Chapter 3 "My mother has changed"
In the past, Lin Zhao only cared about giving birth but not raising them. She barely washed the children's diapers. When the older ones could walk, she didn't even cook for them. She sent them to eat at the old house. The twins, a boy and a girl, were also raised with their milk and rice porridge.
"Gu Erzai." Lin Zhao shouted.
When the mother's voice got louder, Erzai lost his temper and immediately looked at Lin Zhao awkwardly, "Why are you calling me?"
Obviously lacking in confidence.
"I will take care of you in the future, but you have to listen to me. Can you do it?" Lin Zhao did not know how to teach children, but she felt that her children were all obedient. If she talked to them nicely, the eldest and second child would definitely listen.
As she asked the question, her eyes swept over the eldest and second cubs.
The twins of the Gu family were very sensible at an early age. They knew that their mother was different from others. Other children’s mothers would hug them, but their mother never did. Other children’s mothers would make delicious food for them, but their mother never cared about them…
Thinking of this, Dazai's eyes showed sadness. Everyone in the village said that their mother didn't like them.
Hearing his mother say that she would take care of them in the future, the eldest cub felt hopeful and asked, "Will mother cook delicious food for us?"
"Yes!" Lin Zhao said.
"Will mom make new clothes for us?" the eldest son asked again. Fearing that mom would think raising them was a waste of money, he lowered the standard again and said cautiously, "You don't have to make one every year. Can you make one every few years?"
"No." Lin Zhao thought to herself that one piece a year would be too few, and doing one piece every few years would certainly not work.
The light in Dazai's eyes dimmed, and he felt indescribably aggrieved and sad.
Lin Zhao said seriously, "How can you do it every few years? You will grow taller, four full bodies a year."
The eldest boy was stunned.
Four sets a year, not pieces, but bodies, a total of eight sets, this is for one person, so expensive.
"It's so expensive. Mom, my brothers and I can take turns wearing it." The eldest son felt that his mother was willing to listen to him, so he boldly suggested.
The second cub came over, raised his butt and squeezed the first cub, looking up at Lin Zhao: "Will mom buy us some candy?"
Thinking of the sweet candy, the greedy child sipped his saliva.
The last time he ate candy was when his father came back!
Lin Zhao pretended to think and deliberately asked, "What if I don't buy it?"
The second child was dumbfounded. His mother agreed to all his brother's requests except his. The little guy was very angry and said proudly, "If you don't want to buy it, then don't buy it. When my father comes back, I will tell him and let your man teach you a lesson!"
Lin Zhao choked, her face turned green, and she twisted Erzai's ear: "Who taught you to 'let your man teach you a lesson'?"
Erzai stood on tiptoe, following his mother's force to relieve the pain in his ears, and his arrogance instantly deflated.
"No one taught me. I heard it from the aunties in the village."
Lin Zhao pretended to be serious: "Don't talk like an adult anymore!"
The older boy also nudged his younger brother with his butt and said hurriedly, "Mom, I don't want to learn. I never learn how adults talk."
"You are the best." Lin Zhao touched the eldest boy's face and spoke softly.
The second child raised his little hand and looked eagerly: "I'm good, I'm good. If mom buys me some candy, I'll be even better and do whatever mom says." Look, he can even negotiate conditions.
"Okay. Now I'll give you your first task. Taking a bath." Lin Zhao couldn't stand dirty, black and smelly children. The only reason she could tolerate them until now was because they were her biological children.
As for the two people sleeping in the bed, they can't escape when they wake up.
Erzai didn't like taking a bath, his face wrinkled like a bun: "Can I not take a bath?"
"Of course." Before Erzai could smile wider, Lin Zhao changed the subject: "You won't get any of the meat buns I buy tomorrow!"
Erzai's eyes lit up with joy, he hugged his mother's arm and asked excitedly, "Mom, you want to buy meat buns? Is that true?"
Lin Zhao deliberately contradicted Zizi: "It's fake."
"Mom is laughing, so it must be true. I'll go wash. I'll go wash now. Brother, hurry up, let's go take a shower." The second son hurriedly urged the eldest son.
Lin Zhao held down the two children and said, "Eat your sweet potatoes first. I'll go boil some water."
The second son imitated his grandfather and waved his hands in a condescending manner: "Why bother? Just wash it with cold water. There's nothing particular about it in the countryside."
Lin Zhao: “…”
She took a deep breath, looked at the eldest son, pointed at the second son, asked him to take care of his younger brother, and then went to the kitchen.
As soon as she left, the eldest boy leaned close to the second boy's ear and whispered, "Second boy, I think mom has changed."
The second child was careless, unlike his elder brother who was careful. He scratched his face and laughed, "Mom paid attention to us today, hehe!"
Lin Zhao boiled some water and took out the bathtub for the two kids to use. She asked the two children to rub each other's backs. As there was tomorrow's meat buns hanging on their shoulders, the older and younger kids strictly followed her orders, "You rub me and I rub you," with some grunting.
