As night fell, the tavern gradually filled up with customers. Yuan Doudou was busy serving guests, delivering drinks, and collecting money, keeping herself extremely busy.

In the stroller next to her, Tangtang was sitting inside playing with a tiger plush toy. She was just over four months old and could sit up to play without crying or fussing.

When Yuan Doudou was too busy to look after Tangtang, fortunately Anji was there to help keep an eye on her.

Angie would play with her toys and tell her stories, which she would listen to very attentively each time.

She is an only child and has been more lonely than other children since childhood. At home, she plays with toys, reads books, and watches TV all by herself. Her parents are busy with work and rarely have time to play games with her or go for walks outside.

Yuan Doudou truly appreciated the benefits of having two children for the first time. She realized how wonderful it was to have an older brother or sister. Anji seemed to have grown up overnight, no longer the baby who clamored for his mother's hugs. But he was still a child, not even five years old.

She and Anrong shared the same idea: they couldn't neglect caring for the second child just because they had a second baby. They couldn't tell Anji that he should always give in to his sister. Such words could guide the child to love his sister, and loving his sister was also a way of showing love for his parents.

Yuan Doudou believes that a filial child will not cause trouble for their parents by getting into conflicts with their siblings over simple food and clothing items.

This is why Kong Rong's act of sharing pears is praised throughout the ages. Brotherly love and respect mean that when an elder brother loves his younger siblings, the younger siblings will naturally listen to and respect their elder brother.

Although Anji is young, he wants to gain his sister's admiration and trust in the future. He said that he would treat his sister well, be a brave and loving older brother, and would not let anyone bully his sister.

With him around, Yuan Doudou can focus on accounting and collecting money without worrying about Anji snatching the toys from Tangtang's hands. On the contrary, Anji is happy to share his toys with his sister. Most of these toys were made for him by Anrong, and some were trinkets that Doudou bought outside.

"Tangtang, look what this is?" Angie, like a little adult, held up a comic book and pointed to Sun Wukong on it.

Tangtang stared blankly, drool almost dripping from the corner of her mouth onto her clothes.

Angie quickly picked up a bib and wiped Tangtang's mouth, saying, "Tangtang, this is Sun Wukong, it's not something you can eat."

After finishing her work, Yuan Doudou came over and happened to see this heartwarming and loving scene. She was in a great mood, thinking how fortunate she was to have two such adorable children in her life.

"Anji, are you tired? Do you want to take a shower and rest first?" Children need a lot of sleep, and it will be a bit late to go to sleep after closing time.

Anji rubbed his eyes, feeling a little sleepy. "Mommy, I'll take Tangtang back to sleep."

Yuan Doudou smiled. No matter how sensible Anji was, she wouldn't feel comfortable letting the two of them sleep alone in the room. She should at least come and keep them company.

"Mommy will sleep with you, okay?" Yuan Doudou thought, Anji will still be scared.

Anji breathed a sigh of relief. Actually, he had just boasted. He knew he couldn't sleep alone with his sister. He would be scared if his father and mother weren't in the house.

"That's great, with Mommy here, Tangtang won't be afraid." He deliberately didn't say that Anji wouldn't be afraid, but instead said Tangtang, as if he was happy only because Tangtang had Mommy with her, rather than because he also had Mommy with him.

Yuan Doudou didn't say it out loud. Even a young man has his pride. The fact that he didn't admit he was afraid showed that he had a lot of backbone.

After they fell asleep, Yuan Doudou immediately got up and went to the front to get busy. Now that the tavern had added grilled skewers and beer, the business was booming at night. Lu Xi was practically trapped in the kitchen, constantly busy grilling skewers. Huang Rong was responsible for clearing tables and delivering skewers back and forth, while An Rong helped deliver beer and also had to keep an eye on adding some dishes.

This is busier than when we were serving mala tang (spicy hot pot). Customers prefer grilled skewers to mala tang.

Finally, after finishing up and seeing off the last table of customers, Yuan Doudou was doing the accounting at the counter while Huang Rong was tidying up the table.

"Sister Dou Dou, our business is getting better and better, we're almost too busy to keep up," Huang Rong thought, wondering if they should hire more people.

Upon hearing this, Yuan Doudou smiled and said, "It's just a temporary thing. Just hang in there and you'll get through it."

The peak season for barbecue skewers is only these few months; once the weather gets cold, the off-season will begin.

Huang Rong didn't say anything on the surface, but she was a little unhappy inside. Just because there would be fewer people in a while didn't mean they had to work themselves to death.

She initially chose to sell herself to pay for her father's burial, but she never expected to become a laborer with endless tasks from dawn till dusk.

DouDou and AnRong treat her fairly well, but the daily work of serving dishes and washing food has made her hands increasingly rough. If this continues, will she still be able to find a husband? What family would want a woman with rough hands and a sallow complexion?

Yuan Doudou watched Huang Rong wipe the table and sensed that something was wrong with her; her movements were tinged with anger, as if she was sulking.

Thinking back to what Huang Rong had just said to her, it seemed that she couldn't hold on any longer. The number of customers was increasing every day, and just turning over tables was enough to keep her busy.

It seems we'll need to find someone to help out temporarily.

Back in the bedroom, Yuan Doudou closed the door and told An Rong about it, and An Rong agreed.

“I wanted to discuss this with you. Lu Xi has been exhausted these past few days. I noticed he’s thinner and darker than before. Has he grown taller?” An Rong said.

Yuan Doudou's heart clenched at the thought of Lu Xi. Compared to Huang Rong, Lu Xi had worked even harder, but Lu Xi always worked silently and never complained in front of her, not even a glance. She was always patient and meticulous in her work.

“Then let’s put up a job posting,” Yuan Doudou suggested.

An Rong nodded in agreement, then silently took out paper and pen and began to write on the table.

"Salary is negotiable." She wasn't sure whether she wanted a long-term or short-term position, and would wait for the person to come and talk to her.

With red paper and black ink, the job posting was quickly written.

Yuan Doudou gestured for him to sit down. After discussing the tavern, she needed to talk about her own affairs.

"What's wrong?" An Rong sat down in front of Dou Dou, feeling a little uneasy.

Yuan Doudou looked serious, as if she had something very important to tell him. Could it be that he had done something wrong? He thought about it again and again, but really couldn't think of anything.

"Tell me, what happened today?" Yuan Doudou asked directly.

An Rong suddenly realized that she might still be doing this because of Lu Chaoyang. If that was the case, he didn't feel flustered at all.

Lu Chaoyang deserved it; he was already being lenient by not beating him up.

“I don’t know what to say.” An Rong looked at Dou Dou firmly.

He couldn't understand why Dou Dou always protected Lu Chaoyang. Was it just because of his identity?