The Sweet Stepmother and Her Cute Cubs

As a child who grew up in the southern coastal area, seafood was one of Su Xiaoxiao’s favorite foods in her last life. She would always eat seafood every week, but most of the food she ate at that time was the farmed fish at the seaside. Fish that come from the wild are extremely rare.

This era’s seafood should be mostly wild, so it will naturally taste even better. Su Xiaoxiao couldn’t wait to steam it now, but she thought, it was better to wait for Han Cheng to come back at noon.

At this time, Han Cheng, who had just arrived at the military hospital, went in the opposite direction, leading to the offices of the leaders.

Leaders used to like seeing Han Cheng, but now, they get headaches whenever they see him.

In the past, he was urged every day to find a revolutionary comrade to take care of the rear so that he could charge forward. However, even though there are many outstanding female comrades with good personalities and appearances in the military region, no one was able to catch his attention. 

To everyone’s surprise, when he asked for vacation leave to pick up his sons, he unexpectedly brought back a girl from the countryside as his wife. 

The political investigation was just passed on to the court, and he would always inquire about the status of their marriage certificate three times a day. 

In the past, Han Cheng valued his work more than his life. He used to live at the hospital every day. Even if, when he married Yang Mei, nothing changed, he would still stay in a room, studying cases and writing paperwork, and rarely return home on time.

But now he couldn’t wait to leave after work and would rather bring all the paperwork home.

If it weren’t for the ban on engaging in feudal superstition, he would have wanted to find an exorcist to do a ritual at Han Cheng’s house to see if he had brought a fox spirit back. It’s just that Han Cheng, who was blind to the outside world and devoted himself to medical research, as he knew it, disappeared.

He just came back and heard the female nurse at the front desk said that she saw Han Cheng standing in line to buy meat at the vegetable market this morning. 

The leader couldn’t help but be depressed. They wanted Han Cheng to get married to have a wife who can help him take care of the rear, not to find a wife to treat like a princess. Are his hands holding the scalpel, and the pen can be used to carry the vegetables? After Yang Mei left, he ate in the canteen three times a day, and never bought any food.

Han Cheng knocked at the door and asked, “Director Yao, how many days will it take for my wife’s political trial? Can you give me the exact date?”

He could already hear the ringing in his ears. How many days has it been up there? Head Yao’s ears were already calloused after hearing this countless times.

“Head Han, it can’t be done so quickly. This time, the fastest time is next week. It’s already the fastest time.” Director Yao was very tired.

Han Cheng took a look at him. Today is only Monday, and even if it’s reviewed next Monday, it will take ten days before it’s sent: “Next week is too late, so I’ll ask Political Commissar Zhao at the military department to urge them to make it quicker. At the end of the year, the workload in the public relations team is heavy, and they are still waiting for my wife to report to their team.”

Director Yao’s temples twitched: “Okay, the documents have been delivered; I will call to remind them later and try to get the reply to you next Monday. Much better?”

Han Cheng came so many times, and finally, he got the exact date. ‘Wait for a week.’ He knew it was already the fastest process.

“Then I’ll ask you for a leave in advance, and I’ll go to the Civil Affairs Bureau to get a certificate on the day it arrives.”

Director Yao was tired and finally couldn’t help asking, “Han Cheng, what kind of beauty did you marry that made you this anxious?”

Had Han Cheng’s work not remained at a high level of quality, even though they didn’t want to approve the marriage, here they are, rushing to approve the marriage because of Han Cheng’s urging.

Han Cheng was stunned after hearing Director Yao’s question, but immediately smiled and shook his head. “She is a kind and simple girl. Although we completed the wedding in her hometown, we still have to take the certificate to make our marriage more reliable.”

Director Yao glared at him: “Are you still afraid that she will run away?”

Han Cheng really thought about it. The resources in Sujia Village are far less abundant than here. Su Xiaoxiao likes to cook delicious food so much that she must not have the intention of going back, right? He will buy delicious food for her every day. She likes children so much that she kisses them voluntarily. She also likes me to kiss her. She won’t run away, right? She wouldn’t, right?
“Han Cheng?” Director Yao waved his hand in front of him. “What are you thinking about?”

Han Cheng then found himself distracted, cleared his throat, and shook his head: “Nothing. If it doesn’t arrive next Monday, I will go to see Political Commissar Zhao in person.”

