Chapter 115

This was Su Xiaoxiao’s first time spending the Lunar New Year at the military base. Han Cheng had no concept of the New Year’s customs, so Su Xiaoxiao did as she pleased regarding the traditions.

Su Xiaoxiao copied the customs of their Su Village, she washed clothes on the 28th day before the Lunar month, on the 29th day, she made sugar rings and on the 30th day, she posted spring couplets.

At midnight on the first day of the Lunar New Year, they set off firecrackers, and in the morning, they handed out a red envelope. They ate vegetarian dishes all day, on the second day, they had a special New Year’s rooster dish, and so on.

Han Cheng took a long vacation last year for the New Year. This year, he voluntarily took the duty to let his colleagues take a break, but he applied for a day off on the 25th day of the lunar month. He drove Su Xiaoxiao and the children to the city to purchase New Year’s goods.

The half-year-old twins were now able to sit steadily. Xiao Tangyuan was somewhat lazy; if she could lie down, she didn’t want to sit up. On the other hand, Xiao Roubao was different; if he could sit, he wouldn’t want to lie down. He could crawl and roll all over the place; there was no corner of the house he couldn’t reach.

Han Cheng had no choice but to build a fence made of bamboo, resembling a circle, surrounding Xiao Roubao and Xiao Tangyuan, using old cloth and sheets to contain them in the middle of a mat. Otherwise, he wouldn’t know where they’d roll off to if he looked away for a moment.

Xiao Tangyuan, who is half a year old, became even sweeter and fond of smiling. The chubby little girl was becoming more and more beautiful with her fair face and pointed chin. Her watery big eyes blinked, and her long eyelashes fluttered, charming everyone. The little girl began to eat rice soup and rice porridge and started to show a bit of her own temperament. If she didn’t like the toys her brothers gave her, she’d casually throw them away.

It was the first time for the twins to ride a car and go on a long trip, so Su Xiaoxiao tightly wrapped the twins from head to toe. Everyone wanted to hold Xiao Tangyuan, but only Xiao Doubao, who considered his brother his own choice, insisted on holding Xiao Roubao. Unfortunately, Xiao Roubao was too heavy for Xiao Doubao to lift.

The three older brothers were discussing taking turns to hold Xiao Tangyuan in the back seat. They played a game to decide who would go first, and Xiao Fantuan won the chance to hold her first. Xiao Bao lost, so he would be the last. He looked enviously at Xiao Fantuan holding his sister.
Xiao Roubao was curious about everything. He couldn’t sit still in his mother’s arms. He insisted on standing up and bouncing around.

Since the child was still small, standing for too long could easily harm his legs. So, Su Xiaoxiao didn’t allow him to bounce while standing, so he bounced while sitting. It took a while before he could calm down.

It’s quite dangerous not to have child seats in the car, so Su Xiaoxiao could only ask Han Cheng to drive as slowly as possible.

Han Cheng wouldn’t drive fast even without Su Xiaoxiao’s reminder. They sat in two rows in the back, and the older children who didn’t have a chance to hold Xiao Tangyuan sat in the last row. Xiao Doubao sat next to his younger brother and mother. Xiao Fantuan held Xiao Tangyuan beside them. The whole family set off for the city.

were both extremely excited during their first ride in their uncle’s car. Their seat belts couldn’t even tie them to their seats. They insisted on leaning against the window to watch the scenery outside the car. Han Cheng was even more afraid to drive too fast.

When it was Da Bao’s turn to hug Xiao Tangyuan, Han Cheng pulled the car aside. He asked Da Bao to move to the middle row, while Fantuan moved to the back row. The same was done when it was Xiao Bao’s turn, with the other two brothers sitting in the back row.

The usual one-hour drive took two hours as they slowly wandered into the city.

Just like Liang Hongmei said, the atmosphere this year is relatively less tense, but it still lacks the vibrant festivity of the New Year as seen in later years. Especially as the Lunar New Year approached, everywhere was bustling with crowds, yet the traditional celebratory New Year songs were notably absent.

