“They’re wild, they grow on the mountain by themselves.” Seeing that she didn’t refuse, Wu Xiulan enthusiastically introduced them to her, “Don’t worry, they’re all completely natural, without any pesticides. The ones in this basket have been stored at home for a few days and are ready to eat. The ones in these two baskets were picked fresh these past two days, and they probably need to be stored for another two days, otherwise they might be a bit astringent.”
"This is too much; you should keep some for yourselves."
"No need, no need. We went picking early this year and picked five or six hundred pounds. We still have plenty at home. If you're interested, just give us a call..."
As they were talking, Su Yunzhi heard the commotion and came out of the house. When she saw her second brother and sister-in-law, she wasn't very enthusiastic. "Why don't you come inside? What are you doing standing outside?"
As soon as she came out, the dogs that had been rolling around inside immediately sprang to life, rushing out one by one to Chen Wuqiu's feet, meowing.
"I had some things to do at home, so I just dropped off a few things and came right back. I was too lazy to go inside." Wu Xiulan spoke to Su Yunzhi from a distance. Feeling something at her feet, she looked down and saw a small orange fur ball. Seeing her looking over, the little fur ball also looked up at her and meowed.
You smell so sweet, what are you hiding to eat?
Wu Xiulan couldn't understand cat language, but remembering how much the Shen family cherished that big white cat before, she hadn't shown any disgust. Besides, this chubby furball was indeed cute. After thinking for a moment, she still managed a dry "Meow..." in response.
She couldn't understand, but Shen Wuqiu, as the mother, could. She felt extremely embarrassed and quickly picked up Simao, saying, "I'm sorry, I scared you."
Wu Xiulan quickly shook her head, "No, no, are all these kittens yours? They're all so cute."
Shen Wuqiu just smiled and pulled the two who were still tirelessly trying to pull down her pants to win her favor into her arms. She then greeted Da Mao and A Shu, who were standing obediently to the side, before joining Su Yunzhi in persuading Wu Xiulan and her husband: "It's a rare trip, have some food before you leave."
“Really, there’s no need. Transportation is much more convenient now than before.” Wu Xiulan waved her hand and pointed to the baskets in the yard. “I know you don’t lack anything, but everyone says this stuff is delicious and nutritious. If you like it, just give me a call.”
"You're too kind."
"Don't mention it..." Wu Xiulan said as she and Su Zhongmin walked toward the tricycle. No matter how they tried to persuade her, she wouldn't listen. After saying goodbye, the two drove the tricycle back.
Shen Wuqiu and the others stood at the gate and watched the couple drive away before carrying the three large baskets of kiwis inside.
"Wow, so many kiwis! Where did you buy them?" Zhao Jiujiu had just come out of the restroom and saw several baskets of kiwis in the lobby. She casually asked, and then wanted to grab one to try.
“Aunt, take that basket over there.” Shen Wuqiu pointed to a basket. “It was just brought over by Uncle Wujun and his family. They said it was wild fruit picked from the mountain, so they brought some over for us to try.”
"Wild, huh? Wow, this is really... This is good stuff. I've been feeling a bit feverish these past few days, and I have mouth ulcers." Zhao Jiujiu picked out a soft one.
"Has your aunt eaten this before?"
“I’ve eaten it before, people used to give it to me.” Zhao Jiujiu said as she peeled the skin with practiced ease.
As a result, right after peeling the skin, before it could even be brought to his mouth, it was intercepted by Simao.
"..."
Si Mao really ate it, smacking his lips as he ate with great relish.
"..." Zhao Jiujiu's lips twitched. "No wonder he's so fat."
Chapter 132
Shen Wuqiu looked at the kiwi in Zhao Jiujiu's hand, which had a small corner bitten off, and couldn't do anything about her foodie daughter, so she quickly picked out a new one for her from the basket.
Foodie Simao didn't care about being fat. After finishing the piece of fruit she had bitten into, she was still a little unsatisfied. After licking it for a while with her little tongue, she jumped onto Zhao Jiujiu's lap and gave her a head tilt: "Meow~"
"You little glutton, how can you be so greedy..." Zhao Jiujiu was speechless and wanted to laugh at the same time. After thinking for a moment, she looked at Gu Lingyu and said, "I almost forgot that they are not even two months old yet. Can this stuff still be eaten?"
