"I'm full, you can take it away!" Hao Xiaopang looked at the noodles in front of him, swallowed his saliva, and simply turned his back to show his determination not to eat.
"Really not eating? Did I cook something bad today?" Grandma Xu began to doubt her cooking skills when her grandson suddenly reduced his food intake.
Grandma Xu: But Sisi loves to eat this?
"Are you really not going to eat? If you don't eat this bowl, I'll give it to your sister." Grandma Xu asked her grandson again.
“No!”
Hao Xiaopang said without turning his head.
Coconut shreds finally got the last bowl of noodles they wanted.
A little while later, Old Man Xu strolled back for lunch, and Old Woman Xu told him about her grandson's refusal to eat.
"It's just one less bowl of food, it's not like he's not eating any at all. I think he's just eaten too much good food, he'll be fine after a few meals of fasting."
"Let me starve you for a few meals and see what happens?" Old Mrs. Xu was displeased upon hearing this.
"Why would I be hungry? It's not like I don't want to eat."
Old Man Xu found Old Woman Xu's behavior inexplicable.
"If you want my grandson to go hungry, I'll let you go hungry for a few meals first!"
Coconut stayed at Hao Xiaopang's house for three days. During these three days, Hao Xiaopang learned to dress himself, wash his face, and eat by himself.
Over three days, Hao Xiaopang gained a profound understanding of the preciousness of food. Now he eats every meal very carefully, because if he's not careful, there won't be another bowl.
Hao Xiaopang has also changed his habit of leaving rice uneaten. He had to change it, because there wasn't enough food to eat, so how could he bear to leave any?
Grandma Xu was quite happy. Her grandson had learned everything from Sisi these past few days, so she felt at ease sending him to daycare.
But Grandma Xu was worried because her grandson's appetite hadn't returned to normal; he still only ate a small bowl of food every day.
On the fourth day, Grandpa Hao came to pick Sisi up. Little Fatty Hao immediately perked up, knowing that he could eat his fill every day again.
"Hello, Grandpa!"
Hao Xiaopang greeted Grandpa Hao very loudly.
"You're so happy to see me, do you want to come to Grandpa's house to play?" Grandpa Hao asked, pinching his grandson's chubby face.
"I'm not going!" Hao Xiaopang shook his head in fright and turned to hide behind Old Man Xu.
When Grandpa Hao carried his granddaughter into the car, he felt that she seemed to have gotten heavier.
"What delicious food do you cook every day? Sisi has only been here for three days, and she's already gained a lot of weight!"
"I only know how to make some noodles, and Little Fatty has had enough of them. He hasn't been eating much these past few days." Grandma Xu sighed as she looked at her grandson and decided to try making some meat buns that evening.
"Little Fatty doesn't like to eat? That can't be!" Grandpa Hao looked at his grandson's size and thought he didn't look like a picky eater.
"It's only been a few days. If you ask me, she'll just go hungry for a few meals, but she won't let me." Old Xu didn't take his grandson's reduced appetite seriously at all.
"It's probably something that doesn't involve physical activity. When you go out for a walk every day, take him with you," Grandpa Hao suggested.
"Hey! Brother Hao's idea is great. I'll take him out for a walk in a bit."
Old Man Xu thought Grandpa Hao's words made sense.
"I can't chat with you anymore. The child is too young. I'll take her home first, and I'll come find you for drinks this afternoon."
Time flew by and it was early summer. That evening, Ye Si met Mei's parents, whom she hadn't seen for a long time.
When Mei's mother saw her daughter, she quickly hugged her and kissed her several times. After rubbing her for a while, she handed her daughter to Mei's father, who was standing to the side.
“Sister-in-law, you’ve fattened this girl up too much. I was thinking that with such a big yard, she could run around like crazy and lose some weight, but just now when I tried to pick her up, I almost couldn’t lift her.”
"How can I lose weight? I'm at the age where I'm growing, so I need to be a little chubby."
"The two of us came here this time thinking of taking Sisi back directly and not sending her back."
"Aren't you sending it here anymore? Isn't your mother-in-law at work? Who will take care of her then?" Sister-in-law Hao was quite reluctant to part with this chubby girl. Now she was the joy of the family, acting like a little adult every day, and her words were particularly amusing.
“The family next door also has a child of about the same age. My mother-in-law has made an agreement with them that my child can stay with them during the day and will be ready to go to daycare in the fall.”
"How old is she? Isn't it too early to send her to daycare?"
"Sisi is all grown up, she should be fine. The main problem is that my mother-in-law missed this girl so much recently that she got sick..."
"Does Sisi still recognize her father?" Mei's father had been worried all the way there that his daughter wouldn't recognize him.
"Dad?" Ye Si tilted her head to look at Mei's dad, thinking that he looked a bit like "Dad".
"Yes, Dad!"
"It hurts!" Ye Si reached out and touched Mei's father's philtrum. It wasn't prickly, which made her think that the person in front of her was an imposter.
"Yes, Dad used to have a beard, but you didn't like it, so I shaved it off."
"Shaving?" Ye Si remembered that Mei's father had indeed shaved his hair. Could the person in front of her really be her father?
Mei's parents stayed overnight at the Hao family's house, and started packing their daughter's things early the next morning.
"Sisi, say goodbye to everyone." Mei's mother hugged Sisi and taught her to wave.
"Goodbye, Grandma, Grandpa, Aunt, Uncle, Eldest Brother, Second Brother, and Third Brother!"
"Sisi, come stay here again sometime!"
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