Chapter 24 I like my current mother
Cheng Cheng chatted with her grandparents for a while before her father arrived.
When I noticed that my daughter and granddaughter hadn't returned for dinner, I knew that the mother and daughter had stayed at the old house for the meal.
After Cheng Aiguo finished eating, he came to pick them up.
"Alright, take Xiaoxiao back now, and bring her back tomorrow."
While talking to her granddaughter, Su Aihua secretly slipped a small object into her great-grandson's palm, patted the little guy's hand, and said nothing.
Little Lingxiao understood what his great-grandmother meant. He clenched the little thing in his hand and, under his great-grandmother's loving gaze, ran to his mother's side and took her hand.
Cheng Cheng smiled and patted the little guy's head, instructing him, "Say goodbye to your great-grandfather and great-grandmother."
Little Lingxiao nodded, waved his clenched little fist at his great-grandfather and great-grandmother, and said in a childish voice, "Goodbye, great-grandfather and great-grandmother. Xiaoxiao and Mommy will come to see you tomorrow."
After the little one finished speaking, he tilted his head, thought for a moment, and then raised his little face: "Goodnight, you all sleep well~"
Then Cheng Aiguo saw his mother's usually dignified and solemn face reveal an extremely happy smile, full of love.
"Okay, Xiaoxiao, you should sleep well tonight too. Don't kick off the blankets. Get plenty of sleep. Come to Great-Grandma's again tomorrow. Great-Grandma will teach you a good trick."
"Mmm~"
The grandmother and granddaughter were chatting so intently that it was clear that Cheng Cheng, the old favorite, had fallen out of favor with her grandparents, and Xiao Xiao was now their most beloved child!
Cheng Aiguo seemed dazed ever since he came in. His parents were still somewhat loving and gentle towards their grandchildren, and even more so towards their great-grandchildren, Dawei and Yong. But just now, he saw his parents' attitude towards their little granddaughter, which was completely different.
If the parents' attitude towards him and his second brother Aimin was like a heavy blow, then their attitude towards their little granddaughter was like a gentle spring breeze, treating her like a precious gem.
Cheng Aiguo walked over and was about to lift his little granddaughter onto his shoulder when the old man hit him with a cane.
"You're so clumsy and careless, don't scare my great-grandson."
Cheng Aiguo looked slightly speechless as he glanced at his father. How could his father be so careless and clumsy?
Didn't his father used to praise him for being meticulous despite his rough exterior, and for being more thorough in his work than his younger brother, telling his younger brother to learn from him?
Cheng Aiguo was quite helpless. He bent down and picked up his little granddaughter, his movements careful and gentle. "Is this alright?"
Holding her little granddaughter in her arms, she strode outside.
Cheng Cheng waved to her grandparents and followed her father.
At this moment, the sky was between completely dark and not completely dark, and the moon had already come out. The moonlight was bright and clear, and one could see the road clearly without a flashlight.
Along the way, her father kept asking Xiaoxiao what she had done at her great-grandparents' house, and didn't say much to Cheng Cheng.
Cheng Cheng breathed a sigh of relief. She was initially unsure how much her father knew, but now it seemed he wouldn't "educate" her anymore.
"This yellow floral dress suits me perfectly, sister-in-law, don't you think it looks great?"
Chen Meiling held the dress up against herself, her eyes and brows beaming with joy. Her fingers caressed the fabric repeatedly, her happiness practically overflowing from her eyes.
Wu Yufang stared at her carefully and nodded in agreement, "Your skin is fairer than mine, this color really suits you."
Upon hearing this, Chen Meiling smiled and couldn't help but say, "It's just that your waist is a little small. My little sister's waist is much thinner than mine. Her waist is like that of a young girl. She doesn't look like she's had a child at all."
Wu Yufang nodded, "That's true, but it's okay, we can just change it."
"I reckon we'll have to alter all these clothes so we can fit into them."
It was a bit of a hassle, but compared to having new clothes to wear, it was nothing to Wu Yufang and Chen Meiling.
This is a dress, made of high-quality material, and the style is great. Although it was worn by the younger sister, it looks almost brand new to them.
When Cheng Cheng returned, her eldest and second sisters-in-law were trying on the clothes she had brought back. Last time her second brother came, Cheng Cheng forgot about it when he left.
