Chapter 71.2

The pig’s ears and the pig’s tail were blanched in water. Su Xiaoxiao separately prepared a pot of caramel and added soaked cinnamon, star anise, and other spices along with oil and salt. Su Xiaoxiao also soaked a few mushrooms. When the water boiled, she put in the whole pig ears, pig’s tail, and mushrooms together.

Han Cheng bought a lot of eggs, so Su Xiaoxiao took the opportunity while blanching to put eight eggs in. After they were cooked, she peeled them and put them in the pot to stew together. This way, the stew can be enjoyed for several days without any problem. Tomorrow, she will go to the market to buy some tofu and stew it together when the pot is heated. She can even buy some pork offal and stew it together.

During lazy winter days, making stew is very suitable. If you don’t mind eating the same thing for several days, it’s quite common. The longer you cook the stew, the more flavorful it becomes.

Hua Hua also did a great job today. She laid another egg and made the three babies happy.

Especially Zhuzi, whose eyes narrowed with laughter. He was the one who came up with the idea of letting Hua Hua eat earthworms. If Hua Hua still didn’t lay eggs after that, the most depressed person would be Zhuzi.

Xiao Fantuan came in with eggs in his hands and said, “Mom, look at the eggs under Hua Hua!”

Su Xiaoxiao gently rubbed the heads of the little cubs and said, “You’re all great. You take good care of Hua Hua. Mom forgot to tell you yesterday, but Hua Hua also laid an egg. Let’s save them up, and when we have enough, we can ask Grandma Zhang for advice on how to hatch the baby chicks.”

Fantuan nodded and said, “Uh-huh! Let’s save up the eggs and hatch baby chicks. Oh, Mom, it seems like Grandma was right. Zhou, Fen, Mian, and Fan are starting to look more and more like little roosters.”

Su Xiaoxiao replied: “That’s alright. As long as Hua Hua lays eggs, we can exchange a couple of little hens from Grandma Zhang later. That way, you can have fresh eggs every day.”

Fantuan couldn’t agree more.

Su Xiaoxiao cooked rice and filled the bathtub in the shower room with water. She let the three little ones bathe together, while the two older ones undressed themselves and climbed in with the help of a small stool. Su Xiaoxiao cleaned Xiao Doubao and placed him in the bathtub.

“Wash quickly; you need to finish bathing before the water gets cold.” The little cubs were still young, so Su Xiaoxiao didn’t dare to leave them alone. It would be troublesome if they accidentally choked on water. Xiao Doubao was so small and vulnerable to pneumonia.

Perhaps Han Cheng trained them well. The two older cubs skillfully washed Xiao Doubao first.

Xiao Fantuan said, “Mom, Xiao Doubao is all washed up. You can help him get dressed first.”

Xiao Doubao is still playing with water and is unwilling to come out: “Mama, I play with water.”

Su Xiaoxiao picked up a big towel and picked up the baby from the water: “It’s too cold. We’ll play again when Dad comes back.”

Xiao Doubao obediently let his mother carry him and dress him.

Xiao Doubao put on his clothes and shoes, and Su Xiaoxiao asked him to go out and play first.

Xiao Doubao refused to go out and insisted on following his mom.

The cubs were also finished taking a bath, and Su Xiaoxiao took them out one by one and wrapped them in towels. The two cubs dried their bodies and quickly dressed themselves.

After all this hustle and bustle, Su Xiaoxiao was so tired that she couldn’t even lift her hands. If it weren’t for Han Cheng’s well-trained training, she definitely couldn’t handle bathing three little ones by herself.

Su Xiaoxiao couldn’t help but sigh. It’s not easy raising three little cubs at once. Fortunately, their little cubs are all so well-behaved, but if they had been little devils, Su Xiaoxiao felt like she would probably go crazy.

After all the busyness, the rice was already cooked, and the stewed dishes were ready to be served.

For dinner, they would start with the pig’s tail and braised eggs, while the pig ears, which were a bit tough, would be saved for tomorrow.

Earlier, Su Xiaoxiao quickly blanched some bean sprouts and placed a sliced pig’s tail on top. Then, she sliced four braised eggs and drizzled a spoonful of braising sauce over them. With vegetables, meat, and eggs, it was another delicious meal.

The cubs really enjoy eating pig’s tail and braised eggs, especially Xiao Doubao. He had two big pieces of the tender and melt-in-your-mouth pig’s tail and still wanted more. Su Xiaoxiao was worried about him eating too much and having indigestion, so she didn’t give him too much. She poured some braising sauce onto his rice, added some bean sprouts, and encouraged him to eat obediently. She only allowed him to eat half of a boiled egg, while the other half went to Fantuan.

Xiao Fantuan and Xiao Zhuzi also followed suit and poured braising sauce onto their own rice.

The two kids glanced at each other, nodded, and Fantuan said, “Wow, Mom, the rice with braising sauce is so delicious! I can eat two bowls of rice even without eating vegetables!”

Su Xiaoxiao was worried about Fantuan’s appetite and said, “Just eat until you’re full, don’t overeat. It’s not good for your stomach.”

Looking at her family, who were satisfied with their meal, Su Xiaoxiao suddenly felt a pang of sadness and said, “I wonder if Comrade Han Cheng on the train can eat a hot meal.”

Xiao Fantuan rolled his big eyes and blinked twice, saying, “Mom, do you miss Dad?”

Su Xiaoxiao nodded and said, “Hmm, I miss him.”

Xiao Fantuan bit the spoon and said: “Actually, I miss Dad a little too.”

Xiao Zhuzi also lowered his head and said, “I miss Uncle Han too.”

Xiao Doubao, who was content with having a loving mother, didn’t miss his dad much. He obediently ate his fragrant rice from the bowl.

The atmosphere suddenly became a bit gloomy, but Su Xiaoxiao cheered everyone up by saying, “Alright, alright, let’s count down. It’s already been one day today, and in just six more days, Comrade Han Cheng will be coming home. Let’s think about what kind of welcome ceremony we can plan to welcome Dad back.”

This suggestion received unanimous agreement from the kids.

Fantuan said, “Mom, I think we can bake another batch of dried vegetable pancakes. They are so delicious!” Unfortunately, most of them were taken away by Dad.

Su Xiaoxiao saw through him and said, “You just want to eat them, don’t you?”

Fantuan shook his head and said, “Dad must be missing them too!”

At this moment, Han Cheng had just stepped out of the province. He had a sleeper berth, sharing a compartment with three other people. It happened to be mealtime, and everyone began to eat. Some ate dry rations, while others bought food from the train. Han Cheng bought a serving of plain rice and prepared to eat it with smoked fish. Smoked fish was originally a cold dish and didn’t need to be heated.

The comrade who was eating dry food looked at the comrade who bought braised pork rice with envy and asked, “Comrade, your meal looks so delicious.”

The comrade eating braised pork replied, “It’s just okay, not that tasty.”

The comrade eating dry rations took a sip of hot water and said, “You’re so picky. How can braised pork not be tasty?”

The comrade eating braised pork was about to say something when he suddenly sniffed the air and said, “What is that smell? It’s so fragrant!”

The comrade who ate dry food also sniffed and said, “It smells so good.”

Then, they followed the source of the fragrance and looked at Han Cheng, who was taking a satisfying bite of the crispy dried vegetable pancake.