Chapter 352 - 354: The Full Crew
In the end, Wei Qi ate the food, wagging his tail unconsciously.
At first, Lin Cuihua, who was cooking nearby, couldn’t bear to see An Ning feed them like that. But Xiao Lang was just too good at winning people over, and Wei Qi was so diligent, smart, and sensible that it tugged at your heartstrings.
Of course, the most important thing was that the family was doing well, so Lin Cuihua gradually got used to it.
An Ning fed the dogs while Lin Cuihua and her sister-in-law prepared the meal.
"Goo goo goo—"
"Wait... Did Hei Dan’er just call me ’Auntie’? Did he? Hei Dan’er, say it again!"
Inside his playpen, Hei Dan’er sat on a cushion, his head tilted back, diligently cooing.
An Ning was so excited she was practically dancing. This was the first time Hei Dan’er had ever spoken.
Her sister-in-law, who had been helping with the cooking, also walked over excitedly. She watched Hei Dan’er cooing, his little finger pointing in the direction of the two dogs.
"This little glutton, he must want a drink, right?"
An Ning understood now, too. She scooped Hei Dan’er out and held him, pointing to Xiao Lang’s bowl. "Hei Dan’er, is this what you want to drink?"
Hei Dan’er gave An Ning a toothless grin. He might have been a bit dark-skinned, but he was their baby, and the more they looked at him, the more adorable he seemed.
"Okay, Auntie will make you some formula, how about that?"
After speaking, An Ning looked at her sister-in-law, who nodded and said, "Go ahead and make him some. My milk isn’t enough for him right now."
"Okay!"
An Ning found the baby bottle she had bought for Hei Dan’er, sterilized it with boiling water, and then used warm water to mix the formula.
After mixing the formula, An Ning dripped a few drops onto her wrist to test it. She tasted the yellowish-white milk, and only after making sure it wasn’t too hot did she give the bottle to Hei Dan’er. She was a real pro.
Holding the bottle, Hei Dan’er sat on his cushion and began to drink, GULP, GULP, GULP.
It felt like only a few minutes before he finished it all. He held up the empty bottle, looking like he hadn’t had enough.
Lin Cuihua and her sister-in-law were both watching. They exchanged a look and came to the same conclusion: he was still hungry.
"Daughter-in-law, you’ll have to give the baby more formula from now on."
"I know, Mom. I knew he wasn’t getting quite enough, but I had no idea it was this bad."
Gao Guifen was shocked. ’Has Hei Dan’er been starving all this time?’
In the end, Hei Dan’er drank a little more, but An Ning didn’t dare give him too much.
After that breakfast of milk, An Ning went out for a run. Once she returned, everyone started their meal.
Lin Cuihua had steamed buns that morning in a large iron wok, two layers of them.
One layer could hold nearly thirty steamed buns, so two layers meant around fifty.
But that many steamed buns was actually just enough for a single meal for the An family.
On the dining table, there was a large basin of cabbage, tofu, and glass noodles; a large basin of spinach and egg drop soup; and finally, the large steamed buns.
"Let’s eat."
With An Sancheng’s simple "Let’s eat," everyone started to move.
The white flour steamed buns were fluffy and soft. They weren’t as filling as cornbread buns, but their texture was on a whole different level.
In a flash, the first six large steamed buns on the table were gone. Then, it was just a blur of hands reaching out, grabbing one bun after another.
Everyone had spinach soup in their bowls, occasionally taking a bite of the cabbage and tofu. The large basin of steamed buns was vanishing before their eyes.
The six adults could each easily eat seven or eight steamed buns, and that was just to be moderately full.
After the meal, Lin Cuihua looked at an empty basin and said, "Xiao Shan and your second brother aren’t back yet."
"We just finished breakfast, and I already have to start making lunch."
Lin Cuihua wasn’t joking. With so many people to feed three meals a day, their large appetites, and the fact that the An family ate well, Lin Cuihua was truly tied to the kitchen.
"Mom... for lunch, just cook a pot of rice and steam some potatoes, eggplant, and squash. Don’t bother with stir-frying."
"Got it."
Lin Cuihua acknowledged An Ning and started clearing the dishes with her sister-in-law. An Ning stood up and said casually, "Time for class."
"You got it."
An Guoping habitually went to get his books. Then, the two siblings stood frozen, looking at each other.
"Sis, what class?"
"A life lesson," An Ning joked. She called An Guoping back and sighed.
’This disrupted schedule is still a little hard to get used to.’
With their schedules suddenly wide open again, An Ning and An Guoping sat on small stools by the door, contemplating life.
"What’s in the sky? What are you two looking at so intently?"
Jiang Xia and Hua Cheng walked in from outside. They stood in front of the two siblings and also looked up at the sky.
"Jiang Xia, where are you going?"
"I’m heading to the city to buy books. I want to get a head start on my coursework. I can’t just spend the next few years quietly slogging through university, can I?"
Jiang Xia’s words were like a beam of light in the darkness, illuminating a path for An Ning.
"That’s right! Why didn’t I think of that!"
Seeing An Ning so happy, Jiang Xia felt nothing but satisfaction.
It made dragging Hua Cheng into a late-night brainstorming session completely worth it.
Hua Cheng, standing behind him, let out a rather ungraceful yawn. He was exhausted!
Now that An Ning had a general idea of what to do, she wasn’t in a hurry to go out. Zhou Xiaoshan, An Guoming, and Master Tang were coming back today.
She’d wait until everyone was back to talk about it.
With nothing else to do, An Ning took An Guoping up the mountain to work. Many of the fruit trees on the mountain were now bearing fruit.
Thanks to the nourishment from An Ning’s spiritual power, the fruits were all growing well.
The land clearing on the mountain was mostly done. Every time they cleared a new patch of wilderness, they would plant new crops or saplings.
So the mountain now had patches of napa cabbage, green onions, various grains, sweet potatoes, and regular potatoes.
When An Ning went up the mountain, she discovered that one patch of early-planted potatoes was already ready for harvest.
Naturally, she wasn’t going to miss out on something like this.
Time flew by while they worked. After coming home for lunch, An Ning and the others changed their clothes and drove the truck out to pick up An Guoming and his group.
At the Sanhe Town train station, An Ning’s group waited for a while.
Before long, they saw the figure of Zhou Xiaoshan sprinting out of the train station. An Ning raised a hand and waved.
"Xiao Shan, over here!"
"Teacher An!"
Zhou Xiaoshan dashed in front of An Ning, skidding to a halt. He scratched his head and asked with a goofy grin, "Teacher An, can I finally become your disciple this time?"
An Ning hadn’t expected this to be Zhou Xiaoshan’s first question.
"Yes!"
"That’s great!"
An Ning’s affirmation made Zhou Xiaoshan jump high in the air. Not knowing how else to vent his excitement, he ran countless laps around the station.
When An Guoming and Master Tang walked over, they said in unison, "He’s finally lost it."
An Ning didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. She took the luggage from An Guoming’s hands and asked, "What happened? Was he tortured or something?"
"He’s fine. I just got the feeling the kid was about to go crazy," An Guoming said, offering a very fair assessment. Meanwhile, Master Tang had already gotten into the truck and was urging them on impatiently. "Hurry up and get home! I need to check on my vegetables!"
An Ning shook her head and chuckled, then called back the frolicking Zhou Xiaoshan. The group got into the truck and headed toward Shili Gou.
Everyone was together now. The post-college-entrance-exam celebration could finally, officially begin.