Shen Xianjun wanted to give up several times but still persevered, biting the end of his pen. Suddenly, he heard unusual footsteps outside the window, and his pen paused in his hand.
This was the family compound of the research institute. Strangers couldn't easily get in. Moreover, the footsteps were chaotic, so it probably wasn't an adult. So...
Shen Xianjun stood in front of the window. Separated by a desk, he watched as one big and two small figures sneaked towards the window.
Dabao tripped over something at the back. Hu Zhenghao quickly went to help him, made a shushing gesture, and told Erbao to be careful. After seeing the two younger brothers walk over smoothly, Hu Zhenghao let out a sigh of relief, reached out to touch the window sill, and was about to peek in.
Shen Xianjun folded his arms and stared at them with great interest. He happened to lock eyes with Hu Zhenghao. He watched as the expression on Hu Zhenghao's face changed from excitement to shock. His mouth opened wide and then he quickly covered it with his hand.
"What's wrong, brother?"
Dabao was very curious about Hu Zhenghao's actions and couldn't help but ask.
"Dad."
Erbao pointed at Shen Xianjun inside the window, and Dabao looked up.
"Dad!"
Dabao was excited at first and then pulled Hu Zhenghao.
"Brother, it's Dad! Dad is looking at us!"
Dabao had no idea what was going on. Hu Zhenghao just felt guilty for being caught. He forced a smile.
"Uncle, I'm playing hide - and - seek with the two younger brothers."
He hoped his uncle would believe him.
"Huh? Didn't you say, brother..."
Dabao tilted his head to look at Hu Zhenghao, and then his mouth was covered.
"Let's go, let's go. Let's keep playing. We'll be discovered here. It's not a good place for hide - and - seek."
Hu Zhenghao carried Dabao away. After a while, he ran back and took Erbao away too.
"He's quite loyal to his brothers. He's a good candidate for the military."
Shen Xianjun raised his eyebrows and smiled. He stopped teasing the kids. Although the English dictionary was still as boring as ever, Shen Xianjun could read it more attentively than before.
"Brother, weren't we going to see what Dad was doing?"
Dabao was curious.
"We've been discovered by the adults. Adults are so mean. When they catch kids peeping at them, they'll always find all sorts of reasons to give you a spanking. So next time in this kind of situation, just run away as fast as you can. Got it?"
Hu Zhenghao spoke seriously as if he had a lot of experience.
"Forget it. You're still young. You'll understand in a couple of years. It's really great to be young!"
Hu Zhenghao couldn't help but sigh enviously.
Right, kids don't have to do homework. Hu Zhenghao suddenly thought of this.
This won't do! It's better to share the fun with others. He couldn't be the only one suffering.
"Come on, brother will teach you a new game. I'll teach you to recognize characters!"
The two innocent kids, who didn't know what a trap was, were deceived by their most trusted big brother.
"Come on, repeat after me. Hu Zhenghao! Hu Zhenghao! This is brother's name. I'll test you later. Whoever remembers it best and can write it down will be my best little follower!"
Hu Zhenghao used a twig to write his name on the ground. Then he grabbed Dabao and Erbao's hands and taught them how to write his name.
The silly twins were eager to be their brother's best little followers. They were determined to remember their brother's name. They squatted on the ground, sticking their butts up as they wrote. Their writing was as crooked as a dog's paw prints.
The adults passing by just smiled and didn't interfere with the kids' fun.
In the evening, the whole family sat down for dinner. Aunt Wang's family, as adopted relatives, and Dean Hu's family, as Qin Nian's maternal family, the three families sat at the same table.
The atmosphere was very harmonious, and the food was extremely appealing.
Shen Xianjun looked at the specially - prepared light meals in front of him. It wasn't that they were bad. There was steamed red - date broth, steamed egg custard, and steamed chicken with potatoes. There was a large amount of each, but except for the green vegetables, everything was steamed.
On the table, there was the sour and appetizing pickled - fish stew with steamed buns, the potato - and - chicken stew with soy sauce, which looked very inviting, and the dried - bamboo - shoot stew with pork, where the dried bamboo shoots had absorbed the fat. There wasn't a single dish that Shen Xianjun didn't like.
If his mother cooked like this in the army, he'd have to run so many kilometers to keep in shape!
But now, he wasn't allowed to eat them!
"Auntie has gone to so much trouble to prepare a nutritious meal for my brother - in - law. You've really worked hard, Auntie."
Hu Jun saw the food in front of Shen Xianjun and praised Yang Yufen.
Then he picked up a chopstick of pickled vegetables and paired it with a bun.
"The buns Auntie steamed have absorbed the flavor of the pickled - fish soup. They're even better than what I ate in the army!"
Hu Jun gave Yang Yufen a thumbs - up. Then he picked up a piece of fish and turned to look at Shen Xianjun beside him.
The men sat on one side, and the women and children sat on the other. Shen Xianjun happened to be sitting between Hu Jun and Qin Nian, and Wang Shuo was sitting beside Dean Hu.
"Oops, I forgot. Brother - in - law can't eat fish. This time, we'll be the only ones enjoying it."
As if he had just remembered, Hu Jun put the fish piece into his own bowl.
Yang Yufen said nothing. She picked up a piece of meat for Dabao and another for Erbao.
"Niannian, eat. You'll have to go back to work soon. You've been helping me in the kitchen all day today."
"Dear in - laws, Sister Wang, there are so many dishes today. Don't be polite to me. It'll go bad in this hot weather if we don't finish them."
Yang Yufen greeted the others with a big smile.
Shen Xianjun felt like his older brother - in - law was targeting him, but he couldn't say what was wrong. His older brother - in - law had been praising his mother's cooking skills all the time. It would have been better if he hadn't described the food so vividly every time.
His mother was extremely happy, so it must have been his imagination.
"Xianjun, I heard from Niannian that you've been learning a foreign language recently. This is a good thing. I have some tapes. They were originally for Zhenghao, but I'll give them to you to learn first, and then Zhenghao can use them later. Young people should learn more if they want to make progress."
Dean Hu suddenly spoke. Shen Xianjun, who had been named, put down his chopsticks. After hearing this, he felt like the sky was falling.
His mother probably just wanted to get rid of him because he was being too talkative. His wife probably said this in front of Dean Hu to save his face. But he didn't want to learn!
Shen Xianjun looked at Qin Nian, hoping she could say a few words for him and explain the misunderstanding.
Yang Yufen picked up a piece of fish and put it in Qin Nian's bowl.
"Niannian, eat the fish. Be careful of the bones. You have to pick them out carefully. It'll be bad if you get a bone stuck in your throat."
Qin Nian quickly picked up the bowl and took it. "Thank you, Mom. I will."
Qin Nian lowered her head to pick out the fish bones.
"Okay, thank you."
Seeing that he was left alone and without any support, Shen Xianjun thanked them dryly.
"You should also teach Xianjun when you have time. Let him learn it as soon as possible. After all, Niannian has to go to work. Just learning from the tapes isn't enough."
"Yes, Dad, don't worry. I'll definitely teach my brother - in - law well later. I'll set goals for him and check his progress all the time."
Hu Jun seriously promised. Shen Xianjun was stunned. Check his progress all the time? Did that mean random spot - checks? He hoped he had misunderstood!
