Chapter 108.1

Only Xiao Doubao didn’t quite understand the reason why his Grandma had to leave. He jumped off the stool, held Li Yufeng’s hand, and said, as he acted spoiled, “Grandma, don’t go, stay with Xiao Doubao company~~~”

Li Yufeng usually dots on Xiao Doubao. When Xiao Doubao didn’t want to go to class with his brothers, he loved following his Grandma. Whether it was going out to buy vegetables or chopping bamboo on the mountain, Li Yufeng always took Xiao Doubao along. She treated him no differently than her own grandson.

Xiao Doubao liked quietness. Ever since he could speak fluently, he enjoyed interacting with various animals and plants. Fish swimming in the market, chirping birds on the mountain, snails and ants crawling on the ground, caterpillars on vegetable leaves, wildflowers and bees on the roadside, wild fruits on the mountain… Every one of them became his conversation partner. Now, whenever Zhou, Fen, Mian, and Fan saw him, they wanted to hide.

Li Yufeng bent down and lifted the little one onto her lap. “Xiao Doubao, do you remember your second aunt? She, like your mother, is about to give birth to either a younger brother or sister. Grandma needs to go back and check. How about when your brothers have their winter break, you all come back to Su Village together to play? “

Xiao Doubao wanted to say he didn’t like it, but it seemed he couldn’t say that. So he puffed his cheeks and hugged his grandma without saying a word.

Fantuan also didn’t want his grandmother to leave, but he was older than Xiao Doubao and became more sensible after jumping to third grade.

He walked over, hugged Li Yufeng, and said, “Grandma, take care of yourself, and remember to think of us.”

Li Yufeng hugged Fantuan. These two kids were so good that she was reluctant to leave. “Alright, Grandma will remember. You both remember to listen to your parents and help take care of your younger siblings. Come, let’s eat first.”

Su Xiaoxiao was also very sad, but Li Yufeng’s assistance through the most challenging three months with the children made her immensely grateful. “Mother, after you return, have a heartfelt conversation with Xiao Bao. If necessary, apologize to him. Don’t always treat him like a child. He’s already seven and more sensible than most kids his age. He was upset when you came here secretly, and he might still be upset now. If you don’t explain it properly to him, he won’t trust you next time. It’s not good.”

Li Yufeng thought he might sulk for a few days at most and then calm down. She was also scared when she heard the little rascal almost secretly bring Da Bao to find her. If she had explained things properly before coming, even if there was trouble, he wouldn’t have been so daring.

“I know, I’ll talk to him properly when I get back.”

Han Cheng silently put a few pieces of sweet and sour ribs on Li Yufeng’s plate that she usually hesitated to take because her grandchildren loved them.

Li Yufeng covered her plate and said, “That’s enough, I’m full. You little ones should eat it.”

During this dinner, everyone in the family had their own concerns, and the meal wasn’t as enjoyable.

…………

Han Cheng arranged for a cot with guardrails to be placed alongside a section of the bed. Xiao Tangyuan and Xiao Roubao slept on the extended bed, while Su Xiaoxiao slept inside. If she couldn’t wake up to breastfeed the babies at night, Han Cheng would typically get up, prepare formula milk for Xiao Roubao, and then bring Xiao Tangyuan to Su Xiaoxiao’s side for breastfeeding.

Su Xiaoxiao usually slept in a daze and had no idea when Xiao Tangyuan was fed or when Han Cheng took her away.

So, during the breastfeeding period, Han Cheng was even more exhausted than Su Xiaoxiao.

After lunch every day, regardless of the situation, Su Xiaoxiao forced Han Cheng to take a nap to rest. His work required high concentration, and she was really worried that he wouldn’t be able to focus during work.

…………

The first thing Xiao Fantuan and Xiao Doubao do when they wake up every day is to go to their parent’s room to see their younger siblings. Then Xiao Fantuan goes out for morning exercises with his father. If his mother gets up, Xiao Doubao stays in the room with his younger siblings. If his mother doesn’t get up, he goes to the kitchen to cook breakfast with his grandmother or chat with Zhou, Fen, Mian, and Fan Huahua.

Li Yufeng bought today’s train ticket. Early in the morning, Su Xiaoxiao went to the market, bought fresh vegetables, and prepared breakfast together with her.

Li Yufeng loved the dried vegetable pancake that Su Xiaoxiao made. Since it had been a while, Su Xiaoxiao woke up early and bought fresh meat, a large fish, small oysters, and a bunch of shellfish. She made two to three batches of dried vegetable pancakes, filled a large bag for Li Yufeng to eat on the train, and packed some to take back to the Su family’s village. Additionally, she made egg rolls and boiled several eggs for her to take along.

Now, Li Yufeng held onto everything her daughter handed her and ate whatever was prepared. If she showed the slightest politeness towards her daughter, she feared her daughter might burst into tears.

