Today’s schedule was rather relaxed. Ning Shu took the children to have their photos taken first.

As someone who visited the city every few days, Ning Shu was quite familiar with the area.

Their decision to come to the city for the May Day holiday was made in advance, so she had naturally prepared their itinerary and route.

Their first stop in the city was a photo studio.

The studio had a somewhat nostalgic feel reminiscent of the 1970s.

“Mom, what are we doing here?” Er Bao curiously looked around.

“We’re here to take photos,” Ning Shu replied.

Photos?

“Mom, what kind of photos?” Yi Bao asked.

The three children had never taken photos before and didn’t know what they looked like.

Ning Shu explained, “Look, the ones posted at the door are photos. They capture what people look like.”

Yi Bao and Er Bao looked at the photos posted at the entrance of the photo studio and found them quite interesting.

Yi Bao said, “Mom, they’re just like the pictures in books.”

Er Bao said, “Mom, I want lots and lots of my photos, for Grandpa and Grandma, for Haicai, for Little Shan Ge, for Youfu, and them.”

He even thought that when his friends in the hometown saw his photos, they would be very happy.

He felt quite proud.

Ning Shu knew exactly what Er Bao was thinking. “Alright.”

The family’s photo session went by quickly.

First, they took a family photo, then individual photos of Ning Shu and the three children, photos of the Yibao , Erbao and Sanbao together, photos of Ning Shu with each of the children, and finally, a photo of Ning Shu and Lin Guodong as a couple, and so on.

Lin Guodong only took two photos the whole time: the family photo and the couple photo.

He wasn’t interested in taking any more.

On the other hand, the three children posed enthusiastically for various shots.

They were so happy while taking the photos, and Ning Shu enjoyed capturing their childhood memories.

The master at the photo studio was also happy.

After all, not many people were taking photos these days.

The photos taken by this family today could make up for the studio’s business for a week.

After taking the photos and confirming the number of copies needed for each, the family left the photo studio.

After leaving the photo studio, they went to the park.

The park of this era wasn’t very exciting for Ning Shu, but it was fun for the three children.

Children are always full of curiosity about places they’ve never been before.

Especially when there was an animal corner in the park, the three children were thrilled.

“Mom, what’s this?” Er Bao’s eyes almost popped out as he looked at the animal, simultaneously filled with fear and reluctance to look away. “It’s so big, even bigger than the pig at home.”

“That’s a tiger,” Ning Shu replied, also surprised.

In a park from the 1970s, there unexpectedly were animals, and even tigers.

“Wow, the tiger is so fierce,” Er Bao swallowed nervously and then asked, “Mom, can we eat tiger meat?”

Ning Shu: “…”

Eating it could get you into trouble.

Lin Guodong: “…”

Er Bao is quite audacious.

A nearby adult: “…”

This kid is something else!

A chuckle came from a nearby adult. “This kid is really funny, actually thinking about eating tiger meat.” This adult was also accompanying their own child, and upon hearing Er Bao’s words, found the child amusing.

Er Bao didn’t catch the playful tone of the other person.

With a shy yet matter-of-fact tone, he said, “I’ve never eaten tiger meat before.”

Ning Shu couldn’t help but pat Er Bao’s head. “We can’t eat tiger meat. Remember, we shouldn’t eat the meat of any animals here.”

Er Bao nodded. “Okay.”

There was a hint of disappointment in his tone.

Ning Shu thought to herself, just how obsessed is this kid with meat?

“Mom, what’s that?” Yi Bao also pointed to another animal about the same size as the tiger and asked.

Following his gaze, Ning Shu replied, “That’s a lion.”

Though there weren’t many animals in the animal corner, for that era, it was considered quite a lot.

Yi Bao silently repeated the name of the lion.

Er Bao asked, “Mom, who’s stronger, a lion or a tiger?”

Ning Shu replied, “I’m not sure. Lions and tigers aren’t necessarily stronger than each other. One is the king of the forest, the other is the king of the grasslands.”

Er Bao didn’t ask if lion meat was edible now, although the thought had crossed his mind.

“Mom… Mom…” San Bao excitedly pointed at a fox.

Compared to the tiger and lion, the fox was smaller. “Big fur.”

Ning Shu: “That’s not ‘Big Fur,’ it’s a fox.” A fox looks nothing like a ‘Big Fur.’

San Bao nodded as if he understood: “Fox…”

Er Bao said, “Mom, foxes look a lot like chickens.”

Ning Shu: “…”

Do foxes look like chickens? Lin Er Bao’s knowledge is quite limited.

After leaving the park, it was almost lunchtime, so the family of five went to a state-owned restaurant.

However, judging from the expressions of the three children, it seemed they still had some unfinished business.

Er Bao kept chattering away, “Mom, I want to give lots and lots of rice and meat to Da Mao and Tie Dan.”

Ning Shu was stunned. “Why?”

Er Bao showed a longing smile. “To make them feel full and happy.”

“Da Mao and Tie Dancan be raised as big as tigers and lions.” With such animals, they would surely look impressive when taken out.

