"As long as I can take care of you, that's fine. I'm just worried about tiring you out."

"They're not like they were when they were newborns, how could they be tired? Besides, Mantou is 5 years old now, he can help out. Not to mention anything else, he's the one who takes care of Doubao most of the time."

"That's good"

"Li Zhiqing, who are these two children?"

"Oh! You mean those two? They're my older brother's children. Both he and his wife are in the military, right? They're on a mission and don't know when they'll be back, so they left their two kids here for me to look after."

"Your older brother and sister-in-law are also soldiers?"

"Yes? It's not just my eldest brother and his wife who are soldiers. My second sister and her husband are also in the military, and their child, Qiqiu, is also a soldier."

"Your family is really amazing."

"What's so great about that? We're all contributing to the construction of our motherland, there's no high or low status among us!"

"Too"

"What's so great about him? He's just a lowly soldier. He can't be that great. My dad's a regimental commander, you know?"

"Qin Zhiqing, what are you muttering about over there?"

"nothing"

"oh"

"Old Shen, I saw those two kids stay behind, what happened?"

The eldest son and his wife have duties to perform and cannot take care of the children.

"Will these two children still be able to take their medicine on time? I'm not trying to be mean, Lao Shen, but the children's health can't be neglected."

"It's alright, Lao Cui, don't worry about it! The third brother's family will take good care of these two kids. Putting everything else aside, they've all grown up with the third brother's family, so my wife and I are quite at ease with that."

"That's good"

"But to be honest, this old man is quite envious of you. Not to mention that your children are doing quite well now, your grandchildren are also something that most people can't compare to—you have five of them already."

"Yes! I'm telling you, I not only have five grandsons, but also two great-grandsons!"

"Oh, your daughter got married too."

"She's married and has two children now; the only one left to settle down is her fourth child."

"There's no rush. After all, he's the youngest, isn't he?"

"They're not that big, only a year or two older than the third brother's family."

"That's not bad, we can manage in a few more years."

"There's nothing we can do about it! We, as his parents, aren't around, so he can do whatever he wants to Daredevil, can he?"

"Too"

The current situation is still not very good, and some issues have already been brought to the forefront, causing widespread anxiety.

However, in the countryside, far from the political center, the impact is minimal. Rural people rarely go to the city throughout the year and don't care about these things; they only care about their own small plot of land.

But even in this small corner of the world, things are quite lively. It's always the same: she gets into a fight with someone for some reason, or she pulls someone's hair for some other reason.

Or maybe it's because that educated youth in the educated youth compound has a crush on someone, but that person doesn't reciprocate, and the whole commune is laughing at her for pursuing him.

"Dinner's ready."

"Oh, dinner's ready."

"Mom, what are we having for dinner tonight?"

What would you like to eat?

I want to eat meat.

"Meat"

"Me too"

"I'd like to eat more meat, but we don't have any."

"All right"

"Then let's eat whatever's available!"

"That'll do, but there's no meat. We have eggs at home."

"Eggs? That sounds good too!"

"Alright, hurry up and wash your hands, come and eat."

"good"

"Same as always, one spoonful of egg per person."

"good"

"Peace and safety, this is soup for the two of you. Drink the soup first, okay?"

"I know now, Auntie."

"Mom, I want some too!"

"Doubao, this isn't for you to drink."

"But, brother, I want to drink."

"It's alright, it's just a steamed bun. Give him a spoonful, let him taste it and he'll know. He definitely won't ask for it again."

"All right"

"Here, this spoonful is for you. Drink it first, then you can have the egg."

"good"

"Is it delicious, steamed bun?"

"Why does it taste so weird?"

"No matter how strange it is, I'll still take a bite."

"No, Mom, why does it smell like medicine again?"

"What do you think, Baozi? This soup was specially made for Ping An and An An. There are some Chinese medicines in it, so it's bound to have a medicinal taste!"

"All right!"

"I drank the last drop of the bean curd, then I ate the egg."

"oh"

"Come on, Ping'an and An'an, you two drink all the porridge in this earthenware pot, okay? Once you're better, you can run around everywhere like Brother Mantou."

"Okay, Auntie."

"What are you all looking at? Hurry up and eat!"

"Oh, Mom, I just think Ping An is so amazing!"

Although this medicinal porridge isn't officially medicine, it still contains some. It's not exactly bitter, but the taste is really not good. How could those two actually drink it?

"What else can we do? They're both physically weak, so this is the only way they can nourish themselves. They can't take medicine for long periods, so they have to make do for now. Otherwise, how can they maintain good health?"

"All right"

"When you guys go out to play in the future, take Ping'an and An'an with you more often, so that they can get some exercise and not even break a sweat, understand?"

"Okay, Mom."

"Auntie, we won't go far, we'll just play near the house."

"That's good"

Now that we have two children, Ping An and An, I can cook better food than before. Not only that, I often stir-fry meat dishes or stew chicken soup.

There was no other way. Although I used to steam white flour buns and rice for my own children every now and then, I only ate meat once a week.

But ever since Ping An and An stayed, he would continue to use the excuse of nourishing their bodies to stew two chickens a month and stir-fry meat every few days.

Not only has Ping An's health improved significantly, but even her three children are among the most chubby little ones in the production team.

"You guys come here."

"Mom, what's wrong?"

"Come here, Mom has something to say."

"oh"

"Go sit quietly on the kang (heated brick bed), what Mom is about to say is very important, you know?"

"good"

"Because Ping An's health isn't very good, we need to take good care of ourselves. So, when Mom comes over, she'll cook you some meat dishes or make you some meat soup from time to time."

"Oh, we can eat meat now."

"Meat, meat"

"I want to eat meat."

"Okay, keep your voice down, Mom hasn't finished talking yet."

"Oh, then Mom, please tell me quickly."

"What I'm about to say is very important. You must remember it, otherwise you won't be able to eat meat or drink meat soup in the future. You might not even be able to eat cornbread."

"No way, Mom!"

"Really?"

"No, I want to eat meat."

"Then listen carefully."