Chapter 263

"Chenye, go tell your grandfather that your maternal great grandfather is looking for him to play chess..."

Zhixia watched with wide eyes as Pei Jing tricked the child into deceiving Old Pei.

She looked back in disbelief, colliding with the gaze in his eyes.

But she saw that usually steady expression, rarely carrying a few hints of childish naughtiness.

She felt it was very interesting and laughed, not exposing him, but asking, "Are you going to secretly chop down the tree and plant it there? Aren't you afraid your dad will get angry when he comes back?"

"Don't worry, the old man doesn't really like eating apricots that much, he just couldn't bear to because there were so many fruits on the tree."

If he didn't really want to plant a jujube tree, he wouldn't have borne to chop down the apricot tree either.

But with not much space, it was inevitable to make a choice.

As soon as Old Pei heard his old friend was looking for him to play chess, he rushed over excitedly, and as he left, he instructed Pei Jing, "Aren't you leaving this afternoon? If you have nothing to do, go back and take a nap. The mountain roads aren't easy to walk. Be careful on your way back."

"I know, Dad, don't worry. Help me say hi to Grandpa. I won't specially go over when I leave later. I'll go see him next time I come back," Pei Jing said.

Old Pei nodded and went out the door with the dragon and phoenix twin grandchildren.

Pei Jing hurried to the corner of the outer wall, carried the jujube tree that was a head taller than him inside, and went to the utility room to find a saw.

The apricot tree in the backyard was as thick as an adult's thigh, and very tall, full of large fruit, the branches drooping from the weight.

The sound of sawing wood rang out. Not long after, the apricot tree was sawed through.

Sister Zhang heard the sound and ran to the backyard. She looked at the scene heartachingly, "Oh my, why did you saw down this tree? It bore so much fruit this year."

In previous years when it bore fruit, Old Pei would also let Pei Jing bring some back, so Sister Zhang was quite fond of this tree too.

Zhixia explained at the side, "Sister Zhang, he wants to saw down the apricot tree to plant a jujube tree, so next year we can eat jujubes."

"You really know how to think, what a pity this is." Even if she felt heartachy, this wasn't her own, so Sister Zhang couldn't do anything. And it would be two years before the new fruit tree bore any fruit.

Just as she thought this, she turned her head and saw the jujube tree by the wall. Although it wasn't very tall, its branches were thick, similarly covered in fingernail-sized fruits, clusters close together, which looked very pleasing.

Seeing this, her heart ached even more. "Where did you get this jujube tree? It's borne so much fruit. Digging it up and replanting it like this, these jujubes might all fall off!"

This was truly too much of a waste. If her own children were this wasteful, she would've given them a beating already.

"It's not urgent that we eat them this year anyway. First plant it to help it adapt. Sister Zhang, I know you feel heartachy about the apricots, but after this jujube tree bears fruit, I'll let you try them first," Pei Jing said as he continued digging the hole without stopping.

"I'll remember what you just said!" Sister Zhang couldn't bear to keep watching, so she just went to the front yard.

After he finished digging the hole and planting the jujube tree, only one or two hours had passed.

Pei Jing was drenched in sweat, so he went to take a cold shower and returned to the room.

The little ones could all sit already. With three children, it was difficult to take care of them, but also not that difficult.

When they cried, they cried together, but there weren't enough hands to comfort them all.

And now, they were all awake sitting on the bed, blocked by the blanket. You poke me a bit, I poke you a bit, laughing like a pair of fools, not noisy at all.

Even if they fell over on the bed, they would roll over to find the other one themselves. Only very rarely would they cry.

Pei Jing wanted to play with them, but found they didn't recognize him at all and wouldn't even let him hold them, which made him feel somewhat disappointed inside.

Zhi Xia hugged him from behind, "Will it always be so busy in the future?" Too busy that there was no time to be together with them in the same space.

Pei Jing grasped her fair and delicate fingers. "I've been busy recently establishing training grounds and preparing training plans, so it's been so busy. After the troops gradually take shape and enter normal operations, it will loosen up a bit. Then there will also be time to accompany you and the kids."

In working this hard, apart from his own reasons, it was also to reunite with her.

The twins were already three years old. It would be time for them to start school soon. Compared to here, the education there was definitely better. He didn't want to separate from them or delay the children's education.

An Zhiqing didn't have his good fortune.

Wen Qing would start elementary school this year, but Liu Ling was still unwilling to follow the military, which meant he would inevitably miss his children growing up.

And there was already one Pei Jing selected on that side's troops. Even if he worked hard, there couldn't be another instructor, and as an ordinary special operations troop member, his age already exceeded the limit by a lot.

Pei Jing hugged Zhi Xia tightly, unwilling to let go for a long time.

The gentle kisses lingered on her lips, cheeks... But he didn't dare make any other moves.

He was afraid doing too much would inadvertently lead to the opposite outcome of the child born not being the one he desired.

Although they would still be his own biological children, when one had fixations in their heart, there would still inevitably be differences.

Zhi Xia was also reluctant to part with him, cuddling peacefully in his embrace, enjoying this quiet moment.

But beautiful times always passed swiftly.

Seeing the sky outside, Zhi Xia could only urge him, "You should leave quickly and not delay it further. If you wait any longer it'll be dark, and the mountain roads outside the city are difficult to traverse. Best to leave while you can still see the path."

Pei Jing didn't reply. He gripped her tightly against his chest, and his previously gentle touches suddenly intensified.

Reluctantly letting her go, he stood up. He went outside and picked up his still somewhat damp military uniform that had just been washed not long ago. "Then I'll get going. You...take good care of the kids."

Zhi Xia nodded and rushed up to kiss the corner of his mouth again. "And you take good care of yourself."

The roar of the car engine sounded. Watching as he slowly drove out of the front gate until disappearing from sight shortly after.

Zhi Xia suppressed the feeling of loss inside. Just as she wanted to turn around and head back in, she saw Second Brother riding a bicycle over from the distance.

"Second brother..." Zhi Xia waved at him hurriedly.

An Zhiren's sweat slid down his handsome face. His hair beside his ears was also a bit damp, but his handsome face was full of joy. "Little sister, I have a good news to tell you. Your second sister-in-law is pregnant. I'm going to be a dad!"

He had come over specially at this time to report the happy news to Grandpa and Grandma.

"Really? Congratulations, then you have to be more careful from now on and take good care of second sister-in-law." Zhi Xia was also happy for him.

An Zhiren nodded. "I'm going to let Grandpa and Grandma know first. Are you coming?"

"Those three little ones are still inside. I can't go. You hurry up and go. I still have to go back in and keep an eye on them, or else they might flip off the bed without anyone knowing."

Night was falling. Old Pei brought the dragon and phoenix twins back home.

Old An still wouldn't admit to calling him over to play chess and asked the child. The child said Pei Jing told him to, which made Old Pei feel strange.

But the two old men played chess for an afternoon anyway. They often got together to play chess, drink tea, and chat about their children and grandchildren, so they didn't have much else to do.

Plus Pei JianGuo had brought his partner over today, so there was even more to talk about.

Only after returning home, his eyes glanced towards the roof of the backyard. He felt vaguely like something was missing.

But he couldn't quite recall what exactly was missing.