Chapter 111

After the Mid-Autumn Festival, the weather turned cooler day by day, yet it remained sunny with the sun high in the sky. The so-called “autumn tiger” persisted, still bringing heat.

After three months, Xiao Tangyuan and Xiao Roubao began to be particularly fond of moving around and laughing. Xiao Roubao was afraid of the heat but still wore the small short sleeves and shorts altered by Li Yufeng, exposing the two sections of his arms and legs, which were fair and tender like lotus roots. He danced around, making the little bells on his hands jingle.

Especially Xiao Roubao, who ate a lot, slept well and grew quickly. His arms and legs, rounder than Xiao Tangyuan’s after three months, had gained strength. Accidentally getting kicked by him would hurt for half a day.

Xiao Fantuan didn’t attend classes in the morning. The twins started to gradually reduce their sleeping time after three months. With full sleep and nourishment, their playtime grew longer. Xiao Fantuan and Xiao Doubao accompanied them in the yard.

Han Cheng somehow managed to get a comic book for Xiao Fantuan. He now enjoys reading it aloud to his younger siblings. Sometimes, he also reads Chinese lessons or recites three hundred Tang poems. ^[1]The Three Hundred Tang Poems is an anthology of poems from the Chinese Tang dynasty.

Xiao Doubao is also impressive.

He hasn’t started recognizing characters yet, but he can memorize poems that his brother has read several times. These two brothers have exceptionally bright minds.

With Fantuan helping to take care of the children, Su Xiaoxiao now has free time to read books.

It’s said that one becomes forgetful for three years after childbirth. Whether or not this has scientific evidence, her attention is diverted by the twins, making it hard for her to concentrate as she did before.

In the past, she could understand the material clearly after reading it once, but now she might need to read it two or three times. So, she needs to consolidate her knowledge quickly so that she won’t panic in the exam hall.

“Mom, Mom, Xiao Roubao, he, he, he turned over!” Xiao Fantuan suddenly shouted.

Su Xiaoxiao was so shocked that she almost threw the book in her hands.

Xiao Doubao jumped in excitement and clapped his hands. “My little brother can turn over now, my little brother is amazing!”

Su Xiaoxiao looked over and saw Xiao Roubao lying on his back like a little turtle, lifting his head curiously, looking at the world from this new perspective.

Su Xiaoxiao went over to rescue his little chubby hand and helped him prop himself up on the small bamboo bed using both hands. She gently tapped his chubby cheek and said, “Our Xiao Roubao is amazing. You learned to turn over so quickly, huh?”

Fantuan frowned in confusion as he looked at his sister, who was lying there without any intention of turning over, and said, “Mom, Xiao Roubao can already turn over. Why can’t Xiao Tangyuan do it yet? Aren’t they the same age?”

Su Xiaoxiao lowered her head and kissed her daughter. Xiao Tangyuan’s skin became fairer and fairer every day, and her pink little mouth exposed her small gums. Her shallow dimples looked especially soothing.

Su Xiaoxiao manually taught her daughter how to turn over, asking her to roll to the side, first putting a small leg over, and then gently nudging her.

Xiao Tangyuan turned over in one roll but still seemed perplexed, looking at her brothers with big eyes. Su Xiaoxiao took her small hand out, mimicking how her brothers lay on the small bamboo bed.

“Who made your sister not drink as much milk as her brother obediently? Now, without strength like her brother, she can’t flip over, can she?”

Xiao Tangyuan reacted and began to grin again.

Xiao Fantuan understood and said, “Mom, Xiao Roubao eats a lot, so he grows quickly. He also learned to turn over quickly because of that, right?”

Su Xiaoxiao nodded and said, “Yes, that’s right. You all need to keep a closer eye on Xiao Roubao in the future, in case he turns over and falls off the bed when no one’s looking.”

A three- to four-month-old baby will start laughing and babbling. By their sixth month, they will learn to sit up, and by their ninth month, they will typically start crawling. Usually, normal babies begin to learn to turn over around four months old. The twins had just passed their hundredth day; Xiao Roubao was developing relatively early. After learning to turn over, they usually couldn’t stay still and were at risk of accidentally falling off the bed if left unattended, which was dangerous.

Su Xiaoxiao planned to spread bamboo mats for them to play on the floor starting tomorrow. When it got colder, she would add another quilt inside, rather than risking them falling off the bed due to inattention.

After lying down for a while, Su Xiaoxiao helped the two babies flip back and lie down.
Xiao Tangyuan is very well-behaved, lying down quietly after turning over and playing with her little bell.

However, Xiao Roubao was different. He tried every way to move around and eventually succeeded in turning over again.

This time, Xiao Fantuan gained experience, he held up his little hands, making sure Xiao Roubao didn’t press on his own chubby hands.

