Chapter 8: Coax

Lin Zhao asked back with a smile: "Hungry?"

"Hungry!" Ercai answered super loudly.

"Hungry, then I'll cook the dumplings, wait a few minutes." The fire in the stove was burning, just waiting for the water to boil, and the dumplings could be put into the pot.

"Mother, how long is a few minutes." Ercai climbed the door frame, asking with a grin.

Lin Zhao had a headache, the little kids who hadn't gone to school had so many questions.

"Can you count?"

"Yes." Ercai was full of pride, "I can count to one hundred."

"My

Speaking of his older brother, Gu Da Cai was even more proud.

"How wonderful." Lin Zhao was busy with her hands, but she didn't forget to praise him, and even asked in a spare moment: "Who taught you?"

"My little uncle," Ercai said.

Ercai's little uncle was Gu Qingzhou, who was in junior high school.

Gu Gu Qingzhou was a silent and steady youth; he was respectful to his elders and very good to his nephews and nieces at home, possessing a temperament completely different from Gu Xing'er's.

Out of the corner of her eye, Lin Zhao caught sight of Tie Chui, who was washing hands with Gu Da Cai for the twins, and said with a smile: "Tie Chui, stay and eat with us."

Children didn't know how to be polite; seeing the Third Aunt's face full of gentle smiles, Tie Chui happily agreed.

"I'll go tell my mother."

As he spoke, he rushed out.

Ercai shouted: "Tie Chui, I'll go with you."

Seeing him about to run, Lin Zhao poked her head out of the kitchen and said: "Ercai, tell your grandma that she doesn't need to make your meals from now on."

"Got it."

The two children ran toward the old house together.

When they reached the old house, before they even entered the door, Ercai's loud voice carried inside first.

"Grandma, my mother said Tie Chui can eat at our house!"

The old house was just about to start cooking; hearing Ercai's voice, Mother Gu hurried out.

"Your mother is cooking?" Her voice was full of surprise.

"My mother is making dumplings today!" Ercai said happily, his voice calling out everyone in the house.

"... Making dumplings?" Tie Dan was so envious he was about to drool, "What kind of dumplings?"

"Pork and scallion." Before he had even tasted the dumplings his mother made, Ercai already felt that the dumplings his mother made were the best in the world.

"Oh right, my mother also said that you don't need to make our meals anymore."

When Ercai said this, Mother Gu recalled that when the third daughter-in-law had just married in, she indeed knew how to cook, and her culinary skills were quite good; even with simple ingredients, whatever her hands made was always exceptionally fragrant.

It was a pity that not long after, she became pregnant with Gu Da Cai and Ercai, and after that, she never entered the kitchen again.

"Alright, I know." Gu Mu agreed.

She added worriedly: "If you're not full, come find me."

Hearing this, the smiles on the faces of Gu Gu Dasao and Gu Gu Ersao, who had been beaming with joy, froze.

They had never seen anyone actively inviting trouble!

Ercai agreed unceremoniously, "Okay."

After he finished speaking, little Tie Chui followed up: "Grandma, Third Aunt said I can eat at her place."

Gu Gu Dasao's expression improved instantly.

"Grandma, Tie Chui and I are going back!" Ercai said, grabbed Tie Chui, and ran so fast that they disappeared in the blink of an eye.

The other children in the Gu family could die of envy.

Why weren't they the same age as Gu Da Cai and Ercai?

Just as Ercai and Tie Chui returned to the doorway, they smelled an even richer fragrance.

The two greedy children quickened their pace and rushed into the house.

"Mother, are the dumplings ready?" Ercai asked anxiously.

Lin Zhao noticed his movement but ignored it; she was using a colander to scoop out the dumplings, and there were five bowls on the stove—each five-year-old's bowl had eight dumplings, and the twins each had two just to taste, as they were too young and should drink malted milk instead.

"The dumplings are ready, everyone come..."

