Chapter 21 – The Little Ones Learn to Talk

An An pointed his chubby little finger at Lele and said: “Ah ah… di, chu…”

After hearing her eldest son’s words, Si Yueyue thought for a moment. “An An, are you saying that your brother is trying to crawl out of the mat?”

Little An An’s eyes sparkled as he looked at Mom and nodded his head heavily.

“Mm.”

While An An was talking with Mom, another chubby little dumpling crawled over.

After he reached his destination, he stretched out his pudgy hand and placed it on his brother’s face, as if wiping away the nonexistent tears that had long since been cleaned away.

“Hic… buh… mm.”

“Mm, di… puh…”

Si Yueyue watched the two brothers interact and couldn’t help but mentally fill in a scene of her own.

Two tiny little boys had had a falling out. The younger brother made the older one cry. After Mom arrived, the little brother came over to apologize and comfort him…

Ah!!! How could her babies be this sweet!

“An An and Lele, be good and stay on the mat. Mom will go make you both some milk powder.”

An An tightened his little face and nodded seriously. “Mm… mah.” His pudgy cheeks trembled slightly.

Seeing her eldest son pretending to be serious like that, Si Yueyue’s hands itched—she really wanted to pinch those cheeks!

And since she wanted to, she did just that.

Her slender hands gently pinched An An’s cheeks.

Mm, it felt just as satisfying as she imagined.

An An sat dazedly on the mat, blinking his big eyes at his mom, who was grinning rather mischievously in front of him.

“Ah mah~”

“Aww, Mom’s An An is just too adorable!”

Lele, who had earlier heard Mom mention making milk powder, had been too focused on drinking milk to notice. By the time he came to his senses, Mom was already playing with his big brother.

Could he be left out of this? Absolutely not.

He kicked his two short little legs and placed his chubby hands on Si Yueyue’s thigh, then stood up unsteadily.

Si Yueyue, always keeping a close eye on her children, was surprised to see her youngest son standing up, but immediately gave him a gentle word of encouragement.

“Lele, do you want to play with Mom too? Lele is such a strong little boy! Go, Lele…”

An An cheered from the side as well. “Ah… mm…”

Encouraged by both Mom and his brother, Lele tightened his little face, gathered all his strength, and slowly took his first step…

Plop.

He landed squarely on the mat with a thud. Lele was stunned. Just a second ago he was standing and about to take his first step—how did he end up sitting down?

Oh, his little bum hurt just a bit. If it weren’t for how chubby it was, he might’ve ended up with a bruised bottom.

Little Lele felt a faint pain and was about to burst into tears when Si Yueyue scooped him up into her arms.

“Lele was amazing…”

“Di… di… hai ya!”

Lele, who hadn’t even started wailing yet, immediately broke into a smile at his mother and brother’s praise.

“Gigglegiggle…” Lele laughed like spring had bloomed.

Seeing his little brother laugh so joyfully, An An couldn’t help but burst into laughter too.

“Gigglegiggle…”

After spending some time interacting with her two sons, Si Yueyue suddenly remembered the food on the stove. She quickly said: “An An and Lele, be good, Mom will come right back after making the milk…”

As she spoke, she was already in the kitchen. Her dainty nose sniffed the air. Mm, thank goodness—nothing had burned.

She went over to reduce the firewood and only then began preparing the formula for the boys.

Since she was also going to make steamed egg custard for them later, she didn’t make too much milk this time. Half their usual amount each would be enough.

Once the milk was ready, Si Yueyue carried a bottle in each hand and came out of the kitchen, walking up to her boys.

Little Lele saw the familiar, fragrant bottle of milk in Mom’s hand and couldn’t wait—he stretched out both hands eagerly. The moment the bottle was in his grasp, he beamed at Mom with a toothless grin.

As soon as Lele popped the nipple into his mouth, he began sucking with gusto. An An took his own bottle as well and sipped at it in small, steady mouthfuls.

Si Yueyue quietly stayed by her boys’ side as they drank, waiting until they were done to collect the bottles. After giving them one more reminder, she went back to the kitchen to finish up the meal.

The two little brothers, seeing Mom leave, started playing with their toys. Lele, now full and no longer fixated on food, sniffed the delicious aroma in the air and wasn’t quite as obsessed as before.

“Di di… mm…”

“Guh… puh… pu pu…”

“Mm… ah… di di, mah…”

The two little brothers were exchanging babbles only they could understand, a baby language exclusive to themselves.

When the family members returned home one after another, the scene that greeted them was of the brothers sitting peacefully on the mat, brotherly and gentle with one another. Grandma Zhao looked at them with a face full of affection.

