When he heard the noise outside and knew it was almost noon, the children and Aning also came back from the academy, Cao Xiangnan carefully withdrew his hand. The person in his arms frowned, but fortunately he didn't wake up. He

got up carefully, tucked the quilt for the person who was still sleeping, went out quietly, and closed the door.

When he entered the room and didn't see anyone, Aning knew that Qi Wanfeng was sleeping in the room. He was also a person who had been pregnant and had children, so he naturally knew that the body would be very uncomfortable in the next two or three months. Only those who have experienced this pain know it.

What's more, Qi Wanfeng's belly was probably about to give birth. Maybe she didn't sleep well at night, and her spirits were not very good recently. Aning knew that he had taken the children out, and the house was quieter. Qi Wanfeng could sleep for a while, so that the children wouldn't disturb him at home. "Hush, keep your voice down." Aning saw the closed door and knew that someone was in trouble, so he made a gesture to silence them.

The children had been taught that their moms and brothers should not disturb them when they were sleeping. When they saw the closed door, they understood and covered their mouths, widened their eyes, and looked like "I know, I won't make a sound."

Cao Xiangnan just came out of the house and saw a group of children who had returned. They covered their mouths and dared not make a sound. He couldn't help but smile, looked at Aning, and said, "You're back." "

We played at the academy for a while." That's why they came back just now, otherwise they would have come back a long time ago. The rest of the words were not said, but everyone who heard it understood.

"Dad..."

"Uncle Xiangnan."

"I'll go heat up the lunch. It's time for lunch." Cao Xiangnan reached out and grabbed the children who came over. He knew that the people who were sleeping in the house would wake up soon and it was time for lunch. He heated up the lunch, and it was time for those who woke up to eat lunch.

"I'll go." Aning said.

"No, I'll go. You can sit here for a while." Cao Xiangnan knew that Aning would be very tired after taking the kids out. He asked Aning to rest here, and he went to the back door. The kids followed him and chattered with him about what they had learned in the academy.

The back door opened and the small kitchen was outside.

It hadn't snowed yet, so they were still cooking in the small kitchen. After all, the kitchen was spacious and more convenient for cooking. It was going to snow soon, so they would move inside to cook after the snow. The stove inside was also complete.

Seeing that the children had all gone with him, Aning sat down on the sofa, closed his eyes, took a deep breath and exhaled the disturbing people and things in his mind. Now that he thought about it, those people and things were getting farther and farther away from him and his children, as if they had become things of the previous life. The days here were quiet and peaceful, and it would not be bad if he could stay in this small place for the rest of his life.

The door opened at this moment, and when he heard the sound of the door opening, Aning's eyes opened, and the light in his eyes dimmed, as if it had never appeared before.

Turning around and seeing Qi Wanfeng opening the door and walking out, Aning smiled faintly, stood up from his seat, walked towards the person coming out, and very naturally extended his hand to help Qi Wanfeng out, and asked, "Are you awake? Did you sleep well?"

Qi Wanfeng saw Aning's cautious look. The people at home treated him like paper, so there was no need for him to be so careful. After getting here, he had to support his lower back with his hands when walking. Hearing Aning's words, he replied, "I slept well."

This sleep was very good. In a daze, he always felt a hand touching him. He knew who was touching him. He smelled a familiar smell in his nose, and the quilt was warm. He had slept for a long time, and he felt much better when he woke up.

"Have the kids come back?" Qi Wanfeng asked when he didn't see the kids.

"Yes, they all came back. They followed Xiangnan to the kitchen. Xiangnan went to the kitchen to heat up the meal." Aning helped the person to the bench in the living room, but didn't help the person outside. They didn't wear coats in the house, and it would be cold if they went out.

He helped the person to sit on the bench, and put a soft pillow on Qi Wanfeng's lower back to cushion him, so that he would feel more comfortable.

"You guys, there's no need to be so careful." The "you guys" not only refers to Aning, but also her husband and the people around her. Qi Wanfeng pulled Aning and said, "You sit down too. Are the little ones going to the academy to be obedient?"

He didn't have the energy to take care of the children now. It was thanks to Aning that she was here to help take care of the children. Her husband was with him all day and couldn't do anything. Qi Wanfeng felt a little guilty.

"You have to be careful. You are different now." Aning sat down and said, "The children are all very well behaved. They are sitting inside with other children and listening to the teacher's lectures obediently."

Although he went with them, he did not go to listen to the teacher's lectures like the others. He went to take care of the children. Although he was a boy and could not go to school, his mother and father were good people and invited teachers to teach him. He had studied a few books when he was a child. When he came here and saw that such a place had set up a school, and that the boys and brothers could go to school together, his eyes were full of envy.

When he was a child, what he envied most was that his elder brothers could go to school, but he was a boy and could not go. Later, he learned a few characters with the help of a teacher. When he was older, he could read and write by himself, and his knowledge was just passable. The only thing that interested him was arithmetic. He would listen to it twice and found that these numbers were much simpler and fun to learn.

The iron kettle hanging in the fireplace was heating water. Now that the fireplace was turned on, he no longer used the small stove to heat the water. He just hung it directly in the fireplace to heat it. Aning took out the iron kettle, wrapped it in a cloth towel and poured some hot water out. He made a cup of warm water for Qi Wanfeng and said, "Have a glass of water."

"Thank you." Qi Wanfeng took the water and said.

"You are so polite all day long. You have to thank me for giving you a glass of water." Aning glared at Qi Wanfeng and smiled helplessly.

