Chapter 113

Fantuan rushed over and hugged them tightly. “Auntie, Da Bao, Xiao Bao, I missed you so much!”

Xiao Doubao also ran over excitedly and hugged them, spinning around.

A whole year had passed, yet these little ones remained just as close as ever.

Xiao Bao hugged Fantuan and exclaimed, “Why are you so tall? You were so much shorter than me last year!”

He compared their heights and realized that Fantuan was now just as tall as him, even though Fantuan was a year younger.

Xiao Fantuan proudly patted his chest and said, “I have a big appetite, and I do morning exercise with my dad every day, so naturally I have grown taller.”

Xiao Bao picked up the beautiful Xiao Doubao, rubbed noses with him, and said. “Our Xiao Doubao is becoming more and more beautiful!”

Xiao Doubao was indeed good-looking, with rosy lips and white teeth, growing more delicate and attractive as time passed.

Da Bao was quite shy. Fantuan put his arm around his shoulder and said, “Let’s go inside first. Auntie, come in. Xiao Roubao is especially naughty now. He flips over, and we can’t keep track of where he goes. He can’t be left alone. Mom has to keep an eye on him inside.”

Liang Hongmei was puzzled and said. “The twin babies are this active, and they’re not even half a year old yet?”

Fantuan answered. “Xiao Roubao is very naughty, and my sister is still very gentle.”

While they spoke, they had already entered the courtyard. Su Xiaoxiao was waiting at the door. Da Bao and Xiao Bao had already run over and hugged Su Xiaoxiao, but suddenly, Xiao Bao cried out loud. “Auntie, Auntie… Wuwuwu…”

Su Xiaoxiao squatted down and hugged Da Bao and Xiao Bao, rubbing Xiao Bao’s head and said. “What’s wrong, Xiao Bao?”

Liang Hongmei put down the things she brought and said, “Ever since the holidays started, Xiao Bao kept asking repeatedly every day when he could come to his Auntie’s house. He was worried that we’d leave without him. Since he annoyed his grandma with his questions, she sent him along with me to the county. He’s been waiting for me to have some time off.”

Su Xiaoxiao was amused and touched. “Grandma was wrong last time, but she really didn’t mean it. You can’t hold onto these things, you know.”

Xiao Bao wiped away his tears and pouted, “I’m not holding grudges, I just miss everyone.”

Liang Hongmei said, “Xiao Bao is really amazing. It was my first time traveling far and taking a train, and I didn’t understand anything, but he managed to guide me throughout the trip. He even recognized the way back home after we got off the train. I must say, if we had let him board the train last time, he might have brought Da Bao here himself.”

Su Xiaoxiao stood up and said, “How old are you two? You can’t go out without an adult. Even if you successfully arrive here, I won’t let you stay here. Otherwise, you won’t learn.”

Who knows whom they might encounter outside? Su Xiaoxiao thought this precedent should not be set.

Da Bao and Xiao Bao said, “I understand, Auntie. We won’t do it again.”

Da Bao and Xiao Bao’s attention had already been drawn to the twins.

They can tell at a glance who is the younger brother and who is the younger sister because, as Xiao Doubao said, one looked like their dad and the other looked like their mom, which was particularly obvious.

Xiaobao and Dabao lay on the quilt, staring at the two little ones.

Xiao Bao dared not take a breath and said, “My younger sister is so beautiful. She looks like my aunt and Xiao Roubao is also good-looking. Xiao Roubao is a bit like Fantuan and Doubao, but why is Xiao Roubao so fat? Did Xiao Roubao snatch Xiao Tangyuan’s food when they were still in my aunt’s belly?”

Fantuan nodded and said, “Xiao Roubao is quite a big eater, so he grows fast.”

Da Bao said, “Auntie’s daughter naturally looks like Aunt, Fantuan, and Doubao both look like Uncle, so Xiao Roubao naturally looks like Uncle too.”

Xiao Bao wrinkled his nose and said, “That’s not necessarily true. My younger brother doesn’t look like my dad or me, he’s ugly, I don’t know who he looks like.”

Speaking of which, he still kind of wants to tease his younger brother.

Fantuan said, “They were ugly when they were little, but they’ll look good after growing up. Anyway, I couldn’t tell who they looked like when they were little.”

Xiao Doubao disagreed and said, “I could tell at a glance. The little sister has been as pretty as Mommy since she was a child, with cute dimples. Xiao Roubao is as handsome as me~~~”

Fantuan said, “Mom can’t even tell, only you could, that’s just your guess.”

Xiao Doubao shook his head vigorously and said, “I have a telepathic connection with my younger brother and sister, I can tell at a glance!”

