The old lady circled the quietly swaying electric baby rocker, marveling at this new contraption.
She glanced around stealthily, noticing that besides the three sleeping children, only Hutou and Xiaoshitou were still playing in the children's playground. No one else was in the living room.
So, she whispered conspiratorially, "Lan'er, did you buy this new thing from your father-in-law again? These items are too advanced! They can entertain and put children to sleep?"
As she spoke, she pointed at the children's playground and the electric baby rocker.
Chen Lan simply smiled and nodded, offering no further explanation.
Chen Lan remembered something she needed to ask her mother and thus inquired softly, "Mom, do we still have any of the twins' old clothes at home?"
Her mother looked at Chen Lan with confusion, "Lan'er, why do you suddenly ask about this? Weren't the twins' small clothes, as well as Hutou's and Xiaoshitou's small clothes, all taken by your mother-in-law to give to your Aunt Zhao, Aunt Zhou, and the little grandsons and granddaughters of other aunts? Why do you need small clothes now? Is someone's child without a change of clothes? Didn't the sewing cooperative rush to make a batch of children's clothes last time?"
Chen Lan quickly stopped her mother from asking a hundred more "why" questions! She explained softly, "Mom, I'm not asking this for any other reason, I just want to prepare in advance, in case one of the children soils their clothes tomorrow, so we have a change."
Her mother nodded in understanding and then suggested, "Lan'er, how about this! Tomorrow, once those old ladies bring the children over, we'll put all children under three years old in diapers. That way, we won't have to worry about the little ones soiling their clothes. For the older ones, we'll just have to be diligent in reminding them to use the toilet frequently."
Chen Lan thought about it and felt her mother's suggestion was good, so she nodded in agreement, "Mom, your idea is really great. Let's do it this way. We'll do it tomorrow."
While the children were sleeping, mother and daughter prepared for the kindergarten's opening the next day. Chen Lan opened the system warehouse with her mind and took out the batch of children's supplies she had just bought. She asked her mother to help steam and sterilize the new milk bottles, while she organized and tidied up the other items for easy use tomorrow.
Mother and daughter worked together efficiently, making preparations for the temporary kindergarten's opening.
Time quickly passed to the next morning. The family had breakfast early. Uncle De and Uncle Fu were preparing to go to the greenhouse vegetable patch again. Before leaving, Uncle De said, "I'll bring back some fresh spinach from the greenhouse this noon. It's just in time for the children to take some home after school this morning, so their families can have a taste."
Chen Lan and her mother, along with everyone else, were immediately delighted. Chen Lan also quickly asked, "Uncle De, Uncle Fu, has the spinach grown? Is it really edible?"
Uncle De nodded with a serious expression and a slight upturn of his mouth. Uncle Fu smiled and said, "Little Lan, your Uncle De and I have discussed it. We'll eat some before the New Year, and then plant another crop. By the time the New Year arrives, it should be ready to sprout again. We'll eat another portion during the New Year, and then plant another crop. We'll rotate planting like this so we always have greens to eat."
After speaking, they both put on their thick cotton jackets for going out, hands clasped behind their backs, and walked out with a splay-legged gait.
Chen Lan, her mother-in-law, and the others thought this was a good plan and raised no other suggestions.
Watching Uncle De and the others walk away, Chen Lan, her mother, and her mother-in-law began to get busy. Ming Wei, Ming Zhe, and the two younger brothers also came to help, moving the dining tables and stools to the utility room and the sofa to a clear spot against the wall.
Chen Lan took out the seesaw and children's slide from the system warehouse, placing them properly in unobtrusive areas for the children to play with later.
Shortly after the preparations were completed, a knock was heard at the door. The mother-in-law hurried over, opened the door, and saw Aunt Xu and Qian Yingzi, mother and daughter-in-law, at the door, with Xu Liuer, Qian Yingzi's sister-in-law, behind them.
Aunt Xu held Gangdan's little hand, Qian Yingzi held Tiedan, and Xu Liuer followed behind. The women entered smiling and greeted everyone.
Gangdan let go of his grandmother's hand and ran towards the children's playground. This startled Aunt Xu, who scolded him, "This mischievous monkey needs a spanking. Little Lan, Auntie, Auntie my relative, please don't mind the child's childish behavior!"
Chen Lan, her mother, and her mother-in-law waved their hands repeatedly. The mother-in-law quickly said loudly, "It's fine, it's fine, these things are specially prepared for the children! Anyone can play here."
Aunt Xu and Qian Yingzi were visibly relieved after hearing the mother-in-law's words. At this moment, little Tiedan pointed at the seesaw with his chubby little fingers and mumbled, "Go, play."
Chen Lan understood and asked gently and softly, "Little Tiedan, do you want to play on the seesaw?"
Qian Yingzi murmured in surprise, "Our Tiedan knows this is for playing? My son, you're so smart!"
Chen Lan was speechless! She quickly explained, "Tiedan played with Jia Hui last time, don't you remember?"
Qian Yingzi chuckled awkwardly, "I actually forgot. Our Tiedan has such a good memory!" She then kissed little Tiedan's chubby little cheek.
Her mother looked at Tiedan, touched his chubby little hand, and asked with a smile, "Little Tiedan has gotten much fatter than before. How did you raise him so well?"
Then they began to exchange parenting tips. Chen Lan listened, and gradually found herself unable to bear it, thinking that if they continued to feed him like this, little Tiedan would truly become as heavy as iron.
So, she immediately stopped their parenting discussion and explained to them the dangers of infant and toddler obesity to a child's organs.
Finally, Chen Lan said, "Being too fat is not a good thing for children. Excessive weight can increase the burden on the liver, and it can also affect a child's intellectual development and lead to various ailments."
The mother-in-law, her mother, Qian Yingzi, and the others were greatly shocked by Chen Lan's words, sighing in dismay.
Qian Yingzi expressed her intention to feed her child according to Chen Lan's method. Chen Lan couldn't help but laugh and cry, saying with a wry smile, "Sister Qian, just feed him the way you fed Gangdan originally. See? You raised Gangdan very well with your original method, didn't you?"
Just then, another knock was heard at the door.