At the kindergarten, when no outsiders came by, the four children barely spoke. The place felt cold and quiet. When Mo Xiaojun said he wanted to go outside and take a look around, Chang Qingshan blocked the iron gate with his body.
“They’ve already found families for us,” he said. “What if something happens to you outside, or you get into trouble and they decide they don’t want you anymore?”
Mo Xiaojun immediately got angry. “That’s my business. Why do you care?”
Chang Qingshan felt frustrated. Everyone said that during the anti-bandit campaign, Mo Xiaojun’s father had shielded his own father from a bullet. Their fathers had died one after another, both martyrs, so why was Xiaojun still acting like this?
“I’m telling you, Mo Xiaojun, our fathers were comrades who would take bullets for each other. You can be angry at me, but you can’t resent my dad. When I join the army in the future, I’ll protect my comrades too. Even now, I wouldn’t secretly run off and drag trouble onto other people.”
Mo Xiaojun’s face flushed with shame. At first, he really had been angry at Chang Qingshan, but little by little he had figured things out. His father was a hero, and he wanted to become one too.
The truth was, he only wanted to go out and see what kind of family would adopt him. The uncle and aunt taking in Qingshan and Qinghe were kind people, and the young aunt from Wangzhou’s future family was so gentle and nice. Only his own future family still hadn’t shown up, and that made him anxious.
“I just wanted to see the family adopting me.” Mo Xiaojun sat down to one side angrily, lowering his head as worry gnawed at him.
Chang Qingshan froze. The fearless Mo Xiaojun was actually nervous about his new family? Then his own misunderstanding earlier must have hurt him badly too.
Feeling guilty, he apologized. “Aunt Qian said the family adopting you lives right next door to Aunt Jiang’s house. Their families are close, and people who get along well are probably alike, so you don’t need to worry too much. Tomorrow night Uncle Wei is coming to stay with us, and you’ll meet him then.”
Mo Xiaojun took a deep breath. Truthfully, he liked Aunt Jiang’s family the best, but such a good home should go to Wangzhou.
“When we go to our new families, do we have to call them Mom and Dad?”
“I don’t know.” Chang Qingshan thought about it for a moment. “Probably not at first. We can live with them for a while and see. If we want to call them that, we can. If not, they probably won’t force us.”
After that conversation, silence fell again.
When smoke from cooking fires began drifting up from the neighboring houses, Qinghe rubbed his stomach and complained that he was hungry. Chang Qingshan and Mo Xiaojun were both growing boys, and they got hungry even faster. The kindergarten had no food stored there, so they had to wait for the adults to bring dinner. Until then, all they could do was endure it.
“Let’s drink some water,” Chang Qingshan suggested. “The water jar’s full. It was filled yesterday.”
“Aunt Qian said we can’t drink cold water,” Mo Xiaojun reminded him. “She said worms will grow in our stomachs, and if we get sick we’ll cause trouble for the adults.”
“We’ll boil it first.”
The two older boys washed the iron pot and carried over dry firewood. Before the water even started bubbling, Jiang Xiaoyu arrived with Damei, Second Sister, and Little Brother.
“Oh? You boys know to boil water before drinking it? So good.” Jiang Xiaoyu praised them warmly.
Chang Qingshan immediately pointed at Mo Xiaojun. “Xiaojun remembered what Aunt Qian said. He said we shouldn’t get sick and trouble the adults.”
“Xiaojun really acts like an older brother.”
Embarrassed by the praise, Mo Xiaojun scratched his head shyly.
Jiang Xiaoyu had Damei take the shrimp patties out of the basket while she rolled up her sleeves. “Hungry, right? Everyone gets two patties first to fill your stomachs a little. Tonight we’re making grilled vegetables.”
Neither Mo Xiaojun nor Chang Qingshan had ever eaten grilled vegetables before. Since Damei and Second Sister seemed excited, they assumed the girls must have tried them already.
“What do grilled vegetables taste like?” they asked.
Damei shook her head. “It’s my first time too. You help me watch the little brothers while I help Mom wash vegetables.”
