Fang Chi woke up later than usual today, it was almost noon when he got out of bed. Still, he insisted on going out for a run, then went to his grandfather’s place to eat a little something to fill his stomach.
Then he took Xiaozi out for a slow walk by the river. Xiaozi was getting old now, not as energetic as before, but still unwilling to just lie at home basking in the sun, so as long as Fang Chi had time, he would take it out for a walk.
After the walk, Xiaozi refused to go home, so Fang Chi had no choice but to take it along to the farm.
The farm’s sign was quite big; the two characters “Wei Tao” could be seen from far away.
Those two characters were written by Sun Wenqu. All the paintings and calligraphy in the farm were done by Sun Wenqu in his spare time, along with various pottery, vases, plates, ornaments. Every time Fang Chi saw them, he felt a burst of pride.
Today was the weekend, and there were quite a lot of customers. By this time, seven or eight cars were already parked outside.
Fang Chi glanced over them, and one of the cars looked very familiar. He took a look at the license plate and was immediately startled. He grabbed a staff member who knew Sun Wenqu’s father. “Why is the old man here?”
“He just arrived, said he was passing by to take a look,” the staff member nodded. “He only brought a driver, no one else.”
“How does he look? What kind of mood is he in?” Fang Chi asked.
“Can’t tell,” the staff member scratched his head. “The old man always has the same expression year-round.”
“With observation skills like that,” Fang Chi sighed, “go tell the kitchen to prepare lunch according to the old man’s taste. If there are dishes we don’t have, go buy them immediately.”
“Got it.” The staff member nodded and left.
Fang Chi went back to his room to change clothes, then jogged over to the office.
Today the studio was opening the kiln. Sun Wenqu had been over there for several days, so Fang Chi had to receive the old man himself.
The farm had been running for several years. It wasn’t until Fang Chi graduated last year and came over to help that things picked up. The old man only came three or four times a year, usually you couldn’t even get him to come if you asked.
Although he had agreed when Fang Chi first asked him to invest, he had always maintained that this kind of pseudo-artsy farm wasn’t something he was optimistic about. Especially after Fang Chi graduated and set up outdoor rock climbing on the hillside by the farm, he found it even more mismatched and was quite dissatisfied.
But Fang Chi knew the old man would come around this time, and also knew why, he just hadn’t expected him to show up without calling Sun Wenqu in advance.
When he entered the office, the old man had already brewed a pot of tea and was sitting by the window.
“Uncle,” Fang Chi went over and poured him some tea, “what brings you here? You didn’t even call.”
“This office has been renovated?” the old man said.
“Yeah, done a couple of months ago. Sun Wenqu said changing the style would change the mood,” Fang Chi sat beside him and poured himself a cup. “What do you think?”
“Not good,” the old man snorted. “Burning money just to make some rotating-lantern office, switching styles every day.”
“He did the renovation himself, didn’t spend much. The materials, the wood, I got from the mountain, and that rattan lamp was also made by him,” Fang Chi smiled, pointing to a hanging lamp above the tea table.
He especially liked that lamp. Sun Wenqu had made it himself from start to finish, starting from weaving the rattan bit by bit. It was very beautiful and delicate.
“No wonder it looks so ugly,” the old man sneered.
“That’s harsh,” Fang Chi clicked his tongue. “His aesthetic sense was cultivated by you, after all.”
The old man glared at him without speaking and took a sip of tea.
“How about we have a drink at noon?” Fang Chi poured him more tea.
“We’ll see,” the old man gave him a sidelong glance. “I have something to ask you.”
“Go ahead,” Fang Chi smiled.
“I should’ve asked Sun Wenqu about this, but since he’s hiding, I can only ask you,” the old man looked at him.
“They’re opening the kiln today,” Fang Chi said.
“I’m asking you,” the old man continued staring at him, his tone starting to turn displeased, “whose idea was it to sell pottery online?”
“Mine,” Fang Chi answered without hesitation. “It’s been quite a while already, and it’s grown quite big now… you only just found out?”
“Impossible,” the old man frowned. “The one who could come up with such a lousy idea is either Sun Wenqu or Ma Liang!”
Fang Chi didn’t speak. After a moment, he looked at the old man. “Lousy?”
“Isn’t it?” the old man glared at him.
