Chapter 533: Chapter 533: All Saliva
Qin Jiu pats his belly, which is round like a small watermelon.
In an instant, his eyes are filled with worry.
"Auntie, Wen Yi ate so much that his belly is all puffed up. Will he feel uncomfortable?"
"No."
Yi Chichi knows Wen Yi’s appetite, "Don’t be fooled by the variety he eats; it’s actually not much in total. As for the big belly, that’s just the frog-like tummy that kids have."
Seeing the worry fade from Qin Jiu’s eyes, she adds, "You were like this when you were little too."
Qin Jiu, "..."
That was even worse hearing it — it feels like Auntie is making fun of him.
Seeing Wen’s mother clearing the dishes, he immediately stands up to help, "Granny, let me help you."
"Help granny take the bowls to the sink."
Wen’s mother doesn’t refuse; back in Kao Shan Village, Qin Jiu often helped with chores and got used to it.
So, Qin Jiu carries the dishes into the kitchen.
Wen’s mother picks up a rag to wipe the table, and Wen Yi reaches out with his little hands, wanting the rag.
"I can’t give you this."
Yi Chichi takes him out of the baby chair, "Shall mommy take you to look at the veggies?"
Worried he might not understand, she points outside.
Wen Yi suddenly gets excited, pointing his little hand towards the outside, wanting to go out.
"Let’s go, look at the veggies."
Yi Chichi carries him to the vegetable patch, surveying the area before her gaze falls on the tomatoes.
This year, there hasn’t been much rain, but Wen’s mother is a diligent person. She saves water from washing veggies and bathing, using it morning and evening to water the garden.
Thus, the garden grows well, especially the tomatoes, which are yielding plenty.
But they aren’t quite red.
Some show no signs of red at all.
"Still need to wait a bit more to eat."
She murmurs quietly, and Wen Yi thinks she’s talking to him, turning his head and replying with a sound.
Yi Chichi laughs and rubs his little cheek, "Not saying to you, mommy said the tomatoes need a bit more time to eat."
Madam Lei just happens to bring out some food, hears her, and responds, "Chichi, want tomatoes? Come to my house, we’ve got quite a few red ones."
"Eh, have the tomatoes in your garden turned red already, Sister?"
Yi Chichi carries Wen Yi over to her, remembering correctly, their families planted tomatoes together.
"They’re red now, I just picked two earlier and cooked scrambled eggs with tomatoes."
Madam Lei shows her the bowl: underneath is rice, on top are scrambled eggs with tomatoes, garnished with green onions — the red tomatoes, yellow egg chunks, and green onion look quite appetizing.
Looks pleasing to the eye, and what’s key, it smells enticing.
Yi Chichi, already full, doesn’t crave it.
Wen Yi does. The kid’s nose is sharp; smelling the aroma of scrambled eggs and tomatoes, he’s like a fledgling bird, opening his mouth towards Madam Lei.
His little hand points at her bowl.
Clearly, he wants to eat.
Madam Lei, "..."
Madam Lei gets it but doesn’t dare feed him without permission, so she looks at Yi Chichi.
"Let him have a taste."
"Sure."
Once she speaks, Madam Lei immediately flips her chopsticks around and feeds a tiny bit of egg to Wen Yi’s mouth.
It seems the taste suits him, as he opens his mouth again after eating.
This time, Madam Lei doesn’t feed him eggs but offers a bit of tomato instead.
When the tomato enters his mouth, a comical expression appears.
Madam Lei bursts into laughter, "Is this better than your milk?"
Whether Wen Yi understands, Yi Chichi isn’t sure, but this kid has become addicted to tomatoes, trying one bite after another, tasting four times, until Yi Chichi calls it off.
"Pick a few back, and cook for him tonight."
Pointing at the garden patch, she suggests Yi Chichi go pick them.
"I’ll wait for my mom to come and let her pick them."
Holding the baby, she finds it quite inconvenient, and she can’t dare put him on the ground, not because it’s dirty, but the boy wants to taste everything he grabs.
Afraid he might eat something bad.
Madam Lei pauses for two seconds, sighs, "Forget it, I’ll pick them for you."
Before finishing her sentence, she speeds into the garden, picking several tomatoes that look a bit odd but are beautifully red, with a bowl and chopsticks in one hand.
Also finds a basket and packs them nicely.
"Alright, take them home."
"That’s quite a lot."
Even enough for a meal.
"Eat them as fruits — you can eat these raw, they’re tangy, delicious, and appetizing."
That’s true.
So, after thanking Madam Lei for the tomatoes, Yi Chichi returns home, carrying the child in one hand and a basket in the other.
"Where did the tomatoes come from?"
Qin Jiu glances at the garden patch — their own tomatoes haven’t turned red, while the ones Yi Chichi brings back are redder with each one, so he asks curiously.
"Aunt Lei next door gave them."
He responds with an "oh," his eyes scanning Wen Yi’s face fixed on the tomatoes, and looks at Yi Chichi’s embroidery stand, rubbing his hands, "Auntie, let Wen Yi stay with me. You go earn some money."
"You’re not taking a nap?"
"I’m going to nap with Wen Yi later."
That works too.
So, Yi Chichi tidies up the tables and chairs, putting them against the wall, then lays a mat down in the hall and places Wen Yi’s toys on it.
"It’s all set, you two can play on the mat now."
Qin Jiu responds with a hum, removes his shoes, gets on the mat, and starts playing with toys with Wen Yi.
Actually, the age gap is a bit too large for them to play together.
But Qin Jiu’s patience is great; no matter Wen Yi babbling strange baby talk, he engages with him.
The brothers chat happily despite the babble.
Yi Chichi doesn’t rush into work; instead, she watches the brothers’ interaction for a while before moving the embroidery stand to a well-lit yet non-glaring spot to begin.
When she’s stitched half a thread, Wen Yi loses interest in the toys, trying to reach out for Qin Jiu’s little comic book.
Then, he crawls over to Qin Jiu’s side.
"Come, read the book with your brother."
Qin Jiu shifts position to hold him, letting him lean against and read the comic book together.
Wen’s mother comes out after tidying up the dishes, seeing her grandson cared for, Yi Chichi already immersed in work, so she takes out a tape measure.
"Xiao Jiu, stretch out your foot. Let me see what shoe size you wear."
Qin Jiu, "...Granny, I have shoes."
Implying, there’s no need to make him any.
Wen’s mother glances at his canvas shoes, "Don’t they feel stuffy in this heat?"
Indeed, it’s quite stuffy.
If he could, he’d prefer going barefoot.
But it wouldn’t look good.
The young boy, already caring about his image, thinks about this and stretches his foot out without a word.
"Thank you, Granny."
"Granny’s not tired, but you’re the one who’s hard-working."
She looks at the little one in his arms, already starting to explore his hand, a grin forming, "You better watch out or he’ll stuff your hand in his mouth for a bite."
Though Wen Yi doesn’t have many teeth, it still hurts when he bites.
"Okay, ow..."
He barely finishes saying okay before he yelps in pain and pulls his hand back, "Wen Yi, let go, brother’s hand is dirty."
This kid and his habits — why does everything go in his mouth?
Hearing the commotion, Yi Chichi turns to see Wen Yi using his hand to soothe his gums, and says helplessly, "Just pull it out; his gums must be itching again."
"It’s all saliva."
Qin Jiu pulls his finger out and wipes it, seeing Wen Yi start putting his own hand in his mouth and quickly stops him, "Don’t you have anything for him to teethe on?"
"We’ve got."
Wen’s mother opens a cookie box and takes out teething biscuits baked by Yi Chichi.
She hands over one, "Chew on this."
