The next day…

“Woof woof… woof woof woof…”

Ning Shu woke up to the barking of Da Mao and Tie Dan.

She groggily opened her eyes, but before she could speak, she heard Yi Bao beside her saying, “Mom, what’s wrong with Da Mao and Tie Dan? Why are they barking so much?” The noise also woke up the other children.

Lin Guodong had gone to the camp.

When the whistle blew, Da Mao and Tie Dan usually didn’t react; they were used to it.

But why were they barking now?

Ning Shu asked, “Da Mao, Tie Dan, what’s wrong?” She got out of bed while asking.

Da Mao and Tie Dan, who had been lying on the floor near San Bao, immediately ran over upon hearing Ning Shu’s movements.

“Woof woof woof…”

Da Mao and Tie Dan barked frantically at Ning Shu.

“What’s wrong with you two? Are you feeling unwell?” Ning Shu couldn’t help but feel worried seeing their behavior.

Da Mao ran to the door, pawing at it, and continued barking, “Woof woof woof woof…”

Ning Shu understood, “You want to go out, right?” She quickly opened the door.

As soon as the door opened, Da Mao and Tie Dan rushed out.

They ran to the gate of the courtyard and skillfully opened it.

Because Lin Guodong had gone out, the gate wasn’t locked from the inside, so Da Mao and Tie Dan easily opened it and ran out.

Ning Shu didn’t know what was going on with them, and she was very worried, so she followed them outside. “Da Mao, Tie Dan, what’s wrong with you?”

As soon as Da Mao and Tie Dan ran out, they lifted their legs and peed right at the doorstep.

Ning Shu thought, “…”

So they were in a hurry to go out to pee.

It was her fault for not understanding Da Mao and Tie Dan’s daily habits and not paying attention to their bathroom times.

They looked so urgent when they peed.

“Mom, where are Da Mao and Tie Dan? What’s wrong with them?” Yi Bao, now dressed, also hurriedly ran out and saw his mom standing at the gate, so he quickly asked.

“Don’t worry, Da Mao and Tie Dan are fine. They’re peeing here,” Ning Shu said as she watched Da Mao and Tie Dan pee for quite a while.

It was quite a long pee.

Fortunately, they finally finished peeing.

Just as Ning Shu was about to speak, she saw them running off again. “Da Mao, Tie Dan, where are you going?” She hurriedly chased after them.

“Mom…” Yi Bao followed Ning Shu outside.

During this half-hour run, Da Mao and Tie Dan retraced yesterday’s walk, marking their territory with pee as they went. Were they using pee as a way to mark their path?

Fortunately, they were quite civilized and didn’t pee everywhere.

They only peed against the walls, otherwise Ning Shu would have had to mop the floor.

“Huff…” Yi Bao panted as he ran, “Mom, Da Mao and Tie Dan can really pee.”

Seeing his son’s flushed face and hearing his words, Ning Shu couldn’t help but laugh. “They’re marking their territory. Their noses are very sensitive; they can smell where they’ve peed before. By marking their path with pee, they can remember the way home. They’ll be able to find their way back on their own in the future.”

“They’re really amazing, but they sure can pee a lot,” Yi Bao exclaimed.

If humans could pee like that, how big would their bladders have to be?

Mother and son returned home with Da Mao and Tie Dan.

Fortunately, although they encountered some people along the way, there weren’t many.

Either people hadn’t woken up yet or were busy cooking, and even the children hadn’t gone to school yet.

When Er Bao brought San Bao out, Ning Shu and her son had already left.

They could only sit at the door and wait. When they saw them return.

lSan Bao immediately stood up. “Da Mao…” He only had eyes for Da Mao, ignoring his mom, big brother, and Tie Dan.

“Woof…” Da Mao broke away from the group and pounced on San Bao, then they hugged each other affectionately.

Er Bao also approached and asked, “Mom, big brother, where did you go?”

Ning Shu said to Yi Bao, “You and Er Bao talk. I’ll go make breakfast.”

“Okay,” Yi Bao replied, and then he started telling his younger brother about Da Mao and Tie Dan peeing around the neighborhood.

Er Bao’s eyes widened as he listened. “Da Mao and Tie Dan pee a lot. Their bellies are so small, can they really hold so much pee?”

Yi Bao thought to himself, Er Bao was experiencing the city’s world, and his questions were becoming more profound.

As the older brother, he couldn’t keep up with answering them.

If this continued, would Er Bao start looking down on him? Yi Bao felt a bit troubled.

For breakfast, Ning Shu prepared white rice congee and two boxes of meat buns, totaling 20 pieces, which she bought from an app yesterday.

Although these buns were small, they were enough for their family of seven. Since they had meat buns for breakfast, there were no boiled eggs.

Instead, she made a spinach and egg drop soup.

Having a meat buns with a spoonful of spinach and egg soup or a spoonful of congee tasted great.

The meat buns were steamed on top of the congee, so when the congee was ready, the buns were too.

The spinach and egg drop soup cooked quickly as well.

Since they woke up early today and Lin Guodong hadn’t finished work yet, Ning Shu decided to have breakfast with her three children first and 2 dogs.

