Chapter 140: Delivering Wild Grapes

After coaxing Erbao to sleep, Qiu Yinuo followed the book’s instructions and carefully washed the remaining flesh off the durian seed. Then, she soaked the seed in spiritual spring water.

According to what she read, the water should be changed once a day, and the seed would likely sprout in about seven days.

Once everything was done, Qiu Yinuo joined Dabao and Erbao outside.

She tucked blankets over the two boys’ bellies and, feeling content at the thought of eating durian again soon, drifted off to sleep herself.

The next morning, she woke up naturally.

The twins were even better sleepers than she was. Usually, she would wake before they did.

By then, the rest of the family had already gone out to work. In the large pot, there was a bowl of congee and a small portion of steamed pickled vegetables—her breakfast, prepared by Cheng Hongying.

There were also two bowls of steamed egg custard, which, needless to say, were meant for the twins.

Just as Qiu Yinuo finished eating, Dabao and Erbao woke up.

Dabao was so hungry he kept crying out, “Food! Food!” while Erbao sat quietly on the kang bed, waiting for his mother to help him wash his face and get dressed.

“Dabao, your childish behavior makes me suspect that you’re the native one here.”

Dabao, who had been pounding on the table, froze. “…”

He quickly withdrew his chubby hands and mumbled shyly, “I’m not childish.”

Qiu Yinuo rubbed his little head. “Being childish isn’t a bad thing. You’re my son, of course I’m going to spoil you.”

Dabao looked up and blinked at her.

This was the first time anyone had said something like that to him. Nursery rhymes were right—a child with a mother is a treasure.

“If I do something wrong, will you still spoil me?”

“How could I? Not pulling your pants down and spanking you is already my greatest mercy.”

Dabao: “…Can’t you talk to me like a normal person?”

“I can. After the spanking. That way, the lesson sticks better.”

“???”

Sure enough, his mother was nothing like other moms.

After dressing the boys and washing their faces, Qiu Yinuo brought the steamed egg custard to the table. “Eat up. Grandma’s egg custard is super tender.”

Dabao picked up his spoon and took a big bite.

The silky, warm custard slid right down his throat the moment it hit his mouth.

Aside from being a little under-salted, it was perfect.

Erbao, on the other hand, ate very delicately, taking tiny bites one at a time.

In no time, both boys were full.

Qiu Yinuo let them play in the courtyard while she headed to the backyard garden to pick potatoes, eggplants, and loofahs.

She planned to cook braised eggplant and potato for lunch, along with a loofah soup.

Just as she finished chopping the vegetables, she heard a man’s voice from the yard and immediately stepped out of the kitchen.

There stood Du Baichuan, carrying a bamboo basket on his back and holding several bunches of wild grapes in his hands.

When he saw Qiu Yinuo come out, he quickly said, “I picked these wild grapes in the mountains and thought the kids might like something sweet. You know I don’t have much to repay you with…”

“Thank you, Uncle Du,” Qiu Yinuo said, cutting him off and expressing her gratitude. “Please have a seat, I’ll pour you some water.”

Du Baichuan quickly waved her off. “No need. Given my background, it’s not appropriate for me to linger here. The only thing I have going for me is my medical skills. If you don’t mind and trust me, feel free to come to me if you ever need help.”

Hearing that, Qiu Yinuo immediately thought of the weight-loss recipe she had found in the library.

“Uncle Du, I actually do have a prescription I’d like you to take a look at.”

Du Baichuan’s face lit up, clearly happy to be of help.

Qiu Yinuo casually reached into her pocket—though in truth, she reached into her spatial storage—and pulled out the prescription. “Here, take a look.”

He glanced at it, thinking at first it would be an average, harmless recipe. But to his surprise, every single ingredient was paired with remarkable precision.

“You’re looking to lose weight?”

“Yep, it’s a weight-loss prescription. Uncle Du, what do you think? Does it look workable?”

“It’s very good. It nourishes the blood and boosts energy. As long as you maintain healthy habits, it should be effective fairly quickly.”

“That’s great news.” Qiu Yinuo was delighted. The library truly was a treasure trove! She just hadn’t had the time to explore it properly before.

She resolved to start making full use of it from now on. There was no excuse to let it go to waste.

“It’s just…” Du Baichuan eyed a few of the herbs. “Unless someone’s trained in herb identification, it’s easy for the average person to mistake these. Coincidentally, we’ve got all these growing in the back hills. I’ll go pick them for you.”

He simply wanted to offer whatever help he could. “Please don’t refuse, child. Doing something for you helps ease my heart.”

“Then I’ll trouble you, Uncle Du.”

“I’ll gather the herbs and bring them to you one evening. But don’t come to the cowshed—if anyone sees you there, it wouldn’t be good.”

After Du Baichuan left, Qiu Yinuo washed the wild grapes and gave them to the two boys.

But after tasting durian the night before, the moment they bit into the wild grapes, their faces puckered with exaggerated sourness.

Qiu Yinuo burst out laughing. “Alright, alright. If you can’t eat them, just don’t.”

Two nights later, Fang Qingsheng came by to deliver the herbs. Attached to them was a note detailing the cooking time and proper heat control.

Jinzi greeted him warmly and invited him inside, but Fang Qingsheng quickly waved him off. “It’s late. It wouldn’t be appropriate. I’ll just head back…”

“We made some stuffed buns with string bean filling, Uncle Fang. Hold on, I’ll grab a few for you.”

At that moment, Cheng Hongying walked out with the buns already wrapped tightly in newspaper. “Here, take them. Share them with Dr. Du.”

“No, no, I can’t accept these…”

Cheng Hongying lowered her voice and cut him off firmly, “Nonsense. I said take them, so just take them. Why are you wasting so many words? Hurry and go before someone sees.”

Qiu Yinuo raised an eyebrow. This whole family clearly had a close relationship with the two men in the cowshed.

What really caught her attention was her mother who was normally stingy to the bone, offering food like that so readily. That was completely out of character.

She was beginning to get curious about what exactly had happened between them.

As she watched Fang Qingsheng leave, Cheng Hongying scanned the surroundings vigilantly. Only after confirming the coast was clear did she turn and head back inside.

Noticing her daughter staring curiously, she asked, somewhat guilty, “Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Because you’re good-looking! But why the guilty look? Am I not allowed to look?”

Cheng Hongying froze. She had expected to be bombarded with questions and had been mentally preparing answers, but to her surprise, none came.

“Watch your tone! What would I have to feel guilty about? I’m not bothering with you, go wash the dishes.”

Qiu Yinuo instantly pulled a face. “But I cooked! Why do I still have to wash dishes?”

“Because you’re the only one who didn’t go out to work today, right?”

“It’s alright, Sister Yinuo. I’ll wash them,” Jinzi offered kindly.

Cheng Hongying gave Qiu Yinuo a sharp look. “Qingqing was working all day at the canning factory loading goods. Can’t you lend a hand?”

“Auntie, I’m strong as an ox. Loading cargo doesn’t tire me at all,” Qingqing said with a smile.

Qiu Yinuo, hearing that, couldn’t bring herself to argue anymore and obediently went to wash the dishes.