“Hai Cai, has my mom come back?” Er Bao heard it and immediately dashed out.

Lin Haicai pointed ahead. “Auntie’s back.” He stood at the yard entrance, where he could see Ning Shu approaching.

“Mom… Mom…” Er Bao rushed to the yard entrance, indeed spotting his mother, then he sprinted towards Ning Shu and threw himself into her arms.

Ning Shu, seeing him charging over, feared he might knock her down like a little calf. So, she shouted loudly, “Lin Erbao, don’t charge at me. I bought meat for you, but if you crash into me, I won’t give it to you.”

Ning Shu’s voice startled the neighbors, who came out to see what was happening. When they saw it was Ning Shu, they realized everything was normal.

But being a military wife, nobody dared to say anything against her.

Meat?

Er Bao abruptly halted, like a tractor… No, even more precisely than a tractor. “Mom, did you really buy meat? Did you buy it for me?” His voice was loud.

Seeing several neighbors coming out, he felt delighted. “Did you hear that? My mom said she bought meat for me.”

Ning Shu thought to herself, There’s not even pork. But fish counts as meat, right? So, just as Ning Shu was about to nod, a woman interjected, “Er Bao, your mom bought meat for herself. She won’t give it to you.”

Everyone knew Ning Shu’s character. If she was willing to give meat to her child, she wouldn’t be plump while her child remained thin and dark-skinned.

“Er Bao has no meat to eat, nor eggs to eat.” At this moment, another young boy’s voice chimed in.

“Zhuang Xiaopang, you’re wrong. I’ve eaten them. I had eggs yesterday, and I had eggs today too. My mother gave them to me, Elder brother, and Little Brother. We all had eggs,” Er Bao protested.

“And me, Auntie also gave me eggs,” Lin Haicai, who had been following Er Bao, spoke up weakly.

His voice was not loud, but everyone could hear him.

“You’re lying. Where are the eggs you ate? I didn’t see them,” Zhuang Xiaopang sneered.

He disliked Yi Bao and Er Bao the most, but many people liked to play with them because they looked alike.

Sometimes he blamed his mother for not giving him a brother who looked like him.

“Zhuang Xiaopang, you’re so silly. The eggs are in my belly; of course, you can’t see them,” Er Bao made a face at him.

“Nyah.Nyah Nyah..”

“Nyah.Nyah..” Lin Haicai also joined in.

Ning Shu felt that since her son and nephew were speaking up, she couldn’t stay silent.

So she put down her basket, lifted the cloth covering it, and everyone stretched their necks to see what was inside.

There were two aluminum boxes that they couldn’t identify, but the two tin boxes were visible.

Usually, candies or biscuits were stored in these. Lastly, there were a few bright yellow oranges.

Oh my, such big and yellow oranges! They had never seen anything like this before. Were these really oranges?

In front of everyone, Ning Shu opened one of the tin boxes. A creamy scent wafted out, and they saw biscuits inside.

Upon closer inspection, there was something white in between the biscuits, resembling powdered milk.

Ning Shu took out four pieces of milk sandwich biscuits and gave them to Er Bao. ” Yi Bao, Er Bao, and Haicai each take one. The outer part is biscuit, and the white part inside is milk powder.

This milk powder is more precious than meat and eggs. But when you give it to San Bao, you have to give him tiny pieces, just as big as your fingernail. Do you understand?”

“I understand, Mother,” Er Bao replied loudly, like a little soldier being called.

“I’ll go prepare lunch now. Come back for lunch after playing for a while,” Ning Shu didn’t even spare a glance for those chatting idly.

“Okay.” Er Bao handed one of the biscuits to Lin Haicai and waved it in front of Zhuang Xiaopang. “Haicai, let’s go find Big Brother and San Bao.”

“Mm.” Lin Haicai held the biscuits and caught up.

