Chapter 35

The Apple doesn’t Fall Far from the Tree

Just then, the Fourth Born skipped his way to the other three children and shouted excitedly, “First, Second, and Third Born, not only did mommy buy us candy, but she also got us red bean cake.”

The three children looked at the table in surprise and really saw the cake there. There were even multiple pieces.

Their eyes brightened and their heads snapped towards Xie Yunjin. Xie Yunjin gently said, “Go and eat.”

The First Born ran to the table and picked up a piece of cake, “Daddy, you eat.”

Once daddy eats cake, he will lighten up.

Xie Yunjin shook his head, “I don’t want it. You guys eat.”

Lu Jiao said, “Try a piece. I bought more than two pounds of those. Second brother, you should try a piece as well.”

Those words made Xie Erzhu stand up. This red bean cake must have been expensive. How could he eat that? He should save those for his third brother.

“I… I will go home and eat.”

Lu Jiao stopped him, “Second brother, stay here for dinner. However, we only have porridge and red bean cake. I had no time to make other dishes. I will need some time to clean up the pig organs and pig head.”

Though she had her space, if she doesn’t clean those up today, Xie Yunjin may get suspicious. It was summer, and the pig would stink up if not dealt with properly.

Lu Jiao then asked, “Second Brother, do me a favor and feed Yunjin. After he’s done, you should stay and eat with us.”

Lu Jiao then left the room. She was in a rush because she really needed to clean the pig organs and head. It was already late and she needed to cook them separately one after another.

Inside the room, Xie Yunjin glanced at the table. There were six bowls of porridges there which indicated that one of them was for Xie Erzhu.

Xie Yunjin said, “Second brother, you eat first.”

How could Xie Erzhu do that? He picked up a bowl and started to feed Xie Yunjin.

The quadruplets also sat down and started dinner happily. The Fourth Born mumbled as he ate with a smile, “Mommy is so great. She got us candy and red bean cake.”

This young boy’s heart-shaped eyes squinted into crescents as he smiled. His cute face made everyone feel fuzzy and warm.

The other three children, however, were very unhappy with him. Hmmph, he made it sound like that woman was his mom only when they shared that mother!

Inside the kitchen, Lu Jiao put the cleaned-up pig organs into the pot. After she added in the ingredients she bought from town this morning, she lit up a fire and started to boil it.

While the firewood burned, she used the time to eat her dinner.

What a busy day today was.

Though it exhausted her, she also felt fulfilled. Especially when she remembered how cute the Fourth Born was when he called her mommy, she was over the moon happy.

As she thought about it, she heard the Fourth Born’s sticky voice, “Mommy, have you had dinner?”

Ah, he remembered to care about her. Lu Jiao felt even happier.

“I just ate. Have you eaten?”

The Fourth Born entered slowly. The oil lamp in the kitchen wasn’t the brightest and Lu Jiao was terrified that he would fall, so she went to pick him up and placed him on a rock behind the giant burner.

The mother and son duo sat down together. The Fourth Born extended his arm and reached for Lu Jiao, “Mommy, here’s the red bean cake, I brought it for you.”

Lu Jiao’s heart was now in a disarray.

“You eat, I don’t need to eat.”

The Fourth Born grinned ear to ear, “Mommy, I’ve already eaten. I saved this piece for you.”

Lu Jiao nodded and took a bite, “Yum, this is good.”

The mother and son duo then consecutively took bites until the piece of cake was gone.

Outside the kitchen, the Second and Third Born peeked in. When they saw how the Fourth Born acted, their eyes darkened, and they mumbled, “Kiss @ss.”

“Could it be that she only likes the Fourth Born, and not us?”

The Second Born was not happy to hear what the Third Born had to say and ran away. The Third Born followed him.

Inside the kitchen, Lu Jiao naturally heard those two but didn’t mind it.

The smell of braised pig intestines quickly expanded throughout the yard. Luckily, Xie Yunjin’s place was very east of the village so not a lot of people smelled it. Their neighbor, the Second Grandma’s house, however, smelled it. Everyone inside their home sucked in the air and discussed, “What is this? It smells delicious.”

“It really does. I’ve never smelled anything like it.”

Xie Xiaobao wrinkled his nose, “I think third aunty is cooking. I will go check it out.”

Xie Laifu wanted to scold his son but he had run off at lightning speed. He arrived soon and asked Lu Jiao, “Third aunty, what are you cooking? It smells great.”

Lu Jiao had always liked Xie Xiaobao and knew that he protected the quadruplets today, she liked him even more now.

“I’m making pig intestines. Once I’m done, I’ll give you some to try.”

“Alright, alright!”

Xie Xiaobao was greedy for food and circled around the stove. Lu Jiao found this funny.

Since she made the intestines first, it didn’t take long for them to cook. It was really late now so Lu Jiao took out the intestines once they were cooked through, instead of slow cooking them.

Once she fished out the intestines, she cut a piece and fed it Xie Xiaobao.

“How is it? Is it good?”

Xie Xiaobao nodded his head aggressively, “Delicious! Third aunty, how did you make this? It’s so yummy.”

The Fourth Born watched this and pulled on Lu Jiao’s clothes, “Mommy, I want a piece. I want to eat too.”

Lu Jiao cut a piece for him as well.

The Fourth Born ate in satisfaction. As he ate, he evaluated, “Delicious. Mommy, you are a great cook.”

Outside the room, Second and Third Born saw this and bolted in like little bullets. Without thinking too much, they asked straight away, “Mommy, I want some, I want some.”

“Mommy, I want.”

The two of them opened their mouths like baby birds as they waited to be fed. Lu Jiao was too stunned to move.

These two had also called her “mommy”. That meant out of the quadruplets, three of them had accepted her as their mother. Only the First Born hasn’t.

Lu Jiao’s mood continued to lighten. This feeling truly made her lightheaded.

She efficiently cut up some more intestines to feed her sons.

After she fed the Second and Third Born, she found the First Born by the door. However, this guy simply pouted and appeared to be unwilling to speak.

Lu Jiao wanted to laugh but didn’t give him a hard time. She waved for him to come in.

“First Born, come on in, I will give you a piece.”

The First Born, with a straight face, thought about it. Then with a serious expression, came in and opened his mouth.

Lu Jiao giggled at his seriousness.

However, she didn’t tease him, just in case he got embarrassed and angry. She quickly cut some up for the First Born and asked, “How is it? Is it good?

The First Born took his time to do the taste test before he commented, “Meets expectation.”

His mannerism reminded her of Xie Yunjin and she couldn’t help but roll her eyes. The apple truly does not fall far from the tree.