"Long live Aunt Zhou!"
After shouting at the top of his lungs, Jiang Xiangyang, with his little arms and legs, jumped up and down towards the dining table as if he wanted to jump three feet high.
Zhou Qiqi quickly grabbed the back of his collar.
"Hey hey hey~ you little rascal! You have to wash your hands with Zhouzhou before eating. Look at your pants, you can get all muddy just picking a leaf."
The little guy, with a sullen face, replied with an "okay," and reluctantly moved to the faucet. He was about to just get by.
Suddenly, a suds of soap were flicked onto my cheek, their cool sensation seeping straight into the slits of my eyes.
As soon as Jiang Xiangyang looked up, he saw that Shen Duzhou's brows were slightly furrowed, her big, grape-like eyes were unblinking, and her cherry-red lips were opening and closing, clearly saying the words "wash hands".
"What? I don't understand, I don't understand."
He rubbed his eyes and tried to back away, but Chen Duzhou followed like a little tail, grabbing his collar by the back of his neck with her slender fingers and forcibly pulling him back to the edge of the pool.
She tilted her little face up, her lips moving faster and faster, with a stubborn determination to get what she wanted: "Wash, wash, wash, wash..."
Jiang Xiangyang didn't reply, so she kept talking. Seeing that she was having a hard time, Jiang Xiangyang had no choice but to say something.
"Okay, okay, I understand. Wash your hands, wash your hands! I know, I know."
With Shen Duzhou watching him, Jiang Xiangyang had no choice.
He deliberately splashed water loudly, rubbed his palms and the backs of his hands, and even carefully picked at the crevices under his fingernails. Finally, he used a towel to wipe the clods of dirt off his trouser legs.
That was incredibly meticulous.
Once the two children were at the table, Zhou Qiqi had already arranged the enamel plates neatly.
Knowing that Zhouzhou had a small appetite, she specially picked a bone the size of a bowl and added a small bone with lots of meat, the succulent tendons still hanging on the bone.
On Jiang Xiangyang's plate were four large bones, the meat on them stewed until tender, so tender that chopsticks could easily pierce through them.
The kid rolled up his sleeves and buried his head in his food, his cheeks puffing out as he ate, it smelled so good.
Zhou Qiqi watched him eat with great relish, and although she originally only intended to gnaw on two bones, she ended up eating half a bone more.
The remaining half was given to Shen Huaichuan.
Then look at Chen Duzhou, slowly scraping the meat off the bone with a small enamel spoon. He can chew a small piece of meat for half a day. After finishing the small piece, he doesn't plan to eat anymore.
Zhou Qiqi pointed to the large bone.
"Zhouzhou, have some more. Look at your little body, you'd fall over in a gust of wind."
The little girl looked up, her eyes shining like water-soaked black grapes, and gently shook her head, meaning she was full.
As they were talking, Jiang Xiangyang suddenly brought his greasy face close to Chen Duzhou's face, with bits of meat still stuck to his lips, and said to her, word by word, "Eat."
Shen Duzhou disliked the grease on his lips and leaned back, his back almost touching the back of the chair.
But this guy went too far, putting his mouth close to her ear and chanting like he was reciting a mantra: "Eat, eat, eat, eat..."
The warm breath made the tips of Shen Duzhou's ears turn red. She dodged to the left, and he chased to the left; she dodged to the right, and he moved closer to the right, just like a little tail that he couldn't shake off.
Unable to resist his persistent pestering, Chen Duzhou resignedly picked up the large bone from the plate and began to gnaw on it in small bites.
Jiang Xiangyang sat next to her, holding a white steamed bun in his hand, but his eyes were fixed on her. He only grinned after she finished eating it, revealing two newly grown front teeth.
Once Chen Duzhou put the bones down, he grabbed Jiang Xiangyang and ran towards the pool without saying a word. The two children started pulling at each other under the tap, one trying to wipe his hands and the other trying to run, splashing water all over the ground.