The clothes were left in the sack, and then her mother came and saw the sack, which led to what happened next. She got a beating, but it turned out to be a blessing in disguise.
Just like her grandmother said, "Good is bad, and bad is good," the two big bombs in her heart were detonated, a weight was lifted from her shoulders, and half of the money was recovered. Ding Manman probably wouldn't dare not pay back the other half.
"Little sister, it's good that you're back. You really don't want these clothes anymore?"
Chen Meiling stared at her intently, not missing a single detail.
Cheng Cheng nodded gently, "No, thank you, Second Sister-in-law, if you and Eldest Sister-in-law don't mind—"
"No problem, no problem!"
Before Cheng Cheng could finish speaking, Chen Meiling, who was very impatient, interrupted her with a sincere expression, saying that they would not mind at all and that they were overjoyed!
The only concern is that most of the younger sister's clothes are dresses, and she and her sister-in-law have to go to work every day, so they can't wear them out because it's inconvenient for them to work. They also can't bear to wear such nice clothes to work and waste them.
“That’s easy, Second Sister-in-law. You can wear them at home with Eldest Sister-in-law. You can wear them as nightgowns after taking a bath, or when you’re not working.”
The last possibility is probably less likely: wind, rain, or a day when work is cancelled. Therefore, Cheng Cheng suggests that it's better to wear it as a nightgown at night.
It's summer now, so I can wear skirts every day, and they're cool to wear at night, which also lifts my spirits and makes me happy.
After hearing this, Wu Yufang's eyes lit up: "That's great!"
I immediately decided to start altering the skirt right now so I can wear it tomorrow!
Chen Meiling felt a little regretful that she couldn't wear it all the time, especially not in broad daylight to show it off to others, but when she saw that her sister-in-law had already started taking action, she immediately put that regret behind her.
She can't wear it out during the day, no problem. She can just take a shower early in the evening, wear it out to chat with people, and still show it off!
The two sisters-in-law exchanged a glance and laughed, clearly understanding each other's plans.
Cheng Cheng gave them a heads-up and realized she wasn't needed at all, so she decisively took Xiao Xiao back to her room to rest before giving her a bath.
"Mommy~"
Little Lingxiao's eyebrows curved into crescent moons. Once inside the room, only her mother and she remained. She stretched out her right hand, and her tightly clenched fist finally loosened.
"Mommy, Great-Grandma gave it to me~"
In her palm was a piece of translucent white jade, with a slight blush of light pink. Its texture was delicate and clear. Cheng Cheng looked at the little guy and lowered her voice: "Did your great-grandmother secretly give it to you?"
Little Lingxiao squinted his eyes and nodded gently, looking just like a cat that had stolen some fish, with an endearingly clumsy appearance.
Cheng Cheng picked up the jade and examined it carefully. It felt as if a warm sensation was slowly spreading from her fingertips. It had a very good feel to it. It was a warm jade, and a high-quality one at that.
Jade is said to nourish the body, and warm jade is likely to be even more effective. However, in this particular era, while the item is valuable, it cannot be worn in public.
Cheng Cheng lifted the little one onto her lap, and the mother and daughter looked at each other. She looked into Xiao Xiao's eyes, treating her as an equal little adult, discussing things together.
"Mommy will put it away for you now, okay? Great-Grandma gave you a precious treasure. Xiaoxiao can't let anyone else know about it except Mommy and Daddy, understand?"
Little Lingxiao tilted his head and nodded, "Mom, I know, Aunt Ding will borrow it."
Cheng Cheng: "..."
"Um..." Although there was a similarity, she tried her best to restore her image in front of the little girl and defended herself: "Xiaoxiao, Mommy doesn't associate with Aunt Ding anymore. She owes our family a lot of money. Mommy now realizes that she is not a friend worth associating with."
"Mom has learned a lesson from this incident: be careful when making friends. Xiaoxiao, in the future, when making friends, you should first check if the other person has good character, understand?"
"I know~" The little head nodded slightly, and the little face was raised. "Mom, I don't like Aunt Ding."
"Mom knows, and Mom doesn't like her either. We won't associate with her anymore. Xiaoxiao doesn't have to like her, and she doesn't have to like anyone else."
Cheng Cheng patted the little girl's head. "Whether you like someone or hate someone is your freedom. Xiaoxiao can decide according to her heart, understand?"