To grill vegetables properly, they first needed charcoal. Winters on the island were not especially cold, and the charcoal stove had been borrowed from Aunt Hua’s house. Her stove had been carried all the way from her hometown and today was its first real use.
They had gone late in the afternoon to have a wire grilling rack custom made by the blacksmith. Without it, they wouldn’t be able to grill fish or vegetables.
The charcoal fire burned brightly. Thin slices of vegetables cooked in no time, and once brushed with sauce, Jiang Xiaoyu handed each child a skewer to taste first.
Then she placed a two-pound turbot fish onto the grill. Fish counted as meat, so she brushed seasoning on both sides before setting it over the fire. In moments, the aroma became unbelievably fragrant.
Fish was not rare on the island. Damei and Second Sister had eaten plenty while staying at their grandfather’s house, but they had never even seen grilled fish this fragrant before. Even Second Sister, who normally didn’t care much about food, swallowed hard.
The youngest child grew impatient and stretched out his hand. “Want fish.”
“It’s not ready yet. Later we’ll put grilled fish inside steamed buns. You’re all going to love it.”
Mo Xiaojun and Chang Qingshan exchanged glances, both thinking the same thing.
Aunt Jiang really knew how to eat.
Living with Aunt Jiang would be pure happiness, but they were both willing to give that happiness to quiet little Wangzhou instead.
“It smells amazing. What are you grilling?”
The speaker was Wei Mancang, who had arrived together with Mu Chengfeng.
Jiang Xiaoyu was surprised. Damei had already gone to the hospital earlier to tell Mu Chengfeng about tonight. Didn’t he have surgery scheduled? And Wei Mancang had brought half a jin of pork belly in one hand and a fresh ribbonfish in the other, clearly intending to add more dishes to the meal.
“Why are both of you here?”
Mu Chengfeng explained that the emergency surgery plan he proposed had not been approved, and Pan Mengping had taken over as lead surgeon instead. So he left directly for the kindergarten without even going home, and happened to run into Wei Mancang on the way.
Jiang Xiaoyu pointed at Wei Mancang while introducing him to Mo Xiaojun. “This is the family you’ll be going to. His name is Wei Mancang. Their whole family is very easygoing, you can call them whatever you feel comfortable with.”
Mo Xiaojun looked at the honest-looking man and strangely felt he resembled his own father. His father had smiled with the same simple warmth.
“Hello, Uncle Wei.”
Wei Mancang’s heart softened instantly. He patted the boy’s shoulder gently. “Bring your younger brothers over to play at our house during the day. Don’t stay cooped up in the kindergarten all the time.”
Jiang Xiaoyu had been planning to say exactly that. Tomorrow construction on the new rooms would start, and it would definitely be lively.
“That’s right. Tomorrow morning, come to my house with us for lunch. Watching your own house slowly being built will make you happy too, won’t it?”
Mo Xiaojun and Chang Qingshan immediately agreed.
Damei and Second Sister were also thrilled because their stepmother planned to divide the large room into two smaller bedrooms.
The sisters were close, but they still wanted rooms of their own.
Jiang Xiaoyu pointed at the fish and meat Wei Mancang brought over. “If you brought all this here, what’s your family eating tonight?”
“My mom tried making the seafood porridge you cooked last time. She bought lobster for it. I couldn’t wait for the porridge to finish, so I stuffed down a cornbread bun and came over first.”
Wei Mancang sniffed the air greedily, inhaling the delicious smell of grilled fish.
“My mom said since you wanted to grill vegetables, she was afraid the kids wouldn’t like it. She also said fish and meat are good ingredients, and it’d be a waste to grill them instead of stewing them for the children.”
Even as he spoke, the fish on the grill had already become crispy outside and tender inside. It smelled far better than any stewed fish he had ever eaten.
Jiang Xiaoyu was completely confident. “Fine. After you taste this, then you can decide whether fish and meat should be grilled or stewed.”
She divided the fish into portions. To let everyone enjoy different flavors, she had steamed small cornbread buns earlier that afternoon, each only about the size of a child’s palm. She sliced them open and stuffed them with fish and vegetables before handing one to each child first.
