Chapter 123 I received a mysterious gift! Wow!

Grandpa, Grandma, and Aunt Wen all came back at noon.

An Fusheng introduced Zhaolin to everyone.

Everyone warmly welcomed Zhaolin's arrival.

But when Zhaolin brought out a large bowl of bright red spicy blood curd from the kitchen and enthusiastically invited everyone to eat, everyone fell silent.

An Fusheng quickly said, "Zhaolin likes spicy food. It's his first day here, so I specially made a spicy dish for him to try. We also made other dishes."

Everyone: Shall we try this huge pot of food?

When the food was served, Zhaolin took his first bite of the spicy blood curd and exclaimed how delicious it was. He then kept making "mmm" sounds throughout the meal, and the large bowl of spicy blood curd was eventually eaten clean. Of course, the other dishes were the same.

Everyone: We really want to try it!

Even Wen Xingrui and Wen Xinglan, who usually just eat in silence, looked up halfway through their meal and stared blankly at Zhaolin's live mukbang.

An Fusheng made the spicy blood curd with ulterior motives, but he barely ate any himself. Zhaolin wielded his chopsticks so fast that it was as if An Fusheng was trying to snatch a piece from him every now and then. In the end, he simply let Zhaolin eat it all.

If An Fusheng hadn't just had a seafood feast with Zhaolin last night, he would have suspected that Zhaolin hadn't eaten for three days. How come he looked even hungrier than when Ji Fengnian first arrived?

After a full meal, Zhaolin easily felt dizzy. He put down his bowl and chopsticks, leaned back in his chair, and looked drowsy. "Master, can I borrow your bed for a nap?"

What bad habit is eating and then sleeping? An Fusheng: "Get up and help wash the dishes first."

Zhaolin: "Huh?"

An Fusheng: "Put the chopsticks away and then wipe the table."

Zhaolin: "Why do we still have to wash the dishes?"

An Fusheng: "If you don't wash the dishes, will you eat them for the next meal?"

Zhaolin: "Isn't there someone responsible for washing the dishes?"

An Fusheng: "It's me."

Zhaolin: "Why don't we hire another one? It's too much of a waste for you to be both the chef and the dishwasher."

An Fusheng paused for a moment, then muttered casually, "Sigh, Niannian is still the best. She's so quick at clearing the dishes."

The next moment, Zhaolin jolted awake from his drowsy state as if he had risen from the dead, "I can do it too."

...

After cleaning up the dishes, An Fusheng lent the bed to Zhaolin.

An Fusheng didn't have time to take a nap; he had to hurry and prepare the ingredients he would need for the afternoon.

...

Today is the first day of school for the children. Usually, there's just a welcome ceremony or something, and no classes are held, so school ends early in the afternoon.

Before four o'clock, the children came back chattering away.

"Big brother, I have a secret to tell you!" Wen Xingmou was the first to rush into the kitchen.

What secret is so important? They didn't even ask what we'd like to eat. An Fusheng raised an eyebrow: "What secret?"

Wen Xingmou made no attempt to hide her secret, and exclaimed loudly, "I was a little angel today!"

An Fusheng exclaimed in delight, "Wow!" and asked, "What little angel?"

Wen Xingmou: "When I pick up the little ones from the toddler class, I'm like a little angel."

An Fusheng: "Wow, that's amazing."

Wen Xingmou: "Yes, the little ones in the toddler class cried when they started kindergarten. They didn't want to eat or play with toys. It's really a headache."

An Fusheng was amused and exasperated by her serious and troubled expression: "Really? What should we do then?"

Wen Xingmou: "I told them not to cry. I didn't cry when I went to kindergarten. There was a big slide and lots of other kids. We played games and sang together. And you got a little red flower if you were good. What's there to cry about? It's so childish."

Wen Xingmou is speaking more and more fluently. Now, not only is her pronunciation much more standard, but the content she expresses is also becoming clearer and clearer.

An Fusheng: "Yes, what's there to cry about? Our Wen Xingmou is so sensible, so our Xingmou is the real little angel."

Wen Xingmou: "That's right, only good little babies can be little angels."

An Fusheng: "Is the little angel hungry? Would you like some purple sweet potato shortbread?"

Wen Xingmou: "I want it!"