Su Xiaoxiao made breakfast that Li Yufeng loved: small oyster fritters, which used very little oil and were a dish she wouldn’t make for a month due to the oil cost. The small oysters were drained of excess moisture, mixed with eggs, sweet potato flour, a hint of pepper, and salt, then stirred evenly with chopped scallions. Once the excess moisture was removed, the small oysters were fried until golden brown on both sides.

After she finished cooking the oyster fritters, Su Xiaoxiao utilized the remaining oil in the pan to stir-fry some bean sprouts cultivated by Li Yufeng with sand. Without additional ingredients, within a few seconds, the partially cooked bean sprouts were positioned underneath the oyster fritters. Consuming the oyster fritters alongside fresh bean sprouts proved refreshing and helped balance the richness. Combining them with a bowl of sweet potato porridge resulted in an exceptionally hearty breakfast.

After the oyster fritters were done, Xiao Fantuan immediately took a small piece and brought it over to Xiao Zhuzi.

Xiao Zhuzi hadn’t eaten Su Auntie’s handmade oyster fritters for a long time and was delighted, asking, “Why did Su Auntie make breakfast today?” As far as he knew, it was usually their grandma or Uncle Han who prepared breakfast.

Xiao Fantuan sighed and said, “Grandma’s train is leaving today. Zhuzi, I already missed her even before she left.”

Xiao Fantuan’s little worries cannot be revealed at home, and he’s afraid that his mother will be sad, so he can only talk to his good brother.

Xiao Zhuzi fell silent for a moment. He also liked his grandmother, and even though he had returned to his parents, whatever Grandma made for Fantuan would have a share for him as well. It wasn’t much different from before. “Fantuan, let’s work hard to become better. When we grow up, we can repay Grandma properly.”

Fantuan nodded. “Of course. I’m also worried that once Grandma leaves, my mom might be overwhelmed by the amount of work she needs to do. Xiao Tangyuan and Xiao Roubao are still babies. Dad has to work, and Xiao Doubao is too young to help much. I’m thinking I might as well go to school for half a day and help Mom at home in the afternoon. After all, I can keep up with these classes even if I don’t attend them, so going to class is just wasting my time.”

Family matters troubled the seven-year-old Fantuan, who had recently become a third grader.

Since Xiao Fantuan and Xiao Zhuzi skipped a grade and directly entered the third grade with top scores, they had become much more mature and decisive.

Don’t be fooled by the young age of Xiao Fantuan, despite his age, he was the “boss” in his class and the most academically adept, yet still the most playful. He was always followed by a group of older and younger siblings.

Xiao Zhuzi nodded. “That’s a good idea. I can also attend half-day classes.”

Fantuan shook his head and said, “No, even my mom might not agree with me skipping the first half of the day for this. If you ask, she definitely won’t agree. The third-grade curriculum might be a bit challenging for you. You better focus on your classes.”

Xiao Zhuzi lowered his head in shame. He was not as smart as Fantuan.

Fantuan had moved up a grade due to his intelligence, and Zhuzi had moved up due to hard work. Fantuan could skip classes and still rank first in his grade. On the other hand, even if Zhuzi missed classes slightly, he couldn’t guarantee a spot in the top ten. Aunt Su would never agree to let him skip the first half of the day.

Xiao Doubao appeared unexpectedly and tugged on Fantuan’s sleeve. “Big brother, let’s go home for breakfast. Mom said Brother Zhuzi should come too.”

Zhuzi gladly accepted and said to Aunt Yali in the kitchen, “Mom, Grandma is leaving today. I’m going to Aunt Su’s house for breakfast.”

Then, carrying the fried oysters brought by Fantuan, he started to head out.

Fantuan took the bowl from him and rushed into the kitchen. “Aunt Yali, my mom’s fried oysters are delicious. Have a taste.” After he said these words, he dashed out before Yali could refuse.

Fantuan is not such a stingy person. He usually gets a lot of good food from Aunt Yali and is naturally willing to share good things with her.

“Don’t mention the matter of skipping classes to anyone. I’ll handle it myself,” Fantuan said to Zhuzi.

The pretty Xiao Doubao blinked curiously and asked her brother, “Brother, what’s skipping half a day of class?”

Fantuan forgot about this little intelligence agent. Ever since Xiao Doubao started speaking fluently, he could say anything and report everything.

Fantuan rubbed Xiao Doubao’s face and pinched his mouth shut, mimicking a chicken beak. “It’s nothing. You didn’t hear anything.”

Xiao Doubao pried open his brother’s hand and patted his back. “I heard everything, including skipping classes.”

Fantuan lightly patted his bottom. “Do you want to make Mom work hard?”

Xiao Doubao shook his head like a drum. “Don’t want Mom to work hard!”

Fantuan said, “Then, you mustn’t say anything, or Mom will work hard.”

Not wanting his Mom to work hard, Xiao Doubao had to stay silent.

The three little cubs held hands and walked to their house.