“Coming.” Ning Shu walked out of the house, locked the door, and handed Hai Cai an untouched piece of sugarcane. “Here, have some sugarcane.”

“Thank you, Third Aunt .” Hai Cai took the sugarcane, sucked on it, and enjoyed its cool, sweet taste.

“How was it? Are you happy to be back?” Ning Shu smiled as she looked at the obedient Hai Cai.

Hai Cai nodded at first, then shook his head. “I’m happy to see my parents, grandparents, and older siblings. But without Yi Bao, Er Bao, and San Bao here, I feel a bit sad.”

People tend to develop dependence.

After living in a place for over a year and being surrounded by siblings they grew up with, Hai Cai naturally developed a dependency on the family compound.

“It’s okay. When the holidays come, I’ll tell your parents, and they’ll send you over. Then you can play with Yi Bao and the others,” Ning Shu comforted him.

“Yeah.” Hai Cai felt better hearing this, but then he silently thought that the holidays were still far away.

Realizing that he wouldn’t see Yi Bao, Er Bao, and San Bao for a long time, his happiness diminished.

Along the way, he absentmindedly nibbled on the sugarcane.

When the two arrived back at the old house, smoke was billowing from the chimney of the main kitchen.

Qi Aifen didn’t go to work in the afternoon.

She had invited Ning Shu for dinner, and it wasn’t a casual affair; she had slaughtered a chicken.

She had planned this a few days ago when she knew Ning Shu would bring Hai Cai back.

So although she slaughtered an old hen in the afternoon, she also started raising young chickens, which grew quite quickly.

Slaughtering the chicken and plucking its feathers took up the afternoon; there was no time to go to work.

Drinking chicken soup in the summer was too hot, so Qi Aifen didn’t make chicken soup with the old hen.

Instead, she braised it. Normally, in the countryside, when an old hen is slaughtered, chicken soup is made, and everyone can have a few sips to nourish themselves.

“Third Auntie.”

Several older children were also working during the holidays, leaving only a few younger ones at home.

After all, the families were separated, relying on Lin Guofeng and his wife, or Lin Guoliang and his wife to work and earn food for the family.

Supporting a family of six was quite a pressure, so children over ten years old could take on some small jobs.

“Ah.” Ning Shu responded, then stood aside.

She hadn’t interacted with these children before and didn’t know what to say.

Moreover, she wasn’t the patient type to chat with children.

Unless she particularly liked them, she might exchange a few words.

Hearing the noise outside, Qi Aifen knew Ning Shu had arrived.

She came out and said, “Third sister-in-law is here. We can eat soon. Are you hungry? If so, let’s eat now.”

“I’m not hungry yet. Let’s wait for the older brothers to finish work and eat together. It’ll be livelier,” Ning Shu replied.

“Alright…” Qi Aifen turned to look at Hai Cai, who was nibbling on the sugarcane on the side.

She knew the sugarcane must be from Ning Shu.

They had bought the sugarcane seedlings back then, and when they followed the army, these sugarcane plants were left in Ning Shu’s family backyard.

Since they hadn’t come back, the sugarcane was given to the children to eat, and they could occasionally have a few bites too.

However, the adults wouldn’t compete with the children for sugarcane to eat.

Sugarcane was a rare treat for the children, and most families wouldn’t waste space planting it, Ning Shu’s family did.

Not only that, the self-retained land in Ning Shu’s family was also planted by her parents-in-law.

With four people in their family, they owned eight mu of land.

The parents-in-law planted a lot of sweet potatoes, which they couldn’t consume all by themselves, so they made them into sweet potato snacks for the children of both families.

To be honest, although the parents-in-law favored the third branch in their hearts, they never showed bias in their actions.

“Hai Cai, go help your Third Auntie move chairs and pour tea,” Qi Aifen ordered her son. “Think about how good Third Auntie is to you on ordinary days. Now that you’re here, you should help her move chairs and pour tea.”

Hai Cai was taken aback for a moment, then hurriedly said, “Okay, I’ll go.”

He hadn’t reacted immediately; he was only six when he left home, not yet at the age to move chairs and pour tea.

After living in the family compound for over a year, where he learned to farm and wash dishes, he felt a bit awkward doing anything at home when he returned, and hadn’t thought about moving chairs and pouring tea.

Ning Shu didn’t stop him either.

