Chapter 24 – The Magpies Spat and… Left?

Afterward, Si Yueyue picked up her phone and used Dudu to search for events from the 1970s. Decades later, in Huaxia Country, things were just this convenient—just a few taps on a phone could reveal anything one wanted to know.

Si Yueyue looked at the events listed on the screen.

1973 – National Conference: the crimes of certain individuals were exposed and criticized.

There was also the major leader’s slogan: “Dig deep tunnels, store food widely, and do not seek hegemony.”

Relevant leaders were vindicated and reinstated.

On July 28, 1976 – the TS earthquake.

Si Yueyue stared at that news item and thought to herself, it was currently 1973—three years away. She didn’t know if she could change everyone’s fate.

She was both afraid that others would discover she was a transmigrator and dissect her, and unwilling to let so many innocent lives just vanish like that.

Sigh~ Three years… Who knows, maybe she’d encounter some fortuitous opportunity later. For now, she’d put it aside.

Then the next piece of news made Si Yueyue’s eyes go wide. Whoa~ right, the college entrance exams resumed in ‘77. How could she have forgotten?

There were still four years left. She had to get her whole family to study with her. As long as they could get into university, there would be many more options available in the future.

This had to be firmly remembered—just as important as the earthquake. It needed to be marked with stars.

Si Yueyue continued browsing through the materials, and before she knew it, time had passed. She heard the sound of a child calling from the bedroom and immediately got up to check.

At that moment, An An, who was already awake and sitting on the bed, looked at his mother with bright, sparkling eyes as she entered.

“Ah-ma… mm-mm…”

“Mommy’s going to take An An to the bathroom right now.” Si Yueyue said, scooping An An up in her arms.

Every time An An needed to pee, he would make a “mm-mm” sound. This mother was already used to it.

Sometimes she even suspected that her son might be a transmigrated adult. Otherwise, how could he be so clever?

But after repeated testing, he really was a genuine toddler—she was just overthinking it.

After taking her older son to the toilet, Si Yueyue returned to the room and found that Lele had also woken up.

“Lele is awake! Mommy will take you to the bathroom too, okay?”

“Mm… guh?”

“Big brother already went. Now Mommy will take Lele, and afterward, I’ll make milk for both of you.”

“Ah…” Little Lele nodded and stretched his chubby hands toward his mother.

After picking up her younger son, Si Yueyue turned to An An and said: “An An, wait here and be good. Mommy is taking your little brother to pee. Don’t crawl around, okay?”

An An nodded. “Ah-mm~”

Si Yueyue raised an eyebrow. Good. The little guy was using more and more sounds now.

Once she had finished helping little Lele and returned him to bed, she immediately went to prepare formula for both kids.

After the two little brothers had eaten and drunk their fill, their mother brought them out of the space.

The two little ones looked at the changing scenery, and the initial unease was long gone. After all, being in their mother’s arms gave them a strong sense of security.

The first time they woke up in the space, even Si Yueyue had been startled. But back then, the two little guys couldn’t talk yet, so she wasn’t too worried.

She had just thought at the time—let them understand things first, then decide. Who could predict the future? What if the space had some sort of restriction? By then, even if they wanted to speak, they might not be able to.

…

After coming out of the space, Si Yueyue saw that it was still early, so she brought the two boys outside to play.

After settling the two little brothers on a bamboo mat, Si Yueyue picked up a small stool and sat nearby, watching over them.

Little Lele, already sitting on the mat, looked here and there—the colorful world outside was endlessly fascinating to him.

Then, for some unknown reason, something piqued Lele’s curiosity. Without thinking, he began to crawl out.

But when his chubby little hand touched the dirt outside the mat, he instantly pulled it back in disgust.

An An saw his brother’s action and crawled over. He gently patted his brother’s back and said:

“Dii~ puh… chu…”

Lele listened to his big brother, then pointed his chubby hand toward the courtyard wall outside and said: “Guh… mm… ah…”

Following Lele’s pointing finger, Si Yueyue and An An looked toward the wall and saw two birds perched there.

