AWB Chapter 404 Happiness knows no bounds!
Chapter 404 Happiness knows no bounds!
As the saying goes, happiness knows no bounds, and that's absolutely true. Ever since Yinzhu sent his son to his fourth brother, he's been living a carefree life. If it weren't for Hongxu's mother constantly reminding him of her son, he probably would have forgotten he even had one.
"Father, your son only came back from Fourth Uncle's place a couple of days ago, and we only met today. I don't think I've done anything to offend you, have I?"
It's not surprising that Hongxu would ask that question. His father's face was so long after he saw him that it was almost as long as the donkey he saw on the street. If you ask why Yinzhuo, who hadn't seen his son for so long, would give him such a cold shoulder as soon as they met, well, you should ask the fish swimming belly up in the large celadon vat in the courtyard of Shufengxuan.
"Heh, didn't provoke me? Hongxu, I suggest you think carefully about what you've been up to these past few days. I wasn't as mischievous as you when I was a kid, so how come you've mutated to the point of regression? All you do is bar your teeth and brandish your claws like a little prince of the Zhao Prince's Mansion, but anyone who didn't know better would think you're some monkey that ran off from the mountain! Alright, if I don't have any words on my face, stop staring at it. How about we go look at the fish tank in the yard? Maybe that will awaken your lost memories?"
Although Hongxu is a mischievous child, he is not stupid. How could he forget what he did in the past two days so quickly? As soon as Yinzuo mentioned the fish tank in the yard, he remembered what he had done before. His big eyes, which had been staring at Yinzuo with a lot of doubt, immediately turned into a few ingratiating smiles.
“Father, I really didn’t kill the fish in your tank. They were all lively and jumping around when I came yesterday. I got some fish food from Aunt Chunxiang and fed them, and then I let them exercise for a while so they wouldn’t overeat. If you don’t believe me, you can ask Xiao Shunzi, who takes care of them here…”
"Exercising with the goldfish?" This was such a niche term that Yinzhuo had never heard of it before, even after living two lifetimes. He was now asking Hongxu how the fish had died, but he was more curious about how he had actually exercised with the goldfish.
Faced with Yinzhuo's puzzled look, the little guy Hongxu walked triumphantly to an inconspicuous corner of Yinzhuo's courtyard, rummaged around and found a stick about the thickness of a wrist. Then he carried it to the fish tank in the center of the courtyard, raised the stick and stuck it into the fish tank. Yinzhuo was dumbfounded by the whole thing. So, it turns out that your exercise with the goldfish was the culprit that caused their death.
Seeing Yinzhuo's grim expression, Hongxu knew he couldn't fool him anymore. But luckily, Yinzhuo had been outwitting his father for years and was quite experienced. So what if his father flattered him? He could handle that…
"Father, your son really knows he was wrong. Can you please forgive me this time? Or how about this, I'll sing you a little song like you used to coax your father?"
Like begets like, and one becomes like one's surroundings. Today, Yinzhuo truly understands the meaning of this saying. Everyone, Hongxu, does this sound familiar? Want me to come up with a little tune for you? Heh, let me tell you, this method won't work on me.
“Hongxu, your father knows you are young and inexperienced. You may not have heard this saying: ‘Don’t be obsessed with me. I’m just a legend.’ In short, your father may always be imitated, but he has never been surpassed. I have already carved out my own path in singing. You’re the one who’s finding a new way.”
Hongxu could also see that his father was much harder to deal with than his maternal grandfather, but there's a saying, "One monkey, one tether." Since this trick wasn't working, he'd try another.
So what method did Hongxu use to tame his father, that monkey? Actually, there's no need to guess. Just by listening to the wailing and howling, you know it's the same old method Yinzuo used: hugging someone's leg and crying, sobbing uncontrollably. The only difference is that now he's the one being hugged instead of the one hugging the leg.
"Hongxu, you brat, let go of my hand right now. I'll count to three. If you're still clinging to me, I'll teach you a lesson. If you don't want to get into trouble, you'd better be sensible..."
Seeing that his plan had failed, and his other plan had also failed, Hongxu simply gave up and decided that this family could no longer tolerate him, so he might as well leave.
Yinzhuo sat under the corridor in the courtyard, watching Hongxu walk out with his small bundle on his back, turning back every few steps without saying a word to stop him. He even raised his hand and waved at Hongxu when he looked over.
At first, Hongxu was quite confident about running away from home, but when he realized that he was almost out of Shufengxuan’s gate and his father hadn’t said a word to stop him, he knew that his plan had failed again.
Yinzhuo watched as Hongxu obediently walked back to him with a small bundle on his back. He gently patted Hongxu's forehead, then asked Dexi to take the little guy's things and put them on the table. After that, he opened the small bundle.
"Hahahaha~~ My son, come here quickly so I can see if you're really stupid. I'm asking you, have you ever seen a good person run away from home with all this junk and pastries? What, are you planning to go to the street corner and perform martial arts? Swords, spears, halberds, axes, hooks, forks, I'm asking you, which one do you know? Come on, let me teach you. When you run away from home, you can actually leave everything behind, but you must take enough money. Have you ever heard the saying, 'With money, you can go anywhere; without money, you can't even take a step'..."
You know, this may sound a bit mercenary, but it's absolutely true. After all, no matter what, having money is always better than not having money.
With such a powerful figure as Yinzhuo keeping him in check, Hongxu, this little monkey who hasn't even grown up yet, is destined not to cause any trouble. As the saying goes, those who have merits must be rewarded and those who have made mistakes must be punished. Since Hongxu was the one who taught those fish to swim on their backs, he should naturally be the one to clean up the mess afterwards.
"Dexi, go inside and change Hongxu into some clothes that he can move around in. Later, send two people to help him clean out that large celadon vat in the yard. Remember, do not help him with anything he can do himself..."
The son is toiling away, his backside sticking out, while the father sits comfortably on the veranda, eating fruit and drinking tea, being waited on hand and foot. How could the son not be envious? But what good is envy? Like I said, what can you do when someone else has such a good father, while you don't have that kind of luck? Sigh, it truly is a matter of fate…