“An An, Lele, Grandma is back.”

The two little brothers looked up at the shadow above them, and when they saw it was a familiar face, they immediately broke into smiles. “Ah… mm… na.”

“Oh, my big good boy already knows how to call Grandma! Such a smart little darling.”

Lele, sitting beside them and watching Grandma Zhao and his brother, turned red in the face from holding back. Finally, with a loud burst in his baby voice, he shouted out what he had wanted to say.

“Na… ah… mm.”

“Aiyo, aiyo, my little good boy can also call Grandma now, that’s amazing!”

Hearing her two darling grandsons both call her, Grandma Zhao was so thrilled she was ready to smother them with kisses.

But just as she raised her hands, she noticed the black dirt under her fingernails and immediately stopped.

“Ai~ Grandma hasn’t cleaned herself up yet. Once I’m all tidy, I’ll come back and give An An and Lele lots of kisses.”

“Ah… mm…”

“Hahaha… Alright, alright, Grandma’s going to wash up now.”

When Grandma Zhao stepped outside to fetch water, she saw several family members just stepping through the door.

Excitedly, she boasted to them: “An An and Lele can call people now! They just called me Grandma.”

“Really? Aiya, how did I miss it? If I had known, I’d have rushed back first—maybe one of them would’ve called me instead.”

“Hmph~ An An and Lele are close with their old Grandma. With your silly mug, the two babies probably wouldn’t even spare you a glance.”

“Mom, how am I silly-looking? I take after Dad—tall and mighty…”

“Heh… Just as silly as your dad. If your looks weren’t so unfortunate, maybe the younger boys and girls in our family would look better.”

“Mom, how can you say that about your son? How am I unfortunate-looking? I used to be one of the most handsome young lads in the whole brigade!”

“Exactly—just one of the grass blades in that field…”

Behind them, Zhang Guihua, Lei Dashu, and a group of kids listened in on the conversation between Grandma Zhao and Lei Jun, bursting into laughter.

In truth, the Lei family’s looks weren’t bad at all. Though Lei Dashu was broad and muscular, his face was still quite decent—otherwise, Grandma Zhao wouldn’t have chosen him, right?

The children who inherited the looks of both parents turned out to be some of the most handsome boys in the surrounding villages.

Lei Jun had inherited Lei Dashu’s tall build, but thanks to Grandma Zhao’s genes, he didn’t appear overly bulky.

Among the Lei family, the one who resembled Lei Dashu the most was actually Lei Zhen. He got his father’s massive frame, dark skin, and a perpetually stern expression.

If it weren’t for the fact that he served in the military district, none of the young women from nearby villages would be willing to marry such a man.

Even with the backing of the army, he still struggled when it came to matchmaking.

That was because every time he went on a blind date, he’d keep such a stony face that he ended up scaring the poor girls away.

According to Grandma Zhao, if it hadn’t been for Si Yueyue, he’d probably still be a bachelor.

The one thing that comforted Grandma Zhao was that her third son, Lei Yu, didn’t inherit his father’s burly frame. Instead, he got her looks—fair-skinned and clean-cut, a proper pretty boy.

…

When Lei Qingyun heard from Grandma that his little brothers could call people now, he happily pushed past the others and ran to the water basin where Grandma Zhao was washing up.

“Grandma, Xiao Yun wants to wash his hands. I want to go see my little brothers.”

“Alright, you and Grandma will wash together. Let’s go inside and see them, then we’ll teach them how to call you ‘Brother’.”

“Mm.”

The grandparent and grandchild cleaned up joyfully, then quickly stepped back inside the house.

Only then did the rest of the family snap out of their daze. Seeing the two of them walking ahead, they sped up their own tasks.

In the kitchen, Si Yueyue was busy with the pots and pans. After finishing, she heard the commotion outside. She quickly put out the fire and tidied up the kitchen before walking into the main hall.

“Mom, Xiao Yun, you’re back!”

“Hey, Yueyue, just now An An and Lele called me Grandma.” Grandma Zhao immediately shared the joy of her grandsons learning to speak.

“Really? An An and Lele are amazing! They can already call Mom and Grandma—soon they’ll be saying even more.”

Grandma Zhao beamed with pride, her eyes nearly squinting shut from the smile. “Of course! My grandsons are so smart.”

“Mm-hmm, definitely. Our kids are just clever like that. Earlier, Lele even stood up on his own.”

“What! Lele stood up?”

“He sure did.”

“Aiya, my grandson is amazing—talking and walking all at once…”