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"But...." Xiao Bao had something else to say, but his brother, who had already left, closed the door behind him.
Despite leaving the house, Da Bao still cautiously made his way to the main room and stood at the doorway without entering directly.
"Da Bao, why are you alone?"
When Yun Xiaoxiao saw Da Bao, she was stunned for quite a while. It was already the time of the autumn harvest, which was when the male lead would go out to earn money.
However, the child before her eyes didn't look like a five-year-old. He seemed closer to three or four, with a face so thin that his eyes were strikingly prominent. His small face was also somewhat dirty, and he wore patched clothes that were dusty. On his feet were a pair of holey shoes, exposing his toes at the front.
Isn't he too skinny?
Da Bao's height only allowed him to see the dishes on the table, but he couldn't see what kind of food was inside the plates?
"Mommy...." Da Bao timidly called out, his eyes fixated on the table, where the aroma of food made him swallow hard.
"Call Xiao Bao to come and eat together," Xiaoxiao said with a smile, softening her voice as she spoke.
Doesn't Da Bao want to call his brother?
But seeing his mother smile at him, speaking to him so gently, she hadn't been this gentle for a long time.
When their father was at home, they could still have meals, but when he was away, sometimes their mother wouldn't even cook.
Though Da Bao was only five years old, he could already stand on a small stool and cook by himself.
But the food in the kitchen was locked up by their mother, he didn't dare to knock on the lock, fearing a beating.
Taking his brother to the mountains to forage, or to their grandparents' house for a meal.
"Hurry up and call him, I won't hit you," Xiaoxiao saw his timid appearance and, with those memories, knew that the female supporting character used to hit the children. This made the child instinctively wary and fearful of her.
Not hit?
Da Bao was torn whether or not to call his brother.
If he didn't call Xiao Bao over for food, he feared that his mother might lock up the food later, and then they would be hungry all day long.
"I'll go call Xiao Bao."
Da Bao bit his lower lip, turned around to call his brother, reasoning that he could take the beating for Xiao Bao, if it came to that.
Da Bao's actions were quite quick, leading Xiao Bao towards the main room.
Xiaoxiao also saw Xiao Bao, who looked like a two-year-old, so skinny that his head seemed too large for his small body, still wearing patched clothes and holey shoes, his little face dirty as ever.
She wanted to tell them to wash their hands before coming to eat, but before the two could even approach the table, their bellies started rumbling loudly.
"Mommy...." Xiao Bao was particularly afraid of Yun Xiaoxiao.
Before the reinstatement of the college entrance examination, the female supporting character was still a virtuous mother, but after the reinstatement, and failing the examination, she changed.
"Come on over and eat for now, just make do with a little," Xiaoxiao sighed deeply.
She felt somewhat relieved that the female supporting character wasn't slovenly; the house was still quite clean.
But when they climbed up onto the stools, they could see the milk in the small bowls, giving off a rich milky fragrance.
"This is the powdered milk I prepared for you, and there are also some pastries I bought from the town earlier. I'll make something delicious for you tonight."
Xiaoxiao felt a bit embarrassed, her cooking skills were only average.
The two kids were desperate, caught between being hit and eating their fill, they chose to eat first and deal with the consequences after.
When they took their first sip of milk, it tasted so fragrant, and with another sip, the milk flavor was even richer.
Da Bao had tasted malted milk before.
The powdered milk was bought by their father when Xiao Bao was born, and Da Bao had tried it with his brother.
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