Chapter 29 – Climbing the Roof Without Missing a Tile

The two sisters-in-law were inside the room, one teaching with focus, the other learning earnestly.

Meanwhile, over on An An and Lele’s side—

As soon as the group of older boys reached the big tree, they immediately began playing wildly with the other children.

Lei Dashu, seeing others playing chess, walked over with An An in his arms to join the lively crowd. An An nestled quietly in his grandfather’s embrace, not fussy at all.

Every time Lei Jun saw his older nephew behaving like this, he found it quite amazing. After all, his second brother used to be the kind who would climb onto rooftops and rip off tiles—without missing a single one.

Lele, on the other hand, had been taken by Grandma Zhao and plunged straight into the heart of the gossip circle.

“Oh, Cuilan, this must be your youngest grandson, right? How did you raise him like this? So fair and tender! Weren’t they twins? Where’s the other one?”

“Hahaha… Yes, this is my little grandson Lele. The one in the old man’s arms is his older brother, An An.” Grandma Zhao tilted her chin in the direction of Lei Dashu.

“Of course he’s fair—these two kids barely left the house since they were born.”

“So what made you bring them out today, Cuilan? You’re not keeping them hidden away at home anymore?”

“Ai—when did we ever hide the kids? They go wherever they want. Today, Lele wanted to come out and play, so we brought him.”

“Normally, we just don’t have time. There’s too much to do at home. Two kids, and it’s hard for one person to carry both.”

“I bet! Just look at these two little guys, all chubby. Hold them for too long and your arms go numb.”

“Hahaha…”

“Gigglegiggle…” Little Lele laughed along when he saw everyone else laughing.

“Oh my, this little one—do you even know what we’re laughing about? And you’re joining in?”

“Gigglegiggle…”

“Oh? Who are you ladies teasing over here?”

“Oh my, it’s Guifen! You’re late. We were just talking about Zhenzi’s little boys.”

Grandma Zhao nodded at the brigade leader’s wife. “Sister-in-law, Lele—do you still remember who this is?”

“The child’s still small, how could he remember so many people? I haven’t visited your place in a while either.”

“Little Lele’s already forgotten Great-grandma, isn’t that right?”

Lele looked brightly at the brigade leader’s wife. “Grandma!”

“Aye.”

“Well, the little guy’s got a good memory, huh?”

“Hahaha… The more you see someone, the easier it is to remember.”

Zhou Guifen squeezed Lele’s chubby little hand, then asked Grandma Zhao: “Where’s An An? Why didn’t you bring him too?”

Grandma Zhao smiled and looked over at Lei Dashu. “Isn’t he over there? His grandpa’s holding him.”

“I’ll go bring him over.”

“Alright.”

Zhou Guifen wasn’t one to dawdle. As soon as she finished speaking, she headed straight for Lei Dashu.

“Dajun’s father, Dajun.”

“Sister-in-law / Auntie.”

“An An, do you still remember Great-grandma?”

An An blinked his big eyes, seeming to consider whether this person in front of him was familiar. “Grandma~”

“Eyy, come now, let Great-grandma carry you. Let’s go find your little brother and grandma. Don’t stay here with your grandpa and uncles—it stinks here, all that smoke.”

Lei Dashu glanced around. Oh, how had he forgotten about that?

“An An, go with Great-grandma to find your little brother and grandma. Grandpa will come find you later, alright?” He quickly handed An An over to Zhou Guifen.

“Mm…”

Zhou Guifen happily took An An into her arms. “Let’s go! Time to find your little brother and grandma!”

Little Lele had been glancing around, and when he saw An An, he excitedly stomped his feet. “Big Brother!”

“Little Brother!”

When his brother came up to him, Lele grinned even wider. “Big Brother!”

“Little Brother!”

“Oh my, these two brothers sure are close. They’ve only been apart a little while and they’re already calling out ‘Big Brother’ and ‘Little Brother’ nonstop.”

“Of course! An An and Lele are twins. They’re not just any brothers—their bond is extra strong.”

A jarring voice interrupted: “What’s the point of being close now? Later on, they’ll still end up fighting over the family inheritance.”

“…”

As soon as Lin Dahua spoke, the surrounding atmosphere turned silent and tense.

“Chen family folk shouldn’t be talking like that. The Lei Family raises their children properly.”

“That’s right! You think we’re like some families, fighting over a few trifling coins? I say, it’s because the parents didn’t raise them properly.”

Lin Dahua stood up, hands on her hips, and pointed at Wang Chunhua. “Who are you talking about?”

Aunt Chunhua clapped her hands. “Whoever responds, that’s who I’m talking about.”

“You filthy, shameless wretch…”

Grandma Zhao cast a side glance at Lin Dahua and gently soothed Lele in her arms. “Lin Dahua, what, did the donkey spend all day doing nothing but kicking your head again?”