As soon as the words left her mouth, she remembered that Gu Da Cai and the others hadn't washed their hands, and she grabbed Ercai's hand that was touching the bowl: "Did you wash your hands?"

Ercai had truly forgotten; facing his mother's stern face, he gave a silly laugh, "I forgot, I'll go wash now."

Lin Zhao carried the dumplings out, and seeing the children washing their hands obediently, she said: "Our hands are full of bacteria; from now on, whenever you are going to take something into your mouth, you must wash your hands. Did you remember?"

"What is bacteria?" Ercai asked, his face full of confusion.

"Bacteria are very small microorganisms that we cannot see with our eyes; if you eat bacteria into your stomach, worms will grow in your stomach," Lin Zhao explained gently.

Ercai suddenly looked up at Lin Zhao, shocked: "Worms in the stomach! Is that why Yuanbao pooped out worms because he had worms in his stomach?"

As the image surfaced in her mind, Lin Zhao wanted to cover Ercai's mouth.

They were just about to eat, and he was blurting out everything.

"Hmm," she replied vaguely, not wanting to talk about this topic anymore.

I'll buy some deworming medicine another day, Lin Zhao thought.

But Ercai had a lot to say: "Mother, are there worms on our heads too? Is that also bacteria?"

"!!"

"You have worms on your heads?" Lin Zhao took a small step back, her tone, which had always been unhurried, instantly rising several degrees.

The step she took made Gu Da Cai and Ercai sad.

Identical faces revealed the same hurt expression.

Ercai accused: "Mother dislikes us."

She didn't exactly dislike them, but she was covered in goosebumps.

Lin Zhao changed the subject: "Eat the dumplings, or they won't be good anymore."

She had already made up her mind that when the barber came again, she would shave the two cubs' heads bald.

Gu Da Cai and Ercai felt a chill on their foreheads, but they were in such a hurry to eat dumplings that they didn't notice their mother had successfully diverted their attention.

"Dumplings, yay!" Ercai sat down happily.

The twins were also hungry; seeing food, they reached out to grab it, but Tie Chui wrapped his arms around the two younger siblings, and the two little ones pushed hard toward the dumplings, making forceful breathing sounds with their mouths, "Hmph..."

"Tie Chui, don't worry about the third and fourth cubs, let them eat by themselves," Lin Zhao said, using chopsticks to break up the dumplings in the two small wooden bowls and beckoning to the twins.

Tie Chui let go at the same time.

The twins wobbled toward Lin Zhao, reached their clean, white hands toward the small wooden bowls, and stuffed whatever they grabbed into their mouths.

In this short time, Ercai had already eaten half a dumpling, his eyes shining like the sun.

"Delicious, so much meat, Mother, Brother, Tie Chui, you guys eat quickly."

Seeing him eating so fast, Lin Zhao reminded him worriedly: "Don't rush, eat slowly, be careful of choking; if you like them, I'll make more for you in a few days."

Ercai couldn't even swallow the dumpling in his mouth, and mumbled: "Okay! Mother, I like eating dumplings!"

Lin Zhao caught sight of the twins with their faces covered in food and felt it was very necessary to make a few cloth bibs for the two little ones, otherwise, she would collapse from washing clothes.

"Little Comrade Ercai, I want to ask, is there anything you don't like to eat?"

Children all liked to pretend to be adults; hearing this address, Ercai smiled broadly and said excitedly: "No, I like everything!"

Gu Da Cai followed up: "Mother, I'm not a picky eater either."

As soon as the two older brothers spoke, the third and fourth cubs couldn't hold back, swinging their hands holding the small wooden spoons, and their soft, pink mouths spat out words: "Wo, pfft..."

They wanted to say they weren't picky eaters either, but in their haste, they spat out their food, instantly becoming little dirty babies.

Lin Zhao didn't care; all children were like this.

In this era, it was hard enough to be full, and there were no children who needed to be coaxed to eat; plus, Lin Zhao's cooking was good, so the children ate with great relish and finished their meal in no time.

