| TBBOTOF | 262
During these days of Tang Xu's illness,
His fever came and went repeatedly. He would break in sweats, and then he’d clean himself, yet he still felt like he smelled bad.
Back when he was forced to stay inside during confinement, Tang Xu glanced at Wei Dong and glared at him, "I want to take a bath! I want to take a bath!"
Wei Dong relented, "The water is heated, but you can't soak, only shower."
Following Tang Xu's instructions, Wei Dong dug a drainage hole in the bathroom and made a shower using bamboo. The water could flow directly from the tank above. When in use, they would slide away the cover at the water outlet, and when not, they’d put it back.
However, they had to frequently refill the tank; otherwise, it was easy to run out of water halfway through a shower.
Tang Xu loved soaking in a bath, whereas Wei Dong usually used the shower since he was quick. Sometimes, one tank of water wasn’t even fully used by him before he was done.
Now that Tang Xu had just recovered from his illness, he didn’t dare to take a hot bath, so he obediently followed Wei Dong's order.
A shower wasn’t bad either; being able to bathe was enough for him. With just a light scrub, he could feel like he had shed a couple of pounds.
By the time the tank of water was used up, Tang Xu had thoroughly enjoyed his shower.
After returning to the room and getting dressed, the three little ones had already been brought back by Wang Cuicui.
After several days of not seeing each other, the three little ones immediately ran over to Tang Xu as soon as they saw him, hugging and clinging to him while sweetly saying, "Dad, we missed you so much!"
The chubby boy finished speaking, then Er Bao said it, followed by Xiao Bao. Once the Xiao Bao finished, the chubby boy spoke up again, repeating how much they missed him over and over, making Tang Xu laugh uncontrollably.
"Dad missed you all too," Tang Xu said, hugging them one by one and rubbing their cheeks. He carefully examined them and found that none of them had lost weight.
In fact, they seemed to have grown taller.
"Dad, are you better now?" Xiao Bao climbed onto Tang Xu's lap, looking up at him with a tilted head. "Dad, pointy," he said, using his little hand to touch Tang Xu's chin, meaning that his dad had gotten thinner.
Tang Xu looked at his round, chubby cheeks and poked them with his finger. "You, on the other hand, have gotten chubbier."
Xiao Bao pouted at him.
Tang Xu chuckled and lightly pinched his cheeks. Then, looking at the other two little rascals, he noticed that each one seemed to have put on more weight than the last.
"You’ve all been eating too well these past few days. Starting tomorrow, you’ll go exercise with your father in the morning—go chop wood up in the mountains," Tang Xu declared.
He didn’t want his sons to turn into little round balls and figured he needed to keep their weight in check.
Wei Dong, standing nearby, added, "At the crack of dawn, when the roosters crow. You’ll eat breakfast after coming back down from the mountain."
In the past, if Tang Xu had heard Wei Dong say something like that, he definitely would have stopped him. After all, when the roosters crow, it’s still pitch dark outside.
But now, he didn’t intervene. Even Xiao Bao, who was snuggled in his arms, wasn’t spared—he was going to exercise too.
After all, Wei Dong was their father, and he wouldn’t actually take them to the distant Yuanbao Mountain. Instead, he took them to the nearby hills behind their house, making them run back and forth until they were thoroughly worked up and sweaty.
For the first few days, the chubby boy and Er Bao handled it relatively well. Neither of them had much trouble waking up early.
Even when roused from bed, they only grumbled a bit before getting up reluctantly. Xiao Bao, though, was another story—Xiao Bao either slept until he naturally woke up or threw a tantrum, crying loudly enough to shake the house.
Wei Dong could be strict and stern with his two older sons, but when it came to the youngest, he was utterly helpless. The moment Xiao Bao cried, Wei Dong would scoop him up and coax him gently, using the softest and most tender tone.
Eventually, it became a habit: Wei Dong would hold Xiao Bao in his arms while watching the other two boys run laps. His favoritism couldn’t have been more obvious.
