For a long time after their marriage, they argued constantly. Wenru felt weary of it all, mostly because of her family. Liu Yashi always gave in, but over the years, he earned Wenru's mother's coldness, who felt she was just someone who had spent her life supporting her brother and sister-in-law's family.
At that moment, Shen Qiaoyue happened to hear Xiao Nian's voice.
"I'm going to check on the children." After Shen Qiaoyue turned and left the kitchen, Wen Ru took over Shen Qiaoyue's work and handed a bowl to Jiang Mingjing. The stir-fried vegetables were ready to be served.
Shen Qiaoyue picked up Xiao Nian and watched as Xiao Nian sucked his fingers. When his mother came in, he made a "ha-ha" sound.
"Xiao Nian, are you hungry? Mom will make you some formula." Shen Qiaoyue checked the child to see if he had wet his pants, and found that he hadn't.
After taking the child to the bathroom to urinate, Shen Qiaoyue prepared formula for Xiao Nian.
Lu He also brought Da Nian back from Xu Tiande's house.
"Sister-in-law, Da Nian has already eaten his fill at Uncle Xu's house. They wanted to eat, so I brought Da Nian back with me. But this kid doesn't want to leave!" Lu He couldn't help but complain.
"Da Nian is really not afraid of strangers at all. I really envy his personality!" Xia Xiaoli couldn't help but tease.
At this moment, Wen Ru came out from inside, carrying a bowl of freshly cooked food.
"Stop talking, hurry up and wash your hands and eat."
"Okay, I'm really starving! My stomach is starting to rumble!" Lu He couldn't help but say.
"Xiao He! Dad Jiang doesn't have time to make dumplings today, but I'll make some for you this afternoon?" Jiang Mingjing knew that Lu Chen cared a lot about this little sister. These days, Lu He was in Beijing, and he often went to visit her. He liked this cute and energetic child very much, and it was good to have another daughter.
"It's alright, Mr. Jiang, you don't have to eat dumplings." After washing her hands, Lu He brought out a pot of rice from the kitchen.
"It's okay, I can make dumplings this afternoon. I've already bought the ingredients. Don't you have an academic conference this afternoon?" Jiang Mingjing then asked, "What time will you be back tonight?"
"We don't know yet! Our original time was to finish at four o'clock, but Auntie might need to talk to some students a bit more, so it'll probably be around five or six o'clock."
Wen Ru responded, "I'll try to come over early tonight, around 5:30."
"I'll have someone come and pick you up. Let's all have some fun today," Jiang Mingjing added.
She brought out a bowl of chicken and took off her apron.
Shen Qiaoyue held the child, Xiao Nian, who was drinking milk powder in his mother's arms. After seeing his grandfather, he reached out and asked for a hug.
Seeing this, Jiang Mingjing smiled and said to Xiao Nian, "Grandpa smells of cooking oil all over him. Let's hug him later, okay?"
Xiao Nian then withdrew her hand and drank her milk powder.
Wen Ru took out the baby food for Xiao Nian from the kitchen, and Shen Qiaoyue fed it to Xiao Nian. After Xiao Nian finished eating, he started to feel sleepy.
Xia Xiaoli helped soothe the child to sleep, carried him back to the room, and then sat down to eat with them.
"Xiaohe, why don't you and Xiaoli come back home tonight? There are empty rooms here, and we've already prepared one for you," Jiang Mingjing said. "Your sister-in-law is home too, so you can chat every day."
“Okay, then I’ll come home tonight.” Lu He didn’t refuse.
Lu He knew that Jiang's father was good to her because of her brother, and they had gotten to know each other better over the years.
"Xiaoli also came to study with us this afternoon. Sister-in-law, you have to take care of the child at home by yourself. It must be hard for you," Lu He said to Shen Qiaoyue, her eyes full of guilt. "We may need to rest for a while longer. Once we have a break, we'll take you to have some fun in Beijing."
"It's alright. If you're too tired, please ask Aunt Yu to help look after the children. Aunt Yu is home today too." Jiang Mingjing was so confident because he had helped the couple take care of their children many times before.
Jiang Mingjing raised Xu Feiming, who spent most of his time living with him. Jiang Mingjing liked to read books and exercise with the child, which made Yu Qingce complain a lot, saying that Jiang Mingjing had raised Xu Feiming into a bookworm.
That's how it is between old comrades-in-arms; they get through things with all the bickering and arguing, which makes life more colorful.
After dinner, Xia Xiaoli and Lu He went to wash the dishes.
Jiang Mingjing sat on the sofa, momentarily dazed. This lively scene was wonderful. He held Xiao Nian and stared at her.
When the little granddaughter looked up at her grandfather, she became shy and covered her face to prevent him from looking.
Jiang Mingjing teased the child for a bit.
In the afternoon, Xia Xiaoli went to study with Lu He, leaving Shen Qiaoyue and Jiang Mingjing at home.
"Qiaoyue, why don't you take the child outside for a walk? This compound is quite big, don't stay at home and get bored. There's a department store not far ahead, why don't you go take a look?" Jiang Mingjing was kneading dough in the kitchen, planning to make dumplings.
Upon hearing this, Shen Qiaoyue replied, "Dad, I won't go. I'll make dumplings later. You can watch the children."
Yu Qingce came in carrying a bag of groceries and quickly said, "Your dad won't listen to you. He's been doing this for years, cooking and washing his own clothes. We're trying to hire a caregiver for him, but he refuses, saying it's a waste of money and he can still move around! You tell me, he has no one to keep him company!"
People around him advised Jiang Mingjing to find a companion, but he wouldn't listen and didn't need the organization's care.
After being there for half a day, Shen Qiaoyue could see that Jiang Mingjing's life was indeed very lonely, and he had no family members to take care of him.
But Shen Qiaoyue really had no choice. She had a job, and it was hard to find a job in the city these days. She had lived in Fucheng for so many years and had gotten used to it.
“I’m living alone anyway, why do I have to find a companion? I’m strong and healthy.” Jiang Mingjing complained to Yu Qingce, “You’re already causing trouble for your two men, and now you want to cause trouble for me too!”
"I don't care. I can't even handle one person, let alone you. I'd probably be in paradise by now!" Yu Qingce's words made it easy to see that the neighbors usually got along very well.
Shen Qiaoyue didn't know what to say in front of her elders.
"I could hear what you were worrying about outside the door?" Li Xiaoxiao came in from outside, her voice preceding her arrival.
Upon hearing the sound, Shen Qiaoyue happily stood up.
"Auntie?"
"Qiaoyue, Xiaonian, I've missed you so much!" Li Xiaoxiao strode in, hugged Shen Qiaoyue, and took the child from Shen Qiaoyue's arms. "Xiaonian, you're so cute and adorable!"
"Second Uncle?"
Shen Yuanyi came in from outside, carrying a bottle of wine and a package that looked like meat.
"Qiaoyue, you must be tired from your journey!" Shen Yuanyi hadn't seen Shen Qiaoyue for almost a year.
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