Xibao returned in high spirits, digging out two more milk candies from his bag and handing them to the other girls. He ran back and forth several times to make sure every girl had a candy.
The little fellow smiled sweetly, pointing to the candies in their hands, "Candy, eat!"
The girls were all thrilled.
"Xibao, are you giving us these to eat?"
"This is really expensive milk candy. Only my dad bought it for me when he came home from work."
"Is it good? I’ve never had any. If there’s candy at home, it’s all for my older and younger brothers, not for me."
"It’s delicious! So good!"
Ding Lanlan was holding the candy Xibao gave her and looking at Feng Qingxue, "Auntie!"
She didn’t dare to eat it because the treats were from Xibao, not from Feng Qingxue as an adult.
Feng Qingxue gently said, "It was given by your little brother. You guys go ahead and eat it. If you don’t, your little brother is going to burst into tears!" She was surprised too, wasn’t she? Apart from herself, this was the first time Xibao had shared his food with others. He hadn’t thought of sharing his candies with Little Stone even though they’d been playing together for several days.
Hearing Feng Qingxue’s words, the girls cheered, each putting the milk candies in their mouths, reluctant to swallow even a drop of saliva.
Seeing this scene, Huang Xiuzhi laughed loudly, while Lu Zhaodi’s face darkened.
"Jin Zhaodi, what are you as a girl doing eating candy? You’ll rot your teeth!" Lu Zhaodi scolded one of the five or six-year-old girls, "Spit out the candy for me, save it for your little brother!"
The little girl was so scared that she swallowed the candy unhappily and started crying bitterly.
"I swallowed it before I tasted it!"
"It’s okay, it’s okay!" Feng Qingxue hurriedly comforted her, taking out another milk candy, unwrapping it and stuffing it into her mouth, "Here’s one from your auntie, eat it slowly, don’t be scared, ah!"
Jin Zhaodi shrunk timidly behind her, afraid to look at the furious Lu Zhaodi.
Mother-daughter with the same name? Feng Qingxue slightly furrowed her brows.
Huang Xiuzhi also pulled Lu Zhaodi up, "What’s the point of scaring the child? Xibao gave her the candy and it’s already in her mouth. What do you want her to spit it out for?! Also, as far as I know, Jiu Hong and Lu Zhaodi don’t even have sons. If she had, she would not envy Feng Qingxue. She doesn’t have a son, but she wants her daughter to spit out the candy that she has already eaten for her son. What kind of thinking is this?"
Lu Zhaodi was angry and retorted, "Why should a burden like her eat candy? Candy is such an expensive thing. It’s not something for a little girl to eat. It’s too wasteful!"
Feng Qingxue, feeling Jin Zhaodi’s fear, was angered.
"Sister Jiu Hong, are you not a woman?" she asked.
Lu Zhaodi was confused and replied, "Of course I am. Why are you asking such a strange question? Can’t you tell I’m a woman?"
Feng Qingxue nodded slightly, "Then you must be a burden too!"
Lu Zhaodi heard this and immediately looked displeased. "What are you saying? You’re calling me a burden?"
"Aren’t these your words, Sister Jiu Hong." Feng Qingxue’s voice was neither heavy nor light, "I’m just speaking your mind. From being born and raised in her mother’s home to working in her husband’s home after she can work. Isn’t that like being a burden? I imagine that’s how you view yourself. Otherwise, why would you keep calling your daughter a burden?"