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Tang Xu upheld the attitude of “solving one’s own problems.”
Even though his children were still quite young, they were already good at expressing their emotions, so they wouldn’t be upset for too long.
But today, at this moment,
Xiao Bao was crying loudly, and Er Bao was also wailing. The chubby one let out a deep sigh, feeling quite helpless.
Wei Dong exchanged a glance with his eldest son, and the two of them simultaneously shrugged. They both realized they couldn’t comfort either of the little ones.
Tang Xu just took the roasted chicken out of the oven. Before he even had a chance to taste a piece, he heard a thunderous crying erupt from the room.
He hadn’t planned on intervening and was instead continuing to slice a piece of chicken breast with a small knife. He took a whiff; a rich aroma of fruitwood smoking wafted up. He tasted it, finding it fresh, juicy, and not at all dry or tough, with a plentiful juiciness.
The flavor was just right, the meat’s savoriness mixed perfectly with the aroma of the wood smoke. With one bite, a rich fragrance filled his mouth and nasal cavity, making Tang Xu involuntarily squint in delight.
Then he was interrupted by the relentless cries, shattering his moment of appreciation.
He wiped his hands, took off his apron, and went into the room. There, he saw the two little ones crying face to face on the bed, while Wei Dong sat next to them with Da Bao in his arms, looking helplessly at them.
As soon as they saw him enter, the expressions on the faces of the father and son instantly changed to one of eager expectation.
Finally, their savior has arrived!
Tang Xu raised an eyebrow, wondering what was going on.
He looked at the twins sitting on the bed, who were wailing, and said in a soft voice, “What are you two crying about?”
The twins immediately stopped crying, looking at Tang Xu with pitiful expressions.
Tears were still hanging on their long eyelashes, and the two little ones looked like they were about to cry again, making them look quite miserable.
Tang Xu frowned in disgust as he saw their noses and tears smeared all over their faces.
Wei Dong handed a cloth napkin to the cubby boy to help wipe the little ones’ faces.
The chubby boy obediently wiped them, but it didn’t clean up properly, smearing it even more.
Tang Xu couldn’t stand it any longer; he took the napkin and wiped their faces himself. After cleaning them up, he asked, “What’s going on? Why are you crying?”
Just a moment ago, they were fine, jumping and playing. Why did they suddenly start crying?
The two little ones clearly sensed that their dad’s mood was off. They drooped their little heads and didn’t dare to look up, only occasionally sniffing, making them look especially obedient and pitiful.
Tang Xu turned his face to Wei Dong and raised an eyebrow.
The man shrugged, adjusting the older son who had climbed back onto his lap, and explained, “They both want to sleep on the same bed, but neither of them will give way.”
Tang Xu’s eyelids twitched. “Is that it?”
Wei Dong nodded, looking quite helpless. “I can’t calm them down; they don’t listen to me when I tell them to stop crying.”
If it were just Er Bao throwing a tantrum, he could have scared him a little, but Xiao Bao cried even harder than Er Bao. Wei Dong really couldn’t be strict with his younger son at all.
Tang Xu’s expression turned serious as he crossed his arms over his chest, looking down at the twins.
Er Bao sniffed, wiped his face with his sleeve, and looked up at Tang Xu, speaking softly, “Dad~ I want to sleep there~”
“No!” As soon as Xiao Bao heard the mention of sleeping, he quickly raised his little hand to hit Er Bao, crying, “I want to sleep there! Wuwuwu, I want to sleep there!”
His ability to cry at the drop of a hat was truly impressive.
Tang Xu hissed softly, narrowing his eyes at his younger son, and spoke sternly, “Xiao Bao, apologize to your brother. Who taught you that it’s okay to hit people?”
Xiao Bao shrank back in fear, crying as he blew air at Er Bao, who had just been hit.
“Say sorry.”
“Sorry~ !”
Xiao Bao peeked at Tang Xu with his round eyes and said, “Dad, I want to sleep up~”
Tang Xu thought it was quite rare for him to express himself so clearly; it seemed he was really fixated on sleeping on the upper bed.
Sighing, he contemplated for a moment, then turned and went to the door to grab three small twigs. He broke them into two long pieces and one short piece, holding them in his hand.
He shook the twigs in front of the three kids.
“Okay, whoever draws the short twig will sleep up on the upper bed, the long ones will sleep down together, and we’ll switch every five days.”
