Reborn in the 60s, I hunt to support my family and even seduce the village beauty.

Fan Degui stepped onto the stool with one foot, and it creaked. He paused for a moment, then stepped onto it with the other foot, and slowly stood up while holding onto the tree trunk, swaying slightly.

His left leg was not very convenient, so all his weight was on his right leg, and his knee was taut.

Chang Kun didn't say anything; his grandfather wanted to pick pomegranates for his granddaughter, and he didn't want to do it for her.

Xiao Shui stood below, looking up at her grandfather, her hands unconsciously clenched into fists, her eyes fixed on him, her lips tightly pressed together, even more nervous than when she climbed the tree herself.

Fan Degui reached out to grab the largest pomegranate, but couldn't reach it. He tiptoed, and just as his fingertips touched the pomegranate skin, the pomegranate wobbled, and he couldn't pick it.

He adjusted his position and leaned to the side, this time reaching the pomegranate. He grabbed the pomegranate stem, twisted it, and the pomegranate left the branch.

He glanced down at Xiaoshui, held the pomegranate in his hand, turned it around so she could see it clearly.

The pomegranate peel had split open, and the bright red seeds were clustered together, shining like gemstones in the sunlight.

"Got it." Fan Degui bent down and handed over the pomegranate.

Xiao Shui held it up with both hands; the pomegranate was bigger than her fists and quite heavy.

She held the pomegranate, turning it over and over to examine it, her eyes shining, and a slow smile spread across her face, revealing two missing front teeth.

Fan Degui got off the stool, stumbled when his feet touched the ground, and quickly grabbed the tree trunk to steady himself.

He didn't care and squatted down in front of Xiao Shui.

"Grandpa will open it for you."

Xiao Shui handed him the pomegranate, squatted down next to him, rested her chin on her hands, and watched how he opened it.

With a fingernail, the pomegranate split in two, revealing a dense cluster of bright red seeds inside, resembling a pile of broken agate.

Xiao Shui exclaimed "Wow!" and her eyes widened.

Fan Degui handed her half, took the other half for himself, picked out a few seeds with his fingers, placed them in his palm, and handed them over.

"Try it first, see if it's sweet."

Xiao Shui stretched out two fingers, pinched a piece, put it in her mouth, bit it, and the juice splashed in her mouth.

Her eyes lit up immediately, and she nodded vigorously.

"sweet!"

Looking at her, Fan Degui's face was all wrinkled together.

He picked out the pomegranate seeds one by one from his hand and put them in the little sailor's palm. In no time, a small handful had been piled up.

The little girl's cheeks were bulging from eating, and there was red juice on the corners of her mouth and chin.

After eating a few, she suddenly remembered something, stood up with the pomegranate seeds in her hands, ran to Chang Kun, and opened her palms.

"Big brother, you should eat too."

Chang Kun looked down and saw a few pomegranate seeds in his palm, still wet with saliva.

He smiled, picked one up, put it in his mouth, chewed it, and said, "Mmm, sweet."

Xiao Shui smiled contentedly, then ran back to her grandfather and squatted down beside him. This time she wasn't shy and squatted next to her grandfather's arm.

While eating a pomegranate, he pointed to the pomegranates on the tree and asked, "Grandpa, when will those that haven't opened yet ripen?"

"That one still needs to grow a bit more. It'll be ready to eat in about two weeks."

"And this one?" Xiao Shui pointed to another one.

Fan Degui answered each question patiently, his voice always soft, as if afraid that raising his voice would scare his little granddaughter away.

All the pomegranate seeds that had been picked out were given to Xiao Shui. The pomegranate was cleaned thoroughly, leaving only the white pulp.

Xiao Shui's hands were covered in red juice from eating. She looked down at her own hands, then at her grandfather's hands.

Grandpa's hands were dark and thin, with thick fingers, prominent knuckles, and cracks all over the back of his hands. Her hands were fair and tender, and placed next to Grandpa's hands, they looked completely different.

She popped the last pomegranate seed into her mouth, chewed it, and mumbled, "Grandpa, pomegranates are delicious."

Fan Degui grinned, his eyes slightly reddening as he recalled his daughter's childhood.

"Grandpa, where's Grandma?" Xiao Shui only then realized that her grandma wasn't home.

The old man looked a little uncomfortable, rubbed his hands together, and forced a smile.

"She went out because someone in the neighborhood needed to talk to her. She'll be back in a bit."

Chang Kun chimed in, "When your aunt came, she said Grandma's eyesight wasn't very good?"

"It's an old problem, it's been going on for years." Fan Degui paused, as if he didn't know where to begin.

"She was very skilled at embroidery when she was young. In Tangshan, we are famous for our embroidery. She learned from the elders when she was young and can embroider all kinds of patterns."

"Back then, the family was poor, and she relied on embroidery day and night to supplement the family income. She embroidered pillowcases, door curtains, and children's tiger-head shoes. That's when she ruined her eyesight."

"At night, I would light a small oil lamp and embroider until the wee hours, my eyes pressed against the fabric. It was fine for a day or two, but how could I endure it in the long run?"

"My vision is blurry now; I can only recognize things up close. The doctor said it's something like... lens opacity, but I don't really understand. Anyway, it's incurable; I can only let it heal. But these days, even healing requires certain conditions!"

At this point, he gave a wry smile and looked down at his feet.

Chang Kun followed his gaze and asked, "How's your leg? My aunt said your legs aren't very good."

Fan Degui waved his hand, his tone more relaxed than when he was talking about his wife's eyes.

"My leg problem is old, nothing serious. I used to work in the mine, but now my legs are getting worse and worse, so I can only work as a gatekeeper. The work isn't heavy, it's mostly sitting. It's a pretty good job, I can add a few dollars to my family's income each month."

It all comes down to money.

A man with money is a hero; a man without money is nothing.

If conditions allow, who wouldn't want to rest more?

Chang Kun reached into his pocket, pulled out ten large black ten bills from his storage space, and handed them to Fan Degui.

"My aunt asked me to bring this to you. She said you two shouldn't be too frugal; eat well and spend money as you please."

Fan Degui stared at the stack of money for a long while, then pulled his hand back as if the money was too hot to handle.

"No, no, this is too much! Erxiao isn't well-off herself, and she has children to raise. We old folks don't spend much money at home. Take it back, take it back!"

Chang Kun pressed down on his hand to stop him from pushing anymore: "Grandpa Fan, if you don't accept this, your aunt will definitely bring it over herself when she finds out."

"She's pregnant now and can't handle the long and tiring journey by car. If you feel sorry for her, please don't refuse."

Fan Degui's eyes widened, and he looked up, a look of surprise on his face: "Erxiao...she's pregnant again?"

Chang Kun nodded: "Yes, Aunt is pregnant again, so please don't let her go through all that trouble. Keep this money so she can have peace of mind."

"Oh! That's great!"

Fan Degui happily circled the yard twice, muttering, "What a joyous occasion, hahaha..."

"You silly child, why didn't you come in and tell us about such a joyous occasion?"

"My daughter, why didn't she send a telegram to let me know?"

Xiao Shui watched her grandfather walk in circles, giggling.

When her father found out her mother was pregnant again, he was just like that, so happy that he paced around the yard until midnight.