17
"The menu is here! Take a look and see what you want to eat, then let your uncle make it."
Lin Jiang took out the store's large menu and placed it in the center of the table so that all three children could see it.
Wow~
Each page typically contains two to three dishes, with pictures printed on the paper; just looking at them makes you know they look delicious.
Although the three children hadn't eaten a single dish, it didn't stop them from drooling with envy.
Cai Cai and Xiao He really believed Lin Jiang's words, thinking they could choose whatever they wanted, and were so happy they almost went to the table.
The brother and sister were acting like they were in charge of everything, wanting this and that. When Chu Qinghuai saw this, he stopped them, saying, "You're just kids, why are you eating so much?"
He turned to the noodle section of the menu and let each of them choose a bowl of noodles.
The three children weren't upset when they heard this; they were happy as long as they had something to eat.
"Okay then, I'll take this one!"
When it comes to food, Cai Cai becomes a little genius. She pointed to the seafood noodles in the picture, which had the largest bowl and the most portion. After making her choice, she secretly glanced at her father's expression. Her attempt to cover up her thoughts amused Chu Qinghuai, who asked, "Can you finish it?"
"Uh-huh!"
Then he stopped saying anything.
Mu Mu chose the simplest tomato and egg noodles, Chu Qinghuai ordered a small chicken leg for her, and Xiao He chose braised beef noodles.
Lin Jiang noted down the noodles each child wanted to eat, and subtly flipped to another page of the menu, telling them not to worry about their father and to order whatever they wanted.
The three little ones did have a lot they wanted to eat, but they didn't dare to speak up. They glanced at Chu Qinghuai, meaning that their father disagreed.
Lin Jiang was almost overwhelmed by their cuteness. How could there be such well-behaved children, and three of them at that!
"Don't worry about Dad. Your uncle and aunt will make whatever you want to eat. You've come all this way to visit your aunt, so you can't just eat noodles."
Chu Qinghuai couldn't help but speak up: "Sister Lin, they can't finish it, don't bother them. Besides, wasn't Ayu cooking just now?"
"It's alright, we'll arrange whatever the kids want to eat. Chen Yu and I will eat too, so how could we not finish?"
Since that had been said, Chu Qinghuai stopped insisting and asked the three children to discuss it. They could only choose one more dish that they liked best.
Lin Jiang smiled helplessly; there was really nothing she could do about him.
Just as she was about to go to the kitchen, Chu Qinghuai suddenly said, "Sister Lin, you don't need to serve me any rice. I'll just eat what they leave behind."
What a thrifty and hardworking father.
-
Before serving the dishes, Chu Qinghuai took the three children to the restroom to use the toilet and wash their hands, and put bibs on them. After doing all that, it was almost time to start eating.
Chen asked, "What drinks do they drink? Is AD calcium milk okay?"
Chu Qinghuai was filling three straw cups with water when he heard what the other person said. He shook his head, glanced in the direction of the children, and said, "Zhong Wan won't let them drink."
They only have yogurt or plain water at home; they don't drink any beverages.
Chen understood immediately, "Then we'll drink it when we're older."
Chen Yu and Lin Jiang quickly served the dishes and noodles to the three children, and a chorus of "Wow!" was heard.
Cai Cai stood on the chair, his hands resting on the table, his eyes glued to the dazzling array of food.
Chu Qinghuai usually cooks light meals, and even when they go out to eat, Chu Qinghuai and Zhong Wan don't order heavily seasoned dishes, so the three children have never actually eaten anything truly delicious.
Chen Yu's cooking skills are extraordinary; he has a chef's certificate. Even a simple stir-fried cabbage can taste delicious. At this moment, he looked at the children with a smile: "Come and try what Uncle has made. Be careful, it's hot."
"It'll definitely be delicious." Chu Qinghuai told Cai Cai to sit down and put a few bites of noodles in each of their small bowls. "Eat up."
The three children didn't have time to speak; they grabbed their little spoons and put the noodles in their mouths, even though it was inconvenient to eat noodles with a spoon.
"It's so delicious, Dad," Mumu said.
Chen asked deliberately, "Is your uncle's cooking better or your dad's?"
She thought for a moment, then smiled shyly: "Dad."
Chu Qinghuai was satisfied.
Chen Yu exclaimed "Oh!" and exclaimed that Chu Qinghuai had a sweet little cotton-padded jacket (a term of endearment for a daughter).
Despite his envy, he kept serving food to the children.
Chen Yu's cooking is really good. Even Cai Cai, who hates vegetables, ate a lot of broccoli. Xiao He also ate much faster today. Mu Mu almost finished a whole bowl of noodles, leaving a third of it. Chu Qing Huai didn't dare let her eat anymore and gave her a small piece of milk bun to nibble on.
At the dinner table, Xiaohe and Mumu whispered to each other, even covering their mouths with their hands as if afraid of being overheard. After a while, Xiaohe asked Chu Qinghuai, "Dad, are we eating here again tonight?"
Seeing her expectant eyes, Chu Qinghuai felt embarrassed to refuse, "You want to eat well every day? No way."
But he still cruelly refused.
Mumu was clearly disappointed.
Lin Jiang found the two's expressions quite amusing. "You like Uncle's cooking so much? Why don't you stay and be Uncle and Aunt's daughters? You can sleep with us tonight."
"No, that won't work."
The two girls' braids swung back and forth. Although the food here was delicious, they would rather not eat it than have to leave their parents in exchange.
Of course, Mom and Dad are the most important.
Mumu, speaking in a childlike voice, asked with concern, "Auntie, don't you have a baby at home?"
