Ch 22  – Time Passed By 

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The village in the remote mountain area was quiet and peaceful, away from the hustle and bustle of big cities.
Sometimes, this place seemed to resemble paradise, as even the pace of time seemed to flow slower.
Mornings in that village were beautiful, with birds singing sweetly on the tree branches served as the background.

A group of young children ran on the village street, breaking the morning serenity with their lively noises.
They all ran in the same direction.
Before they even reached their destination, the children already shouted a name loudly: “Wenwen, Wenwen!”

 

In an instant, more than a dozen children arrived in front of the courtyard gate of a farmhouse.
They stretched their necks and shouted in unison: “Wenwen! Come out!”

“Wenwen!”

Not long after, a little dumpling strode out from the opened gate.
At this moment, all the children’s eyes were on him, as if attracted by a spotlight.
The little dumpling’s black eyes were round and big.
Under the shade of beautifully curled eyelashes, those eyes shone line stars in the night sky.
His skin was white and tender, with cute baby fat and chubby limbs that made people feel itchy to take a pinch.

As soon as the child came out, he was surrounded by children of various ages: “Wenwen, let’s play!”

“Wenwen will play with us!”

“Wenwen, let’s play hide-and-seek today!”

“Wenwen…”

More than two years had passed peacefully.
For adults, one year might be a short enough time that seemed to pass with nothing changed except for the increase in age.
However, the passage of time was very obvious in children.
The time it took for a baby to grow from a soft little creature that could only lie on their back to a four-legged crawling toddler was less than one year.
Then, it took them only another year to evolute further into a miniature two-legged human that could run, speak, and play on their own.

This cute and soft little dumpling was precisely Fu Wen.
Chi Wen accepted the name Fu Yunruo took, but only half of it.
He was willing to call himself Fu Wen, not Fu Wenwen.
A cute name with a repeated phrase was clearly out of sync with his future handsome self.
If haters from previous life ever knew about this name, they would laugh so hard that their teeth fell out!

Therefore, little Chi Wen resolutely declared his name was Fu Wen.

However, his little friends kept calling him Wenwen, Wenwen, without showing any effort to change.
Correcting one by one every time was too big of a hassle, so in the end, he just let them call as they liked.

Wenwen watched the group of children who were quarreling to play with him and sighed in melancholy.
Being too popular was hard.

Suddenly, a squishy little hand quietly reached out and grabbed his hand.

Wenwen turned around and saw a little girl who was a head taller than him giving him a cute smile.

The five-year-old Diandian said softly: “Wenwen, let’s play house.
I will be the mother, and you are the baby.”

A fat boy rushed out and said loudly: “Wenwen won’t play house with you girls! Wenwen likes to play with us!”

Diandian was startled by the loud shout.
She timidly looked at the fat boy before turned back at Wenwen with teary eyes.

The six-year-old Yiyi yelled back: “Wenwen doesn’t play your game! Boys’ game is not fun at all!”

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“Playing house is not fun!”

“None of your games are fun.
Wenwen, let’s go fishing, okay? We will give all the fish and shrimp we catch to big sister Ruoruo so she can cook us delicious porridge!”

Fu Wen was moved by the last proposal.
The creeks and rivers in the countryside had yet been polluted by industries.
The fish and shrimps caught locally could be eaten as is.
After they were cleaned, they were cooked with rice in a clay pot.
Then put in some ginger and oil, and the end result was a pot of delicious fish and shrimp porridge.

The more adventurous children often climbed up the tree to hunt for birds and eggs and went into the river to catch fish, shrimp, and snails.
Whenever they found something fresh, they would bring it to Fu family’s house, ask Fu Yunruo to cook, and then eat together.

However, it was now the end of the winter.
The temperature was still a bit cold, and adults wouldn’t let the children enter the river yet, so the idea had to be shelved.

Wenwen also didn’t want to make his mother worry, so he regretfully rejected the idea.

After a long time, the children were still arguing loudly with no conclusion.

