Chapter 543: Wet the Bed Again

Lu Cheng just felt his eyelids were about to stay shut; he was too lazy to wash himself, let alone wash the two kids' feet.

"No need to wash, I don't mind you."

What can a child have? If it were an adult, he wouldn't even come here.

But the little girl refused, holding out her tiny hand and saying, "No, no, no foot washing, Mom won't let me sleep."

Lu Cheng sighed, "Your mother isn't here; I say you can sleep, so you can, hurry up and get into bed."

The little girl stood there shaking her head, "Hmm—no, no, Mom will find out and spank my bottom."

Seeing the little girl's stubbornness, Lu Cheng's temper vanished; after all she's the child of a leader, and the family discipline is quite strict.

"Alright, alright, I'll go boil water for you, wait up."

There is a kitchen here, but it's Lu Cheng's first time lighting a fire; previously when he slept here, he would get up in the morning to eat breakfast at his mother's place, or grab something at an outdoor stall.

A coal stove would be too late, fortunately the kitchen has a cast‑iron pot and some firewood.

Decades later, with the rise of skyscrapers, every household will use natural gas, and this cast‑iron pot will be phased out.

But Lu Cheng intends to keep it; he thinks cooking with this pot still tastes best.

He fetched half a bucket of water from the courtyard well, poured it into the pot, while the two kids played in the yard.

While the water was heating, a splash was heard, followed immediately by the little boy's frantic shout.

"Sister, sister fell into the water."

Lu Cheng sprang up, rushed into the courtyard, and saw the two kids had somehow gotten to the pond—a former fish pond, over a meter deep.

Thinking it was bad, he ran quickly and saw the little girl flailing her arms in the water.

Seeing the girl gulp water, lose strength and start to sink, Lu Cheng didn't even bother removing his clothes and dove in, pulling her onto the shore.

Climbing out, his clothes were soaked; the weather was already cold, and light snow began to fall, making him shiver all over.

He didn't know how Master managed to keep up with winter swimming.

Looking back at the two kids, they were clearly terrified, frozen in place, especially the little girl's lips turned blue from the cold.

Lu Cheng swallowed the reproach he was about to utter, hurried the kids inside, changed their clothes, and wrapped them in blankets.

He then fetched hot water, gave them a foot soak, and let the little girl recover slowly.

After re‑wrapping them, Lu Cheng finally scowled, "Why are you more mischievous than the boy? You couldn't see the water in the pond."

The little girl pouted, "There are fishies."

Lu Cheng took a breath, shook his head, and sat on a stool to soak his feet.

"I see you two aren't here to find dad; you're just here to torment me."

When they disappeared for a moment and caused such a big mess, luckily he rescued them in time; if something had happened, how would he explain it to their family?

The two kids, knowing they'd done wrong, curled up in the blankets on the bed, only their heads peeking out, not daring to speak.

After all, they're not his own children; he can't hit them nor scold them.

To prevent any lingering psychological trauma, Lu Cheng deliberately lightened the mood, casually asking a relaxed question.

"Is your mother pretty?"

The boy stayed silent; the girl replied, "Pretty—so pretty."

Lu Cheng laughed, "Since your father never comes home, how about this: let your mother be with me, and I'll be your dad."

"No!" the girl's voice was sharp.

Lu Cheng chuckled, "Why not? Look at Uncle's refined bearing; he's more than enough for your mother."

"No, you're the one unfit!"

"Hey!"

Not wanting to chat any further, Lu Cheng simply wiped his feet and prepared to sleep.

Just as he was carrying the foot‑washing water to leave the Main Hall, the little girl spoke up again.

"Uncle, where are you sleeping?"

Lu Cheng gestured, "I sleep in another room; you and your brother sleep in this one. Remember, no wetting the bed; later I'll bring you a urinal bucket."

There is a toilet in the yard, but the kids are too young; even if they get up at night, Lu Cheng still fears they'd fall back into the pond.

"Uncle, my brother and I are scared, this room is too big…"

Hearing the girl, Lu Cheng snorted, "Ha, you dare ride a train, yet you're scared! Go to sleep now."

Lu Cheng, not believing the girl, closed the door and carried the washbasin into the courtyard.

After dumping the foot‑washing water, he just wanted to lie down, but when his peripheral vision caught the clothes by the well, he involuntarily stopped.

Lu Cheng sighed, looked up at the drifting snowflakes, and internally cursed what sin had brought these two kids into his life.

There's no choice; he has to wash them, or tomorrow the kids will have no clothes to wear.

Sitting beside the well amid falling snow, he began washing clothes, and before long his hair turned white.

Lu Cheng felt a slight urge to laugh; this scene gave him the feeling of an old father whose worries turned his hair white overnight.

After washing, he couldn't hang the clothes on the line, otherwise it wouldn't dry.

He had to relight the fire again, setting a grill at the cast‑iron pot's opening.

The heat made him drowsy; he nodded off several times, and at one point almost fell headfirst into the stove.

When he saw the clothes smoldering, he fanned and patted them to extinguish the fire.

He pulled the garment aside, saw only a small hole, which didn't affect wearing.

Seeing it was already midnight, he returned to the side room, which still looked as Lin Qingyan had left it.

Exhausted to the limit, Lu Cheng had no desire to recall anything; he lay on the bed, pulled the blanket over, and fell asleep.

He slept so deeply he didn't notice when the door opened a crack.

Perhaps the place is comfortable and very quiet, or maybe the snow contributed; in any case he slept soundly.

After waking up, it was already bright outside; Lu Cheng had been awakened by hunger, feeling dazed, just thinking about where to go for breakfast, when he opened his eyes, he was so frightened he fell out of bed.

He saw that the two children didn't know when they had come in, lying asleep in his blanket.

Lu Cheng came to his senses, instantly angry: 'Get up, get up, don't sleep anymore—when did you two come in? Who let you come sleep in this house!'

The two children were asleep, and Lu Cheng shouted them awake.

The little girl rubbed her eyes: 'Uncle, I and my brother are scared…'

Lu Cheng took a breath, directly threw off the blanket to get them up, really exhausting; he needed to hurry and send his sister to that store, and he still had to go to the hospital to visit Captain Lei.

As a result of that pull, Lu Cheng's scalp almost exploded.

'Living ancestor, how did you wet the bed again!'