"Anyway, you only came out a little earlier than me."
Li Wen suddenly felt his idea was quite good—just a tiny bit earlier, so he should be the older brother instead!
"No way! Absolutely not! I’m the older brother, and you can only be the younger one! You can’t beat me!"
Li Wu’s mind sharpened instantly. Academically, he couldn’t compare to his brother, but when it came to strength, his younger brother was no match for him.
"If I’m the older brother, I can teach you anything you don’t know in the future!"
Li Wen offered.
"I can ask the teacher!"
Li Wu argued stubbornly.
"Then will you skip a grade or not?"
"Fine, I’ll skip it! But I have to be the older brother—no, I already am the older brother!"
"The kids seem to have settled it themselves."
Shen Xianjun hung up the towel.
"Mm, I’ll talk to their teacher the day after tomorrow."
Qin Nian nodded.
"Mom, I can talk to the teacher myself."
Li Wen volunteered.
"I want to study a bit more and take the grade-skipping exam during the final tests."
"Alright, then go to bed early."
Qin Nian agreed.
As the twins reached the door, Wang Xing happily pulled Li Wen aside.
"Don’t worry, I still have all my old textbooks. I’ll teach you anything you don’t know. Next semester, we’ll be in the same class!"
Li Wen nodded. Grandma had taught them so much—more interesting than what the teachers covered.
And so, in this world of three children, only Li Wu was left feeling wronged.
"You said you had something to tell me earlier. Go ahead."
With the kids’ matter settled, Qin Nian turned to Shen Xianjun.
Shen Xianjun sat beside her.
"I have three days off this time, but afterward, I’ll be joining a secret training program. I don’t know how long it’ll last, so the family will be in your and Mom’s hands."
"Alright, just be careful during training."
Qin Nian didn’t think much of it—this was normal for his line of work.
"Tomorrow, I’ll take the kids to Mom’s place. Are you free? Oh, and Aunt Guixiang told me that Lianxiang’s wedding banquet is the day after tomorrow. Did you know about that?"
"I can’t go tomorrow. Mom already mentioned Lianxiang’s wedding—she said she’d handle it, so we don’t need to worry about the gift."
Qin Nian answered honestly.
"Good that you know. If Mom said so, then we don’t have to bother with it."
"Um, Nian, today I visited Aunt Guixiang and then went to the kids’ grandma’s place. I spent quite a bit on groceries, and I haven’t collected my allowance yet. Taking the kids out tomorrow will probably cost more..."
Shen Xianjun scratched his head awkwardly.
"Oh, sure. How much do you need? Is fifty enough?"
Qin Nian stood up and opened the cabinet to get the money.
"No, not that much. Twenty should be fine. I’ll bike with the kids."
"Take thirty. You can’t go to Lianxiang’s wedding with nothing in your pocket."
After a moment’s thought, Qin Nian added another ten.
"Alright, you’re always more thoughtful."
Shen Xianjun pocketed the cash. Who’d believe that a grown man like him wouldn’t even have twenty bucks to his name without his wife’s allowance?
Early the next morning, Hu Zhenghao arrived with Little Baby in tow. Li Wu, ever the loudmouth, had forgotten all about skipping grades and could only remember the trip to the orchard.
How could they go without Hu Zhenghao? He’d rushed over before breakfast to invite him.
"Are you sure you can handle biking with them?"
Shen Xianjun eyed Hu Zhenghao and Little Baby—now three years old and officially named Hu Zhengran, meaning "righteous and honorable." The brothers were easy to tell apart.
"No problem! Don’t worry, Uncle."
"Actually, it’s too far. Let’s take the bus."
Shen Xianjun suddenly felt grateful for the thirty yuan. With only twenty, they might’ve been short.
At worst, if the kids got tired after getting off the bus, he’d only have to carry the youngest. But if they biked, they’d all be exhausted.
Just as Shen Xianjun was about to leave, Fang Fen called out to him.
"Xianjun, Li Wu said you’re taking the kids to the orchard. I have home visits today and was worried about leaving my girls alone. Could you take them along?"
Yaoyao held her younger sister Miaomiao’s hand, a small bag slung over her shoulder, her long hair braided into pigtails. Her bright eyes sparkled as she looked at Shen Xianjun.
"Of course."
Shen Xianjun agreed immediately. Among the rowdy boys, the two bright-eyed girls stood out, and he couldn’t help but adore them.
"Let’s go, we’ll take the bus together."
Shen Xianjun ushered them along.
"Thank you, Uncle Shen!"
Yaoyao and Miaomiao chimed sweetly.
"Heh."
Shen Xianjun chuckled, leading the group out of the residential compound. He made sure the kids lined up properly before boarding, then paid their fares.
Meanwhile, Aunt Wang and Yang Yufen were at the chicken farm, receiving the newly delivered chicks. The fluffy little birds huddled together, just three days out of the incubator.
Crate after crate was unloaded—five thousand chicks in total. Once released, they formed a dense, peeping sea.
"Auntie, these are white-feathered broilers. They grow fast. For the first ten days, you won’t see much difference, but after that, their appetite will skyrocket. You’ll need to feed them properly balanced feed. They’ll be ready for market in just a month and a half. You’ll need to plan your sales carefully—every extra day they’re kept means higher costs. They’re nothing like our local breeds."
The delivery student explained in detail.
"Hard to tell any difference just by looking at them."
The workers assigned to the chicken farm picked up a few chicks, turning them over in their hands.
"They really grow that fast?"
Yang Yufen was skeptical.
"Yes, it’s crucial. Last year, a farm ordered these but didn’t take it seriously. When the chickens matured, they couldn’t sell them in time. Ended up feeding them for extra days and had to sell at a loss. Got an earful from them too."
The student sighed. Wasn’t easy being him.
"Don’t worry, Auntie remembers. We won’t blame you for that."
Yang Yufen reassured him.
With so many chickens ready in just a month and a half, it really was a challenge.
"Don’t fret. Our residential compound has plenty of people."
Aunt Wang whispered to Yang Yufen, who brightened at the idea.
Of course! In the past, times were tough, and meat was a luxury. But now, with better days, folks were willing to spend on good food.
"But once or twice is fine. If we keep this schedule, we can’t expect everyone to dig into their pockets every month."
Yang Yufen didn’t plan to leave the chicken farm idle. They couldn’t rely solely on the compound to buy all the chickens.
Once the chickens reached maturity, keeping them longer meant higher costs. They couldn’t just slaughter and preserve them like winter cured meats.
Yang Yufen fell into thought.
"What if we sold them cooked? Like roast duck?"
She ventured.
"Cooked? Roast chicken? Hmm, not a bad idea. Actually, reminds me of another dish—besides roasting, they could be braised."
Aunt Wang’s eyes lit up. If this worked, they might have another profitable venture on their hands.