"Are you full? If not, there's more," Lin Zhao said.

Gu Da Cai helped his mother clear the bowls, his face full of smiles.

"Full, Mother, we'll wash the bowls, you rest."

Tie Chui and Ercai also held their bulging bellies and helped collect the bowls.

"Be careful," Lin Zhao didn't refuse, just instructed.

Ercai said with a grin: "Don't worry, Mother, my brother and I can wash the bowls."

Ever since they turned five, the bowls at home were all washed by them; Mother was so lazy.

However...

If Mother cooked, he was willing to wash the bowls every day; he would do all the chores at home.

Ercai looked at his mother, who was cleaning up the younger siblings, and the curve of his mouth kept widening.

"Ercai, what are you laughing at?" Tie Chui asked curiously.

Ercai gave a blissful smile and acted mysterious, "You wouldn't understand."

Tie Chui scratched his head; Ercai wouldn't say anything, so of course he didn't understand.

Lin Zhao washed the twins' hands and faces clean and applied some moisturizing vanishing cream, seeing a light flash again on the task bar on the right side of the turntable.

It prompted that the task was completed.

【The children ate delicious dumplings, and their bodies and minds received double satisfaction. Congratulations on successfully completing the task and receiving 5 points.】

5 points?

Wasn't it a 4-point task?

Her gaze caught sight of Tie Chui's name added in the parentheses after the task list.

So it was calculated per head; she should have said so earlier, she would have called a few more children.

Lin Zhao was full of regret.

Just after she finished applying the vanishing cream to the twins, Ercai's little black face poked in front of her.

"Mother~~" The sound of Gu Ercai calling Mother was full of twists and turns, his tone carrying little waves.

"What's wrong?"

"I've never applied vanishing cream before," Ercai said, not saying he wanted his mother to apply it for him, but instead beating around the bush to act pitiful.

Gu Da Cai also looked at Lin Zhao, saying nothing, his black and white eyes full of expectation.

Lin Zhao felt helpless and heartbroken, and said: "Go wash up."

As soon as the words fell, she caught sight of the task bar on the right side of the lucky draw turntable updating again.

【Summer is very dry, and the skin is always dry; hurry and apply some moisturizer for the cubs, complete the task to receive 5 points.】

It had automatically put Tie Chui into the task.

"Tie Chui, you go too," Lin Zhao said.

Tie Chui was flattered, said thank you, and was pulled over by Ercai to wash his hands and face.

After quickly washing their hands and faces, the children stood in a row in front of Lin Zhao.

"Mother, okay, apply it to me first," Ercai said with a grin, his eyes constantly aiming at the vanishing cream on the table.

Lin Zhao dug out a small dollop of vanishing cream and applied it evenly to Ercai's face, not even ignoring his little hands.

"Thank you, Mother, it smells so good," Ercai said, smelling the fragrance on his hands, and squeezed past the twins to sit beside his mother.

The twins thought their second brother was playing with them, and squeezed him with their little bottoms from left and right, laughing "giggle, giggle," very happily.

It was Gu Da Cai's turn.

Gu Da Cai was happy and excited, his ears turning red with shyness, and his eyes looking at Lin Zhao were very bright, as if there were pearls inside.

"Thank you, Mother," Gu Da Cai said shyly.

After he finished speaking, he hurried to the side.

In a corner where Lin Zhao couldn't see, he also raised his hands and smelled them gently.

It was fragrant.

Tie Chui's face was even redder than Gu Da Cai's; after Lin Zhao finished applying it to him, the child walked away with his hands and feet moving in the same direction.

At the same time.

【... Congratulations on completing the task and receiving 5 points.】

A total of 12 points now.

Lin Zhao wasn't in a hurry to draw; a lucky draw needed a sense of ritual, so she would draw before sleep.

