"Auntie, wanna play marbles?"
Xiao Jingsheng had not forgotten his purpose.
Shishi took him to find Chou Chou, and the three of them played a game of rolling a figure eight. They used a thin, flat stick to push marbles, and whoever could keep going until the end won, and whoever broke the stick lost.
More than ten minutes later, Xiao Jingsheng's eyes were filled with tears, about to fall but not quite. His little mouth was pursed tightly, and he stubbornly refused to cry.
He lost all 13 of his points plus his own 2, and one game brought him back to square one.
No, it was even poorer than before liberation.
Why are they so good at having fun?
Xiao Xiangbei's wife, Chen Jing, pulled up her youngest son, both amused and exasperated, and wiped away the tears that had been stubbornly refusing to fall.
It's always you who wants to play, and then you cry when you lose.
Anyone who didn't know better would think you'd suffered a terrible injustice.
"Okay, don't cry. Mom will buy you two tomorrow."
I can hold back my tears if I don't talk about it, but I burst into tears as soon as I do.
"Waaah, Mom, I lost! Xiao Sheng lost! I'm completely broke!"
The little one can even use idioms now.
Shishi and Chou Chou exchanged a glance, each giving him six of their own, and immediately received a smile with snot bubbles in their eyes.
While playing a chaotic game with his cousins, Hsiao Ching-chang personally sold out his younger brother.
“Auntie, Uncle, see? This is why we don’t play with him. He cries a lot.”
She's such a crybaby; she loves to play, but she's terrible at it, and she cries all the time.
"No, Xiao Sheng doesn't cry, brother is bad."
He held back, but his mother told him to cry, and that's when he couldn't hold back anymore.
If your eyes aren't red, people will still believe you.
Xiao Jingchang ran away a little.
"Auntie, play some more, Xiao Sheng won't cry."
"Okay, but you can't cry anymore, crying is bad for your eyes."
Okay.
The head of the family found it quite amusing that his little girl had learned to comfort children in other ways.
In the past, if she had beaten the kids in the compound to tears, she would have just laughed at their incompetence.
The child is truly growing up little by little.
"Old Luo, where's the child? Let me see him."
A gentle voice came from outside the courtyard, and then Lu Fan helped an old woman in. It was his grandmother, Mu Aizhen, a kind-looking old woman.
He had visited the Lu family in Beijing during the military region's competition. He recognized the old man then; he was in good health and looked radiant. Now, however, he looked much worse.
The two legs were not very balanced when walking, which should be a recurrence of the leg problem that Lu Fan mentioned before.
They were all veteran women soldiers who had come from the battlefield, and they were worthy of respect. Xie Lin thought of asking Chou Chou to help treat her.
There are ginseng roots in the space; let's find a chance to give one to Lu Fan.
The space speed is fast, so once there are enough ginseng plants, we can give them to the elders in the family to help them regulate their health.
Grandma Xiao's name is Luo Qiaolin. The two old ladies have a good relationship. She either calls her Grandma Luo or Grandma Mu, or she calls her Grandma.
Grandma Xiao was having a great time, truly experiencing the joys of her later years spent enjoying the company of her grandchildren.
Before, it was always the mischievous boy causing trouble, but with the addition of a granddaughter, the balance of yin and yang is restored, and life becomes perfect.
"Old Mu, come in and sit down, the child is here."
In just a short while, Shishi rolled half a figure eight again, and when she looked up, she was met with a face that looked quite refined.
The newcomer looked at her with loving eyes. "You must be Shishi, right? You're so beautiful. I'm Lu Fan's grandma. You can also call me Grandma Lu."
Her small face looked exactly like Song Yunjiang's when she was young, reminding her of the difficult times they spent in the same trench.
Those were really tough times, but we all supported each other through them, and now we can all live a peaceful life.
"Hello Grandma Lu, I'm Shishi. Wait a minute, I want to roll the marbles again to win against my nephew's marbles. He said he won't cry if he loses this time."
Xiao Jingsheng sniffed, trying to cheer himself up. He was sure he could finish the game and not lose.
Then he silently added to himself, "I won't cry even if I lose."
"Alright, you guys have fun." Mu Aizhen sat down next to her old friend with a smile.
“Yun Jiang is so lucky. Unlike us, all the younger generation in our family are boys.”
Yes, there are no daughters in the Lu family's sons and grandsons. She had children late in life, and her grandchildren are still quite young.
The oldest one is Lu Fan, an old man who is 25 years old and hasn't even managed to win over a girl, let alone a great-granddaughter.
His two cousins are 22 and 20 years old respectively, and his younger brother is even younger at 18. None of the three of them have girlfriends, and they are still like children themselves.
"I'm so lucky, Shishi is my granddaughter too, you can't be envious, hahaha." Grandma Xiao had no idea that she was trying to win over her friend.
“I not only have a granddaughter, but also a grandson-in-law. Xiao Xie, this is your Grandma Lu.”
"Hello, Grandma Lu."
Xie Lin stood up and gave him a proper military posture.
"Alright, alright, sit down quickly. We're family, no need to be so formal."
What a handsome young man! He's also Xiao Fan's brother and comrade-in-arms. After all these twists and turns, they've ended up in the same family.
"That child must be Brother Yun Jiang's grandson, right? There are two more, where are they?"
"They're at home. Brother Song took them back. The two kids want to join the army, and the three old men are discussing how to arrange it."
They're all family members, so I'd be happy to give them preferential treatment openly and honestly.
If a child has ambitions, the elders should naturally support them.
Shishi successfully rolled the figure eight, and it was Chou Chou's turn to roll it. As expected, the two skilled players will win again, and Xiao Jingsheng will once again face the tragic situation of losing two marbles in one round.
With 12 stones, it's highly likely they'll be returned to their rightful owner after 6 rounds.
"Grandma Lu, would you like to take a picture?"
"Huh? What about taking photos?"
Grandma Xiao explained to her friend, "Everyone in our family took photos, three photos for each person plus a family portrait, all taken by Shishi."
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