Chapter 41 Is it okay for my younger brother to be called An Shisan? Or should he be called An Shiwu?

"Little brother, I am your older sister. You should call me older sister."

"Younger brother, call me older brother."

"Yes, little brother, call me 'big brother'."

...

When An Fusheng and Lou's mother returned after putting away their luggage, a group of people had already moved to the elevated floor to watch their younger brother.

As the older brother who couldn't stand up yet, Wen Xingrui anxiously circled around the crowd, but no matter how he looked around, he couldn't see his younger brother, and he cried out in distress.

An Fusheng picked up Wen Xingrui and squeezed him in, saying, "Come on, there's another older brother here."

Wen Xingrui was so excited to finally see his younger brother that he danced around and drooled.

An Fusheng also curiously went over to look at his younger brother, and saw a tiny little dumpling timidly huddled in his mother's arms. "Wow, he's so small."

“You were this small when you were little.” Lou’s mother came up from behind.

"Can he talk?" An Fusheng asked Lou Lan.

"Yes, he's just a little shy and doesn't dare to speak right now."

"Can he walk?"

"Yes, it will."

"Wow!" An Fusheng found it amazing that such a tiny little thing was actually quite powerful.

An Fusheng grabbed Wen Xingrui, who was staring at his younger brother like a lovesick fool: "Brother, you'd better learn to talk and walk soon, or your younger brother will laugh at you and see if you still have the nerve to smile at your younger brother like an idiot."

Wen Xingrui looked up at An Fusheng and chuckled.

"Alright, everyone stop crowding around here. I'll take my little brother to take a bath first." Lou Lan took Xiao Ba from Wen Min's arms.

Lou Lan took Xiao Ba to take a bath, and several of the able-bodied people rushed to help. Wen Xinghe was also taken away by Wen Min, leaving only An Fusheng and Wen Xingrui on the elevated floor.

"Let's go, let's go cook." An Fusheng grabbed Wen Xingrui by the back of his collar so he could keep standing.

Wen Xingrui watched the stairwell where the crowd had disappeared for a while, then looked up at An Fusheng and murmured, "Giggle..."

"Huh?" An Fusheng listened intently. "Say it again."

Wen Xingrui: "Ge...Ge"

"Are you calling for your brother?" An Fusheng pulled out a tissue from his pocket and wiped Wen Xingrui's drool. "It sounds like a chicken crowing, hahaha."

Wen Xingrui glanced at An Fusheng, hugged his leg, and buried his head without saying a word.

"I'm not making fun of you, hahaha, call me 'brother' again and let me hear it."

Wen Xingrui: "..."

An Fusheng carried Wen Xingrui to the kitchen, got him a small stool to sit on, and gave him a cabbage. "Come on, sit here and help your princess tear the cabbage. Don't crawl on the floor, understand?"

Wen Xingrui blinked blankly, holding the cabbage.

“I know you can understand. You came back as soon as Aunt Wen called last time. Don’t think I didn’t see you. I pretended not to understand what you were saying before so I wouldn’t hold it against you. But if you crawl on the ground this time, I’ll make Xiao Ba call you your brother,” An Fusheng threatened.

"Awoo~" Wen Xingrui obediently peeled the cabbage.

"That's more like it." An Fusheng strode away.

An Fusheng went to check on the vegetable garden in the back. The bean sprouts had already grown, although they weren't long enough yet, but they were ready to eat. Bean sprouts grow every day, so if you don't eat them in advance, you won't be able to finish them all later.

Unlike in the countryside, where neighbors are very close, in the city, if you can't finish your food, you can easily share it with your neighbors. Their welfare home is surrounded by nothing but wasteland and walls. Even if there are neighbors around, they are separated by a wall, as if they are in another world.

Seeing the wasteland of the orphanage, An Fusheng cried out in anguish, "Is there anyone who can help dig the ground?"

Hearing his older brother's howling, Wen Xingrui glanced outside, then continued peeling his cabbage diligently.

An Fusheng brought back a basket of mung bean sprouts and started cooking.

Cook the rice, then wash, prepare, and cook the vegetables—all done in an orderly and efficient manner.