Lin Jiang was taken aback, then looked at Chen Yu and they both burst into laughter. Chen Yu said that this child was really interesting.
Lin Jiang replied, "Auntie's family also has babies."
"That's good, that's good." Mu Mu was relieved. Now she didn't have to worry about herself and her younger siblings being forced to stay at her aunt and uncle's house.
Cai Cai, holding a large pork rib in one hand, turned her head around and asked, "Auntie, where is your baby?"
"Auntie's baby has gone to school. He's a big brother. Would you like to play with him?"
Cai Cai shook her head; he wasn't interested.
The children's attention was still on the huge pile of delicious food on the table. Chu Qinghuai didn't know if this amount of food was normal, but felt that if she didn't control it a little, they could eat it all.
He must call Officer Chen when he has time to ask if it's really okay for spirits to have such a big appetite.
Just as he was pondering this question, Chen Yu's voice reached his ears.
"Qinghuai, are you going to take care of them like this from now on? Haven't you thought about finding a nanny or something to help look after them?"
Chu Qinghuai picked up his teacup, took a sip of water, and pursed his lips. "It's just me and Xiaowan at home. This is the best solution. At least I won't be bullied if she stays with me."
He told the two of them about what happened at the daycare yesterday. Chen Yu and Lin Jiang were also very angry and cursed him, saying he was inhuman.
"Let them grow up a bit more. Right now, they definitely need to stay with us."
How could Chu Qinghuai not know how troublesome and tiring it is to take care of three children? As they grow older, they will become more and more rebellious, and there is still a lot to teach them. But this is the responsibility of being a parent, and it is what he should do.
Seeing the pressure in the other person's eyes, Lin Jiang and her husband looked at each other, and then said, "Qinghuai, if you and Xiaowan don't mind, you can send the children over this morning so we can take care of them."
As soon as he said that, Chu Qinghuai refused, "No, no, no, that's too much trouble for you. This won't do."
"Why not? We all love kids, and they're all so well-behaved."
"You're all too busy, it's inconvenient." Chu Qinghuai's smile was helpless. "They're also very mischievous, sometimes I can't handle them."
"It's good for kids to be a little mischievous. We only have such a small shop, how busy can we possibly be? Is it settled then, or are you saying you're annoyed by the two of us?" Chen Yu pretended to be angry.
"How could that be?"
Chu Qinghuai didn't want to disappoint them, so he simply said, "Thank you for thinking of us. I'll go back and discuss it with Xiaowan."
"Okay, I'll wait for your reply."
The couple was already starting to feel happy.
With plenty of water and a full meal, Chu Qinghuai should take his three children home for an afternoon nap.
At the door, Mumu and her younger siblings waved goodbye: "Goodbye, Uncle and Aunt."
Goodbye, how about we come again tomorrow?
"Okay!" Cai Cai really wanted to come for meals every day. There were people to coax her and toys to play with, which was the greatest joy for a child.
Chu Qinghuai patted his head, then took Xiao He, who walks slowly, and led the children into the car.
"Goodbye," he said to Chen and Lin Jiang.
Lin Jiang was still worried. "Qinghuai, don't forget to tell Xiaowan about that."
"Okay, Sister Lin." He smiled.
-
But the car had only been driving for a short while when Cai Cai in the back seat suddenly covered her face and started crying.
Chu Qinghuai glanced at the rearview mirror, surprisingly calm: "What's wrong?"
"Dad, my tummy hurts."
Do you need to use the restroom?
"Um."
Looks like I ate too much.
"Did you secretly eat something again?"
"Um."
Cai Cai didn't understand either. He had only eaten one chicken leg that his older sister hadn't finished and one pumpkin and egg dish that his younger sister hadn't finished, so why did his stomach hurt?
"Does Mumu and Xiaohe have a stomachache?"
Xiao He had fallen asleep in her seat. Mu Mu shook her head and said it didn't hurt; she was very worried about Cai Cai.
Chu Qinghuai turned the steering wheel. "I'll take you to the restroom."
Fearing the children might not be able to hold it in and would end up in the car, he stopped at the nearest shopping mall. When he took Cai Cai out, he looked at his daughters and said with great remorse, "Mu Mu, can you do Dad a favor? You and your sister can sit in the car for a while, we'll be right back."
"Okay, Dad."
Mumu was incredibly well-behaved, her eyes sparkling, "Daddy, hurry up, Caicai is in so much pain!"
She said that she and her sister would wait for him quietly.
Chu Qinghuai couldn't afford to waste any time; with the matter at hand, he closed and locked the door, then picked up the child and ran to the bathroom.
...
"Hurry up and wash your hands, your sisters are waiting for us."
His mind was entirely on the car. Chu Qinghuai knew his behavior was wrong, so he tried his best to make amends, and his voice urged Cai Cai to speak louder.
Cai Cai didn't dawdle; she finished her business in five minutes, quickly washed her hands, and was then picked up and carried out by Chu Qinghuai.
The two of them were about to get in the car and go home, but Chu Qinghuai was stopped by a voice.
"There is... ptooey, Qinghuai?"
Is that you, Qinghuai?
The middle-aged woman tentatively called out Chu Qinghuai's name, but he turned around and left without looking back after seeing who it was.
"Qinghuai, you have a child? Your own?"
Chu Qinghuai turned his head again, catching the shrewd glint in the other person's eyes, and then sneered: "What's it to you?"
"Thank you for remembering my name is Chu Qinghuai."
He concealed the gloom in his eyes, hugged the child in his arms tighter, and whispered, "Let's go home."
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