Chapter 59: The Two Little Brothers of the Shen Family

The person speaking was Ji Hualan’s youngest son, Shen Yue, who always enjoyed competing with Feng Jianshe in everything. He was just trying to save face.

Hearing Shen Yue’s words, how could little Jianshe admit defeat?

“Just wait and see! I’ll definitely do better this time!”

Saying this, he picked up the snail, gritted his teeth, and clamped down hard again.

Under Xiao Miaomiao’s expectant gaze, there was a loud “click”…

The snail was crushed and flew away!

“Hahaha!”

Little Shen Yue laughed mercilessly.

Xiao Jianshe’s face turned red with embarrassment in front of his beautiful sister.

“What are you laughing at? Here, you try! I don’t believe you can do better than me!”

With that, little Jianshe handed over the pliers.

But before Shen Yue could take them, someone snatched them away.

“Let me try.”

Shen Yue was ready to curse at whoever took the pliers, but when he looked up and saw it was his older brother Shen Ci, he swallowed his words!

Shen Ci held the pliers, squatted beside the basin, picked up a snail, and placed the plier’s jaw precisely two segments away from the tip. With a bit of force

“Crack!”

The tail broke off cleanly!

“Wow!”

Xiao Miaomiao exclaimed in amazement, clapping her little hands enthusiastically.

Little Jianshe and Shen Yue were completely stunned, their egos crushed.

“Brother, let me try!”

Little Shen Yue, unwilling to back down, insisted on trying himself.

“Your hand was bleeding just yesterday. Be careful not to reopen the wound.”

Shen Ci didn’t hand over the pliers. Instead, he picked up another snail and continued.

Hearing this, Shen Yue, who was eager moments ago, immediately gave up.

He wasn’t afraid of reopening the wound, but he was terrified of his mother finding out and getting a scolding or worse, a spanking!

The wound was from climbing a tree yesterday to check a bird’s nest and accidentally scratching himself. If Ji Hualan found out how high he had climbed, she would definitely give him a proper beating.

Seeing Shen Yue stop, Shen Ci continued catching snails.

Little Jianshe watched in disbelief.

How could Shen Ci, who was only two years older, be so skilled at catching snails?

He couldn’t accept it!

Xiao Miaomiao watched the snail-catching for a while before getting bored. She stood up and wandered off to play.

Shen Ci glanced up but continued catching snails. Then, he handed the pliers to Xiao Jianshe.

“Here, just do it like I showed you.”

Excited to have the pliers back, Xiao Jianshe got to work immediately, paying no attention to where Xiao Miaomiao had gone.

Determined, he vowed to impress his sister Miaomiao!

Shen Yue couldn’t catch snails anymore but stayed by the basin to watch Xiao Jianshe work.

Meanwhile, Xiao Miaomiao wandered into the yard and squatted beside a cricket hole, tilting her head to peer inside.

“Want to catch crickets?”

Shen Ci appeared beside her without her noticing.

Having played with the Shen brothers recently, Xiao Miaomiao was already familiar with him. Despite being young, she blinked at his question and nodded after a moment.

Shen Ci took out a bottle from somewhere, filled it with water, and turned it upside down over the cricket hole.

As water gurgled into the hole, it didn’t take long before a black cricket scurried out.

Quick as lightning, Shen Ci picked up the bottle and trapped the cricket inside.

Xiao Miaomiao’s little mouth opened wide in awe, forming an O shape.

Shen Ci carefully transferred the cricket into a woven cage and handed it to Xiao Miaomiao.

Xiao Miaomiao took the cage and smiled happily.

Seeing that she liked it, Shen Ci took her to find several more cricket holes.

After a long while, Lin Wanshu finished sewing the little military uniform. The military wives left one after another, leaving only Yu Fangfang waiting for her to fry the snails.

Lin Wanshu didn’t make her wait too long. She brought the snails, with their tails clipped and cleaned, into the house.

When the children saw she was about to stir-fry the snails, they eagerly followed her into the kitchen.