Yi Bao, because he was taking care of his younger brother, didn’t go out. When he saw his mother coming back, his eyes lit up as he called out, “Mom…”

“Yi Bao, you’ve worked hard taking care of your little brother. I’ve given you four biscuits. Fill your stomachs first, we’ll have lunch soon. Also, when feeding your brother, only give him a small piece of biscuit, as small as your fingernail, otherwise, he might choke on it,” Ning Shu praised Yi Bao and reminded him again.

“I understand, Mom.” Yi Bao blushed at the praise; he didn’t feel any hardship at all. He was the older brother and it was his duty to take care of his younger brother.

Ning Shu went to make lunch. It was already late to cook at this hour, and not only were the children hungry, but she was hungry too. So, she decided to fry some rice cakes. Thinking of Lin Haicai outside, she added an extra half rice cake today.

However, there was no preserved meat left, so she could only make egg and vegetable rice cake soup. There were still a few eggs left from the ones bought from the old lady’s place, but it wasn’t enough for the soup, so she also used two pounds of newly laid eggs.

Newly laid eggs were small, about 35 grams each, with fourteen eggs in a pound and forty-two eggs in two pounds, which was quite a lot.

While Ning Shu was making rice cake soup, the children were in the yard chatting and eating biscuits.

Although she couldn’t hear exactly what they were talking about, their chatter was quite lively.

However, Ning Shu went to the door and said, “Hai Cai, have lunch here at noon, and tell your parents that you’re here.”

“I’ll go tell them.” Lin Haicai stood up. The kids weren’t polite; if Auntie asked him to stay for lunch, he would.

Moreover, Yi Bao often ate at their place, so he didn’t feel awkward about eating at Yi Bao’s place.

Especially since Auntie’s cooking was better than at home.

“I’ll go too.” Er Bao had been at home all morning, and now that he could move, he liked to run around.

Yi Bao took a small bite of the biscuit himself and then broke off a small piece for his brother.

He made sure his hands were clean before breaking the biscuit.

San Bao, with the biscuit in his mouth, enjoyed the milky fragrance inside.

When the biscuit softened in his mouth, he swallowed it and then opened his mouth towards Yi Bao, “More, ah…”

Seeing that his brother had finished the biscuit in his mouth, Yi Bao broke off a little more for him.

The two brothers, one feeding and the other eating, portrayed a harmonious scene of brotherly love.

The old house

“Why hasn’t that little rascal come back yet?” Qian Aifen, feeling restless as her son had been gone for quite a while calling someone, spoke up. ” Mom , I’ll go check. He’s probably lost track of time playing and forgot to come back for lunch. When he returns, don’t go easy on him,”

“Then you’ll be the one to discipline him when he comes back, don’t make me the bad guy,” Qian Aifen replied.

“Nana, Mom…”

“Nana…”

The two kids dashed into the courtyard of the old house, amidst Qian Aifen’s grumbling, and headed straight for the kitchen door.

“So, you decided to come back,” Qian Aifen said with annoyance. “It’s time for lunch. Where are Yi Bao and Er Bao?”

“My mom is back, and My brother and San Bao are at home,” Yi Bao replied. “We came back to tell Auntie that Hai Cai is having lunch at our place.”

“Right, Auntie gave me these delicious biscuits to eat, and she also asked me to have lunch at Yi Bao’s house. Mom, I’m leaving now to eat,” Lin Haicai glanced at his mother after nibbling half of his biscuit, then turned and walked away.

He didn’t show any mercy.

“You little rascal, stop always going to your Auntie’s house for meals,” Qian Aifen scolded, but she didn’t stop him either.

Lin Haicai’s mother couldn’t put on an act, so if she asked him to stay for lunch, she meant it.

If she didn’t let him go, Lin Haicai might even accuse her of being insincere.

“Auntie cooks delicious food,” Lin Haicai stopped in his tracks upon hearing his mother’s words and earnestly replied before running off.

