Chapter 373 Aunt's Basket Has a Gun
"Maomao!"
Within a few steps, Xia Xiaoxiang caught up with them, bringing with her the aroma of scallion pancakes.
"I told you not to run away, what if you get lost?"
Mao Mao turned around and obediently confessed to her mother: "Mao Mao bumped into someone."
Xia Xiaoxiang also saw the old woman in front of her, and hurriedly took her daughter's hand and bowed to apologize: "I'm so sorry, my daughter didn't mean it. Are you alright? Is anything bothering you? Should I take you to the doctor?"
She gently patted Mao Mao: "Have you apologized? What should you say first when you do something wrong?"
Actually, Mao Mao had already apologized, but this time, she held her little hand, bent down with her mother, and said again, "Auntie, I'm sorry. Mao Mao wasn't watching where she was going and accidentally bumped into you."
Her chubby little face was full of guilt, and her big, round, dark eyes were wet. Her face was full of apology. She was a little bundle of joy, clinging to her mother's leg. No one could harden their heart for her.
The old lady across from me gradually relaxed her tense body.
She slung her basket over her shoulder and rearranged the floral fabric inside. "It's alright, it's okay."
"Are you really alright? I see there's a clinic nearby, should I take you to get checked out?" Xia Xiaoxiang said with concern, "Don't fall and hurt yourself, it would be bad if you broke a bone."
She saw it clearly: Mao Mao ran so fast that she knocked someone over. Xia Xiaoxiang knew her daughter's weight better than anyone. Luckily, she didn't bump into an elderly person, or they wouldn't have survived Mao Mao's blow.
The old woman waved her hand: "In winter, people wear thick clothes. What could possibly happen if the child falls? Don't blame the child."
Xia Xiaoxiang readily agreed.
The old woman looked at the mother and daughter with a probing gaze, glanced at Mao Mao a few times, and then, carrying her basket, plunged into the crowd.
Xia Xiaoxiang gently patted Mao Mao again: "Are you still running around like this? There are a lot of people here. If you get lost, your mother won't be able to find you."
Mao Mao shook his head repeatedly.
She obediently held her mother's hand, no longer daring to rush. The mother and daughter went hand in hand to a nearby stall and bought glutinous rice balls, white sugar cakes, and many other things, as well as small dough figurines. Everything was ready-made, so there was no need to wait. They hurriedly bought some things and carried their bags back home.
Back in the hotel room, Mao Mao rushed to the window and looked out with binoculars.
There was no one on the stage yet.
Mao Mao immediately let out a breath, leaned back in her chair, and stretched out her legs in relief.
"Why did you take so long?" the third concubine said. "I almost went down to look for you."
Xia Xiaoxiang: "We can't set up our stalls nearby, it's too far to walk over. There are a lot of people downstairs, luckily you didn't come, otherwise I would have had to go looking for you again."
She distributed the things she bought to the others. Everyone had already eaten breakfast, and there were also snacks in the private room. Everyone followed Mao Mao's example and only took a little to taste.
After the treats were distributed, Mao Mao grabbed a tiny piece of cake, no bigger than her mother's finger, and peered out the window, asking, "Is Daddy here yet?"
Lou Hongjian supported her chubby little body to prevent her from falling over in her excitement: "No rush, it's not time yet. The newspaper said it will start on time."
Mao Mao nodded her head and nodded.
The biscuit in my hand was finished, but the person on the podium still hadn't arrived.
She didn't come down from the window either. With her chubby chin resting on her little hand, she leaned against the window watching the commotion outside, her little tuft of hair bobbing up and down.
There was still some time before the appointed time when there was a loud knocking on the door of the private room in the restaurant.
Lou Yansui was nearby, so she opened the door and saw Lou Fengju, dressed in a cold and stiff military uniform, stride in.
"Big brother, what brings you here?"
"I came to see you all before Dad's speech started."
Lou Fengju's gaze swept around the room and quickly settled on the little baby by the window.
"Mao Mao."
"Brother~"
Seeing the binoculars beside her, Lou Fengju smiled and said, "Mao Mao, Dad is going to give a speech later, so you have to watch carefully."
"Uh-huh."
"In a moment, look to Dad's left, your brother is standing there."
Before Mao Mao could even respond, Lou Hongjian, standing nearby, exclaimed, "Big brother, why are you just like Dad?"
Lou Fengju said frankly, "Ah Hong, if you want to see it, I won't stop you."
Lou Hongjian was speechless: "I don't want to watch it."
"This square is so big, and without binoculars, and with so many people dressed similarly, it's impossible to tell who's who except for the commander standing on the platform."
The third concubine looked out the window: "There are so many people here to listen to the speech, why are there even so many soldiers today?"
Xia Xiaoxiang added, "I just went out and saw a lot of people patrolling and checking things. The commander-in-chief gave a speech before, and it didn't seem like there were that many people."
Lou Fengju nodded slightly: "We have indeed sent more people today."
"What's wrong?"
The first wife asked with concern, "Is there some danger?"
"It's not dangerous, just in case."
The situation was unstable, and many people wanted to kill Commander Lou.
