Planning

That afternoon, the two of them went to pick up the paternity test report. The Shun Medical University Paternity Testing Center was qualified to conduct forensic assessments, so while the police station was still open, they took the results straight there to register the child's household record.

At this hour, there was barely anyone in line at the household registration office. Zhao Danshi handed over his ID card, household register, and paternity test certificate, then paid the social maintenance fee. After efficiently checking the documents, the staff member looked up at Zhao Danshi and confirmed again, "The child's name is Li Ning Xi? Li as in dawn, Ning as in peace, and Xi as in bustling prosperity."

Zhao Danshi confirmed it. "Yes. Thank you."

The staff member glanced at Dou Dou and smiled. "Your little baby is so adorable."

Dou Dou met her eyes and broke into a giggle, waving his arms and legs as if he wanted to play with her.

The staff member gently held his tiny hand, then smiled and turned back to continue entering the information. Dou Dou's eyes followed her the entire time.

In less than ten minutes, Dou Dou's household registration was complete. On the page after Zhao Danshi's information in the household register, Dou Dou's details had been entered, with the two small characters for "father and son" marked beside their relationship to the head of household.

From then on, whether by blood or by law, he and Dou Dou were inseparable.

Zhao Danshi rubbed that page, an involuntary smile appearing at the corner of his lips.

All the unpleasantness of the day was finally smoothed away at that moment, and even that trace of unwillingness had long since vanished.

Before they left, the staff member looked at Zhao Danshi, then at Li Ping, and smiled as she nodded goodbye. "Blessings to you both."

Li Ping took Dou Dou from him, while Zhao Danshi sincerely smiled at the staff member. "Thank you."

The two of them walked out of the police station. Li Ping placed Dou Dou back in the carrier basket and pushed him forward, turning his head to ask Zhao Danshi, "What do you want for dinner?"

"Anything is fine," Zhao Danshi said. "Let's have something light tonight."

They planned to detour to a local restaurant for congee hot pot when Li Ping received a call from Chen Yuxue.

Li Ping glanced at Zhao Danshi and the child in the backseat, put on his headset, and answered the call.

Chen Yuxue's voice over the phone was slightly distorted. "Ping, are you coming home for dinner tonight?"

"No, Mom. I have plans with someone else."

"Mr. Zhao, right? Why don't you come together?" Chen Yuxue tentatively said, "Your father can be careless with his words. We could invite him over so your father can apologize to him?"

Li Ping paused. "Another time. It isn't appropriate right now."

"Fine." Chen Yuxue did not press him and merely told him, "If you're not coming home for dinner, come back after you eat. We need to talk."

Li Ping agreed.

Watching his profile, Zhao Danshi said, "Senior Brother, if you have something to handle, go take care of it first. I can take Dou Dou back and order some congee to eat upstairs."

Li Ping did not agree. "We'll eat first, then I'll take care of it."

After dinner, Li Ping brought Zhao Danshi and Dou Dou back to the hotel and got them settled before driving back to the old family residence.

The old residence ate early. By the time Li Ping returned, they had already finished dinner.

As Li Ping entered the courtyard, Aunt Qin was watering the flowers. Seeing him return, she gave him a look and lowered her voice. "Ping, Sir and Madam just had an argument. Be careful when you go in."

Li Ping nodded. "I understand. Thank you, Aunt Qin."

Watching his tall figure disappear behind the door, Aunt Qin's eyes filled with worry. After some thought, she quietly returned to her own room by the other side.

They would probably have another fight soon. It was not her place to listen in on the family's affairs.

Li Ping walked inside. Chen Yuxue spotted him immediately and beckoned him over.

Li Suilun and Li Sheng were both seated on the sofa. Li Sheng's wife, Liu Peisi, had taken their two children upstairs to avoid the situation.

No one in the room looked pleased.

Li Ping walked up to the sofa and called out, "Dad, Mom."

Li Suilun snorted coldly and remained motionless on the sofa.

Chen Yuxue pulled Li Ping over. "Is it cold outside?"

"No." Li Ping sat down on the sofa with his long limbs and got straight to the point. "Mom, I'm planning to resign from my position in the group and go out on my own for a year or two."

Before he could finish, Li Suilun sneered, "Go out on your own? I think you just want to fool around with that Zhao fellow."

Chen Yuxue's brows shot up. "Just manage your own son. Why drag Xiao Zhao into this again?"

Li Suilun shut his mouth, clearly having come out on the losing end of the previous round of arguing.

Chen Yuxue turned to Li Ping. "Ping, tell me. What exactly is going on between you and Mr. Zhao? Are you two together?"

Li Ping shook his head. "Not yet, but I do like him."

"Since you aren't together yet, then let it go." Chen Yuxue fell silent for a moment before gently persuading him, "Your father's words may be rough, but he isn't wrong. You and Mr. Zhao really aren't suitable. He seems like a very serious person. This road won't be easy. If you don't intend to spend the rest of your life with him, don't hold him back."

