Daily Life 10
The two children soon had their fill of the treasure hunt game in the ball pit.
Lu Xuzhi then took Yuanyuan to play on the slide and ride the colorful little train.
As the little train passed the stables, Yuanyuan, who had never seen a real horse before, was curious. He tugged on Lu Xuzhi, and they got off the train to take a look.
The two little ones stood at the entrance of the stables, peering inside. Yuanyuan was nearly startled by a horse letting out a loud snort.
Before long, they saw several staff members gathered together, discussing something.
Yuanyuan and Lu Xuzhi walked over. Because Yuanyuan was so small, he was hidden behind the crowd and didn’t attract anyone’s attention.
In the center of the crowd were two horses, one large and one small. One was lying on the ground, motionless, while the other stood by its side, refusing to let the staff take the fallen horse away.
The foal kept whinnying incessantly; the sound was sharp, piercing, and pitiable.
Yuanyuan couldn’t help but tug on the sleeve of a staff member, looking up with his small face to ask, “Auntie, is the little horse crying?”
The staff member turned around but didn’t see anyone at first glance.
She looked around before spotting little Yuanyuan, who barely reached her thigh, standing beside her.
The toddler looked like he was carved from pink jade, wearing a yellow hoodie and denim overalls, with a small fish-shaped pin on his chest.
His eyelashes were very long, fluttering over large, grape-like eyes. He let out a confused “Huh?” and tilted his head.
“Auntie, I heard the little horse crying.”
The staff member’s heart melted instantly.
Children who appeared at the horse ranch were usually from wealthy families, so she didn’t shoo him away. Instead, she spoke softly, “The little horse’s mommy… has fallen asleep and won’t wake up. The little horse doesn’t want to be separated from her, that’s why it’s sad.”
“Won’t wake up?”
Yuanyuan looked at Lu Xuzhi in confusion.
Lu Xuzhi explained, “It means its mother has passed away.”
His bluntness made the staff member’s heart skip a beat.
Could such a small child understand what ‘passed away’ means? Would he cry? It would be troublesome if he started crying.
However, contrary to the staff member’s expectations, Yuanyuan was just a little dejected. He said, “So the little horse will never see its mommy again.”
Yu Li and Yan Shiting had given him lessons about life, so he knew what death meant.
Sometimes, his two fathers would take him to visit his two grandfathers and grandmother who had passed away.
One grandfather was his Daddy’s father, and the other grandfather and grandmother were his Big Daddy’s parents.
He knew that once people passed away, he would never see them again. He had once asked his two fathers if they were sad, and if they missed their parents.
Both fathers said they were sad and missed them very much.
Since the little horse’s mother had passed away, it must be very sad too.
Thinking of this, Yuanyuan couldn’t help but look at the foal again.
The staff tried to drive the foal away, wanting to use ropes to secure the fallen mare’s legs. However, the foal threw itself over the mare time and again, using its head to block the staff holding the ropes.
Its whinnies grew louder, sounding increasingly miserable.
The foal’s two hind legs seemed to be problematic; during the struggle, it collapsed several times due to spasms in its hind legs, but it immediately struggled to stand up again, trembling.
Soon, several other staff members forcibly dragged the foal away, giving the others a chance to secure the mare’s four legs with ropes.
“This horse has a wild temperament; it probably won’t be any good.”
“It saw us take its mother away. Animals this smart hold grudges.”
“Don’t worry, its hind legs are weak. It’s not a good horse, so the boss won’t keep it.”
“Who would want to buy a horse that can’t run and has a bad temper?”
“Its appearance isn’t great either. It’s not qualified for breeding. It’ll probably just be sold for meat.”
The staff’s discussion drifted into Yuanyuan’s ears.
He looked in the direction the foal had been taken and asked Lu Xuzhi beside him, “Gege, how much money does it cost to buy a little horse?”
He had money in his piggy bank for taking care of small animals. It would be great if he could buy this little horse.
Lu Xuzhi shook his head, then turned to the female staff member. “Sister, how do you sell the ponies here?”
The staff member tilted her head and thought for a moment. “This foal hasn’t been trained yet, and it has defects, so it should be cheaper. Less than ten thousand yuan, probably? But the follow-up costs would be very high. Are you sure you want to buy it?”
