Chapter 26 - 10: "Jealous I’ve Got Money to Spend?

Chapter 26: Chapter 10: "Jealous I’ve Got Money to Spend?

"It’ll be ready in a minute. Go wake up Er Zai and the others," Lin Zhao instructed.

Da Zai wiped the sweat from his forehead. He was just about to rush out of the kitchen to wake his younger brother and sisters when Er Zai burst in.

Seeing his older brother, he complained unhappily, "Big Bro, you got up without waking me! We always get up together!"

Da Zai was overcome with guilt.

He had been so happy, so preoccupied with talking to and helping his mother, that he had forgotten all about Er Zai.

Seeing her eldest son’s helpless expression, Lin Zhao came to his rescue. "Er Zai, your brother saw you sleeping like a log and figured you wouldn’t be up for a while. He was just trying to let you sleep in. Why are you being so mean to him?"

With just one sentence, Er Zai’s anger deflated. A placating smile spread across his face as he said to his brother, "Big Bro, I wasn’t being mean."

Da Zai was a generous kid and didn’t hold a grudge against his brother. "What about Third Child and Fourth Child?"

"They’re still asleep," Er Zai replied. "Should I wake them?"

"Yeah, wake them up. Mom made us steamed egg custard," Da Zai said.

Er Zai’s eyes widened in shock, his voice rising in pitch. "Steamed egg custard?"

"Yep." Da Zai leaned close to his brother’s ear and whispered, "Mom used four eggs."

"WOW!" Er Zai exclaimed, rushing into the other room to wake the twins. He couldn’t wait to eat the steamed egg custard.

Third Child and Fourth Child were also forcibly woken up. The two toddlers looked like they were on the verge of tears, muttering "bad," but they obediently followed Second Brother’s instructions.

Seeing this, Lin Zhao thought, ’My kids are so well-behaved.’

The Fourth Child hugged her leg, pointed a tiny finger at Er Zai, and tattled in a high, childish voice, "Bad, brother."

Lin Zhao kissed her daughter’s fair little cheek and said teasingly, "Then how about we punish your Second Brother and don’t let him have any steamed egg custard, okay?"

When Da Zai and Er Zai saw their mother kiss their little sister, their faces filled with envy.

The Fourth Child grew anxious and quickly said, "Brother, eat."

Meaning, she wanted her brother to have his food.

Lin Zhao gently tapped her daughter’s nose, a smile playing on her lips. "Alright, alright, we’ll let your second brother eat."

The Fourth Child grinned, showing off four tiny, pearly-white teeth.

Her second brother looked moved, so overcome with affection he felt like he could just eat her up. ’How can my little sister be this wonderful!’

"Da Zai, watch your brother and sisters while they eat the custard. I’m going next door for a moment." Lin Zhao picked up the thank-you gift she had prepared that morning and headed to the neighbors’.

Tasked with this important duty, Da Zai and Er Zai solemnly agreed. First, they took their younger brother and sister to wash their faces.

"Er Zai, Third Child, Fourth Child, first wash your faces and brush your teeth. I’ll show you how."

He squeezed toothpaste onto their brushes.

Er Zai stuck out his tongue for a little lick. "Big Bro, it’s sweet."

Seeing him, the twins copied his action.

Da Zai quickly stopped them. "You can’t eat toothpaste!" he said urgently.

He turned and looked at Er Zai angrily. "Er Zai, stop putting everything in your mouth! You’ll be a bad influence on Third Child and Fourth Child."

Er Zai always listened to his big brother. The moment Da Zai got stern, he quieted down and obediently brushed his teeth. He had wanted to smell the bar of face soap, but now he didn’t dare.

Once his younger siblings’ faces were clean, Da Zai brought out a children’s face cream from the room and dabbed it on Er Zai and the twins.

The Fourth Child uttered a single word: "Fragrant."

The Third Child had been a quiet baby, never crying or making a fuss, and he didn’t talk much even after learning how. He just nodded.

"Big Bro, I’m hungry. Can we eat now? It’s going to get cold if we wait any longer." Er Zai couldn’t care less about face cream; he just wanted to eat the steamed custard.

"It won’t get cold," Da Zai said. He put the cream back in its place before finally giving the signal that they could eat.

Er Zai had eaten steamed egg custard only a few times in his life, and certainly never this much. A huge smile spread across his face.

’Waking up to steamed egg custard... this is pure bliss.’

Da Zai agreed.

As for the twins, their faces were already buried in their little bowls. They ate with sweet smiles, their short legs swinging happily.

Lin Zhao grabbed half a bag of brown sugar and a handful of hard candies and left the house. When she reached her neighbor’s door, she knocked. KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK.

"Who is it? Just come on in, no need to knock!" a cheerful woman’s voice called from inside.

Lin Zhao pushed the door open and walked in. Wang Chunhua saw her and froze for a moment. "Da Zai’s mother?"

’We’ve been neighbors for so long, and Da Zai’s mother has never once paid a visit.’

A visitor was a guest, after all. She was only stunned for a moment before calling to her granddaughter to bring a stool and pour some water for their neighbor.

Wang Chunhua looked at Lin Zhao’s forehead. Seeing the swelling was much smaller, she smiled and said, "The bump on your head is looking much better. Does it still hurt? If it does, you should go to the county hospital and get it checked out. A head injury is no small thing."

"Much better now, thanks for your help, Auntie," Lin Zhao said with a smile.

She then turned to the Wang Family’s child, who was about to pour water, and said, "There’s no need for water, really. It’s just a short walk. I just came to drop something off and have to head right back. The kids are at home."

As she spoke, she placed the gifts she’d brought on the table.

It wasn’t in her nature to engage in polite refusals.

"You were such a huge help yesterday, Auntie. These are for the children, just a little something sweet."

The Wang Family child’s face lit up with joy. Their eyes were fixed on the candies on the table, and they couldn’t stop swallowing, but they didn’t clamor to have one. ’It looks like they’ve been taught well,’ Lin Zhao thought.