Fantuan pinched his younger brother’s face and said, “You’re still bragging!”

Xiao Doubao slapped his hand and said, “I’m not bragging, bad brother. I never boast, but you do!”

Xiao Bao was very surprised and said. “Since when did Xiao Doubao start to speak smoothly?”

Fantuan let go of Xiao Doubao and said it angrily. “Very talkative, always trying to annoy me.”

Liang Hongmei shook her head and took out the things she had brought from their hometown. “Fortunately, when you were giving birth, your mother didn’t let them come over. As soon as the kids gathered, my head would buzz. It’s hard for you too.”

Su Xiaoxiao poured three bowls of malt milk powder and handed her a bowl, saying, “You’ll get used to it. Take a sip to warm up, and Da Bao and Xiao Bao, come and have a sip.”

Liang Hongmei looked at it and said, “Malted milk? I won’t drink it. Leave it for the kids. I’ll just have some water.”

Su Xiaoxiao pushed back and said, “It’s okay to drink this occasionally, it’s not like we’re going to drink it every day.”

Fantuan said, “Xiao Doubao and I had some this morning. Auntie, why don’t you drink it?”

Liang Hongmei no longer declined. It was her first time drinking malted milk. Her sister-in-law was truly kind.

“Is everything okay at home? How are the second sister-in-law and the youngest one doing?” asked Su Xiaoxiao.

Liang Hongmei finished a bowl of malt milk powder and warmed herself up. She nodded and said, “They’re okay, everything’s fine. Both my second brother and sister-in-law want to have daughters. They aren’t pleased with having sons.”’

Liang Hongmei shook her head. “I don’t know what feng shui our Su family has. Other families try everything to have sons, but we can’t have daughters. Your luck is the best; having a son and a daughter in one go.”

Su Xiaoxiao looked at the twins with satisfaction and said, “My luck is indeed very good, and I didn’t expect them to come together.”

Initially, Su Xiaoxiao thought educating boys and girls was the same since they’d only have one child. Unexpectedly, she had twins, a son, and a daughter, probably due to the good luck of a time-traveling woman. Despite not having any special abilities, she still believed that the days ahead would be better and better.

Xiao Bao finished drinking malted milk before thinking of Zhuzi and saying, “By the way, where’s Xiao Zhuzi?”

Fantuan said. “He went to the capital to see his grandfather. He’ll probably be back around the fourth day of the New Year. If you stay longer, you’ll be able to see him when he returns.”

Xiao Bao has no concept of the capital, he has only heard of it before: “Capital, is it the place where Auntie brought back those eight treasures?”

Su Xiaoxiao had brought back souvenirs from the capital to the Su family last year and told them about it. Xiaobao remembered.

Fantuan nodded. “Yes, it’s very far. In the future, if we have the chance, we can go play with Zhuzi. If we want to go, Aunt Yali will also take us.”

Xiao Bao nodded and said, “Is Zhuzi’s mom, the beautiful Aunt Yali?”

Fantuan tilted his head to look at Su Xiaoxiao and said with great certainty, “Mom is the most beautiful!”

Xiao Bao also nodded and said, “Hmm, my aunt is the most beautiful, and my sister is also beautiful!”

Dabao and Doubao also nodded. “Aunt/Mom and little sister are the most beautiful!”

Liang Hongmei chuckled at their conversation. In their eyes, no one could compare to their aunt.

Liang Homei said to Su Xiaoxiao, “The end of the year is the busiest time at the food factory. I finally managed to get a few days off. I have to leave at the latest the day after tomorrow. Xiaobao and Dabao can stay until school starts again, but the problem is who will take them back then.”

Su Xiaoxiao thought for a moment, “It’s okay. If Han Cheng can’t make it, we can ask Zhao Xianfeng to arrange for a fellow soldier to send us back. It’ll only take a two- or three-day round trip.”

Liang Hongmei nodded and said, “That’s also possible. If that doesn’t work, we’ll have to ask his father to come pick them up.”

Su Xiaoxiao said, “If Second Brother wants to come and stay here for a couple of days, it’s fine. Go ask him what he thinks.”

Liang Hongmei went out to wash her hands and returned to sit on the cool mat. She picked up the twins one by one, stuffed a small red envelope into their small pockets, and said “Come here, let Auntie take a good look at our Xiao Tangyuan and Xiao Roubao.”

Xiao Roubao thought the red envelope could be eaten, so he grabbed it and stuffed it into his mouth.

