The Sweetness of the Seventies
Chapter 734 - 703 Gratitude, Big Baby_1

Chapter 734: Chapter 703 Gratitude, Big Baby_1

In this life, one can hardly do without friends.

However, it’s not necessary to have many good friends; just two or three close ones are enough. They can be there to help you in times of trouble and be happy for you in moments of joy, watching over you quietly.

"Hehe, if we were slandered by Lin Xiaoru, wouldn’t you help us clarify things?" Cui Ying retorted, "We’re friends, so let’s not say such polite things."

Mother Wu came in with a plate and said cheerily, "Jingli is right. From now on, let’s not say these polite words. Remember Tiantian and Cui Ying’s kindness in our hearts, and let’s also be good to them. With goodwill met with goodwill, we will all get along even better in the future."

He Tiantian smiled and said, "Jingli, you haven’t thought it through as thoroughly as Aunt Wu, and you’ve gotten hung up on it again."

"Okay, I will not say it from now on; I’ll just remember it all in my heart," Huang Jingli said with a smile, munching on an apple and chatting with He Tiantian and Cui Ying, feeling even happier inside and quite relieved.

Seeing that it was getting late, He Tiantian said, "Jingli, Cui Ying, I should head back. The two kids are at home, and if I don’t go back, they won’t have their dinner and will make a fuss."

Huang Jingli and Mother Wu were initially planning to invite He Tiantian to stay for dinner, but upon hearing her words, they hurriedly went inside to fetch a dozen apples, packed them in a cloth bag, and said, "Tiantian, take these back for your family. They taste good, and the next time we can buy some more, we will send them to you."

He Tiantian often brought them marinated meat, so now seeing Mother Wu offering apples, she didn’t refuse and smiled, "Okay, then I’ll take them."

Cui Ying didn’t go back and stayed there to have dinner before returning to school.

He Tiantian put on her hat, scarf, and handbag, and rode off on her bicycle.

The wind was strong, and He Tiantian’s bicycle moved slowly.

Little Rotating Turtle saw how hard it was for He Tiantian to pedal, and pushed from behind, making her feel much lighter all of a sudden.

Once home, the children hugged He Tiantian’s legs, one on each side, babbling about what they found interesting that day.

He Tiantian listened to them attentively, asking some questions now and then and joining in their conversation.

Huo Zhekun and Jiang Lifang saw He Tiantian playing with the children inside the house, acting like a child herself, giggling and laughing; no wonder both kids loved their mom so much.

They had gotten older and couldn’t engage with the kids as lively; they could only watch over them.

As for He Tiantian, one moment she was like a little frog, teaching the children to frog-jump; the next, she had her hands on her head, hopping around like a little rabbit; and then she was like an old mother hen, playing a game of eagle catches chicks with the children.

Laughter from the children echoed through the room.

"Tiantian, Ruihua, Ruimin, it’s time for dinner," called Jiang Lifang, who had let He Tiantian play with the children while she cooked.

Jiang Lifang wasn’t a great cook, but the meat dishes were brought by He Tiantian from the shop. All that was needed was to stir-fry some sweet and sour cabbage and cook a pot of radish vermicelli soup, along with this rice.

The children were still young, but He Tiantian had already begun training them to eat on their own.

She made little bibs from soft cotton cloth, served rice in small wooden bowls, then finely chopped the braised meat and cabbage, mixed it well, placed it on two spoons, and let the kids feed themselves.

Although there were grains of rice on the table and their faces, most of it ended up being eaten by the children.

"The kids are so little, should I feed them?" Jiang Lifang felt a bit pained seeing the children eating messily, like little calico cats.

He Tiantian laughed and said, "Ruihua and Ruimin are Big Babies now, they can eat on their own, can’t you?"

"Yes! Big Baby can eat by themselves," Huo Ruimin said, tilting his chubby little face upward proudly.

"I can eat by myself." Huo Ruihua also indicated that he had grown up and no longer needed someone else to feed him.

Huo Zhekun smiled and said, "It’s good for them to be independent from a young age, at first they couldn’t even hold a spoon steady, but now they can eat half a bowl of rice. Not bad, not bad, they are Big Babies now."

When it came to the upbringing of their grandson and granddaughter, Jiang Lifang and Huo Zhekun did not interfere because they were grandparents, who tended to spoil the children, which wasn’t good for their growth.

At the same time, He Tiantian was a patient, cultured mother who loved her children deeply, yet she never spoiled them, leaving Jiang Lifang completely at ease with her raising the children.

Indeed, He Tiantian was doing a great job.

The two children were very smart and clever, and polite as well.

It had been almost three months since their son had left, and every day the grandson and granddaughter would look at their dad’s photo, remembering what he looked like, and they never forgot they had a dad who loved them dearly.

After dinner, when evening arrived, it got very cold.

He Tiantian prepared the two children for bed, washed them up, dressed them in diapers, put on their overpants and cotton sweaters, and then zipped them into a child’s sleeping bag.

Once the children were in bed, He Tiantian sat beside them and told them stories.

This was a bedtime story.

The children listened with a mixture of understanding and curiosity, sometimes asking very funny questions, but He Tiantian explained everything with patience. Children who were willing to listen to stories were generally easy to care for because they absorbed what the adults said.

After putting the children to sleep, He Tiantian covered them with blankets, took out her own books and notes, and reviewed them seriously and diligently.

She couldn’t calculate the shop’s accounts every day; she had to wait for the weekend, when her father-in-law and mother-in-law could help take care of the children, so she could do the bookkeeping; otherwise, she simply didn’t have the time.

Without Huo Yingjie by her side, she felt a longing in her heart, a yearning in her body, and life seemed to miss the presence of one more person to share the burdens.

Although she had her father-in-law, mother-in-law, and Grandma Wang, she always felt that something was missing.

In the cold night, there was no warm chest to lean on, no burning breath to feel.

Fortunately, she had two round, sticky rice dumplings.

After turning off the lights, He Tiantian snuggled close to the children, drawing warmth from their tiny bodies, letting her feel a trace of warmth on the lonely night and not so chilly.

When He Tiantian struggled to sleep alone, Huo Yingjie also could not fall asleep, but he didn’t work overtime; after work, he would rest, sometimes buy groceries to cook, or read a book.

He didn’t want his busy work life to wear down his body.

He wanted to stay healthy; he wanted to live a long life, so that he could spend more wonderful times with He Tiantian and the children.

The work was now more than halfway done, and if things went smoothly, perhaps it could be finished before the New Year, and he could go home for the holiday.

Yes, he must finish before the New Year; he wanted to go home for it.

Starting that day, Huo Yingjie began to work overtime, but not as desperately as before, he was more restrained.

Ever since he began to work overtime, the progress was indeed much faster than before.

Chief Engineer Sun noticed that the work progress of the past week had considerably sped up; after inquiring, he learned that Huo Yingjie had started to work overtime.

Chief Engineer Sun looked up at the calendar on the wall and chuckled, "This young man wants to go home for the New Year."