Mulberry Cake

Song's mother had no idea that the stylish small building in front of her was the dormitory assigned by the school to her son-in-law.

She couldn't help but sigh, "The teachers in your school are treated so well." She had seen that the teachers in the town's primary school lived in dormitories converted from ancestral halls, slept on wooden beds with straw on the bed boards, and the conditions were very simple.

Song Shixia specifically explained to her mother,

"Next door is the president's house, to the left is the professor of the Department of Literature, and ordinary faculty members live opposite."

Only then did Song's mother notice that there were neat rows of buildings on the other side of the wire fence.

"It's not bad to live across the street, they're all buildings."

Song Shixia expressed a different opinion, "The house is too crowded, and the toilet is a public room. In the morning, many people have to fight for the toilet when they get up."

When Mother Song thought about it carefully, she really couldn't stand it.

Ji Weiqing brought his father into the house carrying things, and Song Shixia followed slowly behind, introducing the layout of the yard to his mother.

"I used to raise chickens and ducks on the right, but I sold them to the principal next door because I was busy with school. When our farm is up and running, I will order from home. Raising chickens and ducks is too troublesome. My neighbor helps me take care of the vegetable garden. On the left is the flower garden. I want to plant a few different types of fruit trees to save some money."

Song's mother nodded in appreciation. Her daughter had indeed matured a lot after getting married. She had arranged the large yard at home in great order.

"You do a great job keeping the yard clean."

Song Shixia brought her mother into the living room.

"There's a TV in the living room. You and my dad can watch some shows when you're free. There's also a radio, but I don't use it very often."

Song Shixia took her mother to the kitchen to look for things again.

"We use stoves and gas stoves to cook, and the big pot needs firewood. Once it's used up, we can only go to the canteen to buy some firewood next month."

Song's mother clicked her tongue twice. "No wonder the cost of living in the city is so high. You have to buy even firewood. Our village is full of wood that no one wants. Next time your brother drives home, ask him to bring you a load."

Song Shixia quickly stopped him.

"You don't need that many. Half a car is enough. If you have more, you won't be able to put them in the house."

Song's mother disagreed. "Why don't you just let your father build a firewood shed in the yard? It costs so much to buy firewood every month."

There was indeed space in the yard to build a woodshed, but she had never thought about this problem before.

Song Shixia said hesitantly, "Okay."

"This is a microwave oven. We usually heat up leftovers and put them in it. It's ready in a few minutes."

"This is an oven. I use it to bake all the delicious desserts I make. There is also a bakery in the yard. I used that before we had an oven. My brother helped me build it."

Mother Song looked satisfied.

"Your brother is finally useful. Are these two iron boxes really that powerful?"

"This is foreign goods. It was sent to him by his foreign classmates."

Song's mother lowered her voice.

"Is he cooking at home?"

"Sometimes he will cook when I am busy. These two tools are convenient. I can have hot meals in just a few minutes."

Song's mother commented, "No wonder it's so convenient. The price must be expensive."

Song Shixia had a faint smile on her face.

"I won't introduce the refrigerator and washing machine. We have them at home. There is a stove in the utility room. I bought it last winter. I'll take you to the room."

There are three bedrooms on the second floor, and Ji Yanran can only sleep with the little ones.

She didn't mind, but Song Shixia was worried that the little guys would make a lot of noise and disturb Ji Yanran's sleep.

"Mom, you guys stay in this room. I'm going to disturb the attic."

The attic is very big. On the first day Song Shixia arrived, he thought of converting the attic into a secret base, and later it was used to store medicinal materials.

Song Shixia found Ji Weiqing,

"Let Yanran live in the attic. It's quiet, spacious, and has windows."

Ji Weiqing had no objection, and the two of them worked together to clean up the attic, putting in a single bed and a desk. The bathroom was downstairs from the attic.

Song Shixia wiped the sweat off his face and put his hands on his hips.

"When Yanran comes home, I will make this into a nap room. The sunlight shining into the room will make people drowsy. It's very comfortable just thinking about it."

Ji Weiqing had a smile on his lips and did not object.

Song Shixia was busy since returning home. Ji Weiqing and his parents helped with the cleaning. Every invisible place in the house was covered with dust.

Song Shixia supported herself with a mop, "Fortunately the kids haven't come back, otherwise there would be no place for them to sit."

Song's mother laughed and said, "They can drive the car out to play."

As soon as he finished speaking, the voices of two young guys were heard at the door.

"Mom, we're back!"

Ji Yuan ran very fast with his short legs. Ji Yang had a look of longing on his face, but the driver was helping him get the car.

After both cars were parked on the ground, he hurriedly thanked them.

"Thank you, uncle!"

Song Shixia was very surprised.

"Why are you back?"

Ji Yuan hugged her thighs.

"I miss my mother and don't want to be separated from her."

Song Shixia felt a pang in her heart, and she squatted down and hugged him.

"It's not like mommy doesn't want you anymore, why are you so clingy, you little clingy bastard."

Ji Yuan hugged her neck tightly.

"I just want to stick to people, I just want to stick to my mom."

Ji Yang ran over breathlessly and stood in front of her.

Song Shixia winked at him.

"Yangyang, come and hug me too."

Ji Yang ran over with a grin on his face, and threw himself into his mother's arms without knocking her to the ground.

Mother Song's eyes were sore when she watched this scene. Dabao and Xiaobao were such adorable children.

Ji Weiqing went downstairs carrying the basin and raised his eyebrows when he saw the two children on the sofa.

