"Dad! What are you looking at? Hurry up and eat!" Bai Xue understood Bai Daliang but didn't expose him, smiling as she urged him to eat.
"Hey! Dad's eating! Right away! This dough drop soup smells so good, you can tell it's delicious just by the smell!" The simple-minded Bai Daliang, prompted by his daughter, quickly picked up his chopsticks and started eating.
The family ate with great enthusiasm, occasionally lifting their heads to blow on the hot soup, as the dough drop soup was very hot.
Cuihua also ate many dumplings. To ensure the two newborns could have milk sooner, she disregarded the other kids and ate the remaining dumplings after dividing them among the children. The two newborns, full and content, slept soundly.
In the end, everyone was so full that they had round bellies and felt uncomfortable even while sitting.
Nothing was left on the table besides empty bowls and pans, which were licked clean.
"So full! I've never eaten this full before; it feels so good, I can hardly keep my eyes open!" Bai Ruxia, squinting her eyes with satisfaction, was patting her own belly. Bai Ruyun, beside her, felt the same, as did the four little ones sitting uniformly on the northern kang.
"Big sis, this is the first time I've experienced being full. It feels so comfortable!" Bai Ruchuan chimed in.
"From now on, I'll make sure you guys don't experience hunger again! As they say, a full belly means a peaceful heart!" Having completed fifth grade, which was quite educated for the times, Bai Xue wasn't afraid of slipping up.
Besides, her memories told her the original character's personality was similar to hers, so she didn't need to hide much, just be herself.
"I'm going to fall asleep comfortably too!" Bai Rushan spoke up, his face full of contentment.
"You can't sleep now! The four of you need to heat the kang and wash the dishes! Your big sister is tired, let her rest!" Bai Daliang, no longer dizzy and in less pain, was full and in good spirits, teasing the two infants while listening to the children, humorously chiming in.
"We know, Dad! We won't let Big Sister work! Rest assured!" Bai Rushan replied.
"I'll go wash the dishes!" Bai Ruyun climbed down, put on shoes, and headed off.
"I'll clean the outer room!" Bai Ruxia followed.
"I'll heat the kang!" Bai Rushan said.
"What… what should I do?" Enjoying the fullness, someone asked.
"You go help your brother heat the kang!" Wang Cuihua chuckled at Bai Ruchuan's cute demeanor and instructed him.
"Okay! I'll go right away!" He swiftly put on shoes and ran out.
Bai Xue, with nothing to do, spared the effort, climbed onto the kang, and joined her dad in teasing the little brother and sister.
"Mom, have the little brother and sister been named yet?" Bai Xue suddenly thought and asked Wang Cuihua.
Wang Cuihua gently looked at the children, smiling with satisfaction, "There was no time for names! The day they were born, things happened, and we all lost our minds, there was no chance to think of names!"
"Then, Dad, have you thought of names for the little brother and sister?" Bai Xue turned her head to Bai Daliang, who was playfully sticking his finger into the infant's hand.
"Dad hasn't thought of any yet, why don't you name them!" Bai Daliang replied nonchalantly.
"How could I?" Bai Xue waved her hands.
"Why not, you're their big sister!" Wang Cuihua gently patted her shoulder.
"I don't even know which of these little guys is older! Which one is Xiao Liu, and which one is Xiao Qi?"
"Brother is Xiao Liu, Sister is Xiao Qi!" Wang Cuihua tucked the blanket around the infant beside her.
Bai Xue followed her hand and saw her mom's hands were full of calluses, very rough. She silently noted this in her heart, knowing she should get her mom some fragrance someday.
"All the brothers' names are related to mountains and rivers, so how about Xiao Liu being called Feng? Bai Rufeng, how about it? The character 'Feng' also has 'mountain' in it, it means peak, the highest point, the pinnacle!" Bai Xue explained to her parents.
"Good! This is good! Let's call him Feng! Bai Rufeng! The name rolls off the tongue too!" Bai Daliang immediately agreed.
"It's indeed nice! Our Xiao Xue is so smart!" Wang Cuihua said, her mood dropping again. "If only the kids could all go to school!"
"Mom, don't worry! After the year, we will send the little brother and sister to school!" Bai Xue had already planned this. If it weren't for that terrible grandmother, the siblings would all be in school. After all, the yearly tuition is only two yuan, and tightening the belt, they could manage eight yuan for all of them.
But that grandmother…
"Xiao Xue, I want you to go to school too!" Wang Cuihua started to wipe her eyes again.
People in confinement seemed more emotional, crying at the drop of a hat.
"I'm already fifteen, capable of helping support the family! Let the little ones go to school, I can support them alone, earning ten yuan a month!" Bai Xue thought, she's had enough of studying in her past life up to a graduate degree and doesn't want to study in this life anymore.
When the college entrance exams resume, she should have no problem getting into a university.
"You've had it tough! Ah! We're useless as parents!" Wang Cuihua's down mood affected Bai Daliang as well, and they both sighed.
"Alright, you two, what's so great about studying? I graduated elementary school, and see, I can still name my siblings. Literacy is for personal use, after all, making money to fill our bellies is the most important!" Bai Xue couldn't bear their sighing, so she spoke loudly.
"Dad, Mom, Big Sis! I'm not going to school! I want to earn money to support the family too!" Bai Rushan, coming in with firewood, heard his sister's words and immediately voiced his support.
"I'm not going to school either, what's good about it! Better to cut pig grass, at least I can earn two work points a day!" Chimed in Bai Ruchuan, following behind.
"Get out of here! Why are you causing trouble? Neither of you little ones are quitting school, what can a few work points do? After schooling, you can earn much more!" Bai Xue pretended to be angry at her younger brothers.
The two dared not speak further, busying themselves with their tasks.
This was also because the parents were busy, and the little ones were raised by the original, and they listened to their big sister more than their parents.
"Alright, alright! Don't worry about this! Now let's name our Xiao Qi!" Bai Xue changed the heavy and boring subject.
"Xiao Xue…" Wang Cuihua was about to say something.
"Mom, how about naming our Xiao Qi Bai Rucai, like the color in rainbow! We've got snowflakes, clouds, and rosy clouds, now we're just missing rainbows! What do you think of this name?" Bai Xue interrupted, smiling brightly.
"Good! Let's call her Bai Rucai! That's my big daughter, coming up with something her dad couldn't even think of!" Bai Daliang spoke first, lightening the mood.
Wang Cuihua wasn't as sad anymore, her eldest daughter's resourcefulness couldn't be stopped, at least she wouldn't have to toil in the fields anymore, which was a relief.
"Alright! Mom will listen to you!" Wang Cuihua eventually compromised, her words having a double meaning.
"Mom! Don't worry! Your daughter won't suffer!" Bai Xue hugged her mom around the neck, acting spoiled.
"You! Always thinking of others, remember to think about yourself too in the future! Mom cares for you!" Wang Cuihua was saying, almost tearing up again.
Bai Xue held her forehead, dealing with a postpartum woman was no easy task!