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Chapter 35
Based on Ning Shu’s plan to secretly prepare gifts for Sanbao, after Sanbao finished bathing, she didn’t let them immediately enter her room.
Instead, she let them play in their own rooms for a while. After she finished preparing the toy balls, she let them in.
The next day, it was Sanbao first birthday, which was a very important day. However… the birthday was celebrated at noon, and Ning Shu had no intention of getting up early.
But, someone didn’t let her off the hook.
“Third Daughter-in-law… Third Daughter-in-law…” Lin’s mother came early in the morning.
Lin’s mother had no choice. She had been busy these past two days and had forgotten to remind Third Daughter-in-law about the Three Treasures’ first birthday sweets. She came early today.
Lin’s mother’s loud voice woke the family of four.
Ning Shu yawned, opened the door, and stuck her head out from the crack of the door. “Mom, what’s up?”
Lin’s mother had expected that she might still be sleeping at this hour. She asked directly, “Have you prepared the sweets for the Sanbao? If not, I’ll go make the cakes and steamed buns.”
Ning Shu replied, “I’ll go to the supply and marketing cooperative later to buy them. I won’t forget.”
Lin’s mother asked, “What if the cooperative doesn’t have sweets?”
Ning Shu said, “Then I’ll buy some flour and make steamed buns myself. The cooperative shouldn’t be out of flour. I have sugar and grain coupons.”
Hearing her say this, Lin’s mother felt relieved. “Then I’ll come after eating to take you to distribute the sweets.”
Ning Shu thought for a moment. “You and dad come over for lunch. I’ll celebrate Sanbao birthday. Since you’ve raised the Sanbao, who are like your own children, celebrating their birthday together is only right.”
Lin’s mother said, “No need, we have food at home.”
Ning Shu ignored her politeness. “I’ll make more food at noon. If you don’t come, I’ll throw away the extra food. We city people don’t like leftovers.”
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Just as Lin’s mother started to feel that her daughter-in-law was improving a bit, she almost spit out blood. “Fine, your dad and I will come over for lunch,” she said hurriedly, afraid that her daughter-in-law would say something frightening again.
Seeing Lin’s mother leave, Ning Shu prepared to go back to sleep. Turning around, she saw that the two brothers were also awake, while the Sanbao in the middle was still sleeping.
“Mom, are we going to celebrate the Sanbao’s birthday today?” asked by Yibao. Although it was the first time he had heard such words, he understood the four words “celebrate the birthday.”
“Yes, we’re going to celebrate Sanbao’s birthday today. Our whole family will play all day and won’t have to work.” Birthdays are meant for playing, but “when it’s Yibao and Erbao’s birthdays, I’ll celebrate for you too.”
“Okay,” Yibao nodded heavily. Actually, Yibao didn’t envy his younger brother at the moment because he didn’t know what celebrating a birthday meant.
But Ning Shu was afraid that the two brothers would be sad, so she said it first.
“Alright, let’s lie down for a while longer.” Ning Shu got back into bed. Although she wasn’t sleepy, it wasn’t time to get up yet.
So, Ning Shu checked her app.
The yam from yesterday had all been sold out, 35 yams at 25 each, totaling 875 yuan. Today, the whole family was resting, so she would put up the Autumn Thunder Bamboo Shoots that she and the first treasure dug up yesterday afternoon.
However, the first treasure and the second treasure had worked hard yesterday, and today was the third treasure’s birthday, so they would definitely have a big meal today. Isn’t the joy of earning money just to spend it more happily?
She then looked at the five products on the app:
When she saw the oranges, Ning Shu’s eyes lit up. She could eat four of these oranges in one meal, and they were finally here. Then she saw the durians, and her legs went weak.
They were her favorite. So, Ning Shu went on a shopping spree.
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Ning Shu bought pork floss (4 servings for 100 yuan),
oranges (10 servings for 150 yuan),
handmade rice wine (2 servings for 20 yuan),
Musang King durian (1 for 200 yuan),
and dried longan (5 servings for 150 yuan), totaling 620 yuan.
Fortunately, she had earned 875 yuan yesterday, so today’s shopping did not exceed her budget, leaving a balance of 17,667 yuan.
After buying the items, Ning Shu saw that the three children were sleeping with their eyes half closed.
She got up quietly. She planned to sell the bamboo shoots first, then prepare breakfast, buy Sanbao’s first birthday sweets at the supply and marketing cooperative, and “buy” lunch at the state-run restaurant for today.
“Mom…” When Ning Shu moved, Yi Bao opened his eyes. Yibao slept in the innermost position yesterday, and Erbao slept next to Ning Shu.
“It’s okay, I’m going to cook. I’ll go buy Sanbao’s first birthday sweets later. You and your brothers can sleep a little longer,” Ning Shu whispered.
“I’m awake. I’ll help Mom start the fire,” Yibao said, raising his small body.
Although Ning Shu agreed with children helping with chores, the premise was that it was not dangerous for them. She didn’t agree with a five-year-old doing things like starting a fire.
