Chapter 72: Dumplings with Sauerkraut Filling

Watching the two siblings push their bicycles back, Cheng Hongying almost couldn’t stop herself from scolding.

How did she end up with such a child who loved to spend money? The last time Qiu Yinuo mentioned needing a bicycle for work, she had just gone ahead and bought one, riding it straight back.

How much did that cost?!

Thinking about it made her angry, and she couldn’t help but hit Qiu Yinuo. “Isn’t it enough to empty your pockets, huh?”

Qiu Qianjin shrank his neck and hurriedly turned the bike around, trying to escape. “I’m just going to return the Village Head’s bike.”

If those hits landed on his shoulders, his shoulders might have been damaged, and just watching made him feel the pain.

“You think you can run away from everything? You’re such a headache. Couldn’t you just stop your sister?” Cheng Hongying grumbled.

Qiu Yinuo winced in pain. “Comrade Cheng Hongying, please stop! If you keep hitting me, the chicken stew in the lunchbox will spill!”

What?

Chicken stew?

Cheng Hongying’s stomach betrayed her, and she swallowed involuntarily. Food couldn’t be wasted.

Fine, maybe she would wait to deal with this kid later.

She quickly pulled her hand back. “Wait for it. I’ll deal with you after dinner.”

“…It’s just a bicycle, I’ll definitely earn the money to pay you back.”

“Enough! Stop talking and making me angry.” Under the faint moonlight, Cheng Hongying eyed the bicycle. “It looks fine. How was the ride back? Is there anything wrong with it? We should talk to the seller and see if we can get some money back.”

“Got it, I know. It’s too cold. Let’s head home.”

Qiu Yinuo casually parked the bike in the yard. Cheng Hongying, still uneasy, pushed it over to the small storage room and locked it up.

Seeing Dabao and Erbao playing on the bed, Qiu Yinuo quickly rubbed his hands together. “Dabao, Erbao, Mama’s home.”

Dabao happily spread his arms wide, eagerly welcoming his mother.

The next second, he felt a cold sensation at the back of his neck. To his surprise, his merciless mother actually slipped her hand inside his collar, making him shiver from the cold.

Bad mama!

Why was she so different from the mom he had imagined?

“Let Mama warm up a bit more.”

Dabao pointed angrily at Erbao, calling out the word “bao” with a little laugh.

Qiu Yinuo immediately understood. “Don’t worry, I’m always fair as a mother.” Without waiting to see if Erbao was busy practicing crawling, she unhesitatingly slid her hand into his neck.

Erbao froze for a moment, then quickly tried to escape.

Unfortunately, no matter where he crawled, Qiu Yinuo’s cold hand followed, as if it had been welded to his neck.

Seeing that his younger brother had also been caught by their mother’s icy grip, Dabao immediately felt more at ease.

Qiu Yinuo was just playing with them, intending to pull her hand back when, without warning, she got a harsh slap to the back of her head.

The only person who would dare to slap her like that was none other than Cheng Hongying.

“Qiu Yinuo, you’re something else. Your hand was freezing, and you put it on the kids’ necks.”

She quickly withdrew her hand. “I was just playing with Dabao and Erbao.”

Seeing her mother grab a small broom from the head of the bed, Qiu Yinuo was scared into climbing up onto the bed, scooping up Dabao in her arms. “Don’t hit, don’t hit! If you keep hitting, you’ll hit the child!”

Cheng Hongying was so frightened that she quickly withdrew her broom. “Qiu Yinuo, you’re crazy, using Dabao as a shield!”

“I can’t help it, what do you expect? That thing hurts when it hits!”

“Look at you now, you don’t look like a mother at all. Put Dabao down.”

“If I put him down, will you stop hitting me?”

Cheng Hongying gritted her teeth. “Fine.”

Qiu Yinuo quickly put down the protesting Dabao, and Cheng Hongying seized him in a flash, grabbing the broom to strike, but when she lifted her eyes, she saw Qiu Yinuo holding Erbao again. Her mouth twitched in annoyance.

That little brat! Fine, she’s tougher than I thought!

Qiu Yinuo breathed a sigh of relief. Thankfully, she had a second child, or else she’d definitely be in for a beating.

After dinner, brushing teeth, washing faces, and going to bed, Qiu Yinuo couldn’t bear to put Erbao down.

Before going to sleep, Dabao was still whining and complaining, making Qiu Yinuo bite his chubby little face. “Be quiet, sleep!”

This kid has been nagging since he was little; what will I do when he grows up?

What girl can stand this?

…

The next day, Qiu Yinuo was woken up by the noise in the yard. Annoyed, she threw the blanket over her head.

When she heard someone enter the room and softly rummage through the cupboard, she guessed who it was.

“Qingqing, who’s making such a fuss outside?”

“It’s Dongzi and the others. They heard we bought a bicycle, and they all want to come and take a ride.”

Qiu Yinuo covered her ears. “That little brat Jinzi just loves to show off.”

“Sister Yinuo, it’s getting late. You should get up. It’s already eight o’clock. Didn’t you say you’d get up early to exercise and lose weight?”

Remembering the ambitious promise she had made, Qiu Yinuo deflated like a punctured balloon. “I’m not mentally prepared yet. I’ll start losing weight after I get back from the city!”

He Ziqing was stunned. “Sister Yinuo, you’re going back to the city?”

“My husband’s superior sent a lot of things for the kids. I need to go back and pick up the package.”

“When are you leaving?”

“I plan to leave tomorrow.”

These peaceful days almost made He Ziqing forget the trouble she had caused. “No, Sister Yinuo, you can’t go back. Let me go back and get your things for you.”

“This time, I intend to go back myself. You don’t need to follow me.”

“No, how can I let you do it alone?”

“Qingqing, maybe it’s not as bad as you think. I’ll go back, pack the things, and come back. It won’t take long.”

He Ziqing wanted to say more, but Qiu Yinuo interrupted, “You stay here and take care of the kids. That way, I can be at ease. Don’t think the worst. It’s not to the point where I’m walking straight into danger.”

“Be good. If anything bad happens, I’ll put the blame on you to make sure I stay safe.” After some persuasion, Qiu Yinuo finally got out of bed.

By the time she looked outside, the group of kids was already gone, probably out riding the bike.

Thinking that she was going back to the city tomorrow, she quickly went to Cheng Hongying to order food.

“Mom, I’m going back to the city tomorrow, but I’ll be back in a few days. Do you want to make some sauerkraut dumplings for my send-off?”

Cheng Hongying suddenly felt a headache. “It’s not a holiday or anything. Why dumplings? You’re just going back to the city, not leaving forever.”

Why was it that both her kids were such headaches?

The younger one was out showing off the bike to his friends, and her eyelids were twitching just thinking about it. And the older one was ordering food, wanting dumplings of all things. She really owed them both.

Qiu Yinuo sighed. How did she end up in such a situation, having to look at others’ faces just to eat a meal of dumplings?