Shocking! A three-year-old brings his aloof mother to their door.

Mo Yunqi jumped up and rushed out like a gust of wind, clutching the jar.

At the gate of the courtyard, Tongtong was standing there, holding a pink bubble machine in her hands, waving her chubby little hands at him.

Sunlight fell on her, and the two little buns on her head trembled in the wind. Her little face beamed with joy.

"Tongtong!" Mo Yunqi ran over, stopping abruptly in front of her, panting heavily, but his eyes shone brightly. "You...you're back?"

Tongtong nodded and held up the bubble machine in her hand:

"Brother, look! Tongtong bought a bubble machine! It only cost nine yuan! Tongtong bargained for it herself!"

Mo Yunqi didn't hear what she said at all; he just stared at her and smiled foolishly.

Then he remembered that he was still holding something in his hands, and quickly handed the jar over: "Tongtong, this is for you."

Tongtong looked down at the stars in the jar, tilted her little head, and asked, "What's this?"

"Stars," Mo Yunqi said a little embarrassedly, "I folded them and gave them to you."

Tongtong took the jar, hugged it to her chest, and looked at the colorful stars through the glass, her little face full of surprise.

"So beautiful!" She tilted her head back, grinned at Mo Yunqi, revealing a few tiny teeth, "Thank you, brother!"

Mo Yunqi blushed and whispered, "You're welcome."

Then, as if remembering something, she suddenly thought of something.

"Tongtong, I'll take you mango picking!"

Mo Yunqi grabbed Tongtong's hand and was about to run outside, his little face full of excitement.

Tongtong's eyes lit up, and her little ears perked up.

Something new again!

She found herself growing to love the countryside more and more.

There are different fun things to do here every day: catching chicks, watching piglets, going to the market to sell bamboo leaves for making zongzi (sticky rice dumplings), and now we're going to pick mangoes.

Unlike in the city, where there are only tutoring classes and extracurricular activities, such as piano, painting, and English, which she doesn't like at all, well... so she didn't learn any of them.

"Brother, wait for me!" Tongtong let go of his hand. "I'll take the bubble machine and the stars back first!"

Mo Yunqi nodded, like a dutiful little guard: "Slow down, don't rush!"

Tongtong ran into the house without looking back.

She carefully placed the bubble machine and star-shaped jars on the table, patted them with her chubby little hands, and said in a serious tone:

"Be good, Tongtong will be back soon!"

After saying that, he ran off again.

"Brother, I'm all better! Let's go!"

Mo Yunqi took her hand, and the two small figures, one tall and one short, walked towards the back of the village.

"I wonder if there are any left..." Mo Yunqi muttered as he walked, a hint of worry on his face.

Tongtong looked up at him and asked, "What? Is there any more?"

"Mangoes!" Mo Yunqi said. "I heard a lot of people went to pick them. I wonder if there are any left."

The two quickened their pace and headed towards the abandoned mango orchard.

This mango orchard has been around for a while. It used to be a contracted orchard, but the owner felt he wasn't making any money, so he simply abandoned it and left the mango trees to fend for themselves.

The neglected orchard looked messy, with weeds growing taller than knees and branches stretching out haphazardly. Yet, the mangoes that grew there were still big and beautiful, like children who grow wilder and stronger when left unattended.

As soon as the two reached the edge of the orchard, they saw several adults carrying urea bags out of it. The bags were bulging and filled with bright yellow mangoes.

"Oh dear!" Tongtong exclaimed anxiously, "They've picked so many! Brother, hurry up, or they'll pick them all!"

Mo Yunqi panicked and grabbed Tongtong, running inside.

Upon entering, the two breathed a sigh of relief; there were still plenty of mangoes on the tree, hanging at varying heights.

But upon closer inspection, the situation didn't look good.

Those mangoes that grow in conspicuous places and are within easy reach are either pitifully small and not yet fully grown.

Either there are bugs crawling on it, or there are several dark holes;

Either the location is too high, making it impossible to reach.

In short, the easy-to-pick and pretty ones are basically all gone.

Mo Yunqi was a little discouraged and pouted.

But Tongtong doesn't think so.

Looking at the overgrown orchard in front of her, she felt it was like a huge maze!

The grass that was taller than her, the crooked branches, and the mangoes hidden behind the leaves—wasn't this a treasure hunt?

"Brother, let's search quickly!" She picked up a fallen branch and defiantly pushed aside the weeds in front of her. "Tongtong, you're in charge of searching this way!"

Mo Yunqi was inspired by her enthusiasm, so he picked up a branch and started to pry open the grass on the other side.

Two small figures darted in and out of the weeds, like two hardworking little ground squirrels.

"Ah!" Tongtong suddenly exclaimed, "Brother, come quick! I've found Tongtong!"

Mo Yunqi rushed over.

Tongtong pointed with a twig to a mango hidden behind a leaf, her little face full of excitement:

"Look, look! It's huge!"

The mangoes were indeed large, golden yellow, and gleamed enticingly in the sunlight.

Tongtong reached out to pick it, but Mo Yunqi quickly stopped her.

"Wait!" He leaned closer to take a look, then shook his head regretfully. "Tongtong, this is broken."

"Bad?" Tongtong blinked. "But it's so pretty!"

Mo Yunqi pointed to several inconspicuous small holes on the mango: "Look, there are bugs here. The bugs are inside, so you can't see them from the outside."

Upon closer inspection, Tongtong indeed saw small pellets next to the holes—these were insect droppings.

Her face fell, and her lips pouted.

The two continued their search.

Found another one, but it's too small.

We found another one, half of which had been pecked away by a bird.

I found another one, turned it over, and saw that half of it was rotten.

Tongtong squatted in the grass, her little face full of frustration: "Brother, nothing works..."

Mo Yunqi was also a little discouraged, but he quickly composed himself and continued walking with his sister in his arms.

"It's alright, it's alright, we'll keep looking, there's bound to be more good ones."

As he searched, Mo Yunqi's eyes suddenly lit up.

On the short tree in front, hung a large mango, golden yellow, glistening temptingly in the sunlight.

"Tongtong, look!" He pointed at the mango, his voice rising an octave.

Tongtong followed his finger and looked over, her eyes lighting up.

But instead of being overjoyed, she cupped her hands into a tube shape, held them up like a telescope, and carefully scanned the mango.

"No bugs...so pretty..." she muttered to herself as she looked, finally putting her hand down and beaming with joy. "Okay! Brother, pick them quickly!"

Mo Yunqi rolled up his sleeves, grabbed the tree trunk, and climbed up in no time.

He stepped onto a thick branch and carefully reached out to reach the mango—

The moment my hand touched the mango, the tree trunk trembled violently.

The mango detached from the branch and fell straight down.

"Splat!"

A muffled thud.

.....