An older woman wearing a straw hat with a few strands of silver hair between her brows walked past a yard full of blooming roses and greeted a young girl who was watering the roses with a watering can:
Good morning, Xia. Watering the flowers again?
Xia Shizhao, dazzlingly white in the sunlight, raised his head and answered slowly and softly:
"Good morning, Grandma Yu. The sun is very nice today. I'm going to water the plants and then sit on the swing to bask in the sun for a while."
"Oh dear, you're not feeling well. Take care of yourself, get some rest, and remember to wear a hat so you don't get sunburned."
"good."
Xia Shizhao's eyes crinkled with laughter as she picked up the hat hanging from her waist and put it on. "Here you go~"
"Oh, good, good, what a pretty little girl. Seeing her this morning has made me feel better. The vegetables I planted are growing well. You can call Youyou to carry her over later."
"Okay, thank you, Grandma."
Xia Shizhao looked at Youyou, who was digging a hole next to him, and said, "Go get the vegetables you contributed a little bit of effort to."
"Woof~"
Okay.
Youyou has to bark like a dog outside. If she speaks like a human, she might be arrested and used for experiments. Besides, she once scared Grandma Yu into fainting.
Thinking back to the day when Youyou rushed back in a panic and said that Grandma Yu had fainted because she had accidentally said something, Xia Shizhao felt a wave of exasperation.
Having lived in the space for two years, Xia Shizhao got along well with the people in this small town. There weren't many people in the town; most of them were elderly people who were easy to get along with. Knowing that she had lost her parents at a young age, they took extra care of her.
Grandma Yu was the kindest to her, often bringing her vegetables and fruits she grew.
The soil here is excellent, and the fruits and vegetables produced here are of exceptionally high quality. However, the place where she lives is somewhat underdeveloped, and the fruits and vegetables they grow are only enough for their own self-sufficiency.
However, the people in the town are not greedy, and they live a comfortable and carefree life.
The results will be out soon. After dealing with the miscellaneous matters, Xia Shizhao sat on the swing, swinging his legs and thinking.
Suddenly, an electronic bird flew towards her. Xia Shizhao subconsciously raised her hand, and the bird landed on her hand.
The message was transmitted to her personal computer.
It was her acceptance letter.
The results for StarCraft are indeed quick; they came out just two weeks after the exam.
After browsing the notification, Xia Shizhao put away his personal terminal.
A clear, childlike voice came from outside, "Sister Zhao Zhao! Do you keep this little bird?"
Several fair and innocent-looking faces peeked out from behind the iron gate, staring curiously at the little bird in her hand.
The little bird took off in a flash and flew away.
Looking at the children, I noticed that their faces were flushed from exercise.
Xia Shizhao chuckled softly, walked to the door and opened it. "You little devils, no wonder the electronic bird was so terrified. Did you chase after it? Don't chase after small animals; they are easily frightened."
"Okay, we won't do it again next time!"
The children looked up and answered in unison, their eyes sparkling as they looked at Xia Shizhao.
"Good girl."
Xia Shizhao patted the children's heads, "Want to eat flower cakes again?"
"Did you make it, sister? If not, we won't eat it."
The little girl who started the conversation stood with her hands behind her back, her cheeks slightly flushed.
Xia Shizhao couldn't resist pinching the little girl's chubby cheeks.
"Of course I did it. I promised you yesterday, so I'm just waiting for you to come and eat."
She finished speaking with a smile, then lifted the lid on the stone table, revealing a plate of exquisite pastries waiting quietly for the guests to enjoy them.
Wow! Sister is amazing!
"Thank you, sister. I love you, sister!"
"Thank you, Sister Zhaozhao!"
The three children were very polite. After their exclamation, they didn't rush to grab the pastries to eat. Instead, they ran to the tap to wash their hands, dried their hands, each took one, and then sat in a row on the chairs to eat them in small bites.
Xia Shizhao felt much better after watching the little mascots eat.
"Zhaozhao!"
A short-haired girl wearing sportswear was jogging when she passed Xia Shizhao's house and called out to her.