Without her needing to call them, the five of them were already lined up at the kitchen door.

Da Mao and Tie Dan were in the front, followed by San Bao, Er Bao, and Yi Bao.

Ning Shu gave Da Mao and Tie Dan their food.

Da Mao and Tie Dan were eating white rice congee, meat buns, and spinach.

She removed the oil stains from the meat buns with cold boiled water, then mixed them with spinach in the congee.

After giving Da Mao and Tie Dan their portions, Ning Shu gave each of the three children a small bowl with their meat buns: Yi Bao and Er Bao each got 2, while San Bao got 1.

Ning Shu took 2 for herself.

She also served them white rice congee and spinach and egg drop soup.

Adding the 2 meat buns each for Da Mao and Tie Dan, they had a total of 11 items, leaving 9 left.

Those would be for Lin Guodong when he came back.

Even though 9 seemed like a lot, considering they were xiaolongbao, it was equivalent to only 4 regular-sized buns.

In the dining room, the family enjoyed their meal of meat buns, spinach and egg drop soup, and white rice congee.

After they finished eating and Lin Guodong hadn’t returned yet, Ning Shu tidied up the table and then said, “Yi Bao, Er Bao, San Bao, Da Mao, Tie Dan, let’s go out.”

She was going to the school to inquire about the children’s schooling and also wait for Lin Guodong at the gate of the family compound.

It was still early when Ning Shu left with her five children.

They headed straight to the nursery section.

Although all the sections were in the same school, they were independent.

For example, the nursery section, being for young children, was kept separate from the older students.

When they arrived at the nursery gate, they saw it was open, but there was a middle-aged woman sitting at the entrance.

Curious, Ning Shu asked, “Hello, may I ask if there are teachers inside now? I’d like to inquire about the children’s schooling.”

The middle-aged woman appeared to be around 40 years old.

Last year, she was recognized as an outstanding member of the family compound, so this year she was rewarded with the position of security guard at the nursery gate.

Upon hearing Ning Shu’s question, she glanced at the three adorable children playing with a dog nearby, and with a gentle smile, she said, “The teachers haven’t arrived yet. The nursery children can be dropped off at any time, as there’s no fixed schedule for their arrival. However, the teachers start work at 8 o’clock. If the children are brought before 8, they can play inside for a while, and I’ll watch over them. If you have any questions about the children’s schooling, I can help.”

“That’s great, thank you,” Ning Shu expressed her gratitude. “I have three sons at home, two of them are twins, born in March 1966, just turning five this March, and the youngest was born in October 1969, so he’s almost 18 months old now. The three brothers usually stay together, and I’d like to know if they can all attend the nursery together. Are there any age restrictions?”

The middle-aged woman replied, “There aren’t specific age restrictions here. Children under 7 can attend the nursery, and after they turn 7, they move to the preschool class. As long as the younger one doesn’t cry or cause trouble, it should be fine, especially since he has his older brothers with him. If you want to enroll them, you can do it now. However, because the school year has just started, you’ll probably have to pay for a semester upfront.”

“That’s not a problem,” Ning Shu said, not too concerned about the tuition fees.

The most important thing was that all three brothers could attend the nursery, which would be great for San Bao.

He wouldn’t have to stay home alone anymore, and with Yi Bao and Er Bao there, they could take care of him.

As Yi Bao and Er Bao moved on to the elementary section and San Bao got a year older, he would also become familiar with the nursery.

“Get them to school early so they can explore a wider world,” the middle-aged woman suggested. “You can come around 9 o’clock when the minister and other teachers are there. You can have a deeper understanding then. At 8 o’clock, the teachers will be busy arranging things for the kids.”

“Thank you, sister,” Ning Shu confirmed, then took the three children to the entrance of the family compound.

But before they could even settle in, Da Mao and Tie Dan sprang into action.

“Bark! Bark! Bark!” they barked at the soldiers coming out of the barracks.

“It’s Da Mao and Tie Dan.”

“I heard Da Mao got adopted. Is it true?”

“Yes, it’s true. It seems like one of the company commanders adopted them.”

“It’s really great that someone adopted them.”

Many of the soldiers coming out of the barracks knew Da Mao and Tie Dan.

They had done missions together.

Ning Shu and the others had taken Da Mao and Tie Dan out of the barracks yesterday, and many people saw them.

So the news about Da Mao and Tie Dan being adopted spread quickly.

“How did you come here?” Lin Guodong walked up to them quickly.

“Bark! Bark! Bark!” Tie Dan happily circled around Lin Guodong, barking.

“We went to the nursery to ask about the situation and then came to wait for you,” Ning Shu explained.

“What did the nursery say?”

“The teachers hadn’t arrived yet, but the guard at the gate said…” Ning Shu recounted what happened.

As they talked, they had already reached the side of the small park.

“Mom, can we play here for a while, please?” Erbao asked.

“Sure.” Ning Shu turned to Lin Guodong and said, “You go have your meal. I’ll watch them. Breakfast is still warm in the pot.”

“Okay.” Lin Guodong nodded.

However, as they walked from the small park back home, Lin Guodong couldn’t shake the feeling that many people were watching him today!