Wei Hu had found a cook early on and, driving an oxcart, had invited relatives and friends from the countryside, all in preparation for the little one’s full-moon banquet.

Chen Cuihua now had much more free time. With new staff added to the shop, she no longer had to get up early to work. She’d hired people from honest, hardworking families who didn’t slack off on the job. Chen Cuihua paid them generously, and business at the shop was booming more and more.

Song Ning didn’t have many friends, so he invited Grandma Zhang and Yun-ger’s family, as well as a few of Wei Hu’s fellow escort brothers. Wei Hu wasn’t home at the moment; he’d gone to the countryside to notify relatives and friends.

Song Ning was holding Wei Tuantuan while basking in the sun. The little one’s big eyes darted about, and he kept raising his tiny hand to his mouth. Chen Cuihua was sewing little clothes nearby; watching Wei Tuantuan’s adorable antics, she couldn’t help but gush, “He’s much cuter than his father was as a child—his father was so dark-skinned back then.”

Song Ning laughed at this—Wei Tuantuan really was fairer-skinned than his father had been.

Around noon, Chen Cuihua went to cook. Wei Tuantuan was sound asleep in his cradle, and Lan-ger—who had the day off—had run off to play; it was almost time for lunch, but he hadn’t come back yet.

Song Ning threw on a cape and went out. That little rascal Lan-ger wouldn’t have gone far—he was probably playing with the other kids in the alley. 

Song Ning hadn’t been out in a month, and now that he was out, he felt a sense of relief. He hadn’t gone far when he heard the sounds of children playing—they must be playing in the sunny spot at the entrance to the alley.

Song Ning walked over with a smile.

“Your little dad has a kid of his own now—he definitely won’t like you anymore.”

“That’s nonsense! My dad wouldn’t do that!”

Zhou Damao snorted. “Of course he will! Grandma said you weren’t born to your dad. He liked you before because he didn’t have any kids of his own, but now that he does, he doesn’t like you anymore!”

Hearing this, Song Ning frowned and quickened her pace toward the alley entrance. He saw his son, Lan-ger, standing there like a ruffled little rooster, his little face flushed red with anger. “Lan-ger, come here.”

Lan-ger looked up and saw it was his “Little Dad” approaching; he immediately ran over. “Little Dad, why are you out here?”

“I’m free to go out now. Why aren’t you heading home? It’s time to eat.”

“Okay, Lan’er will head back right away.”

Song Ning took Lan-ger’s hand and walked toward home. “Has anyone said that to you before?”

Lan-ger nodded. “It was all Zhou Damao who said it. When you told me that I was going to have a little brother, he said that—that he wouldn’t play with me anymore. But he kept running over anyway, and I wouldn’t play with him. He’s just too mean.”

Song Ning stopped in his tracks, crouched down, and hugged the sensible little guy. “Daddy will always be your daddy. Remember that, Lan-ger. Your little brother is a boy, and when he grows up, he’ll protect you.”

“Lan’er remembers. Zhou Damao is just talking nonsense. Lan’er is older than his little brother, and Lan’er is going to protect him.”

Song Ning ruffled his hair and took him by the hand to head home. “Your grandma made Lan-ger’s favorite chestnut cake today. It just came out of the steamer—let’s go home and eat it.”

That night, before going to bed, Song Ning brought up the matter with Wei Hu. “Lan’er is our child from both sides of the family. We must treat both children equally.”

“Of course.” 

Wei Hu was very fond of Lan-ger—how could anyone not love such a well-behaved and sensible little guy?

The next day, when it was time for school, Wei Hu slung a small backpack over Lan-ger’s shoulder. “Daddy’s taking Lan-ger to school today.”

“Dad, I know the way to school. You don’t need to walk me there,” Lan-ger said, tilting his little face up.

Lan-ger usually walked home from school on his own; his house was close to the school, and he knew the way.