"Hey, Luqin, going for a morning run again."
"Yeah, my sister and the others came to see you again?"
Yu Luqin wiped the sweat from her cheeks with a towel. "Your results are out. How were they?"
Xia Shizhao's eyes darted around. "Where are you?"
Yu Luqin couldn't contain her excitement, "Of course, it's my goal since I was a child: Star Alliance University, Mecha Department!"
"Congratulations! Let's go together then. I'm a mechanical engineering major."
Xia Shizhao clasped his hands together beside his face.
Yu Luqin screamed excitedly, "Ahhhhh! This is great! We can study together again!"
She hugged Xia Shizhao and jumped around.
A girl with a ponytail, who was eating pastries, stood up, her face full of excitement, but her pretentious manner was particularly amusing: "Sister, keep your voice down. I know you're excited, but don't shake Sister Zhao Zhao anymore. Sister Zhao Zhao isn't as healthy as you!"
"Yu Yunyuan, you biased little girl, you know your sister Zhaozhao isn't well, yet you still like to ask her to make flower cakes?"
Yu Yunyuan, who had happily finished eating the flower cake, blushed instantly and stammered softly, "But it was really delicious..."
"Your sister was just teasing you. She specifically asked me to teach her how to make it. She'll make it for you if I'm not around."
Xia Shizhao smiled as he revealed Yu Luqin's arrogant and aloof nature.
Yu Luqin stomped her foot in frustration, her ears turning bright red, "Shi Zhao!"
"Oops, sorry, I let it slip."
Xia Shizhao looked apologetic and covered his mouth, seemingly making a slip of the tongue but actually doing it on purpose, like a smug little fox.
"Woof woof~"
Youyou carried two baskets of vegetables into the yard, and Yu Luqin picked them up. "Where do you put them? I'll take them inside for you."
"Eggs are in the fridge, cabbage and other things are in the kitchen, we'll cook later."
"OK."
"Remember to invite Grandma Yu over at noon, okay? I'll cook something nice for lunch so we can celebrate."
Yu Luqin's eyes lit up instantly, "Okay, okay, we'll help you out."
The three children jumped up and down, shouting, "Sister, I'll wash the vegetables for you!"
"I'll give you cabbage leaves!"
"I'll peel the potatoes for you!"
"I'll cut you a tomato!"
Bending down, Xia Shizhao decided to tease the children, "How did you know what I was going to do?"
"Wow... I don't know."
The three little faces were blank and at a loss. Xia Shizhao chuckled and laughed out loud. "Alright, alright, I was just kidding. There will be braised beef with potatoes, cold shredded potatoes, and fried chicken. Don't stand there, be careful when you're handling the vegetables."
Okay~
The three children, hand in hand, ran to the kitchen and began dividing up the tasks, panting heavily.
Yu Luqin leaned against the door with her arms crossed, her eyes full of laughter. "White-skinned black sesame dumplings, you big cunning rascal, you have such a wicked sense of humor."
"Hmm~ What's wrong? Are you going to help out too, commentator?"
With a smile, Xia Shizhao pushed Yu Qinlu into her kitchen, took out their aprons, and put them on before rolling up her sleeves and starting to slice the potatoes.
Yu Luqin took a knife and cut the meat into even, thin strips.
"Sister, I want to eat chicken and pork soup."
Yu Yunyuan clung to Yu Luqin's side, her eyes filled with pleading.
"...Chicken Shreds, you're putting me in a difficult position. Go find your Sister Zhao Zhao."
"Sister~"
After washing away the meaty smell from her hands, Yu Luqin smiled and rejected her attempts to charm her.
Xia Shizhao shook his head with amusement, "Try to act cute with me, and maybe I'll agree."
"Really? Is it okay, Sister Zhao Zhao?"
"Of course... no... it won't work."
When Yu Yunyuan heard "no," her eyes went blank. But then, in a twist of fate, she realized that Xia Shizhao had agreed to her request.
"Sigh... Shi Zhao, why do you spoil them so much?"
With a helpless expression, Yu Luqin resigned herself to her fate and went to get the chicken to start shredding it.