“Exactly! Her brain must’ve been kicked to mush by a donkey. Otherwise, with kids still around, how can she just spew nonsense like that?”

“If you wanna yell, go somewhere else to yell. You think this is your house? What, drop your pants and shit wherever you like?”

Even Zhou Guifen had spoken up. Lin Dahua could only shrink like a quail. She didn’t dare go up against the brigade leader’s wife—if Zhou Guifen decided to give her trouble, she’d be the one doing the dirtiest, heaviest chores.

Feeling aggrieved, Lin Dahua left. The others watched her retreating figure and chuckled indifferently. If it weren’t for the kids around, they’d have already torn into her.

Standing beside Zhou Guifen, Zhou Jiajia had remained quiet the whole time. Now she looked at her and asked softly: “Auntie, can I hold An An for a bit?”

Zhou Jiajia spoke cautiously, afraid both her aunt and the little one would say no.

“Why not? An An, would you let Auntie Jiajia hold you for a while?”

An An looked toward Zhou Jiajia at the sound of Great-grandma’s voice. His round, wide eyes stared at her so intently that she didn’t even dare breathe.

Then, An An stretched out his little hands toward her. “Auntie… mm…”

“There, An An agrees. Go on, hold him.” Zhou Guifen handed An An directly into Zhou Jiajia’s arms.

She looked at Zhou Jiajia’s timid expression and couldn’t help feeling angry.

Zhou Jiajia was her eldest brother’s daughter, married to the Wang family in the next village for nearly two years now—and her belly still hadn’t shown any sign of pregnancy. At first, her mother-in-law was polite, but as time went on, she began tormenting her.

And this girl, useless thing that she was, never even said a word to her family when she came back home. If someone from the Shanhe Brigade hadn’t returned home and happened to see her getting beaten, they wouldn’t even have known what was going on.

After Zhou Guifen found out, she brought her family and stormed right into the Wang household.

She had forced the couple to split off and live separately. Otherwise, the two fools might still be getting bullied to no end.

Lately, Zhou Guifen had brought the couple over to stay for a few days to help Jiajia relax. From what she saw, Wang Er was someone who could live a proper life—otherwise, she would’ve straightened him out, too.

Zhou Jiajia held the soft little baby in her arms and sighed inwardly. If only she could have a child too.

Zhou Guifen could tell what she was thinking just by looking at her face. “You… don’t overthink it. Just rest up at Auntie’s place for a few days. Go get checked at the clinic soon.”

Zhou Jiajia’s eyes turned red as she lowered her head. “Mm.”

An An had no idea what the adults were talking about. When Zhou Jiajia handed him back to Zhou Guifen, he suddenly pointed at Zhou Jiajia’s belly and said: “Brother~”

Zhou Guifen chuckled. “This child…”

“An An, your brother is here.” Grandma Zhao walked up holding Lele.

An An shook his little head and persistently pointed at Zhou Jiajia’s belly. “Brother~”

At that moment, Lele also grinned and chimed in: “Brother~ Brother~”

Zhou Guifen and Grandma Zhao exchanged a glance.

Just then, Lei Dashu and the others returned. Zhou Guifen quickly shoved An An back into his arms and hurriedly pulled Zhou Jiajia away with her.

Lei Dashu watched them leave and looked questioningly at Grandma Zhao.

“Let’s go. It’s getting late. Time to head home.”

When Lei Jun heard his mother speak, he called for his kids, and the whole group chattered away as they headed home.

The two little ones watched their older siblings spinning around them and giggled joyfully.

“Ah… Big Brother~ Big Sister~”

“Big Sister~ Mm…”

“Shushu~ Ya!”

Once back in the familiar place, the two little ones began looking for their mother.

Grandma Zhao and Lei Dashu carried An An and Lele to the second house, to find their Mommy.

When the two little brothers saw their mother, they bounced up and down in their grandparents’ arms, eager to leap into her embrace.

“Mommy~”

“Mommy Mommy Mommy Mommy…”

Lei Dashu and his wife placed the two grandsons on the heated brick bed, explained the situation to Si Yueyue, then went out to boil water to give the little ones a bath.

Once everyone had washed off the sweat and grime, and the two little ones were freshly bathed and smelling sweet—

Grandma Zhao handed twenty yuan to Si Yueyue and told her to use it to buy things the next day. Since it was the boys’ birthday, the money would come from the public family fund.

Si Yueyue knew she couldn’t refuse, so she accepted the money.

“Mom, is there anything you want to buy?”

“What would I need to buy? We have everything at home. I don’t lack for anything. Did you get a letter of introduction?”

“Mm, I just came from the brigade leader’s house. It’s done.”

“Alright then. Go to bed early. We’ve got an early morning tomorrow.”