Chapter 35 Big brother, can you help me with my English signature? Big brother, my…

"I'm back!" Bai Mangmang came in through the gate and didn't see anyone playing outside, which she found very strange. "Where did everyone go?"

Upon hearing Bai Mangmang's voice, Wen Xingmou shouted, "Sister Mangmang, we're making colorful dumplings here, come quickly!"

Bai Mangmang ran into the kitchen before she could even take off her schoolbag when she heard Wen Xingmou's call, "Make colorful dumplings?"

"Yes, we're going to make dumplings in many colors!"

"Me too!" Bai Mangmang ran to the restaurant, brought over her own chair, and enthusiastically joined the dumpling-making team.

An Fusheng was kneading the dough when he suddenly remembered that he hadn't made the filling yet. "Ah! I forgot to make the filling."

Wen Min waved his hand and said, "Then you go do it. Leave this to us."

Kneading dough is easy; just rub it hard. There's a group of people at the table waiting to put in the effort. This mere dough is a piece of cake.

An Fusheng handed over the task of kneading the dough to everyone else and went to make the fillings himself.

The silicone mat was large enough to cover almost the entire tabletop. An Fusheng had already kneaded the four dough balls into balls. Wen Min distributed the dough balls to the children, saying, "Just knead them vigorously."

"Mommy Wen, I want green, please give me green!"

"Mommy Wen, I want the red one!"

"Mommy Wen, I want the yellow one!"

"Mommy Wen, I want a green one too!"

...

An Fusheng's main principle when making dumpling fillings is to use whatever he has on hand. He gathers any ingredients that look good in the refrigerator and mixes them together as he pleases. In the end, he made fillings with carrots, corn, and pork; tomato and egg; and salted duck egg, ham, and corn.

An Fusheng returned after preparing the filling, and Wen Min handed him the prepared dough, saying, "It's all kneaded."

An Fusheng silently picked up several oddly shaped dough balls and kneaded them a second time.

After kneading the dough, roll it into a strip, cut it into small pieces, and then roll each piece into a dumpling wrapper using a rolling pin.

An Fusheng rolls dumpling wrappers very quickly; he can roll a dough ball in his hand and create a thin, evenly sized dumpling wrapper in no time.

The children's admiration for their eldest brother was like a surging river: "Big brother is so amazing!"

After kneading a few dumpling wrappers, everyone eagerly wanted to make dumplings, and even Wen Xingrui strongly requested to join in.

"Here you go." An Fusheng gave Wen Xingrui his favorite red dumpling wrapper.

"Hehe!" Wen Xingrui happily played with the dumpling wrapper.

Wen Min placed a dumpling wrapper in Wen Xinghe's hand, added a little bit of filling, and taught Wen Xinghe how to pinch the dumpling together, "Yes, just like this, first fold the wrapper up, stack it neatly, and then pinch it in the middle with both hands."

Wen Xinghe pinched one closed, then checked it again to make sure the filling hadn't leaked out before asking Wen Min, "Aunt Wen, am I done?"

"It's wrapped up! It looks fantastic, like a bright green cabbage. It's much better than the ones wrapped up fourteen times, hahaha!"

An Shisi was struggling with the dumplings in his hands. He had put too much filling in them. The dumpling wrappers would seal one end and then burst open the other. An Shisi sighed and complained, "This filling is so disobedient."

"How about it? Feeling the frustration of being disobedient?" Wen Xing said with a smile. "When you're disobedient, Lou's mother feels the same way."

“Sigh, I have been obedient, but Mother Lou has too many rules, and sometimes I forget them,” An Shisi sighed.

“Those aren’t Mrs. Lou’s rules; they’re our family’s rules. Mrs. Lou is just in charge of the family rules.”

What does it mean to be in charge of family rules?

"It's about supervising everyone to follow the rules at home, just like a kindergarten teacher supervises every child to wash their hands before eating, before using the toilet, and before sleeping with their eyes closed."

"Is Lou's mother as capable as the teacher?"

"Yes, because Madam Lou is very capable, that's why she's in charge of the family rules."

"I can do that too! I'm the best in kindergarten!" An Shisi exclaimed excitedly. "I have the most little red flowers!"

Wen Min shook his head. "Not yet, because you sometimes forget and break the family rules. The person in charge of the family rules must strictly abide by them."

"Ah? I understand. I will strictly abide by the family rules from now on!"

"Okay, then we'll all keep an eye on you from now on."

"No problem!" An Shisi said confidently.

After the whole family had finished making dumplings, it was already quite dark.

"It's getting late, how about we skip dinner and just have dumplings?" Wen Min suggested.

"Okay! I want to eat dumplings!" Bai Mangmang was the first to agree. She would regret it all night if she couldn't eat the dumplings she made right away.

"I agree!"

"Me too!"

The children raised both hands in agreement.

The kitchen has a dining table and chairs, so the family will have dinner there tonight.

An Fusheng cooked dumplings, and the others lined up, holding bowls from shortest to tallest, waiting for their dumplings.

Steam rose from the stove, and dumplings of various colors and shapes bobbed in the pot. Children, holding bowls and lining up to eat, chattered excitedly, making the kitchen exceptionally lively.

One by one, the dumplings floated happily to the surface of the water. An Fusheng announced, "The dumplings are cooked. Bring me the bowl."