As Cheng Cheng spoke, she took her hand and placed it over her heart. "This can talk, can't it? It can tell Xiaoxiao in its heart whether it's happy or not, whether it likes it or not."
Listening to her mother's words, Xiao Lingxiao lowered her head and fell into thought. After a while, she suddenly raised her head and looked at her mother with bright eyes.
A very serious expression appeared on her little face as she said, word by word, "I love my mom~ I love my mom now!"
After saying that, the little girl buried herself in Cheng Cheng's arms and hugged her tightly. A few seconds later, she crawled out of her mother's arms again.
He repeated, "I love my mom as she is now!"
Her big, round, black eyes were filled with a stubbornness as she looked at her mother with unwavering determination.
Cheng Cheng's heart softened. The little guy had become a bit chubby from her care; his small body was soft and fluffy, and an indescribable emotion welled up inside her.
She gently pressed her forehead against the little one's forehead and replied just as earnestly, "Okay, Mommy knows."
“Mom loves you too. It’s not because Xiaoxiao loves Mom that Mom loves you, but because Xiaoxiao deserves everyone’s love.”
"Whether Xiaoxiao is obedient and well-behaved or naughty and mischievous, Mommy will always love you and adore you."
Therefore, you can freely express your nature, you don't have to be a sensible child, do whatever you want, you don't have to be too obedient, you don't have to consider adults in everything, and you can be naughty if you want.
The past cannot be retrieved; she only wishes that countless happy moments in the future could bury the shadows of the past, and that she could only remember these happy, joyful, and loving days.
The warm jade was carved into the shape of a Qilin. After giving the little guy a bath, Cheng Cheng changed him into a light nightgown and tied the warm jade around his neck with a red string.
Although we can't openly wear it out right now, the little guy can wear it tonight to have some fun.
However, when the weather gets cold, especially in winter, when everyone is wearing many thick clothes, it's okay to take it out and let the little one wear it around their neck. Make the string a bit longer, it shouldn't be a problem.
"Xiaoxiao, play by yourself for a while. If you get sleepy, go to sleep first. Mommy is going to take a shower."
Cheng Chengxiang kissed her sweet and soft daughter, then took her pajamas to take a shower.
The Cheng family had a large number of members, and probably because it was a small number of women who were in charge, Ms. Xu Fengying was the head of the family, and no one in the family dared to disobey her.
When the new house was built, not only was land designated for a toilet, but a bathhouse was also arranged, so that the women in the family had a special place to take a bath.
Unlike other families in the village, almost no one sets aside a space in their home specifically for bathing. Firstly, it's unnecessary; no one wants to waste a piece of land, having to spend more money and effort, and still taking up space for nothing.
Secondly, the men in the village are used to taking baths in the yard. They are not afraid of being stared at, and they are not very clean. They don't like to take baths in winter, but in summer they just pour a bucket of water over their heads and rinse in the yard, which is very convenient!
As for the women, they basically carried water to their respective rooms, either washing themselves in basins or wiping themselves down. Although it was troublesome, that's what everyone did and how they got by.
When Cheng Cheng came out after taking a shower, the lights were on in the main room, and her eldest and second sisters-in-law were still altering clothes by lamplight. She admired their perseverance!
When she returned, she didn't see her eldest and second brothers, so Cheng Cheng asked, puzzled, "Where are my eldest and second brothers? Where did they go?"
Chen Meiling looked up at her younger sister, bit off the thin thread with her teeth, and said, "Big brother went to the river with Xiang Ming to set up the cages."
Cheng Cheng said "oh" and inquired where they were setting the shrimp traps. She learned that they had to walk more than ten miles to the foot of the mountain valley to set them.
There's a river in their village that flows out from that mountain valley, but there are probably not many fish in it. If you want to catch fish and shrimp, you have to go further afield along the river.
Cheng Cheng said hello and went back to her room.
The little guy lay sprawled on the bed, playing with the warm jade in his little hands. Cheng Cheng closed the door.
Upon hearing the noise, Xiao Lingxiao immediately turned her head and looked over, revealing two small dimples.
"Mommy~"
Cheng Cheng took a wooden comb and sat down on the edge of the bed. The little guy automatically snuggled into her arms and sat obediently.
