"Please, let me finish first," Mother Lu said to him. "I know you're a filial and good child. You never mention these things in front of us old folks, afraid we might overthink, but as your mother, I have to consider your future."
She paused, then continued, "Among the four Huo brothers, you're the only one with a different surname. How will we introduce you when visiting relatives in the future?"
"Mother, just introduce me as usual. They all know about our family situation anyway."
Mother Lu shook her head.
She was a traditional person who valued filial piety deeply. "You are a child of the Huo Family, with Huo blood in your bones. It's only right to reclaim your ancestral name."
Lu Zhankai wanted to say more, but Father Lu cut him off directly. "Listen to your mother."
Then, deliberately putting on a stern face, he said, "What, are you saying that if you change your surname, you won't be our son anymore? You don't plan to support us in our old age?"
"Father, what are you saying!" Lu Zhankai's tone was uncharacteristically urgent. "You will always be my parents."
"Well, there you have it." That was exactly the response Mother Lu had been waiting for.
She stroked his face and said, "Silly child, what surname you have doesn't matter at all. In your parents' hearts, you will always be our good son. Nothing can ever change that."
Mother Lu was a woman of her word. The next day, when Mother Huo visited, she broached the subject directly.
"Little sister, there's something I'd like to discuss with you."
"Elder sister, please, speak your mind."
Mother Lu nodded. "It's about Zhankai's household registration. We were thinking, this time, let him change his surname back to Huo."
Mother Huo was taken aback for a moment.
Seeing her reaction, Mother Lu repeated herself, adding finally, "Little sister, we are serious about this."
"Elder sister, this... this isn't appropriate." Mother Huo truly hadn't expected Mother Lu to bring up changing his surname. While deeply moved, she refused outright. "Elder sister, the way things are now is perfectly fine, really!"
To have their child, lost for so many years, return safe and sound was more than they could have hoped for.
They felt endlessly grateful.
They truly couldn't ask for anything more.
"Little sister, hear me out." Mother Lu repeated the words she had said the night before, then glanced at the children playing snowball in the yard. "Ruirui and Yaoyao will be starting school in the compound after the New Year."
Hearing this, Mother Huo understood her meaning and quickly assured her, "Elder sister, don't worry, absolutely no one will dare bully them."
"I'm not afraid of them being bullied; I'm afraid they might feel wronged." Mother Lu sighed. "Back when we lived in the military housing compound, some people were jealous of Zhankai's promotion and said some nasty things in front of the children."
Mother Huo's eyes reddened repeatedly as she listened. "But... but elder sister..."
"Little sister, I know what you want to say." Mother Lu got straight to the point. "Do you think that because we adopted Zhankai, we gave him a chance at life? You believe that everything Zhankai has achieved today is all because of us two old folks, right?"
With tears in her eyes, Mother Huo nodded. "Our Huo Family owes you too much."
"No, that's not how it is." Mother Lu said slowly. "Zhankai is a good child. He has been sensible, filial, good-tempered, and driven since he was little."
"A child like that, no matter who adopted him back then, would have loved him dearly, and he would have achieved great things."
"You always say Zhankai was fortunate to have met us, but for Old Lu and me, having a son as wonderful as Zhankai is also our great fortune."
Mother Lu, at her age, had long seen through many things.
She grasped Mother Huo's hand firmly and said, "Little sister, we are both mothers. You should understand my heart."
"I don't want anything else. I just hope all the children can be well."
That one sentence nearly broke the dam holding back Mother Huo's tears.
And so, at Mother Lu's insistence.
Two days later, Lu Zhankai officially completed the name change at the public security bureau, henceforth known as Huo Zhankai.
The two children also had their names changed to: Huo Jingrui and Huo Jingyao.
That night, lying in their new home.
Looking at the freshly printed names on the household register, Eldest Brother Huo and his wife both felt complex emotions.
"The love of parents for their children means planning for their distant future!"
This saying, from then on, had a concrete form.
...
Happy and peaceful days always pass quickly, and in the blink of an eye, it was the festive season again.
This year, like the last, as soon as Minor New Year passed, Mother Huo began bustling about preparing New Year goods.
In previous years, it was her daughters-in-law who accompanied her, but this year, it was Mother Lu.
With many people in the household, everything got done quickly.
Early in the morning, the house was lively, with some pasting spring couplets and others hanging lanterns.
Only this year, the Old Master was busy helping his great-grandchildren build a snowman, so the task of writing the couplets fell to Jiang Si.
Just as she was writing with great concentration, Huo Tingzhou suddenly popped a freshly fried radish and meatball into her mouth.
Last year, the same thing had happened. After being fed, the "crunch" sound instantly attracted the attention of the two little ones.
Back then, it scared her so much she held the meatball in her mouth, not daring to move for quite a while.
This year was different.
The two little ones were now one year and four months old, with seven or eight teeth each. They could eat most of the regular dishes.
And so, as soon as the first batch of meatballs was fried and scooped out.
All the little rascals in the house, except for Little Soymilk who was still too young to eat such things, lined up in a row, sitting obediently at the kitchen door, waiting for their grandmother and aunts to feed them.
Their little faces were simply adorable.
After the family's several master chefs collaborated all afternoon, as dusk began to fall, a table full of sumptuous and aromatic New Year's Eve dishes was finally served.
After the firecrackers went off, the whole family, young and old, gathered around the living room.
The Old Master raised his glass as usual.
For the Huo Family, this year was undoubtedly another bountiful one.
Some added new members to the family, others received promotions.
The elders were healthy, the young were thriving, and those in the middle were striving upwards.
The Old Master had nothing left to be unsatisfied about.
Saying more at this point would only seem greedy.
His gaze slowly swept over everyone present. The Old Master raised his glass high and said, "I won't say much else. In short, everyone, eat well and drink well!"
However, just as he was about to sit down, Suisui and Zhaozhao suddenly clasped their little hands together and said with beaming, joyful faces, "And may every year be better than the last!"
Hearing this, not to mention everyone else present.
Even Jiang Si, their own mother, was stunned.
Although the two little ones were usually quite talkative, their little mouths chattering non-stop, the fluency of this particular sentence...
As if realizing something, she looked at Huo Tingzhou, her eyes asking, "What's going on?"
Huo Tingzhou had to admit in a low voice, "...I taught them."
He had originally wanted to surprise his wife later that night, never expecting the two little ones to be such chatterboxes.
But clearly, this sentence had a perfect effect at this moment of reunion.
After a moment of stunned silence, everyone broke into happy laughter.
"Good! Well said!"
Before the Old Master could speak, everyone raised their glasses high and said in unison.
"Yes! Each year will be better than the last!"
