Chapter 56 - 20: Two-Second Heat

Chapter 56: Chapter 20: Two-Second Heat

Lin Zhao subtly took a small step back and said, "...Go wash up!"

The two little ones sensed their mother’s distaste, giggled, and hurried off to wash their hands and faces.

Da Zai poured the water while Er Zai fetched the facial soap. The little brothers worked together in perfect harmony.

Lin Zhao was busy bathing the twins.

The little toddlers, just over a year old, loved to play in the water. The two little bundles slapped at the water with their arms, their smiles stretching from ear to ear.

The well-behaved Third Child copied his little sister, splashing the water and smiling too.

This gave Lin Zhao a massive headache.

"No splashing!" she ordered, pretending to be stern.

The twins were good at reading expressions. Knowing their mother was angry, they stopped their chaotic splashing. The Fourth Child leaned her chubby little head close to Lin Zhao, her tiny voice cooing, "Mommy~~"

Lin Zhao’s stern expression immediately crumbled. She flicked her daughter’s nose with her finger. "You little rascal."

’She’s unbelievably clever.’

After washing his hands and face, Er Zai put on some baby lotion and had his brother smell him. "Big Bro, do I smell nice?"

"You do. Now, see if I smell nice," Da Zai said, holding his own hands out to his little brother’s nose.

"You do," Er Zai said with a nod.

Once he confirmed that he, too, smelled nice, he scampered over to Lin Zhao, his eyes glistening brightly. He asked for confirmation, "Mom, are you taking me and Big Bro to see a movie tomorrow?"

"That’s right." Lin Zhao wrapped the Third and Fourth Child in towels, carried them back to their room, and changed them into clean short-sleeved shirts and shorts.

Seeing her two older sons still following her, she added, "Your dad is calling home tomorrow. It should be about the bricks and tiles. Looks like he’s made progress..."

Er Zai knew what the bricks and tiles were for and couldn’t contain his excitement. "Mom, when are we building the house?"

"Once the bricks and tiles arrive. The double rush harvest should be almost over by then, so we’ll build it then," Lin Zhao gave her son a definite answer.

Er Zai was ecstatic, his desire to show off written all over his face. The smile vanished from Lin Zhao’s face, and she said, a bit sternly, "Er Zai, from now on, don’t talk so much about our family’s business outside."

"Why not?" Er Zai pouted.

’The other kids in the village always brag to me when they get to eat meat or candy. Some of them even do it just to make me and my brother jealous. Why can’t I show off?’

Lin Zhao could see his little temper flaring up. She calmly asked in return, "When other people eat meat, do you feel envious?"

"Of course." Er Zai didn’t understand why his mother was asking such a strange question.

"Once or twice, it’s envy. But if it happens too often, it can turn into something else. What if someone gets bad ideas? Your dad isn’t here. What if someone decides to target our family?" The little boy wouldn’t understand grand principles, so Lin Zhao had to find another way to explain.

But who would have thought Er Zai had a retort? "My dad isn’t here, but Grandpa and Grandma are."

A fierce look flashed in his eyes, giving a glimpse of the future villain he might become.

But for now, he was just a little boy with the proportions of a cartoon character.

"I can run fast. If someone targets our family, I’ll go get Grandma and Grandpa. If they’re too tough to handle, I’ll go get my maternal grandma." ’My maternal grandma is super tough!’

Rings of laughter rippled in Lin Zhao’s eyes.

Er Zai’s expression was so ferocious that she thought he was going to say he’d fight whoever caused trouble. Who knew his plan was just to call for help?

’What a flexible little cub.’

However, she said, "our house is a five-minute walk from the old family home, and even farther from your maternal grandma’s. If something really happened, by the time you brought people back, it would be too late."

The little boy’s fierce act gave way to a blank look, his round eyes full of confusion. "What’s a ’five-minute’?"

Da Zai wanted to know too. He watched Lin Zhao, looking obedient.

Lin Zhao wasn’t sure how to explain it in a way her two sons would understand. After a moment’s thought, she said, "A minute is a unit of time. When our house is built, I’ll buy a wall clock for us, and I’ll teach you both how to tell time."

"Mom, what’s a wall clock?" Da Zai asked.

Lin Zhao said, "You’ll know when I buy it."

Da Zai, who always listened to his mother best, nodded like a little adult and promised, "Mom, I’ll keep an eye on Er Zai and make sure he doesn’t show off too much."

"When Mom says we can show off, then we’ll show off."

"..." Lin Zhao didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. ’They’re still thinking about showing off.’

"Fine."

Er Zai took a few steps forward, clutched the hem of Lin Zhao’s clothes with his small hand, his face full of eagerness. "Can we talk about the movie?"

Seeing even the usually calm Da Zai’s little face light up, a smile tugged at the corner of Lin Zhao’s lips. "You can."

The two little boys bloomed with joy.

However, they didn’t rush to tell everyone. They planned to wait until after they’d seen it.

-

「The next morning.」

Lin Zhao once again dropped the twins off at the old family home.

Mother Gu knew she was taking Da Zai and Er Zai to the county town to take a phone call. She only reminded the two boys to stay close to their mother and didn’t try to stop them.

Of course, she couldn’t have stopped them anyway.

"Should you borrow a bicycle? It’s a long way to the county town. I’m afraid Da Zai and Er Zai won’t be able to handle it." The grandmother worried about her grandsons.

Before Lin Zhao could speak, Er Zai shouted, "I can do it! I’m the fastest runner!"

Da Zai retorted, unconvinced, "I’m faster than you."

Er Zai didn’t get angry. Instead, he looked completely agreeable. "Yep, Big Bro runs faster than me."