RPS – Chapter 88 The Most Primitive Loom

“You mean… the baby moved?” Li was stunned by the news. Before An was born, they’d both mistaken the baby’s movements for simple discomfort, missing those early signs of life. Even when there had been fetal movements, they hadn’t recognized them for what they were. The memory always brought regret and guilt. So, with this new baby, Li had poured his whole heart into making up for that lost time. Of course, his love and affection for An hadn’t lessened in the slightest.

“Mhm…” Li Feng could only nod now, still immersed in the indescribable, mystical feeling of sensing the baby move inside him. The sensation of being connected by blood and bone was beyond words. He remembered how his coworkers had talked about their pregnancies before—especially about fetal movements—with glowing faces full of pride and wonder, describing it all as mysterious and magical. Back then, he had just smiled and nodded politely, inwardly skeptical: Could it really be that amazing?

Now that he was experiencing it himself, he finally understood—it was real. To feel the child’s every move inside, to sense their shared connection in body and mind… it was truly beautiful. Only by experiencing it firsthand could one really understand.

When Li got Li Feng’s confirmation, he was overjoyed. He grinned broadly and squatted down, pressing his ear to Li Feng’s belly. “Let me hear.”

Li Feng’s clothes were pulled up by Li, revealing his rounded belly. At the same time, he was holding the baby in his arms. The baby didn’t understand what Daddy Li was doing and began squirming around in Li Feng’s hold. He had been playing swing with Daddy Li Feng just moments ago—why was Daddy standing now and holding him sideways like this? It wasn’t comfy at all. But Li Feng, fully focused on the unborn baby’s movements, didn’t realize the position was bothering the baby. The little one had to fend for himself.

With his chubby little bottom wiggling against Li Feng’s arm and his bare feet kicking about, the baby’s strength—though small—was not to be underestimated. After a couple of kicks, both his feet slipped through the crook of Li Feng’s arm… and landed squarely on Daddy Li’s head, who had his ear pressed to the belly.

Li Feng finally realized the baby’s restlessness and quickly adjusted his hold. But just then, a little foot smacked Li on the head. It didn’t hurt, but he felt a little frustrated. He hadn’t heard any fetal movement, and now he’d taken two baby-foot hits for his trouble.

Li Feng burst out laughing and teased him, “The baby must be blaming you for ignoring him. You came over and didn’t even greet him, just focused all your attention on the one in the belly.”

Li stood up, rubbing his head, and gently nibbled the baby’s tiny feet. “You little rascal, such a grudge-holder? Daddy didn’t even get to hear yet!”

“The baby’s still small. It was just a light flutter earlier. And as soon as you came near, he stopped. Next time, I’ll call you when it happens. Be ready—you need to come running.” Li Feng patted his chest, then placed the baby in his arms. “Here, play with him for a bit. I’m going to lie down. When he gets sleepy, bring him over.” With that, he waddled off with his belly swaying.

That left Li and the baby staring at each other—big eyes to small ones. The baby blinked. How did I end up in Daddy Li’s arms?

“Alright, Daddy Li Feng went to sleep. Now I’ll play with you. You wanted to swing, right? I’ll push you.” Li kissed the baby’s nose, speaking in a soft, affectionate tone. The baby was well-behaved and didn’t cry when held.

“Papa… Papa…” the baby murmured, unclear whether he was calling for Li Feng or Li.

“Yes, sweetheart. We’re going to play on the swing now.” Li gently tied the baby into a basket with soft animal pelts, securing both sides so he wouldn’t fall out.

The baby stared wide-eyed as Daddy Li wrapped him up in what looked like five layers of binding. He had no clue what Daddy was up to, but it looked like fun. Is Daddy playing with me? Instinctively, his gaze followed Li moving around, curious what game was about to start.

Li finished tying everything down, checked it a few times, and gave the swing a gentle tug to test the tightness. Good—no risk of falling. He placed the baby’s little hands on the edge of the basket so he could hold on, then stood to the side and began to push.

Li had strong arms and tried to be gentle, but he didn’t realize how light both the swing and the baby were. The swing, already hanging a bit off the ground, began to sway higher and higher with just a few nudges. Li was startled—it had gone way higher than he intended. I didn’t even push that hard!

And now the baby was practically soaring in the air.

Oh no, Li panicked. If Li Feng sees this, I’m dead meat.

He rushed to grab the swing’s ropes and bring it to a stop. Looking down, he saw the baby frozen mid-swing, clearly stunned by the unexpected height. Once the swing came to a stop, the baby blinked a few times and then—

“Waaahhhh!” The waterworks exploded. Arms stretched out toward Li, desperate to be held.

Li quickly untied the baby and cradled him close, trying to soothe him. But… usually when I toss him high, he loves it! He always giggles and wants more. Why’d he get so scared this time?