“I don’t think so,” Fang Chi said. “Our visibility has increased, and sales channels have opened up, multiple chan…”
“Cheapens it!” the old man slapped the table angrily. “Don’t you think it cheapens it? Putting these things online, how many of the buyers actually understand? How many can truly appreciate them?”
“These are two different concepts,” Fang Chi smiled. “Can you really say that everyone who goes to your place understands pottery?”
The old man glared at him without speaking.
“Sun Wenqu believes that art doesn’t have only one path, the ‘lofty and few admirers’ route,” Fang Chi said. “The more people who know about it, the more people will like it; the more people who like it, the more people will understand it.”
The old man sneered, his brows tightly knit.
Fang Chi felt that it wasn’t that he couldn’t understand this. Over the past few years, the old man hadn’t interfered much with Sun Wenqu’s ideas and actions. It was as if he had accepted them, or perhaps just couldn’t be bothered to say more. This time, his anger was simply because Sun Wenqu had suddenly done this without telling him.
“Uncle,” Fang Chi poured him another cup of tea, “whether it’s this farm or selling pottery online, I know you’re not optimistic about any of it. But the fact is, he’s done quite well. Whether you’re optimistic or not doesn’t change that, right?”
“You’re getting more and more presumptuous with your words,” the old man looked at him.
“Well, you’re not really angry anyway,” Fang Chi chuckled twice, then dropped the smile. “Sun Wenqu is no longer just Sun Zhengzhi’s son. He’s himself. I don’t mean to upset you, but more people know him than know you, and more people like and appreciate his work than like yours…”
The old man slammed his teacup heavily onto the table.
Fang Chi paused, then pulled his chair a little closer. “The audience he faces is different from yours, so you can’t judge him by your standards. It’s been years, haven’t you seen that yet? Or are you just unwilling to admit it?”
“Unwilling to admit what?” the old man said coldly.
“To admit that Sun Wenqu is outstanding, far more outstanding than you imagined. He hasn’t wasted his talent at all,” Fang Chi said. “He’s an artist with a head for business.”
“He deserves that title?” the old man still kept a straight face.
“Of course he does,” Fang Chi smiled. “Aren’t you happy? You can’t even bring yourself to call him useless anymore, can you?”
“I can see it now, I came here today just to get myself angry,” the old man tossed the cup aside and stood up.
“Don’t,” Fang Chi smiled and stopped him. “Sit a bit longer. I’ll go check if the food’s ready, and we’ll have a drink in a bit.”
Frowning, the old man was pressed back into the chair, letting out a heavy sigh.
Fang Chi walked out of the office, then poked his head back in and added, “Really.”
“What?” the old man looked at him.
“I really like him the way he is,” Fang Chi said. “You definitely like it too. Doesn’t it feel uncomfortable, holding yourself so tightly like that?”
The old man glared and stood up again. Fang Chi quickly shut the door and locked it, calling out, “I’ll be right back.”
On weekends, everyone came, people heading into the mountains, playing with pottery, rock climbing. Sometimes there weren’t even enough rooms, and everything had to be booked in advance. The kitchen was incredibly busy at the moment.
“Almost ready, two dishes and a soup,” the chef said when he saw Fang Chi come in. “We wanted to make one more, but we’re too busy…”
“That’s enough,” Fang Chi said. “Including the driver, there are only three people, they won’t eat much.”
After leaving the kitchen, Fang Chi’s phone rang. It was Cheng Mo. He answered.
“I found the tire for you,” Cheng Mo said. “The big kind you mentioned. Forget one person lying in it, even the two of you together doing whatever you want would have space to spare.”
“You tried it?” Fang Chi asked.
“Have some decency, will you?” Cheng Mo said.
“You said it first,” Fang Chi clicked his tongue. “Can you get it delivered today? I’ll have someone install it tomorrow.”
“I’ll just call a car and have it sent over in a bit,” Cheng Mo said.
“Thanks,” Fang Chi said with a smile. “Once it’s set up, I’ll invite you and Xiao Yiming over to play.”
There was a lot going on during the weekend. Even though there were servers, instructors for pottery, and coaches for rock climbing, problems still popped up from time to time.
Especially at the climbing area, since it hadn’t been set up for long, and he hadn’t hired many coaches, whenever there were too many people, he had to step in himself. On weekends, he barely had any time to rest.