"Brother, you are so dirty." The long-mouthed Erzai exclaimed, and his words were straightforward and heartbreaking.
The eldest boy's face turned red.
He subconsciously glanced at Lin Zhao's door, but there was no movement. He thought his mother should not have heard what Erzai said, so he felt relieved.
"You're dirty too, just wash yourself." The eldest brother carefully maintained his dignity as the eldest brother.
The second child listened to his brother and nodded: "Yes."
She said happily, "After we finish washing, we will be clean children!"
The eldest boy hummed.
In the room, Lin Zhao had not been sitting for a while when Erzai's loud voice rang out: "Mom!"
"..." Lin Zhao really wanted to tell her not to call me mom, but to call me dad. However, there was nothing she could do because her child's father was defending her country.
She walked out the door, and the mysterious lucky draw wheel followed her all the time. Lin Zhao stopped, poked and studied it, and finally found the setting of "invisible when not in use" in the corner.
After the setup was successful, she opened the door.
The two cubs stood naked in the basin.
The five-year-old kid is at the age when he has no shame. He has no sense of shame and is still grinning.
"Mom, we're done washing. Do you want to check?" Erzai asked loudly.
He doesn't like taking a bath, but he feels comfortable after taking one.
"No need to check. Just wait, I'll go get you clothes." Lin Zhao said as he walked towards the kids' room. It was hot now, so it was okay to go shirtless.
She opened the small wardrobe and found very few clothes inside, piled up haphazardly. No one taught them how to fold clothes and the children didn't know how to do it. There were big patches on the clothes, but fortunately they were still clean. They must have been washed by the eldest son's grandmother.
Lin Zhao took out two undershirts and two pairs of shorts, but couldn't find any underwear. She planned to change some cloth tomorrow to make a few pairs for the children. Clothes had to be made as the family was not short of money.
She took the clothes and went to the yard.
The two children could dress themselves at the age of three, without Lin Zhao's help.
The eldest boy put on his clothes, pulled the corners of his clothes straight, looked up at Lin Zhao, and gave a shy and expectant smile.
"Mom, we're clean."
Lin Zhao praised: "The eldest child has become a clean and beautiful child."
The children of the Gu family, especially those from the third room, are indeed all pretty. There is no other way because their parents are both good-looking and they stand out in the crowd.
The second child stood beside his brother, standing on tiptoe, trying to raise himself higher, blinking his big eyes and saying, "Mom, what about me?"
Lin Zhao didn't understand Erzai's strange desire to win, and said with a smile: "You are also a clean and pretty child."
The second child was so proud that his tail was about to lift up. He said carelessly: "I look the same as my brother. My brother is clean and handsome, so of course I am clean and handsome too."
After saying this, she smiled and said, "We are all clean and beautiful children."
Lin Zhao said casually, "It's not enough to be clean and beautiful for just one day. You have to be clean and beautiful every day from now on. Do you understand?"
The eldest boy moved his mouth and wanted to ask if mother would like us if we were clean and pretty, but he didn't dare to ask.
Instead, Erzai came over and flirted with Lin Zhao, cleverly asking, "If mom buys us meat buns every day, we will wash our faces clean every day."
Lin Zhao thought to herself, you are not washing for me. Before she could say anything, the eldest son taught his younger brother in a serious tone, "Second son, it is too expensive to eat meat buns every day. Eat them once a month."
After he finished speaking, he looked at Lin Zhao worriedly and said, "Mom, can the money Dad sent be enough to buy meat buns?" He was worried that the money Dad sent was not enough.
Erzai also looked at his mother worriedly.
Lin Zhao felt that these two kids were thinking too much, "That's enough."
I was afraid that the kids would go out and talk nonsense, so I didn’t tell them that the money at home was enough for us to enjoy the good life.
The two kids were relieved, their eyes sparkled and they were happy.
The whistle sounded, signaling the team to go to work.
“————!” Coming from far away, each sound becomes louder and louder.
The eldest and second son are diligent children. Although they are still young, they are not lazy like their mother. They collect firewood, dig wild vegetables, look for wild fruits... They are very busy every day.
Before, Lin Zhao didn’t care about the twins, so the two brothers carried their younger siblings around everywhere, and the children in the Gu family’s old house would also help look after the two youngest siblings.
"Brother, I'll go call the third and fourth kids, you go get the basket." The second kid said to the eldest kid and rushed into the room quickly.
After a while, only two little baby voices with crying tones were heard.
"bad!"
"Bad...pot."
Erzai smiled smugly: "Who told you two not to get up? Hurry up, or I'll leave."
As he was speaking, he made a move to turn around.
The twins, a boy and a girl, were still babies who could only walk. They spoke word by word, and they couldn't understand what they were saying. When they saw their older brother was about to leave, they became extremely anxious and slid off the bed in a hurry. Their two little heads bumped into each other, as if they were stunned. The two little ones looked at each other, touched the painful places, and babbled something, but the two little ones couldn't understand what they were saying.
