Chuxia stood up, held Cen Huai’an’s hand, and said to Jiang Shengnan, “Mom, we can’t spoil him like this. An An has red flowers, and he can use them to exchange for what he wants.”

Cen Huai’an nodded, “Grandma, I have a lot of red flowers. Mom, you haven’t given me the red flowers for helping with housework these days.”

He was very clear about how many red flowers he should receive for what he did, even counting helping Chuxia with leg massages.

Chuxia, while marking the red flowers, joked, “Oh, filial piety should also count for red flowers. Mom is so sad.”

Cen Huai’an immediately became anxious and said, “Then, Mom, don’t count this time.”

But Chuxia marked the red flowers as he said, handed him the red flower book, and ruffled his head, saying, “I was just teasing you.”

Cen Huai’an counted his red flowers with a small smile and used ten red flowers to exchange for a toy gun.

Jiang Shengnan watched the mother and son interact with amazement.

When Chuxia joined her in cooking, Jiang Shengnan, while cutting vegetables, chatted cheerfully with Chuxia who was stoking the fire.

“How did you come up with the red flower system? I wish I had thought of this method for Zhengnian and his brother.”

She spoke with a tone of regret, also complaining about how mischievous the two boys were at home.

“Zhengnian was easier to handle, but you don’t know how naughty his elder brother was. He was always being called home by the teacher, and adults would often come to report to me about him. After a beating, it would only last a couple of days.”

Chuxia could tell that despite her complaints, Jiang Shengnan still loved her son deeply.

“Was Zhengnian like that when he was young?”

“No, he was secretly naughty.” Jiang Shengnan laughed, “He always set up traps for his brother, coming up with bad ideas and encouraging his brother to do them. When they got punished, it was his brother who suffered. Zhengnian didn’t get into trouble. But later, your dad and I found out Zhengnian was the mastermind behind it, so we punished them both together.”

Thinking back to those times, Jiang Shengnan felt like it was just yesterday, with a smile in her eyes.

Chuxia continued with curiosity, “Did Zhengnian get beaten when he was a child?”

“Yes,” Jiang Shengnan recounted one of their most mischievous incidents.

They nearly burned down the army house just to have a roasted sweet potato.

“Your dad gave them a good beating then.”

Chuxia was delighted, surprised that Cen Zhengnian was so naughty as a child and even got beaten by adults.

In fact, she was also often scolded by her grandfather for not wanting to memorize difficult herbal names and prescriptions.

Now, she wished someone would chase her to study, but there was no one left.

Her grandfather had long passed away.

Chuxia’s eyes showed sadness, and she lowered her head to keep Jiang Shengnan from seeing.

Jiang Shengnan continued talking about Cen Zhengnian and his brother’s childhood, saying they were the two ringleaders in the family compound, and all the children liked playing with them because of their many ideas.

As she spoke, Jiang Shengnan sighed, “Who would have thought that one would end up in the army, stationed far away, and only return every few years, while the other’s job is so special that he also can’t come back?”

Jiang Shengnan missed her eldest son, too.

However, seeing how busy her mother and Father Cen were during the New Year, she knew they couldn’t spare any time to see their eldest son and Cen Huai’an.

She could only comfort Jiang Shengnan, saying, “Mom, An’an and I will be with you. Whenever we have time, I’ll bring An’an to visit you and Dad.”

Jiang Shengnan smiled broadly, thrilled by Chuxia’s words, and responded repeatedly, “Good, good!”

In the afternoon, Cen Huai’an received a toy gun.

It was quite rudimentary compared to the realistic toy guns of the future, but Cen Huai’an was particularly fond of it.

In the days that followed, Chuxia’s routine was much the same as when she was in Liangzhou.

She spent her days reviewing books and doing practice problems.

During the day, she rarely saw Jiang Shengnan and Father Cen.

She didn’t form deep connections with the other residents of the family compound and mostly stayed at the Cen home.

On the other hand, Cen Huai’an became well-acquainted with many of the neighborhood children.

Among them, he was closest to Hu Panding and Xiao He.

Hu Panding was outgoing and sociable, helping Cen Huai’an integrate into the group of children from military families.

Xiao He was intelligent and loved reading, and he could play chess with Cen Huai’an.

When Cen Huai’an talked about his activities outside, he mentioned these two the most.

As the Lantern Festival approached, Chuxia suddenly remembered that Cen Huai’an’s birthday was coming up.

His birthday was the day before the Lantern Festival.

She had reminded Cen Zhengnian about An’an’s upcoming birthday during the New Year, asking him not to forget to prepare a gift.

Chuxia had already prepared a gift for Cen Huai’an but hadn’t decided how to celebrate his birthday.

This was something she should have discussed with Cen Zhengnian, but since he wasn’t home, Chuxia spoke to Jiang Shengnan about it.

“Mom, is there a place in Ganzhou that sells cakes?”

Cakes had been introduced from the West when foreign restaurants first opened in Huaguo during the war years.