The purple sweet potato shortbread was freshly baked by Wenyue and was still warm, just the right temperature to eat.

Wen Yue pays attention to the appearance of her creations; she uses molds to shape her pastries into star shapes, which the children love.

An Shisi: "Big brother, I want some too! I want some too!"

An Fusheng gave An Shisi and Wen Xinglin each a shortbread, saying, "Today's perilla shortbread was made by Sister Yueyue. Go and thank Sister Yueyue."

Wen Yue was picking vegetables in the backyard garden when the children ran to the back door of the kitchen and lined up at varying heights, pressing against the door.

"Thank you, Sister Yueyue! This pancake you made is so delicious!"

"Thank you, Sister Yueyue! It's purple inside, I love it!"

"The pancakes my sister makes are so fragrant and crispy, just as delicious as the ones my older brother makes."

The temperature was still quite low at this time of year, and her hands would freeze after pulling vegetables for a while. However, her younger siblings kept praising her, which warmed Wenyue's heart and gave her a burst of energy. She pulled vegetables vigorously and quickly gathered a bunch of them in just a few minutes.

An Fusheng looked at Wen Yue, who was carrying a large basket of cabbages, and asked, "Didn't you say that if we don't eat red cabbage now, it'll get too old and we'll eat it this afternoon? Why are you picking cabbages again?"

Wen Yue: "Huh?"

It seems so.

I had just finished picking garlic and was planning to pick some cabbage shoots, but I got distracted halfway there and ended up picking seven or eight cabbages instead.

An Fusheng: "Didn't you pick a bit too many cabbages?"

Wen Yue: "...Zhao and Zhaolin eat a lot, so I'll pluck a little more."

Zhaolin overslept during his afternoon nap and woke up to find it was already four o'clock. He quickly came downstairs to help, but as soon as he reached the kitchen door, he heard someone saying that they ate a lot...

Or maybe we should pay some tuition fees... oh no, I mean food expenses.

...

"Big brother, our school is having a temple fair on Friday."

What temple fair?

"It's about selling things. We can sell things, buy things, and play games, just like a pedestrian street, where all grades can participate."

"Wow, it's so lively, can I go and play?" Zhaolin stepped into the kitchen.

Hearing the voice, the children turned around and stared with their big, dark eyes at the person who had suddenly appeared.

An Shisi: "Who are you?"

In the morning, An Fusheng introduced the staff of the welfare home to Zhaolin. Zhaolin leaned down and said, "Hello, I am Zhaolin. I am 21 years old, 183 centimeters tall, and a senior in college. I am here to learn how to cook from your older brother. Who are you?"

An Shisi was bewildered by the series of messages. He stared blankly at the large hand stretched out in front of him for a while before wiping his hand on his clothes and placing it in Zhaolin's palm. "Hello, I am An Shisi. I am four and a half years old. I am in the second grade of middle school. I am the only gatekeeper in the second grade of middle school."

Then Zhao Lin did the same thing to Wen Xingmou and Wen Xinglin, and in the process, he dug out all their information.

An Fusheng and Wen Yue: "..."

After exchanging greetings and becoming more familiar with each other, Zhaolin remembered what Wen Xinglin had mentioned about the temple fair and asked, "Your school is having a temple fair? What are you selling? Can we go and have some fun?"

Wen Xinglin: "I'll help my deskmate sell chicks, and only then can our parents go."

Zhaolin: "Help your deskmate sell chicks? Does he pay you to do that?"

Wen Xinglin nodded: "Yes, he said he would give me a dollar if I helped him sell a chick."

Zhaolin: "How much does he sell each chick for?"

Wen Xinglin: "15 yuan."

Zhaolin: "Then why don't we sell them ourselves? We can get fifteen yuan just by selling one."

Wen Xinglin: "But I only have three yuan of pocket money saved up. It costs five yuan to buy a chick from my grandma's house."

Zhaolin: "What's the big deal? I'll lend it to you. Tell me, how many chicks do you want to buy?"

Wen Xinglin: "Do you have a lot of money?"

Zhaolin: "Not a lot, but it should be enough to buy chicks."

Wen Xinglin: "Can you lend money to my deskmate? He doesn't have much money to buy all the chicks, but he wants to buy all the chicks."