“Don’t be too noisy.” The cute babyish voice was not too loud, but the quarreling children instantly quieted down as soon as he spoke.
All of them eagerly looked at the chubby little dumpling, waiting for him to make a decision.

Wenwen puffed out his chubby cheek and spoke like an adult: “Let’s not play those childish games.”

All of these children were older than Wenwen, with the youngest was four-year-old and the oldest was twelve-year-old, but they always followed his words.
Little Shitou blinked confusedly and asked: “Are we going to play world of chivalry again?”

“No.” Wenwen said solemnly, “Today, we are going to play the emperor’s palace.
I want to be the emperor!”

“I want to be the empress dowager!” Diandian responded immediately.
She liked Wenwen so much and really wanted to be his mother!

Yiyi hesitated for a moment.
She remembered the most beautiful person in the TV drama and quickly said: “Then I want to be the empress!”

The village children originally liked to watch cartoons, but Wenwen liked TV dramas that adults usually watched, so they were also influenced by Wenwen and ditched the cartoons to watch TV dramas.
A few days ago, they watched a palace drama with the emperor, ministers, and concubines, so they also wanted to play impressive roles.

 

The village children originally liked to watch cartoons, but Wenwen liked TV dramas that adults usually watched, so they were also influenced by Wenwen and ditched the cartoons to watch TV dramas.
A few days ago, they watched a palace drama with emperor, ministers, and concubines, so they also wanted to play impressive roles.

“I am the prime minister!”

“I am a master!”

“Master is not an official!”

“Then I am a traitorous minister!”

“…”

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Seeing that his friends had chosen the roles they wanted to play, little Shitou said: “Then, then I will be the favored concubine!”

Yiyi refused, “You are a boy and can’t be a concubine!”

Little Shitou was sad: “Why not?”

Yiyi tilted her head.
She also didn’t know why.
However, the concubines on the TV were all girls, so she said, “Anyway, you cannot.”

Little Shitou instantly burst into tears.
Choked with sobs, he looked at Wenwen pleadingly: “I want to be Wenwen’s closest person…”

However, the girls refused to let him join their rank of concubines, and little Shitou bawled even louder.
Seeing this, Wenwen said solemnly: “Then I will make you my general manager of palace affairs.
He is the person closest to and most trusted by the emperor.”

When little Shitou heard it, he burst into a wide grin: “Okay.
I am going to be the general manager of palace affairs!”

Having chosen their roles, the children happily left Wenwen’s house.
After arriving in their usual playing ground, Wenwen assigned other children lines according to their roles.
Regardless of age, all children seriously tried to remember their lines and order of appearance.

Not long after, under Wenwen’s guidance, a stormy court drama began to ensue.
However, with the children’s enthusiastic interpretation, none of the tension of political intrigue or harem battle could be felt.

Adults who passed by saw the children playing and walked away in a laugh.
It was really amusing to see a group of small children reciting the lines from serious court drama with their tender voices.

But the children thought that they were super great.
Not only could they memorized lines, but they could also act together! Well, although everyone only had one or two short lines.

And they also added more scenes on their own! For example, the empress dowager was currently fighting for the emperor’s favor with the general manager of palace affairs.

For example, in order to win the emperor’s favor, all the loyal ministers had infighting that almost ended in a fist brawl.

Wenwen, who was sitting in a majestic th-……sitting on a small plastic bench that served as his dragon chair, sighed in melancholy as he watched the children’s chaotic performance.

He really didn’t have it easy, ah.

In the end, Wenwen had to seriously re-teach his little friends about how to acting, again and again.

…

The children played happily until noon, when they had to go home to eat lunch.
One of the boys, a skinny monkey-like child named Zhuangzhuang, pulled Wenwen to the side and said: “Wenwen, let’s go to my house.
My family slaughtered a chicken this morning.
I will give you a big chicken leg to eat!”