They were available in the capital, and Jiang Shengnan had tasted them before.

However, Ganzhou was quite remote, and after more than a decade of isolation, she hadn’t seen any cake shops around.

There was, however, a well-known pastry shop that had been around for many years.

Chuxia thought for a moment and said, “We have milk, eggs, oil, and sugar at home. We can make one ourselves.”

The milk was delivered daily by Jiang Shengnan for Chuxia and Cen Huai’an.

Previously, when Chuxia had some free time, she had come across a video by a blogger demonstrating how to make a cake with simple ingredients and no tools or molds.

At that time, while on a break at home, she decided to try it out and successfully made a cake that tasted quite good.

To surprise Cen Huai’an, Jiang Shengnan took him out on his birthday, telling him he was going to learn how to shoot a toy gun and use a slingshot to shoot birds.

She then returned home to help Chuxia bake the cake.

Chuxia had already separated the egg whites from the yolks.

In the bowl with the yolks, she added flour, oil, and milk.

“Mom, can you help me mix these ingredients?”

Chuxia went to heat water in a pot. Without an oven, they had to use a clay pot to steam the cake.

Once the water boiled, she covered the pot to keep it warm and began whipping the egg whites.

Whipping the egg whites by hand and adding sugar was tiring without tools.

Jiang Shengnan and Chuxia took turns whipping until the egg whites were at a usable consistency.

Next, they mixed the whipped egg whites with the yolk mixture and brushed oil on the pot before steaming the batter. Before steaming, Chuxia sprinkled some crushed cookies, raisins, and dried apricots on top to add more flavor.

Then came the whipped cream, which was even more exhausting.

She whipped the egg whites continuously, adding sugar and milk until it resembled whipped cream, which was very tiring.

After Chuxia and Jiang Shengnan finished, Chuxia tasted it and found it a bit too sweet, but it was usable.

She didn’t want to make another batch.

“Mom, this is good enough.”

The cake in the pot seemed ready.

Chuxia opened the lid and found it steamed well. Although the shape wasn’t very pretty, Chuxia was satisfied given the lack of tools and incomplete ingredients.

Jiang Shengnan was delighted, saying, “It’s done! Chuxia, it really turned out well!”

Initially, Jiang Shengnan didn’t think Chuxia could make a cake, but since Chuxia wanted to try and they had the ingredients, she went ahead.

She was pleasantly surprised that it actually worked.

Next was frosting and decorating the cake. Chuxia used all the available tools, including a pot lid, to create a makeshift rotating stand.

She carefully spread the cream over the cake layer by layer until it was completely covered.

Then she arranged apples, pears, and oranges on top of the cream, completing the cake.

For the decorations, she couldn’t find a suitable plastic bag and the cream was white, so she arranged the fruit to spell out “Happy Birthday An’an.”

Despite the limitations, it looked quite nice.

Chuxia stepped back and admired her work, saying, “Mom, does the cake look okay?”

Jiang Shengnan praised her generously, “It’s very good, just like the cakes I used to have.”

Chuxia knew Jiang Shengnan’s praise was a bit exaggerated, but she was still very pleased.

After all, it was a result of their hard work and resourcefulness.

Although the cake couldn’t compare to the exquisite ones from the future, Chuxia felt very proud.

In her previous life, she had used tools like a mixer to make cakes.

Chuxia hadn’t anticipated how challenging it would be to whip cream and egg whites without a mixer.

Chuxia and Jiang Shengnan then began preparing dishes, similar to the New Year’s Eve dinner.

The cooked dishes were kept warm in the pot.

Chuxia clapped her hands and said, “Alright, now we just need to wait for An’an to come back.”

Jiang Shengnan went to call An’an, who was probably having a great time with Xiao Liu.

Chuxia made other preparations at home. In addition to the birthday cake and abundant dishes, she planned to invite other children to join Cen Huai’an’s birthday celebration.

After all, a birthday should be celebrated properly.

Cen Huai’an had no idea he was going to have a birthday celebration.

He didn’t even know when his birthday was, as the original owner never celebrated it.

For an ordinary child, a birthday often meant having an extra egg and a bowl of noodles from their mother.

That was a happy birthday for them.

Of course, Chuxia had also prepared noodles for Cen Huai’an.

Chuxia went to the family compound to invite Hu Panding, Xiao He, and other children to come over and celebrate Cen Huai’an’s birthday together.

“We’re going to give An’an a surprise. When he comes in, everyone should shout ‘Happy Birthday, An’an!’ Okay?”

The children, including Hu Panding, showed excitement and immediately responded loudly, “Okay!”

Cen Huai’an walked home with Jiang Shengnan and Father Cen, with Xiao Liu also following.

It was Cen Huai’an’s first time seeing his grandfather during lunchtime.

He asked Father Cen, “Grandpa, aren’t you busy today?”

Father Cen’s face remained stern, but his eyes were gentle.

He replied, “Today, Grandpa doesn’t have much work.”