She couldn’t help but persuade them, “There are other good horses. Although this foal is pitiful, it might hurt people. Besides, there are many pitiful animals in the world; you can’t help every single one of them, right?”
Lu Xuzhi glanced at Yuanyuan and said, “There are many pitiful animals, but this is the one we saw.”
He knew this had always been Yuanyuan’s mindset when rescuing animals, and both Yu Li and Yan Shiting were willing to protect his kindness.
That was enough.
“However,” Lu Xuzhi looked at Yuanyuan, “we also have to make sure the pony won’t hurt you before we can buy it. Otherwise, it will cause trouble for your dads.”
Yuanyuan nodded.
He understood that logic.
Lu Xuzhi ruffled his hair and led him in the direction the foal had been taken.
The two children soon found the confined foal.
It was still calling out, its voice having turned hoarse.
A worker couldn’t resist whipping it, cursing, “Stop screaming! You’ll be sent to join your mother soon enough.”
The moment the worker raised the whip, Lu Xuzhi covered Yuanyuan’s ears, preventing him from hearing the curse.
“Uncle,” Lu Xuzhi lowered his hands and spoke politely, “can you let us see the horse?”
“See the horse?” The worker looked at the two of them.
He knew that several VIP guests had come today, all bringing children. He guessed these two boys were the sons of some CEO.
The worker didn’t stop them but said, “Go ahead. We have other horses here too. Look at this pure black one; it’ll be majestic when it grows up, and its bloodline is pure. Its parents even won awards in competitions.”
Lu Xuzhi shook his head and pulled Yuanyuan forward. “We just want to see this one. Could you please open the door for us?”
“This one? Fine.” The worker put away the whip and opened the door to the stall holding the foal.
Seeing the door open, the foal immediately tried to rush out but was restrained by a rope.
It shook its head uncomfortably, trying to shake off the rope around its neck, its four hooves pawing at the ground anxiously.
However, facing the two children, it wasn’t as agitated as before, nor did it show any intent to attack.
Even when it was stopping the staff from taking the mare away earlier, it didn’t seem to have actually hurt anyone.
Lu Xuzhi was deep in thought. When he snapped back to reality, he saw Yuanyuan reaching out and touching the foal’s face.
The foal didn’t attack him; instead, it took a step back.
Lu Xuzhi barely relaxed, then pulled Yuanyuan out of the stall.
Before leaving, he said to the worker guarding the horse, “We will come back to buy this foal. I hope you won’t hit it again.”
Without waiting for the worker’s reaction, he pulled Yuanyuan away from the stables.
On the way, Yuanyuan blinked his big eyes and asked, “Gege, can we buy this little horse?”
Lu Xuzhi nodded.
Yuanyuan counted on his fingers and said, “But I don’t know how much ten thousand is. Do I have that much money?”
Lu Xuzhi fell silent for a moment.
He didn’t know how much ten thousand was either.
The two little guys wandered around the ranch and found the female staff member from earlier to ask how to purchase the foal.
But even if the two children could produce ten thousand yuan right now, the ranch wouldn’t dare sell to them.
She told Lu Xuzhi that they needed parental consent to make the purchase.
Lu Xuzhi frowned in thought.
The money he usually received was given to Yuanyuan, and Yuanyuan didn’t carry it with him when he went out.
If they wanted to buy this foal now, they had to ask their parents for money.
Ten thousand… that must be a lot, right?
While Lu Xuzhi was thinking, Yuanyuan beside him yawned.
After playing for so long today, he had consumed a lot of energy and was incredibly sleepy.
The toddler rubbed his eyes and leaned close to Lu Xuzhi, his voice becoming sticky and slurred with sleepiness, “Gege, I want to sleep.”
Lu Xuzhi snapped out of his thoughts and pulled him towards the lounge. “Okay, I’ll take you to sleep.”
As soon as they entered the room, little Yuanyuan flopped onto the bed, grabbed the quilt, and fell asleep.
Lu Xuzhi took off his shoes, removed his overalls and the pin, and covered him with the quilt before walking out.
Looking at Mr. Xu, who was talking to an adult not far away, Lu Xuzhi felt uncertain.
He wanted to borrow money from the fathers, promising to pay it back later.