The little guys greeted each other nicely.

"dad."

Ji Weiqing reminded them: "Don't make trouble, we are cleaning."

Ji Yang asked cautiously: "Can we go out and drive a car?"

"Go ahead, stay in the yard and at the gate, don't go beyond the security booth."

Aunt Feng came over happily, holding a large basket of black things.

"I heard your voices and thought it was you who came back."

The first person to come out of the house was Song's mother, and the two looked at each other in surprise.

Song Shixia stuck his head out of the window.

"My parents came to visit me, so I took them over to stay. Professor Ji also came back."

Aunt Feng regained her smile.

"Hello, Auntie. My name is Feng Lian and I live next door."

Song's mother thought about it and thought that this person should be the wife of the professor of literature. She looked quite young.

She greeted him warmly.

"Come in quickly."

"No, I haven't cooked yet. My nephew went to the mountain to pick some wild mulberries. I ate a few and my teeth ached, so I sent them over to Xiao Song to soak in wine."

Song Shixia walked out of the house.

"That's great. I'll give you a bottle of wine when it's ready. I'm cleaning my house right now, so I won't keep you here for a while."

"Do you need my help? Cooking will only take a moment. You've been away for so long, the house must be covered in dust by three feet."

Song Shixia didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

"Three feet is one meter."

Aunt Feng blushed in embarrassment.

"Look at my brain. I remembered it wrong again."

When Aunt Feng left, Song's mother withdrew her gaze.

"Your neighbors are interesting."

"She is a kind-hearted person. When I first moved in, she took me to the canteen to buy vegetables. She works in the canteen's logistics department, and most of the seeds in the vegetable garden were given to me by her."

"A distant relative is not as good as a close neighbor. Since they treat you as a friend, be generous when necessary and don't ruin the relationship for a little gain."

"I know. Whenever our two families cook something delicious, we always bring a bowl over."

Song's mother was relieved. She came to the city to see her daughter's living environment, but she didn't have to worry about anything. Her daughter managed her life and interpersonal relationships very well. As a mother, she was unable to help at all.

After washing the mulberries, Song Shixia subconsciously threw one into his mouth, instantly turning into a mask of pain.

"Hiss, so sour." The mulberries are black and translucent, each one is plump, and tastes extremely sour in the mouth.

She suddenly had evil thoughts.

Ji Weiqing was wiping the glass windows of the bedroom when Song Shixia sneaked up from behind him, grabbed his neck and fed him a mulberry.

Ji Weiqing was completely unprepared, and the sour juice burst in his mouth, and he paused for a long time.

Song Shixia couldn't see any reaction behind him, so he peeked out from behind him out of curiosity.

The next second, I was caught in his arms and pressed, and I tasted the mulberries again.

Song Shixia pushed him away with a grin.

"You are very vengeful."

Ji Weiqing smiled.

"You misunderstood. I guess you wanted me to share the good and the bad with you."

She couldn't admit that she did it on purpose, so she could only accept it.

Her eyelashes fluttered. "Do you want to eat more?"

Ji Weiqing refused with a smile.

"I am not worthy of this. Please handle it yourself, Madam."

Song Shixia was a little skeptical whether using such sour mulberries to make wine would change the taste of the wine.

She thought of a solution. It would be better to use the mulberries to make mulberry cakes. It would be safer to use mulberries in the air to make mulberry wine.

The whole family was cleaning. Song Shixia found flour in the kitchen and started kneading dough.

My mother stood at the kitchen door and asked in confusion,

"Are you cooking now? Didn't we just finish eating not long ago?"

Song Shixia had almost poured all the flour.

"That's lunch. There's also afternoon and dinner. The kids get hungry easily, so we usually eat small meals frequently."

"Okay, I'll make a note of that. I'll cook at this time tomorrow."

Whenever I make desserts, the sweet aroma spreads from the kitchen to the doorstep and even further.

Ji Yang and Ji Yuan returned home and happily drove around in their car.

Ping An and Xiao Yu'er from next door followed the car eagerly. They had a good relationship and generously gave up their cars to play with their friends.

Xiao Yu'er was timid and could only watch, refusing to get in the car no matter what. His brother Xie Kang was more courageous, and drove the car crookedly and even hit the flowerbed on the roadside.

Ji Yuan felt sorry for his car and could only follow closely with a wronged look. Fortunately, he secretly glanced at the car and found that it was not broken. Next time, he would definitely not let Brother Ping An play with his car.

Ji Yang shook his head and asked Xiao Yuer to sit behind him.

"I'll carry you."

Xie Yu bravely got on the car. The car was designed with seats for single children. However, the two little guys were very thin, so they fit perfectly.

Ji Yang carried him back and forth several times, and Xiao Yuer's cheeks were flushed with excitement.

“It’s so fun!”

Ji Yang said generously,

"Do you want to open it yourself?"

Xie Yu shrank her neck.

"I don't dare, so forget it."

Ji Yang taught him step by step, "Don't be afraid, I'll sit behind you."

In the end, curiosity overcame reason, and Xie Yu tried to drive the car by herself.

Ji Yuan sniffed and smelled the familiar milky scent in the air.

It must be mom making something delicious!

"Brother Ping An, I want to go home."

Xie Kang drove round and round, as if he didn't hear anyone calling him.

Ji Yuan sniffed. It smelled so good. He really wanted to go home and eat the delicious pastries.

Xie Kang was so engrossed in playing that he could not hear what others were saying. When he finally stopped the car after playing enough, he was the only one left on the road.