Bai Miaomiao returned halfway through and asked An Fusheng if he needed any help. An Fusheng said no. When Bai Miaomiao saw Wen Xingrui struggling to peel the cabbage, she took the initiative to help Wen Xingrui peel the cabbage leaves one by one and tear them apart for him.

The siblings worked together seamlessly, and by the time An Fusheng finished preparing the other dishes, they had just finished peeling a cabbage.

An Fusheng took away the full bowl of chopped cabbage. "Go and call everyone down for dinner with Xingrui. The cabbage will be ready soon with a simple stir-fry."

"Okay." Bai Miaomiao went to hug Wen Xingrui.

An Fusheng stopped her, "Just hold his hand, he'll walk. He's so heavy, you can't carry him."

"Really? Xingrui can leave?" Bai Mangmang asked in disbelief.

"Yes, you can lead him by the hand, and he will take the first step on his own."

Bai Miaomiao pulled Wen Xingrui up: "Let's go, let's go call everyone for dinner."

Led by Bai Miaomiao, Wen Xingrui walked out of the kitchen step by step.

A few minutes later, after stir-frying the cabbage, An Fusheng still hadn't heard them come downstairs. He guessed that Wen Xingrui was walking slowly, so he moved all the tables and chairs back to the dining room and then put all the food on the table. Only then did he hear footsteps and voices coming from upstairs.

"Big brother, have you eaten?"

"Big brother, what are we having for dinner today?"

"Big brother, I can smell something delicious."

A group of children, quacking like ducklings, quickly took their places and then continued showering each other with compliments.

Wow, there are so many dishes today!

"The dishes look delicious today."

"What is this?" Bai Mangmang asked, pointing at the golden egg dumplings.

“They are egg dumplings, just shaped like lucky bags,” An Fusheng said.

"Wow, I want to eat the lucky bag!" Wen Xingmou exclaimed.

Then Wen Min led Wen Xinghe and Wen Xingrui, while Lou Lan carried Xiao Ba into the restaurant, where she was surprised to see a large table of dishes.

Lou Lan said, "Today feels like New Year's Day."

Wen Min said, "It's an important day for our Xiao Ba to come home today."

An Fusheng helped put Wen Xingrui into his chair.

Bai Miaomiao came in from behind carrying bowls and chopsticks and distributed them to everyone.

The whole family finally sat down at the table together.

Wen Min announced, "Alright, let's talk after we've eaten. Let's eat!"

The children cheered and began to enjoy today's meal.

"Big brother, are these the bean sprouts we planted?" Bai Mangmang exclaimed in surprise.

An Fusheng picked up a lucky bag and placed it in Wen Xingrui's bowl, saying casually, "Yes."

The children were thrilled by this confirmation.

An Shisi was also pleasantly surprised to find a short, plump, white bean sprout in her bowl: "Sister Mangmang, I have one too!"

Lou Lan asked, "Aren't the bean sprouts we grow ourselves especially delicious?"

Bai Mangmang/An Shisi: "Yes!"

"I...I don't have any bean sprouts!" Wen Xingmou looked at the two bare chicken legs in her bowl and shouted in a accent that was sometimes standard and sometimes not: "I want some too!"

"I'll help you." An Shisi volunteered to lean out halfway to help Wen Xingmou scoop bean sprouts.

Today, An Fusheng cooked egg dumplings in chicken broth, with bean sprouts, baby bok choy, and soft tofu inside. Now there's a big plate of chicken broth, topped with a layer of "fortune bags," with the bean sprouts sinking to the bottom. An Shisi's spoon is too short to scoop them up at all.

Seeing that An Shisi's hand was almost poking into the soup, An Fusheng quickly stopped him, "I'll help Xingmou with the bean sprouts, you can eat your own."

Wen Xingmou, holding the bowl, took the large handful of bean sprouts that An Fusheng had picked out for her, her eyes shining, "Thank you, big brother!"

The chicken soup had very little seasoning, making it incredibly flavorful. The bean sprouts were naturally sweet and fresh, and when soaked in the soup, one bite was enough to make your tongue tingle with deliciousness.

"Big brother, the bean sprouts are delicious!" Wen Xingmou said, squinting her eyes. "I grew them."

