Last night, Lin Shu and her children went to bed early.

The next morning, they got up early and took a bus from the South Road.

Fang Dihua and Old Man Lu helped load the eggs onto the bus and told the driver and conductor that they had paid for one person’s fare.

The eggs were packed in a basket filled with wheat husks to prevent them from breaking during the ride.

In those days, this was the common way to transport eggs—simple, cost-effective, and safe.

The two kids said goodbye to their grandparents.

It was their first time going to the city, and they were excited, thinking they might even run into their father, which made them even more thrilled.

Old Man Lu, feeling a bit reluctant to let them go, waved his hand and said, “If you want to eat something, just buy it! Don’t be stingy!”

This comment was directed at Panpan.

Panpan replied, “Grandpa, make sure to lock the door so no one steals my money.”

He had a lot of money, but he couldn’t take it all with him.

The driver and the conductor on the bus were a bit surprised when they heard this—such a small child, but he has money? Impressive!

With Tiantian and Panpan on the bus, the whole journey felt less tiring and boring for everyone.

The two kids were not only good-looking but also well-behaved and sensible.

Just listening to their chatter was enough to put everyone in a good mood, and watching their every smile and frown was a real pleasure.

Tiantian said, “Second Aunt is going to have a baby.”

Panpan added, “We’re going to help Second Aunt bring the baby, so does that mean we’re bringing the baby ourselves?”

They didn’t really understand what was involved with their aunt having a baby.

They only overheard their grandparents saying that after their aunt had surgery, she could have a baby, and they were supposed to help take care of the baby.

The kids had often overheard people on the street, like Jinping and Old Lady Qiu, talking about things like the Goddess of Childbirth, temples for seeking children, and so on.

All this mixed-up knowledge made the smart kids a bit confused.

Everyone on the bus couldn’t help but laugh.

Finally, they got off the bus.

The driver kindly helped them unload the basket of eggs.

Wearing their cotton-padded jackets, they were now feeling quite warm in the afternoon sun.

The two kids were sweating, so Lin Shu unbuttoned their coats a bit.

Lin Shu, looking beautiful and leading her two good-looking children, dressed neatly, clearly didn’t look like someone who was short on money.

The rickshaw drivers scrambled to give her a ride.

Just as she was about to find a friendly-looking rickshaw driver, someone called out to her, “Hey, young lady! Over here! What a coincidence to see you again!”

Lin Shu turned around and saw the driver excitedly waving at her.

Just as she was about to walk over, the two kids quickly held her back.

Panpan said, “Mom, Grandpa and Grandma said there are a lot of kidnappers in the city. You’re so pretty, be careful.”

Lin Shu was speechless…

She had already recognized the driver.

This is the tricycle driver I met the last time I went to the steel mill.

His last name is Hu, I think.

He has a pair of smiling eyes that are very recognizable.

She smiled and said, “It’s no problem. This is Master Hu.”

She waved her hand, and Master Hu immediately pedaled his tricycle over.

The other drivers looked on with envy.

“He’s making money.”

An adult ride costs just 0.2 yuan, plus two kids adds up to 0.4 yuan, and with a basket of eggs, it should be 0.5 yuan total.

Master Hu was very happy and started chatting with Lin Shu, reminiscing about old times.

“Young lady, are these your children? They look so cute!”

“Young lady, are you going to your sister’s house again?”

…

Lin Shu thought it was nice to meet someone she knew, but her ears were getting a bit tired from all the talking.

Luckily, Panpan was quite the social butterfly, chatting with Master Hu the whole way while still looking around, hoping to bump into Lu Shaotang.

As soon as they arrived at the steel mill’s entrance, they saw Lin Xia waiting there.

When Lin Xia saw Lin Shu and the two kids coming, she was both surprised and delighted, smiling from ear to ear. “I was just thinking about Tiantian and Panpan, and here you are! That’s wonderful! Auntie has missed you two so much.”

The two kids waved excitedly. “Auntie! Auntie!”

Lin Shu got off and walked with Lin Xia, letting Master Hu carry the kids and the eggs inside.

On the way from the mill entrance to the residential area, they attracted plenty of attention and turned many heads.

Especially the two kids, who looked like little porcelain dolls, with such handsome features, a tall nose, and sharp mouths.

They called out to everyone, “Grandpa, Grandma, Auntie, Uncle,” making people adore them even more.

“Oh my, these kids are just too adorable!”

“These kids are even cuter than those on the New Year’s posters. If their mom is so pretty, their dad must be really handsome too!”

Lin Xia walked with pride and joy all the way.

Master Hu delivered them inside and even offered to help carry the eggs upstairs.

Lin Xia hurried to pay him and then took one of the kids in each hand as they entered the house.

Tong Ailian heard the commotion and came out to see. “Oh, sister, you’re here! And such cute little ones too! Let me adore them!”

Lin Xia said, “The kids are tired from the trip. We can chat later.”

Lin Xia didn’t give Tong Ailian a chance to come in.

Lately, because of the competition between Qian Lisheng and Tong Guoqiang for the deputy director position, Tong Ailian had started making snide remarks again.

Usually, Lin Xia wouldn’t mind, but now that her nephews were here, she didn’t want to give Tong Ailian the chance to talk nonsense.

Lin Xia looked at the basket of eggs. “Come on, let’s eat. After the meal, we’ll go to the neighbor’s house with the chicken.”

“Sell the eggs.”

