A "Car" Accident

When Li Ping arrived, Zhao Danshi was carrying the last load of water. He knew his physical condition and never pushed himself, only filling each bucket less than halfway. But the moment he lifted the load, the weight on his shoulder suddenly lightened. When he turned around, he saw Li Ping's face had already darkened.

"Se-Senior Brother?"

Li Ping put the buckets onto his own shoulders and said with a dark expression, "At a time like this, you're still carrying water?!"

Zhao Danshi followed behind him and smiled.

After that, Li Ping refused to let Zhao Danshi touch anything. Holding a wooden spoon, he clumsily watered the remaining vegetables.

Zhao Danshi did not argue with him. He first picked some choy sum, then went to the greenhouse to pick several tomatoes, planning to make scrambled eggs with tomatoes for lunch. After picking the vegetables, he sat on a bundle of straw by the field ridge, propping up his chin as he watched Li Ping water the crops.

Li Ping was not afraid of the cold. Even in late autumn, he wore a cashmere sweater with black trousers. Every movement stretched the fabric across his body, outlining his lean, solid muscles—a very pleasing sight.

Someone approached from afar. Seeing him sitting on the field ridge, the person asked with a smile, "Why are you sitting here just watching?"

"Uncle Jinsheng." Zhao Danshi greeted him. "Have you eaten breakfast? Heading out to work?"

The wiry, energetic Zhao Jinsheng shook the large basin and basket in his hands. "I have, I have. We're draining the pond to catch fish today. Want to come?"

Li Ping had been listening intently. Seeing that Zhao Danshi was interested, he hurriedly shot him a glare.

It was so cold—what fish was he planning to catch?!

Receiving that look, Zhao Danshi shrank back, rubbed the tip of his nose, and said regretfully, "I have something else to do today, so I won't be going."

Zhao Jinsheng chuckled. "Then once we drain the pond, I'll have my granddaughter bring a couple of fish over for your family to try."

"That sounds great. Then I'll be waiting for fish to eat."

"Sure."

After Zhao Jinsheng left, Li Ping put down the spoon and walked over. Looking down at him, he asked, "Still want to go catch fish?"

Zhao Danshi felt guilty. "Of course not. Senior Brother, the vegetables are more or less watered. Let's go back and have breakfast?"

Li Ping reached out to pull him up. Zhao Danshi used his hand to stand, then casually patted the dirt off his backside.

The picked vegetables were in the buckets. Li Ping carried the buckets home, swaying slightly as he walked, while Zhao Danshi followed behind him.

When they got home, Dahei came running over to greet them. Zhao Danshi stuffed a half-ripe little tomato into his mouth and affectionately rubbed his head. Dahei nuzzled Zhao Danshi, then only went back to lie beneath the tree and gnaw on the tomato after Zhao Danshi patted his back.

Li Ping put the buckets under the eaves. Zhao Danshi turned back and met his gaze, only to find that Li Ping's face had darkened again.

Zhao Danshi looked puzzled as he watched Li Ping walk over. "Senior Brother, what's wrong?"

Li Ping lowered his voice, his anger restrained. "You're pregnant. Why are you still touching dogs? What if you get infected with Toxoplasma?"

"Huh?" Zhao Danshi looked at Li Ping, then at Dahei. "Sorry. I'll be more careful from now on."

Li Ping sighed and rubbed his head. "Even if you're a man, you're still pregnant. You need to be careful."

Zhao Danshi agreed seriously. "Okay. I'll definitely pay more attention. If I feel uncomfortable anywhere, I'll say so right away. I won't force myself."

Hearing the commotion, the old man poked his head out from the kitchen. "You're back. Let's have porridge again this morning. Do you want noodles?"

"Yes!" Zhao Danshi asked, "Grandpa, can we eat the sausages yet? Let's stir-fry some sausage to toss with the noodles."

"They're almost dry enough. If you want some, go cut down two links."

Zhao Danshi answered and came out of the kitchen with scissors, happily preparing to cut down two sausages to try.

The family's sausages were drying on the terrace above the storage room. Besides sausages, there was cured pork, cured liver, cured duck, and more. With Dahei at home, they were not afraid of thieves, so unless it rained, they generally did not bring them inside.

Zhao Danshi pulled a wooden ladder from the gap beside the storage room, then looked back at Li Ping and blinked innocently. "Senior Brother, why don't you go cut down two links?"

Li Ping took the scissors, nimbly climbed the wooden ladder, cut down two sausages, and carried them back down.

Since Zhao Danshi wanted to eat them, the old man stir-fried a plate of sausage with chili peppers, garlic sprouts, and ginger.

Breakfast was lavish: lean pork congee, pickled cucumbers, pickled radishes, rice noodles with lean pork, and stir-fried sausage, filling half the table.

Zhao Danshi now ate almost enough for two people by himself. Happily, he served the old man and Li Ping each a bowl of lean pork congee before serving himself. With the side dishes and sausage, he finished the congee and then ate three bowls of noodles. Perfect.

However, Li Ping could not stay calm as he looked at the food on the table. The pickled cucumbers, pickled radishes, stir-fried sausage, and the like were all high-salt foods and even carried cancer risks. They were one thing for ordinary people, but Zhao Danshi was pregnant. There was not the slightest trace of the light, nutritious diet a pregnant person should have.

Seeing that Li Ping's expression was off, Zhao Danshi glanced at the old man and silently mouthed, "What's wrong?"

Li Ping shook his head. He worried that if he controlled Zhao Danshi too much, Zhao Danshi would become annoyed with him.

