At this time, Xia Manni was preparing the final date cake in the kitchen and was startled by Sanwa's voice.
She said hurriedly in a panic: "Don't come to the kitchen, Mom will give you a surprise later."
Erwa, who was about to go to the kitchen, stopped.
He turned around and looked at Da Wa, who replied, "I know, Mom."
"Come on, go wash your hands. When mother says it's ready, it's ready. There'll be enough for you to eat in a while."
The eldest child pulled the second child back and took the third child and the fourth child to wash their hands.
"Phew, it's not bad, the timing is just right."
She first found a plate, put the date cake in it, and then covered it with a small bamboo basket.
Then she put the fried snacks on the plates in the same way, and she planned to give the children dessert first.
The children sat upright at the small dining table. They were a little surprised to see Xia Manni carrying two strange bamboo baskets.
She put down the bamboo basket and did not open it immediately, but went into the house to find a tinderbox.
There were no candles in their house, only oil lamps.
So Xia Manni used a very thin bamboo stick, dipped it in some oil from the oil lamp, and inserted the bamboo stick into the date cake.
"Mom, what is this?"
Erwa smelled the sweet scent of dates when Xia Manni opened the bamboo basket.
"Mom, what did you order?"
Sanwa looked at the lit bamboo sticks and felt very fresh.
"This is a birthday cake. Back in my mother's hometown, we eat cakes like this on our birthdays."
"Who's having a birthday?" Si Nier grasped the key point. At this time, Erwa and Sanwa were staring at the date cake and the burning bamboo stick respectively.
"Of course it's your eldest brother's birthday. Come let us wish your eldest brother a happy birthday together."
"Wow, happy birthday, big brother."
Sanwa looked at Xia Manni in confusion: "Mom, what is a birthday?"
"It's your eldest brother's birthday. Why is Big Boy so stunned?"
After Xia Manni finished talking about Da Wa's birthday, Da Wa was stunned. When you looked closely, you could see that his eyes were red.
"Mom, is this for my birthday?" Big Brother couldn't tell what he felt in his heart. He just felt as if his heart had fallen on cotton, soft.
"Yes, Da Wa won't be seven years old until his birthday."
The Chinese New Year is based on the lunar calendar, while the birthday is based on the actual age.
"Come on, Big Boy. Blow out this fire quickly. Before you do, make three wishes to it. Birthday wishes can come true."
Da Wa nodded happily at Xia Manni, then he closed his eyes seriously, made a wish, and then blew out the candle.
Xia Manni felt a little sad when she saw how pious the eldest child was, and the three children next to her were full of envy.
"Okay, Mom will come and cut the cake for you."
Xia Manni cut a piece for each child. The eldest child looked at it for a long time as if it were a treasure before he started eating.
Sanwa first picked off the visible jujube flesh on the top and then ate it.
Si Ni'er also looked at it for a long time before starting to eat.
Only Erwa had eaten half of it as soon as he got it.
Xia Manni: ...
"Mom, how is this done?" Si Ni'er looked at it for a long time but couldn't figure out how it was done.
"Remember those wild dates we saved? Mom first pitted them and steamed them, then blended them into a paste. She added water and mixed them into dough to make steamed cakes. Finally, she poured them into a bowl and steamed them. It's what it is now."
Si Nier listened and ate at the same time. She was still most interested in these hands-on activities.
At this time, Sanwa also exclaimed: "Wow, Mom, this is really delicious. I guess it will sell for a lot of money."
Xia Manni: ...Sanwa is really...
"Sanwa, it's good to want to make money, but you also need to eat more. Look at your second brother..."
Already eating the second one...
"Mom, what is this butterfly-like thing? It's sweet." Erwa asked, holding up the food on another plate. It was the first time he saw these.
"This is called butterfly cake, but my mother didn't fry it very well. But at least she sprinkled a little sugar on it."
"Butterfly pastry? That sounds really nice." Sanwa started to study it again.
"Butterfly cakes are made of dough and fried directly in the pan."
What is tested here is the ability to knead and ferment dough. Fortunately, although Xia Manni is not good at cooking, she likes to study pastries.
"Mom, you should eat too." The eldest boy didn't eat much, and he gave the rest to his younger brother and sister.
But he found that he had only eaten a small corner of the cake, so he stopped eating.
"Mom won't eat. I've prepared longevity noodles. You wait for Big Baby. Second Baby, eat less. There will be more delicious food later."
When Erwa heard about noodles, his eyes lit up.
At the dining table, there were the sounds of four children laughing and playing, while Xia Manni was preparing noodles.
She had already prepared the ingredients, but she didn't know when the children would come back, so she would just wait until they came back to cook the noodles.
"Mom, let me help you."
Just then, Da Wa came into the kitchen to burn firewood for Xia Manni.
"Big Boy, why does mother feel that you are a little unhappy?" She looked like she was worried about something.
"It's okay, Mom. I'm just too happy. I was worried that everything was too good and then..." suddenly disappeared.
"Big Baby, our family will definitely get better and better in the future."
Xia Manni patted Da Wa on the back, signaling him not to think too much.
Da Wa quietly wiped the corners of his eyes and said in a muffled voice, "Thank you, Mom."
"No need to thank me for this, it's almost done, go get the bowl."
After Da Wa left, Xia Manni quickly wiped away her tears.
A child's affection is truly life-threatening, and the feeling of being needed is probably what all mothers feel.
"Mom, what is this?"
“This is meat sauce.”
"Mom, what is this..."
…
Everyone was happy during the meal, and at the end Xia Manni even taught them to sing Happy Birthday.
At the last moment, Xia Manni gave the prepared Analects to Dawa.
"Big boy, mother hopes your wish will come true."
When Big Brother heard this, he couldn't help crying out loud.
In the end, the four children also started crying, making Xia Manni feel both amused and helpless.
She felt that it would be nice if life continued like this.
Although she cannot fulfill her wish of living a life of luxury, working hard for a living is also a part of life.
But even though she thought so, God did not let her have her wish.
From that day on, Xia Manni found that the children treated her better.
Xia Manni was hardly even allowed to do any housework at home. It seemed that she had nothing else to do except taking them to study and exercise every day.
Speaking of things, there is one.
That means going to the fields several times a day.
In fact, Xia Manni is not the only one who goes to the fields. There are people in the village who are more diligent than her.
One day she saw Li sitting on the edge of a field with a sad look on his face.
I knew things weren't going well.
Everyone in the village realized that the situation was serious, so they went to the fields one after another.
Xia Manni sometimes wondered if God saw that they were living too comfortably.
Could this be the legendary "extreme joy leads to sorrow"?
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