Chapter 48
After breakfast, Wei Cheng took the initiative to help Granny Bai clear the table, while Guanguan huffed and puffed as he pushed a chair taller than himself back under it.
The moment Yi Qi picked up a cleaning cloth, Granny Bai, who had just come back in from outside, stopped him.
“Xiao Qi, hurry and take the children out to play in the yard. Your Uncle Zong can handle this little bit of work.”
Yi Qi kept wiping the table as he smiled. “Aunt Bai, tidying up bowls and chopsticks doesn’t count as real work.”
Then he glanced upstairs, where bursts of laughter kept drifting down, and asked casually, “Are A Ming and Nuan Nuan relatives of the family?”
The taciturn old man Zong packed the remaining breakfast into a basket and carried it away, while Granny Bai led them over to sit on the bamboo bench nearby.
“They’re not relatives. They came here a month ago.”
Granny Bai recalled, “Back then those two children were starving, yellow-faced and skinny, covered in blood, kneeling at the gate and crying as they begged us to let them stay. They looked so pitiful that I let them move in.”
Yi Qi nodded. “Seeing how much care you give them, I thought maybe Dayuan had some handsome distant cousins I’d never heard of. He never mentioned them to us.”
Granny Bai lowered her voice. “Dayuan always used to tell us not to let strangers into the house, except for online customers. At first, I only meant to let them stay two days and then leave, but who would have thought Nuan Nuan was already over three months pregnant? How could I do something so sinful then?”
After hearing that, Yi Qi glanced at Wei Cheng.
Wei Cheng wore a polite, obedient smile. “Grandma, you’ve worked so hard. You’re taking care of other people, and you got up early to make us so much delicious food. My little brother and I have never eaten such a tasty breakfast before.”
Granny Bai gave a little snort. “This child’s mouth is really sweet. If it’s so good, why didn’t you eat more?”
She patted Yi Qi’s hand. “Don’t worry. We used to be planning to run this place as a guesthouse, so we stocked up early on a lot of things—coal, rice, flour, grain oil, and some quick foods. And yesterday you brought me two more bags of rice and flour. However many people we’ve got here, we’ll make it through.”
Yi Qi said, “But that breakfast was too rich. Aunt Bai, you’ve been at home all this time, so you don’t know what it’s like outside. These days people would smash each other’s heads open over a single meat bun.”
“They’d fight over one bun?” Granny Bai stared in shock, patting her chest as if startled. “The construction team at the tourist town up ahead all ran off before they even finished building. Right now, there’s no one out here except our family. I really had no idea things outside had become like this.”
“Food is more precious than gold. Aunt Bai, once Xiao Zheng’s body recovers, we’ll leave. You and Uncle Zong still have to wait for Dayuan to come home, so it’s better to save more food and meat for the house.” Yi Qi sighed.
After a moment of silence, Granny Bai smiled again. “Leave for what? Stay right here! Ah Zheng needs to eat more meat and eggs while he recovers, and Nuan Nuan’s pregnancy reaction is bad and she’s picky about food. Auntie’s been through this before. If a woman doesn’t eat well during pregnancy, something terrible can happen.”
Then she smiled again. “Don’t worry. Dayuan is my lifeblood. I’d rather go hungry myself than let him go hungry. I’ve already been saving his share of food for him.”
At that moment, Uncle Zong’s voice came from outside. “Xiushui, come look at this. Has this piece of meat gone bad?”
“Coming, coming.”
Granny Bai got up in no hurry and smiled. “You all rest. If you’re bored, go walk up the mountain.”
Even from far away, the old couple’s conversation could still be heard.
“It won’t be spoiled. In weather like this, how could meat spoil?”
“Mm, it can still last a while longer.”
Inside the room, Yi Qi looked at Wei Cheng and said quietly, “What doubts do you still have?” He had long since noticed the wariness in the child’s eyes.
Wei Cheng was silent a moment, then said, “Once Uncle Shen’s body is better, we’ll leave.”
Yi Qi said that was what he was thinking too. Two grown men and two boys all had big appetites; in just a few days, they could eat Dayuan’s family into ruin.
