"Oh oh oh."
"Oh oh oh."
Listening to the never-ceasing crowing of the rooster outside, Gong Ruini turned over and continued to sleep.
But why does it feel a bit cold underneath? Gong Ruini felt colder as she slept, so she opened her eyes slightly. Gong Ruwen was sleeping soundly, so she secretly crawled out of her little blanket and into Gong Ruwen's.
Gong Ruwen yawned, mumbled a couple of sentences, and continued to sleep with his eyes closed, completely unaware that someone had joined him in his bed.
It's good to have a young guy around; his body is as warm as a stove. Feeling the heat source beside her, Gong Ruini was satisfied and finally managed to sleep a little better.
After hearing the rooster crowing, Cai Meina woke up soon. "Haven't heard a rooster crow in a long time."
In the city, people either rely on alarms or the sound of neighbors' movements to know it's time to go to work. Suddenly hearing a rooster is a bit unfamiliar.
"Yes." Gong Tao sat up groggily from the bed. "When we were kids, we had a rooster at home. How many chicks the family could have all depended on that big rooster."
Thinking back on how, though the family's conditions weren't great, the sibling bonds were wonderful, and now, Gong Tao really didn't understand who had changed, them or him.
Cai Meina patted Gong Tao's hand, suggesting he not dwell on unhappy thoughts. "If we have the capacity, we help out. While we're in the countryside, we should just take care of ourselves as Mom and Dad said."
"Right, not being a burden to them is the best thing." Gong Tao gave a big smile.
If they were still at the old home, the couple would surely be cuddling and whispering to each other, but now they dared not do that. Even though the little kids were still asleep, if they woke and heard the whispers, it would be awkward.
Wait a minute, when did the daughter roll into the son's bed? The daughter had previously insisted that she wanted her own bed and didn't want to share with her brother. "See, the kids are getting along great."
Cai Meina was really surprised to see her daughter and son in the same bed. You must know that the daughter's insistence on sleeping separately was resolute, so how did she change her mind overnight? It's really strange.
It was then that Cai Meina noticed the kang was a bit cold. Though their husband and wife shared a bed, they wouldn't feel it; she nudged Gong Tao, "Get up, go heat the kang for your daughter. It's cold now."
Heat the kang? Come on, how is he supposed to do that? Let him light a stove fire, Gong Tao can do that, no problem at all. "Honey, it's not that I don't want to, it's that I don't know how to heat the kang."
Gong Tao looked pitifully at Cai Meina. "You won't learn it unless you try."
"Come on, are you just going to let your daughter freeze?" How could his words sound so irritable?
There's no way he'd let his daughter freeze. Gong Tao looked at his daughter sleeping deeply; she definitely wasn't cold. "Did you forget our son is like a furnace?"
"I think you're just being lazy." Cai Meina rolled her eyes at Gong Tao and got up to dress.
Oh no, did he upset his wife? Gong Tao was startled when his wife got up suddenly. "Sweetheart, I'm sorry, I'm sorry. Please don't be mad, I'll go heat the kang right away."
Gong Tao couldn't believe that someone as clever as him wouldn't know how to heat a kang. If worst comes to worst, he'll have to swallow his pride and learn from Zhao Gang.
"Then hurry up." Cai Meina threw him a flirty glance as Gong Tao still hadn't moved.
Seeing his wife's affectionate look, Gong Tao's heart skipped a beat. Ever since the big incident at home and the long train ride, there's no denying that there's been a fire burning inside him. Alas, why didn't Zhao Gang build a bigger house back then, so at least the kids could sleep in the next room?
You know, it's not good for a man if he doesn't vent for a while. "No way, I need to talk to Gangzi about building. If nothing else, we need to make a room for these kids."
"Especially with Zhan Jing about to have a baby; how can so many people sleep on one kang?" Gong Tao wasn't sure when it might snow here, but they don't need to build anything elaborate. With some overtime, they should be able to get the house up before the snow falls.
These are pretty lofty excuses. Relative to Gong Tao's urgency, Cai Meina didn't see the need to rush into construction at this time.
For Gong Tao, building was a necessity—what a waste it would be otherwise, especially because Zhao Gang said there's a way to market winter vegetables.
Despite Cai Meina's persuasion, Gong Tao was adamant about building, and in the end, she could only storm out to prepare breakfast in exasperation.
Gong Ruini had no idea how long she slept, only that she had slept deeply enough to feel a little groggy. "Slept too much."
This body is just weak; looks like she needs to exercise more. Gong Ruini realized she hadn't had the chance before, but now that she was in the Northeast, she had to prioritize getting fit.
But the sun outside was so glaring. Gong Ruini turned over and found the sunlight outside to be incredibly harsh, and when she looked again, the sun was already high in the sky.
Oh no, wasn't that arrogant little brat supposed to take them to the mountain to pick mushrooms?
Gong Ruini tried to remember if it was supposed to be in the morning or the afternoon. It was probably in the morning since everyone had to take a nap in the afternoon.
Oh no, did she miss the trip to pick mushrooms on the mountain? Gong Ruini was so anxious she almost cried.
Cai Meina had washed and hung to dry all the clothes the family had worn yesterday in the courtyard, then went inside to check if her daughter was awake. If Ni Zi still wanted to sleep, she'd at least have to eat something first, otherwise sleeping on an empty stomach wouldn't be good for her health.
"Ni Zi, you're awake." As soon as she went in, she saw Gong Ruini with a pouting little face. What's going on? "Who bullied you?"
"Brother." Gong Ruini hadn't expected her pouting to be caught by Cai Meina, and it was too late to hide it.
Sigh, ever since she didn't want anyone to notice her odd behavior, Gong Ruini had been pretending to be a little kid for a long time. In many situations, she really put on a good act, which sometimes led her to unconsciously show childishness.
Gong Ruwen? How did he bully Ni Zi? Cai Meina remembered when her son got up, her daughter hadn't been awake yet, and then he went with Zhao Xuran and the Gong Brothers to the mountain to pick mushrooms.
Wait, last night, didn't Ni Zi also want to go to the mountain? "Ni Zi, it was Mom's fault. Your brother was going to wake you, but I stopped him." Cai Meina thought since her daughter was deeply asleep, she shouldn't disturb her and let her rest and recharge.
It was only then that Cai Meina realized she had done something foolish. "Mom apologizes, Ni Zi. I'll definitely let you know next time."
Since her own mom stopped her, Gong Ruini couldn't stay upset, considering Mom just wanted the best for her. After all, her body wasn't in the best shape.
Gong Ruini murmured, lacking energy, "Okay, I know."