twenty one

"Hey, is dinner ready yet?"

"Okay, I'll bring it back."

Chu Qinghuai called Zhong Wan to tell her that they were almost out of soy sauce and asked her to go to the street to buy a bottle. She had no choice but to return with her child.

"Come on, Mom will hold your hands, don't let go, we're going to buy soy sauce for Dad."

The nearest convenience store is just across the street, across a traffic light. Zhong Wan is carrying one child in one arm and holding Cai Cai's hand with the other, while Mu Mu holds onto her clothes. She says, "Mu Mu, stay close to Mommy."

She carefully observed the traffic situation, paying close attention, and led the children across the road. When she put Xiaohe down, Zhong Wan said to Mumu, "You're great, you can cross the road with your mom now."

If she were strong, she would like to carry all three children, but unfortunately she is just an ordinary mother, without three heads and six arms, and can only sacrifice the most obedient and worry-free Mumu a little.

This was obviously wrong, so Zhong Wan needed to make amends. On the way home, she walked the entire distance alone with Mu Mu by her hand.

...

Walking under the tree, Zhong Wan asked the three children what they had for lunch to see how good their memory was. All three of them could tell her. Cai Cai not only remembered lunch, but also morning tea and afternoon tea, and told Zhong Wan how many cookies she ate.

"Wow, that's amazing! With so much delicious food, did you drink plenty of water?"

"I drank it!"

Mumu loves drinking water, and three pots of water a day is her minimum standard. Especially since her father rewarded her with a new cup, this has become a daily must for her.

"Has your sister had any?"

Knowing that Xiao He was a little averse to plain water, she deliberately asked.

"I drank it too."

But Xiao He didn't tell the truth that she only drank a few sips each time.

Zhong Wan couldn't help but nag, "Everyone should drink more water. Plain water is good for your health. If you don't drink water, you'll become ugly and unattractive..."

She was rambling on and on when suddenly Mumu interrupted her: "Mom."

"What's wrong?"

Why is an old lady following us?

Mumu has a strong sense of perception and is very sensitive to her current environment. She holds onto her mother with one hand and points into the distance with the other.

Zhong Wan looked in the direction Mu Mu pointed, and sure enough, there was an old man standing on the opposite side of the road. When he met Zhong Wan's gaze, he turned away guiltily.

She immediately remembered that this was the person who had been standing at the noodle shop entrance that afternoon.

An alarm bell rang in Zhong Wan's mind. In this not-so-developed city, human traffickers were rampant. She had heard rumors before that human traffickers would specifically steal young children to sell their organs.

She looked down at the three adorable children, protectively holding them in her arms. Looking around, she saw a milk tea shop and decided to take the children inside to wait for Chu Qinghuai to come and take them home.

A series of coincidences forced her to be extremely cautious.

Zhong Wan walked behind the children and let them go inside.

Once she was safely seated by the window, she took out her phone and called Chu Qinghuai to come over.

It wasn't appropriate to just sit in someone else's shop, so Zhong Wan ordered a glass of lemonade for the three children—the kind of plain water with lemon slices. She ordered a large glass with three straws so the children could share it. Afraid that the children would get bored and disturb others, she simply took out some candied hawthorns to eat with them.

Her gaze kept drifting out the window; the old man was still there, waiting for someone.

"Is it tasty?"

Zhong Wan remained expressionless, resting her chin on her hand as she watched the children eat candied hawthorns. Each of them held a hawthorn in their hand, gently biting the rock sugar on top with their teeth.

"Spit out the hawthorn pits, and Cai Cai should eat them directly without licking them."

She noticed that Cai Cai not only licked the sugar coating on the candy, but also licked her own hand.

Zhong Wan couldn't bear to watch, so she took a wet wipe and cleaned him up.

"Mom, aren't we going home?" Mumu asked.

"It's too dark. Dad will pick us up later." She made up a random excuse.

Mumu believed it.

...

Less than ten minutes later, Chu Qinghuai Shanshan arrived late to rescue Zhong Wan and the children.

Cai Cai, as if she hadn't seen him for days, threw herself at Chu Qinghuai and shouted "Dad!"

Chu Qinghuai made a "shh" gesture to tell him to be quiet and not disturb others. Then, he noticed that the back of his hand was sticky, and he knew without guessing that Cai Cai had rubbed candy on it.

"What happened?"

Upon seeing Zhong Wan, he frowned and asked.

“Someone was following us, and I was afraid of getting into trouble, so I came in to wait.”

Zhong Wan briefly told him the whole story, and then pointed to the old man who was still outside the window.

Upon seeing this, Chu Qinghuai's expression immediately changed, and his face darkened. "It's her again."

The other person had obviously noticed him too, and gave a relatively normal smile.

"Who is it?" Zhong Wan was completely confused.

"Zhao Lan".

Zhao Lan, Zhong Wan thought carefully, who is Zhao Lan? Isn't that... Chu Qinghuai's mother?

She had never met the other's parents, and Chu Qinghuai had never met her crazy mother either; neither of them were good people, but both of them knew how terrible the other's family of origin was.

Zhong Wan and Chu Qinghuai were poor back then, and their marriage was an impulsive decision. They didn't have any ceremony and just celebrated at home for a day without telling their parents, whom they hadn't contacted in ages. Naturally, she had no impression of or good feelings towards her mother-in-law.

“You stay here with the children, I’ll go and chase her away.”