Li Ping looked seriously at his mother. "What if I want to be with him?"

Chen Yuxue earnestly tried to reason with him. "Can you tell me why it has to be him? You've admired girls before. Can't you like someone else instead?"

"If I like him, I like him. What reason is there?" Li Ping said. "I've lived this long, and he's the only person I've ever fallen for. I probably won't have anyone else in the future either."

"Then what does he mean by this? If he really cared about you, would he let you follow him to the countryside and become a farmer?"

Li Ping asked in return, "What's wrong with being a farmer? The vegetables I brought back last time were grown by him. Didn't you all enjoy eating them?"

Li Suilun could no longer hold back. "You have the ability to lead a group to even greater heights, yet you insist on digging in the dirt for food. What is wrong with you?"

Li Ping could not help frowning at his father.

Li Sheng practically wanted to rub his forehead. His father's mouth was far too vicious.

Chen Yuxue said, "Growing vegetables as a hobby and making a living by growing vegetables are completely different things. If you follow Mr. Zhao to the countryside, working yourself to the bone all year round, the money you make in a year won't even compare to the cost of one of your current meals. Can you stand that?"

"Even if I go grow vegetables, my other skills won't go to waste."

Chen Yuxue exchanged a look with Li Suilun, then asked, "Are you really going to follow Mr. Zhao?"

Li Ping silently nodded.

Chen Yuxue's eyes reddened. "Even if the whole family disagrees, and you can only choose one side, would you still choose Mr. Zhao?"

Li Ping grew anxious and asked in a low voice, "Why can't the two coexist? Is it only because Danshi is a man? If we want children, that won't be difficult in our situation. You want me to marry and have children because you hope there'll be someone by my side, so I won't be lonely, isn't that right?"

"It's different!"

"Tell me, what's different?! Is it other people's opinions?"

Li Suilun said gruffly, "With Zhao's conditions, I wouldn't agree even if he were a woman!"

Li Ping stared steadily at his father. "What conditions does Danshi lack? In terms of intelligence, he attended the same university as me and graduated from a prestigious school. In terms of perseverance, he earned scholarships every year in college and supported his own tuition and living expenses. In terms of looks, he's nearly one meter eighty tall, with refined features that surpass ninety-nine percent of people. In terms of filial piety, he gave up his job in the big city and returned to the countryside to live with his grandfather, who was alone. What about him are you dissatisfied with?"

For a moment, Li Suilun had nothing to say.

Tears filled Chen Yuxue's eyes as she choked out, "Everyone has to take responsibility for their own actions. Your father and I both disagree with you insisting on pursuing a male lover, and we won't support it either. If you truly make up your mind to be with him, we won't provide you with any help."

Li Ping looked deeply at his mother, bitterness filling his mouth as he agreed, "All right."

After sitting for a little while, he said goodbye to his parents and left.

Zhao Danshi had not gone to sleep yet. Only when he saw Li Ping return did he climb into bed.

Li Ping took a quick shower, checked on the sleeping Dou Dou, and only then came over to lie down beside Zhao Danshi.

Zhao Danshi turned to look at him. "Senior Brother, how did the discussion with your family go?"

Li Ping met his eyes. "How about I become your partner?"

The moment Zhao Danshi heard that, he knew Li Ping's family had reached an agreement. He silently nodded. "All right."

Li Ping told him, "My family has temporarily agreed to let me resign, and they don't object to me going over to your place either."

Zhao Danshi was surprised. "It was that simple? Your parents didn't say anything against it?"

Li Ping smiled.

Zhao Danshi immediately understood that he was only sharing good news, not the bad.

"Senior Brother." Zhao Danshi hesitated. "Did you have a huge fight with your family?"

"No."

"You..." Zhao Danshi wanted to ask whether he would regret it if he looked back on this in the future. But the words had barely reached his lips before he felt there was no point in asking, so he swallowed them back down.

"Hmm?"

"Nothing, Senior Brother. Let's sleep." Zhao Danshi pulled up the blanket and tucked it tightly beneath his chin.

Li Ping lay back flat.

Over the next few days, Li Ping left early and returned late, busy handing over his company affairs to his colleagues.

Zhao Danshi wandered around with Dou Dou. Dou Dou liked outdoor activities and smiled happily every day.

Once Li Ping finished the handover, the two drove back to the village, planning to settle down for good.

When the old man saw them, the worry that had been hanging over him finally eased. He warmly welcomed Zhao Danshi and Li Ping inside. "Did you get the household registration done?"

"It's done." Zhao Danshi took the household register from his bag to show the old man. The old man stopped teasing Dou Dou in Li Ping's arms and quickly reached out to take it.

Holding the register far away, the old man squinted and read it line by line. Once he had seen everything clearly, he smilingly returned it to Zhao Danshi. "That's good."

This time, Zhao Danshi had specially prepared a guest room for Li Ping.

The old man had washed and sun-dried the quilt and bedsheets over the past few days, and Zhao Danshi personally made up the bed for him.