Just then, Gu Xing'er came over carrying two bundles of firewood; smelling the fragrance filling the courtyard, her heart felt like it was soaked in a jar of pickled vegetables, and the look she gave Lin Zhao was full of disgust and jealousy.

She hadn't eaten since yesterday, her stomach was empty and her limbs were weak; with a gloomy face, she dropped the firewood and ran out.

Ercai curled his lips, "Little Aunt is not particular at all, she didn't even put them neatly."

As he spoke, he walked over and dragged the firewood to the corner of the wall.

Gu Da Cai and Tie Chui helped together.

The twins also wanted to join in the fun, but Lin Zhao hurriedly hugged the two little ones into her arms and said with a smile: "You two shouldn't go and help make a mess."

Ercai had a bit of obsessive-compulsive disorder; he placed the firewood one by one, arranging them neatly, and when he saw one that was too long, he even had to break it with effort before putting it down.

In '66, there were no entertainment programs during the day, and none at night either.

Lin Zhao's family, like other people in the village, had to go back to their rooms to sleep early.

Just before entering the room, she suddenly said: "The third and fourth cubs will sleep with me."

The third and fourth cubs were hanging on Lin Zhao's legs; hearing Mother calling them, the two little ones raised their fair, tender little faces, revealing confused little expressions.

Lin Zhao's heart trembled from their cuteness; she touched her daughter's little face, her voice soft and slow: "Fourth cub and brother, will you sleep with Mother tonight? Do you want to?"

"Want, sleep," the fourth cub spat out two words in a milky voice.

The third cub nodded.

At this, Ercai was filled with envy.

"Mother, did I sleep with you when I was little?" Ercai asked expectantly.

Lin Zhao's heart gave a tug, because... in her memory, it seemed not.

At that time, her heart felt like it was weighed down by stones, she had no energy for anything, and she certainly didn't want to take care of noisy, demanding infants.

Seeing his mother didn't speak, Ercai smiled and said: "There must have been; Grandma said that newborn babies can't leave their mothers; when my brother and I were little, we must have been in the same room as Mother, and Mother must have coaxed my brother and me to sleep; it must be like that."

Gu Da Cai imagined the scene of his mother coaxing them to sleep, his eyes as bright as shining stars.

Was it like that?

Lin Zhao felt guilty and guilty in her heart, her gaze dodging as she said: "You are big friends now, Mother can also coax you to sleep..."

Before she finished speaking, Ercai, who was used to being pushy, looked at Lin Zhao and said: "Mother, I want to sleep with you tonight."

Gu Da Cai wanted to as well, but he didn't say it, looking at his mother nervously and expectantly.

"Alright," Lin Zhao agreed, "considering you washed up and are clean little friends."

Hearing this, Gu Da Cai's eyes lit up, as if stars had fallen into the bottom of his eyes.

He was so happy.

Ercai gave a silly laugh and pulled his brother back to the room, saying as they walked: "Mother, we're going to get our pillows."

After arriving at the room, the smile on Ercai's face didn't fade, and he said to Gu Da Cai: "Brother, Mother is really good today; I like Mother, how about you?"

Gu Da Cai's black, fan-like eyelashes trembled gently, his eyes full of shyness; he pursed his lips, and it was a long while before he spoke: "I like her too."

"Hehe, I knew you liked her too."

Hearing his younger brother's laughter, Gu Da Cai's already warm ears turned even redder.

The Harvest Brigade didn't have electricity, and every household used kerosene lamps; candles were expensive, and no one could bear to buy them, so the light in the room was hazy, shining on people and feeling exceptionally warm.

Lin Zhao was making the bed.

The mattress on the bed was hard as a rock; the outside needed to be washed and dried, and the cotton inside needed to be refilled, otherwise, winter would be very hard to endure. Fortunately, it was still midsummer, so there was time to prepare; by then, the new house should be finished, and they could build two heated brick beds, tidy up the room for the cubs, and add some new clothes—wouldn't life just pick up then?