Lin Feng arrived in the living room and sat down.

"You sit first, I'll go get you some fruit," Jiang Dad said.

The floor still bore the faint water marks of a recent mopping, and the room had apparently been tidied up in a hurry. From the kitchen came the sounds of cooking.

Lin Feng scanned the house's interior. It's just like our old house in Mei Cheng, he thought. The decor is all plywood, and the style is very outdated.

Jiang Dad came out of the kitchen carrying a fruit platter. "Have some fruit first. My wife is cooking; it'll be ready soon."

The platter held chunks of honeydew and watermelon, with toothpicks for eating.

"Thank you!" Lin Feng said.

Jiang Dad smiled. "You're being far too polite."

A pile of children's toys was stacked in a corner of the living room. To be honest, this isn't even a fifth of the toys we have at home, Lin Feng mused.

Jiang Chenchen introduced his toys to the babies, who looked on with a mixture of surprise and delight. Even when they saw toys they already owned, they still looked fascinated.

"Look, this is the Transformers my dad bought for me! It's so big!" he announced. "Da Bao, here, you can play with it!"

Da Bao took it, beaming. "Thank you!"

Next, Jiang Chenchen pulled out an Ultraman figure about seventy centimeters tall. "Si Bao, this Ultraman is huge, right? I'll lend it to you!"

Si Bao accepted it joyfully. "Thank you!"

As for the other toys, Jiang Chenchen simply let them pick whatever they wanted to play with.

Lin Feng remarked, "It's rare to find a child as generous as your little treasure."

A hint of guilt crossed Jiang Dad's face. "I've been busy on the construction site, so I only come home once every few months. It's just been him and his mother here. The pay is too low, and the boss often delays our wages. We had no choice. His mom sent him to her mother's in the countryside and found a job herself. I only brought him back a couple of months ago. He's supposed to start kindergarten soon, right? He can't get his education in the countryside forever. Besides, his grandmother is illiterate and doesn't really look after him. That's why I plan to find a job in Yangcheng, so I can spend more time with him."

Lin Feng nodded. "Have you found a job yet?"

Jiang Dad shook his head. "Not yet. I heard delivering food pays well, so I'm planning to do that."

"Who will look after the child?" Lin Feng asked.

Jiang Dad smiled. "His mom will. The job she found is also tough—it's piecework in a factory."

"The more she makes, the more she earns. She's worked for three months and made 15,000 yuan in total," he continued. "I thought about it and decided it's better for me to work a bit harder so his mom can stay home with him. His grandmother's house is on the side of a mountain, and almost nobody goes up there. There aren't many kids in the countryside, and he loves playing with others. In his class, besides your children, there's almost no one he gets along with."

Just then, Jiang Mom's voice came from the kitchen. "Clear the table, it's time to eat!"

Jiang Dad asked, "Should we eat in the dining room or the living room?"

The living room only has a small, square coffee table. That won't work, Lin Feng thought.

"Let's go to the dining room," he said.

Jiang Dad hurried to clear the dining table while Lin Feng took the five babies to the bathroom to wash their hands. I don't know which of these hanging towels are clean, he wondered, so he took a handkerchief from his bag for them to use instead.

Jiang Mom had a gentle and capable air about her, the very picture of a good wife and mother. She came over carrying the dishes. "It's just some simple home cooking," she said. "My skills aren't the best, so please bear with us."

Lin Feng smiled. "Not at all, this looks wonderful."

"You all eat first. I made some chicken soup with rice for the babies, it's just cooling down now."

Lin Feng and the babies sat down. The dining room had eight wooden chairs and two tall plastic stools. The babies had to kneel on the stools to reach the table, and they chattered away.

"After we finish eating, I... I'll show you a treasure," Jiang Chenchen said.

Hearing the word "treasure," San Bao got excited. "What treasure?"

Jiang Chenchen knew how to build suspense. "I'll tell you in a bit."

Jiang Chenchen wasn't spoiled or delicate; he was much more generous than his peers. In that respect, he was a bit like his mother.

The chicken soup with rice that Jiang Mom had prepared for the babies was wonderfully fragrant. She tasted a spoonful from her son's bowl. "The temperature is just right. The babies can eat now." She then added apologetically, "Sorry, I couldn't find any small spoons. We only have disposable plastic ones."

"It's no problem," Lin Feng said with a smile. "You two, please eat."

The babies, eager to see Jiang Chenchen's treasure, ate remarkably fast. They gobbled down their food in big mouthfuls; even San Bao got a move on this time. Seeing this, Jiang Chenchen, who was still being fed by his mother, quickly said, "Mom, I can do it myself!" He took the spoon and began to eat on his own.

Jiang Mom praised him, "That's more like it."

She then asked the adults, "Would either of you like something to drink?"

Lin Feng quickly replied, "I don't drink, thank you. I have to drive later."

"Then have some orange juice."

Jiang Dad said to his wife, "Pour me some liquor!"

Lin Feng took a bite of the food. It tasted fine—just ordinary home cooking.

Da Bao and Si Bao were the first to finish. Lin Feng asked Jiang Mom, "Is there any more?"

"Yes, of course! I'll get them some more," she said, quickly getting up.

Once the babies were done, they wiped their mouths, slid off their stools like slippery eels, and ran into the living room to play. Jiang Mom, not wanting to leave them unattended, took her bowl and followed them.

Sipping his liquor, Jiang Dad said with poorly concealed pride, "My wife is a good woman. It's a shame she married me."

Lin Feng said calmly, "Whether it's a shame or not isn't for you to decide. That's for her to weigh on the scales of her own heart. But it's clear she is indeed a good woman."

With pride, Jiang Dad added, "She used to be a hotel manager. We met on a blind date."

"Oh?" Lin Feng's interest was piqued. "And then?"

Jiang Dad's expression grew melancholy. "My father died when I was in my teens. My mother passed away from an illness when I was in my twenties. We spent all our family's savings on her treatment. I wanted to sell the house, but my mom wouldn't let me. She said I should keep it for when I get married."

His sadness lasted only a moment before he leaned in and whispered, "There were plenty of men pursuing her back then. The reason she chose me, hehe..."

Going with the flow, Lin Feng asked, "Why was that?"

"Because I moved her," he said. "One year, she had a high fever. It was past three in the morning, but I rode my bicycle for two hours to go see her. Hehe, that was it. After that, she agreed to marry me!"

Lin Feng nodded. "Sometimes, a woman isn't looking for wealth or status, just a husband who will be there for her through thick and thin."

"Exactly! And I've always remembered to be good to her."

Just then, Jiang Mom came over with her bowl to get more food. Seeing the grin her husband was giving her, she flushed with a mixture of embarrassment and anger. "Can you please stop telling everyone that old story?"

"Marrying you is the proudest achievement of my life! Why can't I brag about it?" he retorted.

Blushing, Jiang Mom walked away. "You're insane!"

Jiang Dad just chuckled. "She's shy, she's shy!"

After dinner, Lin Feng played with the babies for a while. If it hadn't gotten so late, none of them would have wanted to leave. They made a plan for Jiang Chenchen to come over to their house the next day.

"We have Da Bai and Fei Fei at home!" Er Bao announced.

"What are those?" asked Jiang Chenchen.

"Da Bai is our dog, and Fei Fei is our cat..."

On the drive home, Lin Feng asked, "Did you all have fun?"

The babies all shouted in unison, "Super-duper happy!"

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