She smiled and said, “Hai Cai was very obedient when he was in the army. Not only did he get along well with the other children, but he also knew how to farm, collect firewood, and wash dishes.” Among the children, his character was the best.

“Is that so?” Qi Aifen looked at her son. “You know how to farm and wash dishes?” Children in rural areas start working early.

Before he turned six, Hai Cai basically didn’t do any work at home because he had older brothers and sisters to do it.

Even collecting firewood and picking wild vegetables were done with Yi Bao and Er Bao.

However, Qi Aifen didn’t oppose her son doing such things.

Who didn’t grow up like this? She valued her son and wasn’t to the point of prohibiting him from doing anything.

“I know, the children in kindergarten all know how. We all work together in the fields,” Hai Cai obediently replied.

Qi Aifen said, “That’s good; it seems Third Auntie has taught you well.”

Ning Shu said, “I didn’t teach him anything. Hai Cai is naturally sensible, and with the teachers at school, he’s even more sensible.” She really didn’t teach him anything; she wasn’t someone who could teach children.

The two chatted away.

Hai Cai brought out chairs and poured water.

He wasn’t someone who would take the initiative, but if someone asked him to do something, he would learn.

As it was summer, people finished work relatively late.

After a while, everyone finished work.

Normally, Lin’s mother would finish work an hour early to prepare dinner, but today, since Ning Shu was dining in the main house, Lin’s parents didn’t finish early.

Dinner was naturally lively, with the four members of the main house, Ning Shu, and Lin’s parents, just enough to fill the table.

The dishes were also good, even more plentiful than during New Year’s in the main house.

There were braised chicken pieces, scrambled eggs, preserved meat, and various vegetables.

From the richness of the dishes, it was evident that Qi Aifen was truly grateful to Ning Shu.

Of course, besides gratitude, she also wanted to maintain their relationship, so she did some flattery.

But everyone was happy.

At the dinner table, Lin’s mother and the children of the main house were the most talkative, asking Hai Cai about his life in the army and at the kindergarten.

Even Hai Cai, who was usually quiet and passive, found his mouth dry from talking so much.

“What did you learn at the kindergarten? Can you count now, or recognize words?” Lin’s father also asked curiously.

“Yes,” Hai Cai replied. “I can count from 1 to 100 now. I can also write my name and recognize Pinyin.” He could only write his name and recognize Pinyin.

Kindergarten didn’t teach writing, Ning Shu taught them Pinyin, laying the foundation for their future elementary school education.

As for more advanced writing, Ning Shu didn’t teach them.

She didn’t want to pressure them.

Although it was right to hope for the best for one’s children, Ning Shu had already decided that she would let her three children live a comfortable life.

If they were smart and capable and could achieve something on their own, that would be great.

If they were mediocre and didn’t achieve much, she would earn money to provide them with a comfortable life.

She just wanted them to live happily.

“Oh, then count for us…” Qi Aifen laughed again.

She once again felt that sending Hai Cai to the army to recuperate was the right thing to do.

“1, 2, 3…” Hai Cai’s clear voice rang out, counting slowly but managing to reach one hundred.

“Not bad, better than your father. When he was your age, he couldn’t count to 100,” Lin’s father praised his grandson while also taking the opportunity to criticize his son.

Lin Guofeng: “…”

He suspected that his father was lifting his grandson up by stepping on him, but he had no evidence.

Even if he did, he wouldn’t dare to do anything to his father.

Lin Guofeng only attended school until third grade.

He didn’t like studying when he was young, so when he was eight, he really couldn’t count to 100.

Originally, he didn’t think much of it.

Among the people he knew, there were many illiterate people.

His third-grade education was better than many people’s.

But when he was compared to his son by his father, he felt embarrassed.

He lost face in front of his son.

Hai Cai didn’t understand his father’s embarrassment and dropped another bombshell: “Yi Bao, Er Bao, and T Bao can count too.”

Lin’s mother was surprised. “San Bao is only five years old, and can count to 100?”

Hai Cai nodded. “Yes, San Bao is very clever. He can even write his own name.”

Lin Guofeng: “… “

He didn’t even dare to make a sound while eating, fearing his father’s criticism.

This dinner was quite cheerful.

Compared to the main house, the second branch was quiet.

The laughter from this side reached the second branch, and Zhang Qinfang pursed her lips. “It’s still Sister-in-Law who knows how to flatter. Is it just killing a chicken? I’ll kill one tomorrow morning too.”