Chapter 20: Two-Second Enthusiasm

Lin Zhao stepped back half a pace without a trace and said, "... Go wash up!"

The two children sensed their mother's distaste, gave a sheepish grin, and hurried to wash their hands and faces.

The elder cub poured the water, the second cub fetched the face soap; the brothers worked in perfect coordination.

Lin Zhao was busy bathing the twins.

The year-old toddlers loved playing in the water; the two little milk buns slapped the water with their arms, beaming with joy.

The well-behaved third cub followed his younger sister's lead and slapped the water, laughing as well.

Lin Zhao felt like she had one head and two big problems.

"No splashing!" she scolded, feigning severity.

The twins were very good at reading expressions; knowing their mother was angry, they stopped splashing. The fourth cub leaned her chubby head toward Lin Zhao, her little voice milky and soft, "Mama~~"

Lin Zhao couldn't keep a straight face and hooked her finger to flick her daughter's nose, "Little human spirit."

She was simply too clever for her own good.

After washing his hands and face and applying baby cream, the second cub asked his brother to smell him, "Brother, do I smell good?"

"Good. You smell me, do I smell good?" The elder cub also stretched his hands toward his brother's nose.

"Good." The second cub nodded his little head.

Confirming he had become fragrant, he ran toward Lin Zhao with bright, watery eyes and confirmed, "Mama, are you taking me and Brother to see a movie tomorrow?"

"That's right." Lin Zhao wrapped the third and fourth cubs in a cloth, carried them back to the room, and changed them into clean short-sleeved shirts and shorts.

Seeing the elder and second sons still following, she added, "Your father is calling tomorrow; it should be about the bricks and tiles..."

The second cub knew what bricks and tiles were for and was incredibly excited, "Mama, when are we building the house?"

"Once the bricks and tiles arrive, the 'Double Harvest' should be about over, and we'll build it then." Lin Zhao gave her son a firm answer.

The second cub was thrilled, his desire to show off written all over his face. Lin Zhao's smile vanished, and she said somewhat seriously, "Second cub, stop talking about family matters outside from now on."

"Why?" The second cub was unhappy.

Other children in the village showed off when they ate meat or candy, and some even deliberately made him and his brother crave it; why couldn't he show off?

Lin Zhao saw his little temper and asked slowly, "When others eat meat, do you feel envious?"

"I do." The second cub didn't understand why his mother asked such a strange question.

"Once or twice is envy, but too many times and it leaves a bad taste. What if someone has bad intentions? Your father isn't here; what if our family gets targeted?" The children couldn't understand big principles, so Lin Zhao had to find another way to explain.

Who knew the second cub would have a comeback: "My father isn't here, but I have Grandpa and Grandma and the others."

His gaze turned fierce, showing a hint of a future villain.

It was just that the child was currently only four heads tall.

"I run fast. If anyone targets our family, I'll go call Grandpa and Grandma. If they're hard to deal with, I'll go call my maternal grandmother." His maternal grandmother was very fierce!

Lin Zhao's smile rippled in the depths of her eyes.

The second cub's expression was so fierce she thought he would say he'd fight the troublemakers; who knew he'd call for help.

Truly a flexible cub.

However.

"Our house is five minutes away from the old residence, and even further from your maternal grandmother. If something really happens, by the time you bring people over, it'll be too late."

The second cub, who had been pretending to be fierce, looked blank, his round eyes full of confusion: "What's five minutes?"

The elder cub also wanted to know and watched Lin Zhao, looking well-behaved.

Lin Zhao didn't know how to explain it so both sons would understand. After thinking for a moment, she said, "Minutes are a unit of time. Once our house is built, I'll buy a wall clock and teach you both to tell time."

"Mama, what's a wall clock?" the elder cub asked.

Lin Zhao said, "You'll know once I buy it."

The elder cub listened to his mother best and nodded like a little adult, promising, "Mama, I'll watch the second cub and make him show off less."

"We'll only show off when Mama says we can."

"..." Lin Zhao was torn between laughing and crying; they were still thinking about showing off.

"Fine."

The second cub stepped forward, his little hand gripping Lin Zhao's hem, his face full of eagerness, "Can we talk about the movie?"

Seeing the steady elder cub's little face light up, Lin Zhao pulled a smile to the corner of her mouth, "Yes."

The two children blossomed with joy.

But they weren't in a hurry to talk about it, planning to wait until after they'd seen it.

The next day, morning.

Lin Zhao took the twins to the old residence again.

Gu Mu knew she was taking the elder and second cubs to the county to answer the phone and only urged the two cubs to stay close to their mother; she didn't stop them.

Of course, she couldn't stop them anyway.

"Borrow a bicycle? The road to the county isn't short; I'm afraid the elder and second cubs won't be able to handle it." As a grandmother, she felt sorry for her grandsons.

Before Lin Zhao could speak, the second cub said loudly, "I can, I run the fastest."

The elder cub was unconvinced: "I'm faster than you."

The second cub wasn't angry and even looked agreeable, "Mm, Brother is faster than me."

