"What's making this smell so good?" he asked as he entered the house.
"Dad, a big bone," Erwa said quickly.
As soon as he got back, he was so overwhelmed by the aroma that he couldn't resist. If his stepmother hadn't stopped him from taking a bite, he would have already given in.
Seeing that Li Huai had also returned, Zhao Qinglan finally spoke.
"Wash your hands and eat."
"Oh, dinner's ready!" Erwa and Xiaoduo cheered together, and they both ran to get chairs.
Although the eldest child didn't say anything, his eyes revealed his joy.
It smelled so good, how could he not be tempted? But although his opinion of Zhao Qinglan had improved a lot, it wouldn't change overnight.
Zhao Qinglan didn't really insist on whether the two brothers called her "Mom".
The reason she kept teasing Erwa and Dawa was simply to make them relax and gradually turn them into a real family.
"Mom" is just a title. Even if you call her that, does it mean that the mother and child have a good relationship? Not necessarily.
In their past lives, Wang Xiaofei and Wang Xiaoyan called her "Mom" quite often, and even when they needed her, they called her more affectionately each time, but what good did it do in the end?
When Wang Dazhi kicked her out, they not only didn't speak up for her, but also made things difficult for her in every way.
Even if the kindness of giving birth is not as great as the kindness of raising, she lived with them for so many years, didn't she have any kinship? It's just a pity that she treated the Wang family as her own, but the Wang family never treated her as one of their own.
Soon all the food was served, and the family of five took their seats.
While cooking, Zhao Qinglan was thinking about what staple food to eat when she saw the bone broth and suddenly had a flash of inspiration, so she added some noodles.
The dishes were served in a bowl and placed in the middle of the table. Everyone scooped out a bowl of pork bone soup noodles, where they could both drink the soup and eat the noodles. It was fragrant and hot.
For a moment, only the sound of slurping filled the room as everyone focused on eating.
Even for someone as worldly-wise as Zhao Qinglan, suddenly being transported back to the 1970s, a time of hardship and poverty, left her with little to eat.
The breakfast the previous morning had already left the Li family father and his two sons wanting more, but this meal completely won them over.
Zhao Qinglan bought some seasonings for the house, and this time she became more familiar with the various things in the house, making the cooking easier and the food tasted even better.
Next door, the three children of the Sun family arrived at their home and smelled the lingering fragrance from next door.
The eldest son of the Sun family asked, "Mom, what delicious food is Uncle Li making? It smells so good."
"You have such a keen nose, go eat your food. There are steamed eggs today."
In the past, if there were stewed eggs on the dinner table, the three children of the Sun family would have been very happy. But today, with the aroma from next door in front of them, the stewed eggs didn't smell as good anymore.
The Sun family had just started their meal when the eldest son came over with a bowl.
"Hey, Yan Sen, come in quickly." Wu Mei stood up immediately.
"Auntie, these are for you." He handed the bowl forward.
The still-warm bone broth emitted a rich aroma.
Actually, Zhao Qinglan had been keeping a large bowl of bone broth, but she knew that the Sun family's children hadn't returned yet, so she waited for them. As soon as she heard that the children next door had returned, she quickly asked her eldest son to come and bring the broth.
Zhao Qinglan even used some tricks to get Da Wa to take on the task.
The eldest child is still young. Even if he is much smarter than his peers, Zhao Qinglan is an adult. If they really try to outsmart him, he is no match for him now.
Sure enough, with a little provocation, the eldest son quickly brought over the bowl.
Wu Mei felt embarrassed to keep pushing and shoving the eldest child around.
However, after taking the bowl, Wu Mei stuffed a handful of dried sweet potatoes into Da Wa's hand.
After the eldest child left, the three children of the Sun family cheered.
Seeing the children happy made Wu Mei happy too, and she felt even more grateful to Zhao Qinglan. She was even thinking of asking Zhao Qinglan for advice the next day on how to handle this big problem.
But she also started complaining. "I don't know where your dad went, he still hasn't come back at this hour."
After finishing their meal at the Li family's house, they cleaned up the mess. The eldest child was playing with his younger brother, and Xiao Duo, who was familiar with the second child, joined them.
Perhaps because of today's "revolutionary friendship," Da Wa didn't chase Xiao Duo away, which can be considered as tacitly acknowledging Xiao Duo's existence as a younger sister.
Li Huai then called Zhao Qinglan aside to speak.
"When we came back just now, the regimental commander and I were stopped by Comrade Qian Hongxia, the wife of Deputy Regimental Commander Yang."
Before Li Huai could finish speaking, Zhao Qinglan interjected, "She's the one who's accusing the villain first?"
"So, what's going on?"
Zhao Qinglan didn't hide anything from Li Huai; she told him the truth directly.
"Although I didn't ask Da Wa and Er Wa in detail, I know that it must have been that her child did something or said something unpleasant first, which is why Da Wa and her child started fighting."
"Normally, when children fight, regardless of who is right or wrong, adults shouldn't get involved. But what did Qian Hongxia do?"
"As soon as I got there, I heard her cursing Da Wa and the others, saying they were born of a mother but not raised by one, and even wishing Da Wa would be shot in the future. Do you think she deserved to be hit?" Zhao Qinglan became agitated again when she mentioned this.
Because she knew the outcome of Da Wa's previous life and how much Li Huai regretted and remorsefully dealt with it, she couldn't bear to hear such words.
As expected, Li Huai's expression darkened upon hearing these words.
He took a deep breath and said, "Qinglan, I don't blame you. If I were there, I might have also been unable to resist taking action. But now that she has complained to the leader, we have to think about how to deal with this."
Seeing that Li Huai didn't blame her and even discussed solutions with her, Zhao Qinglan became happy.
She was right about him; even though he had become much younger, Li Huai was still the same Li Huai.
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com