Xiao Roubao was very happy and flipped back and forth, still trying to use his small little hands.

Xiao Doubao climbed onto the small bamboo bed, imitating Xiao Roubao’s posture and stretching out his hands, teaching his younger brother, “Brother, you have to learn to stretch out your hands like this. It’s less tiring that way~~”

Xiao Fantuan once again took out Xiao Roubao’s hand and said to Xiao Doubao, “Xiao Roubao is still young and can’t understand.”

Xiao Doubao didn’t believe it, he firmly believed that his younger brother was as smart as himself and would definitely understand: “My younger brother is very smart and can understand~~”

Indeed, Xiao Roubao couldn’t understand and still immersed himself in his own small world, playing with the new skills he had just learned.

Su Xiaoxiao trusted the two little cubs very much. She didn’t need to instruct them much; they would take care of their younger siblings. She let them play outside and went to the kitchen to prepare lunch.

Su Xiaoxiao went to the vegetable garden and picked some old fresh beans and eggplants, along with potatoes and sweet potato flour soaked in the morning, along with the pork bought by Han Cheng in the morning, to make a pot of stew.

“Luandun,” as the name suggests, is a dish where all the ingredients are stewed together. First, the fatty and lean pork is browned slightly to release some oil. Then garlic, ginger slices, and star anise are added to the sauté until fragrant. The green beans and eggplants are quickly fried and set aside, followed by a brief frying of the potatoes. Afterward, they are placed in boiling water along with the rest of the ingredients. Sweet potato noodles are placed on top, and a pre-mixed sauce is drizzled over before covering the pot to stew until cooked.

The air in the courtyard was filled with a delightful aroma when Zhuzi returned from school. He first dug up some earthworms to feed the chickens, watered the vegetables, washed his hands, and then went to see the twins.

Fantuan and Doubao competed with each other to tell him that Xiao Roubao learned how to turn over, saying that their sister ate less, seemed weaker, and still couldn’t turn over.

Zhuzi pinched his sister’s little hand and comforted her. “It’s okay. It’s better for girls to be gentler, isn’t that right, Little Bell (Xiao Ling)?” ^[2]I think I’ll use Little Bell instead of Xiao Ling.

Tangyuan’s response to him was her sweet and gummy smile and the clattering of bells.

When Han Cheng returned, Zhuzi and Fantuan had already decided to return home for lunch during their afternoon break.

Han Cheng brought good news for Su Xiaoxiao, “I got a call from Dad this morning. He said your sister-in-law gave birth last night, it’s a boy, and both mother and child are safe.”

Su Xiaoxiao was overjoyed, clasping her hands together. “Safety is what matters, safety is what matters. But my second brother, sister-in-law, and my mother all wanted a girl, yet it’s another boy.”

Han Cheng said, “Mother said that throughout the generations of the old Su family, there’s only been you, such a precious daughter. It’s normal for her to give birth to boys.”

Su Xiaoxiao replied, “My big brother and sister-in-law don’t plan to have more children, and probably, after this pregnancy, my second brother and sister-in-law won’t pursue a daughter. Among my uncles and aunts, there are only boys. This generation might have Xiao Tangyuan as the only girl.”

Han Cheng hugged his wife and kissed her. “That’s perfect. Xiao Tangyuan, like her mother, grew up cherished by everyone and will be as gentle and kind as her mother when she grows up.”

Su Xiaoxiao gave Han Cheng a sidelong glance and said, “Sweet talker. Oh, by the way, Han Cheng, with the New Year approaching, considering Xiao Tangyuan and Xiao Roubao are still young, let’s not go back this year. It might be troublesome if they have trouble adjusting to the environment. Give the family a call and see if my older brother and sister-in-law can bring the children over for the New Year holidays. Otherwise, Xiao Roubao might get cranky again.”

Han Cheng nodded and said, “Okay, I’ll call when I get back there tomorrow.”

Su Xiaoxiao: “Time flies’ day by day, and now, Xiao Roubao has learned to turn over. Soon, he will climb and walk and call us Mom and Dad. Watching the children grow up makes time pass so quickly.”

Han Cheng served the rice, ready to bring it out. “The kids are growing up, but you haven’t changed at all. You’re still the same as when I first met you.”

Su Xiaoxiao smiled slyly. “Why are you such a smooth talker today?”

Han Cheng felt wronged. “I’m not being a smooth-talker. I’m just speaking the truth. No matter how much the children grow, you are still the one I love and cherish the most.”

Su Xiaoxiao stood on tiptoe and gave him a kiss. “That’s what you said, I’ll remember it all.”

Han Cheng nodded, returning her kiss. “Yes, that’s what I said.”