The two people had not known each other for long, but they got along like old friends who had known each other for more than ten or twenty years, very naturally and harmoniously. When Qi Wanfeng heard Aning's words of criticism, he immediately said, "Okay, I won't say it again in the future."

"You have said this many times, but you always have to be so polite to me. I won't be polite to you anymore." Aning was unwilling to give in, and her beautiful eyes looked at him, full of grievance.

"...You are talking nonsense, I can't argue with you." Qi Wanfeng surrendered quickly.

At this time, the people in the kitchen also heated up the porridge in the pot. There were steamed buns in the steamer, a few boiled fish, and a plate of fried vegetables to go with the porridge. Cao Xiangnan went to the town to buy fish and meat in the morning. There were no vegetables for sale in the town at that time, so the vegetables were grown in his greenhouse. The vegetables grown

at home had been sold at the beginning of the month, and a batch of them were sent to Yipinzhai, as well as mushrooms grown in the back house. Fortunately, he later cleared a piece of land at Cao Gang's place to grow greenhouse vegetables and mushrooms. After eating the vegetables here, he could go to Cao Gang's place to buy his own. Otherwise, Cao Xiangnan could hardly imagine that he had to eat pickled vegetables and bacon and jerky for several months. This life was simply unbearable.

All the chickens and ducks in the village were collected, and a batch was sent to Liu, the manager's shop, and the rest were transported to Nanyang. Knowing that Wanfeng was about to give birth, and there was nothing to eat in the winter, Cao Xiangnan also kept a few dozen hens at home. Adding to the dozen or so chickens he had originally raised, it was a lot. When the time came, he could kill them to nourish Wanfeng, and he could also keep a few hens to lay eggs.

"Be careful, hold it steady!" Cao Xiangnan served the porridge, handed the small things to a few children, and took the children from outside into the dining room, and put the food on the table one by one.

"Mom, Mom, eat." His little ears perked up when he heard Mom's voice. An An gave the steamed bread in his hand to his father and ran forward. When he saw Mom, he rushed over.

Qi Wanfeng reached out to catch the child, touched his little nose, and asked, "Why don't you call An Ning to eat?" "An

Ning, mom, eat too." An An showed his little milk teeth, his eyes were crooked when he smiled, and his eyes looked very much like his mom. Now that he has a good diet, his face is round, his skin is very white, and he is clean and clean. He is a very good-looking little brother.

"Okay." An Ning loves the little brother the most, but it's a pity that he gave birth to a boy.

But boys have their own merits, and little brothers have their own merits, and he also likes his own children. He is just jealous of other people's little brothers. It's a pity that he will only have Xuanxuan in his life.

Xuanxuan, who followed behind, stood beside his mother. Ning reached out and touched the child's hand. Seeing that the child was back, he was still wearing a thick cotton jacket. It was hot in the room, so he asked, "Do you want to take off this clothes?"

"Yes." Xuanxuan nodded and let his mother take off his clothes.

Qi Wanfeng reached out and touched the child lying on his knees, took off the small scarf around the child's neck, loosened the collar a little, but did not take off the child's clothes.

"The meal is ready, come and eat." Cao Xiangnan came over, followed by two children. Seeing Wanfeng sitting here, he walked over naturally, stretched out his hand and helped him up from his seat.

With the help of her husband's hand, Qi Wanfeng stood up and called Aning, "Let's go eat."

"Okay." Aning replied.

There was hot food on the table, and the children all sat down. Cao Xiangnan asked Qi Wanfeng to sit down, and he scooped porridge for everyone. The food they eat every day is the simplest, two bowls of porridge and a steamed bun, which can fill their stomachs.

At this time of year, it is the most precious thing to eat vegetables grown on the ground at home. There is still a small piece of vegetables left in the shed. If you pick a small handful every day, you can still eat for a while. The seeds planted in the back have already sprouted, and I think they will grow up in a month or so.

"Eat some fish. Eating fish will help you grow taller." Cao Xiangnan put some fish into An'an's bowl, and the other children also had some. He went to the dock in the town early in the morning to buy fish, and in fact, he bought it for Wanfeng and the children.

The other children ate fish, but his little An'an didn't like it.

Xuanxuan looked up and said, "It's delicious."

Qi Wanfeng served the porridge with fish. Seeing the child with a bitter face, but still eating the fish he didn't like, a smile flashed in his eyes. It is true that his husband loves the children the most, but sometimes there are rules to follow.

"Aren't you going to eat anymore?" Cao Xiangnan asked when he saw Qi Wanfeng drank a bowl of porridge and ate a fish on the plate before putting down his bowl and chopsticks.

"Yeah, I'm full," Qi Wanfeng said.

His appetite is not as big as it was a few days ago. He feels uncomfortable after eating a little and can't eat much. But he gets hungry again not long after eating. His husband at home prepares a lot of snacks for him, so he has food whenever he is hungry.

"Okay, then eat later. I'll bake some steamed buns for you later." There are still a few steamed buns left. In the afternoon, when people get hungry, Cao Xiangnan will heat them up on the small steamer.

"Dad, I want one too."

"Uncle Xiangnan, I want one too."

"Okay, okay, we'll have them all."

Aning saw Cao Xiangnan pampering the little ones. This man was good to his own children, the two adopted children, and his own Xuanxuan. Everyone had something, and no one was left out. No wonder Xuanxuan said that besides him as his mother, the second person he liked was Uncle Xiangnan.

After lunch, the children played Go in the living room for a while, and then went to take a nap. After taking a nap, Aning felt sleepy and went back to the house to sleep. Cao Xiangnan also went back to the house with Qi Wanfeng.

The house would be quiet for a while at this time...