An eight-year-old kid emptied his scumbag father's warehouse and followed his grandparents into

"Yes, right away," Chuyi responded crisply, turning around before he'd even finished his words. He didn't fully grasp the significance of this, but Xu Zize's reaction told him it was no small matter. He took off running, his cloth shoes clacking against the mud, and he quickly disappeared from the farmyard.

Xu Zize turned around, looked at the nervous children, and tried to soften his voice: "You come back with us, we need to borrow this ball." After saying that, he may feel that his tone was too harsh, so he quickly squatted down, looked at the children at eye level, and his voice was much gentler: "Brother will return it to you after I'm done with it." His eyes moved back and forth on the children's faces, and he noticed the reluctance in the eyes of Da Niu and Er Niu.

Da Niu and Er Niu glanced at each other, then looked down at the ball in Xu Zize's hand. Da Niu's jaw was clenched, while Er Niu bit his lip, his small hands twisting the corners of his clothes.

They had to work very hard: they had to secretly cut down five or six trees, carry heavy clay pots back and forth several times, and collect sap for several days before they could burn such a large ball in the fire. The whole process had to be hidden from the adults. If their parents knew they had touched the poisonous sap, they would definitely be spanked.

Sanniu was slow to react. He only heard that they could go play in the courtyard, and a bright smile immediately broke out on his little face. He skipped over to Xiaoman and without hesitation, shoved his dirty little hand into Xiaoman's clean palm, leaving several black fingerprints. Xiaoman was stunned for a moment, but didn't push away. She just smiled helplessly.

"I'll give each of you a gift later!" Jing Chunxi suddenly announced, her eyes curved into crescents. She thought of the colorful hairbands, delicate wooden slingshots, and sweet milk flakes in her own space—things that must have been rare treasures for country kids. Her voice was thick with unconcealed excitement, as if she'd already seen the children's delighted expressions.

"Don't worry, my brothers and sisters won't steal our balls. I'll ask Daddy to get them back for us." Little Cuifang's eyes lit up when she heard there were gifts. She patted her flat chest and promised with a solemn promise. Her pigtails swung with her movements, and her face was filled with anticipation.

When Brother Kuan heard about looking for the general and Uncle Sijiu, his eyes rolled, and he suddenly realized that this might be a big deal. He straightened his back and his voice became a little louder: "Yes, my father is the boss, no one dares to owe him a debt." As he said this, he imitated the adults, put his hands behind his back, and raised his chin high, looking proud.

Only after hearing this did Da Niu and Er Niu feel relieved. Da Niu took a deep breath, as if he had made up his mind: "Okay, then you can take it." There was still some reluctance in his voice, but more of it was trust.

"At worst, we can cut down another tree and make another one." Erniu might have misunderstood his brother's meaning, thinking that the ball was given away. But he just shrugged and acted very generously, although a trace of heartache still flashed in his eyes.

"Don't worry. If you break them, I'll ask Uncle Sijiu to make you a few better ones. I won't break my promise," Xu Zize promised solemnly, reaching out to rub Erniu's shaggy head. His eyes were firm, and his voice was filled with unquestionable sincerity.

"Okay! Then we don't want this one anymore," Big Cow suddenly said with a resolute voice, as if he had made up his mind. Second Cow nodded, and both children smiled with relief. If there was something better, this black ball wouldn't matter—after all, its surface was bumpy and covered in dirt.

Of course, there's no point in robbing a child of their own. Xu Zize thought to himself, if a child of a few years old can make something, and so many adults can't, then maybe they should just be reincarnated. A confident smile curled up at the corner of his mouth, and his eyes gleamed with determination.

So they still had to fight for this kind of guarantee. Jing Chunxi looked at Xu Zize's expression and nodded knowingly.

She fished out four rows of candy flakes from her sleeve and squatted down to give them to the children. The sunlight shone on the silvery white candy wrappers, reflecting a brilliant light and illuminating the children's surprised faces.

Cuifang looked at the hair ornaments spread out before her, her eyes sparkling with excitement. These ornaments came in four different colors, and she couldn't let them go.

She looked at the red ones for a while, the bright petals seemed to ignite the joy in her heart; then she looked at the blue ones, the deep color was as peaceful as the sky; then she looked at the yellow ones, which were as bright as sunshine on her body; and finally she looked at the pink ones, which were as gentle as spring petals.

She really didn't know how to choose. Every flower was so beautiful that she wanted to take them all back.

Jing Chunxi watched Cuifang's agonizing expression from the side, and couldn't help but feel a little pity for her. She had originally planned to give all the hair ornaments to Cuifang, since she was the only girl anyway. So she whispered, "Take them back and change them."

When Cuifang heard this, her eyes suddenly lit up. She grinned, revealing a row of white teeth, and said excitedly: "Thank you, sister! Thank you, sister!" Her joy was beyond words, as if the whole world had become beautiful.

Big Cow and Second Cow's eyes were drawn to the slingshot. They had long been curious about this toy that could shoot small stones. Brother Kuan had one, but it wasn't as beautiful as this one, but he would ask for it every day to let them play with it.

Xu Zize stepped forward and helped them test the elasticity of the tendon. He gently pulled the slingshot open, feeling the toughness of the tendon, and then released his hand, allowing the slingshot to return to its original shape.

As he was trying, he said, "If the tendon breaks in the future, you can use the tree pulp you burned to make a flat long strip and try it. Maybe it will be more elastic."

When the big cow heard this, his eyes lit up and he said excitedly, "Maybe it really works!" The three older boys seemed to have discovered something new. They were already eager to try it out, imagining the scene of making a slingshot out of tree sap.

The big guy even thought that if cowhide was not needed to make a slingshot, they could make it themselves.

Kuan Ge stood aside and said, "Daddy has already made me a slingshot." He didn't want to choose a slingshot, so he only picked two headbands. He picked up the headband, looked at it, and then looked at the other things, looking a little hesitant.

When Jing Chunxi saw Brother Kuan's expression, he felt a little regretful. He should have taken out the whip earlier. I think older children would like it.