Cen Huai’an then asked Jiang Shengnan, “Grandma, what did you cook for lunch today?”

Jiang Shengnan, with a loving smile, said, “A lot of delicious food, all of which you love.”

Cen Huai’an eagerly looked forward to getting home quickly.

After playing all morning, he was already hungry.

Jiang Shengnan asked him what he had done with Uncle Liu and if he had learned how to shoot.

Cen Huai’an’s eyes brightened as he nodded, “Uncle Liu is very skilled. He can use a slingshot to hit birds. Grandma, look, we shot several birds.”

The birds were now in Xiao Liu’s possession, and the two were preparing to roast them.

Jiang Shengnan approached them.

Cen Huai’an was very curious about the sparrows.

The aroma of the sparrow was pleasant, and Xiao Liu suggested carrying it together to the Cen family’s house for roasting.

“Uncle Liu said that sparrows don’t have much meat, but they taste quite good.”

Cen Father and Jiang Shengnan had also eaten sparrows before. During wartime, they ate whatever was available, and sparrows had meat.

Jiang Shengnan said, “It does taste good. I’ll roast some for you when we get home.”

Cen Huai’an walked into the house with anticipation.

“An An! Happy Birthday!”

The sounds of his mother and friends greeting him with smiles made Cen Huai’an widen his eyes in surprise and stand still.

Happy Birthday?

Cen Huai’an didn’t understand what was happening.

“Mom.”

Cen Huai’an looked up at Chuxia with a confused expression.

Chuxia reached out to ruffle his head and said, “Today is your birthday. Happy Birthday, An An. You were born on this day six years ago.”

At that moment, An An finally understood what his mother and friends were doing.

His eyes filled with joy and disbelief.

Chuxia handed him the gifts from her and Cen Zhengnian. “An An, these are birthday gifts from Daddy and me. Since Daddy knew he couldn’t be here for your birthday, he gave them to me in advance to give to you.”

At this time, Jiang Shengnan and Cen Father also took out their gifts for him.

Hu Panden and others didn’t know it was Cen Huai’an’s birthday and had been invited by Chuxia on short notice, so they hadn’t prepared any gifts.

However, they all had something in their pockets: marbles, cards, small picture books, candy, and firecrackers.

They stuffed everything they could find into Cen Huai’an’s hands.

“An An, here’s my birthday gift for you.”

“An An, this is my present.”

“An An, this is my gift.”

Cen Huai’an suddenly felt his eyes getting a bit wet.

He quickly sniffed and tried to hold back his tears.

“Mom.” Cen Huai’an was overwhelmed with gifts and didn’t know what to do, so he looked at Chuxia for help.

Chuxia, Jiang Shengnan, and Cen Father helped him take off the gifts from his hands and put them on the sofa.

“Next, there’s a surprise.”

Early Summer carefully brought out the cake and placed it on the table. “An An, this is your birthday cake! It’s homemade by Mom and Grandma.”

Cen Huai’an saw the writing on the cake and became even happier.

He had never eaten a birthday cake before and had never even heard of it.

“Next, it’s time to blow out the candles and make a wish.”

Since Chuxia didn’t find any edible candles, she used household candles, shaved them down, and wrapped the bottom with paper to place on the cake.

Chuxia had already taught Hu Panden and others how to sing “Happy Birthday to You.”

While Cen Huai’an made his wish, she and Hu Panden sang and clapped their hands.

Cen Huai’an felt the happiest he had ever been, so happy that he felt like he could fly.

There was a slight regret that Dad wasn’t home to celebrate his birthday with Mom, but it was only a tiny regret.

He was still very happy!

He closed his eyes and, as Chuxia instructed, made a silent wish: he hoped to celebrate his birthday like this next year, and of course, it would be even better with Dad present.

Cen Huai’an opened his eyes, smiled, puffed up his cheeks, and blew out the candles.

Chuxia took out the candles and handed him a small knife. “An An, you’re the star of today. You get to cut and share the cake with everyone.”

The cake was large enough to share among all the children.

Cen Huai’an carefully cut a piece and handed it to Chuxia. “Mommy, you eat first.”

He felt a bit shy, wanting to say thank you to his mother but not quite able to.

He then distributed the cake to Grandma and Grandpa.

Jiang Shengnan and Cen Father happily took their pieces and took big bites, saying, “Delicious!”

Hu Panden and the others couldn’t wait.

They also wanted to try the cake, having never seen anything like it before.

Just looking at the fruit on top made them think it would taste great.

Soon, everyone had a piece of cake.

As they took their first bites, their eyes immediately lit up. “So delicious!”

Cen Huai’an took a bite and shared the same expression as Hu Panden and others, completely agreeing with their words.

It was just so delicious, an indescribable kind of delicious.

Cen Huai’an loved sweets, and the sweetness of the cake’s cream was just right for him.

He happily ate big bites, even licking off the cream from his hands, unwilling to waste even a little bit.