Chapter 54

By the time he woke up, the sun had already set. Xu Ran had had a sound sleep and now felt refreshed all over.

There was no one in the room. Suddenly, he went out of the room. He saw Liu Tong was talking to someone he didn’t know, and he didn’t know where Tangtang and Guoguo had gone.

Seeing that the man was also a Ge’er, Xu Ran didn’t disturb him. Then he slowly went to the kitchen. There was still some food left by Liu Tong in the kitchen, which was still preserved on the stove.He was so hungry that he directly brought it out to eat.

Now they could have refined rice every meal as their life was getting better. Xu Ran had never been used to eating brown rice. He ate brown rice before because he had to. Since now they had earned enough money, Xu Ran just asked Liu Tong to buy refined rice.

The kids were also happy to have refined rice, but Liu Tong was a little worried. He said it was the first time he had eaten refined rice. In the past, there had been no meal without brown rice. Even when celebrating the Chinese New Year, he had never seen refined rice ever since his father died, let alone eat it.

His words pierced Xu Ran’s heart.

Thus, after that, they had never eaten brown rice again.

While thinking about the past, Xu Ran was having the meal. Until he had finished his meal and even washed the dishes, he found Liu Tong was still talking to that Ge’er.

Xu Ran felt awkward to join them. After all, it was not in the modern world. Here, it would be gossiped if a man met with a Ge’er alone.

As he found nothing better to do, Xu Ran simply went back to his room and started to read.

Next spring was just the imperial examinations. He would have a try. Yet, what was frustrating was that he even had to start from the lowest pupil level.

But when he thought of the bright future, excitement overwhelmed him. In spite of complex traditional characters, he could understand most. After all, he had received higher education in his original world. By keeping guessing and reading, it was quite fascinating that he was deeply absorbed in reading.

Finishing chatting with that Ge’er, Liu Tong came back, only to find that Xu  Ran was reading in the room, so he didn’t disturb him. Then he directly entered the kitchen to prepare for dinner.

While he was cooking, Tangtang and Guoguo came back. They were happily talkin, mixed with occasional dogs’ barking.

Liu Tong put down his business and brought the kids into the room, “Where did you go this afternoon? Like your daddy, you two are back sweating like a pig.”

“Daddy, we are playing. Is dad back?”

It was Tangtang who replied. Guoguo had already gone washing his face. He was such a lovely boy that he also carried a pot of warm water for his elder brother after he had washed himself.

Looking at the adorable faces of the two kids, Liu Tong felt quite warm in his heart, he smiled, “Yes, he has already been back in the afternoon. And now he is reading in the room. Be quiet. Don’t disturb him.”

No sooner than Guoguo had finished his washing had he called Tangtang to wash. And he replied on behalf of himself and his brother, “Got it!”

And this time it was Guoguo. They were almost identical, which made him feel a little surprised.

It was not until the dinner was ready that Liu Tong called Xu Ran to eat.

It was quite relaxing and happy to enjoy the family-chatting. After the meal, Xu Ran would tell the whole family some stories or what he thought, so then the family could communicate with each other.

“Tangtang and Guoguo, daddy and I will make a trip to the mountain in a few days. Maybe it will take a few days, so could you please stay with Daddy Wu Mei for a few days?”

With Peanut in his arms, Guoguo asked while tilting his head, “Dad, are you going to pick some chillies there?”

“Yup, if we don’t go, we won’t have money to celebrate the Spring Festival. Do you want to have a good celebration?”

“Yes!”

The two kids answered without even thinking. They indeed wanted although the past five years they hadn’t enjoyed new year. Yet it was the few days that they were free from starvation, so for them Spring Festival always meant happiness. They couldn’t refuse it.

Of course, Xu Ran was also looking forward to the first year he came to this world, so not only for his children but also for himself he had to fight hard.