Li Ping stood in the room watching him without saying anything.

Zhao Danshi's return with Dou Dou and Li Ping stirred up plenty of gossip throughout the village. He had little in common with the villagers and did not care much when he heard it. However, Spoon and several familiar households were indignant on his behalf.

Zhao Danshi ignored what the village was saying. He and Li Ping planned out the vegetables they would grow that year and began preparing accordingly.

There was still a batch of vegetables he had planted after the New Year that had not been dealt with. The other families grew the same vegetables, but none of theirs were as good as his. His vegetables were lush and green, with thick, large stems, looking especially pleasing.

Not only did his vegetables look good, they also tasted excellent, far beyond ordinary vegetables of the same varieties.

One morning, Zhao Danshi carried Dou Dou against his chest as he inspected the vegetable fields. He ran into Yazi Mei, who warmly called out to him from afar, "Danshi, bringing your son to inspect the fields?"

"Mm. Auntie, are you here to pick vegetables?"

"No, I just spread some fertilizer in the fields." Yazi Mei walked over carrying her shoulder pole, smiling kindly as she asked, "The child's a month old now, right? What's his name?"

"His full name is Li Ning Xi, and his nickname is Dou Dou." At the mention of Dou Dou, Zhao Danshi's fatherly affection overflowed. He carefully lifted the front wrapping to reveal Dou Dou's chubby little face for Yazi Mei to see.

The weather here was cold. Even though it was already spring, the sky was not clear every day. On occasional cloudy, rainy days, north winds blew in, bringing wave after wave of chill.

Even though Dou Dou was wrapped tightly and had moisturizing cream applied to him, Zhao Danshi was still afraid his little face would get frostbitten. He was extremely careful whenever he brought him outside.

The moment Yazi Mei saw Dou Dou, she let out a soft cry of surprise. "Oh my, this child is so lovely! I've seen so many children, but none of them have been as delicate as your Dou Dou. Is he a boy or a girl?"

"A boy." Zhao Danshi carefully wrapped Dou Dou back up, leaving only his eyes, tiny nose, and little mouth exposed. He was delighted inside and said with a smile, "His skin was especially red when he was first born. It only turned white recently."

"All children are like that. Your child is really good-looking." Yazi Mei could not help sighing again. "I think Dou Dou takes after you."

Zhao Danshi could not help laughing. "A lot of people say Dou Dou looks like me."

"He really does." After exchanging pleasantries, Yazi Mei got to the point. "Danshi, your vegetables grow so well. Did you specially bring those seeds back from outside?"

Zhao Danshi wanted to guide the villagers toward that assumption, so he vaguely acknowledged it. "What is it?"

Yazi Mei looked a little embarrassed. "I just wanted to ask whether, if you save seeds from these vegetables, you could give me some too. I'll pay for them."

Yazi Mei's husband had died in his fifties. Her son worked elsewhere and had not been heard from in years. She relied on growing a little produce to make a living.

She was not particularly skilled, and her vegetables were ordinary. Sometimes, after carrying out a whole load of vegetables, she had to carry half a load back home. Her life was very poor, and what she earned barely covered basic necessities.

Zhao Danshi knew what was going on. The vegetables he grew did not mainly rely on the seeds, but on the fertilizer.

That was one of his secrets, and he could not exactly tell Yazi Mei. He could only say, "I'll try. I've never saved seeds before, so I don't know whether the seeds I save will work."

In their area, people mostly had to buy seeds cultivated by large companies at the market. The quality of vegetables grown from home-saved seeds was easily unstable, and some seeds became too old, producing bitter vegetables.

Yazi Mei smiled gratefully. "It's all right, it's all right. Just give them to me when the time comes. I'll see for myself whether they work. Thank you!"

The weather was cold, so Zhao Danshi did not want to keep wandering outside with the child. After making a round of the fields and getting a rough count of the remaining vegetables, he headed home.

When he got home, Li Ping had only recently gotten out of bed. Seeing Zhao Danshi come in from outside carrying a chill, he hurried over and asked, "Why are you up so early?"

"That little rascal Dou Dou woke up early and woke me too. Since there was nothing else to do, I went to check the fields." Zhao Danshi smiled at him. "Senior Brother, after breakfast, let's start planning what we'll grow this year. I'll take you to see the fields later."

As he spoke, Zhao Danshi rubbed his hands together, then pressed his palms against his neck. Only after his hands had warmed up did he undo the carrier straps and put Dou Dou down.

The moment he moved, Dou Dou woke up. Seeing his father's handsome face so close by, Dou Dou gave a silent smile and opened his little hands with soft babbling sounds, wanting to grab Zhao Danshi's fingers.

Zhao Danshi held him with one hand while waving the other in front of him to tease him.

Li Ping walked over, casually took Dou Dou, and bounced him in his arms. "All right. We'll go take a look together later."

Seeing Li Ping play with him, Dou Dou let out tiny peals of laughter, a huge smile blooming across his face. Li Ping could not resist kissing his little cheek.