Maybe Granny Bai had really taken Yi Qi’s words to heart. Lunch was not large in portion, but the dish itself was fatty white-braised pork.
A Ming and Nuan Nuan, who only ever appeared at mealtimes, ate very heartily.
Guanguan liked lean meat. He did not like the white fatty parts!
Granny Bai seemed to really like making fatty pork.
Seeing Guanguan burying his head in only the rice, Wei Cheng quickly found an excuse to take him away the moment the rice was gone.
Granny Bai set down her chopsticks. “These two children, why…”
Since Yi Qi could not leave right away, he smiled and said, “The children have been starved for too long. If they suddenly eat fatty pork, it upsets their stomachs. They’ll need some time to recover.”
Granny Bai shook her head. “Poor children.”
Nuan Nuan nibbled at her chopsticks and said with a smile, “You can’t spoil children like that. The more you spoil them, the less obedient they become.”
“A Ming, don’t say too much,” A Ming said as he looked left and right, as if afraid of offending anyone.
Nuan Nuan suddenly slammed down her chopsticks and shouted, “What did I say? How is that talking too much?”
Granny Bai quickly stood up to soothe her. “Oh dear, you mustn’t get upset.”
Nuan Nuan wrapped both arms around Granny Bai’s waist and started crying. “Aunt Bai, I can’t sleep well at all every day, and the baby in my belly keeps bothering me, it’s so noisy. And there are children always running around and shouting too!”
Yi Qi frowned at her. “Miss, we’ve only been here for less than half a day. You’re upstairs and we’re downstairs. How could we possibly be bothering you? And our children stayed in their room all morning, reading and learning characters. When exactly did they run around and shout?”
A Ming tried smoothing things over again. “Children bouncing around and shouting is normal. Nuan Nuan’s pregnant, so her emotions swing more and she’s more sensitive. It’s all a small matter. Let’s not hurt the peace.”
They had just said clearly that their children hadn’t run or shouted, and this man was pretending not to understand?
Yi Qi took a deep breath. Out of respect for the two elders, he did not explode. He simply stood up and said, “Uncle Zong, Aunt Bai, please take your time eating.”
“Hm? Xiao Qi, why are you leaving halfway through the meal…”
He returned to Shen Zheng’s room. The door would not open at first, and only after he spoke did it unlock from inside.
Wei Cheng locked it again. “Why did someone start crying outside?”
Yi Qi looked over and saw a small table propped up on the bed with a pot of chicken soup on it, some torn-open lemon-honey crispy roast chicken, and a bright-colored dry-pot cauliflower dish.
Guanguan sat beside Shen Zheng, his little chubby hand holding a tiny spoon as he fed Shen Zheng chicken soup.
Their children were so well-behaved.
And some people were still picking faults!
“What happened? Why is that girl crying?”
Yi Qi sat back down at the bedside and told them everything that had happened.
Shen Zheng was furious. “That tea-bitchy dog man and dog woman!”
Guanguan held up his little chopsticks. “Uncle, they’re people, not dogs! Little Apricot baby is the dog!”
Only then did Shen Zheng realize he had cursed in front of a child. “Right, Uncle said it wrong.”
“They want to drive us away,” Wei Cheng said decisively.
Yi Qi said, “The bullet still hasn’t been removed from Shen Zheng’s body. We can’t risk leaving now.”
Then he added angrily, “And we’re not staying here for free. We gave Aunt Bai two big bags of rice and flour. What did they contribute? Besides, what are we to Dayuan’s family? And what kind of wild outsiders are they?”
Shen Zheng sighed. “I’m the one dragging everyone down.”
Wei Cheng said, “Uncle Shen, don’t overthink it. Focus on healing. While we’re here, there are other things we can do.”
Shen Zheng looked puzzled. “What things?”
“Do you remember that abandoned little-town construction site we passed on the way here? There should still be a lot of rebar and steel materials there.”
Yi Qi and Shen Zheng both knew about the mission to build a base, and both were visibly pleased. “Right! How did we not think of that!”
Guanguan stopped even eating his chicken drumstick, his eyes round as saucers. “Big brother, are we going treasure hunting again?”
