People in the alley: A woman dressed as a man shouldn't be foolishly filial, Zhuang Chaoying

Chapter 424 Returning to Suzhou to See My Little Sister

"Dad, Uncle Lin."

"Uncle, Uncle Lin."

Lin Wufeng looked at Xiaoting, and his eyes softened instantly. Now, in his eyes, Xiaoting was no different from his daughter-in-law.

Like Song Ying, he was overjoyed at the thought of Xiaoting dating Lin Dongzhe, and a smile unconsciously crept onto his face. "Xiaoting, Pengfei, you're back! Were you tired on the way?"

Zhuang Chaoying quickly stood up, walked briskly to the door, and took the heavy luggage bags from the two children.

"Have you eaten? I'll go make you two bowls of noodles."

As he spoke, he looked back again. "Xiaoting, where's your brother?"

Zhuang Xiaoting pushed Pengfei to the kitchen to wash his hands, saying as they went, "Brother, we've taken sister-in-law home. Dad doesn't need to bring you anything; he'll definitely eat at sister-in-law's."

Zhuang Chaoying put her luggage on the sofa, turned around and went into the kitchen, opened the refrigerator, took out three eggs, and skillfully tied on an apron.

Just then, a series of hurried footsteps approached from afar, and Lin Dongzhe came running over in a flurry.

"Dad, I told you I was going home, but no one was home. It turns out everyone was with Uncle Zhuang."

As he spoke, he glanced at the kitchen, then strode into it, turned on the tap, and quickly washed his hands: "Uncle Zhuang, cook some noodles, and bring me a portion too."

Zhuang Chaoying was both amused and annoyed by Lin Dongzhe's overly familiar manner. She lightly kicked him in the butt and said, "Go inside and wait for your meal. You brat, you really don't consider yourself an outsider!"

"Uncle Zhuang, you're so kind to me. We don't need to be so polite with each other. Don't forget to fry another egg."

After Lin Dongzhe finished speaking with a grin, he left the kitchen and quickly followed Xiaoting upstairs.

"Mom, it's me, Pengfei, and Dongzhe. May we come in?" Xiaoting's voice came through the door.

Song Ying got up and walked to the door. She opened the door and was overjoyed to see Xiao Ting. She quickly reached out and warmed Xiao Ting's hands. "Xiao Ting, are you cold? Come in quickly."

Suddenly, I saw Pengfei and Dongzhe standing at the door, their noses red from the cold wind, carrying little clothes and toys they had bought for Xiaoyuyao.

"Xiaoting, please come in. It's inconvenient for your aunt and Aunt Huang to come in if you two boys come in."

Huang Ling sat up in bed, smiling and waving her hand. "Song Ying, let them in. They're all family, they're fine. They're not outsiders, so there's no need for formalities. I've almost fully recovered now."

Song Ying looked them up and down. "Any of you sick or coughing? Little Nannan and your Aunt Huang are very weak."

The three children shook their heads vigorously, like rattles.

Song Ying then turned to the side. "Come in quickly, don't make the room warm, the little girl is asleep, so please keep your voices down."

Huang Ling leaned against the soft pillows and waved to the three children.

Although traditionally it is not advisable for outsiders to visit during the postpartum period, seeing Pengfei and Dongzhe peeking out, she felt her heart soften—these children were children she had watched grow up, how could they be considered outsiders?

Besides, she had just finished breastfeeding and was wrapped in a thick cotton coat, so she didn't mind.

"Xiaoting, Pengfei, Dongzhe, come in and sit down."

Xiaoting quickly walked to the bedside and sat down, her gaze falling on her mother's face, and she reached out to gently stroke the stray hairs at her temples.

"Mom, how are you? Are you in pain?"

She remembered that before she left home, her mother was already very pregnant and had difficulty moving around. Now, she was lying weakly in bed, and her eyes welled up with tears.

Huang Ling took her daughter's hand in return.

