Another spring arrived with the busy farming season. Lin Zhen was occupied with work in the fields, leaving him less time to take care of the children.
Song Wei decided to follow the same routine as during the autumn harvest and have meals at Great-Grandpa’s house.
The pig slaughtered earlier came in handy now.
Most of the pork was sent over to Great-Grandpa’s household to add some richness to their meals.
The children at Great-Grandpa’s house were always thrilled whenever Song Wei and her family came over. Every time they visited, there was meat on the table, making it feel just like celebrating the New Year.
Auntie Song would also bring canned food—fragrant and delicious canned goods they had never tasted before.
They absolutely adored Auntie Song!
Every day, Song Wei would take her two children to Great-Grandpa’s house for a visit.
For now, she and Lin Ping’an were responsible for washing the children’s diapers and clothes.
Of course, more often than not, Song Wei would carry both children and go find Lin Zhen in the fields.
Even if she wasn’t working, she would stay nearby where Lin Zhen was working and look after the two children.
Except during rice planting, when it was difficult to let the two children roam freely, during the planting of other crops, Song Wei only needed to bring a stroller, place the two children inside, and let a few animals help take care of them without much worry.
People working in the fields couldn’t help but feel envious when they saw this.
“How are the animals you raise so smart? That little bear acts just like a person—it can even push a stroller!”
The little bear stood upright, gently placed its paws on the stroller handle, and walked with small, inward-turned steps.
A white eagle perched on the stroller, holding small flowers and grass in its beak to play with the two children.
Surprisingly, the two children were being well taken care of.
Who wouldn’t envy such a scene?
Song Wei smiled and said, “They also eat a lot.”
“That’s true. That little bear’s appetite is getting bigger and bigger.”
“But they hunt for their own food too. I’ve seen those wolves of yours go into the mountains to hunt every day. Most of the time, they bring back meat. The little bear can dive into the water to catch fish, and that big bird finds its own food too. What is there to worry about?”
The speaker’s tone was tinged with jealousy.
Their family also had a dog, but it wasn’t nearly as clever.
They only dared to keep one, afraid that more would be too much to feed.
Although the dogs in their production brigade sometimes followed them into the mountains to hunt, they didn’t go every day.
Occasionally, the dogs would fill their stomachs in the mountains and not return, saving the family’s food. But they only brought back prey two or three times a month—nothing compared to Song Wei’s wolves.
Song Wei didn’t engage further on the topic. Seeing that she didn’t respond, the women pursed their lips and started talking about something else.
Song Wei didn’t work in the fields all the time. Whenever the two children cried from hunger, she would take them home.
After the spring planting season ended, Song Wei turned her attention to the tea leaves in the mountains.
She left the two children and the helpful little bear at Great-Grandpa’s house for the elderly couple to look after, then went into the mountains with Uncle Dayou and others to pick tea leaves.
This year, more people joined the tea-piking effort, so the task was completed in just a few days.
Afterward, they began roasting the tea leaves.
Since it was their first time roasting real tea, they didn’t dare use the finest tender tea buds. Instead, they used slightly lower-quality leaves.
They had practiced with tree leaves and bamboo leaves before, but tea leaves were different.
Although they succeeded in roasting the tea, their control over the heat wasn’t perfect, so the taste of the roasted tea wasn’t as good as that made by Great-Grandma.
“You’ve all done very well. Everyone will improve with time,” Great-Grandma encouraged.
Song Wei asked, “Great-Grandma, can tea trees be propagated through cuttings?”
Great-Grandma looked at her: “You mean…”
Song Wei nodded: “I want to take some cuttings from the mother tree to propagate and grow new saplings. Since tea trees can grow there, I’m thinking of cultivating more tea trees in that area.”
She wasn’t worried about others taking advantage of the tea trees she planted.
After all, that place wasn’t for the faint-hearted—without some capability, one wouldn’t dare venture in.
Last time they went, they encountered such a large bear, and during her recent tea-picking trips, Song Wei had noticed traces of other large beasts in the vicinity.
“Perhaps it really could work.”
Once decided, she took action.
Song Wei was highly efficient. That very day, she pruned branches from the tea trees without harming them.
The trimmed branches were then used to cultivate new tea saplings.
She directly set up a rectangular cultivation bed in the yard using wooden planks and, with Great-Grandma’s help, inserted the prepared cuttings into the soil.
Great-Grandma’s family had previously been in the tea business, owning their own tea estate, so she was very knowledgeable about tea.
Not only did she know how to identify tea leaves, but she also understood how to cultivate and grow tea trees.
Song Wei learned a great deal from her and diligently took notes on everything.
Now, all that was left was to wait for the tea cuttings to develop new roots.
In the meantime, the twins were already five months old.
Xiao Nan was sturdier and particularly active. By five months, he was already attempting to crawl on the kang bed.
Although he didn’t crawl much, he was determined to stretch his body and move around.
Xiao Bei was much quieter. He didn’t mind lying on his back or stomach, but he didn’t crawl around.
Whenever the two little ones were placed on their stomachs on the kang bed, they would diligently lift their heads.
A little teasing would make them giggle.
The laughter of children is infectious. Every time they laughed, the family couldn’t help but smile.
For parents, every first milestone—be it the first time their child lifts their head, speaks, or crawls—brings genuine pride.
“Ah ah…”
Xiao Bei gripped Song Wei’s finger with his small hand, cooing and kicking his chubby little legs. He then tried to put whatever he was holding into his mouth.
“Ow~”
The toothless nibble didn’t hurt at all—his little mouth was soft.
Song Wei pulled her finger out and couldn’t resist planting a kiss on his chubby cheek.
“So well-behaved!”
Her babies were absolutely adorable!
“Ah!”
Perhaps seeing Song Wei kiss his brother made him jealous, the domineering older brother crawled back with great effort, burrowing insistently into Song Wei’s arms.
“Ah ah!”
The little one kept cooing until Song Wei smiled and kissed his cheek too, finally satisfying him.
Song Wei: Hahaha… This is just too cute.
Leave a Reply