Gu Mu looked at the two grandsons with a loving smile.

"Fast, both fast, you brothers both run fast."

She held the bowl of water perfectly level.

The second cub gave a sheepish grin.

Lin Zhao said at this time, "It's still early; if we walk slowly, we'll make it. Forget the bicycle." With her lazy nature, she didn't like wasting words with people.

Besides, seeing the two children's boundless energy, they didn't look like the type to squat on the road and refuse to move.

Seeing that her third daughter-in-law had made up her mind, Gu Mu didn't try to persuade her further: "Alright then, be safe on the road."

Afraid the twins would make a fuss, Lin Zhao avoided them, signaled to the elder and second cubs, and the mother and two sons slipped out of the old residence.

It was the first time the elder and second cubs had done such a thing with their mother; although they felt a little guilty toward their younger brother and sister, they were also excited and happy.

Lin Zhao held the two cubs, one on each side, and walked toward the county.

"No complaining of being tired on the road. Whoever complains of being tired will have to wait until we buy a bicycle to go to the county next time."

The second cub was good at grasping the main point: "Mama, are we buying a bicycle?"

Was that the main point?

Lin Zhao chuckled, "No tickets, we'll talk about it later."

"Ask Father!" The elder cub's brain turned fast; thinking about calling his father today, he immediately suggested it.

"You really are your father's good eldest son." Lin Zhao touched her eldest son's prickly little shaved head and laughed out loud.

The elder cub thought his mother was praising him and his mouth curled up.

The second cub stood on tiptoe, his tone urgent: "Me! Me! I'm Father's good second son!"

"Yes, yes, yes, you are your father's good second son!" Lin Zhao agreed, "Your father's good second son, walk properly; we need to reach the county before 12 o'clock."

The second cub settled down and walked with big strides, hand in hand with his brother.

People from the Harvest Production Team saw Lin Zhao taking her two sons toward the county and looked at each other.

"What is Lin Zhao taking the elder and second cubs to the county for? She wouldn't be thinking of selling the two cubs, would she?" Grandma Zhao imagined the scene of the two cubs being sold, and her face changed.

Wang Chunhua thought Grandma Zhao was really good at imagining things and explained for Lin Zhao: "The elder cub's father sent a telegram asking the elder cub's mother to go to the county seat to answer the phone."

Grandma Zhao hadn't expected that, and her smile was a bit awkward; the wrinkles on her face were very obvious.

"Is that so."

"Then I was the one being small-minded."

"Chunhua, don't tell that person."

That person referred to Lin Zhao.

Wang Chunhua laughed: "I'm not a gossipy person."

"Yes, yes, you're not a gossipy person." Grandma Zhao hurriedly said nice things; there was no help for it, Changsheng's mother was still picking up manure, and hearing she was crying while copying quotations, she didn't dare provoke the little daughter-in-law next door.

And she didn't know who gave the team leader the idea to make illiterate people copy quotations; this was truly too vicious.

Before long, the whole village knew that the Gu family's third son had sent a telegram back, and everyone was curious about what it was about.

At the Su family.

Liao Hongjuan was lecturing Su Yuxian.

"Lu Yizhou is coming back today; you must, must hold onto him tight. Whether you can live a good life depends on these few days he's back. Many people in our team are eyeing him; don't let someone else snatch him away. Not having an engagement banquet is unsafe after all, so put your heart into it."

Su Yuxian took these words to heart, her eyes fierce.

Lu Yizhou was the man she had set her sights on; no one could snatch him!

"I know, I'll go meet him first, and once I meet him, I'll talk to him about getting married."

Liao Hongjuan's expression softened slightly.

"Go early, don't be late."

She took out a small bag of hardened brown sugar and handed it to Su Yuxian, "The road is long, borrow a bicycle to go."

Seeing her mother take out the precious brown sugar, Su Yuxian was moved, "Thank you, Mama."

Liao Hongjuan had always known how to manipulate her daughter Su Yuxian. Her lowered eyes flashed, and when she looked up again, she wore the gentle look of a loving mother.

"Go."

Su Yuxian went to the station to meet Lu Yizhou with full confidence.

Thinking about being able to make a phone call, the elder and second cubs didn't feel tired at all and walked very fast.

Lin Zhao had originally worried that the two children would be tired and would lie on the ground acting spoiled, asking to be carried, but who knew they were running and walking, not feeling tired at all.

She simply quickened her pace as well.

Talking and laughing along the way, they successfully arrived at the county.

There weren't many high-rises here; the tallest building was only five stories, and there were many more brick houses than in the village.

To the children who hadn't seen the world, everything in the county was novel.

The two lively and cheerful cubs, venturing into a strange place for the first time, felt fear belatedly, feeling awkward and uneasy.

This was specifically manifested in them holding their mother's hand, their palms sweating.

A smile flashed in Lin Zhao's eyes; she had been like this the first time she came to the county for school, always afraid she would do something wrong and make a fool of herself.

She said softly: "So I'm not the only one who gets scared..."