Song Ning stuffed some more candied fruit into the little guy’s backpack. “Let your dad take you—he doesn’t have much to do right now.”

Lan-ger then set off with Wei Hu. Unlike how clingy he was with Song Ning, he wasn’t nearly as clingy with Wei Hu; he obediently followed behind him. Wei Hu took long strides, so he reached out his hand toward Lan-ger. “Come here and hold Dad’s hand.”

Lan-ger trotted over and clasped Wei Hu’s finger with his little hand. “Dad!”

Wei Hu chuckled and led the group out of the alley. Early in the morning, a few children were playing with pebbles at the alley entrance. Zhou Damao was there. Lan-ger walked over, tilting his little face up at him. Hmph!

Before they knew it, it was time for Wei Tuantuan’s full-moon banquet. It wasn’t cold yet; the leaves had turned yellow, and the sun shone down, warming everyone. As soon as Song Ning woke up that morning, he dressed the little one in a red jacket, put a longevity lock around his neck, and slipped a silver bracelet onto his wrist.

The longevity lock was made by Wei Hu, and the silver bracelets were made by Chen Cuihua; both of their children had them.

The hired cook was already bustling about in the courtyard; they’d invited relatives and friends to four tables today.

Lan-ger had changed into new clothes and was wearing both the longevity locket and the silver bracelet. He wore the silver bracelet every day, but today was the first time he’d worn the longevity locket. He loved it so much that if he weren’t already too old, he’d want to wear it to school every day.

Lan-ger ran into the house. “Little dad, I’m all dressed!”

“Oh, our Xiao Lan looks so handsome.” Chen Cuihua couldn’t contain her delight as she looked at her little ger. “Come here, Grandma will style your hair into a pretty bun.”

Song Ning thought he looked lovely; with the silver locket and bracelet, the little fellow looked just like a little immortal.

Since it was a festive occasion today, Chen Cuihua used red string to style Lan-ger’s hair into two hanging buns, with two little bells dangling from the red string. Whenever the child moved, they jingled, and Lan-ger loved it so much he kept shaking his head.

Bai Xiaoyun, who lived nearby, had come over early in the morning. “I just had to come see our Tuantuan! You look so pretty today~”

Bai Xiaoyun circled Wei Tuantuan, utterly enchanted. Ning-ger and his husband really knew how to raise children—this kid was so good-looking. Not to mention Wei Tuantuan; even Lan-ger was starting to look more and more like Song Ning as he grew up.

Before long, Qiu-ger and his family of four arrived. Qiu-ger couldn’t wait to jump down from the ox cart. “Ning-ger, we’re here!”

Qiu-ger had been here once before, but it had been a while since they’d last seen each other. Right after breakfast that morning, he’d urged Sun Dazhuang to hitch up the ox cart and arrived well ahead of time.

Behind them, Granny Sun held Qing’er in her arms. Qing’er was almost ready to walk—though his steps were still unsteady—and he was babbling away, reaching out from behind to find his dad.

The invited guests arrived one after another, and the courtyard was bustling with activity. Wei Hu was busy greeting the guests; he’d invited a few of his brothers-in-arms from the escort agency to help out with the preparations.

Seeing that the cook was a bit overwhelmed, Zhao Tieniu rolled up his sleeves and went to help clean the fish. He knew how to prepare some simple meals, though he wasn’t very good at it; however, he was skilled at preparing ingredients. With one hand pinching the fish’s gills and the other holding a knife to scrape off the scales, he worked with great precision and efficiency.

As fish scales flew everywhere—he was in the thick of it—he heard an “Ouch!” from nearby. Zhao Tieniu looked up to see a young ger; the scales he’d scraped off had landed right on the guy’s face.

Zhao Tieniu scrambled to his feet, flustered. “I’m… I’m so sorry! Let me wipe that off for you—let me wipe it off.”