Zhuangzhuang’s family didn’t mistreat the boy.
There was always enough food and care for him.
However, Zhuangzhuang was a premature baby.
When Zhuangzhuang was born, he was very thin and small.
His family carefully raised him and even named him Zhuangzhuang, hoping that he would grow up strong and healthy.
However, no matter how much nutrition was given, Zhuangzhuang was still thin and small, like a malnourished child.

Little Shitou also wanted to take Wenwen home, but his family didn’t slaughter any chicken today.
Unwilling to lose, he yelled: “Wenwen, go to my house.
I will ask my grandma to kill a big rooster for you to eat!”

At this moment, a female’s gentle voice intervened: “Thank you for the invitation, but Wenwen is going home to eat with me!”

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The children looked up and saw a slender figure approached.
Her black and silky long hair was tied into a simple braid that hung on her left shoulder, making her looked young and fresh.

“Big sister Ruoruo!” The children shouted joyfully.

Fu Yunruo smiled gently: “I cooked delicious food at home.
Do you want to come and eat with us?”

The children looked back at Fu Yunruo before running away gleefully like a swarm of bees: “No need, big sister Ruoruo!”

After the children were gone, Fu Yunruo looked at Wenwen, who had played hard until his face flushed red.
She probed his chubby cheek.
Although the child wasn’t sweating, his skin temperature was high.

“Did Wenwen have fun playing?” Fu Yunruo asked softly.
She then took the child’s hand and walked home.

Wenwen grasped Fu Yunruo’s hand and began to hop around.
But soon, he realized that his behavior was too childish, so he stopped hopping and walked like a little adult.
Hearing his mother’s question, he curled his lips and said disdainfully: “Just so-so!”

Children nowadays were hard to teach.
Although they listened to him most of the time, they would occasionally be disobedient and gave him a headache.
As the king of the children who ruled over the whole village’s younger population ranging from one-year-old little toddler to thirteen-year-old big child, Fu Wen really didn’t have it easy.

“Those children are really difficult to look after!”

Hearing a little dumpling who was less than four years old said such an adult-like sentence, Fu Yunruo almost burst in laugh.
Today was the weekend, and there was no school.
Children who already attended kindergartens and elementary schools also came to play together.
Although Wenwen complained grumpily, he was obviously happy to play with more friends.

 

“Mom, how about your job negotiation?” Fu Wen asked.
He really didn’t have it easy.
Not only did he have to take care of his little friends, he also had to worry about his mother’s career.

“It’s finished, little manager.” Fu Yunruo replied with a smile.

 

These two years, Fu Yunruo didn’t seem to have changed much…no, she actually had changed.
The peaceful and fulfilling life had polished her character for the better.
After two years, Fu Yunruo’s popularity had undergone earth-shattering changes, and she was now one of the top-rank livestreamers.

Among the orchids she worked hard to cultivate, the seventh and the tenth child had finally bloomed a month ago.
The photos of aspidistra and phalaenopsis in full bloom had attracted widespread attention in the orchid circle.

In the past two years, Fu Yunruo had diligently taken daily photos of her orchids, once every morning and night.
As a result, she realized that she had collected more than 5000 photos of each ‘child.’ An idea suddenly popped into Fu Yunruo’s mind.
She quickly imported the photos into a video editor and spent more than half a month carefully editing them into 3 minutes, 38 seconds stunning blockbuster video.

The video started with seed as it broke through the soil, sprouted, and grew into a seedling.
The photos were taken over time from various angles, and the viewers could see the small seedling grew taller and taller into an orchid plant.
A bud gradually grew on the plant and finally bloomed into a beautiful flower.

It was very stunning and breathtaking.

Watching the short video, people seemed to witness the miracle of life, presented by a visual feast.
As for the fans who were participating in the orchid’s growth, whether from the beginning or halfway through, they were even more touched.
Their feeling was no less than seeing a child they had worked hard to raise grew up to be the most beautiful thing in the world.
The fans were proud and satisfied and even felt an urge to cry.