Lin Shu said, “Second Sister, these are for you to eat, not to sell!”

Lin Xia was surprised. “For me to eat? Did you raid the chicken coop? You brought so many eggs just for me?”

She was genuinely shocked and touched.

The two kids laughed and said, “Yes! They’re for Second Aunt to eat. Since you’re having surgery to have a baby, you’ll need eggs during your recovery.”

The kids thought they knew a lot, but their understanding was a bit limited.

Lin Xia laughed so hard she almost doubled over.

She patted their heads and said, “There are too many eggs for me to eat alone. We shouldn’t let them go to waste; let’s sell half of them.”

Tiantian chimed in, “Mom said she’d make tea eggs for us.”

Panpan added, “I’ve never had tea eggs before. I want to try them.”

Lin Xia asked, “I’ve never had tea eggs either. What are they?”

Lin Shu made up an answer, “I heard about them from Wei Ling. She saw them during one of her interviews.”

Lin Xia said, “You know, we actually have a couple of pounds of leftover tea dust from last year. My father-in-law gave it to us during the New Year.”

At that time, Lin Xia and her husband, Qian Lisheng, had received some new tea.

Her mother-in-law wanted to give it to their youngest son and daughter-in-law as a gift because she had given birth to the first grandson of the family.

Lin Xia, being from the countryside, had never really drunk tea before, so she didn’t care much about it.

Lin Shu said, “Perfect! Let’s make some tea eggs. You should eat a couple each day. After surgery, you’ll need the nutrition.”

They still had the coal stove on, so everyone got busy right away.

They washed the eggs and started boiling them.

Once they were cooked, they took them out and put them in cold water.

The two kids used a spatula to crack each eggshell.

Lin Shu then asked Lin Xia to find some cinnamon, ginger, garlic, Sichuan peppercorns, and star anise.

They crushed the spices and soaked them in the pot.

She also found some dried orange peels she had sun-dried last year and added those in.

After letting the ingredients steep for a while, they added some rock sugar.

It was their first time making tea eggs, so they wanted to treat themselves.

If they didn’t have enough rock sugar, they’d add regular sugar.

Once the sugar melted, they added the tea leaves.

The whole hallway filled with the aroma of tea, and neighbors began poking their heads out to ask what they were cooking.

Tong Ailian even came over, hoping to get a taste.

Lin Xia shooed her away, saying, “This is for my nephew. You’re a grown-up, you can’t take sweets from little kids.”

Tong Ailian pouted and went back to her apartment.

Lin Shu put the cracked eggs back into the pot.

Once the water boiled, she added soy sauce for color and flavor, and then some salt.

After it boiled again, she lowered the heat to let it simmer slowly.

Lin Shu said, “It needs to simmer for about an hour, so there’s no rush.”

The two kids kept a close watch on the pot, making sure no one snuck in to steal the eggs.

They had already noticed a few neighborhood kids licking their fingers and peeking around the corner, clearly tempted by the delicious smell.

Lin Xia planned to take them to the supply and state-run vegetable markets, so she first brought in the pot of tea eggs.

Lin Shu had brought some medicine, like Sanhuang ointment and Zicao ointment, for Grandma Jiang.

Her father-in-law had brought them back.

After going downstairs, she first went to deliver them to Grandma Jiang.

Grandma Jiang was waiting eagerly downstairs!

When she heard that Lin Shu, the sister of the skilled worker Lin, who was as beautiful as a fairy, had arrived, Grandma Jiang quickly came downstairs to wait.

She thought they might need to eat lunch and didn’t want to disturb them by going upstairs, so she just waited downstairs.

Then, she smelled the fragrant aroma of tea eggs coming from Lin Xia’s house.

The smell was so delicious that it made her mouth water.

Many people downstairs were sniffing the air, running into the courtyard asking which family was making such delicious food because it smelled so good.

Some children were so tempted by the smell that they started crying, causing a fuss at home.

As soon as Grandma Jiang saw Lin Shu, she quickly ran over, “Girl, girl!”

Lin Shu smiled and said, “Auntie Jiang, I was just coming to find you.”

Grandma Jiang then noticed Tiantian and Panpan.

Her old eyes lit up as if she was looking at treasures.

Oh, what wonderful children! If this girl married her eldest son, wouldn’t they have two equally wonderful kids?

“Such good children!” Grandma Jiang lovingly patted the two kids’ heads.

Her hands were rough, similar to Fang Dihua’s, but the kids, out of politeness, didn’t shy away.

Grandma Jiang didn’t overdo it and invited them, “Come on, let’s go inside and chat for a bit.”

Lin Xia said, “Auntie, we need to go to the supply store to buy a few things.”

Grandma Jiang, pretending to be mysterious, said, “Come to my house first, I have some coupons.”

She gave Lin Shu a knowing look, and Lin Shu understood.

She then told Lin Xia they should go inside for a bit and exchange the ointments.

Lin Xia led Tiantian and Panpan to follow.

Tiantian whispered to Panpan, “This isn’t a wolf in grandma’s clothing; she’s a good granny.”

Panpan agreed, “Yeah.”

When they arrived at Grandma Jiang’s house, she called out, “Oldest son, we have guests!”

But Jiang Weidong wasn’t there.

However, there were many coupons and money on the table.

Grandma Jiang had planned to invite Lin Shu over to meet her son.

She had even threatened her son that she would trade their coupons for medicine if he didn’t show some interest and stop saying things that would ruin the mood.