Chapter 21 – You Need to Eat More Vegetables to Grow Tall

If Xi Youyou ever treated them like that again…

“Things have been really good lately.”

“Comrade Xi Youyou makes delicious food for us. The lean meat porridge she cooks tastes amazing, and she also makes pancakes and meat.”

“She even made meatballs for us and said they’re easy to digest.”

“And also.” Xiao Bao, being the more lively and talkative one, said whatever came to mind: “she bought a fan, too.”

“After she bought the fan, she puts it in the main room during the day, and at night, she puts it in our room and Grandpa and Grandma’s room. It’s really cool and nice when we sleep!”

The two children excitedly shared everything that had happened recently.

They were genuinely happy about Xi Youyou’s changes, so everything they said was filled with praise.

Jiang Cimo listened in astonishment.

He noticed that the two children mentioned Xi Youyou much more frequently now. Though they still called her “comrade” and not “mom.” when they talked about her, their faces lit up with bright smiles.

It was clear Xi Youyou had been treating them well during this time.

And then there was the matter of the fan.

Jiang Cimo especially asked about that, and after confirming the whole story, he couldn’t believe it.

That selfish woman Xi Youyou had actually put the fan in her parents’ room so they could use it at night?

No matter how he thought about it, it just didn’t seem possible.

Maybe it was the connection between father and son—Da Bao seemed to understand Jiang Cimo’s doubts. He held his hand tightly. “It’s true! Comrade Xi Youyou is becoming a better person!”

Jiang Cimo nodded and ruffled the child’s hair.

Unbelievable—like the sun rising from the west!

⋆⁺₊⋆ ━━━━⊱༒︎ • ༒︎⊰━━━━ ⋆⁺₊⋆

Xi Youyou, on the other hand, didn’t care about any of this. Even if she knew, she wouldn’t be bothered.

She stayed at the market until late in the afternoon before reluctantly packing up her stall. Then she slipped into a deserted alleyway, changed her disguise in the space, took a shower, and only then did she ride her bicycle home.

She knew Jiang Cimo should have arrived home by now, so she intentionally dawdled on the way back.

As she neared home, she saw the two children running around on the road. Afraid of bumping into them, she rang the bell on her bicycle.

The crisp ringing sound echoed, and the two children scattered. Xi Youyou rode up and prepared to stop. The moment they heard the bell, the two kids ran out from the courtyard.

Even though they didn’t call her “mom.” they had sensed the changes in Xi Youyou and were beginning to accept her in their hearts.

They still came to the door to greet her.

Xiao Bao, still as serious as ever, called out. “Comrade Xi Youyou!”

Xi Youyou stopped the bicycle and got off, pushing it with one hand and ruffling Xiao Bao’s hair with the other. “Came out to wait for me on purpose?”

“Yes! Daddy’s back!” Xiao Bao swung her arms excitedly. “Daddy brought lots of yummy food for me and my brother.”

Xi Youyou smiled without replying. Da Bao followed beside Xiao Bao. Though he had run out with her, he didn’t say a word.

He was nervous and worried that once they were home, there might be an argument…

“Youyou’s back.” Xu Xiu also heard the commotion and came out holding a serving spoon. “Go wash your hands and eat. Cimo’s been back a while now, you all must be hungry!”

Xi Youyou nodded to show that she understood.

Only then did Xu Xiu turn back inside to serve the food.

Xiao Bao stayed close to Xi Youyou’s side. “Comrade Xi Youyou, can you help me wash my hands?”

Every time Xi Youyou heard that title, she wanted to laugh, but still, she took Xiao Bao’s hand and led her over. When she saw Da Bao still standing there dazed, she took his hand too.

Feeling the warmth from her hand, Da Bao looked up at Xi Youyou and followed his sister to wash their hands.

Jiang Cimo happened to be coming out of the house.

He saw Xi Youyou helping the two children wash their hands. While she was washing their hands, she was also talking to them. They were a bit far, and their voices were quiet, so he couldn’t hear what they were saying.

But the two children looked very happy.

Xi Youyou had her head lowered, seriously focused on washing their hands. Her profile looked gentle and soft.

Jiang Cimo was momentarily dazed by the sight.

“Daddy, come eat!”

The two kids, having finished washing their hands, turned around and saw Jiang Cimo standing at the entrance to the main room. They shouted loudly.

Only then did Jiang Cimo snap out of it.

At that moment, Xi Youyou looked up, and their eyes met briefly. She quickly looked away, then took Da Bao and Xiao Bao by the hand and led them into the house.

Watching her, Jiang Cimo felt a sudden surge of inexplicable emotion in his chest.

“Come eat, I’ve already served the food.” Xu Xiu called again. He shook off the thoughts running through his mind and walked toward the kitchen.

He sat down at the table. In the center was a pot of stewed chicken soup, along with a few vegetable dishes.

In front of the two children sat bowls of meatball soup.

“Youyou.” Xu Xiu took the initiative to speak: “didn’t you say that meatball soup is easy to digest? I followed your instructions and made some for the kids again. Try it and see how it tastes!”

Xi Youyou picked up a meatball and tasted it. “Mom, you’re really good at this! I only taught you once, and you already made it this well?”

Xu Xiu was visibly pleased at the compliment.

“Then you should all eat more. And try the chicken soup too—I went out early this morning to buy the chicken and stewed it for hours. The meat is really tender, and the soup is very nourishing.”

Xi Youyou nodded. She picked out some chicken, tore it into smaller pieces, and placed it in the children’s bowls.

She even broke apart the meatballs and mixed them in with the rest of the food.

Da Bao ate happily, clearly enjoying the meal. But Xiao Bao furrowed her brow tightly and pouted, clearly unhappy.

Jiang Cimo noticed this and frowned slightly. He glanced at Xi Youyou, Xu Xiu, and even his own father, but no one seemed to be paying attention to Xiao Bao.

What was going on?

“Xiao Bao, why aren’t you eating?” he asked softly. Just earlier, he’d seen Xi Youyou tear chicken and break apart meatballs for them, and he had been surprised.

Now, asking Xiao Bao directly, he wanted to know if something was bothering her.

“Don’t mind her.” Xu Xiu shook her head. “You just eat. Youyou put some vegetables in her bowl, but she doesn’t want to eat them. She only wants to eat meat.”

“That won’t do!” Jiang Cimo said sternly. “You can’t just eat meat. You have to eat more vegetables if you want to grow tall.”

Da Bao glanced at his sister, then continued eating with great appetite.

Xiao Bao still showed no intention of eating. Xi Youyou thought for a moment, then leaned over and whispered something into her ear. Xiao Bao’s eyes lit up instantly.

“Okay, I’ll eat now!”

After saying that, Xiao Bao picked up her spoon and began eating in big bites, clearly enjoying the food now.

Jiang Cimo was baffled.

Xiao Bao had always been resistant toward Xi Youyou—what had the two of them said just now?

She’d just been sulking a moment ago, and now she was gobbling everything down.

Whether it was meat or vegetables, she shoveled it into her mouth.

What on earth had Xi Youyou said to her?

And what confused him even more was that Xu Xiu and Jiang Fenglin didn’t look the slightest bit surprised. In fact, they had faint smiles on their faces, clearly approving of Xi Youyou’s approach.

Jiang Cimo felt like he couldn’t make sense of it anymore.

Xi Youyou, however, didn’t speak to Jiang Cimo. After whispering to Xiao Bao, she simply focused on her meal.

She finished a bowl of rice, drank a bit of chicken soup, ate a few pieces of chicken and some vegetables, and then stopped.