Chapter 141: Xiao Mo Learns to Cook

Xu Ning rarely went out after becoming pregnant. The weather was too cold, and the roads were slippery. During this time, it was Father Xu and Uncle Lu who secretly fetched water for her in the evenings when no one was around.

Xiao Mo had now started learning how to cook with her. He could even make corn porridge by himself.

This morning, when Xu Ning woke up, he had already finished preparing breakfast. He had even boiled eggs, and there was a bowl of pickled cucumbers on the table.

Seeing that she was awake, he immediately scooped a bowl of corn porridge for her and peeled an egg, placing it in her bowl.

Excitedly, he said, “Sister, try the porridge I made. Does it taste good?”

Xu Ning, looking at his obedient expression, took a sip from the bowl and praised him, “The porridge is really delicious! You’re almost as good as your second brother now! Xiao Mo, you’re so capable—you can cook already!”

Xu Mo’s eyes lit up with joy at the compliment, and he placed another piece of cucumber in her bowl.

He said, “Sister, have some vegetables. I can’t stir-fry dishes yet, but once I learn, I’ll cook for you every day.”

Xu Ning smiled at him gently and replied, “Alright, I’ll be waiting for Xiao Mo to cook for me in the future.”

Xiao Mo nodded firmly.

On Saturday afternoon, when Xu An came home and heard that Xu Ning was pregnant, he was overjoyed.

He stayed home on Sunday instead of going anywhere and spent the day teaching Xiao Mo how to make some simple dishes.

This kid was very smart. In just one day, he learned how to make dough drop soup and stir-fried cabbage. Although the stir-fry didn’t taste amazing, at least he could cook it properly.

Xu An told him to practice more during the week and that next weekend, he’d teach him some more complicated dishes.

When the heavy snow blocked the mountains, Xiao Mo’s school went on break as well. He stayed home with Xu Ning every day. At mealtimes, he would go to the kitchen to cook. Since he wasn’t tall enough, he stood on a small stool to reach the stove.

Xu Ning tried to stop him from cooking, but he wasn’t happy about it. He asked her if she thought his cooking wasn’t tasty.

She couldn’t help but laugh and ended up letting him continue.

After the siblings finished their meal, they opened the door and looked outside. It seemed like it was going to snow again.

Xu Mo sighed and said, “The weather’s so cold. I bet second brother won’t be able to make it back today.”

Just as he finished speaking, the back door was knocked on, followed by Xu An’s voice, “Sister, I’m back!”

Xu Mo quickly ran over to open the door. Outside stood Xu An, bundled up in a thick cotton coat, holding a bag.

He excitedly shouted, “Second brother, I thought you weren’t coming back today! Come in quickly.”

Xu An, nearly frozen stiff, hurried inside. He put down his luggage and took off his heavy coat.

Xu Ning made him a bowl of brown sugar water, while Xu Mo held his hands, rubbing them to help warm him up.

After drinking the water, Xu An sat on the heated kang bed and said to the two, “We’ve been given a holiday too. This year’s winter is too cold, and many students stopped attending classes, so the teachers told us to come home and study.”

Xu Ning asked, “What about Da Lin and Jianmin?”

“The whole school is on break. I came back with Wang Liang, Jianmin, and Da Lin.”

Xu Ning nodded and said, “It’s good to be on break. You can study at home. With how cold it is, staying at school is just suffering.”

Hearing this, Xu Mo’s eyes lit up, and he asked, “Second brother, now that you’re not going to school, can you take over cooking again? I still think your cooking tastes the best.”

Xu An laughed and said, “Xiao Mo, since I’m on break, I can use this time to teach you how to cook some big dishes.”

Xu Mo hurriedly responded, “Second brother, why do I need to learn big dishes? I’m not planning to become a chef. It’s enough that you know how to cook.”

“Xiao Mo! Next year, I’ll be going to the county to continue my studies, and you’ll need to stay home and take care of our sister. If you don’t practice your cooking skills now, she’ll end up starving and losing weight!”

Xu An added, “This time, I noticed that our sister looks a bit thinner than before.”

Xu Mo quickly turned his head to size up Xu Ning and asked in surprise, “Has our sister really gotten thinner? She looks about the same to me!”

Xu An replied, “That’s because you see her every day and didn’t notice. I haven’t seen her in half a month, and I feel like her face has gotten much smaller.”

