Chapter 257: If, in this world, all that a departed friend left behind were her children?

On the day of the full-month banquet, Lao Mo brought his two apprentices along.

Oh no, to be precise, his disciples.

Teaching one monkey is teaching, and teaching two is also teaching, so he took them both in.

In this day and age, master = father.

Disciples are meant to provide for their master in his old age and perform the funeral rites.

Plus, a few days ago, his good brother came to his restaurant to drown his sorrows in alcohol, which completely ruined his longing for marriage.

From now on, he wasn't planning on getting married; with two disciples to support him in his old age, as long as he didn't starve, that would be enough!

"Brother Mo, you're here. Today, I absolutely forbid you from entering the kitchen. Just sit at the table and enjoy the food and wine!"

"Fine, fine, fine, I'll listen to you, sister-in-law. Dahai, Xiao Hai, you two go to the kitchen and help out. Don't embarrass me."

"Understood!"

The two brothers were wearing well-fitting clothes and looked very spirited. They had both cut their hair into buzz cuts, their cheeks had filled out, and they looked taller and much healthier than before.

"This is a gift for my little nephew and niece. When they're a bit bigger, they can ride these all over the place."

Lao Mo had brought a small blue car and a small red car.

The craftsmanship was exquisite; when a child sat in them, the three-wheeled cars were perfectly stable.

"Brother Mo, you've gone to too much trouble. I'll have a few drinks with you later."

Jiang Ye walked out of the kitchen wearing an apron, wiped his hands, and then pulled a pack of cigarettes from his pocket to toss to the other man.

"Alright then. I won't smoke today; I'll hold my little niece and nephew instead."

Lao Mo caught the cigarettes. Though he said he wouldn't smoke, he accepted the pack and tucked it into his pocket.

These things weren't easy to buy; they required cigarette coupons.

"Iya-ya."

Xiao Nuomi was very cooperative and wanted to be held, showing no signs of stranger anxiety.

She successfully moved from her mother's arms into the arms of the stranger, and then her two little hands curiously touched the beard on the uncle's mouth.

Her own father didn't have such a long beard; at first glance, it looked very pullable!

"Ouch, ouch, ouch! Little ancestor, let go, let go!"

Lao Mo's joy turned to sorrow. He had wanted to show off that his little niece was close to him, but he hadn't expected to have his beard pulled the very next second.

"Iya-ya."

Xiao Nuomi laughed until drool ran out. She thought this bearded uncle was playing with her and grabbed even harder.

"Dong dong dong."

It was Elder Lu who had quick eyes and fast hands; he grabbed a rattle-drum to distract his little great-granddaughter, which finally rescued Lao Mo.

Lao Mo rubbed his chin, but he wasn't angry. He even joked to his sister-in-law:

"Xiao Nuomi likes me, this uncle, which is why she wouldn't let go."

"That's right."

Shen Man smiled apologetically. After settling Brother Mo in, she suddenly thought of something and asked him:

"Brother Mo, will Brother Zhou and his wife be coming today?"

"Look at my memory, I forgot to tell you. Zhou Yan took his wife back to her maiden home. He entrusted me to bring two sets of new clothes for the children; they're among the gifts I brought..."

Lao Mo slapped his forehead. After finishing, he went to get the gifts.

In truth, Zhou Yan knew about the ugly things his wife had done and didn't want to bring her; he was too ashamed to come.

Plus, ever since she had the miscarriage, his wife had been acting strange and her mental state wasn't good, so he thought about sending her back to her maiden home to see if she could fully recover.

Things had already reached this point, and retribution had been served; one couldn't just keep dwelling on it, or there would be no point in living.

Sigh, his eyes were fine; Zhou Yan's wife really did have some issues.

It was just that both sides were brothers, so he planned to talk to Jiang Ye about this privately and wouldn't tell his sister-in-law.

As for whether Jiang Ye would tell his sister-in-law, that was a matter for the couple.

If you asked him, marrying the wrong woman was just meaningless!

He would rather not marry at all than encounter such a muddled woman!

Shen Man was actually a bit afraid to use the gifts Brother Zhou had sent. Seeing that Brother Mo had picked them out, she just casually carried them into the room and set them aside, planning to deal with them later.

Today, all other grievances were set aside; holding the full-month banquet for the children was what mattered.

As more and more guests arrived, the courtyard became increasingly lively.

There was no need to mention the dozen or so elders; even Political Commissar Ji and Wangjie, who was heavily pregnant, had brought her two sons to drink and eat.

There were also Section Commander Duan, Regiment Commander Han, and others, as well as several deputy regiment commanders and battalion commanders from Jiang Ye's regiment.

Even those who couldn't come due to family matters had entrusted others to send congratulatory gifts.

Lu Xiu Bai also had several close friends whom he had invited over.

In the end, six tables were prepared, with eight people at each table, and they were all full.

Those who drank sat together, and those who didn't sat together.

The stern face of Regiment Commander Han softened instantly when he saw Shen Man and the little girl in her arms.

"Manman, may I call you that?"

"Of course you can, Uncle Han."

"Ah. What is the name of this little girl in your arms?"

"This is my daughter, her formal name is Jiang Yinuo, and her nickname is Xiao Nuomi.

The one in Section Commander Duan's arms is my son, his formal name is Jiang Tian Qi, and his nickname is Xiao Mantou.

"What my grandfather is holding in his arms is my niece, her formal name is Lu Ailian, and her nickname is Lian Lian."

The concept of "affinity" is really hard to explain.

Just like now, even though it wasn't their first meeting, Shen Man's feeling toward Regiment Commander Han was like that of a kind elder listening attentively to a younger generation.

There was a very strange feeling.

If there hadn't been an accident back then, and he hadn't left his hometown to join the army and lost contact, would her mother have avoided meeting that scumbag father later on?

Perhaps they would have naturally become husband and wife, and they would be father and daughter?

Suddenly, a passage she had read in her past life surfaced in her mind.

No wonder I see the shadow of an old friend in you; it is because you are the child of an old friend.

If, in this world, all that a departed friend left behind were her children?

To some extent, Regiment Commander Han had always held her mother in his heart; otherwise, he wouldn't have remained single his whole life.

When she first arrived on the Sea Island and was being made difficult, he had stepped forward...

In the half-year that followed, he hadn't actually come to disturb her life, nor had he asked her about her mother.

He just stood quietly in the corner, and whenever she needed him, he would appear to support her.

How is this not a form of partiality, loving the house and its crow?

Regiment Commander Han's eyes swept kindly over the jade-like infants, his gaze finally resting on the infant whose features looked exactly like that person—

"May I hold Xiao Nuomi?"

"Of course you can."

Shen Man nodded readily and then handed her daughter to him.

She taught him how to adjust his arm angle so that holding the child would feel comfortable.

The soft little thing, smelling of milk, wasn't afraid of strangers at all.

While some adults were timid and didn't dare to make a sound in front of the leader, she, at an age where she only knew how to drink milk, was already kicking wildly on the leader's lap.

"Iya-ya."

No one knew what the little one was saying, but after she finished, she smeared the gentle grandpa's face with drool.

After seeing this, Elder Lu curled his lips, a sour feeling spreading in his heart.

His great-granddaughter hadn't smeared his face with drool yet!

"Pfft."

She pooped, she pooped on his lap!

This really was a girl as fierce as her father!