The other two cultural soldiers were called Tao Zhenzhen and Jiang Xiaoyue. They came to see Feng Qingxue using Xibao as an excuse.
No one doubted them when they said they were bringing him snacks.
Tao Zhenzhen was okay. She rushed in, thanked Feng Qingxue and burned the letter, then hurried off.
Jiang Xiaoyue, who came to see Feng Qingxue last, was only sixteen. Coming from an apparently well-to-do family, she brought a bagful of items that made Feng Qingxue think she had cleared out all the expensive goods from a store.
Jiang Xiaoyue had a very bold and generous character, "Sister Qingxue, this place is too remote. Many things available in the Capital are not here. You can make do with these things first, and I will buy more for you when they’re finished. I have sent telegrams to my dad, brother and sister, asking them to send more powdered milk and malt essence for Xibao, as well as some cotton fabric to make Xibao look even cuter."
Feng Qingxue hurriedly said, "Why are you so polite? If everyone brings something, there will be too much for Xibao to eat."
Even though everyone except Jiang Xiaoyue brought only a little, the sheer number of people in the entire army was staggering. A brigade alone had seven or eight thousand people, not to mention a hundred thousand in a military region.
"Xibao is so cute! It’s only natural that everyone wants to give him gifts, right, Xibao?" said Jiang Xiaoyue.
Xibao was sitting on the kang, so focused on eating his egg cake he didnt forget to nod his head to the rightness of Jiang Xiaoyue’s words.
"Right!" He yelled energetically.
Having said that, he continued to eat his egg cake - one in each hand, having already eaten a good deal of them. Bits of egg cake had littered his lap and the kang – Feng Qingxue was silently thankful she had placed one of Lu Jiang’s old clothes underneath him.
Thanks to Feng Qingxue’s care, the little guy had regained his plump and fair appearance.
At this moment, dressed in a small red cotton jacket with broken yellow flowers, blue trousers with red flowers, bare feet, he sat there like a chubby little dumpling -he was undeniably adorable.
The more Jiang Xiaoyue looked, the more she liked him. No wonder the soldiers were always talking about what Xibao had done and how wonderful he was.
"Sister Qingxue, how did you raise Xibao to be so wonderful? When he smiles, it’s just so joyful that even angry people can’t help but cheer up at the sight of him. My brothers’ children are all naughty, completely unwelcomed, and black as little devils! If they’re not causing havoc for three days, it feels wrong."
As Jiang Xiaoyue praised Xibao, she also verbally disapproves of her nephews.
Feng Qingxue chuckled, "That’s because you’ve never seen Xibao when he is naughty; sometimes I literally wish I could stuff him back into my belly."
"Belly-belly?" Xibao heard her and looked down at his own belly, seeing only blue and red flowers. He stuffed the whole egg cake in his left hand into his mouth, and after a lot of chewing, finally swallowed it down. Then he touched his belly, and said to Feng Qingxue, "Mumma, belly-belly!"
"Yes, that’s your belly-belly, is your belly full, baby?" she asked.
"Belly-belly, belly-belly, full-full," he replied.
After hearing his words, Feng Qingxue said, "If you’re full, stop eating the egg cakes, give them to mumma."
"No! No!" Fearing that his mother would snatch it from him, Xibao stuffed the remaining egg cakes into his mouth in one gulp. This cake was one and a half times bigger than the previous one. He quickly stuffed in so much it bloated his cheeks, and chewed with great difficulty. Then he stuck out his mouth at Feng Qingxue, waiting for her to reach out. He spit it into her palm, squeezed a small piece into his mouth, and kept the rest to himself.