The video became viral in an instant.
It was being shared and redistributed again and again, even outside the Panda Live forum.
And the video’s popularity exploded again after the official account of Orchid Art Association, which had a high authority in the domestic orchid industry, forwarded it and left a comment.

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‘A touching record of a blossoming life—’

In no time, other organizations also began to repost and sent likes to the video, which pushed it to another level of popularity.

In the Panda Live forum alone, the video had been played billions of times.

Under Fu Yunruo’s lens, the orchids were full of vitality, and a video made from thousands of such stunning photos attracted and mesmerized countless viewers.
They could see it clear that the creator of this video definitely loved orchids and also loved life itself.
She poured her love into her care and creation, and in turn, her creation touched people’s hearts.

After watching this video, many people commented that they who were originally feeling irritated, sad, or disappointed in life slowly felt eased, as if they were being healed, and began to rekindle a new hope.

A person commented that he had been tormented for a long time by tinnitus caused by anxiety, which seriously affected his life.
After watching the video, all his anxiety disappeared like magic.
There were no longer irritating noises ringing in his ears, as it was exchanged by the sound of a flower blooming.

Regardless of whether these comments were true or not, Fu Yunruo’s video was really popular.
Even people who were not interested in growing flowers also liked to watch the video, appreciating the beauty of life.
That was such a magical charm possessed by the artwork of passion.

Thanks to this video, the popularity of Fu Yunruo’s channel also skyrocketed.
The number of her followers broke the ten million mark in an instant and was still rising rapidly.
Many passersby were converted into a fan after watching the video.

Two days after that, the team of a popular singer contacted her.
The singer was about to release a fantasy-themed album, and it happened that the female lead of the MV was an orchid demon.
The team was shocked upon seeing Fu Yunruo’s video, so they came to her, asking to buy a commercial right to use the video for their MV.
The terms offered by the team were excellent.
After a round of negotiation with Fu Yunruo’s agent, the contract was quickly finalized.

Good things came in pairs.
At the same time, the Orchid Art Association also contacted Fu Yunruo, wanting to buy the full copyright of the video for their association’s promotion material.

The contract with the singer was represented by Fu Yunruo’s agent, while Fu Yunruo herself took care of the negotiation with the Orchid Art Association.
Fu Yunruo supported the association’s cause and agreed to let them use her video for promotion, but she didn’t want to sell the full copyright.
On top of that, she had sold the commercial right to another party, which would result in a conflict of interest.

Therefore, Fu Yunruo showed another video to the association’s representative.
This video was also created by her right after she finished the first video.
With experience under her belt, she finished the second video faster than the first one.
However, the momentum of the first video hadn’t passed yet, so Fu Yunruo’s agent told her to wait for the best timing before uploading the second video.

When people from Orchid Art Association saw that Fu Yunruo still had another orchid video, they were ecstatic.
This video was visually more stunning than the first one and also hadn’t appeared in public yet, so the association immediately decided to use this video for their promotion.

The two sides went into negotiation and decided on a partnership plan.
Fu Yunruo was appointed as the ambassador of the Orchid Art Association and would use the video to promote the association.
The video’s copyright still belonged to her, but she would tag Orchid Art Association under the uploaded video and granted them the right to use the video for the association’s own promotional materials.

After finalizing the two big contracts, Fu Yunruo’s fame rose to another level.
From now on, as long as she didn’t commit a big mistake that would kill her career, her status in the livestreaming industry was unshakable.

Hearing that the contract had been finalized successfully, Wenwen was very happy.
He couldn’t help grinning, revealing two rows of neat and white baby teeth.

“Mom is amazing! Mom is amazing!” Wenwen puffed his small chest proudly.
Deserved to be Fu Wen’s mother; she was so amazing! He was so proud of her!

Fu Yunruo was excited.
No matter how much fame and money she made, none could be compared with Wenwen’s hearty praises, which filled her with warm happiness.

Fu Yunruo complimented: “Wenwen is more amazing!”

“Mom is more, more amazing!”

“Wenwen is more, more, more amazing!”

“Haha…”