Haicheng is a piece of fat meat in the eyes of many, but it is occupied by Commander Lou and he won't let go, not giving anyone a chance to take advantage. Now, with the addition of Old Master Zhou, it is even more powerful. In the turbulent world, it has not been greatly affected.
If Commander Lou were to get into trouble, Haicheng would undergo a major upheaval. Especially recently, there have been increasing actions targeting him, with assassinations occurring one after another, and the military and political departments have arrested countless spies and traitors.
Today, General Lou is giving a speech, which is a great opportunity for those who are interested; they might just take advantage of this chance to make a move.
In preparation for today's speech, Lou Fengju led his men to investigate all the possible sniping spots in the vicinity several days in advance, almost running himself ragged. Right now, his men are still patrolling intensively to prevent anyone from taking advantage of the situation.
However, there's no need to say these things and worry your family.
He casually remarked, "Better safe than sorry."
Everyone nodded in agreement: "That makes sense."
While everyone was talking, Mao Mao listened absentmindedly, her eyes fixed on the pistol at her brother's waist.
Lou Fengju usually carries a sidearm with him and rarely leaves it behind, especially on such an important day as today.
Mao Mao had been looking for a while when he noticed his sister's gaze. He followed her gaze and saw his own sidearm.
"Mao Mao, you want to play with a gun?"
"Hmm." Mao Mao tilted her little head up and asked him, "Brother, can I watch this?"
Why can't we do that?
Lou Fengju immediately took the pistol from his waist.
But guns are dangerous after all. When he unloaded the bullets and put them in Mao Mao's hands, he didn't forget to tell her, "Just look at it, don't touch it. Mao Mao, guns are too dangerous, they can go off accidentally."
Mao Mao nodded, spread her little hands, and held the pistol. Like observing a goldfish at home, she held her breath, opened her eyes wide, and carefully examined it.
The movement was light and airy, yet it made everyone around it hold their breath.
Lou Hongjian reached out to take it, but was afraid of accidentally discharging it. He was terrified: "Brother, this is too dangerous! How could you give the gun to Mao Mao!"
"Yes!" the others exclaimed anxiously, "This is too dangerous!"
"Don't spoil Mao Mao too much. How can you let her handle something so dangerous?"
"Fengju, take the gun away quickly."
Lou Fengju raised an eyebrow: "There are no bullets inside, and besides, when I was as big as Mao Mao, I already... Okay, I understand."
Under the stern glare of Old Madam Lou, Lou Fengju reached out to retrieve his pistol, but Mao Mao shook her head and dodged away with the gun in her hand.
"Mao Mao?" Lou Fengju coaxed her, "Be good, give the gun back to your brother."
"Brother, let's watch a little longer."
"Strange," Lou Yansui wondered, "When did Mao Mao become interested in guns?"
Lou Heming picked up an orange from the table, wanting to trade with her: "Mao Mao, how about I trade you something delicious?"
"OK."
Just in time, Mao Mao finished watching it too.
She generously handed over what she was holding, took the orange from her brother, and then focused on peeling it.
Lou Heming returned the gun and reminded him, "Brother, don't let Mao Mao handle such dangerous things next time."
Lou Fengju raised an eyebrow and glanced at him. "I understand."
He put the bullets back into the magazine and put the pistol back into its holster.
Lou Hongjian quickly picked up his younger sister and told her, "Mao Mao, remember this too, guns are very dangerous. Next time you encounter one, stay far away. They can take down a child with one shot, you won't even have time to dodge."
Mao Mao obediently replied, "Oh."
She carefully peeled the orange, and Lou Hongjian, who was next to her, offered it to her.
She fed one petal to her brother, then another, and another... With only one petal left, Mao Mao paused for a moment, then quickly stuffed it into her own mouth before her brother could offer it to her again, her little face puffed up.
"Mao Mao, are you interested in guns?" Lou Fengju raised his long eyebrows slightly: "If you are interested, when you grow up a bit more, your brother will teach you personally. My sister might be a sharpshooter."
"Hmm, no."
Mao Mao painstakingly peeled the second orange, carefully removing all the white veins.
Before putting it in his mouth, Lou Hongjian reached out his hand again.
Maomao: "..."
Mao Mao peeled the third orange with great concentration, even more so than when he was looking at the gun.
Lou Yansui couldn't stand it any longer and chased her brother away from her.
He hugged Mao Mao and peeled an orange for his little sister, casually asking, "Mao Mao, do you like guns?"
Mao Mao stared intently at the orange in his hand, and said in a low voice, "I don't like it."
"Then why are you suddenly curious about your brother's gun?"
“Mao Mao just saw it.”
"What do you see?"
"In Auntie's basket..."
Although she only saw it once, Mao Mao felt that it looked familiar.
The item in the old lady's basket was only partially visible—a black, cold-looking tubular object. Most children might not recognize it, but Mao Mao was different.
Because she saw her father and brother's guns every day, even though she hadn't touched them many times, she watched them every day and unconsciously memorized their appearance.
She hadn't quite figured out what it was at first, but seeing the gun on her brother's body, she finally understood.
Clutching her whole orange, she exclaimed happily, "Auntie has a toy gun in her basket!"
Everyone: "What?!"
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