Chapter 22 Drooling Over Baby Food

When Xiao Jiu can't sleep at night, he likes to look down on the entire warehouse's stored supplies from a God's-eye view, using an AR perspective.

She didn't know until she saw it, and once she did, she couldn't help but smile.

"These supplies are enough to ensure I'll have enough to eat and wear for the rest of my life. My parents gave me life again."

Fresh seasonal vegetables and fruits, frozen seafood, preserved meat products, quail eggs, chicken eggs, duck eggs, as well as rice, flour, grains, and cooking oil—it's not a supermarket, but it offers even better value for money than a supermarket because these are all daily necessities!

Because there was an abundance of goat milk at home reserved for her, and her brothers could only drink it if she couldn't finish it, her grandmother didn't introduce any complementary foods to her. She didn't even prepare rice porridge or egg custard, thinking it wouldn't be too late to introduce them when she was seven or eight months old.

The main reason is that she absorbs nutrients well and is fair-skinned, chubby, and cute. Perhaps because she is annoyed by those outsiders who always say things like, "Why are they so good to her if she's not their biological daughter?", Grandma has stopped letting her older sister go out since she came to take care of her. Anyway, the house is big enough for them to do whatever they want.

After three months of June, July, and August, even the most meat-loving person would have had their fill of cicada nymphs. Fortunately, the cicadas gradually disappeared after mid-August, and the end of their chirping brought a sudden silence to the earth. Then came the autumn rains. As the saying goes, "one autumn rain brings one chill," and after each autumn rain, you could feel the temperature drop by a few degrees.

Cuihua and her friends also caught cicada nymphs when they were young, but because they didn't have flashlights, the number they caught was far less than that of the Tao family. Goodness, two or three hundred in one night, who can do that?

At most, they only had a hundred or so, which they already thought was a lot. But the cicada nymphs they brought back were all eaten by their parents. When they wanted some, their parents slapped them away, saying, "There's so little meat, and you dare to compete with us for it? We'll bring back more tomorrow and we'll give it to you."

Growing up in such an environment, the three sisters thought they were not worthy of eating cicada nymphs. But after coming to the Tao family, they learned that not only could they eat as many cicada nymphs as they wanted, but there were also so many ways to eat them: roasted, fried, pan-fried, and even just the small piece of meat in the middle could be used to make dumplings. This was a treatment they had never enjoyed at home, so when they ate to their hearts' content for the first time, they cried.

Those were tears of emotion shed because they had eaten meat, which prompted the Tao family to put down their chopsticks and comfort them.

After spending a month or two together, Pandi and Zhaodi had said this to Cuihua more than once.

"Sister, can we just stay in the Tao family and never go back?"

Cuihua knew perfectly well how happy she would be to stay here, but this was ultimately not her home!

Xiao Jiu can stay here with a clear conscience because she belongs here, while they are just living under someone else's roof and can leave at any time!

Cuihua had to tell them, "I'm afraid this won't work, because if we stay here too long, people outside will talk about us. We just want to teach our parents a lesson, not leave that home. They say there's no place like home, and you and I both dislike our own home, not because we think it's bad, but because the owner is never home and takes everything out, making it impossible for us to stay. After a while, we lose our motivation. I understand you, but we also need to understand the Tao family. If we just stay here, how are we any different from our parents?"

The two younger sisters always listened to Cuihua. Although they felt a little sad, they knew that this place did not belong to them.

All four boys in the family have started school. Watching them leave early every day, come back in the evening, and eat lunch at school, the three sisters feel an indescribable envy.

While I may envy them, I've never thought about it myself. The main reason is that in this era, very few girls go to school; it's mostly the boys in the family who are in school. Subconsciously, I've been influenced by the idea of ​​valuing boys over girls.

By mid-September, Xiao Jiu will be six months old. She is noticeably stronger than before and can now stand up while holding onto her crib. Although it's only for a short while, it has already startled her family. They all told her to keep a close eye on her and not to let her stand for too long at this age, lest she get tired.

Having the mind of an adult, how could she be content to lie there forever? Turning over was no longer enough to satisfy her curiosity about her surroundings; she would occasionally turn over and sit up on her own, leaving everyone staring in disbelief.

"Other girls can only sit up at seven months, but she's not even six months old and she can already sit up by herself? This little girl is so amazing!"

In ordinary families, when a child is said to be able to sit, it means that an adult puts her on a stool and helps her sit up. Even then, some children still wobble and stagger. But Xiao Jiu was different. She turned over by herself, wriggling and shifting her weight to sit up, and then used the crib railing for support. This feat not only amazed the Tao family, but even her three older sisters who had been taking care of her were dumbfounded, constantly marveling at their younger sister's intelligence and agility.

Perhaps seeing how clever she was, Grandma started trying to feed her some rice gruel and occasionally stew an egg, but she never dared to give her too much at once.

For Xiaojiu, who drinks goat milk every day, being able to eat food other than milk is incredibly exciting. As soon as an adult brings over a bowl and hands her a spoon, she opens her mouth, stretches her neck, and bounces forward. Sometimes, when she's in such a hurry, her saliva even drips out, making her grandma and the others chuckle. When the food is put into her mouth, she takes a big gulp. Even though there are no seasonings, she thinks it's really delicious!

"Grandma, look at how much your little sister is enjoying this. She really loves it! Can't you give her more? Look, look, she's smacking her lips. If you weren't holding her hands down, she might have started eating it with her hands!"

The eldest brother, engrossed in his laughter, pointed at Xiao Jiu, who was pouting and looking dissatisfied, while the second brother gloated as he wiped away her drool.

"It's gone, oh dear, it's gone after only a few bites, so pitiful. So grow up quickly, and when you grow up, I'll give you my share."

Finally, the bowl of steamed egg custard was placed in the hands of the youngest, Tao An. It wasn't that Tao An disliked eating his sister's food, but seeing her waving her little hands and staring at his bowl made him feel guilty, and he couldn't help but turn to look at his grandmother.

"Are you really not going to give her any? Look at her, staring at me so pitifully!"

Grandma smiled and shook her head: "No, she's too young now. We need to add it little by little. We can't give her too much at once, or she won't be able to handle it and will have health problems. You eat quickly, go to the main room to eat, just don't let her see."

Finally, Xiao Jiu watched longingly as the waiter took the bowl away, regretfully squeezing out tears of longing, her heart also desperately cheering—

I want to grow up! I want to grow up!!!