After Xia Daya finished steaming the rice, she leaned against Wang Chunhua, and the two chatted and laughed. At that moment, Xia Ergou also returned from chopping firewood. Seeing that the mother and daughter were getting along better, he felt very relieved. He dropped the firewood and sniffed the air.
“Mom, what are you cooking? I could smell it from outside the yard,” Xia Ergou said.
At that moment, the two little ones also ran in excitedly, chattering nonstop.
“Mom~ it smells so good, even better than the meat buns we ate today. We want some!”
Wang Chunhua felt that calling them “Daya” and “Ergou” didn’t sound proper. She decided to rename them today.
“Daya, Ergou, Mom has been thinking. You’re all grown up now, and those names don’t sound good anymore. I’ll give you new names today. Daya, you’ll be Xia Zhixiu, meaning smart, fruitful, and successful. Ergou, you’ll be Xia Jinzhi, meaning confident, strong, wealthy, and prosperous life. Xiaowu and Xiaoliu will be Xia Yuncheng and Xia Yunnuo, meaning keeping promises and being trustworthy.”
“Zhixiu~ Mom, I like this name,” Xia Zhixiu said happily.
“I like Jinzhi too,” Xia Jinzhi scratched his head and said.
The two little ones also clapped their hands happily. “We like our new names too!”
“Mom, what about big brother and little sister?” Xia Jinzhi asked.
“For them, I’ve already thought of names too. The second girl is Xia Yan, meaning beauty and talent. The eldest is Xia Huai’an, meaning ambition, peace, and a stable life.”
Wang Chunhua smiled and mentioned Xia Yan’s original name.
She thought to herself: To let my daughter keep her original name, I really went through a lot of trouble. At least this is a continuation of fate.
“Mom, the names you chose are all so nice,” Xia Zhixiu said.
While they were talking, the braised pork offal was finally ready. Wang Chunhua cut it into small pieces and fed everyone.
“Try it and see how it tastes.”
Everyone nodded while chewing happily, unable to speak clearly.
Wang Chunhua also tried a piece. “Mmm, it’s really good. My cooking skills haven’t gotten rusty.”
At that moment, Xia Yan finally came out of her space after sulking for a long time. She was originally planning to question her mother for not coming to coax her, but when she saw the warm family scene, she suddenly felt like an outsider—and burst into tears.
Xia Jinzhi was the first to notice her.
“Little sister, what’s wrong? Why are you crying? Who bullied you? Tell second brother, I’ll help you deal with them.”
Xia Yan pushed him away while crying loudly.
“You all bullied me! You stole my mom! Mom doesn’t love me anymore! She didn’t even come to comfort me! I’m all alone now!”
Xia Zhixiu was confused. “What do you mean someone stole your horse? We don’t even have a horse…”
Wang Chunhua quickly stepped forward and hugged her.
“Alright, don’t cry. Mom is here. No one took me away from you. I love you the most, okay?”
The two younger kids giggled.
“She’s crying! So embarrassing, still crying at her age!”
Xia Jinzhi finally understood what was going on. He felt a bit guilty too—he also longed for their mother’s attention.
After being comforted, Xia Yan finally calmed down and realized how embarrassing she had been. She quickly apologized to Xia Jinzhi, and the matter was resolved.
Soon after, Xia Huai’an and his wife returned home. The whole family gathered and ate together happily, enjoying the delicious braised pork offal.
After dinner, they talked about their new names again, and the whole house was filled with laughter and warmth.
That night, everyone went about their own tasks, and Wang Chunhua returned to her room, waiting for Xia Yan to come back.