Zhaolin: "Why don't you buy them yourself? He doesn't have the money, so you can buy them all. You'll have one less competitor if you sell them."

Wen Xinglin: "But I've already promised to help him sell the chicks, and I can't go back on my word. If he buys more chicks, I can help him sell even more and make a lot of money."

Zhao Lin had a lot to say: "Brother..."

...

Not long after, Bai Mangmang also came home from school.

As soon as Bai Mangmang returned, she ran straight into the kitchen: "I received a mystery gift!"

"What mysterious gift?" Wen Yue asked.

"A mysterious gift I received while eating instant noodles!"

"Wow!" Everyone immediately crowded around.

Bai Mangmang put her backpack on the ground, unzipped it, and carefully took out a gift box. "I just came back and happened to run into the deliveryman delivering a package to our house, hehe."

Wen Yue: "So you opened the package before you came back?"

Bai Mangmang: "Yes, but I haven't opened them yet. I'll show them to you all together."

The ritual of Bai Mangmang viewing the gift was very elaborate; he insisted on waiting until everyone joined the viewing group before he was willing to open it.

An Fusheng quickly finished cooking the dishes he had, packed them up and delivered them to the delivery person, then walked over and asked, "Want to open this and take a look?"

Bai Mangmang gently untied the bow on the gift box, then opened two more layers of packaging before taking out a round plate about the size of a ramen bowl from one of the boxes. It had a cartoon tiger riding a big bone as a scooter, surrounded by ramen noodles.

An Fusheng: "What is this? A ramen noodle lid?"

Below are similar boxes with different single patterns, which seem to be a series of instant noodle lids made from different flavors of instant noodles. Since they know that the lids on the instant noodle boxes are not secure, why not make them into plastic lids like those for disposable lunch boxes? Why are they giving away instant noodle lids separately now? An Fusheng didn't understand and didn't quite get it.

Zhaolin: "What ramen noodle lid? This is ramen noodle stuff."

An Fusheng: "What chicken?"

Bai Mangmang: "It's a big mop, I love it!"

An Fusheng: Smack? ??? Every word is Chinese, that's right, but why can't I understand it? What's going on?

Zhaolin was surprised that his master, at such a young age, didn't even know what a badge was, so he kindly explained to him: "A badge is a symbol of goodwill, it's a kind of instant noodle merchandise."

After giving a concise explanation, she went to admire the vast expanse of white gifts. "Wow, this one is really big, the design is so exquisite, it's so beautiful, it's so cool! Quick, let's open the others and see, I can't wait!"

"Mmm-hmm!" Bai Mangmang excitedly continued unwrapping the gifts.

An Fusheng: A badge is a badge. Why call it "baji"? It's so weird. Also, what else can this round lid do besides being used as a lid for instant noodles? What's so special about it?

don't know!

I really don't understand!

An Fusheng shook his head and went to cook.

Wen Yue didn't understand either, but when she saw An Fusheng cooking, she went to help him.

The others squatted on the ground to watch Bai Mangmang unwrap the gifts, and every now and then they would exclaim "Wow!"

The designs on the smears are so exquisite, and the little tiger's expression is so cute. Bai Mangmang and Zhaolin are truly stunning.

The other children were like dogs seeing bones when they saw colorful patterns, especially since the surface of the item had a shiny film on it, which made it even more irresistible to them, and they joined the two older children in shouting.

"Wow! An invitation!" Zhaolin yelled even louder.

An Fusheng and Wen Yue focused intently on cooking.

The delivery riders waiting outside couldn't help but keep looking inside.

Zhaolin: "An invitation to a 10-day trip to Europe! That's so cool!"

The delivery rider outside finally couldn't resist his curiosity and leaned over the food pickup window to ask, "Going on a trip?"

Bai Mangmang took several breaths of excitement before saying, "Yes, it's an invitation."

An Shisi: "It was a mysterious gift from my sister Mangmang while she was eating instant noodles."

Wen Xingmou: "Yes, we all have instant noodle gift packs."

Rider: "Did I win the lottery by eating instant noodles?"

Bai Mangmang: "No, it's a mysterious gift that came from when I wrote my opinion while eating instant noodles and it was adopted."

Rider: "That's amazing, your opinion must be very well written."

Bai Mangmang: "Mmm!"