At noon, he had a meal with the old man, chatted for a while, and even showed him all the pottery Sun Wenqu was selling online, proving that those items weren’t purely market-driven products. When the old man left, he still had a long face, but it was clear he wasn’t as displeased as before.
Maybe he hadn’t been that displeased to begin with, just using the excuse of “coming to hold someone accountable” to understand the situation.
Fang Chi felt that at the old man’s age, expecting him to let go of his pride and stop being stubborn was probably unrealistic. Things being like this now was already pretty good.
When Sun Wenqu called, Fang Chi was running from the climbing area toward the farm gate, answering as he ran. “…Hello.”
“Getting into a fight?” Sun Wenqu paused. “Or sneaking around behind my back?”
“I’m so busy I’m about to take off. Even if you came right now, I wouldn’t have time to get on you,” Fang Chi said. “Is everything done on Uncle Liangzi’s side?”
“Yeah,” Sun Wenqu said. “I also fired an extra set of cups. Didn’t you want one for drinking chocolate?”
“You wanted it, don’t say it was me. I can drink from a bowl just fine,” Fang Chi said.
“You’re the one who asked for it,” Sun Wenqu clicked his tongue.
“Isn’t that because you complain about that bowl every time?” Fang Chi sighed. “When are you coming back? The instructor just said we’re out of clay.”
“On the way,” Sun Wenqu said. “I brought clay.”
“How much longer?” Fang Chi quickly checked the time on his phone and ran to the gate, spotting the truck carrying the tire and gesturing from afar for the workers to unload immediately.
“Still a while, before dinner,” Sun Wenqu said. “Cook me some congee, century egg and lean meat congee, but no sliced meat, I want minced meat.”
“You could just say century egg minced meat congee,” Fang Chi said. “I’ll make it for you in a bit.”
After hanging up, a few servers Fang Chi had called over earlier came up. “Brother Little Chi, should we hide this tire too?”
“Hide it,” Fang Chi waved his hand. “Same old place. Tomorrow morning when the workers come, you take it into the mountains with them and watch them install it. I gave them the blueprint.”
“No problem.” The servers immediately rolled the man-high tire along a small path toward the back of the farm.
“Boss Sun is going to be so happy when he sees it,” one of the young female servers said as she came out to take a look.
“Just keep it a secret,” Fang Chi said. “After he sees it, then you can go play on it.”
“Hey, Brother Little Chi, do you think after Boss Sun sees it, he’ll think, ‘Oh, this is nice, let’s add it to the farm as another entertainment project?’” the girl asked.
“He wouldn’t dare,” Fang Chi said, then ran back toward the kitchen.
Sun Wenqu had very high standards for congee, it had to be cooked until not a single whole grain of rice could be seen. It had to be started now to be ready when he returned.
“So hard to please,” Fang Chi muttered as he worked alone in a small separate kitchen.
Xiaozi came in from who-knows-where, covered in bits of grass, and lay down by the kitchen door.
“Old dog,” Fang Chi peeled an egg and gave it to him. “You’ve got good energy today, went digging around in the grass?”
Xiaozi was busy eating and ignored him.
“Want some congee later?” Fang Chi patted its head. “Look at your face, it’s getting white, another couple of years and you’ll turn into a Samoyed, huh?”
As soon as Sun Wenqu got back, he went straight to the room to shower.
After having a server take away the clay he brought back in the car, Fang Chi also went upstairs to the room. As soon as he entered, he stripped off his clothes and pushed open the bathroom door, squeezing inside.
“Didn’t you say you didn’t have time to get on me right now?” Sun Wenqu had just turned on the water and glanced at him.
“I don’t have time for that, but I’ve got time to touch a bit, taste a little. Mainly I’m worried you’re tired, you’ve been busy for days,” Fang Chi wrapped his arms around him from behind and licked his shoulder.
“I think you’re busier than me,” Sun Wenqu reached back and ruffled his hair. “Sometimes I call and you don’t pick up.”
“I’ve got things going on,” Fang Chi chuckled. “If I had nothing to do, would I wait for you to call? I’d have called you long ago.”
“What are you busy with? You weren’t this busy before. Feels like this past month you’ve been especially busy, and you even disappeared for a while,” Sun Wenqu leaned back against him, tilting his head to rest on his shoulder under the running water.