“That’s right, we’re going treasure hunting again.” Wei Cheng smiled as he used a tissue to wipe the little cat-like mess from the corner of the child’s mouth.
Yi Qi said, “But we need to wait two days. Right now I’m not comfortable leaving Shen Zheng here alone.”
Shen Zheng hurriedly said, “I’m fine. You go do your thing. Besides, Aunt Bai and Uncle Zong are here. Those two won’t dare do anything.”
In the end, it was Wei Cheng who slapped the table and decided. “The stuff is there. It won’t run away. Once Uncle Shen is a little better, then we’ll go.”
After that unhappy lunch, Aunt Bai also seemed afraid of more conflict. Every day she and Uncle Zong brought meals directly to their room, and they even spoke kindly on behalf of the young couple.
Yi Qi also could not bear to make things difficult for the old couple. Even when he heard laughter and noise from upstairs day and night, he did not say much.
That was how they passed two weeks in uneasy peace.
The weather was warming. In half a month, it would be the New Year.
That afternoon, the sun was warm, and Wei Cheng sat beneath the eaves with Guanguan, letting him draw.
The little black dog raced around happily in the yard.
“Big brother, look!”
Guanguan held up his sheet of paper, his plump little face smug and satisfied. “Finished drawing!”
The whole family had been drawn by Guanguan as fluffy steamed buns with tree-branch arms.
Wei Cheng smiled. “Which one is Guanguan?”
Guanguan pointed at the small bun-child with a few strands of hair sticking up on its head. “This one is Guanguan.” Then he pointed at the cool bun beside it, the one with one hand on its hip. “This one is big brother. Handsome.”
Wei Cheng asked in confusion, “Why doesn’t big brother have any hair?”
“Uncle Yi said smart brains don’t grow hair!” Guanguan kicked his little feet proudly. “Big brother is smart!”
“Which ones are Uncle Shen and Uncle Yi?”
“This one, and this one!”
Wei Cheng even made a point of counting. Yi Qi had the most hair of all of them.
He laughed. “When Uncle Yi comes back from chopping wood later, don’t forget to show him.”
Yi Qi and A Ming had gone up the mountain with Grandpa Zong early in the morning to chop firewood.
They were short on coal, so they absolutely needed to prepare more wood.
Just then, laughter drifted over from behind the children.
Wei Cheng took Guanguan and Little Apricot by the hand and was about to return to the room when he heard Granny Bai call out, “Guanguan, come here for a moment.”
Nuan Nuan sat down, supporting her overly heavy belly, and Granny Bai quickly tucked a pillow behind her lower back.
Guanguan stayed tucked beside his brother’s leg and did not move. He only obediently called out, “Grandma.”
“Come here, come.” Granny Bai waved again with a gentle smile.
Wei Cheng still led Guanguan over.
Granny Bai said, “Guanguan, tell me—do you think there’s a boy or a girl inside Sister Nuan Nuan’s belly?”
Nuan Nuan lifted her double chin slightly and looked very interested in his answer too.
Guanguan shook his head, hid his little face against his brother’s chest, and stopped talking.
Wei Cheng said, “Grandma, I’m taking Guanguan back inside.”
Granny Bai smiled. “Go on back. The wind will pick up again soon. Don’t catch a chill.”
After the two of them left, Nuan Nuan rolled her eyes. “That child doesn’t look smart at all.”
“He’s only three. The way he talks is funny. He’s very clever. He probably just didn’t understand what I meant just now.”
Granny Bai lovingly stroked Nuan Nuan’s stomach through the down coat. “Besides, whether it’s a boy or a girl, it’s still your flesh. Same thing, same thing.”
Nuan Nuan lowered her voice. “Aunt Bai, I heard from A Ming that they’re leaving after the New Year. Is that true?”
Granny Bai looked at her. “Mm. They said they’re leaving.”
Nuan Nuan’s mouth curved slightly. “It’s better if they leave. Then our family of five can live here quietly together. How nice.”
She hugged Granny Bai’s arm and acted spoiled. “Once the baby is born, let it take Uncle Zong’s surname. In the future, let it replace your son and care for you in old age.”
