Grandma Yan's face turned completely cold: "Xuemei, go to my room and get an egg. My Nannan gets an egg every day without fail."
Xuemei smiled, "Okay, Grandma, I'll go right away. Nannan, be good, don't cry. I'll go stew it now, it'll be quick!"
Yan Xiaonan still had tears in her eyes, but she obediently nodded, climbed to the other end of the kang (a heated brick bed), and lay down, not even glancing at the bowl of egg custard.
Grandma Yan laughed: "My good child is so sensible. He's not easily offended. It's just a bowl of egg custard. He beat and scolded her. People would think it's a big deal."
Cai Min's face flushed red, and she said awkwardly, "I'll go to the kitchen to see if there's anything I can help with."
Yan Xiaoqiang glanced at Cai Min's retreating figure, then at his second brother, and said with a smile, "It's alright, it's alright. Nan Nan doesn't usually cry much. Maybe she didn't like it when you took her little spoon as soon as you arrived. She's a clean girl, don't worry about it."
This explanation made Yan Erqiang even more embarrassed. Yan Xiaonan, who was pretending to be asleep, turned over and chuckled to herself. Her father was too funny. Grandma Yan also glanced at her youngest son, wondering if this was an attempt to defuse the situation or add fuel to the fire.
Seeing Yan Erqiang's even more awkward expression, Yan Xiaoqiang didn't know what to say. He grabbed a tattered cotton-padded coat, turned around, and went out the door: "Mom, Second Brother is here. There might not be enough firewood at home. I'm going out to collect some branches. It's so cold today, who wants to go out?"
After saying that, he put on his tattered cotton-padded coat and went out the door, slamming it shut behind him. Yan Xiaonan buried her face in the quilt, trying hard not to laugh, but her trembling little body couldn't hold it in.
Grandma Yan looked sadly at the tightly closed door, then at her second son's flushed face. Was her youngest son just being tactless, or was he doing it on purpose?
Yan Xiaoqiang did it on purpose, of course. Not only did he steal my baby's steamed egg custard, but he also complained about my baby. Who gave you the audacity to do that?
Southeast came in with a few children carrying a bucket of fish. Xuemei quickly went over and told them about the steamed egg custard.
Southeast's eyes flickered but he didn't speak, while Southwest and North South washed their hands and faces and went inside.
Sure enough, there were two boys sharing a bowl of steamed egg custard in the main room, while Nan Nan was curled up in the corner of the kang (a heated brick bed) sleeping. Xinan, who cherished Nan Nan the most, was so angry that he almost burst into tears.
He took off his shoes and climbed onto the kang (a heated brick bed) to check if his younger sister was crying. He pulled back the quilt and saw Nan Nan holding back her tears, which broke his heart.
He patted Nan Nan and said, "Nan Nan, don't be angry. I'll go get some bird eggs for you to eat."
Yan Xiaonan tugged at Xinan's hand, her eyes crinkling into crescent moons with laughter. So she hadn't been crying after all. What a little rascal! Xinan touched Xiaonan's face and smiled too.
Yan Ge and Yan Zheng's eyes lit up when they heard about collecting bird eggs. The two of them quickly finished their egg custard and climbed onto the kang (a heated brick bed) to ask Southwest, "Brother, can you take us to collect bird eggs?"
Bei Nan pushed them away, saying, "Who are you? What are you doing in my house?"
Yan Zheng was somewhat surprised: "We are Dad's sons, and this is Dad's home, so why can't we come?"
Bei Nan laughed: "Dad's son, who is your dad?"
“It’s him,” Yan Zheng said, pointing to his father.
"Who is he?" Bei Nan asked again.
Yan Zheng was a little confused. After all, Yan Ge was old enough to understand. He pointed at Grandma Yan and said, "He is Grandma's son."
Bei Nan laughed even louder: "Nonsense, I've never seen it, you're lying."
Yan Ge got anxious: "We really are Grandma's grandsons, and my dad really is Grandma's son."
Bei Nan sneered: "I've never seen a son who hasn't come home to see his mother for more than ten years. Your father is really something."
Yan Erqiang felt a dull thud in his head, utterly ashamed.
Bei Nan's voice came again: "You're not your father's biological sons, are you? Your father isn't even married yet."
Yan Ge was really anxious. You can't just say things like that: "My dad got married, and we still have his wedding photos hanging in the house. My mom is in the kitchen."
Bei Nan laughed again: "How come your grandma didn't know about your dad's wedding? Grandma is your dad's own mother. How could a mother not know about her son's wedding?"
Yan Zheng remained silent, then burst into tears and ran into the kitchen to find his mother.
Yan Xiaonan gained a deeper understanding of Bei Nan's cunning. He's still so young, only ten years old, right? It seems she'll have to be careful around this little brother in the future.
In the kitchen, Xuemei was peeling potatoes for stew with meat that evening, Cuihua was kneading dough, and Caimin was pretending to look around.
Xuemei heard Bei Nan's words clearly. She glanced at Cai Min with disdain, while Cuihua was a little embarrassed. How could someone slap someone in the face like that? Bei Nan was a brat who needed to be taught a lesson.
Cai Min was feeling awkward when the children's crying conveniently saved her from the situation. She pretended to wipe the children's tears and walked out of the kitchen, little did she know that the atmosphere outside would become even more awkward.
From the back-and-forth conversation between Bei and Nan, Yan Erqiang realized how terribly wrong he had been. He knelt down in front of Grandma Yan, tears of remorse streaming down his face.
Cai Min didn't know what to do. She definitely wouldn't want to kneel, but how could she resolve this situation?
Grandma Yan wouldn't care about her second daughter-in-law's grievances. Yan Erqiang had already knelt down to her twice, and all her resentment had dissipated.
The man with the pipe tapped Yan Erqiang's shoulder: "Get up. It's all in the past. Just live a good life from now on."
Yan Erqiang choked up and said, "Mother, let me kneel a little longer, I feel terrible."
Grandma Yan was furious: "It makes me uncomfortable to see you kneeling. I'm not dead, so what are you kneeling for? Get up right now!"
Yan Erqiang immediately stood up. He must have been kneeling for a while, and he stood up too suddenly, because he stumbled and almost hit his head.
Cai Min panicked and rushed over to grab Yan Erqiang, wanting to check his forehead, but Yan Erqiang pushed her away in disgust. Yan Xiaonan felt even more disgusted with this second uncle, calling him a scumbag.
Bei Nan rolled his eyes and remained silent. Dong Nan stepped forward and bowed to Er Qiang, saying, "Hello, Second Uncle."
Yan Erqiang nodded, but before he could speak, Cai Min said, "You're the eldest son of the third brother's family, right? Your brother has a sharp tongue; he can make a living with his mouth in the future."
Southeast said coldly, "My younger brother is quick-witted but not greedy. He would never steal food from a one-year-old girl. Your son can rely on stealing food from now on."
Cai Min's voice stopped abruptly, her face flushing red and then pale, as she lost the ability to organize her thoughts.
Yan Xiaonan glanced at Cai Min, not understanding how her brain worked; it was rare to see someone so masochistic.
Xuemei came in carrying a tray, and Xinan quickly carried Yan Xiaonan to the kang table. "Come on, Nannan, have some steamed egg custard."
Yan Xiaonan pulled her grandmother to sit down, and her grandmother picked up a spoon to feed her, but Yan Xiaonan avoided it, saying, "I'll eat milk."
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