Liang Hongmei was so scared that she quickly grabbed it back, putting it back into his little pocket, saying, “You little troublemaker, you’re too quick! You can’t eat the red paper.”

Xiao Tangyuan smiled at Auntie with her eyes curled. Liang Hongmei was moved, saying, “Our Xiao Tangyuan is so beautiful. Her nose looks like Han Cheng, her eyes and mouth are just like yours, oh, and she has a little dimple too.”’

With Liang Hongmei helping to take care of the children, Su Xiaoxiao can focus on preparing lunch.

The lamb meat would only arrive in the afternoon, so they only had seafood and preserved meats to eat. As it was cold, Su Xiaoxiao decided to make a pot of clay for rice. The children loved it anyway.

She added a little cooking oil and salt to the washed rice and placed it on charcoal to cook until it was about 80% done. Then she added soaked, slightly dried waxed duck, waxed sausage, dried squid, and dried shiitake mushrooms on top. Finally, she added some shredded ginger, sprinkled a bit of sugar for seasoning, covered it, and cooked it until it was done. Before serving, she added a drizzle of soy sauce.

As noon approached, Han Cheng sent someone back to say that he couldn’t come back for lunch due to an emergency surgery.

Liang Hongmei picked some small rapeseed from the vegetable garden, washed it, and brought it over. It wasn’t until she heard this that she realized how difficult the doctor’s job was: “Does my brother-in-law always have such a busy schedule? Can’t even have lunch?”

Su Xiaoxiao drizzled a circle of soy sauce onto the cooked clay pot rice and shook her head, saying, “It’s not always this busy every day. Occasionally, some emergencies can’t be avoided. It’s more important to save the patients.”

Liang Hongmei nodded and blanched the mustard greens in boiling water. Seeing Su Xiaoxiao add another drizzle of peanut oil on top, she winced in pain, frowning, “The waxed duck and meat already have a lot of oil. Don’t waste more oil.”

Su Xiaoxiao said, “It’s okay, just a little bit. The small mustard greens aren’t green without oil, they’re still very bitter. There’s not as much worry about oil at home as in our hometown; there’s enough to eat, so don’t worry.”

Liang Hongmei sighed, thinking that her younger sister’s household had really good food. The clay pot rice had a full circle of meat on top, just smelling it made one’s mouth water.

Su Xiaoxiao picked up the preserved meats first and mixed the rice evenly, and the crispy rice at the bottom of the pot was especially fragrant with oil. The children all liked crispy rice, so Su Xiaoxiao evenly distributed almost the same amount of crispy rice into each child’s bowl. The bowls of the three older kids were nearly the same size, while the youngest, Doubao’s, was a bit smaller. Fantuan had the biggest appetite, so Su Xiaoxiao gave him a bit more rice.

The distribution of meat was the same for everyone, but there was a bit more mustard green in Fantuan’s bowl. Since Han Cheng wouldn’t be coming back to eat, Su Xiaoxiao served a bit more than usual, leaving a bowl of rice in the pot to add later for anyone who wasn’t full yet.

Liang Hongmei knows the habits of the Han family; they didn’t believe in giving all the meat to the children to eat. It was all evenly distributed. When she and her husband ate with their eldest, they subconsciously let the eldest have more meat. However, Su Xiaoxiao and the elders and children in the Su family were equal. If they were given too much, the children would unconsciously give some back to the adults.

A few cubs were holding bowls and eating very delicious food. It had been a while since Xiao Bao had eaten the food cooked by his aunt. A mouthful of crispy rice was so fragrant that tears almost welled up in his eyes: “Aunt’s cooking is still the most delicious!”
Liang Hongmei laughed at him and said, “If your grandmother heard this, she would be so sad.”

Grandma wasn’t here, so Xiao Bao wasn’t worried. “Grandma’s cooking is delicious too, but she’s reluctant to use oil. Aunt’s dishes with oil are even more delicious.”

Da Bao has never had such a delicious meal before: “Auntie, it really smells so good. Mom, why isn’t the cured meat we make at home this fragrant?”

Liang Hongmei nodded and said, “I’ll learn it. From now on, when we have preserved meat, I’ll make it like this for you.”

Su Xiaoxiao said, “Clay Pot Rice tastes best in winter. It’s not as delicious in summer. By the way, there’s still rice in the pot; if you’re not full, help yourselves.” ^[1]Clay Pot Rice is a popular Cantonese dish where rice, meat, preserved sausages, and various ingredients are cooked together in a clay pot.

The big eater, Xiao Fantuan, hadn’t finished yet and was the first to raise his hand. “I want more rice!”

The other kids followed suit, “I want more rice too!”

…