As a mother, Si Yueyue understood a child’s curiosity well. She sat at the side and explained:

“That’s a kind of bird called a magpie.” Si Yueyue said. “Elders often say, ‘When magpies enter the house, good things are coming.’ It means our family is about to have something good happen.”

“Ah…ma～ying?”

“Yes, that’s right. Magpies.”

“Hee…mm…”

“Guh…mm-ma…poo-poo…”

Si Yueyue shook her head. “You can’t go over there. If you do, you’ll scare the magpies away. Let’s just sit here and watch them.”

“Peh-mm?”

“It means fly… away.”

“Peh…ah.”

An An tried with all his might, even spitting out saliva in his effort, but still didn’t pronounce the words correctly.

“Hahaha… yes, fly away.” Si Yueyue laughed and pulled a handkerchief from her pocket to wipe An An’s drool.

Not knowing why their mother was laughing, the two little cubs started giggling along with her.

Laughter from the children echoed through the courtyard. The magpies on the wall, startled by the noise, spread their wings and flew away.

“The magpies flew away!”

“Peh-mm…ya?”

“That’s right, the magpies flew away!”

The two little brothers watched the birds disappear into the sky, then turned their heads back to look at their mother.

Si Yueyue glanced at the time. After giving the two little ones a few reminders, she went into the main hall to get them water.

“An An, Lele, come drink some water.” Si Yueyue called from her small stool, waving her hand at the boys.

The two little brothers heard their mother’s call and immediately crawled over to her. Once the straws were placed in their mouths, they eagerly sucked away.

After rehydrating them, Si Yueyue began to guide the boys in learning to walk. Since she had seen Lele stand up today, she picked him up first and helped him stand on the mat.

Little Lele’s chubby feet were wrapped in tiny socks made by Grandma Zhao. Once placed upright on the mat, he happily shuffled his feet.

Of course, he wasn’t using any strength at all. Only when he got excited and started to move more did his two plump little legs begin putting in real effort. At that point, Si Yueyue gradually lightened her grip.

“Lele, walk two steps toward Mommy.”

Little Lele grabbed his mother’s hands tightly and slowly stepped forward with his chubby legs.

The new sensation made his eyes light up with joy.

“Ma…ya…giggle giggle…”

After walking a few steps with her younger son, Si Yueyue scooped him up and kissed him on the cheek. “Mua~ Lele is amazing. Let’s rest a bit and practice again later.”

An An, seeing that his little brother could already stand and walk, slowly pulled himself up using a nearby object for support.

Si Yueyue caught sight of her eldest son’s movement, gently placed Lele back onto the mat, then turned to An An with an encouraging look in her eyes.

She stretched out her hands toward An An and quietly waited as he took each step toward her open arms.

Seeing the encouragement in his mother’s gaze, little An An immediately felt at ease. He slowly lifted one foot and carefully stepped forward.

Lele, sitting on the mat, watched his big brother. Though he was too young to feel nervous, he stayed very still, not making a sound, afraid to disturb his brother.

After An An took his first step, he wobbled a bit but quickly steadied himself, making his mother’s heart leap in her chest.

Finally, step by shaky step, he reached her and wrapped his small arms around the woman who brought him into this world.

At that moment, Si Yueyue felt as though those few steps had spanned an entire century.

An An looked up from his mother’s embrace, grinning as he said: “Mm-ma~”

“Ay, An An is amazing!”

Little Lele, watching the moment between his mother and brother, toddled over to their side, showing off his few tiny teeth with a wide smile.

“Ah-ma～mm-guh～”

Si Yueyue wrapped her two little treasures in her arms, giving each of them a big mua~ mua~ kiss. The two boys immediately burst into laughter.

“Alright, now Mommy will take An An and Lele back inside. Mommy needs to start making dinner. Soon Grandpa, Grandma, Uncle, and Auntie will all be back from work.”

“They’ve all worked hard today. We should make sure they come home to hot, delicious food.”

“Mm…ah…”

With one child in each arm, the mother carried the two little brothers inside and placed them on the mat that had already been spread out.

Thankfully, she had asked her father-in-law to make an extra mat earlier. Otherwise, she’d have had to carry two babies and a mat at the same time—just thinking about it was exhausting.