Chapter 652: The Meaning of Striving

"Mom, Big Aunt, tomorrow I need to go over to the school, and I also want to go see the elderly woman and the elderly man."

After she returned, for the first week, she felt dizzy.

Her mental state was extremely overdrawn.

Just as she had a slight improvement, she went to teach at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, accompanied the children in the afternoon, wrote lesson plans at night, and taught classes the next day...

Today, she had just finished her class, and this trip to the City had been arranged; the plans from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs side hadn't come out yet, so she estimated there were still a few days of relaxed time.

"Nan Nan, why did you come over? Shouldn't you rest for a few more days? Can your body handle it?" The elderly man was in the shop when he saw An Yinan outside, and what's more, she was holding two children in her arms.

Those two children were fair and tender, and they weren't afraid of strangers; seeing the elderly man's gaze, they immediately smiled, their eyes curved and clear, full of childlike innocence.

"I've rested for a few days, I'm much better now." An Yinan greeted them at the shop entrance, then went back and entered the courtyard through the courtyard gate.

"Old lady, Sister Liu, come out quickly and see who's back."

As soon as she entered the courtyard, she heard the elderly man's shout.

She hadn't expected that in this year or so, the elderly man's legs and feet seemed even more nimble than before.

"Who is it!"

"You old man, we're boiling pig's head meat, what are you shouting for?" The elderly woman walked out from the room holding a ladle.

However, when she saw the person standing at the entrance, she immediately threw the ladle in her hand to the side and wiped her hands on her apron.

"Nan Nan, you're back?"

The elderly woman's voice was very soft, looking at the young woman standing there, confirming she was safe.

Although they had received a phone call from the Dayuan, they couldn't feel at ease as long as they didn't see her in person for a single day.

Only when she saw her standing before them did her heart finally feel like it had landed.

"I'm back, I've made everyone worry about me."

An Yinan walked forward; if she weren't holding two babies in her arms, she would have loved to hug these three lovely elderly people.

Their worry was no less than those at the Dayuan.

"Hey, us old folks don't have anything to do all day, we just let our imaginations run wild."

"It's fine, as long as you've returned safely."

Just as the few of them were talking, someone outside the window shouted, "Elderly man, give me half a catty of braised food."

Upon hearing this, the elderly man heard the voice and hurriedly replied, "Coming, coming."

After saying that, he didn't forget to turn back and instruct, "Now that you're here, don't leave. Eat here at the elderly man's place at noon; we might not have much else, but there's plenty of braised food and braised meat."

An Yinan smiled and nodded, "Alright, I'll eat here."

Speaking of this...

The elderly woman slapped her own forehead, "My brain, I still have a pig's head boiling over there!"

The elderly woman hurriedly ran into the room.

Elderly woman Liu looked at the two children, "Can I touch them?"

Elderly woman Liu asked, her eyes shining.

An Yinan turned sideways and reached out with Dabao, "Dabao, let Grandma hold you."

Dabao was obedient and cute, stretching out his little arms that looked like lotus roots, "Hold, hold."

Elderly woman Liu hurriedly took Dabao, and looking at Dabao's smiling face, she couldn't help but laugh as well.

"When your grandmother and Big Aunt have time, bring them over too. Children grow really fast; it's only been a month, and they seem to have grown quite a bit."

Elderly woman Liu held Dabao, looking at the fair and tender little fellow, then looked at Xiaobao who was clinging to Nan Nan's neck, and felt even happier.

"Right, children grow fast. My Big Aunt says children look different every day," An Yinan said with a smile.

The two of them entered the room together. The meat fragrance filling the room made An Yinan's eyes light up; when she was in the City, she had really craved this.

She would cook for herself when she was in the mood, but braised meat was too complicated and required unique ingredients, and since there were special forces soldiers all around, it wasn't convenient for her to take things out of her space.

So she just made it less often.

"The courtyard you have over there, those few girls have been cleaning it for you."

"At the beginning, your elderly woman Liu and I were cleaning it, but the girls said there was no need, they would clean it every day."

While the elderly woman was braising the pig's head, she didn't forget to turn back and say that.

An Yinan smiled and nodded. It felt as if she had only been gone for a year and a half, and upon returning, everything was the same as before, nothing had changed.

No.

There were changes.

That was the two babies in her arms.

"Ah, ah, ah." At this moment, Xiaobao opened his mouth and pointed at the pot of braised meat, his little drool flowing down the corner of his mouth.

An Yinan laughed out loud at the sight, "You little glutton, you can't eat these yet."

Although the braised meat made by the elderly man and woman used very good ingredients, the two little ones couldn't eat regular salt yet; their vegetables and rice were made separately and needed to be bland.

This was something An Yinan had specifically requested, and the Dayuan side didn't ask for the reason; Big Aunt and her mother-in-law had always followed it.

"You can't eat it yet. When you can eat it, Grandma will let you eat your fill." The elderly woman looked at the little glutton's expression and couldn't help but laugh out loud.

In this home, you just have to have a little baby; seeing them makes people happy.

Elderly woman Liu handed Dabao back, "Nan Nan, you hold him for a moment, I'll go steam some egg custard for the two children."

In An Yinan's backpack, she had brought milk powder, but now these two little ones only drank milk powder three times a day; the rest of the time, they could eat supplementary food.

"Okay." An Yinan nodded.

Elderly woman Liu was very nimble, and the small patterned bowls she took out—one had a puppy on it, the other a kitten; the puppy one was for Dabao, and the kitten one was for Xiaobao.

These were things the three elderly people had already prepared the first time the children came.

There were also cute little spoons.

An Yinan felt very warm inside; wasn't this the meaning of her working hard out there?

A strong country, a strong people.

Only then can one protect the things one wants to protect.

"How long can you stay this time?" the old man asked.

The two children were full, had drunk some milk powder, and were already asleep.

They both had the habit of taking a nap at noon and wouldn't fuss; as long as they drank their milk powder, they knew it was time to sleep, and they would lie down obediently and fall asleep on their own.

They didn't need anyone to pat them or watch over them; they were extremely sensible.

"I don't know yet; I have to go out once more in a few days." An Yinan didn't mention the specific matter, but she didn't hide the fact that she was leaving the capital.

"You, always running around everywhere," the old woman said, though she didn't interfere too much.

Nan Nan had things she wanted to do, and as for them, the elders, they just needed to let her be at ease and know that she was safe.

"As long as you're safe; just remember there are so many people at home waiting for you to come back," the old man said with a smile.

"Alright, eat some braised meat and see if the old man's skills have improved a bit."

An Yinan had eaten a few bites of the braised dish, and the taste was truly superb.

"When I was outside, I really craved this," she said, giving a thumbs up.

"Delicious!"

The three old people in the room couldn't help but laugh.