ASFTB 14: Your Old Man’s Tearing Up

Jian Chengxi had gathered quite a few fruits.

But after returning, he discovered that all of them were sour and hard to eat. It’s not tasty at all.

The only batch that had tasted good seemed to be the ones they picked during their first trip up the mountain. Staring at the fruit in the basket, he fell into deep thought, unable to figure out what had gone wrong.

It was Li Suisui who came over and said, “Daddy, should we go back to those same fruit trees after a while and pick some more? Maybe the ones over there are still sweet.”

Jian Chengxi’s eyes lit up!

That’s right…

Why didn’t he think of that?

Maybe the sweetness of the fruit wasn’t about the area, but a specific tree!

Jian Chengxi was the type to act fast once he had an idea. He decided right then to go back and check the fruit trees. It had been over half a month. Back when they picked the fruit, they never stripped a tree completely—so now, if they wanted more, they just had to climb a little higher. Jian Chengxi set the child down and said, “Wait here and be good. Daddy’s going to pick a few from each tree to taste.”

Li Suisui hesitated for a moment, but still spoke up, “Daddy, be careful.”

Jian Chengxi chuckled, a little proudly. “What’s there to worry about? Daddy’s awesome, it’s just climbing a tree!”

“But if Daddy falls, it’s going to hurt a lot.” Li Suisui’s eyes were clear and bright, and her childish voice was soft and sweet. “Then you’ll cry again.”

…??

Jian Chengxi felt like his image was about to collapse. He stood up with his hands on his hips and said, “Nonsense! When did Daddy ever cry?”

Just as he was trying to save face—

Li Chen, who was sitting on a rock, looked up and calmly said, “Last month, Daddy cried when he hit his arm picking fruit. Last week, in the afternoon, Daddy took us rabbit hunting and got pricked by a trap. He cried in the bushes for a long time. And then the day before yesterday…”

…??

Why’s this kid’s memory so good?

Don’t you care about your Daddy’s dignity?

Jian Chengxi, both embarrassed and annoyed, tried to argue in a low voice, “I—Daddy wasn’t crying, that was just sand in my eyes!”

Li Chen and Li Suisui exchanged a glance.

Just as Jian Chengxi was about to speak again to save his pride, Li Suisui’s two little pigtails swayed as she leaned close to her brother’s ear and whispered in a crisp, childish voice, “Forget it, ge, let’s just pretend it’s true. Otherwise, Daddy will get all upset and go hide in the bushes to cry again.”

…??

Could you two say that any louder?!

Jian Chengxi swallowed his frustration with tears in his eyes. This was all the fault of the original host’s useless body. If anyone was embarrassing, it was the original guy. It had absolutely nothing to do with Jian Chengxi himself!!

…

After setting the kids aside, Jian Chengxi turned his sorrow into motivation and went off to pick fruit.

Starting with the first tree, he picked one and took a bite. It was extremely sour and hard to swallow. He winced through the sharp taste and kept trying more, but every single tree was the same. It was as if those sweet fruits they had eaten not long ago had all been a dream. Could it really have just been a fluke?

Jian Chengxi couldn’t help feeling a bit defeated.

Just as he was about to give up—

The system spoke up:【There’s still one last fruit tree, isn’t there? Why not give it a try?】

“My arm got hurt on that tree last time,” Jian Chengxi said, rubbing the still-bruised spot. “That tree’s especially hard to climb. It has a grudge against me.”

The system fell silent.

It was the last fruit tree. Jian Chengxi kind of wanted to head back, but after hesitating for a bit—torn between pain and no pain—he thought about how they only had fifty yuan left at home, and there were still over ten days until the end of the month. If he didn’t find a way to make money soon, he and the kids would be living on air. Even if the odds were slim, he had to try.

Jian Chengxi took a deep breath and started climbing the tree again.

This tree was really hard to climb. He carefully made his way up and picked a few small, unripe-looking fruits from the very top. After a moment’s hesitation, he wiped one on his shirt and took a bite. His brows immediately furrowed, bracing for the sharp sourness he knew was coming, but after a pause, his eyes lit up in surprise!

It was sweet.

That long-lost sweetness.

The fruit from this tree was sweet!

Overcome with excitement, Jian Chengxi turned around but in that very moment, his arm slammed into the trunk again. The pain made his hand jolt, and the fruit nearly slipped from his grasp. This tree really was an assassin. A sharp pain shot through his arm, and tears sprang instantly to his eyes. That tingling and numbing sensation spread all the way down to his fingertips. He quickly lowered his head, gritting through the pain as he wiped his tears with the back of his hand. His fair, delicate little face was streaked with tears like a flower in the rain yet his mouth was still muttering curses under his breath.

The kids nearby heard the commotion and came running over.

Li Suisui trotted up and tilted her head in confusion. “Daddy, why are you crying again?”

“I’m not, it’s because I’m happy.” Jian Chengxi climbed down from the assassin tree, tears still in his eyes, and gently placed a sweet fruit into his daughter’s mouth, choking up as he said, “Suisui, let’s give thanks together for nature’s gift.”

Li Suisui: “……”

Is Daddy’s mental state okay?

