16
"I'm taking you to meet an uncle. His family cooked a lot of delicious food. Do you want to try some?"
The three of them looked up at Chu Qinghuai, swallowed hard, and said they wanted to.
They have absolutely no resistance to delicious food.
"Only polite children can eat it."
As for what politeness is, he and Zhong Wan have already taught the children to say "thank you" and "sorry," and today he will teach them to greet people.
"Then I am a polite child."
Mumu raised her hand and said generously.
Chu Qinghuai hummed in satisfaction and told them, "When you see an uncle, you should say 'Hello, Uncle'; when you see an aunt, you should say 'Hello, Aunt'. If your uncle or aunt gives you something delicious to eat, what should you say?"
Cai Cai confidently shouted, "I'm sorry!"
"What?"
Chu Qinghuai laughed out loud: "Really? Think about it again."
He only taught her two sentences, and she could even say them backwards. Chu Qinghuai was starting to wonder if Caicai was joking.
"I'm sorry," little Cai Cai insisted on her opinion.
Chu Qinghuai turned to his two daughters and asked, "Do you know what to say?"
Mumu and Xiaohe: "We want to say thank you."
"That's right, that's really smart."
Chu Qinghuai touched their hair, thinking that his teaching had not been in vain.
"You should apologize when you make a mistake. Little Cabbage is such an idiot."
Xiaohe put her hands on her hips and tried her best to correct Caicai's mistake.
Being criticized is not a pleasant feeling. Cai Cai's enthusiasm was extinguished by a bucket of cold water, and her smile disappeared.
He knew he was wrong, but in the current situation he didn't want to admit it. So the sulking child let out a loud snort, turned his head away, and squatted on the ground, grieving alone.
The back view looks so pitiful.
Chu Qinghuai blinked and said to Xiaohe first, "No one is stupid. Everyone is smart. Everyone makes mistakes. Xiaohe, please don't call your brother stupid, okay?"
"Okay." She seemed to sense Cai Cai's unhappiness and stood there, unsure of what to do, wondering if she should conjure up two lotus flowers to give to him to cheer him up.
When she and Mumu saw their father walk up to Cai Cai and pick her up, Cai Cai gasped and grabbed Chu Qinghuai's clothes as her feet left the ground. It was clear that his eyes were wet.
“Cai Cai is a smart baby. It’s okay if she makes a mistake. Saying sorry is also a polite thing to do.”
Chu Qinghuai wasn't good at coaxing children, unlike Zhong Wan who could do it effortlessly. Those interjections and mushy words stuck in his throat, and in the end, he could only say, "Caicai, don't be sad."
"dad."
"Um?"
Is Cai Cai an idiot?
“Of course not.” He was surprised that the child said such a thing.
"But my sisters, you, and Mom have all said I'm stupid."
There are five people in the family, and four of them say this about him. Cai Cai really wonders if she is a silly little cabbage.
Seeing the child's serious expression, Chu Qinghuai reflected on himself. Recently, he seemed to have made a lot of jokes. For example, Cai Cai's reaction was not as quick as Mu Mu and Xiao He's, and he would tease Zhong Wanhui by calling her a "little fool." But there was no malice in it. They all thought that every child was cute. He did not expect that Cai Cai would take it to heart.
"We're sorry, Mom and Dad were wrong. We apologize and we won't say it again."
He looked at the three children and said, "There are no idiots in our family, they are all smart babies."
Mumu nodded, understanding.
Because Cai Cai was still heartbroken, Chu Qinghuai carried him for a while. Xiao He gently tugged at Cai Cai's trouser leg and secretly slipped a flower petal into his shoe as a way of apologizing.
Chu Qinghuai saw this but didn't expose him; his heart melted.
Not everything in the world needs to be judged as right or wrong, especially when it comes to educating children. Everyone is a good child and everyone is right.
-
"Get off now and walk by yourselves, we've arrived."
Chu Qinghuai led the three children to the entrance of the noodle shop, put Cai Cai down, straightened their collars, and opened the door to let Mu Mu and Xiao He go in first.
"Dad, it smells so good."
Xiao He exclaimed this as soon as she entered the door, and the other two children simultaneously took a sniff.
It was still early, and the noodle shop had no customers yet. The owner and his wife were sitting behind the counter playing on their phones. When they saw someone coming, Chen Yu patted his wife on the shoulder and asked, "Look who's here?"
The three children, dressed in different colors and styles of clothing, were tiny like penguins, toddling in from the doorway. They weren't shy at all. The couple noticed one of the little girls speak up in a clear voice, "Hello, Uncle and Auntie!"
Another little girl repeated, "Hello, uncles and aunties."
Chu Qinghuai patted Cai Cai on the shoulder, and the child stammered, "Hello, Uncle and Auntie."
"Hello, hello." Chen Yu and his wife Lin Jiang were stunned. It took them a long time to recover. They got up from the stool, looking as if they had never seen a child before, both happy and at a loss.
"This...why did you come so suddenly? We weren't prepared at all. Qinghuai, is this your kid?"
Lin Jiang hit him: "Stop talking nonsense."
She immediately put on a smile, greeted the three children, and then went around looking for food.
Chen Yu arranged for the three children to sit down. Since there were no high chairs in the store, he apologized slightly, but Chu Qinghuai didn't mind at all. "It's no big deal, they can sit in chairs."
"When you texted me asking how many seats to reserve, I thought you were bringing your workers over for dinner."
Chen chuckled, his hand itching to hold the child.
He has a son in high school who has long lost his childhood cuteness, so he is very curious about these tiny human babies.
Chu Qinghuai said, "Tell your sister-in-law not to bother, they can just eat the simplest noodles."