But he was too young and had no ability to repay money yet. Would the adults agree to lend it?
He wanted to buy this foal himself.
Eventually, the hesitant Lu Xuzhi was spotted by Yu Li and the others.
After learning the reason, Yu Li glanced at Yan Shiting.
Yuanyuan was still young, at the age where compassion easily overflowed. As fathers, they were willing to protect Yuanyuan’s kindness.
Kindness isn’t bad. As long as his kindness wasn’t exploited or used to hurt him, for everything else, Yu Li and Yan Shiting could cover for him.
Ten thousand was a trivial amount to Yan Shiting.
He immediately said to Lu Xuzhi, “Let’s go. Take us to see that foal.”
However, Lu Xuzhi didn’t move.
He stood there, twisting his hands together. After a long while, he said nervously, “Uncle… may I borrow some money from you?”
“Yuanyuan and I want to buy the little horse. When I grow up, I will pay you back.”
Him and Yuanyuan wanting to buy it was different from Yan Shiting buying it for them.
Just like Yuanyuan needing to pay for the food for the animals he rescued, buying the pony should also be done by themselves.
This was a shared memory between him and Yuanyuan.
Yan Shiting paused.
He looked at Lu Xuzhi and found the child’s gaze exceptionally sincere.
The two adults exchanged a glance. After a moment, Yu Li smiled and patted Lu Xuzhi on the shoulder approvingly. “Alright. After buying the foal, taking care of it and its daily expenses will also be your responsibility.”
Lu Xuzhi breathed a sigh of relief and nodded hastily.
He led Yu Li and Yan Shiting to see the foal. The foal’s emotions had stabilized; it was just kneeling on the straw, tears still flowing from its eyes.
A gentle temperament was good; the weak hind legs weren’t a major issue.
After Yan Shiting inspected it, he nodded.
He swiped his card to buy the foal, and then signed an IOU with Lu Xuzhi.
What the two adults didn’t tell the little guy was that the New Year’s money he and Yuanyuan received each year was far more than ten thousand yuan.
But seeing such a sincere Lu Xuzhi, Yu Li and Yan Shiting were willing to protect his sincerity.
Yuanyuan slept until past five in the afternoon.
When he woke up, Yu Li and Lu Xuzhi were reading in the room.
Seeing his Daddy and brother as soon as he woke up, Yuanyuan immediately smiled happily, crawled to the end of the bed, and reached out his arms to Yu Li.
“Daddy, hug.”
Yu Li looked up, smiled gently, and walked over to Yuanyuan.
He hugged the toddler, felt the sweat on his back from sleeping, took clean clothes out of the luggage, and changed him, putting his overalls back on.
Then, he dampened a towel with warm water, wrung it out, and wiped the sweat from the toddler’s forehead, face, and neck.
While Yu Li did all this, Lu Xuzhi watched quietly from the side.
When they were done, Yu Li pinched Yuanyuan’s cheek. “Alright, is Yuanyuan hungry?”
Yuanyuan rubbed his little belly. “Hungry. Yuanyuan’s tummy is rumbling.”
Yu Li said, “Okay, let’s go out to eat then.”
He picked up Yuanyuan and led Lu Xuzhi to the ranch’s restaurant.
After ordering, Yan Shiting, Mr. Lu, and Mr. Xu arrived.
After dinner, led by Lu Xuzhi, the group went to the stables.
The foal had been moved to a different room, and the trough was filled with clean fodder and fruit.
“Yuanyuan,” Lu Xuzhi said, “The little horse has been bought.”
Yuanyuan’s eyes went wide. He looked at the foal, then at Lu Xuzhi and his fathers. “Bought it?”
Yu Li nodded and explained, “Brother Xuzhi borrowed money from me to buy it. The foal will stay at the ranch for a few days. Once its room in the manor is built, you can take it home.”
As he explained, Yuanyuan’s eyes grew brighter and brighter.
He nodded vigorously. “Okay! I will buy grass and fruit for the little horse and take good care of it.”
After speaking, he hugged Lu Xuzhi. “Thank you, Gege!”
Lu Xuzhi’s eyes curved into a smile. He patted Yuanyuan on the back and said, “You’re welcome.”
The four adults stood to the side, watching the two children, and smiled with relief.
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