Chapter 19: Big Brother and Big Sister Are Coming

Mother Qin, as usual, gave Dongdong a bath first and then placed him on the bed: “Dongdong, play with Grandpa for a while. Grandma is going to take a bath.”

“Mm, Dongdong… will be good.” Little Dongdong nodded his small head. His big, black, shiny eyes gleamed with cleverness, as if he was thinking of something else.

When Dongdong had just arrived at the Qin family, he was not even a month old. At that time, Aunt Zhang and Mother Qin took care of him together. Both of them were experienced in raising children and raised him healthily. But since Mother Qin had to work the next day, Dongdong slept with Aunt Zhang at night.

However, ever since Dongdong heard a bedtime story from Mother Qin once, he no longer wanted to sleep with Aunt Zhang. Every night at bedtime, he would come to the room of Mother Qin and Father Qin to listen to a story, and later he just ended up sleeping there. Mother Qin even brought out the small bed that Qin Zhan used to sleep in as a child and placed it beside the big bed.

Although this small bed was over twenty years old, the furniture made during that time was all traditional craftsmanship. Although not as expensive as golden nanmu wood, it was still made of top-quality materials.

More importantly, these traditional pieces were worn smooth over time and would not chafe a child’s skin.

Mother Qin had never taken care of such a well-behaved child. She had three sons and a daughter. From her experience in raising children, Qin Zhan was the most obedient when he was little—he would eat and sleep and sleep and eat—but Dongdong was even more obedient. When he wanted milk or needed to pee, he would hum and murmur to signal it.

She had truly never seen such a well-behaved child. Just looking at him made one feel tender affection.

“You go ahead. I’ll watch him,” Father Qin said.

“It’s precisely because you’re watching that I don’t feel at ease.” Mother Qin muttered and went to take a bath. Unlike Mother Qin who was meticulous with raising children, Father Qin was rough. He believed that as long as a child had food, he wouldn’t starve.

As soon as Mother Qin left, Father Qin used his foot to nudge Dongdong’s small butt, “Dongdong, come give Grandpa a back massage. Grandpa’s back is sore.”

This wasn’t the first time. In the past, every time this happened, it always worked. When little Dongdong heard that Grandpa’s back was sore, he would hum and use all the strength he used to drink formula to massage it. But today, Dongdong didn’t go over. Instead, he twisted his small butt and crawled down from the bed.

Father Qin found it odd and asked curiously, “Dongdong, what are you getting down for?”

Even though the little one was chubby, his crawling movements were very nimble. His two small hands grabbed the blanket. His small belly slid off the bed, and as he pulled the blanket over, his body slowly slid down.

The beds at this time were higher than the modern ones in later years. But seeing how skilled the little one was in getting off the bed, it was clear he had done it many times.

Once both feet landed firmly on the ground, Dongdong finally answered, “Walk.” Since he had just taken a bath, he was only wearing a pair of split pants and a small cotton vest. Not to mention shoes—he wasn’t even wearing socks.

But the room was carpeted. The carpet was soft, and he felt comfortable stepping on it.

Dongdong walked happily back and forth on the carpet in the room.

Father Qin had a big question mark over his head, “Why are you walking?”

Dongdong said, “Not fat. Walk. Work.”

Father Qin raised an eyebrow. After a while, he understood what he meant. He couldn’t help but laugh out loud. His deep laugh carried rare cheerfulness, showing his delighted mood, “Then you have to get up early and walk. Now it’s dark. If you walk and sweat, you’ll have to take another bath. That’s troublesome.”

Dongdong said, “No. Bath. Dongdong. Likes.”

When it came to bathing, children had a clear split. Those who liked it really liked it, especially if they enjoyed playing in the water. Those who didn’t like it would struggle every time. Dongdong liked playing with water, so he liked bathing very much.

“That’s your grandma bathing you. It’ll be trouble for her.” Father Qin said.

Just then, Mother Qin had finished her bath and came in. She saw the elder lying on the bed and the little one barefoot on the carpet walking around. Mother Qin paused for a moment and asked Father Qin, “Why did Dongdong get down? You didn’t stop him?”

Father Qin felt wronged, “He thinks he’s fat. Wants to walk and slim down.”

Dongdong also timely explained for Grandpa, “Walk. Not fat.”

“Silly child.” Mother Qin walked over, amused, and lifted Dongdong onto the edge of the bed to let him sit. Then she got a towel to wipe his feet, “Our Dongdong is not fat. Just right. Who said our Dongdong is fat?”

Dongdong immediately complained, “Park. Grandma. Said fat. Want meat. Give them.”

“They were teasing you. They adore you for being cute, so they said that.” Mother Qin cleaned his feet and carried him to the inside of the bed. Then she got on the bed herself and picked up the children’s storybook on the nightstand, “Come, Grandma will tell you a story.”

“Mm.” Dongdong loved listening to Grandma’s stories the most. He sat in her arms and listened attentively.

Father Qin suddenly remembered something, “Qin Shun will be transferred back in a few days. The appointment letter came out yesterday.”

Qin Shun, their eldest son, was 32 years old this year. He had a daughter and a son. The daughter was seven this year. The younger son was four. As the eldest son of Father Qin, he carried the hopes of the Qin family from birth and naturally followed Father Qin’s path. But he wasn’t suited to be a soldier. After a few years, he retired.

Originally, with the Qin family’s background, Qin Shun could have been assigned to the capital’s public security bureau. But his wife was the younger sister of his comrade and didn’t want to come to the capital. She wanted to stay in her hometown. So Qin Shun was assigned to a county police station there.

Some time ago, for unknown reasons, he told Father Qin he wanted to be transferred. So Father Qin pulled some strings. This time, he took the chance after completing a case and got him transferred back.

Hearing what Father Qin said, Mother Qin’s expression was indifferent, “He can do whatever he wants.”

Father Qin saw her attitude and knew she was disappointed in the eldest son. To be honest, he didn’t approve of the woman his eldest son married either. But since the son liked her, there was nothing they could do.

Father Qin didn’t want her to be in a bad mood all night, so he changed the subject, “Dongdong, in a few days your big brother and big sister will come play with you. Are you happy?”

Dongdong was stunned. The Qin family had only him all along, so he had no concept of brothers and sisters. But there were many older kids in the compound, and he called them big brother and big sister, so he understood.

Thinking that he would also have a big brother and big sister, Dongdong was very excited. He showed a big smile, “Happy. Brother, sister, play. Brother, sister, eat White Rabbit… milk candy.” He had lots and lots of snacks and wanted to share with them.

Seeing this, Mother Qin couldn’t help but laugh, “Then our Dongdong will have company.”

Dongdong nodded and raised his little head from Mother Qin’s arms, “Dongdong, brother, sister, Grandpa, Grandma, play together.”

Ever since he learned that his big brother and big sister were coming, Dongdong had been looking forward to it. He didn’t even eat his daily snacks. Every day, he held his tin box full of snacks and waited for his big brother and big sister to come share them.

That day, he was riding his children’s tricycle in the yard when he saw three people at the entrance. Dongdong quickly pedaled his tricycle over. His big eyes looked at them, “Who are you looking for?”