Er Bao wanted to be a prestigious and respected kid.

Ning Shu didn’t understand Er Bao’s thoughts, but she knew his wish couldn’t be fulfilled. “Da Mao and Tie Dan, tigers, and lions are not the same breed, so they can’t be raised to be that big. No matter how much they eat, they can’t grow that large.”

Er Bao didn’t understand. “Why?”

Ning Shu explained, “It’s like chickens can’t be raised as big as pigs because they’re different breeds.”

Er Bao still didn’t get it, but he knew about chickens and pigs.

No matter how much a chicken eats, it can’t grow as big as a pig.

Er Bao thought for a moment. “Mom, it’s better to raise pigs then. If pigs grow big, everyone will like them.”

Yi Bao said, “Because big pigs mean lots of meat to eat. Everyone would like that.”

San Bao chimed in, “Eat meat, like.” Saying this, he licked his lips.

Er Bao smiled, “Yeah, when pigs grow big, we can eat lots of tasty meat.”

Listening to the three children, Ning Shu couldn’t help but think of a classic saying from later years: “Rabbits are so cute, why can’t we eat them?”

At the state-owned restaurant, as they arrived early, it wasn’t busy inside, and there wasn’t a crowd of customers.

The family ordered two meat dishes, three vegetarian dishes, and four bottles of soda.

Ordering so much at once made the cashier at the state-owned restaurant look at them several times.

However, seeing the men in military uniforms and the children wearing clothes similar to military uniforms (camouflage), and the exceptionally beautiful woman with them, they realized they must be from the suburban military base, and their family must be well-off.

After lunch, Ning Shu arranged for them to go watch a movie.

Walking from the state-owned restaurant to the cinema was a way to digest after eating.

“Wow, so many people.”

Today was May 1st, and there were probably many people on vacation.

There were parents with children and young couples who seemed to be dating, among the crowd in front of the cinema.

However, the three children stood out in the crowd.

Not only were they noticeable, but so were their parents.

Ning Shu bought tickets for a movie suitable for the children called “Little Soldier XX.”

Ning Shu had watched this movie when she was younger.

Now, although she wasn’t as excited as she was back then, it was still nostalgic.

However, the three children were engrossed in the movie.

Especially Yi Bao and Er Bao, they held hands tightly when it got tense, and whispered to themselves.

San Bao couldn’t understand the content of the movie, but he knew who the good guys and bad guys were.

When it got exciting, he would shout, “Beat the bad guys…beat the bad guys…”

Shouting alone wasn’t enough; those little eyes were full of excitement.

San Bao, his hands waving fiercely, wished he could dive into the movie to help.

When the movie ended, even the usually talkative Er Bao was very quiet.

Even when they returned to their quarters, he wasn’t as lively as before.

Just when Ning Shu thought his quietness might last for a while, she noticed the children playing more games, pretending to be soldiers fighting invaders.

Er Bao would boast every day about how powerful the soldiers in the movie were, and his goal changed from buying meat and cars to growing up to be a soldier.

“Ning Shu… Ning Shu…”

This day, while Ning Shu was drying bamboo shoots outside, she saw Er Bao rush in urgently.

“Why are you in such a hurry? Aren’t you supposed to be in school at this time?” Ning Shu looked at his sweaty forehead.

It was getting hotter, so they had changed from camouflage to T-shirts.

“Mom, I’m here to get the small baskets. Our vegetables are ready for harvest, and Teacher Jiang wants to take us to harvest them.” Er Bao panted, “Mom, where are our baskets?”

“Wait here, I’ll get them.” Ning Shu brought out the small baskets for the three children from the house and handed them to him. “Do you want me to help?”

“No need, Mom. We’ll harvest our own crops.” Er Bao took the baskets and ran off immediately.

Er Bao ran fast, reaching the kindergarten where he distributed the baskets to Yi Bao and San Bao, then waited for Yang Wenjie and Cheng Yingyong.

When Yang Wenjie and Cheng Yingyong returned with their baskets, Teacher Jiang pushed a cart and took them to the fields.

The five children had two plots of land.

Although the plots were small, they yielded a lot of vegetables.

After an hour, both plots were completely harvested, filling four baskets to the brim.

The five children were sweating profusely, but their smiles were radiant.

With the help of the guard at the back door, the four baskets of vegetables were loaded onto the cart placed at the back door.

Teacher Jiang pulled the cart from the front, and the five children pushed from behind.

Of course, San Bao was just tagging along; he was already quite considerate without asking to ride on the cart.

The road to the family quarters was relatively smooth, and Teacher Jiang had no trouble pulling the cart.

When they arrived at the kindergarten with the vegetables, the whole kindergarten buzzed with excitement.

The kindergarten director, teachers, and other children all came to see.

The kindergarten director and the teachers knew about Teacher Jiang taking the children to tend the garden, but it had been a while, so they had gradually forgotten.

They didn’t expect Teacher Jiang to bring the children to harvest the vegetables this afternoon.

“Teacher Jiang, are all these vegetables harvested?” the kindergarten director asked curiously.