Su Youli ran to the bedside and called out, “Big Brother. Big Brother, Youyou wants to feed the chicks.”
Shen Yan paused. I don’t have anything for you to feed them with, little one.
His eyes darted around. He tested, “The chicks belong to Grandpa Tian. If you want to feed them, you need to ask Grandpa Tian for permission.”
His intention was to help Youyou develop his social skills. He hadn’t expected that, as soon as the little one knew he didn’t object to him feeding the chickens, he turned and ran off. When Shen Yan changed his clothes and got up to look by the door, the three-head-tall little one was already standing in front of the chicken coop, grabbing a handful of feed from the bowl and scattering it.
Several hungry chickens gathered, pecking at the ground to eat. And the fierce Grandpa Tian was standing with his hands behind his back, watching Su Youli feed the chickens. It seemed there was even a kind smile on his face, a warm light shining in his old, cloudy eyes. At that moment, Shen Yan deeply appreciated just how likable his Youyou was. At 7:30 in the morning, Su Youli finished feeding the chickens, refilled the ducklings’ water, and even helped Grandpa Tian sweep the yard.
When the cameramen arrived, they were greeted by the sight of “Little Master Su’s” “towering” back after a morning of hard work.
Wow. The other three children weren’t even up yet, but Little Master Su had already done a lot of work.
Thanks to Su Youli, Shen Yan finally got to eat some of Grandpa Tian’s food. The most common farmhouse meal: millet congee, the kind with a layer of rice oil on top, accompanied by an egg. Su Youli wasn’t a picky eater. He held an egg in one hand and a spoon in the other.
In between bites, he even managed to look up, his big eyes curving and sparkling, and say with a full mouth, “Thank you, Grandpa.”
Each “Grandpa” warmed the old man’s heart, making him want to bring out all the good food in the house for the little one. After breakfast, Shen Yan took Su Youli to the meeting point, Grandma Zhang’s threshing ground. Apart from Mi Huan and Mi Le, the other two families seemed to have had a rough night. The two adults looked terrible. Cen Yuankai was being held by his father, refusing to get down, crying constantly.
Today’s filming was simpler. The adults would still be helping the village elders harvest crops, while the children would go on an adventure in the mountains. Su Youli’s eyes lit up. He nearly jumped for joy. At 8:30, Shen Yan carried the little one back to their room to pack his small bag with things he’d need for the mountain. Ten minutes later, everyone gathered, and the adults and children split up.
Su Youli was still a bit worried. He tilted his head up and instructed his big brother, “Big Brother, don’t get lost today, okay? If you do get lost, remember to ask the cameraman uncle for directions.”
Shen Yan suppressed a laugh and said he understood. Next time he got lost, he would definitely ask the cameraman uncle. The four children stepped forward to receive their mission cards. Their adventure task was to find six different types of mushrooms in the mountains.
Each child was given a camera to hang around their neck and also wore a little red hat, uniformly distributed by the production team. Su Youli really liked the little camera. He had one at home, too. His little Daddy said he had grabbed it during his first birthday ‘zhuazhou’ ceremony.
“After you find a mushroom, you cannot touch it with your hands. You can only take a picture with your camera. Did everyone hear clearly?”
The director uncle shouted through a loudspeaker to the little ones playing with their cameras.
Su Youli nodded, looked at the director uncle, and obediently replied, “Got it!”
The place where the children were going to find mushrooms was a small hillside. The director gave the order, and they set off. Cen Yuankai ran very fast. His father had finished last yesterday, so he had eaten poorly last night: two steamed buns and a bowl of rice water. Cen Yuankai had never eaten such terrible food. The rice water made him gag as soon as it entered his mouth.
He vowed to come in first today. Mi Le kept Mi Huan’s advice in mind: to take good care of the younger siblings. As soon as they set off, he held one hand each.
“Niu Niu, why do you have a bump on your head?” Mi Le pointed to the lump on Niu Niu’s forehead.
Su Youli also tilted his head to look. Sure enough, there was a bruise on Niu Niu’s forehead, the center of the bump a bit purple.
Niu Niu lowered her head and said softly, “I bumped into the table last night.”
“Be more careful next time. Girls can’t have scars. Didn’t your father put any medicine on it?”
Niu Niu clutched her shirt and shook her head. Su Youli crouched down, took off his small backpack, and pulled out a tube of ointment.
Mi Le, still holding Niu Niu’s hand, also crouched down. “Youyou, what kind of medicine is that?”
Su Youli recalled what Brother Xiao Tang had said. “It’s an ointment to reduce swelling.”
Children this age were always bouncing around. Even though Su Youli was a quiet child, Tang Dou always thought, just in case. Su Youli stared at the bump on Niu Niu’s forehead, holding the ointment, hesitant. When thinking, the little one liked to furrow his brows. Then he reached out and grabbed the cameraman uncle’s pants, tilting his head up for help.
The cameraman looked at the words on the ointment. It was a swelling-reducing ointment specifically for children. He nodded, giving the little one the green light to use it for Niu Niu. Su Youli squeezed out some white ointment and carefully applied it to Niu Niu’s forehead.
A faint medicinal scent spread. A cool sensation spread over her forehead. Niu Niu raised her hand to touch the bump and said, “Thank you, Youyou.”
The little one shook his head and said, “You’re welcome. Be more careful next time.”
The three children walked hand in hand along the path leading up the mountain. The air gradually became fresh. Mi Le picked three leaves and gave one to Su Youli and one to Niu Niu. The three little ones held up the green leaves and happily made their way through the mountain path. Halfway there, Mi Le suddenly started singing.
Su Youli turned his head to look at him and said happily, “Lele gege, I’ve seen that cartoon!”
Mi Le’s eyes widened in surprise. “Really? You’ve watched Divine Soldiers, Young Heroes too?”
Su Youli nodded. It was Yang Yang gege’s favorite cartoon. Mentioning cartoons made the three children more talkative. Even Niu Niu, who had been quiet most of the way, raised her hand and said she had watched it too. So, in the following footage, the three children, who had been walking hand in hand in the mountains, began to sing the theme song of Divine Soldiers, Young Heroes in their soft, milky voices.
“I chase the dots of light in my dreams~ Because I have courage, I’m not afraid of danger~”
Mi Le was the loudest, practically shouting. Su Youli only knew that one line and couldn’t quite remember the lyrics. Even so, he was very happy humming the tune. Niu Niu also started singing softly along with them. The three little red hats bobbed their heads, looking quite adorable. Sunlight streamed through the gaps in the leaves, casting dappled spots of light on the ground. The dense forest welcomed three very young guests, who were walking further in, humming a song.
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