He took the twins down, put on little shoes for the third and fourth cubs, and led their younger brothers and sisters out of the house.
The eldest cub found his and his brother's basket.
Just then, Gu's mother came over and saw Lin Zhao in the yard. She asked with concern, "Does your head still hurt?"
"A little bit." Lin Zhao didn't lie. After all, there was a big bump on her head.
Mother Gu said, "If it hurts, just lie down more and don't stand too long."
"Yeah." Lin Zhao replied.
Mother Gu didn't have much to say to her. After a brief chat, she took the twins out of the house.
The third daughter-in-law hit her head and needed to rest, but she didn't dare let her look after the child.
Of course, Lin Zhao wouldn't care about the child, alas.
Gu's mother regretted once again falling for Lin Zhao's face and agreed to let the third son marry her. So what if they looked a good match when standing together? They couldn't live together if she had a bad temper.
The second cub saw his grandmother leave, and urged the eldest cub: "Brother, let's go too."
The eldest son was worried about Lin Zhao. After walking a few steps toward the door, he stopped and looked at his mother and said, "Mom, if your headache is severe, please ask someone to call me and the second son. We will call a doctor for you."
Erzai was thinking about the meat buns, but he didn't forget to show his courtesy: "Yes, yes, call us if you need anything."
Lin Zhao's heart was touched by the pure and precious love of the two cubs, and hot emotions surged in her heart.
He took a few steps forward and suddenly said, "Close your eyes!"
The older and younger boys were confused, but their mother was in a good mood today and they were willing to listen to her, so the two children closed their eyes.
The second child was still grinning: "Mom, I shut it up."
The eldest son also said, "Mom, I closed my eyes too."
"Be good." Lin Zhao took out two rock candies like a magic trick and stuffed them into the mouths of the two kids.
The eldest and second cubs felt something slipping into their mouths. They sucked it and found it was sweet. It was sugar.
The second child opened his eyes with a whoosh, his eyes were brighter than the stars in the summer night: "Mom, it's candy!!"
Children don’t care where the sugar comes from. For them, as long as they have something to eat, it’s fine.
The eldest cub also opened his eyes in shock, but then he remembered that his mother didn't tell him to open his eyes, so he quickly covered his eyes with his two little paws and said, "Mom, I didn't open my eyes." He was trying to cover up his crimes.
Lin Zhao laughed: "You can open it now."
The eldest child put down his hand and looked at her with bright eyes: "Mom, the candy is so sweet."
Mom is so nice.
What the village aunties said was wrong. His mother liked them. If adults didn’t like children, they wouldn’t give them candy.
His mother gave him and his brother candy, she must like them.
Thinking of this, Dazai felt very sweet in his heart, sweeter than eating a bag of candy.
"Mom, do you have any candy?" The eldest boy was worried that his mother had no candy.
"Yes." Lin Zhao also ate one. It tasted sweet.
The second child rolled his eyes and came over with a smile: "Mom, can you give me another one?"
Seeing his sweet smile, Lin Zhao gave one to each of the two brothers.
"Brush your teeth at night."
The second child put the candy into his little bag and pressed it a few times to make sure the candy wouldn't fall out. When he heard his mother's words, he said, "My brother and I don't have toothbrushes."
"Mom said children don't need to brush their teeth." The eldest son also said.
puff……
The two little cotton-padded jackets suddenly turned into leaky leather jackets.
"I'll buy it for you two tomorrow!" Lin Zhao was helpless. What happened to her in the past?
The eldest cub remembered the twins and reminded his mother, "There are also cubs three and four."
"...I remember." She is only twenty-three this year, so her memory is not that bad.
Lin Zhao married Gu Chenghuai the year before she came of age. At that time, she had just graduated from high school. She had no connections and no money, and could not even find a hard labor job, not to mention that the harvest was poor that year and the family was in danger of running out of food at any time.
She had her own ideas since she was young and planned to get married and change her fate.
Later, Lin Zhao accidentally met Gu Chenghuai who was returning home to visit his relatives. She took the initiative to attack him, but Gu Chenghuai seemed unable to withstand the offensive and surrendered. Then they got married in front of the statue of the great man.
Outside the gate, there were occasional sounds of footsteps and voices. They were people going to work.
The eldest son was in a hurry to go out, and before leaving, he said, "Mom, have a good rest. I will bring you food when I come back."
Where to bring food from? Of course, the old house.
Lin Zhao was sweating profusely.
"...Okay." It's not that I don't want to cook. First, it's a headache, and second, we haven't cooked at home for a long time, so it takes time to prepare.
"Don't go to the river. Stay with the adults. Call them if anything happens." Lin Zhao warned worriedly.
Before the eldest cub could say anything, the second cub said in a loud voice, "Mom, we all know. Grandma taught us."
After saying that, he took the eldest son’s hand and ran out of the house.
(End of this chapter)
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