Chapter 109 Teeth Fell Out
The next morning, Lu Mingyue rode her bicycle with Yao Yao to the post office to mail the packages for her parents-in-law and godmother.
After completing the mailing procedures, she put the two receipts in her pocket and turned to walk towards the supply and marketing cooperative.
We're almost out of soap at home, and Leilei only has one notebook left, so we might as well buy some more.
There weren't many people in the supply and marketing cooperative. She went straight to the daily necessities counter and picked out two bars of soap and a pack of rough paper notebooks.
Then I remembered that Yao Yao's favorite face cream was almost empty, so I specially grabbed an extra box.
While paying, she noticed some newly arrived fine cotton thread in the corner of the shelf, and she grabbed two spools, thinking she might be able to use them to mend clothes for her children.
As soon as Lu Mingyue arrived at the courtyard gate, she saw Leilei sitting listlessly on the door frame, his little hands clutching the hem of his clothes, his eyes red as if they had been rubbed into peaches.
Her heart tightened, and she quickly got out of the car, rushed over, and squatted down: "Leilei, what's wrong? Were you bullied at school?"
"Brother, why are you sitting here?"
Yao Yao tilted her little face up and immediately noticed the small gap at the corner of Lei Lei's mouth. She reached out to touch it, exclaiming, "Brother's tooth is gone!"
Leilei hurriedly turned his head away, his cheeks turning red.
Lu Mingyue put down the net and squatted down to help Leilei brush the dust off his trouser legs.
Yao Yao sidled up to her, tugged at her sleeve, and whispered, "Mommy, why did my brother's tooth fall out? Will it bleed? Will Yao Yao's teeth fall out too?"
Seeing the little girl's face full of curiosity and a little worry, Lu Mingyue smiled and picked her up: "Yaoyao, don't worry, it's a good thing that your brother is losing his teeth. When you grow up to be as big as your brother, your baby teeth will fall out one by one, and then stronger new teeth will grow in."
As soon as he finished speaking, Leilei loosened his clenched little hand, revealing a tiny baby tooth in his palm. His voice was a mix of grievance and curiosity: "Mommy, my tooth fell out."
He pointed to his front teeth, where there was a small gap, making his speech slurred.
Lu Mingyue's heart, which had been hanging in suspense, instantly settled down. She couldn't help but laugh out loud and reached out to ruffle his hair: "Silly child, losing a tooth is a good thing. It means that our Leilei is going to grow new teeth and become a big boy."
She picked up the little baby tooth and carefully cleaned it. "Come on, let's put the tooth away. It will be stronger when the new tooth grows in."
Upon hearing this, Lei Lei's eyes lit up. He immediately jumped down from the door frame, grabbed Lu Mingyue's hand, and led her into the house: "Will the new teeth be stronger than the old ones? Will they be able to bite through hard walnuts?"
Lu Mingyue led Leilei into the house, found a clean piece of oil paper in the drawer, and wrapped the baby tooth.
“Our elders have a tradition: if a lower tooth falls out, it should be thrown onto the roof so that the new tooth can grow upwards smoothly and grow straight and strong.”
Lei Lei's eyes lit up when he heard this, and he grabbed her hand and ran into the yard.
Lu Mingyue moved a small stool over and carefully tossed the oil paper package onto the eaves.
Watching it land steadily on the tile, Leilei clapped his hands and laughed, "Grow your new tooth quickly!"
When Huo Zheng returned home in the evening, Lei Lei pulled him aside to report that he had lost a tooth as soon as he entered the door.
Huo Zheng deliberately bent down, leaned close to his mouth to take a look, and imitated his lisp, saying, "Oh, our Leilei has become a little gap-toothed? You'd better eat slowly from now on, so that the rice grains don't come out of the gap."
Lei Lei blushed with embarrassment and chased after Huo Zheng in the yard, shouting "Daddy's bad!" Yao Yao followed behind, giggling.
Lu Mingyue stood under the eaves watching, her movements as she picked vegetables slowed down considerably.
At dinner time, the small clay pot on the stove was steaming.
Lu Mingyue lifted the lid, scooped out a bowl of smooth steamed egg custard, and deliberately added two drops of sesame oil.
"Leilei, eat this today. It's soft and easy on your teeth." She placed the bowl in front of Leilei.
Leilei's eyes curved into crescent moons: "Mom's steamed egg custard is the best!"
Huo Zheng also put down his chopsticks, picked up a piece of stewed pork rib that was so tender it fell off the bone from the casserole, carefully removed the bone, and put the meat into Lei Lei's bowl: "Eat more meat so your new teeth can grow strong."
When Yao Yao saw this, she also held up her little spoon and asked for a piece of rib. Huo Zheng smiled and picked one out for her.
Seeing the two children eating heartily, Lu Mingyue put another piece of green vegetables on Huo Zheng's plate: "You should eat more too, you've been training hard lately."
Under the lamplight, the family sat around a small square table. Lei Lei ate while mumbling about school, and his occasional lisping made everyone laugh.
The food in the pot was steaming, and the air was filled with a warm, comforting aroma.
As night fell, Lu Mingyue pulled Leilei into her arms under the covers. "How about I tell you the story of the little squirrel finding pine cones tonight?"
She gently patted Leilei's back, her voice soft and soothing.
Leilei nodded obediently, his little hands clutching the hem of her clothes, and his eyes slowly closed.
Lu Mingyue slowly began to tell the story of the little squirrel's adventures in the forest. When she got to the part where the little squirrel found a tree hole full of pine cones, Leilei couldn't help but whisper, "Mom, when my new teeth grow in, I'll go find pine cones for you too."
At the next bedside, Huo Zheng was bending down to cover Yao Yao with a small blanket.
The little girl rubbed her eyes and yawned, so Huo Zheng reached out and gently patted her back, humming an off-key lullaby.
Yao Yao swayed her little head to the rhythm, and soon her eyes narrowed and her breathing gradually became steady.
When Leilei also started to feel sleepy, Lu Mingyue tucked him in.
The room was quiet except for the child's even breathing. Lu Mingyue quietly withdrew, as did Huo Zheng. The two exchanged a glance and then tiptoed out.
As dawn broke, Lu Mingyue set breakfast on the table. Seeing that there was still no movement from Leilei's room, she began to worry.
Usually by this time, Leilei would have already grabbed his schoolbag and been urging us to leave. Why is he so quiet today?
She walked to the bedside and gently lifted the curtain, only to see Leilei covered by the blanket, with only half of his head showing.
"Leilei, it's time to get up for school, or you'll be late." Lu Mingyue patted the blanket, but the person inside twisted his body and said in a muffled voice, "Mom, I don't want to go."
Lu Mingyue paused for a moment, then sat down on the edge of the bed and slowly pulled his blanket down.
Leilei blushed and turned his head away, covering his mouth with his little hand: "I saw in the mirror that I have a gap in my front tooth, so I speak with a lisp. My classmates will laugh at me."
Seeing her son's aggrieved and shy expression, Lu Mingyue couldn't help but laugh and reached out to gently pinch his little nose.
"Silly child, who doesn't lose teeth when they're little? Look at Little Stone next door, when he lost a tooth, he would deliberately grin and show it off to people."
Lu Mingyue hugged Leilei back into her arms, gently patting his back as she comforted him, "Leilei, it's nothing to be ashamed of. Every child loses teeth as they grow up."
She turned her son's head, pointed to her own teeth and said with a smile, "Look at Mom, I also lost teeth when I was little, and my speech still slurred, but now they're still growing very well."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