Granny Bai gently stroked Nuan Nuan’s hair. “All right. Boy or girl, it doesn’t matter. But you have to give me one great big chubby child.”
Back in the room, Wei Cheng made the bed. It was time for Guanguan’s nap.
He looked at Guanguan, who had half his body sprawled across the bed while his little legs dangled over the edge.
“What’s wrong? Why are you unhappy?”
Guanguan’s cheek was squashed flat, his cheek-meat looking just like a little cream bun fresh out of the bakery, and his words came out a bit muffled. “Guanguan doesn’t know if inside Sister Nuan Nuan’s belly is a boy or a girl.”
Wei Cheng did not think much of it. He placed a bag of shrimp-ball rice crackers on the child’s little back. “Mm, Guanguan isn’t a doctor. She’d do better asking Yi Qi.”
But the half-hanging Guanguan had a major blind spot. His short, chubby arms could not reach the snack on his back no matter how hard he tried.
The poor child got stuck, unable to go up or down. “Big brother, help!”
Wei Cheng laughed and picked him up from the bed’s edge, then tore open the snack bag. “Eat your snack, then big brother will coax you to sleep.”
Guanguan bit into the crisp shrimp ball, happily chewing while shaking his head around. “Okay!”
Once the snack was finished, and his little blanket was tucked over his belly button, sleepy Guanguan gave a yawn. He felt like there had been something he needed to tell big brother.
But he could not remember what it was anymore!
—
The next day, Wei Cheng and Yi Qi were taking Guanguan with them to the little-town construction site a little over ten kilometers away.
Shen Zheng could now get out of bed and walk normally, but his left arm was still in a sling and could not take any jolting.
When Granny Bai heard they were going to look for supplies, she firmly opposed it. “Xiao Qi, what are you doing? There’s enough food in the house for us.”
Even the usually quiet Uncle Zong advised them, “Don’t take the risk. Wait until after the New Year.”
Yi Qi said, “Anything we can find is worth finding. Just sitting around eating until the stores are gone makes us feel awful.”
A Ming, who had been watching the whole time, suddenly spoke up. “Brother Yi, I’m coming with you!”
“Zhang Ming! Are you trying to get yourself killed?” Nuan Nuan screamed.
A Ming said, “I’m an adult man. I also want to help shoulder some of the burden.”
Nuan Nuan hugged her belly and fake-cried. “If you go, then the baby and I might as well not live!”
Granny Bai hurried to help her upstairs. “Don’t say things like that. All right, all right. A Ming, you stay here and take care of Nuan Nuan.”
Yi Qi muttered in disgust, “A pair of drama queens.”
Shen Zheng stood at the main gate seeing them off, reminding them, “Take good care of Guanguan. If one day isn’t enough to move everything, then split it over several days. We’re staying here for a while longer anyway.”
Wei Cheng lifted Guanguan into the vehicle and said, “Don’t worry, Uncle Shen.”
Fully geared-up little Guanguan echoed like a tiny recorder, “Don’t worry, Uncle Shen.”
Shen Zheng laughed so hard it tugged at his wound. “Don’t run around, little Guanguan.”
Yi Qi sounded the horn twice. “You don’t run around either.”
The weather was growing warmer, and the snow in the mountains was slowly melting. The ambulance crept out of this narrow, muddy mountain road.
Half an hour later, the vehicle entered the small town, which seemed veiled in a gray haze. On both sides of the road stood unfinished imitation-ancient buildings, and the ground was strewn with broken bricks and stones.
Afraid there might be nails and the tires could get punctured, they decided to get out and walk.
The leashed little black dog sniffed around everywhere, trotting ahead of them.
Yi Qi held his gun and scanned the surroundings carefully. He found no sign of danger.
“That safe house of Guanguan’s…” He paused to organize his words. “How much stuff can it hold?”
Rebar and steel pipes took up a huge amount of space.
Wei Cheng thought about it. In the storage warehouse, they still had that newly bought ten-level, fifty-meter-long heavy-duty shelf. It had a double-layer storage-and-display structure, and each level could bear an unlimited amount of goods.
That new shelf had never been used. It would be perfect for these heavy materials.
