Chapter 75

Chapter 75

Qi Mo agreed.

No one would turn down food these days.

Looking at Huo Liangzhou, Qi Mo asked, "Are you still going to Jiangcheng this afternoon?"

Huo Liangzhou nodded. "After such a major incident, I can't relax until everyone's calmed down."

He reached out and ruffled the Young Master's head—it felt so nice.

Qi Mo shook his head, refusing to be treated like a pet.

"We're having chicken soup and rice. It seems unfair. Should you bring a bowl back for Liang Chuan?" Qi Mo suggested.

Huo Liangzhou shook his head. "It's too fragrant—I'd get caught. Bad for morale."

Hearing this, Qi Mo felt less guilty. After all, I was ready to give it to you, but your brother sacrificed you for unity. Blame your brother if you must!

Then Huo Liangzhou said, "How about boiled eggs, plain rice, and pickles for him?"

"Ah, alright," Qi Mo nodded.

Soon, a box of plain rice, two boiled eggs, and a pack of pickled vegetables were prepared.

Poor Liang Chuan.

Your brother's having chicken soup, while you get boiled eggs.

Qi Mo stuffed in a pack of pork floss, a pack of sausages, a pack of biscuits, and a few pieces of chocolate.

He passed the bag to Huo Liangzhou.

Huo Liangzhou took the bag, pinched the chubby baby's cheeks, and patted Snowball's head. "Listen to Daddy at home and protect Him."

The "listen" part was for the chubby baby, while "protect Daddy" was for both little sons.

The second son was too lazy—he didn’t even want to go outside.

In the afternoon, Qi Mo put an ice tray in the AC unit. He called the second son out again and set him up like before, continuing to draw.

Qiu Qiu and Snowball were very cooperative. Once placed, they stayed still, just wagging their tails—so well-behaved.

The chubby baby, however, wouldn't cooperate. He would crawl away and have fun by himself.

Every time, Qi Mo had to drag back the chubby baby, who kept trying to crawl behind the sofa to play hide-and-seek...

The chubby baby probably thought Daddy was playing a game with him—he was having so much fun.

The moment Daddy grabbed his little feet, the chubby baby would giggle uncontrollably.

Qi Mo was helpless. Babies aged five or six months were easier—they couldn't go anywhere and stayed wherever placed!

At ten months old, the chubby baby already had his own thoughts and wouldn't cooperate.

Ignoring the chubby baby crawling behind the sofa, Qi Mo focused on painting. The framework was already done, so he didn't strictly need a baby model.

"Snowball, keep an eye on your brother. Give a shout if there's trouble," Qi Mo instructed before concentrating on his drawing.

The mat transformed into grass, and the living room backdrop morphed into a villa in Jiangcheng…

Two kittens—Snowball had her tail bitten by the chubby baby, while Qiu Qiu lay on the grass watching her two siblings. Her little tail lazily dragged across the ground, looking completely lazy.

“Hmm, not bad at all,” Qi Mo smiled.

But it was still just a framework—it would take a lot of time to refine.

A knock sounded at the door, followed by a voice.

It was Huo Jingxuan.

Qi Mo checked the time—4:30 in the afternoon.

He’d been drawing for over two hours. Glancing at the chubby baby, he saw that the little one had fallen asleep behind the sofa.

Not just snoring but blowing bubbles like a little engine.

Qi Mo closed the door and walked out to the yard to open it. “It’s so hot—why did you bring the baby out? Hurry inside, heatstroke would be terrible.”

Huo Jingxuan, holding a child in one arm and an umbrella in the other, looked like he was at his wit's end.

Walking into Qi Mo’s living room,

Huo Jingxuan exclaimed in surprise, “Xiao Mo, you’ve got ice at home!”

Qi Mo nodded. “Made with saltpeter. What’s going on? This baby’s running a fever.”

Huo Jingxuan nodded. “I’m furious. This morning I argued with my cousin. His mom came crying to my mother—my cousin’s lost his damn mind, doesn’t care about the kid at all. And my sister-in-law is a total lunatic. In this kind of heat, they left the baby alone upstairs! They might as well have put him in an oven!”

“Luckily I went to check. Xiao Mo, do you have anything for heatstroke?” Huo Jingxuan asked.