Xu Mo stood up, walked over to Xu Ning, and held her face in his small hands, examining her for a long time.

Then he said to Xu An, “Second brother, is something wrong with your eyes? Sister is clearly chubbier than before! Her face is even rounder. You’re saying she’s thinner?”

“I’ve been feeding her really well these past few days, making all kinds of different dishes for her every day.”

Xu An was speechless…

Xu Ning smiled as she watched her two brothers banter about who should cook.

In the end, Xu Mo was convinced. Thinking about how second brother would be off to school again next year, and he’d be the one cooking for his sister, he decided it was a good idea to learn a few more dishes to add some variety to their meals.

Wei Lanlan noticed that Xu Ning hadn’t visited the youth compound in a while, so she came over to check on her. It was then that she learned Xu Ning was pregnant.

“Why didn’t you tell us? I could’ve come to see you,” Wei Lanlan said.

Xu Ning smiled and replied, “How could you possibly leave? It’s freezing cold, and little Pang is still so young. Besides, Yang Xiaomei is also pregnant. That’s why I didn’t bring it up.”

Wei Lanlan asked, “Is this pregnancy giving you any trouble? Can you still eat?”

“It’s not too bad. I felt a little nauseous during the first few days, but I’m fine now. I can eat and sleep just fine.”

“Your baby in there is considerate then, unlike my little chubby one. Back then, I was completely worn out. If it weren’t for the spicy pickled cabbage you gave me, I wouldn’t have been able to eat anything.”

Xu Ning laughed, “Look at your little chubby one now, so well-behaved! He just eats and sleeps all day without any fuss. He’s such a darling.”

As the two continued chatting, Chen Xiangdong called out to Wei Lanlan from the other side, saying that little Pang was fussing and looking for her everywhere.

Wei Lanlan laughed and said, “You just praised him for being well-behaved, and now he’s acting up. I’ll head back first, and when he’s asleep, I’ll come over to hang out with you.”

“You should hurry back. It’s cold outside, so don’t keep running over here. Stay home and take good care of little Pang.”

By the end of the year, Xu Ning received a letter and a remittance slip from Lu Xiaotang. She learned that he had completed his mission and returned to the Nanshi Military District. She breathed a sigh of relief.

She wrote him a letter in return, sharing the news of her pregnancy.

Meanwhile, in the kitchen, Xu An and Xu Mo were busy preparing items for the upcoming New Year.

Thanks to two months of rigorous training under Xu An, Xu Mo’s cooking skills had improved significantly.

Especially his favorite dishes—fried tofu balls and potato cakes—which he had become quite adept at making.

This boy was always finding excuses to cook them every few days, claiming that since his second brother worked so hard to teach him, he should make some tofu balls to reward him.

Xu Mo would often say, “It’s the little nephew in my sister’s belly who wants to eat potato cakes, so I’ll make some for him to try.”

Of course, it was never him who wanted to eat. It was always someone else who supposedly wanted them, and he just conveniently tried some along the way.

When Wei Lanlan and Yang Xiaomei got married, Xu Ning gifted each of them a red scarf.

Jiaohua, finding them beautiful, asked Wei Lanlan to inquire where Xu Ning had bought them because she wanted to get one for her own wedding.

Xu Ning explained that someone had brought the scarves back from the south for her, and she wasn’t sure if they were still available. If Jiaohua wanted one, she’d likely have to travel to the southern province to check.

Hearing this, Jiaohua was quite upset, thinking that Xu Ning was deliberately refusing to tell her where she got the scarves.

Xu Ning couldn’t care less about Jiaohua’s feelings; to her, she was just an inconsequential person.

When Lin Qiuhua and Jiaohua got married, Xu Ning and her siblings didn’t attend.

Their weddings were quite simple. Only Sun Hao and Chen Xiangdong from the youth commune went to take a look, had a meal there, and then returned.

The New Year’s Eve dinner was shared among the three siblings. A couple of days earlier, Father Xu had mentioned that they wouldn’t be able to go visit and wish them a Happy New Year that night.

They were worried that Lin Miao might go to the cattle shed to deliver something, and if they ran into each other, it would be troublesome.

Xu Ning sighed, thinking about how persistent Lin Miao was. Despite everyone clearly rejecting her goodwill over the years, she still kept trying to get closer. Xu Ning didn’t know what to say about that.