So she refused, “No need, Yibao has worked hard these past few days. Have a good sleep. I’ll make tangyuan for you in the morning.
When I go to the supply and marketing cooperative later, Yibao will have to take care of his two brothers at home.”
“Okay, Mom, I’m not tired,” Yibao obediently said. When he was really tired before, he didn’t feel tired.
Although he would sometimes feel sad, other mothers would hold their children, but their mother never did. But as he got used to it, he felt less and less sad.
Now, his mother made new clothes and pants for them, cooked meat for them, and they could eat at home every day without going to the old house. He felt even less tired.
He thought that whether he was working with his mother or climbing the mountain with her, it was a happy thing.
“Yibao is very obedient,” Ning Shu praised him, but thinking that this child was introverted, Ning Shu added, “Yibao, if you have anything on your mind, you must tell me. If you don’t say what’s on your mind, I won’t be able to hear it. If I can’t hear it, I won’t know what you mean. So sometimes, it might make you sad. But if you say it, I’ll hear it, and I’ll understand what you mean. Then when I do it, you might like it and be happy. Understand?”
Yibao blinked, not quite understanding his mother’s meaning.
Ning Shu didn’t force him to understand this kind of reasoning. She turned to him and rubbed his head. “It’s okay. You’ll understand when you grow up. Just remember, you are a child with a father and mother.”Top of Form
YibaoyYibao’s eyes turned red. “Okay.”
Ning Shu smiled, got dressed, and got out of bed.
Yibao lay back in bed, watching her open the door and leave the room, then gently close the door.
Ning Shu first went to put up the Autumn Thunder Bamboo Shoots. She and Yibao climbed half a mountain yesterday afternoon and dug up a total of 45 catties of bamboo shoots.
Adding the ones from the day before yesterday afternoon, they had a total of 50 catties.
She divided them into 25 portions, each containing 2 catties.
After putting up the bamboo shoots, Ning Shu prepared breakfast. Breakfast was rice wine tangyuan. The 36 tangyuan from yesterday were all cooked at once. The rice wine used for making snail meat before had been used up, so the new batch of rice wine came just in time.
When it comes to rice wine, handmade rice wine is definitely tastier because it contains more rice.
After making the sesame-filled tangyuan, Ning Shu steamed some eggs and made egg custard, then went to wake up the children.
“Wow, it smells so good…” Erbao, who had finished washing up, was always the first to pay attention to the food. The sweet smell of rice wine made Erbao’s nose tickle.
“Eat up. You and your brother each get 6 tangyuan. There’s more in the pot if you’re still hungry.” Ning Shu served herself 16 tangyuan and left 10 for each of them. However, she was afraid they couldn’t eat so many, so she only served them 6.
Yibao looked at the white and tender tangyuan, like his mother’s face. He was reluctant to take a bite. He took a small sip of the tangyuan soup and said, “This is sweet, and there’s rice inside.”
However, the sweetness of the rice wine was different from other sweets. Its sweetness was accompanied by the fragrance of wine, giving a kind of intoxicating feeling.
“The inside of the tangyuan is sweet too.” Unlike Yibao’s reluctance to eat the tangyuan, Erbao was eager to eat anything delicious and was willing to try things he had never eaten before.
However, they had eaten tangyuan before.
There is a custom here to eat tangyuan during the Lunar New Year and on the 15th day of the first lunar month.
However, those are small tangyuan, and they don’t have sweet sesame filling inside.
“Mom… Mom…” Today’s little birthday star was dissatisfied. Why could Mom and his brother eat the round and white tangyuan, while he could only drink egg custard and eat porridge?
“Pot eat… Sanbao eat, pot eat…” He stretched out his short little hand, wanting to get one from the pot.
Wuwuwu… His brother didn’t love him anymore.
They used to give him whatever he wanted, but now they made him eat alone every day. He didn’t feel the joy of eating sweets at all.
Yibao and Erbao felt a little sorry for him.
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“Mom, can San Bao eat?” Yi Bao asked.
In fact, they also knew that if Mom didn’t give San Bao any, he definitely couldn’t eat. If San Bao could eat, Mom would definitely give him some.
“You guys eat on your own, don’t worry about him.” Ning Shu took one from her bowl, put it in a spoon, then used chopsticks to pick up a small piece of tangyuan skin, mixed it with sesame filling, and fed it to San Bao.
“San Bao, ah…”
San Bao saw that he could eat too, so he immediately opened his mouth. “Ah…”
Yi Bao and Er Bao looked at the fingernail-sized piece of tangyuan skin and suddenly felt sorry for San Bao.
He could only eat such a small piece at a time.
Children of San Bao’s age sometimes like to hold their food in their mouths, while others swallow it quickly.
San Bao was undoubtedly the latter. He had a good appetite. After the tangyuan went into his mouth, he stirred it with his small millet teeth, then swallowed it. “Mom… ah…”