Chen Yucai ignored his advice and continued to serve him the best things in the shop.
"How could it be ordinary? Your sister-in-law and I are such good cooks, we have to cook a couple of dishes. Do the kids have any dietary restrictions?"
Chu Qinghuai told them not to bother, just make something simple, "You're allergic to vegetables and oranges, but you can eat everything else."
"OK."
After playing with the children, Chen leisurely went to prepare lunch, completely forgetting his anger towards Chu Qinghuai the day before.
The kitchen.
Chen Yu said to his wife, "Go out, the children are scared of me."
"Okay, okay." Lin Jiang took a liking to Mu Mu and the others at first sight. She took off her apron without hesitation and said, "Then you cook. I've already blanched the ribs. After you've cooked, go to the supermarket and buy some toys."
Despite it being their first meeting, the kind-hearted couple treated the three babies like their own children.
Not wanting to waste a single second, Lin Jiang washed her hands thoroughly, opened the kitchen door, and went out with a smile to hold the baby.
"You've known each other for so long, and you're only bringing your child to see us now? That's not very kind of you and Xiaowan."
She pretended to be angry, picked up the youngest Xiao He on her lap, and asked, "Is this the older sister or the younger sister?"
Chu Qinghuai smiled sheepishly, "I'm sorry, Sister Lin, I won't hide it anymore. I'll have to trouble you to help me and Xiaowan take care of the child."
"This is no trouble at all! We love children the most. We'll send them over whenever you're busy, and we'll make sure you take good care of them."
Lin Jiang's son usually stays at the hotel and only comes home once every two weeks. After all, he is a boy, so he is not very close to his parents. It's the mischievous little guy who is the most fun.
Chu Qinghuai: "Thank you in advance, Sister Lin."
"This is Mumu, she and Caicai are twins, and Xiaohe is the youngest."
He introduced his three children to the other party.
Lin Jiang stroked Xiao He's little braids, her eyes full of affection, "So cute, she looks just like you and Xiao Wan."
Chu Qinghuai just smiled. Almost everyone said that, but he didn't take it to heart.
-
If a child is quiet, they must be up to no good.
Cai Cai was sitting at the very back. He was very curious about the chili sauce and vinegar placed against the wall. When the adults weren't paying attention, he secretly moved over, opened the lid, and was choked by the aroma of chili. He smelled it and actually liked it. He was quite bold and actually picked up a small spoon and scooped a spoonful into his mouth. It was a real spoonful of chili sauce, and he was instantly in pain.
Chu Qinghuai was still talking to Lin Jiang when he heard something fall to the ground, followed by Cai Cai's heart-wrenching cries. He had never seen a child cry so loudly before.
Mumu turned her head and saw that her younger brother's mouth was bright red. She was startled and quickly tugged at her father's clothes.
Chu Qinghuai jumped up and frowned as he noticed that Cai Cai had chili sauce in her mouth, and her clothes were all dirty as her saliva dripped down. But that wasn't the most important thing. Cai Cai was crying her eyes out, her tears were so loud it was earth-shattering.
Chen, who was in the kitchen, hurriedly poked his head out and asked what was wrong.
A group of people surrounded Cai Cai.
He looks so pitiful today.
Chu Qinghuai had never experienced such a scene before. Although he didn't show any anxiety on his face, he was so anxious that he was almost losing his mind.
He held Cai Cai horizontally, patted him with one hand, and carried him to the bathroom to rinse his mouth.
While instructing Chen Yu to get yogurt and ice from the refrigerator, Lin Jiang carefully took care of the remaining two children.
"It's okay, it's okay, Cai Cai will be fine."
She comforted Mumu and Xiaohe.
"I saw that Cai Cai's mouth was bleeding." Xiao He burst into tears, feeling so sad and afraid that Cai Cai was hurt.
"It's not bleeding, Cai Cai ate chili peppers, they were too spicy."
Lin Jiang regretted leaving the seasoning there. The chili sauce was homemade and spicier than most sauces on the market. Many adults couldn't handle it, let alone such a young child.
This time, Cai Cai really suffered a lot.
Chu Qinghuai washed his face and helped him rinse his mouth. She even put a piece of ice wrapped in gauze near his mouth to cool it down, her tone inevitably angry and anxious: "Will you dare to eat unfamiliar things next time? Why are you so greedy?"
He was angry, his expression was serious, and there was no smile at all.
Cai Cai in her arms stopped crying, but her two bright eyes were now red and swollen, like walnuts. She didn't say a word after being scolded by her father, and just kept slurping the yogurt in her hands.
Mumu and Xiaohe both had yogurt. When they got the delicious treat, they quieted down and listened to their father talk.
Mumu: "Dad, please don't talk about Caicai. He didn't do it on purpose."
She's such a good older sister.
Chu Qinghuai: "..."
Finally, he couldn't help but emphasize again that from now on, the three of them must tell their parents what they eat.
This request is not excessive at all.
"Alright, alright, it's nothing serious. Kids are all the same, it's normal for them to be naughty. Cai Cai, are you alright now? Does your mouth still hurt?"
"Cai Cai doesn't hurt anymore." He obediently answered his uncle's question, his head nestled against his father's chest, his ear tips a little red, a belated embarrassment after a good cry.
Chen had only finished cooking for half a day when he returned to the kitchen after seeing that the child was alright.
After finishing her yogurt, Cai Cai climbed off Chu Qinghuai, threw the trash into the bin, and when she came back, she climbed onto the chair on her own initiative. Her little hands quietly clung to Chu Qinghuai's shoulders, and the milky scent sprayed onto his neck.
All I heard was, "Dad, I'm sorry."
This time, Cai Cai finally learned to distinguish between "sorry" and "thank you".
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