Upon seeing this, Mao Dan, like a little animal guarding its food, immediately hid behind Yu Yue and shouted loudly, "This was bought for me by my uncle!"

Liu Lanlan awkwardly withdrew her hand, looked at Yu Yuehui, and quickly explained, "I didn't mean to take his candy. It's just that this child has no self-control. He ate it all in two days, so I put it away for him."

Yu Yue smiled and patted Mao Dan's head. "Sister-in-law, you don't know this, Mao Dan has a lot of self-control, doesn't he?"

After Yu Yue turned around, Mao Dan nodded vigorously and shouted, "Yes!"

Yu Yuehui then asked, "So how many candies do you plan to eat each day?"

Mao Dan was stunned for a moment. He wanted to blurt out that he would eat ten, but remembering his aunt's defense of him just now, he hesitated for a moment and then hardened his heart and said, "Two!"

Yu Yue smiled and pinched his cheek, encouraging him, "Auntie believes in you, you would never lie to me, right!"

Mao Dan answered firmly, "Yes!"

His aunt is the person he admires most, how could he possibly lie to her!

Although two candies a day is a bit little, Mao Dan is a man of his word, a man of his word, and would never lie or deceive.

Liu Lanlan wanted to say that one a day would be fine, but since it was Xie Yan who bought it, and Yu Yuehui was still there, she couldn't say anything.

Seeing that her son's matter was resolved, Yu Yuehua's eyes sparkled as she looked at Yu Yuehui like a child, eagerly asking, "Sister! What about mine?"

As soon as he said that, Yu Shan hit him with his pipe. Yu Shan scolded him irritably, "You brat, you're such a big man, are you three or two years old?"

"How dare you ask your own sister for a gift!"

Yu Yuehua cried out "Ouch!" as she was hit, rubbing her shoulder as she ran away, muttering under her breath, "Why is Dad still so violent! This time, my shoulder is definitely all bruised."

When Yu Yue saw that her older brother had been beaten, she quickly stopped her father with a smile, saying, "Yes, everyone has a gift."

As she spoke, she took out the roast chicken and two other bolts of cloth and said to Qian Hong, "Mother, use these bolts of cloth to make a new set of clothes for yourself, your older brother, my father, and Mao Dan."

"Wearing it for the New Year."

"This pastry is also a local specialty. Xie Yan said that it used to be something that was served to the emperor."

Upon hearing that these were foods that were once reserved for the emperor, everyone in the room turned their gazes to the pastries, their eyes filled with undisguised eagerness.

“And this roast chicken, the most famous in Beijing, it’s delicious…” Yu Yue said, taking out the roast chicken. When she turned her head, she saw that everyone’s eyes were still on the pastries, and no one paid any attention to the roast chicken.

The moment the bag of roast chicken was opened, the enticing aroma instantly filled the air. The aroma almost made the bald egg forget that he was still holding the candy in his arms. He took a deep sniff and stared intently at the roast chicken.

He was never interested in the emperor's food to begin with, and now that he smelled the roast chicken, he was even less interested in the pastries.

When Chaochao saw that she had taken everything and the bag was empty, but she didn't see the gift for herself, her excited little face suddenly dimmed and she lowered her head in disappointment.

She quickly perked up; her father must have bought her a gift, but he just wanted to give it to her separately.

Thinking about this makes me want to go home even faster.

She looked up at Yu Yuehui with resentment. It had been so long, and her mother still hadn't come home with her to find her father.

snort!

I can't wait any longer.

She clenched her little hands tightly, turned around and walked away quickly with her short legs, muttering softly, "I'm going to find my dad. I haven't seen him for so long. I miss him so much."

As soon as Yu Yue turned around, she saw Chaochao's small figure quickly disappear at the gate. She quickly turned to Qian Hong and said, "Mom, I'm going to chase after Chaochao!"

"We must eat the roast chicken today, or it will spoil."

Qian Hong reached out and stopped her daughter who was about to leave, saying, "Bring Chaochao and Xie Yan over to eat together later."

Yu Yue shook her head and said, "Mom, you eat. Xie Yan is carsick and has a cold, so he's probably asleep by now. We don't know when he'll wake up. Besides, he can't eat greasy food."

"You all eat your food, don't worry."

Chaochao ran home and gently pushed open the door, where she saw Xie Yan sleeping on the bed.

Seeing her father's pale face, Chaochao felt extremely distressed and couldn't bear to wake him up.

She tiptoed over to her little stool, carefully climbed onto the kang (a heated brick bed), and lay down beside Xie Yan, softly calling out in a tiny, almost inaudible voice, "Daddy~, Daddy~, Daddy~."

She called out softly, glancing at Xie Yan every now and then, her eyes filled with caution, afraid of waking him.

Yu Yue returned to the house and saw this heartwarming scene. Before she could even speak, Chaochao put a finger to her lips and made a shushing gesture, looking incredibly cute.

Yu Yuehui sat down gently beside her and asked softly, "Don't you want to know what Dad bought for you?"

Chaochao whispered in Yu Yuehui's ear, "It will wake up Daddy."

Her eyes sparkled with anticipation. Although she was eager to know what the gift was, she felt even more sorry for her father and didn't want to wake him.

Seeing her daughter so adorable and sensible, Yu Yue was filled with joy and immediately replied in a low voice, "Okay, then we'll wait for Daddy to wake up!"

Chaochao nodded vigorously, then lay down next to Xie Yan and began to chatter in a voice so soft it was barely audible even to herself.

She would talk about the pretty stones she found while playing with her brother, and then she would talk about how delicious the potatoes her grandmother roasted were, as if she wanted to tell her father all the interesting things that had happened recently.

Seeing her daughter having fun by herself, Yu Yuehui stopped interfering and turned to do what she was doing.

After an unknown amount of time, Xie Yan slowly woke up. As soon as he opened his eyes, he saw Chaochao sleeping, tightly clutching the hem of his clothes.

His heart softened instantly, like melting snow in spring. He couldn't help but reach out and touch her hair, which had grown quite a bit longer recently. The delicate touch filled him with tenderness.

Just as he was about to get up, he heard Chaochao softly call out "Daddy" in her sleep, and he instinctively responded gently.

Chaochao had fallen asleep while waiting for her father, and she was a very light sleeper. This sound woke her up immediately.

She suddenly opened her eyes, and upon seeing her father who was already awake, her eyes instantly lit up with a bright light. Like a soft, glutinous rice ball, she eagerly stretched out her chubby little hands and said in a sweet, childish voice, "Daddy, hug me~"