Cheng Cheng combed the little guy's hair with a comb, brushing it about a hundred times every night before bed to promote blood circulation in the scalp and nourish the hair.
After the little girl's hair was cut short last time, some new downy hair grew out. It felt a little prickly to the touch. The little one's hair was short, so it was combed in a hundred strokes.
Cheng Cheng patted her, and Xiao Lingxiao stood behind his mother with a comb, combing her hair.
Combing each other's hair and massaging each other's scalps before bed has become one of the mother and daughter's bedtime routines, a ritual before sleep.
Mom's hair is long, thick, and shiny black. Little Lingxiao's fingers weave through Mom's hair, and a joyful expression shines through his eyes.
She loves combing her mother's hair!
After a while, Cheng Cheng yawned, feeling a bit sleepy. She kept her eyelids open and told the little guy a bedtime story.
She's almost finished telling Journey to the West, but she hasn't decided what bedtime story to tell her little Xiaoxiao after she's done.
She was multitasking, telling the story of how Tang Sanzang and his disciples had completed their journey to retrieve the scriptures and were preparing to return by crossing the Tongtian River, while simultaneously pondering which book would be suitable as bedtime reading after the story ended.
As I pondered this, the room gradually fell silent.
In the darkness, Xiao Lingxiao listened intently to his mother's story. The story was about how Tang Sanzang and his disciples were overturned by the old turtle and fell into the river. At the most exciting part, his mother suddenly stopped talking.
She called softly, "Mom?"
After waiting for a while without hearing my mother speak, I turned my head and looked up, only to find that my mother was asleep.
In the darkness, the little girl got up, approached, and accurately placed a goodnight kiss on her mother's forehead.
Goodnight, Mom.
I slept well all night.
The next day, Cheng Cheng woke up and had no idea that she had fallen asleep halfway through telling a story the night before. She sat on the bed, stretched, changed her clothes, tied her hair into a bun, and went out to wash up.
She was squatting on the ground, brushing her teeth, when she saw her older brothers carrying a net cage back from outside.
The cage was made of bamboo strips and covered with a layer of wire mesh. The cage was covered with a dense mass of small shrimp, and it looked like a very good harvest.
Cheng Cheng immediately stood up, brushing her teeth as she walked over to take a look.
It turned out to be true. Two net cages were set up. One net caught a lot of small shrimp and only three or four small fish. The other net cage also had shrimp and a lot of fish, mostly small bream and minnows, enough for a meal.
Cheng Cheng gave them a thumbs up, "Awesome, bro!"
Brother Cheng Xiangguang smiled, his face gentle and honest, "I was lucky this time, and I reaped a lot."
Cheng Xiangming complained, "It wasn't a waste of our time to come all this way!"
Last night I went with my older brother to set up the cages and didn't get back until almost 10 o'clock. This morning I got up before dawn again and walked more than ten miles to bring the cages back. All the hard work paid off.
After breakfast, Cheng Cheng planned to take Xiao Xiao to her grandparents' house.
"Xiaoxiao, let's go!"
Little Lingxiao was squatting next to the bucket, staring intently at the shrimp inside. Upon hearing his mother's words, he immediately ran over and took her hand.
Everyone in the family had gone out to work, and Jiawei and Jiayong went up the mountain to cut pig feed with the older children in the village.
Cheng Cheng closed the gate and led the little one as they walked, enjoying the countryside scenery.
"Great-Grandma, Great-Grandpa, Xiaoxiao and Mommy have come to see you!"
Little Lingxiao let go of his mother's hand, his short legs stepped over the threshold, and ran inside.
"Great-grandfather, great-grandmother, have you eaten?"
"Xiaoxiao ate too~"
The little guy's sweet, childlike words made the elderly couple laugh from ear to ear, their smiles never fading.
Grandpa, in particular, who is usually a serious man who rarely smiles, seemed like a completely different person when he was with his great-grandson. The upturned corners of his mouth were quite unsettling.
When Su Ninghua learned that her granddaughter had hidden the warm jade, she interrogated Xiaoxiao, asking if she knew why her mother had hidden it and didn't want others to know, especially her older siblings.
Xiao Lingxiao looked at his great-grandmother, his lowered eyes seemingly deep in thought. After a few seconds, he shook his head and looked up at his great-grandmother.