Zhao Tieniu raised his hand and saw it was covered in fish blood. Remembering that the person across from him was a young ger, he was at a loss for what to do and could only keep saying “I’m sorry.”

“Um, your robe’s dirty. I’ll pay you back, I’ll pay you back.”

Zhao Tieniu blushed with embarrassment; he’d been so focused on gutting the fish that he hadn’t noticed someone walking by.

Bai Xiaoyun saw him grinning like a fool and chuckled. Who was this guy? He seemed so clueless and awkward.

Bai Xiaoyun brushed off his robe. Today was Ning-ger’s big wedding day, and he’d gone out of his way to wear a round-collared, lotus-petal-patterned red brocade robe with diamond motifs, with a scent pouch hanging from her waist—he’d made sure to smell lovely. Who would’ve thought that before dinner even started, this clueless fellow would go and stain his robe?

Bai Xiaoyun feigned anger and furrowed his brow. “This is my very best set of robes. I’ll come find you later to make you pay for this.”

“I’ll pay you back, I’ll pay you back.”

Bai Xiaoyun almost burst out laughing. He tugged at the hem of his robe and walked away, thinking he’d find some simpleton to pay for his clothes once the banquet was over.

Zhao Tieniu felt a bit frustrated. That young ger was so well-dressed and handsome—he must have gone to great lengths to look his best—and yet he had gone and stained his robe, bringing shame upon himself.

Zhao Tieniu suddenly remembered something and reached out to call the young ger back, but the ger had already gone inside. He caught a glimpse of his back—oh no, he’d just forgotten to tell the ger that he still hadn’t taken off the fish scales on his face!

Song Ning was inside, holding Wei Tuantuan in her arms, and had no idea what had happened outside. When Yun-ger bent down to play with Wei Tuantuan, Song Ning noticed his face was dirty. He smiled and asked him where he’d been—could it be that he’d gone to kill a fish for his family?

“How did you know?” Bai Xiaoyun asked in puzzlement.

“Those fish scales are all over your face. You didn’t really go kill a fish for your family, did you?”

Bai Xiaoyun let out an “Oh no!” and hurriedly pulled out a handkerchief to wipe his face, stomping his foot in frustration. “It wasn’t that clumsy oaf in the courtyard—even he wouldn’t let fish scales splash all over his face. Look at this brand-new robe—it’s all dirty now.”

Song Ning peered out toward the courtyard. “It’s Brother Tieniu.”

Bai Xiaoyun snorted. “What kind of dim-witted relative did you bring home? He’s as clueless as they come.”

Song Ning spoke up in his defense. Zhao Tieniu was a pretty honest guy—he’d seen it himself; the moment he arrived, he’d jumped right in to help with the work. “He’s Brother Wei Hu’s buddy from the escort agency. He’s a really nice guy.”

“Give me a break. I’ve never seen anyone this clueless,” Bai Xiaoyun muttered under his breath, a faint blush flitting across his cheeks.

At noon, everyone enjoyed a lively meal together. Wei Tuantuan was quite well-behaved; he’d fallen asleep just as it was time to eat, so Song Ning picked him up and took him to bed, tucking him in.

After lunch, Bai Xiaoyun stayed to play for a while before leaving. His father was out drinking with the men from the escort agency—finally, someone to keep him company. Even that “dumb guy” from earlier was sitting at the same table with her father, drinking.

Bai Xiaoyun walked over and called out, “Dad, I’m heading home now. Control your drinking.”

“I know, I know. It’s not like I drink every day.”

Bai Xiaoyun snorted. As he walked away, his gaze inadvertently drifted toward Zhao Tieniu. He had barely stepped out of the courtyard when he heard someone call out to him, “Young Master Bai, Young Master Bai, wait a minute.”

Bai Xiaoyun turned around and saw that big guy coming over to pay for his clothes. 

Bai Xiaoyun secretly curled the corners of his mouth. So you’re the one who’s going to pay for the clothes, huh.