Yu Yunyuan winked at Xia Shizhao, looking smug and incredibly cute.
"By the way, does Grandma Yu know that your acceptance letter has arrived?"
Yu Luqin paused in her cutting of meat, suddenly remembering that she hadn't told her grandmother yet, "Oh, I was jogging this morning when that bird suddenly flew over, and I haven't told her yet."
Xia Shizhao sighed and pushed her out the door, saying, "Go tell Grandma Yu yourself, make her happy too. I'll cut the meat."
"Okay, sure."
Yu Luqin took off running outside.
Yu Yunyuan blinked, completely unaware of what was going on.
"You should also go to Grandma Yu's place and tell her not to get too excited."
After gesturing for the three children to leave, Xia Shizhao blinked, finished cutting the meat, her lips slightly pale, and leaned against the sink, pacing around her with worry.
"Are you alright? Have Aqin cut this meat the same way, just leave it there."
"fine."
Xia Shizhao waved his hand, put the chopped vegetables into the pot one by one, and began to cook.
Just after finishing two meat dishes, Aunt Yu led a group of people into the kitchen. They smiled broadly and enthusiastically ushered her out of the kitchen.
"Come on, come on, today we old ladies and old men will cook a big meal for you two academic geniuses. Go outside and wait."
Xia Shizhao and Yu Luqin looked at each other blankly.
Yu Luqin laughed awkwardly, scratching the back of her head, "They were chatting together. When I told my grandma, she got a little too excited and grabbed Aunt He and Uncle Lin and came over."
"……ah."
Xia Shizhao glanced at the kitchen, shrugged, and decided to enjoy this hard-won care.
He pinched Yu Yunyuan's little face with delight, then narrowed his eyes dangerously as he looked at her:
"The bird nests on the back hill are gone. Did you take He Jing and Lin Zhi to collect bird eggs?"
"Waaah—I didn't, it was Linzhi who suggested it!"
"Huh??? It was clearly He Jing and you two who called me!"
"No, no, sister, we went together! They want to keep the little birds as pets!"
He Jing hurriedly explained, refusing to shift the blame, and emphasized that the main point was to share the burden and no one should run away.
Xia Shizhao raised an eyebrow. So it wasn't about food after all. He asked curiously, "Raising little birds?"
"Yes, we want to raise a talking bird."
Xia Shizhao nodded, "But the little bird you took can't talk. Talking birds are called parrots."
"Oh? Then we'll put the egg back later."
The little ones huddled together dejectedly, their fair and clean faces prompting Xia Shizhao to gently rub them and kiss each one. "No need to put them back. The birds have moved. You can try to hatch them and raise them a little bigger before releasing them back into the wild."
"But we don't know how to raise them."
"Then let's eat it."
Yu Luqin spoke up casually from the side, but the three children ignored her and kept pestering Xia Shizhao to ask how to raise them and what to pay attention to. Xia Shizhao answered them one by one with a smile, and they wrote them down in their notebooks.
Half an hour later, a table full of delicious-looking dishes was ready. Aunt Yu beamed with joy, "Congratulations to my eldest granddaughter and our precious Shi Zhao on being admitted to Xinglian Military University! To become pillars of the nation! To be members who bring glory to the country!"
The three little ones clapped enthusiastically, and Xia Shizhao and Yu Luqin smiled and clapped along, congratulating themselves.
"Dinner's ready."
"He Jing! I picked up the chicken leg first!"
"I was first!"
"Yu Yunyuan, you actually stole the food from my bowl!!"
"Who asked you to compete with Linzhi? Hahahaha~"
"Hahahaha, don't rush, there's plenty, there's more in the kitchen!"
Xia Shizhao rested his chin on his hand and looked at them with a smile.
Yu Luqin nudged her, looking at her with a smile and her eyes sparkling, "Don't grin like an idiot, eat up, or those little devils will snatch all the food away."
"good."
Xia Shizhao smiled brightly, picked up his chopsticks, and bullied the three children.
Youyou, who was sitting nearby, also had her own dishes and was happily munching on them.
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