“It can hold them,” Wei Cheng said. “Let’s find them first.”
The three people and one dog carefully passed through one unfinished ancient-style building after another. Inside, the places were empty, filled only with broken walls and ruins.
Suddenly Wei Cheng lowered his voice. “Look ahead!”
Under a completed stone bridge was a huge, neatly stacked pile of red bricks and gray stone bricks—several thousand of them at least.
They quickly hurried over. Up close, they could see even more clearly how good the brick quality was.
Yi Qi patted one of them and laughed. “These are good bricks. Mixed with sand and mortar, they’d be perfect for reinforcing walls.”
“Let’s go a little farther and see if there are planks or sheet metal.”
Sure enough, after only a few more steps, they found a plastic barrier with faded lettering on it: “General Labor Storage…” and “…Work Safety…”
Beside it stood an open-sided sheet-metal shed. Inside was a row of steel racks stacked with pipes of various sizes, and on the ground nearby were piles of rusted white iron sheets, plus two torn, filthy padded chairs.
Yi Qi let out a breath and laughed. “A great harvest!”
Guanguan’s eyes darted around. Standing on tiptoe, he pointed at a huge steel pipe about as thick as a slide. “Big brother, Guanguan wants to go play inside that!”
“Not right now.”
Wei Cheng rubbed his head. “Once we have our new base, big brother will make you a slide.”
“Okay!” Guanguan loved slides the most!
Yi Qi rubbed his hands together. “So what now? Start moving it all in?”
Wei Cheng’s gaze landed on one of the chairs. “Aunt Bai said the construction team only withdrew after the town flooded. What’s left here—steel and sheet metal—is valuable stuff. The developer wouldn’t just abandon it for no reason.”
Yi Qi reacted at once. “There are still survivors in this town?”
Wei Cheng pulled out his gun. “Not necessarily survivors. Let’s make one more round. If there’s no danger, today we’ll take the steel pipes and sheet metal back first.”
At that moment, the usually quiet little black dog suddenly began barking furiously behind them.
Wei Cheng instinctively shielded Guanguan behind him, while Yi Qi was the first to rush out.
Two gunshots rang out, and a rotting zombie wearing a construction helmet fell to the ground.
“So there really are zombies.”
Guanguan scooped up the little black dog. “Baby Little Apricot made a great contribution!”
The dog held its head up and barked once.
Wei Cheng smiled. “Then Little Apricot gets one little can of dog food as a reward.”
Guanguan’s eyes sparkled. “Does Guanguan get one too?”
“You do. Guanguan gets one little loaf of bread.”
Wei Cheng sent Guanguan and Little Apricot into the safe house to eat their can and bread, while he and Yi Qi made another sweep of the area. Not far away, they found a whole row of sheet-metal huts.
They opened them one by one. Inside was a damp, rotten smell.
In the very last metal hut, they found pots and pans, gas tanks, and bags of rice and seasonings crawling with bugs.
This must have been where the migrant worker they had just killed had lived before he died.
All the construction teams had withdrawn, yet he alone had stayed behind.
Had the boss promised him a generous bonus? Or did his family need money badly enough that, even knowing the danger, he still stayed?
Yi Qi sighed. “That uncle must have really missed home before he died.”
In weather as hot as it had been back then, a metal shack like this would have been a living oven.
Wei Cheng silently nodded. “Let’s bury him properly later.” After all, they were taking away the things he had guarded in life.
The sheet metal was manageable, but the steel pipes were slippery. They had to be tied together with wire before being moved into the safe house, which made the whole process slow and laborious.
Yi Qi was tall and strong, and he absolutely refused to let Wei Cheng carry the pipes himself, afraid the child might strain his body.
So Wei Cheng and Guanguan ended up working together to tie the pipes into bundles with wire.
It took the three of them a full day to move all the differently sized steel pipes safely into the safe house.
Now the newly bought extra-long shelf was filled with neatly stacked sheet metal and steel pipes.
As the sky began to darken, they returned to the guesthouse loaded with supplies.
Hearing the commotion, Shen Zheng hurried out, followed closely by Granny Bai and A Ming.