Zhong Wan's expression was also impatient. Perhaps she was thinking of something, and her tone was harsh. "I saw her standing suspiciously at the entrance of the noodle shop today. Could it be that she knows about the children? How did she find out? Tell her that if she dares to touch a hair on our children's head, she'll be sorry."

Chu Qinghuai knew better than her how important the children were. "I ran into her at the mall a few days ago. I was holding Caicai, and she probably noticed me."

She reassured her wife and children, saying she would be right back.

"Mom, where did Dad go?"

Zhong Wan smiled again: "He went to take care of some things. Here, there are three hawthorn balls left, one for each of you."

Xiao He took a small sip of the sweet and sour hawthorn, but found it uninteresting. She grabbed her mother's hand and said, "I want to go home, I'm sleepy."

"Hmm? You're sleepy so early? Are you still having dinner? Let's wait a little longer, okay? Let's go home soon."

Xiao He gave the hawthorn balls she didn't want to eat to Cai Cai, then snuggled into Zhong Wan's arms, rubbing her eyes and saying, "Sleepy."

Zhong Wan guessed that she was tired from playing today and her battery was depleted, so she gently coaxed her and said softly, "Hang in there a little longer."

-

"What exactly do you want? This is not a place for you."

Chu Qinghuai spoke very rudely, his tone more like that of someone addressing a mortal enemy than that of someone addressing his aging mother.

"Qinghuai, are those three children related to you?"

"What's it to you?"

Chu Qinghuai felt disgusted, avoided her outstretched arm, took a step back, his face showing undisguised loathing, and even the air he was breathing seemed much more unpleasant.

"You actually have your own child?" The other person was clearly shocked, pausing for a few seconds in thought. Seeing that the person in Chongqing still didn't answer, she eagerly asked, "Can I see my grandson?"

Chu Qinghuai laughed sarcastically: "Your grandson? When did I become your son? Didn't you look down on me?"

She looked embarrassed and awkwardly touched her nose: "Qinghuai, let bygones be bygones. Your father and I..."

"Stop talking nonsense and don't bother us. If you try to follow us again, I won't mind sending your own mother to the police station."

Chu Qinghuai turned and left, thinking that every word was a waste of time.

"Hey Qinghuai." The old woman tried to persuade him to stay, but he pretended not to hear her.

-

"Let's go home, I still haven't made a soup."

Chu Qinghuai took Xiaohe from Zhong Wan's arms, while Zhong Wan led the two babies, Mumu and Caicai, home under the soft moonlight.

Chu Qinghuai had fixed the lights in the hallway, making it bright all the way. Xiao He was fast asleep in his arms, her long eyelashes drooping, her sleeping posture peaceful. This was one of the few times she was quiet.

Zhong Wan asked Mu Mu, "Did your little sister take a nap and wake up with you today?"

She's so tired, she won't move even when I call her.

Mumu thought for a moment and replied, "We slept on Auntie's bed, but when I woke up, Xiaohe was eating cookies and Caicai was shedding pearls."

No wonder, it seems Xiao He hasn't been sleeping much.

Zhong Wan asked Chu Qinghuai to take the two children to wash their hands and faces, and to grab the pajamas and towels from the balcony so she could help them take a bath later. She, on the other hand, needed to clean Xiao He up first.

After taking off Lotus Baby's clothes, she exudes a refreshing fragrance with a faint milky smell. With her fair, tender, and chubby body, sometimes you really feel like this child is made of milk.

"Why aren't you taking a nap, you naughty child?"

As Zhong Wan wiped her body with a wet towel, she said lovingly.

If I go to sleep now, I'll definitely miss dinner. What if Xiaohe wakes up hungry in the middle of the night?

She decided to ask Chu Qinghuai to leave her some rice and vegetables later.

"Sweet baby, sleep well, goodnight."

Zhong Wan placed Xiao He in the middle of the bed, touched her little nose, and let her sleep freely by herself.

The biggest difference between spirits and human children is their smell. Normal children will have a strong smell of sweat after playing outside all day, but these three children won't. At most, their sweat will dilute the scent of fruits, vegetables, and flowers, and overall, they will have a pleasant fragrance. Smelling it for a long time can even relieve fatigue.

She stayed by her youngest daughter's side for a long time until Cai Cai outside the door called out loudly for her mother, and Zhong Wan reluctantly left.

"What's wrong, baby?"

Cai Cai stood at the door, wearing an apron and holding a small spoon in her hand: "Mommy's eating. Daddy said to take a bath after eating."

Zhong Wan noticed that his shirt wasn't dirty, so she agreed.

Tonight's dinner is for four people. Without Xiao He's chatter, everyone is a little unaccustomed to it. Even Chu Qinghuai has already served her rice.

“She didn’t eat dinner or drink her bedtime formula, so she’ll definitely wake up hungry in the middle of the night. You can get up and heat up some food for her then,” Zhong Wan said.

"Okay, I understand."

Although he also has to go to work tomorrow and get up early to prepare breakfast, he feels more sorry for Zhong Wan who works so hard making cakes during the day and doesn't have much time to rest. So he tries his best to contribute more to the family, which is what he should do.

Chu Qinghuai and Zhong Wan got married as soon as they reached the legal age. They had also lived together for a long time before that. Normally, this kind of behavior is not very responsible. However, fortunately, two self-disciplined and clear-headed people came together with common goals and were committed to making their little family happy. They have never quarreled over the years and have always been very happy.