They had all eaten cornbread before, fish before, and vegetables before, but never together like this.
Every bite carried the freshness of fish and the juicy sweetness of vegetables, blending perfectly. Before they realized it, they had already finished eating.
“Grilled!” everyone declared in unison.
So Jiang Xiaoyu sliced the pork belly into thin pieces and let it marinate while she cut another large basin of vegetables, green peppers, potatoes, kelp, green beans, and several other kinds. They grilled and ate as they went.
Once everyone was half full, she grilled the pork belly. Sandwiched inside the cornbread buns, the sizzling pork belly paired with vegetables created a completely different flavor from the grilled fish.
The grilled meat, vegetables, and fish left everyone utterly satisfied. Xiaojun and Qingshan rubbed their stomachs happily, feeling incredibly content.
Wei Mancang casually stacked up the bowls and chopsticks just like he did at home, preparing to wash them in the kitchen. Even then, he still looked unsatisfied.
“Xiuxiu wanted to come with me, but my mom wouldn’t let her because it’s dark outside. If she finds out tonight’s food was this delicious and interesting, she’s definitely going to complain to me tomorrow.”
Jiang Xiaoyu laughed. “Tomorrow the construction starts, so there definitely won’t be time for grilling. Once the rooms are finished, we’ll prepare more ingredients and eat as much as we want.”
Wei Mancang sighed in relief. “Good, now I can explain it to Xiuxiu.”
Seeing a grown man voluntarily carrying dishes off to wash after eating at someone else’s place made Jiang Xiaoyu look at him differently. He even lived together with his mother, yet Xiuxiu still ended up in such a blessed household. Xiaojun would definitely not suffer there.
And because she was looking at him differently, she naturally smiled at him.
Jiang Xiaoyu looked at Wei Mancang.
Mu Chengfeng looked at his wife.
Her own husband was standing right there, yet she was staring at another man. After thinking about it carefully, Mu Chengfeng realized what she was actually envying.
She admired that Xiuxiu’s husband helped with housework and washed dishes.
At home, Jiang Xiaoyu had never once asked him to wash dishes. Aside from chopping firewood and carrying water, all the other housework she handled herself.
Mu Chengfeng had genuinely never thought about such details before, but apparently his wife envied men who helped around the house.
“In the future, I’ll help you wash dishes and do housework,” Mu Chengfeng told her quietly.
Jiang Xiaoyu waved her hands frantically.
That wouldn’t do at all.
She wasn’t like Xiuxiu.
To her, this marriage was a job. Before transmigrating, she had worked at a kindergarten. The principal might occasionally get inspired and come teach a class for fun, but that didn’t mean she could order the principal to teach every day.
The boss paid well and didn’t ask for much, so she couldn’t push her luck and start treating the boss like an actual husband. That would only make her unhappy in the end.
“No need, no need. Go home and take your bath already.”
Jiang Xiaoyu handed Wangzhou over to Mu Chengfeng to hold, then said to Mu Huisheng, “Let Daddy hold Wangzhou for a bit. Otherwise, if Uncle Wei carries him home, Wangzhou might end up becoming Uncle Wei’s son instead.”
Little Brother hurriedly shook his head. “Wangzhou is our little brother.”
Wei Mancang laughed and picked Mu Huisheng up, pinching his nose lightly. “Then come to our house and be my son instead.”
Little Brother waved his hands desperately. “No, no. Uncle Wei, put me down. I can walk by myself.”
Wei Mancang joked to Mu Chengfeng, “If my wife gives birth to a daughter this time, how about our families arrange a childhood engagement?”
Just like little Huisheng, Mu Chengfeng immediately shook his head. “Outdated custom. No!”
Since Mu Chengfeng had returned early, Jiang Xiaoyu told him to take the boys to sleep in the next room. Damei and Second Sister found the whole thing exciting and refused to go home, insisting on sleeping on floor bedding there instead.
But floor bedding was nowhere near as comfortable as a real bed. By morning, everyone woke up with sore backs and aching waists.
Jiang Xiaoyu immediately decided to buy more vegetables and make better meals for the construction workers. If the workers were happy, they would definitely work faster.