice.

He looked aggrieved, as if to say, "I'm so miserable, don't scold me."

He Feng didn't intend to scold him either. He just felt that this guy was even more like a child than Erdan next to him. He would get hurt if he didn't see him for a while. Erdan

saw him coming, took a half step back, twisted his fingers, and called him "young master".

"It's okay, don't be afraid, it has nothing to do with you." Song Qingshu looked at him and said. He

Feng bent down, put one hand under his armpit, and reached for his knee with the other hand, and easily picked him up.

He also noticed the mosquito bites on Erdan's hands. Children are also attracted to mosquitoes. After the rain, some grasshopper shells were smashed, making them hard to find.

"Erdan, let's go." The child stood there, looking at the trees behind him, hesitant.

"Young man, I want to look for it again. My mother said this is valuable and can be sold for money."

Song Qingshu clung to He Feng's shoulders, poking his head out to talk to the child. "I came here this morning, and it's gone. Let's go. I'll give you what we have at home."

A hand slapped his butt. It didn't hurt, but it was enough to make Song Qingshu feel ashamed. Disbelief

filled his eyes, which were about to burst into tears. "Brother?"

"Don't move. I don't know if you twisted your foot." He Feng stared straight ahead, the soft touch still lingering on his hand.

"Oh." What does this have to do with spanking?

Song Qingshu complained in his heart, but he didn't say it out loud to avoid embarrassment.

He buried his head in He Feng's shoulder and said in a muffled voice, "Then you can pat it off for me. I must be covered in mud from sitting on the ground just now."

The ground was still a little damp. He twisted his foot because of a stone on the ground and fell down without standing up straight. There were stones and mud on the ground, which hurt his butt.

But his foot hurt the most now. He clearly heard a cracking sound. He didn't know whether it was a dislocation or a broken bone. He was a little scared.

But nestled in He Feng's arms, feeling his heartbeat and breathing in his strong scent, he felt less scared.

The hand fell on his butt again and gently patted the mud on it. "Okay, it's not dirty anymore."

He Feng hugged him and kicked open the door of the main room. The grasshopper shells he had picked up before were placed behind the door, hanging in a plastic bag.

It was hanging too high, so He Feng asked Song Qingshu to reach down and take it down before calling outside, "Erdan, come here."

The child came over with his own plastic bag and took the cicada monkey shell from Song Qingshu's hand. "Thank you, little master, brother."

He Feng was a little dissatisfied to see him call him that. Where did the differences in this life go?

He frowned, and Song Qingshu reached out and touched it to distract him. "Brother, my ankle hurts."

He wasn't pretending. The burning pain in his foot made a little sweat on his forehead.

Erdan stood at the door and said, "Brother, I'm sorry."

Song Qingshu knew it was useless to say that. "Brother, tell him not to worry. I had to jump to get it myself. I really don't blame him."

"Do you have any candy in your pocket? Give him one."

He said, and he went to search in He Feng's chest pocket. There was actually a White Rabbit candy. "Erdan, here, don't blame yourself. I sprained my ankle myself."

The sweat on his forehead was about to drip into a ball, but he still smiled and coaxed the child.

He Feng's breath caught in his chest. "Well, take the candy and go back, Erdan. Go slowly and don't fall."

Erdan wiped his hands vigorously on his clothes twice before reaching out to take the candy from Song Qingshu's hand. He hadn't had candy in a long time, so he could take it home and share it with his mother, one bite each.

The child turned and walked away.

He Feng held Song Qingshu and sat on a stool. He gently touched his ankle with his hand, pressing down, "Does it hurt?"

Of course it hurt. Song Qingshu's leg twitched and he tried to avoid it. "It hurts," he

said. Tears welled up in his eyes.

He Feng's heart tightened, and all his anger vanished. "No, it's probably dislocated. I'll take you to see someone."

He placed Song Qingshu on the bicycle and said worriedly, "Leave your foot like this. Don't move."

Song Qingshu gasped in pain, but naturally he did as he was told.

"Hold my waist."

A pair of arms came up and hugged He Feng tightly. He Feng swallowed and rode towards the home of an elderly man in the village.

Wang Dehui had fled from the north with his family during a famine. Both his parents died on the way, leaving him alone with his wife and daughter.

His wife passed away two years ago. Now 81, he looks incredibly energetic.

Because he knows a bit about bone setting, villagers who have bone problems come to him for help. He doesn't charge any money, saying it's a good deed.

He Feng parked his car in front of his door. Wang Dehui's granddaughter called him "uncle" and asked the other children to come over and call him "grandfather.