After breakfast, the two rested at home for a while before continuing to the fields to pull weeds.

Zhao Danshi did not use pesticides, so weeds grew quickly in the fields. If they were not removed in time, they would compete with the crops for nutrients. Most weeds were far more resilient than crops, and if a field was neglected during cultivation, there would be little left to harvest in the end.

The old man changed into rubber shoes and wanted to go with them, but Zhao Danshi pushed him by the shoulders in another direction. "Just go chat with people at the shop. There are only a few weeds. The two of us young men can finish pulling them in one morning. Why would we need you to step in?"

The old man said, "Wouldn't it be faster with one more person?"

Zhao Danshi quickly packed up their things to leave. "Instead of following us out there, you might as well come back early at noon and cook. Then we can have hot food waiting as soon as we get home."

Having been assigned a task, the old man no longer insisted on going with them to work. "Fine, then. What do you want for lunch? Should I kill another chicken?"

Zhao Danshi looked at Li Ping. Li Ping said, "Anything is fine with me."

Zhao Danshi no longer had morning sickness and found everything delicious. After thinking for a moment, he said, "Then don't kill a chicken. Uncle Jinsheng said his granddaughter would bring over a fish later. I want tomato fish soup for lunch. You can decide on the rest."

The old man agreed, waving a large hand. "All right. We'll stew fish soup for lunch."

Zhao Danshi and Li Ping went to pull weeds. Once they arrived, Zhao Danshi hurriedly said before Li Ping could speak, "Senior Brother, pulling weeds isn't tiring. I can sit while I do it."

Li Ping smiled, handed him the chair they had carried over on the shoulder pole, and took another one for himself. The two sat facing each other on the same vegetable bed.

After pulling weeds for a while, Zhao Danshi kept his hands moving as he asked, "Senior Brother, when are you going back?"

"I haven't decided. I'll stay here for a few more days first."

"Won't things at your company be a problem?"

"It'll be fine. It's my family's company anyway." Li Ping remained calm. "I'll call my brother later and ask for leave. He won't have the heart to fire me anyway."

He sounded calm, but he was actually not so sure. Sure enough, when he stood outside the courtyard at noon and called, Li Sheng rubbed his head. "Got it. Your assistant and I are covering your work. We'll hold off on what can wait until you return. How many days are you taking off this time?"

"Two months for now. We'll talk after that."

Li Sheng nearly shouted from the other end. "Two months?! Little brother! Your brother here will go bald from covering for you for two months. What are you doing that takes so long?"

Li Ping said helplessly, "It's not convenient for me to tell you yet. In any case, it concerns a major matter in my life."

"You didn't get yourself into trouble, did you?"

Li Ping paused. "Not exactly. Anyway, I have something important to handle here. If it goes well... I might have my future settled for the rest of my life."

Li Sheng sighed. "For such a long leave, what reason are you giving?"

Li Ping thought for a moment. "How about you say I was in a car accident?"

Li Sheng was startled. "You weren't actually in a car accident, were you?"

"...No."

In a way, this could be considered a different kind of "car" accident, but it was not something he could tell his brother.

Li Sheng said, "Unless it's extremely urgent, you should come back and handle the company's affairs first. There are so many projects. You suddenly left, and I can't find anyone to take over them all at once. You need to come back and arrange things yourself. And there's Dad too. If you don't explain clearly, he'll worry himself to death."

Thinking of his father's temperament, Li Ping also felt that he should go back once. He sighed. "Then I'll take two days off first. With the weekend included, I'll return next Monday. Just send the important documents and information to my phone over the next few days. I'll handle them whenever I have time."

"Fine." Li Sheng reminded him, "If there's anything you need help with, make sure you tell us. Don't keep it bottled up by yourself."

"Don't worry, Brother. I'll tell you once I'm ready. I know what I'm doing."

After hanging up, Li Ping looked back at the courtyard behind him. He had realized that Zhao Danshi simply did not take his own health seriously. If Li Ping were not here watching him, he could not rest easy.

He also had to keep an eye on the company. If he did not return to hand over the projects they had just taken on, they might suffer losses this quarter. Unfortunately, there were only so many capable people at their company. Even if he went back to arrange the handover, he could not immediately find anyone to take over.

Li Ping pinched the bridge of his nose. His father would be difficult to deal with too. Perhaps the moment his father saw him, he would force Li Ping to stay at the company and refuse to let him leave.

Scraping at the dirt beneath his feet with his shoe, Li Ping decided to try persuading Zhao Danshi again. The best outcome now would be to bring Zhao Danshi back and take care of him. The medical care and other conditions in a big city were better and would benefit his pregnancy.

If Zhao Danshi was willing to go back, Li Ping could conveniently manage both sides.

That night, the two lay beneath the same blanket again.

Li Ping brought up his situation and once more suggested that Zhao Danshi go live in X City.

Zhao Danshi still refused firmly. He stared at Li Ping. "Senior Brother, your company is your career, and the vegetables I grow here are my career too. We aren't lovers. If I went with you now, I would definitely need you to take care of me."

"After the child is born, it won't be convenient for me to go out for the first two years. I might even need your support. That means I'd have to rely on you to live for two or three years. We're both grown men with hands and feet. How could I keep depending on you?"

Li Ping said, "It doesn't mat—"

"It does matter!" Zhao Danshi interrupted him. "Senior Brother, I never intended to use this child to seek any benefit from you, whether material or emotional."

"I like you. I want to stand by your side openly and honestly."