Qi Mo was stunned. Could parents really be so irresponsible?

God, they were worse than animals.

Even damn animals protect their young.

Qi Mo reached out and felt the baby’s forehead—he was burning up.

“Did you give him water? How long has it been? Quick, put him down—on the floor near the ice basin. Give him some water and fan him. I’ll get him some huoxiang zhengqi water,” Qi Mo said before rushing off to the basement.

He came back quickly with a bag in hand.

Tearing open a cooling patch, he stuck it on the baby’s forehead as he lay beside the ice basin.

“He was upstairs for maybe ten minutes. When I found him, he was crying, his whole body scorching hot. We’re still in time, right? He’s not gonna die, is he? He’s only three months old,” Huo Jingxuan asked anxiously.

Qi Mo shook his head. “I can’t say for sure. Let me measure the medicine. Can you feed him?”

Huo Jingxuan shook his head. “I don’t know how.”

Qi Mo poured one-fifth of the huoxiang zhengqi water into a spoon, then added a spoonful of cool boiled water. Gently lifting the baby’s head, he began feeding him.

The little guy seemed desperate for a drink. Despite the horrible taste, the moment the medicine touched his lips, he started chugging it down greedily.

“When was the last time they gave him water?” Qi Mo asked, turning to the anxious Huo Jingxuan.

Huo Jingxuan hurried over to the dining table, grabbed the water pitcher, and poured a half-bowl of cool boiled water.

After feeding the child some water, Qi Mo put the baby down and said to Huo Jingxuan, "Keep fanning him for now. I'll go make some milk for him. How long has it been since he ate properly?"

"Normally, a baby his size in our village wouldn’t be this skinny unless they were starving him," Qi Mo sighed.

After all, according to what Huo Jingxuan had said earlier, the family even had milk powder.

This child probably didn’t even weigh ten pounds.

He must have starved recently—what kind of parents are they?

If they didn’t want him, why’d they have him in the first place?

Though Qi Mo had once disliked Huo Liangzhou and even wanted to bite him to death, the baby in his belly was his own, and he’d adored him.

Besides, apart from being too tall, Huo Liangzhou had excellent looks and intelligence—he was more than qualified to be a father.

Even though Qi Mo had once wanted to be a dad himself and find a girlfriend...

Back then, he liked soft, cute girls and had no interest in tough, smelly men. But now, he realized Huo Liangzhou was actually pretty great.

He was a real firecracker in bed.

Pushing those thoughts aside, Qi Mo quickly prepared half a bottle of milk. Supporting the baby’s back, he fed him while instructing Huo Jingxuan, "Go get a wet wipe, pour half a bowl of water, and add some ice water to cool it. Wipe under his arms, hands, feet, arms, and legs."

He skipped the chest and belly, worried it might cause diarrhea and make things worse.

Nowadays, even with doctors at the hospital, there might not be any medicine available.

Meanwhile, at Huo Jingzhong’s home, the hospital had sent someone to notify them to collect his body—he had died, likely from a secondary infection.

The baby quickly gulped down eighty mls of milk, like he was starved.

Qi Mo looked at the little one, whose big eyes were wide open. Poor kid, stuck with such useless parents, with a little wrinkled face—only his eyes were huge and bright!

"If he can drink milk, he should be fine for now. The real issue is who’ll take care of him. Your aunt’s not exactly dependable either. How long has this baby been back? Knowing his mother is irresponsible, the family should’ve paid more attention. Otherwise, in this heat, how could he survive?" Qi Mo sighed.

Huo Jingxuan had nothing to say. His aunt had good intentions but her head was in the clouds—his uncle had always been the one taking care of the kids.

"I don’t know either. I’ll have to go back and talk to my mom," Huo Jingxuan said.

Soon, Huo Jingxuan noticed something odd—Xiao Mo’s baby was missing. "Where’s Chubby Baby? I don’t see him."

Qi Mo pointed behind the sofa. "He crawled over there to hide and fell asleep."

Behind the sofa, there was an ice basin.

Huo Jingxuan spotted Chubby Baby’s little head—no wonder they put an ice basin there!

Compared to Xiao Mo as a father, his cousin and cousin’s wife needed to be sent back to the drawing board.