When Shen Zheng saw that all three of them were safe, he let out a sigh of relief.
“Oh, little Guanguan.” Shen Zheng rubbed Guanguan’s plump cheek. “When you left this morning, you were a snow-skin mochi. How come by the time you came back, you’d turned into a dirty pastry?”
Guanguan’s face was streaked with grime, but he grinned with his little white teeth. “Guanguan worked hard!”
A Ming cut in, “What kind of work did you do?”
Guanguan glanced at him, then scampered to hide beside his big brother’s leg.
A Ming rubbed his nose. No useful information extracted.
Yi Qi handed a black plastic bag to Granny Bai. “Aunt Bai, we took a walk out toward the village beyond the town. We didn’t find much, just some bread and instant noodles.”
Granny Bai gathered her coat closer around herself and smiled. “Don’t give them to me. You risked your lives to find those things—keep them for yourselves. There’s enough at home. As long as you came back safe, that’s all that matters. Going again tomorrow?”
Yi Qi nodded. “Tomorrow we’ll go take another look around nearby.”
Granny Bai said, “Be careful.”
At that moment, the leash in Guanguan’s hand slipped, and the little black dog shot like a bolt of lightning at the kitchen door across from them, barking wildly.
“Woof woof woof! Woof woof woof!”
Granny Bai snapped, “Shoo!” and slammed the door shut.
But the little black dog kept barking insistently. If Guanguan had not picked him up in time, he would have lunged straight inside.
Guanguan clamped his little hands over Little Apricot’s black snout. “Little Apricot, Little Apricot, don’t bark!”
The puppy let out a wronged little whine.
Neither Shen Zheng nor Yi Qi paid much attention to this small interruption.
Wei Cheng, however, stared thoughtfully at the dark little side building.
That was where the two elders lived—and where the kitchen was.
None of them had ever gone in there.
For the next two days, Wei Cheng and the others kept scavenging materials from the town, storing gray stone and red bricks in the basement. The basement, once rather empty, was now packed full. On the final day, just as they were tidying up loose ends, they unexpectedly found a small mortar mixer in a farther-off metal shed.
That mixer would have cost at least 100 points in the Cloud Mall—this was money saved!
Everything was taken!
—
Shen Zheng recovered better and better. Another week later, it was finally possible to perform the surgery to remove the bullet.
Fortunately, the guesthouse environment was good, the medical equipment in the ambulance was still usable, and the safe house could provide sterile dressings, antibiotics, and other supplies. The surgery went very smoothly.
However, after the bullet was successfully removed, Shen Zheng fell unconscious again.
Every day Guanguan asked, “When can Guanguan go play with Uncle Shen?”
Wei Cheng would answer, “A few more days.” Even Yi Qi had to wear sterile clothing before going in.
Outside the window, Granny Bai and A Ming were putting up paper-cut decorations on the windows.
The day after tomorrow would be New Year’s Day.
Guanguan hugged the little black dog and stared eagerly out the window.
Wei Cheng stroked his head. “What’s wrong, Guanguan?”
Guanguan lifted his face. “Big brother, Guanguan wants to put up paper flowers too.”
Then he lowered his face again. “Grandma… doesn’t seem to like Guanguan anymore.”
Ever since the day the little black dog had barked furiously at the place where the two elders lived, Granny Bai had indeed become less warm with them.
Wei Cheng had a vague suspicion in his heart, but considering Shen Zheng’s current condition, he had not discussed it with anyone yet.
Wei Cheng said, “You want to put up paper flowers? That’s easy. Big brother will buy some colored paper, and we’ll cut them ourselves, then stick them up in our little home, okay?”
Guanguan’s eyes lit up. “Okay!”
Wei Cheng immediately bought two packs of red paper-cut window paper and a pair of child-safe scissors meant only for paper cutting from the mall.
Each pack came with three cutting guides.
Wei Cheng picked up a pencil. “Guanguan, big brother will draw the lines. You cut along the black lines, okay?”
Guanguan was eager to try. “Okay!”
Then he touched the little black dog lying nearby. “Big brother, can we cut one for Little Apricot too?”
The puppy barked and wagged its tail happily.