The second cub's attention was diverted, and he asked in surprise: "Mama is scared? What is Mama scared of?"

Before Lin Zhao could answer, the elder cub tightened his grip on his mother's hand. Even though he was very uncomfortable himself, he comforted his mother: "Mama, I'll protect you."

Lin Zhao was slightly stunned, her whole heart softening.

"Good, but with you two accompanying me, I'm not scared at all anymore."

Hearing this, the two children were filled with strength, their backs straightened, and a sense of responsibility rested on their shoulders.

The fear in their eyes vanished, and they returned to their previous confidence.

"Go to the post office to wait for the call, or go eat?" Lin Zhao asked.

The little foodie second cub immediately said: "Is there meat?"

"I don't know, eat whatever there is, no picking." Lin Zhao said truthfully, "Sometimes there's meat, sometimes there isn't. You've been eating meat for several days in a row; haven't you had enough yet?"

The second cub looked at his mother with a 'you don't understand' look, "How can one get full on meat? I like eating meat; I wouldn't get tired of eating it every day."

Lin Zhao: "..." Don't talk about meat; even if it were delicacies from land and sea, one would get tired of eating them every day.

"Alright then, let's go eat first; there might still be meat at this hour."

The second cub cheered.

Lin Zhao took the two cubs to the state-run restaurant and first found a waiter to order. The waiter still didn't look at people directly and lazily introduced the day's dishes.

There was chili stir-fried meat, pork stewed with vermicelli, radish stewed with bone soup, as well as shredded meat noodles and big steamed buns.

"Elder cub, second cub, what do you want to eat?" Lin Zhao encouraged them with her eyes, letting them speak boldly.

The second cub puffed out his chest and said generously: "I want to eat pork stewed with vermicelli."

The elder cub followed: "I want to eat radish stewed with bone soup."

Lin Zhao nodded and said to the waiter: "Bring what my two sons said, and add a portion of shredded meat noodles."

The second cub looked around, found an empty table, and beckoned to Lin Zhao and the elder cub.

"Mama, Brother, sit here."

Lin Zhao held the elder cub's hand and walked over.

The two children were eating at a state-run restaurant for the first time and were incredibly excited, twisting and turning in their seats, looking around.

"What are you looking at?" Lin Zhao asked with a smile.

"Tie Chui hasn't been to the county, and I don't know what a state-run restaurant looks like. I'm looking a few more times so I can tell him when I go back." The second cub explained crisply.

"Alright then, look a few more times." Lin Zhao said.

The second cub nodded randomly, and not knowing what he thought of, he suddenly sighed.

"What are you sighing for? I'm taking you out to eat, and you're still sighing." Lin Zhao rubbed the second cub's shaved head.

The second cub spoke with regret: "It's a pity I can't draw. Otherwise, I could draw it out so Tie Chui would know what the county looks like."

He had heard about drawing from Lin Xibao.

Lin Zhao didn't find it strange that the elder and second cubs were close to Tie Chui, but asked: "Do you want to learn to draw?"

"I do!" The second cub's eyes lit up.

"Think about it slowly; this requires luck. Drawing teachers are hard to find. At least in the many years I've been in school in the county, I haven't heard of anyone who knows how to draw." Lin Zhao said casually.

"Why is it hard to find?" the second cub asked.

"Because learning to draw costs money." Like here, even filling one's stomach is difficult, so those who learn to draw are few and far between.

Hearing that learning to draw costs money, the second cub immediately said: "Then I won't learn."

Lin Zhao: I knew you were two-second enthusiasm.

"It's not that you must learn to draw to record the scene; a camera can do it too."

The elder cub was particularly curious about the new term his mother used, his eyes bright, his gaze confused: "Mama, what is a camera?"

"Something that can take pictures." Lin Zhao explained patiently.

The second cub widened his eyes in surprise, "Is it expensive?" This was what he cared about most.

"Of course it's expensive, several hundred."

The second cub wasn't defeated and said confidently: "When I grow up, I'll earn lots of money and buy a camera then."

The elder cub asked with some hesitation: "Why not make one yourself?"

The second cub felt his brother's words made a lot of sense, his little face wrinkled, looking very troubled, "How do you make one? I don't know how."

The elder cub didn't know how either and cast a questioning look at Lin Zhao.

Lin Zhao gave a polite smile.

"..."

Don't look at me, I don't know how to make one either.

Seeing his brother look at their mother, the second cub thought she knew how, his eyes flashing with light, full of admiration: "Mama knows?"

Remembering Gu Mu saying his mother was incredibly good at studying and was even a high school student—what a high school student was, the child who hadn't started school yet naturally didn't know, but the expression his grandmother had when she mentioned it left a deep impression on him—the second cub was... awestruck.

"Mama is a high school student, she must know."

Lin Zhao was stared at by two pairs of trusting, admiring eyes, and cold sweat almost broke out.

High school students don't know how to build cameras either.

"I don't know."

The elder and second cubs were dumbfounded, their mouths slightly open, staring blankly at their mother. ===== CHAPTER 21 =====