Qian Aifen: “…Even a spanking would be too lenient for him.”

Lin’s mother: “Why don’t you join us for lunch too? The younger daughter-in-law went to the county town today, probably to buy some food. We’re all family, it’s okay for the kids to have a few meals at each other’s houses.”

“I smelled that biscuit he’s holding; it has the fragrance of powdered milk. It must be powdered milk. I’ve smelled it before when the younger daughter-in-law used it,” Qian Aifen chuckled.

When Ning Shu was newly pregnant and the family hadn’t split yet, Lin’s younger brother heard about her pregnancy and sent powdered milk from the army.

Speaking of which, Ning Shu was really fortunate. Under those circumstances, getting pregnant, she thought her marriage would be irreparable, but what happened? Even though the Third son dislikes her, powdered milk still gets sent, and the money doesn’t stop flowing.

Later, when she had children, it was even better.

So, a woman’s reputation is crucial. If her son gets along well with Yi Bao and Er Bao, and even catches the eye of the third sister-in-law, who knows what achievements he might have in the future.

Zhang Qinfang, listening to their conversation, was so infuriated that she felt like swallowing the sweet potato in front of her.

They were all sucking up to that despicable woman, without considering how that slut got into this family. Disgusting.

Meanwhile, at the old house, they finished their meal quickly. After a satisfying lunch, Lin’s father took his two sons and pushed the cart to collect the bricks they had agreed upon yesterday.

During the agricultural off-season in the village, everyone would engage in some manual labor, buy or exchange goods.

So, the 500 yuan worth of bricks could be easily collected.

While Lin’s father and sons were collecting bricks, Lin’s mother and others had already gone to Ning Shu’s house.

They were going to start building the chicken coop at noon, and those who could help would lend a hand, and those who could watch would observe.

However, over there, Ning Shu and several children were still eating.

They ate late, and the rice cake soup was hot, so they ate even more slowly.

“Third daughter-in-law…” as the group walked into the courtyard, Lin’s mother spoke up.

That’s how things were in the countryside; greetings were exchanged before entering.

“Here…” Ning Shu replied.

“Grandma, we’re still eating,” Er Bao said loudly.

“That’s perfect timing; I haven’t had lunch yet. Er Bao, give your food to Grandma to eat,” Lin’s mother walked in with a few people.

Everyone’s eyes landed on the dining table.

Lin’s mother’s words were meant as a joke, but Er Bao, who hadn’t graduated from kindergarten yet, couldn’t discern that.

He looked reluctantly at his rice cake soup, thinking about how his grandmother used to give him things to eat often.

With a lack of spirit in his small face, he said, “Grabdma, you can have it.” He hopped off the stool and gave up his seat to Lin’s mother.

“Er Bao, let’s eat together,” Yi Bao immediately called his brother to sit beside him.

“Okay,” Yi Bao’s face immediately brightened up.

“Er Bao, I’ll eat with you too,” Lin Haicai also generously offered his portion.

“Alright, you all eat by yourselves. I’ve already eaten. Er Bao, go eat your own food,” Lin’s mother, seeing her grandsons getting along, she was also very happy.

“Third sister-in-law, later when dad and the others come to build the wall, we’ll help out,” Qian Aifen also chimed in at the right moment, thinking to herself, no wonder her younger son wanted to eat here.

Looking at the egg drop rice cake soup in the bowl and the grilled mandarin fish on the table, cooked until it had that color, not only was there plenty of oil, but there was also sugar added.

With such good food, she could marry her daughter to this family.

Several children were already attending school, but it wasn’t yet time for afternoon classes, so they came along to join in the fun.

When they saw the milky white rice cake soup and smelled the fragrant grilled mandarin fish, they couldn’t help but salivate.

Ning Shu said, “Thank you, sister-in-law, for helping later. Don’t worry, I’ll compensate you.”

One sentence killed the mood.

Ning Shu: I didn’t mean it on purpose!