Gu Lingyu didn't care. "Whether she can eat it or not, it's good to teach her a lesson so she won't be greedy for everything."
Su Yunzhi overheard this and immediately scolded her, "Look at you, what kind of mother are you?" Then she went to Zhao Jiujiu and said, "I think we should be more careful. I heard that kiwis are good for bowel movements. The babies' stomachs are still delicate, so it's better not to let them eat too much."
Zhao Jiujiu thought that made sense, so she handed the peeled kiwi to Gu Lingyu, saying, "Here, you can have this."
"Meow~" Simao was so anxious that he almost spoke human language. He quickly stretched out his front paws to tug at Zhao Jiujiu's sleeve.
"Look how anxious the child is..." Zhao Jiujiu sighed, then looked at the kiwi in her hand, and then at the little one's pitiful kitten face. She didn't want to be the bad guy, so she withdrew her hand a little and said to Chen Wuqiu, "If it were a tiny baby, this small, I certainly wouldn't dare feed her this..."
New mother Shen Wuqiu was also unsure. Looking at her baby and then at the kiwi, she decided it was better to be cautious. She reached out and rubbed Simao's head, comforting him, "Baby, you're still small. Eating this isn't good for your tummy. How about Mommy makes you some fish puree later?"
Seeing this, Su Yunzhi also came over, "Grandma will give you all fish cakes, okay? We don't want to eat these."
Simao stared at them with wide eyes, seemingly listening but not quite. After a few seconds of silence, she stubbornly looked at the kiwi in Su Yunzhi's hand, licking her lips as she looked at it, looking incredibly greedy.
Zhao Jiujiu felt that the kiwi in her hand was a hot potato. After exchanging a glance with Shen Wuqiu, she didn't care anymore and simply put the peeled kiwi on the coffee table.
Anyway, she didn't want Simao to dislike her.
As soon as she placed it down, Simao immediately jumped up and took a small bite. Perhaps sensing the elders' gazes, she smacked her lips twice, then secretly meowed at everyone. After hesitating for a moment, she quickly took two more bites, then pushed the remaining half of the paw towards Chen Wuqiu, meowing.
[The big one is for you~]
The ripe kiwi was already soft, but after all that handling, the flesh was all mushy and unsightly.
Although a mother doesn't dislike her son, Shen Wuqiu still found it a little hard to swallow.
However, Simao just looked up at her with her cat-like face, as if she would be very unhappy if Simao didn't accept her.
Not wanting to disappoint her daughter, Shen Wuqiu tore off two napkins and wrapped the kiwi fruit in them. "Thank you, sweetheart."
Only after seeing that she had picked it up did Si Mao lower his head and continue to munch on the little piece of fruit she had divided up.
Shen Wuqiu originally wanted to throw it away, but thinking of the children's sensitive little noses, she still stuffed the remaining half of the fruit into Gu Lingyu's hands, saying, "Here, this is my daughter's filial piety."
"I don't want to..." Gu Miaomiao pouted, looking disgusted.
Shen Wuqiu put a piece of fruit to her lips, "Want some?"
"I won't eat."
Shen Wuqiu narrowed her eyes. "Really not going to eat?"
"I really won't eat it."
Shen Wuqiu nodded her chin. "Okay, I'll eat it."
"..." Gu Miaomiao was speechless and helpless. In the end, she had no choice but to take the "leftovers" from her little one and reluctantly stuff them into her mouth, muttering, "You just spoil the little one and bully me..."
Shen Wuqiu poked her puffed-out cheeks and caught a glimpse of her father leaving the hall. Zhao Jiujiu and Su Yunzhi were peeling kiwis with their backs to them. At least from her perspective, no one was paying attention to them at that moment.
So she quickly leaned over and kissed one of the cats on the lips, then licked it as she left, whispering, "Isn't my daughter's filial piety sweet?"
The cat blinked, slowly swallowed the fruit in its mouth, and nodded, "Sweet."
Shen Wuqiu found her dazed look adorable. He wiped her lips with his fair index finger and then put it in his own mouth. "Hmm, it is indeed quite sweet."