After testing, it turned out that in the entire area, only this one fruit tree bore sweet fruit.

Jian Chengxi couldn’t figure out why. He examined the tree’s growing environment and noticed that it got more sunlight than the others. Rubbing his injured arm, he muttered, “Could it have something to do with the sunlight or the temperature?”

System:【But there are plenty of trees on the mountain that get sunlight】

“Then what could it be?” Jian Chengxi was completely stumped. “Don’t tell me this tree’s been blessed by the gods or something?”

The system suddenly muttered quietly:【Maybe it’s blessed by you?】

Jian Chengxi didn’t catch it. “What’d you say?”

The system fell silent, probably afraid of saying something wrong then promptly went offline again.

Jian Chengxi pondered it on his own for a long time. He even dug up the soil to study it, but in the end, he still came up with nothing.

So he decided to collect all the seeds. Sweet fruits could definitely fetch a good price, but if he could actually grow more of them, that would be a real money-maker. The only problem was, where would he plant them? Behind their broken-down treehouse was a river, and there wasn’t any free garden space to use.

Just as he was worrying about it, the old lady next door, Granny Li, showed up.

This woman had always disapproved of how Jian Chengxi treated the kids in the past and hadn’t been fond of him. But lately, word had spread that Jian Chengxi had been taking the children everywhere with him, and even argued openly in the village square to stand up for them. Because of that, Granny Li’s attitude toward him had improved quite a bit.

“You can use the garden plot behind my house,” Granny Li offered. “I’m too old to tend it anymore anyway.”

Jian Chengxi thanked her profusely.

Granny Li added, “But the fence around it is broken. Those mechanical wood panels—you’ll need to get new ones and reassemble the whole thing.”

Jian Chengxi had no reason to turn down such a small task. He quickly headed to the village hardware store and bought tools to fix the fence. He was feeling confident at first, but once he got there, he was completely stumped. The mechanical fence pieces were scattered in a chaotic mess. Even with the tools and instructions in hand, none of it made sense.

What kind of stuff is this…

He fiddled with a few mechanical wood panels, planning to just wing it and piece them together however.

That’s when Li Chen, who had been sitting quietly on the doorstep nearby, finally spoke up, “If you assemble it like that, it’ll fall apart in no time.”

Jian Chengxi turned around and saw his three-year-old child. The little boy was thin and small, and because he rarely smiled, people often forgot just how young he really was. Jian Chengxi asked, “Then how should we put it together?”

Li Chen slowly stood up.

His leg still hadn’t healed, and every step he took was shaky and painful.

Jian Chengxi didn’t hesitate, he walked straight over and scooped the boy up. His movements were practiced, and when he held the child in his arms, he met Li Chen’s slightly surprised gaze.

A bright smile bloomed on Jian Chengxi’s face. “No need to walk, Daddy will carry you over.”

His steps weren’t exactly steady, but he was careful. Holding the child close, it was as if he were cradling the most precious treasure in the world.

Scattered on the ground were bits and pieces of wooden fencing.

Jian Chengxi gently set the boy down and patiently asked, “Xiao Chen, do you have any ideas?”

Li Chen glanced over, then turned his head slightly and said, “I want to give it a try. But if I do it, and the assembly isn’t done well, taking it apart and redoing it might not be as sturdy the second time. It could end up wasting money.”

The unspoken meaning was clear.

Are you really willing to let me try?

Jian Chengxi didn’t hesitate for even a second. He nodded and said, “It’s okay. If Xiao Chen wants to try, then go ahead. Daddy believes in you.”

Li Chen’s eyes shimmered. For the first time, no one was rejecting him for being a disabled and withdrawn child. Someone was willing to give him a chance—believing he could do it. He never imagined that person would be Jian Chengxi, the one who used to hit and scold him, always calling him a burden .

Could it be…

Has Daddy really changed?

But Jian Chengxi took his hand and gave a goofy little smile. “I wouldn’t know how to do it anyway. You might only need to take it apart once and if I tried, I’d probably have to redo it several times. That would waste even more money.”

Li Chen: “……”

Yeah, no, he hasn’t changed.

He shouldn’t have overthought it.

Under Jian Chengxi’s watchful gaze, even with limited mobility, Li Chen worked efficiently, especially with someone nearby handing him tools and wooden panels. The same tools and parts that had completely baffled Jian Chengxi, Li Chen seemed to understand just by glancing at the instructions. That small figure got to work right away, assembling the pieces without a shred of hesitation.

In the end…

The fence Jian Chengxi couldn’t put together in over an hour, his three-year-old son finished in ten minutes.

Staring at the perfectly assembled fence, he was completely dumbfounded.

But before a proud smile could even surface on his face to properly praise his son—

Li Suisui, who had been napping, came out of the house. When she saw the fully assembled fence outside, her big, innocent eyes lit up with admiration. She looked at Jian Chengxi and said, “Wow, such a perfect fence! Gege, look, Daddy’s amazing! He could never put stuff like this together before, but now he’s gotten smart!”

Jian Chengxi: “……”

Seriously?!

Can’t a father have a little dignity?

Do you want me to go full villain mode, huh?