Han Cheng carried Xiao Roubao, while Su Xiaoxiao held Xiao Doubao’s hand. Xiao Fantuan was carrying Xiao Tangyuan, who was sitting securely and comfortably in a modified backpack. This way, Tangyuan could freely look around.

Another backpack is carried by Da Bao, so he can put all of the things they would buy in it.

Anyway, the three brothers have a lot of strength now, so they can take turns carrying Tangyuan and the bag on their own for a while, which makes them less tired.

It was the first time for Da Bao and Xiao Bao to visit such a bustling city. Everything seemed new and fascinating to them; they wished they had more eyes to see everything. Su Xiaoxiao worried that the kids might get lost accidentally, so she made them hold hands, emphasizing they must not run around or stand still in one place for too long.

The onlookers assumed that all these children were Su Xiaoxiao’s biological kids and were surprised to see someone so young yet capable of having so many children.

Along the way, they encountered a craftsman selling small windmills discreetly. Su Xiaoxiao bought one for Xiao Doubao.

They didn’t wander around, they headed straight to the supply and marketing cooperatives and state-owned shopping malls, buying everything they needed for the Chinese New Year.

The boys had an inexplicable fondness for fireworks and firecrackers. They remained unsatisfied with those they had previously set off in Sujia Village. Both Fantuan and Doubao insisted on purchasing more.

Initially, Han Cheng thought they could buy them when they returned, without the need to carry them now. He considered that most supplies available in small towns and counties were of lower quality and too cumbersome.

Su Xiaoxiao then suggested buying a small amount, which made the cubs jump in excitement.

They mainly bought all the necessary supplies, such as powdered milk, condensed milk, candies, and traditional New Year’s treats. Han Cheng exchanged some vouchers since the cooperative store in their town often ran out of stock. Thus, whenever they went, they tried to buy as much as possible.

Additionally, they bought various New Year’s sweets, biscuits, red paper, etc.

The town’s supply of dried fruits and fruits for the New Year from the city’s subsidiary food factory was limited. They just bought a bit of everything. As for meat, they no longer hesitated with the seller; they simply asked him to leave enough, given the circumstances.

Anyway, even if they don’t have enough tickets, they can still purchase items that usually require tickets on the black market.

After buying everything they needed on this trip, the entire family became exhausted, and the cubs are now sitting in the car, unwilling to move.
The couple changed the twins’ diapers, and Xiao Roubao was crying loudly due to hunger. Nowadays, when he is hungry, he no longer cries but makes loud noises, drawing everyone’s attention.

Su Xiaoxiao brought porridge in a thermos, allowing Han Cheng to feed Xiao Roubao outside. The older brothers ate some pre-prepared baked goods and eggs to fill their stomachs.
After drinking various soups and eating various coarse grains, Xiao Roubao’s favorite foods became egg yolks, pumpkin, and sweet potatoes. He was now quite picky with plain rice porridge, insisting it needed to have pumpkin, sweet potato, or mashed egg yolks to taste good. If there wasn’t anything added, he wouldn’t eat the plain rice porridge at all.

Since the older siblings knew Xiao Roubao’s favorite food was egg yolks, they were happy to share their own egg yolks with him. However, their Mom/Aunt once said that he could not eat anything directly and must eat it with rice porridge, otherwise, he would choke.

So even if Xiao Roubao wants to eat it, his brothers won’t give him food indiscriminately. They would always ask Su Xiaoxiao first if they wanted to feed Xiao Roubao something.

“You guys eat yours and peel an extra one, Fantuian. Give the egg white to Dad, and put the yolk in Xiao Roubao’s rice porridge for him to eat.”

It was inconvenient not to wean Xiao Roubao off breast milk before going out. Su Xiaoxiao had started to produce milk again. After giving instructions, she closed the car door and fed Xiao Tangyuan in the corner.

When the twins are full, they are left sleeping in the car. Su Xiaoxiao asked Han Cheng to take the children to the state-owned restaurant for lunch while she stayed in the car watching over the twins, requesting Han Cheng to bring back some wontons or dumplings.