Zhou Qiqi, watching from the side, covered her mouth and chuckled, then nudged Chen Huaichuan's arm.
"That kid's got a good idea. I think I should talk to Sister Cuixiang and ask Xiangyang to eat at our house from now on. Zhouzhou will definitely eat a little more every day. What do you think?"
She was convinced that Shen Huaichuan thought the same way she did, but to her surprise, Shen Huaichuan looked at the faucet and saw Shen Duzhou's arm tightly pressed against Jiang Xiangyang's arm, but his brows were furrowed and his voice was muffled.
"I don't think...it's a good idea."
"Huh, why?" Zhou Qiqi asked, puzzled.
Shen Huaichuan: "It's not really appropriate for Sister Deng's son to always be staying at our house, is it?"
Zhou Qiqi covered her mouth and laughed.
"What's wrong with that? I took Xiangyang away today, and Sister Cuixiang is so happy she'll burn incense!"
Shen Huaichuan didn't reply, his gaze falling on Shen Duzhou and Jiang Xiangyang's arms touching, his Adam's apple bobbing slightly.
“It’s not really his own home, so Xiangyang probably wouldn’t feel comfortable staying here and might not want to come every day.”
"Really? He seems quite willing to come."
As they were talking, Jiang Xiangyang chased Chen Duzhou all over the yard, holding an iron hoop in his hand, his mouth stretched almost to his ears with a grin. The sunlight cast their shadows long and long, overlapping and swaying back and forth.
Shen Huaichuan stared at the two figures for a long time without saying a word.
Zhou Qiqi couldn't help but laugh when she saw his expression.
"But what you said makes sense. After all, it's not our own home, and it is indeed troublesome to come every day."
Shen Huaichuan's eyes had been following Jiang Xiangyang. He had just breathed a sigh of relief after hearing what Zhou Qiqi said, but then he heard her continue.
"Just come here every now and then, as long as it's a regular occurrence."
Shen Huaichuan: ...... (Is there a difference?)
After dinner, Xiangyang played with Zhouzhou for a while, rolling iron hoops, before going home.
Xiangyang is now the best at rolling iron hoops in the compound. He always wins first place in every competition with his friends. Zhouzhou, on the other hand, still turns slowly, accelerates slowly, and does everything slowly. But for some reason, the two of them can play together.
After dark, Xiangyang went home, while Zhouzhou drew pictures in her room.
Shen Huaichuan leaned against the headboard reading a book, the light from the desk lamp casting a soft shadow on his face.
Zhou Qiqi sat at the table, spreading out the design she had only half-finished.
She took out the half-finished drawing from her cloth bag. As she took it out, the contract accidentally fell out of the bag. The two pages were stacked together, the first stage stamp was square and neat, and the second stage's grid was still empty.
As she traced the name "Zhang Guoqiang" with her fingertips, she remembered the man on the phone, crying as he said that his coworkers had secured their charcoal supply for the winter.
I can still recall Master Ma's hearty laughter and his superb cooking skills.
With a sigh, she crumpled the contract into a ball and threw it into the trash can at her feet. The paper ball hit the bottom of the can with a dull thud.
My mind was a mess, and I kept scribbling on the paper with my pencil, but I couldn't draw a decent line.
Until the lights were turned off, there were still only a few crumpled pieces of scrap paper on the table.
She angrily crawled into bed, turning her back to Shen Huaichuan.
"What's wrong? Did something happen at the factory?"
Shen Huaichuan turned over and gently placed his hand on her shoulder.
Zhou Qiqi said in a muffled voice, "It's nothing, it's just... my back is still a little sore."
She didn't dare look into Shen Huaichuan's eyes; her eyelashes cast a small shadow on her eyelids.
Shen Huaichuan didn't say anything more, but just pulled the blanket closer to her and glanced coldly in the direction of the trash can.
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