Chapter 46.1

As the New Year approached, Jiang Rou and Li Xin began preparing for the New Year’s Eve dinner. They made fried meatballs, egg dumplings, and some twisted dough snacks.

Despite An An’s young age, she could eat quite a lot. She slowly chewed on the snacks with her few small teeth and enjoyed her food immensely.

Jiang Rou and Li Xin also went to their new house to put up the couplets and took some time to design the new home.

They discussed a lot of details. The master bedroom was for Jiang Rou and Li Xiao, the secondary bedroom was for An An, and Li Xin would stay in the room on the north side. Li Xin wouldn’t have many opportunities to live there in the future. If she went to the affiliated high school, she would only come back once every half month, and if she went to university, even less frequently.

Jiang Rou used to be reluctant about her situation, thinking that any help she could provide was worth it. But now, she genuinely treated Li Xin like a younger sister.

She could feel that Li Xin depended on her a lot. Sometimes, it seemed that Li Xin not only saw her as an older sister but also as a mother figure who was missing from her life.

Jiang Rou hoped for Li Xin to get better and be closer to her, and be someone she can talk to and discuss things with.

This feeling was different from her relationship with Li Xiao. Some things could only be understood between girls.

An An was getting smarter and could now feed herself. When Li Xiao found out, he took time to make a set of wooden cat-themed utensils for her, including a cat face plate, cat paw spoon, and chopsticks. They were especially cute and safe for her.

Although there were children’s utensils available outside, Jiang Rou wasn’t very fond of them. They were pretty, but not under-glaze color, which Jiang Rou felt was not as good for eating.

Li Xiao’s set was perfect—it wouldn’t break and was clean.

An An still ate a bit awkwardly. Every time she finished eating, her face was covered in rice, and sometimes she even played with her food.

Jiang Rou didn’t mind and let her sit on the small stool and eat slowly by herself.

Not only did she know how to eat, but her imitation skills were also strong. She saw Jiang Rou stir-frying and mimicked her with her small spoon.

She also started expressing her wishes to Jiang Rou, saying “Eat meat” whenever it was mealtime.

A few days ago, Jiang Rou had cooked a dish of braised pork. For a moment she wasn’t paying attention, and An An had climbed onto a stool and stuffed a piece of pork into her mouth.

Usually, Jiang Rou didn’t let her eat strongly flavored food, so when she discovered what An An had done, it was already too late, she couldn’t get the pork out of her mouth. In the end, with no other option, Jiang Rou had to give her a piece of tender, soft fatty pork.

Perhaps because it tasted so good, An An became obsessed with it. Since then, she had been demanding meat every day.

At night, she even mumbled about it in her dreams.

Li Xiao, feeling heartbroken, asked Jiang Rou to make braised pork for their daughter.

To him, an occasional indulgence wasn’t a big deal.

It wasn’t really a big deal, but he forgot how good his daughter’s memory was. Once she had it once, she wanted it again, and daily demands became a problem.

Jiang Rou wasn’t going to indulge this habit and told him directly, “She’s too young, and it’s hard for her to digest these food. If you insist, you make it yourself.”

—o—o—

The next day, Li Xiao made a bowl of braised pork for his daughter. However, his version didn’t seem quite the same as Jiang Rou’s.

Jiang Rou’s braised pork was rich but not greasy, with a bright color and could even melt in the mouth.

Li Xiao’s version seemed to have too much soy sauce, making it dark and unappetizing. An An took one look and immediately leaned away, showing clear disapproval. When her father tried to feed her, she hesitated and took a tiny bite.

After tasting it, she immediately turned her head away—finding the taste too unpleasant.

It turned out she didn’t like all kinds of meat.

Li Xiao asked her, “Why aren’t you eating? Didn’t you want to eat this?”

He brought the meat closer to her mouth, but her lips were tightly pursed, refusing to open.

Jiang Rou and Li Xin watched and laughed so hard their stomachs hurt.

Li Xiao, feeling annoyed, rubbed An An’s little head and said, “You’re still so young, and you’re already picky.”

In the end, he ate it himself.

Later, Jiang Rou made zucchini chicken cakes for An An. An An ate them eagerly and, seeing her father watching her, smiled sweetly and handed him one: “Daddy, eat.”

Very generous.

Li Xiao wasn’t polite and directly took the piece, stuffing it into his mouth.

‘Hmm, it was indeed delicious.’

After trying her father’s braised pork, An An no longer demanded meat. Now she changed her target—she wanted to eat the cakes.

—o—o—o—

As the New Year approached, Li Xiao grew busier. He went out daily to entertain guests and give gifts—spending money as if it were flowing water.

Every day when he returned home, he would reek of alcohol, and An An would not let him hold her.

On the day before the New Year, Li Xiao asked Jiang Rou if she was free, and that he wanted her to accompany him to an exhibit.

Upon hearing this, Jiang Rou realized that the exhibit was different from others. It had many foreign participants and was aimed at attracting investors. Li Xiao had managed to secure a spot, which was not easy.

Even if he failed to attract investors in the end, simply being present there could serve as a point of pride in the future.

“The country is currently supporting domestic brands. My ability to get this spot is not just the result of entertaining guests, but also because it happens to align with their goal.”

Since the reform and opening up, many foreign brands have established factories on the mainland and occupied the domestic market. This had indeed raised many people’s incomes. For instance, in G Province, development has been rapid, with changes occurring almost daily. The area now even had a subway system, something he had never heard of before.

Back in his hometown, it seemed to be stuck in the past decade or so.

He had often been grateful for moving to this place. He didn’t want An An to grow up as aimlessly as he had. He hoped she would experience riding the subway, eating Western food, visiting amusement parks, knowing what a piano and ballet were…

The world was unfair; some were born with BMWs and villas, while others were born into hell. What he could do was ensure his next generation grew up happy and well-off, without having to endure life’s hardships, and could do what they wanted.

Jiang Rou nodded. She had never been to an exhibit before and was a bit curious. She said, “Is it tomorrow? Then I’ll wash my hair today.”

“….”

—o—o—o—

The next day, Jiang Rou woke up early to prepare herself. Her hair was not particularly straight, so she tied it into a bun. She also applied light makeup, drew her eyebrows, and applied lipstick.

Jiang Rou chose a turtle-neck white sweater and a cream-colored long wool coat. Winter in G Province wasn’t very cold, so she hadn’t bought a down jacket; she only had a coat. She paired it with blue jeans and white flats.

When they went out, An An was stunned, tilting her head and happily circling around Jiang Rou.

Jiang Rou picked her up, patted her, and said soothingly, “Let’s stay at home and play with Auntie today, okay? Mommy and Daddy are going out for a while, but we’ll bring you something delicious when we come back for lunch.”

An An clung to Jiang Rou’s neck. Jiang Rou carried her around the house for a bit, comforting her before handing her over to Li Xin.

Li Xin also comforted her, saying, “Auntie will teach you how to draw today. Let’s draw Daddy and Mommy, and An An and Xiao Hua.”

An An watched Jiang Rou and Li Xiao leave without crying or making a fuss.

Only after they were out of sight did she pout and turn to cling to Li Xin.

—o—o—