After Liu Mingfeng went to the army, Wu Qiaoqiao began her usual winter hibernation routine. After Liu Mingyi left, Lin Yuwei moved in with Wu Qiaoqiao, sleeping with her and bringing her two chubby babies. Zhao Xiuxiang, along with Feng Mingyue, Tiedan'er, and Daya, slept in another room in Liu Mingfeng's house. Oh, we can't call them Tiedan and Daya anymore. During the time Liu Mingfeng was at home, he registered all four children's household registrations, but they were all registered under the names of him and his wife.
Tie Dan and Daya's names were chosen by Liu Mingshan in a letter he wrote back before his death. However, in Wu Qiaoqiao's opinion, Daya's name didn't sound like a girl's name at all, because Liu Mingshan had named the two children Xiang Jun and Xiang Dang. Xiang Jun was a fine name for a boy, but Xiang Dang for Daya was definitely not a girl's name.
So Liu Mingfeng and Wu Qiaoqiao discussed it with Tiedan and Daya. They changed Daya's name to Xiangqin. As for the other name Liu Mingshan had given them, Xiangdang, they didn't use it. Instead, they added another name, Xiangguo, which became the names of Liu Mingfeng and Wu Qiaoqiao's two sons.
On Liu Mingfeng's household registration book, Liu Mingfeng is the head of the household, followed by his wife Wu Qiaoqiao, eldest son Liu Xiangjun, eldest daughter Liu Xiangqin, second son Liu Xiangdang, and third son Liu Xiangguo. After the household registration book was brought back, Xiangjun and Xiangqin looked at it repeatedly. Every time they saw their names after Liu Mingfeng's, it meant that they had parents and family again, and were no longer the wild children without parents that the village children said.
Outside, it was a world of ice and snow; the lake was frozen solid, and the ground was completely frozen solid. Forget about working in the fields; the only option was to stay indoors and hibernate. At that moment, Wu Qiaoqiao and Lin Yuwei were studying their high school textbooks. Although they weren't planning to go to university, they still had to keep up with their studies. Xiang Jun and Xiang Qin were also studying at the kang table, using elementary school textbooks that Liu Mingfeng had found at a scrap yard when he was home.
Xiang Jun and Xiang Qin were very happy to receive the textbooks and pencils, which meant they would start school next year. They knew they weren't the biological children of their uncle and aunt, the two people they now called Mom and Dad, and that it was understandable if their parents didn't send them to school. However, their parents treated them very well, and they had lived with their parents ever since their mother, Cai Shufen, left the family.
Although they knew that both men were good people, there were always some malicious people in the village who would say things to sow discord in front of them. For example, they heard that their second uncle and aunt planned to use all the money their father left behind for their own children, and wouldn't give it to them, let alone send them to university. So now that the two children knew they would start school next year, they studied even harder. Besides, it was freezing outside and there wasn't much to do. It was easy to get sick, and it wouldn't be good to trouble their mother, since she also had to take care of their two younger brothers.
The four people were reading and writing, while two little children, completely oblivious to everything, were rolling around on the kang (a heated brick bed) in thin cotton-padded jackets. They rolled around at their own pace, sometimes bumping into each other, kicking and punching each other. If it didn't hurt, they'd giggle and start rolling again. If it did hurt, they'd burst into tears, and Lin Yuwei would rush over to comfort them. Wu Qiaoqiao, however, would simply use her foot to separate them, then push them away to let them continue rolling. Lin Yuwei shook her head at this, instinctively feeling that Wu Qiaoqiao was treating the two children like toys.
Wu Qiaoqiao couldn't hear Lin Yuwei's thoughts. If she had, she would have said directly that she could play with her own children however she wanted, as long as they didn't die. Moreover, these two children had absorbed her healing and strength-based abilities while in her womb, making them physically stronger than ordinary children. They were also stronger than children their age, so in Wu Qiaoqiao's view, her children were very resilient and didn't need to be treated with care.
Just as Qiaoqiao had predicted, although the two little ones were only six months old, if they rolled around near the kang table where Xiangjun and Xiangqin were sitting, they would shakily stand up, hold onto the table, and then climb onto it to reach for the snacks placed there for Xiangjun and Xiangqin. At this point, one of them would grab the younger brother by the scruff of his neck and carry him to their mother or aunt, letting them continue rolling around and crawling.
Wu Qiaoqiao never helped when she saw this, letting the four little ones just let themselves run wild. Sometimes, Xiang Jun and Xiang Qin were so bothered by their younger brothers that they couldn't concentrate on their studies or do their homework. When they complained to her, Wu Qiaoqiao's reason was that they needed to balance work and rest, and not study at the kang table all day long. After all, Xiang Jun and Xiang Qin were still young, and they were already ahead of the children starting school next year. Lin Yuwei always shook her head when she heard this. She knew it was just Wu Qiaoqiao's wicked humor. Every time she saw the two older children holding the two younger ones by the back of their collars with helpless expressions, she couldn't help but laugh.
The six of them were studying and playing on the kang (a heated brick bed) when suddenly they heard a loud knocking at the gate. Before Wu Qiaoqiao and the others could react, they heard the sound of a door opening in the opposite room, and someone walking out with their shoes clattering, asking questions.
"Who is it? What do you need?"
It turned out that Feng Mingyue had come out of her room to open the door. While Feng Mingyue was opening the door, Zhao Xiuxiang also came out of her room. When she came out of her room and walked to the door of the main room, she saw who had come in. It turned out to be Liu Ercheng. Zhao Xiuxiang hurriedly asked Liu Ercheng what was wrong and told him to come to her room to warm up.
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