Chapter 35: Tong Fu Inn

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

The journey to town was not short. Xiaomi was picked up at dawn the next day.

Although it was March, it was still a little cold in the early morning. Xiaomi and Bruiser were wrapped in swaddling clothes, then carried on a long strap on the adults’ backs.

Jiang Hu was the one carrying Xiaomi on his back, Erniang was carrying Bruiser on her back, and Dawa and Erni were following their parents. They even plucked a few vegetables which were carried by Jiang Hu using a grass rope.

In the morning, the couple woke up early to cook. Now that everyone was full, they went to town energetically.

However, before dawn, Erni had to be dragged along. Jiang Hu thought of carrying her. After all, this bit of weight was nothing to a grown man like him.

Unfortunately, Erni rejected his offer seriously. Her exact words were, “Daddy works so hard. Erni will walk on her own. When Erni is too tired to walk, then Daddy will carry her.”

These words warmed Jiang Hu’s heart so much that he smiled foolishly all the way.

Jiang Hu held Erni’s hand and looked at Dawa, who had already jogged to the front excitedly. Then he looked at his wife beside him. “Erniang, are you cold?”

At this moment, it was still cold on the road. Occasionally, a gust of wind would blow, making it especially cold.

However, Erniang shook her head and even wiped her forehead. “I’m not cold. I had been lying in bed for a long time, so I felt tired after walking for a while.”

Mommy, you’re weak after giving birth. You’ll be fine after a while.

Xiaomi babbled and waved at her mother.

Being weak after giving birth was a process that every pregnant woman went through. In fact, after giving birth to a child, it was not just the confinement period. For the next half a year or nearly a year, the body was in a recovery process and needed to rest well.

However, she secretly gave her mother spiritual spring water every day. Her mother would definitely recover faster!

Although Jiang Hu did not know what it meant to be weak after giving birth, he knew that it must be the giving birth that caused her to be weak.

Jiang Hu moved closer to Erniang, as if he could share the weight of Bruiser if the two of them got closer.

“Erniang, why don’t we find a doctor to examine you when we go to town today?”

There was also a doctor in the village, but he did not know how good his medical skills were. Jiang Hu did not particularly believe in his abilities.

Erniang shook her head repeatedly. “No need, no need. It was the same in the past when I gave birth to Dawa and Erni. I’ll be fine after a while.”

If she went to see a doctor, dozens or hundreds of copper coins would be gone. It was not worth it.

However, Jiang Hu was very insistent. “It was like this in the past, so you have to go to see a doctor. If there’s something wrong, we can treat it sooner.”

Erniang could not argue with him and could only agree first.

The family of six walked and rested. Jiang Hu and Dawa were fine, but Erniang and Erni needed to rest.

Had Jiang Hu traveled alone, the journey would take less than four hours, but it took them five hours to arrive.

They set off at five o’clock. It was already noon. In another half an hour, it would be time for lunch. The town was completely lively.

At this moment, Jiang Hu couldn’t help but heave a sigh of relief. “We’re finally here.”

As he spoke, he put Erni down. “Dawa is going to hold his sister’s hand later. There are many people in town. Don’t get separated.”

Erniang stopped in her tracks to catch her breath. When she heard this, she quickly added, “If you really get separated, wait at the entrance of the town. No one can follow you. Daddy and Mommy will come looking for you.”

While Dawa was excited, he did not forget to nod repeatedly. “Don’t worry, Mom. Erni and I won’t get separated.”

However, they were not in a hurry to enter the town. Instead, they found a leeward place and put the two children down.

It had been a long time. They had to feed the children first. Otherwise, there would be no place to feed them when there were many people in town later.

Jiang Hu called the eldest child and second daughter over and together, they provided cover for Erniang so that she could feed the children in peace.

“Dawa, Erni, are you tired and hungry?” Jiang Hu carried Xiaomi. Bruiser was already on the verge of tears, so he fed him first.

Dawa hesitated before nodding. “A little bit of both.”

After all, they had walked for so long. How could they not be tired?

Especially Erni, who was already a little dispirited after a short period of excitement.

Jiang Hu’s heart ached when he saw this. He reached out and touched the two children’s heads. “There are wontons in town. I’ll bring you to eat wontons when I send food to the restaurant later.”

“Thank you, Daddy!” the two children shouted excitedly. They instantly did not feel tired anymore.

Xiaomi did not feel hungry. After all, she could replenish her milk powder at any time. Bruiser was really hungry. He ate noisily, making Xiaomi’s cravings rise. She felt that she could smell the fragrance of milk every time she breathed.

After feeding the children, Erniang had rested well. Jiang Hu brought the vegetables to Dawa and let him carry them. He might as well have a child in each hand and let Erniang pull Erni.

Jiang Hu was considered an acquaintance at Tong Fu Restaurant. When the waiter saw him, he smiled and said, “Brother Jiang, you’re here. I haven’t seen you in a long time.”

Although Jiang Hu had only come to Tong Fu Restaurant to sell wild animals twice, there were always a lot of them. Coupled with the matter of selling fish, he became familiar with them.

At this moment, there were already a few customers in the restaurant. Jiang Hu handed Xiaomi to Erniang and Bruiser to Dawa. He asked them to wait outside the door and brought a few vegetables into the restaurant.

“Waiter, is Shopkeeper Liu around?”

“He’s in the kitchen. He’ll be here soon.” As soon as the waiter finished speaking, a guest happened to arrive. “Brother Jiang, wait here for a moment. I’ll get busy first.”

Then he went to greet the guests. Fortunately, Jiang Hu did not wait long. In a few breaths, Shopkeeper Liu came over from the backyard.

He was not surprised to see Jiang Hu. Instead, he was surprised to see that he did not bring any wild animals and only carried two green vegetables.

“Brother Jiang, you’re here. Is that your wife and children outside? Why are they standing outside? I’ve long heard that your wife has given birth to a pair of twins, Little Lucky Stars. Why didn’t you ask them to come in? Let us see these twins and share the joy.”

After Jiang Hu sold game meat for the first time, he told the others in the village that the manager of Tong Fu Restaurant was a good person. Therefore, Fu’an Village sent almost all the game they caught here directly.

In autumn and summer, this wild game was common, but recently, it was still rare. Just because of Jiang Hu’s words, Tong Fu Restaurant’s business had improved a lot!

It was also because of this that even if Jiang Hu did not bring any game this time, the shopkeeper and the waiter were very polite to him.

Of course, it was also because he had vaguely heard some rumors about Little Lucky Stars from the villagers of Fu’an Village.

Jiang Hu said, “It’s just something the villagers said. Shopkeeper Liu, I’m here today about these vegetables. We eat them ourselves and feel that they taste especially good. These are for you. It’s free. Let the chef stir-fry and try it first.”

As Jiang Hu spoke, he placed a few vegetables on the counter.

Only then did Shopkeeper Liu take a few more glances at the vegetables. Having dealt with all kinds of ingredients all year round, he instantly realized the difference between this and other vegetables.

“Your vegetables look much better than the ones bought at the shop today.”

With that, he didn’t care if he washed it or not. He pinched some vegetable cores and fed them to his mouth. After tasting them, his eyes lit up.

“Brother Jiang, don’t be in a hurry to leave this time. Ask Sister-in-law, and the nephews and nieces to come inside. I’ll get Master Zhang to cook two side dishes for you. My treat!”

With that, he called the waiter and invited him to sit upstairs. He picked up a few vegetables and went to the backyard.