While picking vegetables in the backyard, Yu Rujia unexpectedly discovered a few ripe strawberries, picked one, and put it in her mouth.
Juicy and fragrant, with a touch of tartness that balances the sweetness, making it less cloying and more refreshingly sweet and tempting, Yu Rujia couldn't help but eat a few more strawberries.
Thinking of her little ones at home, she picked the remaining red strawberries and put them in the basket.
As soon as the children entered the house, they saw a plate of washed strawberries placed on the dining table.
The refreshing fragrance and vibrant colors made the little ones' mouths water.
Duolu clenched his fists tightly, his little face turning red, refusing to let go, afraid that he might accidentally reach out and pick up the delicious-looking thing and eat it.
After countless lessons from Gao Shujing and Duofu, and several experiences of eating the wrong things, Duolu has learned that he must get permission before eating, especially new things.
Doro opened his mouth to speak, but before he could utter a single word, drool was already flowing down his face. The little guy sucked it back into his mouth and swallowed it, followed by another series of slurping sounds.
Duolu, with his mouth tightly shut, looked in the direction of the sound and saw Duoxi unable to control himself as he reached for the delicious fruit he had his eye on.
Duolu quickly grabbed his chubby little hand: "Duoxi, don't eat yet." He hadn't eaten yet, how could he let Duoxi eat before him? Even if he was the best younger brother, he couldn't surpass him when it came to eating, hmph.
Duo Shou, quick-witted, turned around and ran to the backyard to find Yu Rujia, who was washing vegetables: "Auntie, can we eat the red things on the table?"
Yu Rujia: "Those are strawberries. Each of you should eat five."
Having received permission, Duoshou happily ran back to the dining table, where Duofu, who had heard Yu Rujia's voice, was already dividing the strawberries.
The little ones had never been to school; they just got used to dividing things up. Except for Duoxi, the other three, including Duolu, could all count to at least ten.
Even little Duoxi can count to one, two, three without any problem. He'll make mistakes if he counts any more than that, but with daily real-life food-sharing lessons, I believe he'll be able to count to ten soon.
Duolu stared intently at Duofu's movements with his big eyes, afraid that he might miss out on a strawberry.
After Duofu divided the strawberries, Duolu used his chubby little hands to count them twice. After confirming that the number was correct, the little guy immediately picked up a big strawberry and stuffed it into his mouth, then happily half-closed his eyes.
The little guy quickly noticed something was wrong. The strawberries were so juicy that juice would gush out with every bite, dripping all over his mouth and hands. Duolu quickly started sucking on them, not wanting to miss a single drop of juice.
The sweet and sour taste made the little ones fall in love with the flavor of strawberries. Duofu and Duoshou ate them a bit too quickly, but they still managed to eat them in moderation.
Doro was like a cow chewing on a peony, his mouth moving non-stop. By the time he turned over, he had already finished all five strawberries, each the size of half an adult's fist.
The little guy's bright black eyes darted around and he saw two untouched strawberries lying over there by Duoxi's side.
Takagi was still teething and ate slower than his older brothers. By the time Takaro had finished all the strawberries, he had only eaten half.
Duolu had an idea and stuck to him: "Duoxi, can second brother have one of your strawberries?"
Duoxi was happily chewing on the sweet and sour strawberries. The little guy, who was tasting a new flavor for the first time, was already comparing the strawberries with his favorite fish soup in his mind.
When Doro asked him for strawberries, Doki quickly identified strawberries as his favorite food.
Although his second brother was his favorite older brother, he still really liked strawberries. What should he do if he didn't want to give them to his second brother?
Duoxi's little face scrunched up in a frown, but that didn't lessen Duolu's craving for strawberries. He even learned how to borrow money without any instruction.
Duolu: "Duoxi, can you lend your second brother a strawberry first? I promise I'll return one to you next time I get strawberries, okay?"
Upon hearing that it would be returned, Duoxi nodded and said, "Give one to Second Brother, and Second Brother must remember to return it."
Having gotten what he wanted, Duolu didn't care about the future, nodding his head rapidly like a pestle pounding garlic: "Give it back, give it back, give it back."
He uttered the word "return" a few times, and the newly borrowed strawberry was already in his mouth. It was another day he had successfully gotten something delicious from Duoxi. Duoxi truly lived up to his reputation as his favorite younger brother.
Unlike his other younger brother, who not only disobeys him but also constantly controls him, making him unacceptable in every way, he's practically becoming another older brother.
Duo Shou ignored the disdainful look Duo Lu gave him and calmly ate his strawberries. With such delicious food, he didn't want to pay attention to the stupid Duo Lu and ruin his mood.
After they finished eating the strawberries, the group walked to the hand pump well and found Yu Rujia.
Duofu: "Auntie, were these strawberries picked from our vegetable garden?"
He often goes to the vegetable garden to pick vegetables and pull weeds, and knows that there are strawberries there. However, the strawberries he ate today were not red yesterday, but they were all red.
He had been in the vegetable garden for so long, and he had never seen any vegetable change color so quickly, which made Duofu suspicious.
Yu Rujia: "Yes, when I went to pick vegetables today, I saw that some of them had turned red, so I picked them and brought them back."
Duofu, savoring the delicious taste from earlier, asked, "If it turned red in just one day, will it still turn red tomorrow?"
Yu Rujia: "Yes, you can go strawberry picking with your aunt tomorrow."
Duolu asked, "Auntie, can I go see the strawberries now?"
He often went to the vegetable garden with them, but he was a rough kid and didn't remember what he saw like Duofu and Duoshou. He didn't pay any attention to the strawberries in the vegetable garden.
Yu Rujia: "Go ahead, but you can't pick them now. Unripe strawberries don't taste good. Don't waste food."
Duofu: "Auntie, I will watch over Duolu."
The little ones ran into the vegetable garden. Because the vegetable plot was limited, only twenty strawberry plants were planted. However, with the blessing of the spirit-gathering array, they grew vigorously, and the ground was covered with several layers of green strawberries.
Doroo's mouth watered again. If all these strawberries were ripe, he could eat as many strawberries as he wanted.
Duo Shou, resting his chin on his hands, stared at the dense clusters of green strawberries in front of him and asked, "Big brother, how many of these strawberries will ripen tomorrow?"
Duofu's little face beamed with joy: "It will definitely be more than today."
Duofu, who often tended the vegetable garden with Gao Shujing, had more common sense than the other children, knowing that the fruit ripened in batches.
Doro cheered and spun around, saying, "That's great! We can eat lots of strawberries tomorrow!"
Duoxi was thinking about the strawberry that Duolu had borrowed; it was so delicious, and he wanted to eat more. "Second brother, will you return it to me tomorrow?"
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