Lin Feng drove Zhang Yuxi home. As soon as they entered the house, they were greeted by the delicious aroma of a home-cooked meal.
Zhou Cuilan was cooking in the kitchen; her skills were also quite good. While her dishes couldn't compare to Lin Feng's, they were still much better than what you'd get at a restaurant.
However, after a few days of Lin Feng's cooking, everyone's palate had been spoiled. There were noticeably more leftovers from lunch than there had been yesterday. Even if Zhou Cuilan hadn't noticed, she could taste the difference herself.
"Lin Feng," she said while clearing the table, "you should do the cooking tonight."
Lin Feng nodded. "Okay, Mom!"
After eating, Zhang Yuxi ran upstairs to feed the quadruplets.
Sun Rou called Lin Feng out to sit in the garden pavilion. Chuan Chuan was nearby, chasing butterflies.
Sun Rou handed Lin Feng a card. "There's eighty-eight thousand in here. Take it."
Lin Feng shook his head. "Sister-in-law, I have money. You should take it back."
"This is for the babies. Just take it! Business has been tough this year, and your brother has a lot of outstanding payments he hasn't been able to collect. Consider this money a red envelope for your wedding and the babies' first birthday. I know you're making good money now, but this is a token of our appreciation. Please take it, and don't feel it's too little."
"You cured Chuan Chuan's illness, and we still don't know how to repay you! If you don't accept it, I'll definitely get an earful from your brother when I get back!"
Sun Rou pushed the bank card in front of Lin Feng.
Lin Feng couldn't argue with her, so he had to accept it. "Then I'll accept it on behalf of the babies for now. Thank you and Big Brother for your kindness!"
"We're family. There's no need to be so formal," Sun Rou said, then continued, "I'm taking Chuan Chuan back to Suzhou tomorrow. I plan to find a school for him in the city so he can adjust."
Chuan Chuan used to attend a special school where all the students were children with problems. Now that he had recovered, he obviously couldn't stay there anymore. Sun Rou wanted him to go to a regular school, to study and live like a normal child.
The thought made Sun Rou feel a little emotional.
"Coming!" Hearing her son, Sun Rou hurried over.
"Sister-in-law, I'll go inside first."
Back inside, Lin Feng was called aside by his parents.
"Dad, Mom, what's up?"
Lin Dashan took out several red envelopes and placed them in Lin Feng's hand one by one.
"This is twenty thousand from your Third Uncle." Updates are released by 𝘯𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭⚑𝓯𝓲𝓻𝓮⚑𝕟𝕖𝕥
"This is ten thousand from your Second Uncle."
"Jiajun and Wang Lu gave five thousand."
"That's thirty-five thousand in total, plus fifty thousand from us."
"This money isn't for you," Zhou Cuilan said. "It's for our four dear grandchildren. You save it for them."
Lin Dashan nodded. "No matter how much it is, it's a token of our feelings."
Lin Feng was quite surprised. Lin Daan and Lin Dahu had actually given so much. Especially Lin Daan; even though his pension was substantial, he wasn't a generous person.
"Okay, I'll take the money and save it for the babies."
Zhou Cuilan then asked, "Did Sun Rou give you a red envelope when she called you out just now?"
Lin Dashan glared at his wife.
Zhou Cuilan glared right back. "What? I can't even ask about my own son's affairs?"
Lin Feng nodded. "Yeah."
"How much did she give you?" Zhou Cuilan pressed.
"Eighty-eight thousand..."
The couple gasped when they heard the number.
"Among your generation, you've always been closest with Yu Zheng," Lin Dashan said. "To think he's still thinking of you after so many years without contact. I heard he's a bit tight on money recently. For him to give you eighty-eight thousand really shows how much he cares."
Lin Feng nodded. He understood the depth of Yu Zheng's friendship.
As Lin Feng went upstairs to see the babies, he ran into Zhang Fuyong and Zhao Lizhen.
"An Lan and the others were delayed by something," Zhao Lizhen said. "We won't wait for them anymore. Your dad and I will head back to Modu tomorrow morning at ten."
"Mom and Dad, why don't you stay a few more days?" Lin Feng persuaded. "Yu Xi definitely doesn't want you to leave so soon."
Zhao Lizhen shook her head, though she was also reluctant to leave her daughter and grandchildren. "We can't. We have things to do back home, and your dad's business is busy. After we get through this busy period, we'll come over again to see you and the grandchildren. Besides, you two have only been together for a short while. I don't want to intrude on your time alone."
"Taking care of four babies must be very difficult for you two," Zhang Fuyong added. "You should find a nanny to help share the load."
"Alright, get some rest. Your mom and I are going for a walk."
Zhang Yuxi was beaming at him as if she had won the lottery.
"Honey, come here quick!"
Lin Feng was puzzled. "What's up? Why are you so happy?"
Zhang Yuxi pulled out a bank card from under her pillow.
Lin Feng smiled slightly and, in turn, pulled out two cards from his pocket, along with a thick stack of red envelopes.
Zhang Yuxi was taken aback.
"This is twenty thousand from Third Uncle, and this is ten thousand from Second Uncle," Lin Feng explained. "This is five thousand from Wang Lu, and the card has the fifty thousand Mom and Dad gave me. This card is the eighty-eight thousand from Big Brother."
Zhang Yuxi said with a beaming smile, "Now guess how much your in-laws gave me?"
"From the look on your face, it must be a large amount."
Zhang Yuxi held up five fingers and laughed. "Five hundred thousand! Plus another hundred thousand from Uncle An. That's six hundred thousand in total!"
Lin Feng was stunned. He hadn't expected them to give so much.
"I didn't expect it either. I didn't want to take it at first," Zhang Yuxi said. "But they insisted on giving it to me, saying it was for the babies and that they'd be angry if I didn't accept."
Lin Feng thought for a moment. "Then let's just save it for the babies."
"Mhm!" Zhang Yuxi nodded obediently.
Lin Feng finally got to properly relax. Completely exhausted, Zhang Yuxi sprawled out on the bed and immediately fell into a deep sleep.
Lin Feng got up and noticed that the eldest baby was still awake. He went over and gently poked his nose. "Little rascal, why are you still awake? Did we make too much noise and wake you up?"
The eldest baby turned over and smiled at him.
Through Baby Talk Mastery, Lin Feng understood what the baby was trying to say.
It seems I was a bit too wild earlier and woke him up.
But with the eldest awake , he could easily wake the other babies. Lin Feng had no choice but to carry the baby onto their bed and then leave the bathroom door open. He kept an eye on him while he showered, afraid the baby might accidentally roll off.
Fortunately, the baby was quite steady, content to roll around on the other side of the bed.
After his shower, Lin Feng closed the bathroom door to dry his hair, afraid the noise of the hairdryer might wake his wife.
He hadn't even been drying it for half a minute. When he came out of the bathroom, he found that aside from Zhang Yuxi, who was sprawled across the mattress...
The eldest baby was gone.