Dorje jumped up to get his attention: "Have you seen me before, Uncle?"

Duolu pressed down on his little head to stop him from jumping, and said smugly, "Third Uncle definitely hasn't seen you before. If he had, I would remember Third Uncle. Third Uncle, am I right?"

Dorjee lived with them after he was born, and he knew everyone Dorjee knew.

Xia Jingrong looked at Duoji, who was shaking his head and trying to break free from Duolu's grasp. A complex emotion flashed in his eyes. Rujia's child was already so big.

Xia Jingrong slapped Duolu's hand away, stuffed the things he was carrying into Gao Guojing's hands, and squatted down, holding Duoji's hand with one hand and Duole's hand with the other.

Xia Jingrong: "These must be Duoji and Duole. This is our first meeting. You should call me Third Uncle because I am older than your father."

The two little ones changed their address without thinking and called out "Third Uncle" in a clear, crisp voice.

Xia Jingrong picked them up, one in each arm: "Oh, so good, let's go find Mommy."

Inside the house, Yu Rujia was talking to Duoyi when Xia Jingrong, carrying two children, led the way in.

He was dressed in a crisp military uniform, his posture upright like a pine tree, his steps steady and powerful. Ten years ago, he was a bit impetuous, but now he has completely settled down and become a steadfast soldier.

At that moment, he was talking to the two little ones with a slight smile.

Yu Rujia settled the soft-boiled bun, Duoyi, on the sofa, stood up, and greeted him: "Third Brother, long time no see. I heard from Mom that you got promoted again last month. Congratulations!"

Xia Jingrong put the two little ones down and chuckled, "Thank you. It's been over ten years since we last met. Rujia is still the same as ever; you wouldn't guess she's a mother of three."

Yu Rujia: "Third Brother is still the same. It's been more than ten years since we last met. He hasn't aged, but his temperament is even better. If you said you were under twenty, no one would doubt you."

Xia Jingrong: "This is all thanks to your soap and the Taiyi Heart Sutra. Without these, I would probably look much older than I actually am."

After seven or eight years without seeing any hope, even though he was mentally prepared, he was still under tremendous pressure.

He was able to maintain a calm mindset thanks to these two things, which constantly reminded him that his family was working hard and persevering, and that he had no reason to give up.

He endured the most difficult eight years and finally saw the light at the end of the tunnel.

Once free, Dorjee saw his 'little sister' propping herself up on the sofa with both hands and stretching out one little foot to reach for the floor.

But his legs were too short to reach, so the little guy got impatient, rolled over, lay on the sofa, and kicked his little feet on the ground, intending to slide down the sofa.

Dorje rushed forward: "Sister, let me help you."

Duoxi, who entered later, used his long legs to reach Duoyi first: "Little sister, come on, your fourth brother will take you to play."

Upon seeing this, Gao Guojing put down what he was carrying on the table, casually picked up a stool and sat down next to Yu Rujia, giving her a sidelong glance: "Still don't know?"

Yu Rujia knew what he was asking, because Duoyi's reputation as a 'younger sister' was a bit questionable: "It's hard to say."

Xia Jingrong glanced at the children who were calling Duoyi, who was dressed in pink, "Little sister, little sister" repeatedly, and couldn't help but smile.

Xia Jingrong: "If this continues, things will become increasingly unpredictable."

As soon as Gao Guojing returned, he told them about Duoyi. Apart from the children, everyone in the Xia family knew Duoyi's true gender.

Yu Rujia: "Let's wait and see which unlucky person will touch on this point." Anyway, she's not very willing to say it out loud right now.

Duolu, who was playing with many things, had been listening intently to his uncle and aunt's conversation. When he heard this, he asked with a puzzled look, "Auntie, what's so hard to say? Should I go and tell them?"

Gao Guojing tactically changed the subject: "Is my brother in the kitchen?"

Yu Rujia immediately added, "Yes, he and Mom were in the kitchen preparing dinner with Duofu Duoshou."

Gao Guojing: "Third brother, we're in for a treat tonight. My brother's cooking is even better than mine."

Xia Jingrong stood up and said, "I'll go take a look."

No one answered Duolu's question. He had a feeling that something was wrong, so he scratched his head and pressed on, "Auntie, what were you talking about just now?"

Yu Rujia casually remarked, "We're talking about your uncles and the others. You go play with your younger brothers."

Duolu sidled up to her and whispered, "Auntie, are you hiding something from Uncle?"

Yu Rujia pushed his head away, saying, "Don't pry into adults' affairs. Go play."

Dorothy pouted; he would grow up someday.

Seeing Duolu return to his younger brother's circle, Gao Guojing breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, he didn't come over to ask him anything. The older the child gets, the harder it is to fool him.

In the kitchen, Gao Xiujuan, who was washing vegetables, looked at the various patterns of "good fortune and longevity" cut into the vegetables and sighed, "I've wasted decades cooking. My vegetable cutting skills are worse than those of two teenagers."

Gao Shujing was cooking when she heard her words and took a moment to reply, "Some vegetables need to be cut like this to taste good. They do these kinds of chores at home every day, unlike Mom, who is busy with work every day and can't even find a few days a month to cook."

Gao Xiujuan has a job, and when she doesn't feel like cooking after a day at work, she gets food from the cafeteria and eats it at home. Most of the time when they were young, they ate in the cafeteria.

Xia Jingrong walked into the kitchen and saw the bustling scene inside. He asked, "Is there anything I can do?"

Gao Xiujuan: "The kitchen is so small that it can't hold many people. Jingrong went outside to rest and talk to Rujia and the children."

Gao Shujing deftly placed the stir-fried dish into a plate: "Third Brother, wait a moment, take this dish out."

Xia Jingrong smiled as he took the dishes and gestured to Gao Xiujuan: "Look, here's a job I can do. I'm pretty good at running errands."

Xia Taishun returned just as dinner was almost ready. Gao Xiujuan, who was chatting with Yu Rujia after washing the vegetables, teased him.

Gao Xiujuan: "Hey, you've got the timing down really fast, just like a soldier training, timing it with a stopwatch so you can get home and have dinner ready."

Xia Taishun's eyes swept over the dishes on the table and the people around him, and he said, "The New Year is coming soon, so there are some things that need to be arranged before the New Year. It will be fine in a couple of days. Did Shujing make these dishes?"

Xia Jingrong, who was carrying the dishes out, said, "Most of them were made by Shujing, and Duofu and Duoshou also contributed. Guojing, your cooking skills are about to be surpassed by your nephews."

Xia Taishun has two commonly used pots here. After chopping the vegetables, Duofu Duoshou had nothing to do, so he started stir-frying the vegetables together.

Xia Jingrong was truly impressed by the two men's culinary skills and their exquisite knife work.