Wen Xingmou raised her bowl. "Big brother, I want to eat the green dumplings I made myself."

"Okay." An Fusheng knew exactly how everyone had made their dumplings.

The children's bowls were all stainless steel, which conducts heat easily. Anfu was afraid of scalding them, so he quickly rinsed the dumplings he had taken out of the water in cold water before putting them into their bowls.

The children, satisfied with their dumplings, hugged their bowls and climbed onto their chairs to eat.

"Look at my milk dragon!" An Shisi showed Wen Xingmou his abstract milk dragon in the shape of a cylinder, made of carrot-colored dumpling wrappers.

Wen Xingmou also gave a very abstract compliment, "Wow, your milk dragon!"

An Shisi's milk dragon is filled with salted duck egg, ham, and corn filling, and it's packed very generously. One bite and you'll be overwhelmed by the aroma. "My milk dragon is the best!"

Wen Xingmou protested, "Mine is the best too!"

Except for Wen Xingrui, who didn't have his own dumplings and was eating his older brother's without a care in the world, everyone else ate dumplings they made themselves today.

Everyone couldn't help but show off how beautiful the colors and unique shapes of their dumplings were. Even Wen Xinghe was wondering: What color are my dumplings? What do they look like?

The whole family enjoyed dinner tonight.

After dinner, Wen Min went to the hospital to relieve his shift, while An Fusheng took the children to play on the second floor.

Bai Mangmang pulled a test paper out of his schoolbag and stealthily held it up to An Fusheng. "Big brother, can you sign my English test paper?"

An Fusheng was playing checkers with Wen Xingmou and An Shisi when he asked in surprise, "Don't you always have your homework signed by Aunt Lou? She'll be back soon."

Bai Mangmang said hesitantly, "I didn't do very well on my English test this time. Lou's mother might be a little angry when she sees it."

An Fusheng understood, took the test paper, and asked, "What score did you get?"

Bai Mangmang: "Eighty-something points."

An Fusheng unfolded the test paper and exclaimed, "83 points, that's pretty impressive!"

The unexpected praise abruptly interrupted Bai Mangmang's feelings of shame, which had been building up halfway. "Huh? I didn't even get over 90."

An Fusheng said, "Eighty points is also very impressive."

This score would have been enough to get him first place at the school An Fusheng used to attend.

"Come on." An Fusheng snatched the pen from Bai Mangmang's hand with a "whoosh," and deliberately twisted the pen to write his name in cursive script on Bai Mangmang's paper. "It's signed. Keep up the good grades!"

"I won't keep it up, I'll get a higher score next time."

Bai Mangmang was the only student in the class who didn't score above 90 on the English test, and she really didn't dare to maintain that score!

"Good job, that's ambitious! Keep it up!"

The more An Fusheng talked, the more guilty Bai Mangmang felt. Bai Mangmang thought her older brother was being sarcastic. Lou's mother said that her older brother used to get 100 points on tests.

But his older brother's tone didn't sound sarcastic, and Bai Mangmang felt a little dizzy for a moment.

While Bai Mangmang was getting her test paper signed by An Fusheng, Wen Xinglin also took out a math test paper from his bag. After An Fusheng signed Bai Mangmang's paper, Wen Xinglin reluctantly handed over his own paper, stammering, "Big brother, my paper needs to be signed too."

"Why are there exams everywhere?" An Fusheng took Wen Xinglin's test paper. "Is it a midterm exam?"

“It’s a unit test,” Wen Xinglin said.

An Fusheng turned the test paper to the front, and there was a big 17 written in the upper right corner of the first page.

An Fusheng: "..."

Seeing his older brother remain silent, Wen Xinglin nervously explained, "This...this unit test was too...difficult; a lot of the knowledge wasn't in the textbook..."

An Fusheng often encountered situations where the unit test was beyond the syllabus when he was in school, and he expressed his understanding. However, he wondered if seventeen points was a bit too low. He said that when he was in school, even though he wasn't very bright, he could still get more than thirty points.

After a long silence, An Fusheng finally signed his name on Wen Xinglin's test paper, not forgetting to encourage him, "Try to get a higher score next time."

"Okay." Wen Xinglin took the test paper, his heart heavy.

When Lou Lan returned home, An Fusheng cooked dumplings for her, and the children gathered around, chatting amongst themselves.

"Aunt Lou, this is something I made. Is it delicious?"

"Aunt Lou, this is what I made. Doesn't it look like Afu? Hahaha!"

"Aunt Lou, guess what the filling is inside this?"

"Aunt Lou, can you guess who made this yellow milk dragon?"

...

Lou Lan was so moved she wanted to cry.

She always hoped that the children in the orphanage could live carefree lives. Even if they grew up and found themselves different from others and felt inferior, at least they should have been carefree when they were young.

But whether it was Uncle Du or others before, they always told these children in various ways that they were abandoned, that they were different, and that they did not deserve to have innocence and happiness.

God knows how heartbroken she felt every time she saw the children sitting silently and trembling with fear.

Fortunately, the children are like resilient grass; even if they are battered and droopy by the wind and rain, they can come back to life as long as there is a little sunshine.

Lou Lan felt sorry for An Fusheng because he had lost his memory, but she was also glad that he had returned to the orphanage.