Wei Cheng laughed. “Sure. Then the two of you can have a contest—let’s see whose is better, and whose biting is better.”
The moment they heard there was going to be a contest, Guanguan and the little black dog both turned solemn as soon as they received their marked paper.
The two chubby little babies even sat with their backs turned to each other.
Guanguan made a very natural-looking little face scratch, then sneaked a peek behind him. The little black dog promptly slapped one furry paw over his own paper-cut.
Wei Cheng was about to die from how adorable the scene was.
He took out the instant camera from the safe house and snapped several photos of the two little babies.
He would show them the pictures when they grew up.
After a while, Guanguan set down his scissors. “Big brother, Guanguan’s paper-cut is finished!”
The little black dog also barked once and pushed his own paper-cut forward with a paw.
Wei Cheng picked them up and looked.
One looked like it had been chewed by a dog.
The other looked even worse than if a dog had chewed it.
“They’re both adorable. Every baby gets to eat one little cake!”
The undercurrents of competition instantly vanished, and the two babies became best friends again.
“Big brother, Guanguan wants strawberry Basque!”
Wei Cheng laughed. “You can. Later I’ll make Little Apricot a dragon-fruit chicken cake.”
Guanguan hugged the little black dog and ran in a circle through the room. “Yay!”
In the end, one paper-cut was stuck onto Little Apricot’s dog bed, and the other was stuck on the window of the cozy little house.
They remained there for many years, until Guanguan and Little Apricot both grew up.
—
Shen Zheng recovered very well, and on New Year’s Day he was able to go downstairs and eat normally.
They planned to leave the guesthouse tomorrow.
Ever since that unpleasant meal, they had stopped eating in the dining room outside. But today was not only New Year’s Day, it was also Dayuan’s birthday. The two children did not come out, yet Yi Qi and Shen Zheng did not want to ruin the elders’ spirits.
“Preserved-vegetable pork filling?”
Shen Zheng looked at the two old people with a smile. “That’s Dayuan’s favorite dumpling filling.”
Granny Bai smiled kindly. “Hard to believe Ah Zheng still remembers what Dayuan likes.”
Nuan Nuan took one bite and immediately spat it out. “Preserved vegetables?”
Then she wiped her mouth. “I hate preserved vegetables the most. That smell makes me sick. Aunt Bai, can you make me a different filling later?”
Old Master Zong’s face turned dark. He set down his chopsticks with a heavy clack.
For a moment, the whole table went quiet.
After swallowing his dumpling, A Ming hurried to smooth things over. “Nuan Nuan, didn’t you used to quite like preserved vegetables and pickled greens? Maybe your tastes changed because of pregnancy. How about this—later I’ll cook you some instant noodles…”
“On a holiday, you’re making me eat instant noodles? Do you even care? I thought you really treated me like family!” Her words carried a pointed meaning. Without waiting for anyone to react, she supported her big belly and went upstairs.
A Ming started apologizing again. “Sorry, Uncle Zong, Aunt Bai. Nuan Nuan has really become disobedient lately. Go on eating, you all. I’ll go upstairs and coax her.”
Granny Bai kept smiling. “Go on then. Tell her not to be angry. I’ll wrap her a fresh batch of dumplings later.”
Then she turned to Shen Zheng and Yi Qi. “Do those two children like preserved-vegetable dumplings?”
Yi Qi said, “They do. I’ll just carry these dumplings over to them later.”
Granny Bai smiled and nodded. “Good. Then I’ll make a special batch just for Nuan Nuan.”
That evening, Wei Cheng received the fragrant plate of dumplings.
He had also heard the argument outside from inside their room.
Guanguan’s tummy was already full, and the smell only made him feel a bit greasy. “Big brother, Guanguan doesn’t want dumplings anymore.”
Wei Cheng looked at the dumplings for a while, then said, “Let’s save them for tomorrow.”
There should be nothing wrong with something Uncle Dayuan loved best.
The next morning, everyone was woken by someone pounding on the door.
The moment Wei Cheng opened it, he heard A Ming’s voice breaking down in panic. “My girlfriend is gone! She’s pregnant—where could she have gone?”