“I told you, I went to town with Grandma,” Fang Chi kissed the tip of his ear, tracing along the edge with his tongue as his hand slowly moved down to his lower abdomen. “Let’s go into the mountains for a break in a couple of days. This year’s been too exhausting. Among my classmates, I’m the only one who’s been this busy right after graduating, Cheng Mo and Xiao Yiming even went on a trip recently. It drives me crazy.”
“Mm,” Sun Wenqu smiled. “I told you to find a club to intern at first, you didn’t want to.”
“You said you were going to set up climbing, how could I not come?” Fang Chi said. “If I didn’t, you’d have to find someone else, and what if you found some long-legged young pretty boy…”
“You’re still pretty fresh yourself,” Sun Wenqu smacked him lightly on the butt, then grabbed his hand that was moving downward. “Weren’t you worried I was tired?”
“You… need to relax a bit?” Fang Chi smiled.
“You’ll help me?” Sun Wenqu turned around, leaning against the wall, narrowing his eyes slightly.
“Mm.” Fang Chi pressed forward and kissed him. After lingering, he slowly moved down, chin, neck, collarbone, chest… then to his lower abdomen, his tongue lightly tapping there.
Sun Wenqu tilted his head back. After hearing his soft sigh, Fang Chi slid a hand along his waist and continued downward.
Sun Wenqu had started the farm when Fang Chi was in his sophomore year. But Sun Wenqu was lazy and had high standards, so the process dragged on, starting and stopping for quite a long time before it officially opened.
From then on, whenever Fang Chi had holidays, he would come back to help. From starting the climbing project after graduation until now, it felt like the two of them had been busy nonstop, never really taking a proper break.
Now that things were gradually falling into place and all the farm’s projects were on track, he finally had the time to think about something he had wanted to do for a long time.
The tire had already been taken into the mountains. The workers had installed it, and the servers even sent him a couple of photos, it looked pretty good.
Early in the morning, Fang Chi made breakfast and replaced the flowers in the vase in the bedroom. Then he went over and nudged Sun Wenqu, who was still lying in bed. “Get up, we’re going into the mountains to play today.”
“Today?” Sun Wenqu turned over.
“There aren’t many bookings today, fewer people,” Fang Chi said. “You’re not planning to wait until the weekend, are you?”
“Fine,” Sun Wenqu yawned and sat up. “But just so we’re clear, I’m not climbing. Walking around the mountain a bit is fine.”
“No climbing needed,” Fang Chi smiled.
The path into the mountains had been repaired with village funding, making it much easier to walk than before, and more and more tourists were coming.
But after walking a bit along the newly built road, Fang Chi led Sun Wenqu onto a small path, one almost completely overgrown with weeds.
“Where are we going?” Sun Wenqu looked around. “I’ve been here for years and never noticed this path.”
“A bit further ahead connects to the path we used to take,” Fang Chi held his hand. “This side has a gentler slope, no need to climb anything.”
“Where are we going?” Sun Wenqu asked again.
“To…” Fang Chi smiled and turned back to look at him. “I have something to give you.”
“It’s not even a holiday, and between the two of us one birthday has passed and the other hasn’t arrived yet,” Sun Wenqu clicked his tongue. “What are you giving me a gift for?”
“I’ve wanted to give it for a long time, just never had the time to make it. I’ve been thinking about it for years,” Fang Chi said.
Sun Wenqu laughed. “I knew it, you’ve been thinking about buying a house.”
“Can’t afford one,” Fang Chi said.
“So you didn’t go build a house for me in the mountains, did you?” Sun Wenqu said.
Fang Chi laughed. “No.”
They walked along the small path for a while. Sun Wenqu saw the old trail they used to take into the mountains. Instead of turning onto the uphill path, Fang Chi turned again, leading him around toward the back of the mountain.
“Isn’t that your family’s plot of land up ahead?” Sun Wenqu asked.
“Yeah, it’s been left unused all this time,” Fang Chi nodded.
“What did you do there?” Sun Wenqu looked at him.
“You’ll know in a bit,” Fang Chi said with a smile.
As they continued, the path began to change.
This path used to lead only to Fang Chi’s family’s unused land, so hardly anyone came here. The faint trail that had once been trampled out was already barely visible.
