The children roasted sweet potatoes and corn.
Finally, they roasted a beggar's chicken in the bonfire.
Jiang Nanfang, meanwhile, cooked a pot of eight-treasure congee.
Soon, everyone was ready for dinner.
The room had only a very small folding table, and no stools.
Jiang Nanfang remembered how she used to squat on the open ground in the yard to eat when she was a child, and said to the children.
"The air outside is cool and pleasant at night. Since there's not enough room inside, why don't we go outside?"
"Using stones as tables and eating on the ground feels quite nice."
The six of them, big and small, then went down to the yard with their food and drinks.
The six of them huddled together, looking at their father, who was a head taller than them, also with a smudged face, but exceptionally down-to-earth.
Rui Rui couldn't help but sigh.
"This is the first time I've seen Daddy smile so happily and play games so wildly. Today is truly unforgettable."
"Everyone stay still, I'll take a picture to commemorate this."
Saying that, he grabbed Jiang Nanfang's phone, stood up, and snapped a photo of everyone.
Jing Yu said, "This way, you're not in the picture, so it's not a family portrait."
"Let's call Uncle Acheng to come in and take a few pictures with us. That will be more fun."
The brothers then ran out to call Acheng.
Watching their cheerful backs and listening to his daughter's chatter, Zhan Beijue felt an unprecedented sense of satisfaction.
He couldn't help but sneak a glance at Jiang Nanfang.
But she seemed to have no particular feelings.
She was diligently squatting by the eight-treasure congee pot, spooning out rice for everyone.
Although her expression was serene and her actions were virtuous, her indifferent attitude made Zhan Beijue a little uncomfortable.
However, what could he say?
The children eagerly ate. This simple meal, ordinary fare, tasted more delicious than ever before.
In less than 20 minutes, everyone had finished their meal.
Ge'er was still unsatisfied.
"I want to eat like this again tomorrow! One chicken isn't enough, I want two! Beggar's chicken is too delicious! I declare it the best food in the world!"
"Daddy, can we stay here another night tomorrow?"
Zhan Beijue instinctively looked at Jiang Nanfang again.
She was looking down, wiping Tiantian's hands.
Seeing that she didn't intend to respond, Zhan Beijue stroked Ge'er's head.
"We'll talk about tomorrow tomorrow. Look at you, your mouth is greasy, go wash up quickly."
The children chattered and ran ahead.
Jiang Nanfang busied herself packing the food basins, while Zhan Beijue pretended to wipe his hands nearby, dawdling for a while before walking back with her.
However, Jiang Nanfang continued to act as if he didn't exist.
Apart from the necessary conversation during games, they hadn't spoken a word to each other all day.
This situation couldn't continue.
After a few steps, Zhan Beijue had to shamelessly extend an olive branch.
"Later, you can wash the two daughters, and leave the son to me."
"You guys go first, and I'll take the two boys after you're done."
Jiang Nanfang walked on mechanically, her expressionless face saying, "Okay."
"There's no place to hang clothes in the bathroom, so I installed a hook behind the door. You can hang your clothes there later. I've already cleaned and disinfected it."
Jiang Nanfang didn't seem to be listening.
Her gaze was on the children, and she was saying, "Don't fight when you go upstairs, be careful not to fall."
She left him two steps behind.
"..."
By the time Zhan Beijue returned to the room, Jiang Nanfang had already taken the two daughters to the bathroom.
Tiantian, as she walked, playfully said to her two brothers.
"Girls bathe, boys are not allowed to peek, you are not allowed to follow!"
Jing Yu scoffed, "Who wants to watch you bathe, you're all ugly."
"Daddy, look! Brother says I'm ugly! Help me beat him!"
Since the bathroom was shared, while they were using it, others might also come to use it.
Zhan Beijue, fearing that others might disturb Jiang Nanfang, took his two sons and stood guard in the corridor.
"Now, the three of us will play the 'statue' game."
"Whoever is the quietest and stands the longest wins. The winner can ask me for a gift, anything they want. Are you willing to play?"
Boys are born to love challenges, and it was rare for their father to want to play, so they naturally obliged.
The three of them stood like statues in the corridor until Jiang Nanfang came out with the two daughters.
After the three of them returned to the room, Zhan Beijue announced.
"You two have both won first place. Tell me, what do you want?"
To his surprise, the wishes of the two children were so simple.
They didn't ask for toys or money.
They said in unison, "We want Daddy and Mommy to accompany us like this every day. Can you promise us that?"
The wooden bed was narrow, and Jiang Nanfang could barely fit with her two daughters.
Zhan Beijue was not so lucky.
The bed was not long enough for him to stretch his legs, so he had no choice but to take the two children to sleep on the floor.
In his nearly 30 years of life, this was the first time he had slept on a floor with such questionable hygiene.
He wondered if insects or mice would crawl on him during the night, and the thought made him feel quite uneasy.
But his two sons were very excited, thinking that an adventurous day should end with sleeping on the floor.
In comparison, Zhan Beijue felt inferior.
After some tidying up, the father and sons finally lay down.
When the lights were turned off, the children asked Jiang Nanfang to tell them bedtime stories.
Jiang Nanfang gently patted her two daughters, telling stories with great emotion and coaxing them.
Soon, all the children fell asleep.
Jiang Nanfang lay on the bed with her eyes open, recalling the day's events and the children's words, but she couldn't fall asleep.
The old-fashioned house had no air conditioning, only a fan whirring and swaying its head.
Listening to the children's steady breathing and the fan's whirring, Zhan Beijue, like Jiang Nanfang, had no intention of sleeping.
He looked at the sleeping faces of the children and touched their small hands.
His heart felt like the tide, a mixture of regret and satisfaction surging, receding and rising again, rising and receding...
When people are quiet, mosquitoes become restless.
There's always one mosquito that loves to buzz around people's ears.
The children, while sleeping soundly, waved their small hands in their dreams to swat away the annoying mosquitoes.
Even mosquito repellent bracelets didn't work.
Since she couldn't sleep anyway, Jiang Nanfang sat up and started swatting mosquitoes herself.
A moment later, hearing the sound of her swatting mosquitoes, Zhan Beijue also sat up.
Two dark figures met eyes in the darkness.
Jiang Nanfang almost blurted out, "Why aren't you asleep yet? Can't you sleep because the conditions are too poor?"
But then she thought, "What does it matter to me if he can sleep or not? He's being fussy, what's it to me?"
Zhan Beijue, imitating Jiang Nanfang, waved his large hands and fanned the air above the children's heads, initiating conversation with her.
"Why aren't you asleep yet? Are you not asleep at all, or were you woken up by mosquitoes again?"
What's the difference?
Asking this question was meaningless.
Jiang Nanfang chose not to answer him.
Zhan Beijue sat there watching her for a while, then, propping himself up with his arm, he stood up.
He walked to the table and felt around, then went to the bedside and handed her a mosquito repellent bracelet.
"I bought this for you, wear it. Go to sleep now."