Huo Jingxuan looked at his little nephew, blinking up at him with those big eyes. The baby was a real cutie—after all, Zhang Tiantian wasn’t half bad-looking. Otherwise, his cousin wouldn’t have gone crazy over her, like she had him hypnotized.

"Xiao Mo, can you watch the baby for me? I’ll go back and talk to my family," Huo Jingxuan said.

Qi Mo nodded. "Go ahead. Better get this settled fast."

Huo Jingxuan had only just left when Qi Mo's courtyard was knocked on again—bang, bang, bang. This wasn't a normal knock - someone was pounding...

Qi Mo frowned and stepped outside. "Who is it?"

"Did you steal my son? Hand him over now!" Zhang Tiantian shouted loudly.

Upon hearing this, Qi Mo's brow furrowed. Trouble had come knocking at his door.

He opened the door, in no mood for nonsense and ready to explode. "Your son is missing? Go look for him yourself. What are you yelling at my house for? Steal your son? I have my own son. Have you lost your damn mind? If you want to go crazy, do it at your own home. Get lost!"

Seeing the half-open door, Zhang Tiantian tried to push her way in, but Qi Mo, after all, was a man.

He might not match Huo Liangzhou's strength, but he certainly wouldn't lose to a petite woman.

"Get out of my way! I need to search..." Zhang Tiantian screamed furiously.

Qi Mo let out a bitter laugh. "You got a badge or something? Do you have a search warrant? If not, get lost. Who gave you the right to just waltz into people's homes?"

"If you won't let me search, it means you stole my baby!" Zhang Tiantian bellowed.

Huo Jingcheng ran over and saw his wife throwing a fit. He turned to Qi Mo. "Qi Mo, just let my wife take a look inside. If the kid's not there, we'll leave."

"My child is missing, and my wife is worried sick," Huo Jingcheng said.

Qi Mo scoffed. Were they really trying to frame him? What was this - some kind of shakedown?

"Your child is missing? Then go look where you lost him. Coming to my house to search? Have you lost it completely? How far is my house from yours? I haven't left home since I got back from the meeting," Qi Mo snapped.

Zhang Tiantian had seen Huo Jingxuan bring the child to Qi Mo's house.

The scent of cooking meat drifted from Qi Mo's home every day. She'd heard from the villagers that Qi Mo had bought a lot of chickens and fish—his place was loaded with meat.

If she could pin the theft of her child on Qi Mo, she could shake him down for food.

"It was you! You came to my house and stole my child! I saw it! Husband, hurry up and search!" Zhang Tiantian turned and yelled at Huo Jingcheng.

The commotion had already brought Chen Xia and others outside.

Chen Xia walked over and asked Qi Mo, "What's going on? All this shouting—Zhang Tiantian, what's your problem now? This morning, you made Jingxuan and Jingcheng fight, and now you're harassing Qi Mo? Keep this up, and they'll run you right out of Huo Village."

Huo Jingcheng had bought a house in the city, and Zhang Tiantian had only married into the family.

After the wedding, she hadn't returned to the village. Now that she was finally back, she was already making waves within days.

Especially with Huo Jingcheng blindly following her lead—this was no way to live; it was practically begging to piss off the entire village.

Huo Jingcheng turned to Chen Xia. "Auntie Chen, my wife saw Qi Mo steal our child. We just want to search his house. If the kid's not there, we'll go look elsewhere. We've searched everywhere at home, and the child is gone."

Chen Xia frowned. The way the two were so certain, the kid was probably at Momo's place.

She suddenly remembered that Huo Jingxuan had come by not long ago, seemingly carrying something—likely the baby. This was trouble.

Zhang Tiantian and Huo Jingcheng were trying to pin this on Qi Mo.

"You say you saw it, so prove it. Jingjun, go call the village chief. There's trouble here. Also, call Jingxuan and have him bring his uncle and aunt over," Chen Xia called to her son.

Huo Jingjun, upon hearing this, said, "Mom, in this godawful heat, you really know how to stir things up. Huo Jingcheng, if you bully Liangzhou's wife, be careful—when Liangzhou gets back, he'll dunk you headfirst into a manure pit to knock some sense into you."

"There's not enough water for you to wash up now. Think carefully." With that, Huo Jingjun took off for the village chief's house.