"Mom is fine, nothing's wrong. Xiaoting, you're a big sister now, but you'll always be Mom's little girl."

As she spoke, she reached out and stroked Xiaoting's cheek.

Xiaoting nodded vigorously. "Mom, I know. I'll help you and Dad take care of my little sister. I'm going to check on her."

As she stood up, Pengfei and Dongzhe had already gathered around the crib.

The three heads were close together, looking down at the sleeping Xiaoyuyao.

The baby in the swaddling clothes had a scrunched-up face, her skin flushed a pale red. "Mom, her skin is so red, and her face is all wrinkled," Xiaoting exclaimed softly. "Won't she stay like this forever?"

Pengfei quickly explained, "Xiaoting, I've read books about this. Babies' skin is like this when they're born. It will open up and become fair and tender after a month."

Song Ying's eyes widened. "Pengfei, you know quite a lot. Lin Dongzhe, when you were born, you looked like a monkey. You only became good-looking gradually. You were so ugly back then. It was Wu Feng who said that if you raised yourself, you would become good-looking."

Dong Zheshen knew his parents were truly in love, and he was just superfluous. He waved his hand at Aunt Huang. "Aunt Huang, Xiaoting, I washed my hands, can I touch her hand?"

Huang Ling smiled and nodded. "Be gentle, it wasn't easy for your mom to get you to sleep."

Dong Zhe held his breath and carefully touched Xiao Yuyao's little hand with his fingertips.

"So soft."

Xiao Yuyao smacked her lips in her sleep, and the three children smiled at each other, even softening their breathing.

The children are not short of money now. They didn't give all the money to their parents when they did business last time. Each of them bought a gift for Xiaoyuyao. The Zhuang family has a new little sister, which is a great joy for them.

Pengfei bought a pair of gold bracelets, Xiaoting bought clothes for a toy baby, and Dongzhe bought nutritional supplements for Aunt Huang to help her recover.

Huang Ling leaned against the headboard, feeling most sorry for Pengfei. This child had been thoughtful since he was a child, always feeling that he had received too much care from them and always thinking about repaying them.

At first, she let Pengfei come and stay with her simply because she understood that Chaoying only had one younger sister who lived far away in Guizhou Province, and she didn't want to see Chaoying in a difficult situation.

But as they spent more and more time together, Pengfei's sensible and well-behaved nature gradually melted her heart. Although the child was occasionally naughty, he was never annoying. The people in the Zhuang family were no match for Pengfei.

As Pengfei grew up, he became like a little sun, warming the family in his own way.

"Pengfei, Xiaoting, Dongzhe."

Huang Ling gently pulled Pengfei's hand and patted Xiaoting and Dongzhe on the shoulder.

"Then I'll thank you on behalf of your little sister, big brother and big sister. Please don't buy it again in the future. Wait until you have a job and can earn your own money before buying it again."

Pengfei smiled and shook his head.

“Aunt, you’ve forgotten that we make money from our business. As your older brother, it’s only right that I buy things for my younger sister.”

He just wanted to be good to everyone in the family, not for any other reason than that his uncle and aunt treated him like family, like a son. He did all this willingly.

Xiaoting quickly chimed in, "It's only right that I'm her older sister, Mom. We make quite a bit of money selling plastic bags, so let us spend it."

“Yes, Aunt Huang, we’ll be family sooner or later.” Dongzhe said casually, then winked at Xiaoting.

Song Ying, who was tidying up baby supplies, couldn't help but turn around and laugh when she heard Dong Zhe's words.

She looked at the mischievous monkey with a mixture of relief and anticipation.

These days, she has long regarded Xiaoting as her own daughter-in-law. She only hopes that Dongzhe can live up to expectations and marry Xiaoting smoothly. Only then can she feel at ease and not let her daughter, who is practically on her lips, fly away again.

“Sister Ling, what those rascals said isn’t wrong. Money is meant to be spent, and it’s only right to spend it on your own family.”

Little Yuyao gently turned over in her crib, letting out soft murmurs.

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