After today’s commotion, Shen Meng paid even more attention to the children, knowing that while external pain is easier to nurture, wounds in the heart require careful and tender care.
After everyone had left, she returned to the room to straighten Ming Fang’s thin quilt and gave instructions to the three little boys beside her.
"Mom is going to cook now, you all stay here nicely, and if anything comes up, just call out for me, okay?"
The four little ones were exceptionally obedient today, nodding hastily in agreement.
In the kitchen, there was an abundance of vegetables. Though Shen Meng originally lacked energy, thinking of the children sitting on the kang bed, she quickly began washing vegetables, scrubbing pots, and cooking.
Inside the room.
Lu Mingliang, hearing the clattering and banging from the kitchen, became anxious, "Big brother, mom usually cooks very quickly, but it’s been quite some time now, why isn’t the food ready? I’m really hungry."
"Don’t worry, listen to those sounds, mom must have made us a lot of delicious food."
Ming Fang echoed, "Right? Mom really loves us. The way she looked at me earlier, really, hehehe..."
"Hehe..."
"And loves Xiao Kai too, hahaha..."
The kids chatted and laughed with each other, wondering about the delicious food their mom would serve them soon.
Shen Meng had originally planned to cook several dishes, but considering it was already past noon, she focused on the children’s hungry stomachs, hurrying to make something to fill them up.
So, when the children, full of anticipation, came to the dining table, they saw a large basin of green vegetable and egg noodles placed in the center of the table.
All the children looked at her, then glanced at the kitchen – was there really nothing else?
"What’s up, not hungry?"
"Mom, after all your hard work, did you just make a pot of noodles?" Lu Mingliang’s heart had softened quite a bit, and he spoke to Shen Meng without filtering his words in his mind first.
Shen Meng gently tapped his head with the chopsticks she was holding.
"Ouch!"
"You little rascal, getting picky, huh? Aren’t these green vegetable and egg noodles fragrant? An ordinary household would be overjoyed to have such a bowl of noodles, and here you are complaining."
"Hehehe, no, no, whatever mom makes is the tastiest, definitely no complaints, no complaints."
Shen Meng chuckled softly, serving each child a large bowl of noodles, topped with fresh, lush cilantro and golden eggs.
Then she went back to the stove and brought out another bowl, scooping a spoonful into each child’s bowl.
"Eat up, this is a sauce made of minced meat, it’s fragrant when paired with the noodles. Try it, and mom has more good stuff to show you later!"
Lu Mingyang stirred his noodles, took a big bite, and was so delighted he almost choked. After that, he couldn’t care less about the "good stuff" mom mentioned; he just wanted to finish the slippery noodles in his bowl as quickly as possible.
The other children shared the same idea.
"Don’t choke, eat slower, no one is fighting you for it. Didn’t you love the spicy and sour fish slice rice noodles Mom made last time? Tomorrow your Uncle Yong Jun is going to catch some big fish, and Aunt Xifeng said she’ll save a couple for our family. Then, Mom can make rice noodles for you again, okay?"
"Okay, Mom, I love rice noodles the most, can we add chili peppers, is that okay?" Lu Mingfang absolutely adored that dish, and most importantly, Mom also made them orange juice to drink. Having such a meal was incredibly satisfying.
"Sure, if Ming Fang wants to eat it, Mom will make it for you, but you can’t have too much chili pepper, now that autumn is here, it’s very dry. After you’ve finished eating, take a nap, and Mom will make some pear soup for you to drink."
Speaking of pear soup, Shen Meng thought she needed to find time to make another trip to the county, to bring back a coal stove for the home. The kitchen stove also needed to be redone. It would be best to have two stoves, not too big, one for stir-frying and one for cooking rice, which would be very convenient.
"That’s great, wow, it’s so delicious." Lu Mingkai was scrambling with the noodles in his little bowl, he had more eggs and greens, but not as much meat sauce as his older brothers and sisters, yet he ate with exceptional joy.
Shen Meng stroked Lu Mingkai’s head, her face filled with immense affection.
Having nearly finished eating, Shen Meng looked at the large bowl of noodles left in the sand basin and thought about asking Xie Jinghao to come over and have a meal later to nourish himself, even though the noodles would be a bit sticky after sitting for a while.
After she packed everything up, she put the noodles in the pot and sat them on the stove. The residual heat from the stove would keep the noodles warm and prevent them from getting cold.
The kids, with their bellies full and thirst quenched, recalled the treats she mentioned. In response to the curious eyes of the children, Shen Meng took a white envelope from the bag hanging on the wall, then pulled out the photos inside, placing them neatly on the dining table.
"Look, these are the photos you took last time, Mom picked them up today. The letters you wrote, as well as photos of our home, were also sent to your dad. Are you happy?"
"Mom, did you send the socks you bought last time to Dad?" Lu Mingkai asked earnestly.
Shen Meng: "...."
She had completely forgotten!!!
"Er, I’ll send it next time. I’ll take some of the socks we have at home to your grandpa later. It’s getting cold, and grandpa will be freezing without socks."
In addition to the home photos, there were also ones of Xie Jinghao and Xiao Gang. Xie Jinghao was hesitant to take photos last time, as it cost sixty cents to take one and it was the same price for adults and children, regardless of the three changes of clothes. She was reluctant to spend the money.
However, when she saw Shen Meng taking photos with Lu Mingyang and the other kids, and Xiao Gang looking at her with hopeful eyes, she couldn’t refuse because of the gleam in his eyes.
Since she also had a bit of money on hand, she eventually decided to take a set of photos for both her child and herself.
Lu Mingyang and the kids were so fond of the photos that they couldn’t let go. A thought struck them, and Lu Mingyang said to Shen Meng, "Mom, can I also send a photo to the uncles in the army?"
The uncles in the army really missed them, and if they knew how well they were doing now, and how much their mother cherished them, they would definitely be happy for them.
"I’ll get frames for these photos and hang them up later. We’ve already sent many photos to your dad. Don’t worry, Mom will take you to take photos every year, okay?"
"Okay, hehehe..."
Lu Mingyang repeatedly looked at the photo in his hand, especially the one of their family of five. His eyes slightly heated up, and when the tears at the corners of his eyes fell, they stung his own hand.
If only... if only Dad were here, that would make a complete family portrait.
His birth parents would also be happy for him knowing that he’s doing well now. Hehe, thinking like this, Lu Mingyang couldn’t help but laugh out loud.
Shen Meng saw the light in the child’s eyes and paused, then swiftly turned her head away, pretending not to see the child’s tears, so as not to make him feel embarrassed.
While they were enjoying a time of motherly kindness and filial piety, the gate was suddenly "bang, bang, bang" knocked upon, accompanied by the cries of a child.
"Elder sister-in-law, elder sister-in-law, come quickly, Jinghao is calling for you, she—she’s about to give birth!"