Chapter 126: Going to the Town for a Photo

Over the weekend, Qiu Yinuo went next door to borrow two new bamboo baskets from a neighbor. She spent quite some time studying her bicycle before she managed to firmly secure the baskets on either side.

Cheng Hongying, curious, asked, “What are you doing?”

“I’m planning to put Dabao and Erbao in here. What do you think?”

Cheng Hongying’s face darkened immediately. “What do I think? They’re two living, breathing children, not slabs of pork. You’ve got some nerve as their mother.”

“There’s no point trying to explain it to you. Let Qingqing try putting the kids in and see for yourself.” Qiu Yinuo wasn’t really that reckless. She planned to put Dabao and Erbao in the space once they were out of the village, but with so many eyes watching in the village, she needed a valid reason.

“How about I go with you?” Cheng Hongying offered.

“No need. Right now, our village and Taolin Village are so short-staffed that one person has to do the work of eight. If you skip out on your duties now, someone’s bound to report you to the village head tomorrow.”

As soon as Qingqing placed Dabao into the basket, the little boy immediately began acting like a drama king. He clapped the bike seat excitedly like a baby and pointed outside, shouting, “Go! Go!”

Erbao, sitting in the other basket, looked confused for a moment.

But soon, he calmed down, returning to his usual tranquil state, as if he were a still pond.

Qiu Yinuo took the opportunity to say, “See, they don’t mind. Don’t worry about it, I’m off now.”

Without waiting for Cheng Hongying’s approval, she swung her long leg over and almost kicked Dabao in the head.

The little guy quickly covered his head, scared into silence.

Cheng Hongying clutched her heart, about to leap out of her chest. “Qiu Yinuo, you little rascal, can’t you be more careful? You almost hurt Dabao…”

Realizing her mistake, she dared not stay. She pushed the pedals hard, and in an instant, was gone.

“You better slow down! If Dabao or Erbao comes back with a hair missing, I’ll pluck every single one of yours out. Where’s your sense of being a mother…”

Qiu Yinuo completely ignored her mother’s grumbling, speeding down the road, heading toward the village entrance. Once no one was looking, she quickly sent Dabao and Erbao into the space, then covered the baskets with a piece of cloth so that no one could see inside.

Once inside the space, Dabao immediately began running around happily.

Erbao had already gone off to “look at” whatever book he was interested in. His reading speed remained as fast as ever, and Dabao was no longer curious about his local-born brother’s spiritual world.

After riding for about forty minutes, the road became increasingly crowded.

Qiu Yinuo ducked into a small alley and took her sons out of the space.

Upon arriving at the town, Qiu Yinuo decided to take them on a little walk around.

Although it wasn’t as bustling as the provincial capital, it was certainly more lively than the village.

After a while, the two little ones began yawning, no longer interested.

There really wasn’t much to see in Qingtong Town. Dabao urged his mother, “Let’s go take pictures!”

“Alright.” Today, Qiu Yinuo had dressed the boys in matching outfits—classic overalls that were common for children in that era. Their cheeks were rosy, with the kind of apple-red glow only kids of this generation had.

They were definitely her kids, and they looked so adorable!

Dabao smugly patted his hair, trying to press it down and make it look neat.

“Stop messing with it. Do you want me to put some hair gel in it?”

Dabao looked at his mother with eager eyes. “Can you?”

“……” This child is just too trusting, believing her offhand comment.

“I don’t have any hair gel, but I can pat your hair down with water later.”

Dabao sighed. He really shouldn’t have had any expectations.

Over the past few days at work, Qiu Yinuo had already asked her colleagues about the location of the photo studio, so now she headed straight there.

Although getting a photo taken wasn’t cheap, there was still a long line of people waiting.

After paying and receiving a number, Qiu Yinuo stood in line with her two sons.

She borrowed a chair from the person collecting payments at the studio and sat the twins down on it, sparing them from getting too tired.

They waited for a full hour before it was their turn. As they were about to take the photo, Dabao started to get fussy, his hair still sticking up.

Seeing him constantly patting his hair, Qiu Yinuo immediately caught on.

Why did this kid always care about his looks at the worst possible time? “I’ll fix it for you after we’re done.”

“No!” Dabao pouted. What was the point of fixing his hair after the picture had already been taken?

People waiting behind them started to grumble. “Are you taking the picture or not? If not, move aside.”

“Yeah, go to the back and queue again.”

Qiu Yinuo spat twice into her palm, then used it to smooth Dabao’s hair. “There! My son’s super handsome!”

Dabao was speechless: “…”

Even the usually quiet Erbao tilted his head for the first time and looked at his brother curiously, his eyes full of interest he couldn’t hide.

In the end, the photo captured Dabao’s grumpy expression and Erbao’s curious gaze.

Each photo cost one yuan, and Qiu Yinuo couldn’t help but wince at the price.

Once she got a camera, she’d take as many pictures as she wanted.

After leaving the photo studio, Dabao completely ignored his “bad mom.”

The little guy may be small, but his temper was quite big.

“Erbao, since your brother doesn’t want to talk to us, why don’t you come shopping with Mommy instead?” She had no intention of letting that brat get his way—she had been the one to take care of them all along, and she wasn’t going to let him boss her around.

She found a secluded spot and sent Dabao straight into the space.

Dabao stared blankly at the fluffy creature in the space. “???”

3224: “Can you not just suddenly appear like that? You guys are going to scare me to death today!” It then looked behind Dabao. “Where’s Erbao?”

Dabao blinked and his eyes filled with tears, “Mommy took Erbao to go shopping. She doesn’t love me anymore!”

3224 sighed. “So you finally realized you’re not the smart one?”

Upon hearing that, Dabao opened his mouth and wailed, “I’m so mad! Even the panda is bullying me! Waaah! Bad mommy! I don’t like you anymore! I want Daddy!”

But as he cried, Dabao slowly stopped.

He never used to cry—not like this, not so freely. He had been an orphan for as long as he could remember. Even if he made a fuss, no one cared how he felt.

But now things were different. If he didn’t have Mommy, he still had Daddy. Even if Daddy wasn’t here, he still had Grandma, Uncle, Aunt Qingqing… and even if all else failed, he still had his little brother, Great-Grandpa, and Great-Grandma.

Ah…

He could hardly believe it—he actually had so many family members in this life.

With that thought, Dabao suddenly didn’t feel like crying anymore. At this moment, he just felt incredibly lucky.

Realizing he had said the wrong thing, 3224 began nervously tugging at its own ears and paced in circles.

Imitating a human mother, it patted Dabao gently. “There, there. Don’t cry.”

Dabao unceremoniously pushed the cute panda away and, just as his mother was about to leave the alley, he came out of the space and landed firmly in her arms.

The sudden weight nearly caused Qiu Yinuo to twist her back.

Inside the space, 3224 froze for a moment before it went into a frenzy again, kicking a tree.