Director Yao now became annoyed and waved his hand to shoo Han Cheng away: “Now go. Whenever I see you, I become upset. By the way, how is the research paper on aortic insufficiency prepared? Oh, and, we must prepare an English version of that research paper, which will be submitted to the International Medical Journal. So, you must pay attention to every detail.”

“When did I lose focus?” Han Cheng asked back.

Director Yao said: “Go, go, I don’t want to see you.”

Han Cheng walked out of the dean’s office, and Chen Aimin appeared out of nowhere: “Head Han, did you come here to ask about the status of your political investigation again?”

Han Cheng raised his eyelids and glared at him, “Can you shut up?”

Dr. Chen would not be so disliked by Han Cheng if he were a man who could read the room.

“I have heard that you bought a big clam shell and pork this morning! Can I go to your house for lunch? I can pay for the food ticket, but should I double the price?”

“No!” Han Cheng denied, “Stop thinking about eating my wife’s food in the future. If you want to eat delicious food, marry a wife who can cook. Don’t bother my family’s Xiaoxiao.”

Doctor Chen: “Hey, Head Han, don’t be so stingy. One person only needs an extra pair of chopsticks, and I can wash dishes, and pots, and clean the kitchens, okay?”

‘It’s just a matter of adding one more pair of chopsticks’ He said so lightly, but Su Xiaoxiao is already taking care of so many people by herself, and she still has a lot of things she manages at home and at work. Cooking for them was hard enough; how could he not feel distressed for his own wife? Han Cheng firmly decided not to take other people home for dinner.

Han Cheng looked serious: “If you mention this matter again, I will transfer you to other departments, and stop spreading how delicious my Xiaoxiao’s craftsmanship is everywhere. Doctor Chen, cooking meals is not easy, If you don’t believe me, go back and try it.”

In the past, he used to eat in the canteen or take out foods from the canteen. Even Yang Mei herself eats in the canteen. 

Later, when Yang Mei came, Yang tried to cook meals at home, but her cooking was so bad that Han Cheng would rather eat in the canteen.

In his opinion, Su Xiaoxiao loves her family, the children, and herself so much that she is willing to wash her hands and make soup every now and then and be busy every day. [1]

Not to mention, it is impossible for Zhou Yuhua to cook three times a day. She was either assisted by Zhao Xianfeng’s attendants or from the canteen. Cooking meals at home a few times a week can be considered good enough.

Han Cheng also thought that if Su Xiaoxiao also went to work in the future, it would be better to have lunch in the canteen at noon; otherwise, it would be too hard for her.

When Dr. Chen saw that Han Cheng was so serious, he shut his mouth and never dared to mention the matter of going to Han Cheng’s house for dinner again.

Without waiting for the afternoon, when Fantuan finished writing in the morning, Su Xiaoxiao found chalk and a small blackboard in Han Cheng’s room and wrote the multiplication table for Fantuan to recite.

Su Xiaoxiao taught Fantuan to read it several times, and the little guy began to stand there with his hands behind his back, shaking his head and chanting, “One multiplied by one, is one. One multiplied by two is two…… Two multiplied by two is four. Three multiplied by three is Nine……… “

Su Xiaoxiao doesn’t know whether he was reading it or not, but one thing is for sure: he didn’t mispronounce any words. Even the pause before every sentence was correct. No matter how long it is, he recited it in one breath, and he was almost out of breath when he recited nine multiplied by nine. That cute and serious look of little Fantuan made Su Xiaoxiao smile.

Even Xiao Doubao watched his brother with great interest and drew what Su Xiaoxao wrote on the blackboard on the ground with his little twig.

The two clever cubs studied so hard that Su Xiaoxiao naturally didn’t want to lag behind. She took out Han Cheng’s high school textbook from the cupboard.

Su Xiaoxiao disliked the familiar smell of mothballs above, and just like her mother said, Han Cheng’s book was kept well and had not been bitten by insects for so long because of the mothballs. Aside from that, he also made a bookcase to cover them. On the cover, there are Han Cheng’s vigorous and powerful characters. In the center, there are two big characters, “Chinese” neatly written, and on the lower part, “Senior High School, Class 1, Han Cheng. ” is written on it.

Su Xiaoxiao opened it and found that Han Cheng’s textbook was well-kept. It was clean inside and out, without any stains or wrinkles. But the lines were filled with comments and marks, which showed that it was a textbook used by a very diligent student.