“Yes, then you should eat more,” An Fusheng said.

Wen Min has been too busy lately and rarely gets to eat a meal cooked by An Fusheng. After a few bites of the delicious food, she felt very comforted and her fatigue from the past few days disappeared instantly.

An Fusheng specially made steamed eggs for Xiao Ba today, but Xiao Ba prefers to gnaw on braised pig's trotters.

When An Fusheng put a braised pig's trotter in Wen Xingrui's bowl, Xiao Ba silently took the trotter from Wen Xingrui's bowl. An Fusheng: "..."

Wen Xingrui forcefully spread his claws and waved them in mid-air, "Gege..."

"Can he eat it?" An Fusheng asked Lou Lan and Wen Min.

“This pig’s trotter is stewed until very tender, so it should be fine. If he likes it, let him eat it,” Lou Lan said.

An Fusheng gave Wen Xingrui a new one.

Xiao Ba hugged a pig's trotter that was about the size of his own head and buried his head in it, gnawing on it. But after gnawing for a long time, he couldn't tear off a piece of skin and his face turned bright red.

“You don’t have any teeth, do you?” An Fusheng pinched Xiao Ba’s chin to examine him. “His teeth really aren’t all in, hahahahaha.”

The other children laughed along, saying, "The little brother is so funny, hahaha."

Wen Xinglin silently lowered his head even further. He still had two teeth that had fallen out, and he absolutely couldn't let anyone know that.

"Don't make fun of your younger brother," Lou Lan scolded playfully.

The meal ended amidst laughter and cheerful conversation.

After the meal, An Fusheng brought out the small cakes he had made that afternoon, much to the children's delight.

After eating the cake, Wenmin called a family meeting.

Wen Min said, "The meeting will now begin."

Everyone was already very familiar with the process, and as soon as they heard the meeting was about to begin, they all sat up straight.

“Okay.” Wen Min was very satisfied and began the meeting: “The first item on the agenda today: Let’s welcome Big Brother and Little Eight to our big family with a warm round of applause.”

"Clap clap clap!" Thunderous applause erupted.

"Alright." Wen Min reached out and pressed down with his palm.

The applause gradually subsided.

Wen Min continued: "The second agenda item of the meeting: Let's give Xiao Ba a nice and meaningful name."

"Mother Wen, what's Xiao Ba's name?" Wen Xingmou asked.

"We don't know yet, so we need everyone to brainstorm. Can you help Xiao Ba think of a good name?"

"Call me 'little brother'!"

"Brother is not a name."

"Alright then." Wen Xingmou left the scene.

An Shisi enters: "Is it alright if my younger brother is called An Shisan?"

"Why is he called An Shisan?" Wen Min asked.

“Because my younger brother is my younger brother. He’s younger than me. Thirteen is younger than fourteen,” An Shisi said, counting on his fingers.

"But in terms of ranking, thirteen is older than fourteen."

"Why?" An Shisi asked.

"Look, in our family, Miaomiao is the oldest, and Mangmang is the second oldest. At this time, isn't the oldest older sister more important than the youngest?"

"But aren't Sister Miaomiao and Sister Mangmang thirteen and fourteen, respectively?"

Wen Min: "...When you count, do you count to thirteen or fourteen first?"

An Shisi counted on his fingers for five minutes, then said, "I don't have that many fingers."

"Mother Wen, can I borrow your finger?" Wen Min lent An Shisi her hand.

After counting for another three minutes, An Shisi exclaimed, "Thirteen, fourteen!"

"Who will count to the top first?" Wen Min asked.

“Let’s count to thirteen first,” An Shisi replied.

Wen Min: "Should Fourteenth Brother come to the orphanage first, or Eighth Brother?"

"It's my fourteenth brother!"

"Then is it at the front of the list?"

"right!"

"Then what comes after the fourteenth on your fingers?"

An Shisi counted on his fingers again, "Fifteen!"

"Yes, the number after fourteen is fifteen, and the number after the older brother is the younger brother. So the older brother is fourteen, and what is the younger brother?"

"My younger brother is fifteen!"

"That's right!"

"Is the younger brother named An Shiwu?"

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Author's Note: I'm here! =(^.^)=