Chen Lan watched as Auntie Xiaoshan carried the bowl out of the kitchen. She turned back to clean the pot, added a little over half a pot of water, and put the lid on to wait for it to boil. She then threw two large pieces of firewood into the stove to let it burn slowly.
While waiting for the water to boil, Chen Lan checked the pantry for brown sugar, eggs, noodles, white flour, milk powder, and small pastries, and replenished them all. The children needed them every day, and Zhao Xiaoyue would need them soon after giving birth.
Just as Chen Lan finished cooking the glutinous rice balls in fermented rice and wine-stewed eggs, Auntie Xiaoshan walked in with an empty bowl. Chen Lan immediately served Auntie Xiaoshan a large bowl first, and as she handed it to her, she asked, "Auntie, how is Xiaoyue doing now?"
Auntie Xiaoshan accepted the bowl without hesitation and replied, "She's doing well. Xiaoyue is a good child! She's well-behaved and obedient. Her Aunt Qian said that she needs to eat well to have the strength to give birth. She was groaning 'ouch, ouch' while eating heartily, finishing the whole large bowl of brown sugar and eggs without leaving a drop."
Chen Lan breathed a sigh of relief and said, "It's good that she can eat!"
Chen Lan then said, "Auntie, don't rush, take your time and eat first. I'll send a bowl to Mama Liu and my mother as well." Auntie Xiaoshan nodded while eating.
After speaking, Chen Lan used a tray to carry two large bowls out of the kitchen and delivered them to her mother and Mama Liu.
Mama Liu took the large bowl of wine-stewed eggs and glutinous rice balls in fermented rice from Chen Lan, and exclaimed in surprise, "Xiaolan, why do we have some too!"
Her mother smiled and patted Mama Liu's shoulder, saying, "What's wrong? Can't we have wine-stewed eggs?"
Mama Liu also smiled and replied, "No, it's not that. I just didn't expect Xiaolan to make this for us too. You know, I've been craving it. With everyone busy lately, it's been months since we've had wine-stewed eggs and glutinous rice balls."
Chen Lan agreed with Mama Liu, realizing it was true. Ever since the land began to thaw, she and everyone else had been busy, and time had flown by. If it weren't for making this for Xiaoyue today, she herself wouldn't have remembered to improve the meals for her mother and Mama Liu.
It seemed she needed to pay more attention to the lives of her mother and Mama Liu from now on.
At this moment, Jiahui, a little glutton, came over and said sweetly, "Grandma, it smells good."
Her mother smiled and asked, "Oh, Jiahui, such a sweet mouth! Do you want some wine-stewed eggs too?"
The little one nodded her head as vigorously as a pecking chick!
Chen Lan quickly stopped her mother's action and said, "Mother, Jiahui and Jiayao are still too young to eat sweets. Firstly, it can cause cavities, and secondly, it's not good for children to eat too much sugar. Thirdly, there's alcohol in the fermented rice, and it can make children uncomfortable."
Her mother heard this and looked at Jiahui, who was eagerly waiting with her mouth open, unsure what to do. She anxiously asked, "Lan'er, what should we do?"
Chen Lan told her mother and Mama Liu to eat first. She bent down and picked up Jiahui, patting her full little belly and asking, "Jiahui, are you full?"
Jiahui nodded obediently and then let out a loud burp. Chen Lan couldn't help but chuckle. It turned out the little one was just full but still wanted more! This was a classic case of "eyes bigger than stomach!"
Chen Lan carried Jiahui to the sofa and was about to place her next to Jiayao, who was intently playing with a smiley face puzzle with his head down.
Chen Lan handed Jiahui a set of colorful building blocks and said, "See how well-behaved your brother is. Should Jiahui be a good girl too?"
Jiahui nodded but clung to Chen Lan's neck.
Jiayao, still with his head down, meticulously used his chubby little hands to reassemble the smiley face puzzle that Jiahui had messed up. He happily shouted, "Hui, Hui, sister, sister."
As soon as Jiahui saw this, she became unhappy. She released her grip on Chen Lan's neck and lunged forward to snatch it, shouting, "Sister, mine, mine."
Chen Lan immediately grabbed Jiahui's little hand and held her. The little one was being too unreasonable, too bossy! She had made a mess of something, abandoned it, and now she wouldn't let her brother play with it?
Just as she was about to scold the unreasonable little one, Jiayao, the thoughtful little warm man, extended his small hand and offered the smiley face puzzle to Jiahui, saying with heartwarming words, "Sister, here, be good, don't cry."
Chen Lan released Jiahui's hand, stroked Jiayao's little head, and hugged him, praising, "Good son, you're such a good brother. Mother will buy you a new puzzle."
Saying that, she immediately opened the system with her mind and ordered a slightly more complex smiley face puzzle.
Jiayao received the puzzle, grinned widely, revealing his eight small teeth, and his eyes smiled into crescent moons.
A baby in a nearby crib stirred. Chen Lan quickly said, "Jiayao, take your sister and sit on the sofa and play nicely. Mother has something to do."
Jiayao nodded his little head obediently.
Chen Lan couldn't afford to delay any longer. She had to be quick. Once one child woke up, the others would soon follow.
She immediately went forward, picked up the baby, dressed her, checked if she had peed, then changed her diaper, and gave her a bottle. The actions were smooth and swift. Soon, the children began to wake up one after another.
Her mother and Mama Liu had just finished eating. Hearing the commotion, they put down their bowls and quickly joined the busy work.
By lunchtime, Xiaoyue still hadn't given birth. Chen Lan didn't eat in the main kitchen. She made a bowl of noodles with shredded pork, ham, eggs, and vegetables for Xiaoyue, and a bowl of noodles with shredded pork and vegetables for each of the adults. The children had noodles with ham, minced meat, and chopped vegetables.
Perhaps due to the intense pain, Xiaoyue didn't finish her noodles this time. As soon as Mama Cui brought the bowl out, Erhu ran in, sweating profusely. He immediately asked Mama Cui, "Mother, how is Xiaoyue? Is she okay? How long have they been in there, and why hasn't she given birth yet!"
Mama Cui, annoyed by his barrage of questions, handed him Xiaoyue's unfinished noodles and said, "You big man, what are you panicking about? Do you think giving birth is like a hen laying an egg? It's not that easy. Eat these noodles quickly, don't waste good food. And don't shout so loudly, you might scare the baby, and she'll be even less willing to come out."
Mama Cui's words thoroughly silenced Erhu. He quickly ate the remaining noodles in the bowl and began pacing back and forth in the living room.
Everyone waited anxiously for about another hour. Suddenly, they heard a baby's cry, followed by Mama Cui's loud exclamation, "She's here, she's here, she's finally here, wonderful! It's a big, healthy baby girl."