"What's so sweet?" Zhao Jiujiu hadn't been paying attention to them. She overheard this sentence out of the blue and turned to look at them.
Shen Wuqiu said nonchalantly, "It's this wild kiwi. I didn't expect it to be so sweet."
"The sun is shining so well this year, it'll definitely be sweet." Zhao Jiujiu said, taking a bite. The sweet aroma instantly filled her mouth, and she sighed contentedly, "This is the taste."
Su Yunzhi laughed at her, "Is it really that exaggerated?"
“You don’t understand…” Zhao Jiujiu finished one in a few bites and picked another one into the basket. “A customer gave me some of these things before, but after I got used to them, they stopped giving them to me. Can you believe it?”
"Are you the kind of person who's short of money?" Su Yunzhi said, seemingly oblivious to Shen Wuqiu's anger. She peeled the kiwis in her hand and handed them to Shen Wuqiu. "These are all pretty soft now. They don't keep well. Since you said they're sweet, have two more."
Shen Wuqiu wasn't particularly interested at first, but seeing Zhao Jiujiu's unstoppable eating, she also felt a bit tempted and didn't refuse her offer, "You should try some yourself."
Zhao Jiujiu glanced at the mother and daughter, then continued peeling and chatting: "It's not about money, it's about how buying and selling wild things depends on fate."
"Why didn't you say so earlier? I picked this when I was very young. But back then, people's living conditions were not good, and this thing was eaten before it grew big."
"But I didn't hear you say that..."
The two of them were peeling kiwis while bickering, a harmonious and leisurely scene.
Shen Wuqiu didn't disturb them. After finishing the kiwi, she went upstairs.
The weather has been nice this winter. It's almost time for the first snow, but the daytime high temperature can still reach 22 or 23 degrees Celsius. She wore a long, thin woolen coat suitable for spring and autumn and went for a walk in the western mountains. She felt sweaty all over. Now, after sitting in the cool place in the lobby for a while, she felt a bit cold again and decided to go upstairs to take a shower.
Er Mao, who was lying at the bottom of the stairs chewing on a plush mouse toy, immediately grabbed her leg and hung it on her trouser leg when he saw her going upstairs.
"What are you doing?" It wasn't heavy, but Shen Wuqiu still didn't dare to lift her foot, afraid that the naughty little one would roll down. She just turned around and looked at her.
Meow~
[Mommy hugs me~]
Er Mao's fur is so puffed up that she really looks like a little lion. Coupled with her domineering and mischievous nature, it's easy to forget that she's still a little cub.
Such a sweet and affectionate moment is indeed rare.
Shen Wuqiu bent down and scooped her up, then touched her little ear. "What's wrong? Did you suffer some injustice?"
Er Mao gave her a strange hum in response.
"How could that be? I just want Mommy to hug me."
She's incredibly arrogant.
Shen Wuqiu chuckled and looked around. She saw the plush mouse that she had bitten so badly that it was almost unrecognizable. She didn't see any other babies, so it was obvious that this one was playing here alone.
This is nothing like Er Mao's personality.
Shen Wuqiu held her in his arms and looked her over.
When it came to his belly, Er Mao started to struggle and kept covering his stomach with his little feet.
Shen Wuqiu's expression turned serious. He pried open the area where her little feet were covering her, and saw a small bald spot on her belly with a red mark. "What happened?"
Er Mao drooped his ears and pretended to be dead.
While feeling sorry for her, Shen Wuqiu was also a little angry. "Your mother is asking you a question."
Er Mao remained silent.
Shen Wuqiu carried her back to the room, put her on the bed, took out a cotton swab, dipped it in alcohol, and, ignoring Er Mao's struggles, used the cotton swab to clean the red mark.
Er Mao struggled, but remained silent.
Shen Wuqiu pinched her little ear, "You're so tiny, yet you're so stubborn." Then, her tone softened, "Does it hurt?"
Er Mao then let out a meow.
It doesn't hurt.
"Now can you tell Mom how you did it?"
Er Mao started pretending to be dead again, covering his head with his little feet.
"Are you still Mommy's good baby?"
Er Mao glanced at her cautiously, and after a long while, he meowed softly.
[It was from my younger sister scratching me.]