" He Feng casually agreed, saying he was looking for the old man.

He wanted to continue holding Song Qingshu sideways, but they were not at home now, and Song Qingshu, who was always shy, was reluctant.

He Feng let him hold his arms, his hands on his slender waist.

With a push, Song Qingshu was hanging from him.

Although this position was not very attractive, Song Qingshu accepted it.

Just as he sat down, the old man came from the backyard, holding some dried grass in his hand. Song Qingshu guessed it was some kind of herbal medicine, but he didn't recognize it.

The gray-haired old man's face was full of wrinkles, but his mental state looked similar to that of Teacher Zhu, who was in his sixties.

Song Qingshu was placed on a stool by He Feng, and the old man looked into his eyes.

"How did this happen?"

Song Qingshu said in a broken country accent: "I was jumping to climb grasshopper shells, and I slipped on a stone and sprained my ankle."

"Oh, come on, straighten your legs." He put his hand on Song Qingshu's foot, lifted it up, and placed it on his knee.

Over time, the originally fair and slender ankle bone became red and swollen, and the protruding part of the bone was also crooked.

The old man looked down and gently turned his ankle bone, "You sprained it a few days ago, right?"

Song Qingshu thought of himself. He had sprained it when he was trying to escape when he first came here. At that time, He Feng helped to rub it open, "Yeah."

"That time, the bone was not injured. I helped him rub it with safflower oil." He Feng added from the side.

A faint laugh sounded from behind, and Song Qingshu raised his eyes and met the other's smiling eyes. She should be the old man's granddaughter, who looked to be in her twenties or thirties.

She pointed to her neck with her finger.

Song Qingshu followed his instructions and touched his neck. A little above his collarbone, he found a large mosquito bite.

It was already red and swollen, and he had scratched it, but now it was even redder, making him think too much.

He shook his head.

"What are you yelling about? How old are you?" the old man asked.

"Song Qingshu, nineteen, will be twenty by the end of the year." He Feng walked over and grabbed Song Qingshu's hand. "Pinch me if it hurts."

"Twenty, you're still young, what are you planning to do?"

Song Qingshu had just been approved by Teacher Zhu to teach at the middle school down the street. He was very happy, and his tone of voice rose a little even though his foot hurt.

"Teacher Zhu said that he would let me teach at the middle school in the fall." "Hiss..."

"Kaden" sounded, and the protruding joint straightened out.

The old man massaged his ankle, and the bulge also subsided a lot. "Come down and see if it still hurts?"

Song Qingshu pulled his leg back, one hand still holding He Feng's hand. He Feng didn't notice and took two steps on the ground. "Hey, it really doesn't hurt anymore!"

Seeing the surprise in his eyes, the old man smiled.

Song Qingshu wanted to thank him, but the old man waved his hand and said, "Go and teach. If you teach my great-grandson in the future, please help take good care of him."

Song Qingshu nodded and agreed, and reassured him.

Wang Derong stood up and said, "Okay, let's go back. I haven't finished turning the dandelions that I'm drying in the back."

"Then don't work on your ankle these two days, just don't get tired."

He Feng felt that he was right to lend the motorcycle, otherwise Song Qingshu wouldn't be able to go to the street or go to the market tomorrow.

After leaving Grandpa Wang's house, there was no rush. He Feng pushed Song Qingshu home and happened to see Erqing playing with other little boys.

Thinking of Erqing and Erdan, he couldn't help but feel a little funny, "Brother, why are all the kids in the village called Er something? Is this for the purpose of ranking?"

"Here we say that humble names are easy to raise, but good names are hard for children to keep. There are even kids called Goudan."

"What's your nickname, brother?" Song Qingshu asked, looking at his back.

"Me? Just call me Xiaofeng."

"My dad doesn't believe this, so he calls me that."

Song Qingshu nodded. There was no basis for this. It all depended on what he thought.

"It's better to have a nickname like Zaizai. You can tell that your family likes you when you hear it."

Song Qingshu seemed to still have that kind voice in his ears. He corrected: "It's grandma. Grandma likes me."

He Feng thought about how his father married him to a stepmother who could sell her own children. Maybe she really didn't like her son that much, but he couldn't say.

After all, people change. Maybe they like him at first, but not later.

"What do you want to eat at the market tomorrow? Dumplings, noodles, or a restaurant are all fine."

Song Qingshu thought about it. "Are there wontons at the market? I haven't eaten them for a long time."

"Yes, then brother will buy you two pork biscuits. They're delicious. It's a good time for you to try them." 

"Okay."