So Su Xiaoxiao was very careful when turning the page, for fear of damaging the textbook of the Xueba. [2]

It was also the same for the other textbooks. Each book has a book cover with its name and class name written on it, looking like what a person with an obsessive-compulsive disorder would have. Even the position of the signature is exactly the same.

At this time, the lessons were not too difficult. Su Xiaoxiao’s learning experience in her previous life and the foundation laid by the original owner also made Su Xiaoxiao review these materials with ease. According to this difficulty, Su Xiaoxiao feels that reviewing for one or two hours a day is enough.

Even if she goes to work, she still has plenty of time.

After gaining confidence, Su Xiaoxiao finally knew how to manage her time. She closed her textbooks and went to prepare lunch.

After Fantuan judged that he already memorized the multiplication table, he squatted in the vegetable garden and started digging worms to feed “Zhou, Fen, Mian, and Fan”.

Xiao Doubao is still the smart Xiao Doubao. Even the difficult character “得” is copied by Xiao Doubao, without missing a stroke. Although it is not neat, there is no mistake in the strokes or the order of strokes. He can only move his one hand now, and it’s already written very well.

Su Xiaoxiao picked him up and kissed him. 

She took out a toffee from her pocket, peeled off the wrapping paper, and handed it to his mouth: “Mom will reward the good baby with a toffee.”

The little baby laughed so hard that his eyes disappeared. He stretched out his hand to take it, but instead of putting it in his own mouth, he handed it to Su Xiaoxiao’s mouth, signaling to Su Xiaoxiao to eat it.
Su Xiaoxiao guided him: “What does Xiao Doubao want to do? Mom doesn’t know what you want to do until you start talking. If you want your mother to eat candy, you don’t need to speak in long sentences, just say, ‘Mom~~ eat’, so Mom can understand it. If you don’t speak, mom won’t understand.”

Xiao Doubao puffed up his small face, but he didn’t speak, and when he saw that Su Xiaoxiao didn’t eat the candy, he got impatient, so he stuffed it into her mouth.

Su Xiaoxiao leaned his head back and avoided his hand.

“WAAH” Xiao Doubao burst into tears.

Su Xiaoxiao doesn’t know what to do with him. He actually knows everything, but even if knows a lot, he doesn’t want to learn to speak.

Su Xiaoxiao bit the candy in Xiao Doubao’s hands: “Okay, okay. Men don’t cry. Mom is just teasing you; however, Xiao Doubao still needs to speak. Mom can guess what you want to convey, however, your brother and Brother Zhuzi, can’t guess what you want to say. Then, you have to properly tell them, okay? For example, right now, when Mom eats the candy given by Xiao Doubao, I need to say ‘thank you’ in order to express my gratitude. When Mom thinks it’s sweet, I will say, ‘Xiao Doubao’s toffee is really sweet’. But if my mother doesn’t talk like Xiao Doubao, then Xiao Doubao will never know how Mom feels, right?”

Xiao Doubao put the toffee bitten by Su Xiaoxiao into his mouth with a grievance; his cheeks became more puffed up, teardrops hung on his two long eyelashes, and his big eyes filled with tears as he blinked; two pea-sized tears rolled down from his eye sockets again.

Su Xiaoxiao was heartbroken. Xiao Doubao is an obedient kid. Seeing him cry was rare, he almost never cried, but he was almost two years old and still refused to talk. Su Xiaoxiao was a little anxious and always wanted him to speak.

Su Xiaoxiao took out her handkerchief to dry his tears and kissed him again: “Well, Mom is too anxious because Mom wants to listen to Xiao Doubao’s voice very much. So, can you tell Mom when Xiao Doubao wants to talk?”

As soon as Su Xiaoxiao’s voice fell, he heard a little sweet and milky voice calling out “Mom~~”.

Su Xiaoxiao couldn’t regain her senses for a long time. She looked at Xiao Doubao in astonishment. 

The small and big eyes looked at each other. Su Xiaoxiao was immediately ecstatic. She didn’t know what words to use to describe her surging feelings at the moment, but she was still very happy amidst her bewilderment: “Xiao Doubao, did you speak? You just opened your mouth and said, Mom, didn’t you?”

T/N: What a long break…. Sorry for the delay!

References↑1“She is willing to wash her hands and make soup”—in the later generations, this sentence is used to describe the woman’s willingness to give up her superior living conditions for the man.↑2Xueba means that you are the boss when it comes to studying, or you’re an academic guru.