The chubby one tilted his head, thought for a moment, then got off Wei Dong's lap and ran over to Tang Xu to draw one.
Tang Xu handed it to him and indicated for the twins to draw as well.
The two little ones didn’t quite understand what was going on, but they found it interesting and reached out to draw.
When the three twigs were pulled out together, the chubby boy had drawn the shortest one.
Tang Xu nodded and pointed at the short twig, saying, “Your big brother drew the short one, so he’ll sleep up on the bed. You two will stay down together. No crying or making a fuss; otherwise, I’ll have to spank you.”
Xiao Bao pouted, his eyes turning red.
Wei Dong felt a pang of heartache and picked Xiao Bao up, patting him gently while glancing at his eldest son.
The chubby boy looked at the twig in his hand, thought for a moment, and said, “Dad~ I…”
“What is it?” Tang Xu shot him a glance.
The chubby boy swallowed nervously and cautiously said, “I, I, I want to sleep up!”
He felt sorry for his brother; it wasn’t that he didn’t want to be accommodating, but his dad looked really scary!
Tang Xu nodded approvingly and clapped his hands, “Alright, go wash your face. The chicken is done roasting, and it smells amazing. Hurry and clean yourselves up so we can eat.”
After saying that, he looked at Wei Dong, who shrugged in response but was met with Tang Xu’s glare.
The kitchen was filled with a rich aroma of roasted chicken, mixed with the unique scent of the wood smoke. It was a fragrant smell that wasn’t overpowering, quite different from the usual smell that wafted through when cooking with firewood.
Tang Yang and Wei Xi had just returned. At their growing age, they were starting to feel hungry and ran to the kitchen, wondering when dinner would be ready.
Even standing outside, they could smell that unique meaty fragrance.
The two of them swallowed in unison, exchanging glances filled with curiosity.
“What has my brother made that smells so good!”
Tang Xu walked in to see the two standing at the door in a daze, still carrying their school bags. He said, “Go back inside, change your clothes, and wash your faces. We’ll be eating soon.”
The two young boys hurried off to wash up and tidy themselves.
Tang Xu entered the kitchen, took apart the two roasted chickens, and placed the pieces onto a platter. He then ladled the thick multigrain porridge into a basin and put the steamed lotus leaf pancakes into a bamboo basket.
“I’ll stir-fry a couple of dishes, and then we can eat. Auntie, please take these to the living room first.” Tang Xu grabbed three large potatoes to make garlic potato shreds and planned to stir-fry shredded pork in garlic sauce and sauerkraut with meat.
Since they were having pancakes, it was best to have suitable dishes to go with them.
The older and younger ones all enjoyed this meal; the soft pancakes wrapped around savory dishes, paired with a bowl of glutinous multigrain porridge, made everyone feel content.
“This meat is fragrant and not tough.” Wei Xi tore off a piece of chicken breast, took a bite, and chewed thoughtfully. “It’s delicious, and the flavor is different.”
“It’s smoked with fruitwood, so the taste isn’t as heavy as regular smoked food,” Tang Xu said, while Xiao Bao next to him took a small piece of leg meat, grabbing it with his hands to eat.
Xiao Bao leaned in first, sniffing with his little nose.
It smelled so good that he stuffed a whole piece into his mouth, causing Tang Xu to panic and quickly try to pry it out, saying, “What are you doing shoving it all in at once? What if you choke?”
Xiao Bao pouted, opened his mouth, and let the meat fall out before taking a bite.
The chubby boy and Er Bao each grabbed a chicken wing, and they both started to gnaw on them in perfect sync, eating quite quickly and chewing vigorously.
Tang Xu wasn’t worried about them choking; after all, the two ate like little piglets, snorting and munching away.
The fruitwood roasted chicken received rave reviews from the whole family. Even the old man Xu rarely ate a piece of leg meat and commented that although it was still slightly tough, the flavor was excellent.
The old man basically had no teeth left; just a couple of days ago, he had pulled out the last one himself, claiming it was a pain and easier to just get rid of it.
At ninety years old, he could be quite willful.
Now, after finishing the meal and wiping his mouth, he yawned and suddenly said, “I plan to go back to my hometown.”
Tang Xu, who was clearing the table, dropped his chopsticks upon hearing this.
“Ah?”
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