After their meal and a rest, Su Xiaoxiao headed to the state-owned shopping mall in the afternoon to use the cloth ticket. Li Yufeng’s absence meant she couldn’t sew clothes with the purchased fabric. Moreover, the shoes she made previously turned out to be slightly oversized.

So, Su Xiaoxiao opted to buy a pair of shoes for each child. Despite that, the kids who got new shoes were the happiest when they found out that Han Cheng somehow managed to get hold of a radio ticket from somewhere, so they bought a radio!

This meant that the kids would have a new form of entertainment. They could listen to news, broadcasts, and stories every day. Could they be any happier?

The three cubs held onto the big radio and couldn’t bear to let go of it, they repeatedly asked Han Cheng how to use it.

“It won’t work now; we have to go home and plug it in to use it.” Han Cheng had some English tapes stashed away. Bringing them out later could help the kids get familiar with the English language in advance.

not being able to use it immediately, the kids were very disappointed.

The last item on the agenda was to go to the black market.

There were many more things in the black market compared to the last visit. Even Han Cheng said, “At this rate, within three years, this current supply method should be disrupted.”

A market form that could never meet the basic needs of people’s lives cannot exist for long.

Su Xiaoxiao had to admire Han Cheng’s foresight. Indeed, three years later, this planned economy would gradually exit the stage of history.

They stocked up on firewood, rice, oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, tea, various spices, seasonings, and all kinds of meat that didn’t require tickets. They also bought some mushrooms, water chestnuts, and lotus roots that were not available at home.

The extravagant shopping sprees of their aunt and uncle left Da Bao and Xiao Bao astonished. This kind of spending was routine for Fantuan and Doubao, as their family would stockpile goods a few times a year, consistently purchasing similar quantities each time. However, for Da Bao and Xiao Bao, this was an entirely new experience. These two young cubs, adept at mathematics, began to worry that their aunt and uncle might not have enough income to cover such expenses.”

On the way back, had the cubs not been aware that Su Xiaoxiao couldn’t carry her, they would have been so exhausted that they wouldn’t even have wanted to hold their younger sister. The older brother, who wasn’t expected to carry his younger sister, leaned on the chair and slept throughout the journey.

Hastily, they managed to return home before the sunset, with the kids helping to unload the goods. All of them lay on the bamboo mats, refusing to move.

Even Xiao Doubao couldn’t help but lie down and let out a long sigh, “It’s so tiring to go shopping in the city. Next time I’ll go to play at Uncle Xiao Yu’s house and won’t go with Mom and dad anymore~~~”

The three brothers exchanged glances, all of them reluctant to go to the market again!

Su Xiaoxiao shook her head and said, “You say this every time, but every time you still go with Dad and Mom.”

They were typical of forgetting the pain after the wound had healed. When Su Xiaoxiao was pregnant, she hardly went there. It was always the two kids following Han Cheng, and every time they returned, they complained about being tired and said they wouldn’t go again, but after recovering, they still went along.
Struggling with his fatigue, Fantuan, who felt drained of energy, managed to say, “It wasn’t this tiring when Xiao Roubao and Xiao Tangyuan weren’t with us.”

He hugged his sister and gave her a kiss. “Xiao Tangyuan, it’s not that Big Brother doesn’t love you, but it’s just too exhausting to take you and Xiao Roubao outside. How about playing at home next time?”

“Su Xiaoxiao completely agrees that taking such young cubs out can be truly exhausting. Without the help of the twins’ older brothers, she and Han Cheng would have been completely worn out.

“Big brothers, you’ve worked hard,” Su Xiaoxiao said.

Xiao Tangyuan, with her small hand carrying a little bell, playfully slapped her brother’s face.

Xiap Fantuan caught his sister’s hand and pretended to bite her. “Bad sister hitting her eldest brother! Brother is going to eat your hand.”

Xiao Tangyuan thought her brother was playing with her and laughed happily with a wide grin.

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T/N: “Apologies for the delayed update! I will be unlocking Chapters 116.1 and 116.2 to make it up to you all!!! (✿◡‿◡)

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