Catching crickets, tying grasshoppers, sweeping dragonflies, sticking cicadas, catching fireflies at night, and racing with beetles—Ping’an and the twins are living like fish in water in Beijing.

It’s the weekend again, and upon learning that the watermelon harvest season has officially started, Zhang Guoqing plans to take his three sons to the Western Suburban Village early in the morning to experience life.

He takes a sidecar out of the Big Courtyard, and in the cargo area, the little brothers tightly grab the handles and start shouting loudly.

"Fly, let’s fly."

"Ah... ah..."

Beside them, Ping’an flashes a bright smile, holding onto the safety belts binding his two younger brothers as he enjoys the cool breeze.

After driving some distance, Zhang Guoqing slows down and shouts loudly, "How does it feel? Refreshing, isn’t it?"

The three brothers nod repeatedly, responding loudly.

With Zhang Guoqing continuously coming up with new games, the children have almost forgotten their sadness of not having their mother around.

Their destination this time is Zhou Xiaozheng’s yard in the countryside. The place is advantageous due to its location near the mountains, and the watermelons from dry land are especially sweet.

Beyond letting the twins learn about rural life, Zhang Guoqing also plans to bring back some watermelons to the Welfare Institute on their return trip, allowing his sons to share their love.

Three cents a pound for big watermelons, a hundred pounds only cost three dollars. Even if each child gets only a small piece, it would make them happy for a long time.

Captain Zhou sent a message a few days ago, and upon hearing the sound of the motorcycle, he immediately comes out to the drying ground. As expected, it was this kid bringing the little ones over.

"Uncle, busy?"

"Why bring the kids here? There are mosquitoes everywhere; be careful."

"Got it. Babies, say hello."

After greeting, Zhang Guoqing takes his three sons with Captain Zhou and heads back, chatting as they walk, "The farm work isn’t over yet? Is everyone eating in the canteen?"

Captain Zhou knows he can’t hide it from him and rolls his eyes annoyingly. This kid doesn’t act like a dad, always pestering his sons. What’s the point of living a good city life and coming here for hardships?

"Lunch is just cornbread with corn porridge. Aren’t you worried about the kids going hungry?"

Before Zhang Guoqing can respond, Ping’an pats his chest to assure him that the three of them will be fine. The twins, led into it, nod in agreement to support their brother.

Although it’s about experiencing life and letting the kids see what rural kids are busy with during farming season, Zhang Guoqing doesn’t really intend to let them do farm work for long.

First, he gives the three sons some water, changes them into long sleeves and pants, and leads them to the wheat field to play with the kids from the village.

He doesn’t mention picking wheat stalks or going with the older kids to catch loaches, he simply follows them quietly, watching them blend in.

Ping’an, having come to the countryside many times, knows what his dad means. He guides his brothers into picking stalks and filling up a cloth bag. After all, he knows that once they are all sweaty and drenched, his dad will be the first to tenderly take them away.

Seeing fleas on the village kids again, with white lice eggs in the hair of girls, Ping’an silently glances at his dad.

Luckily, the three of them have shaved heads; otherwise, being this close, they might get infested!

The two little ones, oblivious, cheerfully squat and pick earnestly, wishing the other kids would just leave.

With a look of pity, Ping’an glances at his brothers. Silly brothers, you’ve been tricked! No matter how many you pick, they won’t belong to us. Dad will say these are public property.

Remembering how in previous years he was fooled by his dad, Ping’an could almost shed a tear for himself.

After watching for over an hour and seeing the twins slow down, Zhang Guoqing finally pulls the two brothers up, "Recite the ancient poem ’Mimin’ for Dad to hear."

"Farmers hoeing at noon,

Sweat dripping from beneath the crops.

Who knows the food on the plate,

Every grain comes from hard labor."

Zhang Guoqing applauds, "Well done! Do you know how to grow wheat?"

The twins shake their heads.

"Ping’an, explain it to your brothers." As Zhang Guoqing speaks, he hands his eldest son a water bottle first. Rural areas often share a dipper to drink well water, which he’s quite wary of.

Ping’an takes a couple of sips, passes it to his two brothers, and signals them to drink when thirsty. He begins to explain, "Before planting wheat, you first have to plow the field, then fertilize it with manure; it’s what you poop and compost. Before planting, spread the manure evenly on the field."

"That’s not all. See how tidy and straight those rows are? Farms use tools to carefully arrange them."

"After planting the seeds, while waiting for them to mature, you have to weed regularly, and carry water and manure to irrigate. Once the wheat is finally mature, you have to harvest before it rains and after drying, you still have to deliver some for public grain."

Pausing, Ping’an looks around and says softly, "Back when we were at home, we could only grow one season of wheat a year, and after delivering public grain, even in a bountiful harvest year, a household would only have sixteen pounds left."

"You’ll understand when you grow a bit older—being a farmer is the hardest, they eat the least. The good things get taken by city folks, so everyone wants to be a worker in the city."

Zhang Guoqing clears his throat as his eldest son snorts at him, amused and exasperated. "Now you know farming is hard? You must cherish food more and stop being picky eaters."

Liu nods slightly, stretches out his hands, "Dad, I’m dirty, I want to wash my hands."

"Dad, it itches, I want a bath."

The fact that they waited until now to ask is already impressive. Zhang Guoqing can’t bear to see his sons suffer either; he didn’t plan to turn them into farmers.

He takes them to the river, talking non-stop about how much wheat can be harvested from the land they were just standing on, how much the yield is, and how long it could feed the three brothers.

Each of the kids gets a bath in the water, then changes back into long sleeves and pants, and they head to the canteen for lunch. For this, he even pays with four ounces of grain tickets and twenty cents.

This midday meal, of course, isn’t just cornbread, nor is it corn porridge. For the hard-working members during the farming season, the production team specially prepared loofah soup, a stew with a few small meat slices, and two plates of seasonal vegetables.

With this food, everyone is content, smiling with satisfaction, grabbing chopsticks and eagerly eating, not forgetting to urge their children to eat fast.

Zhang Guoqing and his three sons, accompanied by Captain Zhou and the others, don’t need to eat quickly, but it’s not good to delay their rest. After all, everyone wants to relax after a tiring morning.

Initially, the twins aren’t impressed with the food, pouting at Zhang Guoqing. But after Ping’an whispers to them that Dad already paid, and not eating would be a loss, they obediently pick up the wooden spoons to eat.

Zhang Guoqing doesn’t pay much attention to how much the kids eat; it isn’t just the kids, even he feels embarrassed to eat until he’s full.

Later, he lets the kids have some bread and cakes before taking them to catch loaches and miscellaneous fish, snapping a few photos for memories. Once the sun sets over West Mountain and they weigh the watermelons, the trip will be over. 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

Five hundred pounds of watermelons sound like a lot, but when piled there, it doesn’t seem too many; just like in previous years, these watermelons will be taken to the city by the production team’s cart the next day, with a hundred pounds tied to the back of the sidecar.

The children abandoned by God in the Welfare Institute aren’t all broken-winged angels; many healthy children find themselves there from who knows where.

Zhang Guoqing knows too well the sensitive inner world of these children—they long for love but fear being hurt, want to integrate into society but fear being discriminated against.

Having grown up in the Welfare Institute, he dares not show a trace of pity, only letting his sons play and laugh with them.

Here, sympathy is unnecessary, and promises that cannot be kept are unwanted.