But now, colored pebbles began to appear underfoot, not thickly laid, but covering a narrow path about half a meter wide.
Sun Wenqu said nothing. After walking a little further, he noticed the weeds along the path had been trimmed, and even patches of newly planted grass and flowers with clear signs of human care.
“You…” Sun Wenqu couldn’t help starting to speak, but Fang Chi interrupted him right away.
“Don’t talk,” Fang Chi smiled.
The forest was cool in summer, with a light breeze. Golden patches of sunlight dappled the pebble path, making it look quiet and comfortable.
At the end of the path, Fang Chi stopped. “We’re here.”
Sun Wenqu, who had been looking down at the path the whole time, finally raised his head. At one glance, he froze, stunned, and after a long moment asked, “What is this?”
“This is the garden I’m giving you,” Fang Chi walked behind him, wrapped an arm around him, and gently pushed him forward. “You once said you wanted a yard, to plant lots of flowers, lily of the valley, and that you didn’t need flowerpots, tires would do…”
Sun Wenqu didn’t speak.
This was a small clearing carved out at the edge of a bamboo grove, surrounded by a small bamboo fence.
Through the little gate in the fence was a small garden. Grass covered the ground, and variously sized tires filled with soil were planted with all kinds of small flowers and plants. In the middle, a ring of blooming lily of the valley swayed gently in the breeze.
Nearby was a frame, a handmade welded iron frame, from which a very large tire hung by several iron chains.
“Is this… a swing?” Sun Wenqu asked.
“You could call it that. Or a hanging bed,” Fang Chi pulled him over. “See? You can lie on it or sit on it.”
Inside the tire, climbing ropes were woven into a net, with several thick cushions tossed on top. It looked extremely comfortable.
“You made this?” Sun Wenqu looked at the little garden before him, something that felt like it could only exist in a dream, still a bit dazed. “All of this? This is what you’ve been busy with lately?”
“Not entirely. I had Little Chen and the other staff help bring in the materials, the small tires and the pebbles were all carried in by them. I had people from the village weld the frame for the big tire,” Fang Chi said with a smile. “They even thought our farm was expanding. It actually wasn’t that much trouble. I originally wanted to make it bigger, but it felt like there wasn’t enough time, I was worried the lily of the valley would go out of season…”
Sun Wenqu turned to look at him.
“But even if they went out of season, it wouldn’t matter,” Fang Chi led him walking among the tires arranged in different shapes. “I asked at the flower market, they matched these plants for me, so something’s always blooming until the end of the year. When one kind finishes, another starts…”
“When did you learn to be this romantic?” Sun Wenqu smiled, cupping his face and looking at him seriously. “I never noticed before.”
“I didn’t learn it, and I wasn’t trying to be romantic,” Fang Chi chuckled. “I just still remember the look in your eyes back then when you said you wanted a place like this. I felt like you really wanted it… At first I thought about buying a house with a yard, but that would take too long, so I figured I’d make something like this first. I originally wanted to add tables and chairs too, but only the metal ones can stay outdoors, and you once said those were the ugliest, so I didn’t add them. I’ll let you decide.”
Sun Wenqu hugged him, lowering his head and pressing his eyes into his shoulder. “You really are…”
“It would’ve been better if this land of ours were closer to the road… but this is good too, quiet, and not too far from the farm,” Fang Chi wrapped an arm around his waist. “Next time you’re looking for inspiration, you can come here. Don’t you always complain the farm is too noisy?”
“Mm.” Sun Wenqu responded softly.
“Pretty touching, right?” Fang Chi grinned. “I think it turned out pretty well myself, I like it a lot.”
“It’s touching,” Sun Wenqu nodded.
“Do you like it?” Fang Chi asked.
“I like it,” Sun Wenqu raised his hand and flicked his forehead. “Very much.”
“No need to say thank you,” Fang Chi rubbed his forehead. “Just honestly grow old with me.”
“Haven’t we already been getting old together for years?” Sun Wenqu clicked his tongue, then turned and walked over to the big tire, lying down on it and stuffing a cushion under his head. “Son, come over here and give it a push.”
“Okay.” Fang Chi ran over with a smile.
Author’s note: Alright, that’s the end of the extras.
Thank you all for reading, hehe.
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