Before he could figure it out, Li Feng had appeared behind him.

He’d only come out to grab a piece of fruit before lying down, but then saw the swing flying high with the baby in it. He’d nearly had a heart attack. He’d wanted to shout but was afraid of scaring them. He’d dropped the fruit and run over, clutching his belly the whole way. Thank goodness it wasn’t far—or his stomach wouldn’t have survived the sprint.

“What do you think you’re doing?!” Li Feng snatched the tear-streaked baby into his arms and with his other hand, twisted Li’s ear. “You actually let the baby swing alone—tied up like that?! Are you out of your mind?! He’s still just a baby! What if he fell? Got hurt? That’s not just your son—you’re acting like he’s a kitten or something! If anything had happened to him, I swear—”

Li was devastated. He hadn’t meant any harm. How was he supposed to know the swing was that light and would fly up so easily? And he had stopped it right away. The baby only cried, no real harm done. Why was Li Feng so angry?

“I didn’t mean to!” he said helplessly.

“You—” Li Feng was too furious to speak. Of course he hadn’t meant it, but that didn’t make it okay. Still fuming, he turned away and walked off with the baby.

The little one was still sobbing, burying his face in Li Feng’s neck, his tiny arms clinging tightly around his neck. He must’ve really been frightened—just now, he’d been way too high up.

Li saw Li Feng’s eyes turning red and quickly chased after him while rubbing his ear. Why did Li Feng twist it so hard? It was hot and painful.

Nuo was still studying the loom that Li Feng had drawn from his vague memory. It was made of a few wooden pieces and definitely needed Bu’s help to build. Li Feng only shared the basic concept he understood—how to crisscross threads (warp and weft) to weave cloth—then left the rest for them to figure out. He stood by offering suggestions while they worked. Though working with wood wasn’t easy, it wasn’t enough to stump the idle Bu and the others. Despite being troublesome, they could still use stone knives and shell blades to slowly smooth the wood.

Nuo, Bu, and the three brothers—Mo, Lu, and Ka—had been seriously studying it when suddenly they felt a gust of wind rush past. Then they heard a pitiful baby’s cry. When they turned around, they saw Li Feng already carrying the baby back into the room, with Li following behind, still rubbing his ear. Apparently, that gust of wind had come from Li rushing past. Li Feng wasn’t even running anymore. The group all shook their heads—no one knew what Li had done this time to make Li Feng angry. Lately, Li Feng seemed to enjoy throwing tantrums at Li, and the two of them were constantly playing a game of chase. The others had become numb to it. But how did the baby get caught up in it this time?

“What exactly is this loom supposed to look like? Even Li Feng couldn’t explain clearly, and he wants us to make it. How are we supposed to know how to weave such fine threads into cloth?” Nuo grumbled as he fiddled with the pile of wooden pieces. He didn’t even know how to assemble them. Who knew when the loom would ever be finished?

“No idea. Didn’t Li Feng demonstrate it once? I think he just stretched a bunch of threads vertically, tightly packed together, and then pushed horizontal threads through them to form cloth,” Bu said with a frown. Though it looked easy when Li Feng showed it, they really had no clue where to start.

“Uncle Li Feng even said something like, ‘Arrange the threads in rows as warp, and weave them with weft,’” Mo recited dramatically, imitating how Li Feng had said it. “But what does that even mean?”

“No idea. Uncle Li Feng didn’t explain,” Lu scrunched up his nose, clearly confused.

“It means what Bu just said earlier,” Li Feng walked out slowly and casually explained. It was too troublesome to explain the warp and weft thoroughly, but what Bu said was basically right.

“Huh? You’re out already? Not sleeping? Where’s the baby?” Nuo asked, noticing that Li Feng was swinging his arm and munching on fruit.

“Couldn’t fall asleep. The baby’s sleeping now.”

“Well…” Nuo had just been about to ask where Li was when he looked up and saw Li coming out with his ears red as tomatoes. Everyone tried to hold back their laughter. They all knew Li Feng loved twisting Li’s ears whenever he got mad. And Li just indulged him, never getting angry—in fact, he treated it as playful flirting. Every time his ears were twisted, he’d just use it as a pretext to “take care” of Li Feng later. But now that Li Feng was pregnant, the tables had turned. Li couldn’t do anything, and it was driving him crazy.

Li pretended not to notice everyone’s looks and, as usual, kept a stern, cold face like an iceberg—but those red ears completely ruined the effect. Instead of looking scary, he just looked hilarious. Mo and Lu were covering their mouths trying not to laugh. Li was helpless—let them laugh if they wanted.