“Xiaoxiao has it, but Jiawei and Jiahui don’t. Great-Grandma only gave it to Xiaoxiao. Jiawei and the others will be unhappy if they find out.”
Su Ninghua lovingly stroked the little one, her expression gentle. "Xiaoxiao, Great-Grandma will tell you a story. Long ago, there was an old man named Confucius..."
"In this situation, Confucius said, 'It is not scarcity that people worry about, but inequality.' This means that people are not worried about the quantity of things, but about the uneven distribution, where one person has something that another does not..."
Su Ninghua extended the analogy from reality to the Analects, explaining to her which chapter of the Analects this sentence came from, telling the story in a gentle and detailed manner.
Xiao Lingxiao listened very attentively, and even summarized things on his own. He had his own thoughts and understood things very quickly. He was simply the smartest kid that teachers love the most!
Su Ninghua not only feels a great sense of accomplishment when teaching, but also feels a sense of joy and happiness, like a gentle stream flowing through her heart!
She took out the nine-linked rings that she had prepared beforehand, which she had hidden away, thinking she would never see the light of day again.
The nine-linked rings look quite old, showing signs of age, but they are well-preserved and still usable.
As soon as Xiao Lingxiao received the nine-linked rings from his great-grandmother, he plunged into them, pondering how to solve them.
The little girl fumbled around on her own for a while, and soon found the trick, her fingers moving nimbly and quickly unraveling the puzzle.
She tilted her little face up, looking at her mother and great-grandparents with a bright and lively expression.
The morning passed quickly, and as noon approached, Cheng Cheng took the little one back from the old house to cook.
Dawei and Dayong have disappeared without a trace, having taken their younger siblings somewhere to play.
Cheng Cheng was busy preparing lunch, while Xiao Lingxiao stayed in her room alone, playing with the Luban lock that her great-grandfather had made for her, completely absorbed in her little world.
In one evening and one morning, Cheng Deshun not only made building blocks for his great-grandson, but also made four Luban locks of different shapes.
Little Lingxiao is currently exploring a small spherical Luban lock. After fiddling around for a while, following the method her great-grandfather taught her, she quickly found a breakthrough, disassembling the pieces of wood one by one and trying to put them back together.
The little one seemed to encounter difficulties while assembling the pieces, and continued trying even after lunch and before taking a nap.
Even when Cheng Cheng called her to go to sleep, she didn't want to, and pleaded with her, "Mommy, Xiaoxiao isn't sleepy~"
The little guy, with an inexplicable stubbornness, stubbornly persisted in his obsession with the Luban lock, disassembling and reassembling it repeatedly.
Well, that's commendable and deserves encouragement!
Cheng Cheng guessed that the little guy's personality must have inherited Zhou Yue's good qualities. Anyway, when she encountered difficulties since she was a child, she would take a step forward, and if she found that she couldn't get over it, she would take a detour and never force it.
The little girl wasn't discouraged by her failure, which was commendable. Cheng Cheng encouraged her, "Failure is the mother of success. Failure is not scary. Maybe if you fail a few more times, you will find a solution in the failure."
"Uh-huh!"
Xiao Lingxiao nodded heavily, then lowered his head again, disassembled the wooden blocks that couldn't be put back together, and placed them one by one on the bed. Relying on his superhuman memory, he arranged them in the same positions and orientations as when he first disassembled them.
Through repeated attempts, learning from experience without a teacher, and constantly improving, the little guy became completely immersed in his own world.
Cheng Cheng occasionally made some noise, but it didn't make the little guy look up. Baby Xiaoxiao was completely absorbed in his own world, oblivious to everything else.
Cheng Cheng didn't take a nap either. Holding a pen, she drew the little guy's focused expression in her notebook.
She wasn't sad or upset at all about being ignored; on the contrary, she was very happy!
I'm happy that Xiaoxiao has found something she loves, and I feel a surge of pride and a sense of accomplishment for her growth and development.
No matter how much effort she had put in before, the little one's lack of security remained. She was used to observing adults' expressions and emotions, and whenever she made a sound or called her, no matter what she was doing at the time, she would immediately notice and respond to her.
Now, it should be considered that her efforts have finally paid off, and she is very happy to see the little one's transformation!
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Author's Note: Happy National Day!!! Wishing all the babies good food, good drinks, and lots of fun! [laughing emojis]
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