“Wanwan, let me help light the fire!” Yu Fangfang said impatiently.

But Lin Wanshu declined directly.

“Be good, you don’t need to light the fire. Just wait over there for a bit. I’ll finish cooking soon.”

She didn’t want to risk her kitchen being burned down.

Rejected, Yu Fangfang looked a little disappointed.

Xiao Jianshe quickly sat down next to the stove and eagerly took over the job of lighting the fire.

“Aunt Wanwan, let me help! I’m really good at lighting fires!”

Whenever their family lit a fire, his father would cook, and he would help by lighting it.

Lin Wanshu had seen him light a fire before, so she agreed this time.

Little Shen Yue wanted to claim he could light the fire as well, but Xiao Jianshe had already grabbed a handful of dry leaves and quickly started the fire.

Little Shen Yue felt unhappy. He hadn’t had a chance to show off all day.

At that moment, Xiao Miaomiao’s baby-like voice suddenly called out.

“Guoguo”

When Shen Yue turned his head, he saw a chubby little hand holding a hawthorn cake and offering it to him.

Instantly, his gloomy mood soared straight into the clouds.

“Brother, look! Sister Miaomiao gave me something yummy!”

Taking the hawthorn cake, Shen Yue proudly showed it off to Shen Ci.

Shen Ci: …

Silently, he took out two pieces of milk candy from his pocket, which Xiao Miaomiao had just given him.

Shen Yue saw them and immediately broke down.

Why did their little sister give milk candy to Shen Ci but only give him hawthorn cake?

Shen Ci unwrapped one of the milk candies, peeled off the wrapper, and held it up to Xiao Miaomiao’s mouth.

“Sister, eat it.”

Xiao Miaomiao didn’t realize this candy was originally hers. When she saw something yummy near her mouth, she reflexively opened her mouth and ate it.

Shen Yue: …

Utterly defeated.

Xiao Jianshe, unaware of the drama between the three, focused on stoking the fire.

Aunt Wanwan would surely notice how hardworking he was.

At that moment, Qin Yan returned with firewood. Seeing Shen Xuewen’s two sons circling around his daughter again, his face immediately darkened.

Lin Wanshu noticed his overly protective expression and couldn’t help but find it amusing.

They were just kids! Wasn’t he worrying too soon?

But the pot was already hot, and she didn’t have time to care about his mood.

She scooped some oil into the pan, and with a “sizzle,” the aroma of lard filled the kitchen.

Lin Wanshu added garlic and chili, stir-frying them until fragrant, then poured the snails into the pan.

Soon, the kitchen was filled with the mouthwatering aroma of spicy stir-fried snails.

The children, who could all eat spicy food, didn’t cough from the smell. Instead, they excitedly peered into the pan.

Xiao Jianshe proved to be an excellent fire-stoker. Lin Wanshu instructed him to adjust the heat, and he handled it with the skill of someone far older than six.

Under Lin Wanshu’s expert cooking, the snails became more fragrant and irresistible.

Once the sauce thickened, she added some basil, and the fresh and flavorful snails were ready.

“Wow! It smells amazing!”

Xiao Jianshe wiped his sweat, his eyes sparkling as he stared at the plated snails.

Lin Wanshu divided the snails into three portions: one for Yu Fangfang, one for Shen Ci, and the last portion for herself.

After the others left, Lin Wanshu quickly stir-fried another dish.

The porridge was already cooked, so they could start eating right away.

Xiao Miaomiao eagerly reached for a snail to taste it, but Lin Wanshu stopped her.

“You can’t eat this it’s a bit spicy.”

Hearing this, Xiao Miaomiao pouted in disappointment.

Lin Wanshu then brought out a bowl of egg custard from the cupboard and placed it in front of her.

Seeing the egg custard, Xiao Miaomiao’s face lit up again. She quickly forgot about the snails.

With the little one settled, the couple finally sat down to eat.

Just as they started, a voice called out from the doorway.

“Sister, there’s a letter for you!”