The pine nuts from Ping’an Brigade were produced just in time for the winter and the upcoming New Year celebrations.
With the national economy growing, people were becoming more generous when it came to buying snacks.
In the first two years, the sales of pine nuts weren’t particularly strong, but they still managed to sell. By the third year, thanks to the groundwork laid in the previous two years, sales gradually improved.
The rural cooperative of their brigade was finally on track.
Now, when Song Wei took her two children out for a walk, almost everyone she met would greet her warmly.
After all, everything Ping’an Brigade had achieved was thanks to Lin Zhen and Song Wei.
Yes, Song Wei had given birth to twins again—this time, two girls.
They were identical twins, looking exactly alike.
Their little faces combined the best features of both Song Wei and Lin Zhen. Even as babies, they were the prettiest children in the entire region.
With their ethereal beauty, resembling little celestial attendants, even those who traditionally favored boys couldn’t help but admire the sisters, praising them sincerely and wholeheartedly.
Song Wei gave the twin sisters the nicknames Yueyue and Xiaoxiao.
The older sister was named Yueyue because she was born on the night of a full moon. The younger sister was named Xiaoxiao because she loved to smile, her eyes curving into crescents that melted hearts.
The family had always been male-dominated, with Song Wei as the only woman. Now, they finally had two little girls to cherish.
From the moment they were born, the boys in the family fought over who would hold them.
Lin Zhen, their father, would hold one in each arm and never grew tired of it, even after a whole day.
Lin Ping’an also adored his two little nieces.
Both sisters were cheerful and loved to laugh. Their soft, milky voices naturally learned how to coax and act spoiled. With their sweet, pleading tones and big, sincere eyes gazing up as they hugged someone’s arm, even the hardest hearts would soften.
Lin Zhen, in particular, doted on the sisters immensely—a complete doting father.
If it weren’t for Song Wei keeping things in check, the two girls would have been utterly spoiled.
“Mommy, was Xiaoxiao good today? Can I have one more lollipop?”
At that moment, Song Wei was holding hands with two snow-white, exquisitely chubby little girls. The one on her right, with two little buns in her hair, hugged her arm and pleaded sweetly.
Most women in Northeast China had somewhat bold and straightforward voices, especially with the local accent, often giving off a tough impression. But Song Wei was from the south. Although living in the north had influenced her accent slightly, she still retained her southern charm.
The two girls, spending most of their time with Song Wei, had picked up her way of speaking.
Their soft, delicate little voices were utterly captivating to anyone who heard them.
But Song Wei, their biological mother, remained firm: “No, you’ve already had three candies, one lollipop, and a tanghulu (candied fruit) today. Do you still want to keep your little teeth?”
The little girl continued pleading in her soft, milky voice:
“Just one more lollipop, please? Mommy, you’re the best, okay?”
Yueyue also looked at her mother with hopeful eyes:
“Mommy, Mommy, you’re the best!”
This was the difference between boys and girls in their family.
At this age, the boys would only shout “Mom!” at the top of their lungs, as if afraid she couldn’t hear them. The girls, however, would softly call her “Mommy” and address Lin Zhen as “Daddy.”
“Xiaoxiao, Yueyue, we have candy for you!”
Village children around the twins’ age ran over eagerly, offering their own candy.
Now that everyone was more prosperous, they naturally didn’t hesitate to buy snacks and candy for their children.
Yueyue and Xiaoxiao were the most popular children in the brigade. Both boys and girls loved playing with them and enjoyed sharing snacks with them.
It wasn’t just the children—even adults liked treating them to snacks.
At home, Song Wei restricted the twins from eating too much sugar, but these clever little girls would go out to play and return with their pockets filled with snacks and candy.
It was a never-ending battle.
When they were three and a half years old, their teeth started hurting from too many sweets. Lin Zhen had to drive them to the hospital in the middle of the night to get them treated.
After that, they were banned from eating candy for a whole month, which left the two sisters looking utterly miserable, their little faces all scrunched up with worry.
Now, having completely forgotten the pain once the wound healed, they were begging for candy again.
Song Wei pinched their chubby cheeks.
“Still want to eat candy? Have you forgotten the month you couldn’t have any sweets because of your toothache?”
The sisters immediately covered their little mouths, their big eyes wide with fear.
A whole month without candy—how awful that would be!
In the end, the two could only reluctantly refuse the candy offered by their friends, though it pained them deeply.
Wahh… Candy was so delicious—why didn’t their teeth like it?
As Song Wei walked with the sisters to the village entrance, everyone was gathered there chatting and gossiping.
Looking at them, Song Wei felt as if she could see the elderly women who used to sit together under the jujube tree.
Time was fair to everyone. Those women were already advanced in age, and eventually, they passed away one after another.
But before they left, they witnessed the brigade’s development and enjoyed their final years—tasting treats they had once been reluctant to buy, thanks to their younger family members, and wearing new clothes.
When they passed, they did so with smiles on their faces.
“Daddy’s car! Daddy’s back!”
The two little girls recognized Lin Zhen’s car. Their eyes lit up as they spotted the black sedan moving slowly along the white cement road.
They let go of Song Wei’s hands and toddled toward it on their short little legs.
“Daddy!”
The car came to a stop, but the first to step out weren’t Lin Zhen—it was the two boys with their backpacks.
“Sisters!”
Xiao Nan and Xiao Bei got out of the car, each scooping up one of the sweet, soft little girls and covering their chubby cheeks with kisses.
“We missed you so much! Did you miss us?”
Yueyue and Xiaoxiao replied in unison, “We missed you, brothers.”
The four siblings huddled together, laughing joyfully.
At school, Xiao Nan was a rebellious troublemaker who gave his teachers headaches. Fortunately, he never bullied others randomly. In fact, thanks to him, there were hardly any bullies around the school, greatly ensuring the safety of the students. The teachers had mixed feelings about him—they appreciated his protective presence but were exasperated by his habit of skipping class with his friends. His grades weren’t great, either.
Xiao Bei, on the other hand, was a sly sweetheart—outwardly well-behaved but mischievous underneath. He maintained a cool, aloof demeanor at school and was the top student in his grade. His teachers adored him.
But now, faced with their family—especially their sweet, soft little sisters—there was no trace of rebellion or aloofness left in the brothers.
“Mom, we’re back from school! Did you miss us?”
The four siblings looked up and realized their father had already gotten out of the car and was holding their mother’s hand, talking to her.
Tsk, tsk… They were used to it by now.
Song Wei smiled at them. “Of course I missed you. Come on, my dear sons, let’s go home and cook dinner.”
“Alright!”
The brothers carried the twin sisters, while Lin Zhen held Song Wei’s hand. With the exception of Lin Ping’an, who was away at university and couldn’t return, the whole family walked home together, chatting and laughing along the way.
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