Of course, this issue hadn’t come to light just yet. Once Tang Xu decided the boys needed to exercise, the matter was settled—there was no room for debate.
After resting for a day, on the morning of the fourteenth day of the lunar new year, Tang Xu, along with Tang Li and Xu Ze, began making glutinous rice balls.
Wei Dong had previously gathered a good amount of walnuts, hazelnuts, and pine nuts from the mountains. They crushed them into a paste to use as filling.
"Add those candied fruits you made too," suggested Old Wen as he strolled over to watch them work, offering his advice.
Tang Xu nodded and said, “Also make a few other fruit-flavored fillings, and make a separate batch of five-nut filling.” He liked the slightly salty flavor of the five-nut filling, so he planned to make two different types.
Since there would be plenty of food to go around, and the weather was still cool, he thought they could freeze a batch outside without worrying about it spoiling.
"You’re making way too much," Wang Cuicui said, glancing at the three large bowls of glutinous rice flour Tang Xu had prepared. "Every time you make something, you always make so much. Last time you made those sticky bean buns, there was still half a jar left."
Tang Xu wasn’t concerned about making too much. After all, if they couldn’t finish it, they could just store it in the freezer and eat it slowly. He was confident they’d finish it before it went bad.
Wang Cuicui sighed and scolded him, "Next time, you can’t do this. Freshly made tastes better, but if you’re too busy, just call me. I’ll help you out."
Tang Xu smiled and said, "I called you over this time. Once we’re done, you can take some home with you, and I’ll have Wei Dong deliver some to the old house."
He figured his eldest cousin wouldn’t have the time or energy to make these, so he planned to have Wei Dong take it over after they were finished.
Then he turned to Wang Cuicui and asked, “Auntie, when did Sun Yang get picked up?”
When he had been ill, to avoid infecting the children, he had asked Wang Cuicui to take the kids to her place.
“It was a couple of days ago. The girl came to pick him up herself. It’s been years since I’ve seen her. I barely recognized her when I saw her at first glance.” Wang Cuicui muttered.
Then, she added, "Did Dongzi tell you about your father and the others getting into a fight?"
Tang Xu gave a small smile, but it was Tang Li who was truly surprised, her eyes widening in astonishment as she looked at Wang Cuicui. “Auntie, what did you say? Dad got into a fight?”
Since Liu Xiangxiang left, Tang Erhu hadn’t been known to get into any fights, so Tang Li was quite taken aback.
Tang Xu chuckled lightly, and under Wang Cuicui’s helpless glare, he explained with a smile how their father had heroically acted that day.
Tang Li was so stunned by the story that her hands stopped rolling the filling, her mouth slightly agape, looking utterly dumbfounded.
It wasn’t until Tang Xu had to pause to drink water that she closed her mouth. She stayed silent for a while, lost in her thoughts, picturing the scene in her mind. The idea of a whole group fighting seemed to excite her.
"When she got married, I think I was only two years old."
Tang Xu raised an eyebrow. "So young?"
“How old is my cousin now? I feel like I’ve hardly seen her much,” Tang Li asked, curious.
“She's twenty-six,” Wang Cuicui replied, joining the conversation.
Tang Li looked up, counting for a moment, then her eyes widened slightly. “So, I share the same zodiac as her.”
Tang Xu nodded. “She was about the same age as you when she got engaged.”
Tang Li pouted. “I suddenly don’t want to get married anymore. What if Liu Yao treats me badly in the future?”
“Don’t say such nonsense,” Wang Cuicui scolded, giving her a light slap. “Liu Yao is nothing like Old Sun. Your parents won’t live with you, and besides, if he bullies you after you marry, wouldn’t your brother-in-law just beat him up?”
Tang Xu couldn’t help but laugh at the thought.
Tang Li grinned and leaned toward Tang Xu, lightly nudging him with her elbow. “Big brother treats me the best!”
Tang Xu snorted. “Go on, go work. Stop acting like a spoiled child.”
Tang Li happily went to work, a bright smile on her face.
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