“Alright, weren’t we discussing how to weave cloth? Let’s get back to it,” Li Feng waved his hand to help Li out of the embarrassing situation. He couldn’t let the others bully his “spouse,” after all.

To be fair, the loom wasn’t particularly complicated—at least not for those who already knew how to use one. In ancient times, every household had one, and girls learned how to use it from a young age. Even without being carpenters, they had a basic understanding. Unlike people nowadays, who are completely clueless. Naturally, Li Feng didn’t know either. He only remembered seeing a few fleeting images in TV dramas, and couldn’t recall exactly what the loom looked like.

He only knew that weaving involved many vertical warp threads interlaced with horizontal weft threads. The key was figuring out how to construct a wooden frame to hold and support them. He had the theory but needed a lot of hands-on practice. And since he was pregnant, Li wouldn’t allow him to do much, so he had to rely on Li and the others to do the work. He could only give ideas from the side. Still, that was helpful. Sometimes, the others even came up with novel ideas on their own—primitive intelligence couldn’t be underestimated.

He vaguely remembered reading that during an archaeological dig at the Hemudu Neolithic site, tools like spindles, tubular bone needles, wooden and bone beaters, and winding sticks were unearthed. That meant even if Li Feng couldn’t invent it himself, someone else eventually would. He was just impatient. Still, there was no denying that combining his modern theory with the primitive people’s hands-on ability led to some impressive results.

Although the loom they built wasn’t sophisticated—rough, even—it still surprised and delighted them. It was as simple as a wooden cart frame, with horizontal beams at both ends and in the middle to hold the threads. There was even a movable beam at the front where someone could sit and push the weft threads through, while the warp threads stayed fixed on the immobile beams.

Tools like the beater stick and winding rods used to organize and push the weft were relatively easy to make. Once the frame was done, the rest was manageable.

After nearly a month of effort, they finally cracked the tough challenge. Li Feng felt a huge burden lifted from his heart—it was another step toward his dream of building a modest, prosperous life. Crude or not, as long as they could weave cloth, it was a success.

Looking at the finished loom, Li Feng couldn’t wait to try it. Unfortunately, his belly had grown even bigger over the past month, and he could no longer fit in the seat. Wood was scarce and hard to shape, so the loom had been made small. All he could do now was watch Nuo happily sit and try weaving. Hmph! Fine—if you can’t sit, then you can just assign all the weaving work to them. It’s exhausting anyway. Whatever gets woven will go to An and the baby first.

He gently stroked his belly. He was about five months along now, and the baby’s movements were getting more noticeable. Li’s favorite activity these days was lying on Li Feng’s belly to listen to the heartbeat and feel the baby move. The weather was hot, and Li refused to move once he lay down. Each time, Li Feng would get so overheated he’d smack Li off to the side.

An was now nearly a year old. His legs were stronger, and sometimes he could stand or take a few steps while holding onto something. In his free time, Li Feng liked teaching the baby how to talk and walk. He’d place An’s feet on top of his own and hold the baby’s hands, walking forward slowly. But as his belly grew, bending over got harder, so he had to alternate different methods.

“Baby, come here—Daddy’s right here,” Li Feng squatted a few steps away, arms open, coaxing the baby to walk toward him.

The baby, standing with Li’s support under his armpits, saw Li Feng holding his favorite rattle drum—the same toy they thought of while building the loom. Ever since Li tied him to a swing, this had become his second favorite thing. The swing, however, he only agreed to play on if Li Feng was the one pushing it.

“Daddy, daddy…” the baby bent his knees and waist, bouncing in place, clearly eager to get the toy.

“If you want the toy, you have to come get it yourself!” Li Feng said while shaking the drum, producing a steady dong-dong-dong-dong rhythm.

The baby bounced even more energetically and reached out, but it was too far. Li gently guided him forward. Just as they were about to reach Li Feng, he moved back again, keeping the distance at two or three steps. “Nope—you have to come all by yourself!” Li Feng kept tempting him.

Seeing the drum get farther away, the baby got anxious. He babbled “Daddy!” and began wobbling toward Li Feng. Li followed closely behind, arms ready to catch him if he stumbled.

Though his steps were wobbly, the baby didn’t fall. It was a short distance. After a few unsteady steps, he suddenly lunged forward and threw himself into Li Feng’s arms.

Li Feng was so moved that he almost cried. The baby could walk now! Even if it was just two or three steps, he had done it all by himself.

“You’re such a good, brave boy! What kind of reward do you want?” Li Feng planted several kisses on the baby’s face, handed him the drum, tapped his little nose, and smiled affectionately through teary eyes. Then he gave him a few more kisses.

Watching this scene, Li came over, wrapped an arm around Li Feng’s shoulder, and softly kissed both their faces—gentle as a feather’s brush, yet warm and full of love.