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Chapter 11: Steamed Bun Filling

After staying at the Bai residence for a while, delivering the tangram, and saying their goodbyes, Cheng Qing carried her child home.

When little Bai Luochuan was carried to the door, he didn’t notice anything at first, as Mi Yang was still within his line of sight. They were often held up by the adults to interact like this. But when he saw Mi Yang being carried away and out of sight, he started kicking his legs anxiously, searching for him and calling out “yiya.” Mrs. Bai tried to soothe him with a small biscuit, but he scrunched up his little face and threw it on the floor.

Mrs. Bai was exasperated, poking him on the forehead. “This temper of yours, I really don’t know who you take after!”

Bai Jingrong happened to return just then with his orderly, his expression also not looking too good, his brow furrowed and unable to relax. Mrs. Bai asked him, “What’s wrong?”

Bai Jingrong sat down and drank a glass of water, sighing after a long moment. “Who else could it be? Our dad. He insists on coming over, says he wants to see the results of this year’s field training.”

Mrs. Bai smiled. “Isn’t that great? Is he going to the division headquarters?”

Bai Jingrong shook his head. “No, he’s coming here.”

Mrs. Bai looked at him in surprise. “Dad is coming? When did he say? What day will he arrive?”

Bai Jingrong had a headache. “Just now. He gave me an internal call. Said he’s already halfway here, wants to do a surprise inspection.”

Mrs. Bai pursed her lips and smiled. “Isn’t that perfect? I think Company Commander Mi is very well-prepared. Besides, when has the Second Artillery Corps ever lost face? Sometimes when Cheng Qing and I are knitting in the room, we can hear you all up on the mountain, booming away with your firing drills!”

Bai Jingrong said, “But for Dad to come without any notice, it’s against the rules.”

Mrs. Bai said, “The old man is the rules. You, don’t worry so much. This also gives Company Commander Mi a chance to shine.”

Bai Jingrong sighed, nodded, and said no more. He reached out to tease his son, but little Bai Luochuan’s “toy” had just been carried away, and he was in a bad mood. He didn’t even offer a smile. When his little belly was poked twice, he mercilessly pried his father’s hand away and crisply shouted a single word, “No! No no!”

Bai Jingrong was at a loss for words. “Who did he learn this from? His pronunciation is quite standard.”

In the end, he still picked up his son, bounced him in his hands, and said, “He’s gotten fatter.”

Little Bai Luochuan’s eyes widened, his little eyebrows shooting up as if to vividly express his anger.

Bai Jingrong’s expression was subtle. Holding his son, he suddenly thought of the term “skipping a generation.” It had to be said, his son’s temper was a carbon copy of his old man’s—explosive.

On the other side, Mi Yang was carried back to his own home.

He rolled over on the bed by himself and watched his mother pack their luggage, feeling a little expectant.

This time when he went back, he would be able to see his grandmother.

In his previous life, besides spending a few months in the military camp every year, the rest of his childhood memories were of his grandmother’s house. He had been raised by the old lady’s own hands, and their bond was the deepest. Whenever the old lady received something good, she would save it for him to have a bite when he returned. From a popsicle and a few pastries when he was young, to the money Mi Yang gave her during holidays, the old lady saved it all for him. The old lady rarely went out and didn’t spend money. She saved every penny in a passbook, and once it reached a round number, she would give it to Mi Yang with a smile, telling him to use it to buy a house.

Thinking of his grandmother, Mi Yang’s eyes reddened a little. With his sudden return, the old lady wouldn’t be able to find him and would probably be worried sick. She had a bad heart, and he didn’t know if she had her medicine with her.

That evening, Mi Zehai and his wife made a huge blunder.

Thinking that they were about to leave, Cheng Qing wanted to cook a special meal for Mi Zehai, making his favorite white steamed buns with pork and cabbage filling. The buns were white and tender, with soft, plump skins. Inside, she had specially placed meatballs. A single bite would release a stream of savory oil, making them exceptionally fragrant.

Mi Zehai ate six in one go, and Cheng Qing had two herself. Seeing his son smacking his lips greedily on the side, Mi Zehai openly and secretly fed Mi Yang half a bun’s worth of filling.

It was a rare chance for Mi Yang to sneak a treat, and he cooperated fully.

But when night came, Mi Yang started wailing.

There was no other reason. The bun filling was too salty, and his parents had forgotten to give him water. He was thirsty!

But the two novice parents panicked. They brought out various children’s cough syrups and hawthorn digestive tablets, trying to feed them to Mi Yang, but he pushed them all away. The more he couldn’t get water, the more he thrashed about. The fatal problem was that he hadn’t learned the word for “water” from Bai Luochuan yet, and he couldn’t risk blurting it out. It was truly suffocating.

Cheng Qing rarely saw her son cry and immediately overthought things, nearly crying herself. “It’s all your fault! It must be because of that orange soda during the day. I told you not to give it to Yangyang, but you wouldn’t listen!”

Mi Zehai was also in a fluster. “Maybe it’s not that. Is… is he sick?”

Cheng Qing was already trembling with fear. “I heard that eating unclean things can easily make you sick. Could it be… appendicitis?”

The two of them hastily got dressed, bundled up Mi Yang, and went to find the military doctor. But the military doctor didn’t handle pediatrics. Seeing them in such a panic, he was also startled and told them to quickly drive to the hospital for a check-up. At the military doctor’s words, Cheng Qing’s tears started to roll down. Mi Zehai rushed to find a car, but the camp’s car happened to be out. Fortunately, Bai Jingrong had a private car, and he quickly sent a driver to take Mi Zehai’s family to the hospital.

When they arrived at the hospital, the doctor on duty in the emergency room happened to be an old doctor who was skilled in pediatrics.

He first gave Mi Yang a thorough examination and asked about his condition. Mi Yang was listless by now. He thought to himself, If this old doctor is going to operate on me, I’ll throw caution to the wind and say the words “drink water.”

The old doctor examined him carefully for a long time but couldn’t see any signs of illness in the child before him. He pondered for a moment and said, “How about this, did you bring a baby bottle? There’s hot water in the office. Go get some and let the child have a drink first.”

When the bottle was brought over, Mi Yang hugged it and drank more than half a bottle of water in one go before letting go. When he released the nipple, it made a loud “pop” sound. He was no longer listless; in fact, he was full of energy!

The old doctor immediately chuckled. “I figured as much. You gave the child bun filling in addition to his supplementary food tonight. He must have been thirsty from the saltiness. It’s alright, this kind of situation, novice parents make mistakes all the time. Take him back, no medicine needed.”

Mi Zehai breathed a sigh of relief. “Yes, yes, it’s all my fault. I was the one who fed him things I shouldn’t have.”

Cheng Qing’s tears turned to laughter. As long as the child was fine, that was all that mattered. It was just that they had troubled the Bai family in the middle of the night, which made her a little embarrassed.

The next day, she went to express her thanks. Mrs. Bai, however, was more anxious to ask about the child’s condition. When she heard what had happened, she couldn’t stop laughing. “It’s good that he’s not sick. How about this, why don’t you stay a few more days for observation? Children are small and can’t express themselves clearly. It’s always better to be safe than sorry.”

Cheng Qing was a little hesitant.

Mrs. Bai persuaded her again, “It takes several days to get home by train. If the child gets sick on the train, that would be real trouble.”

Cheng Qing thought about it and said, “That’s true. Then let’s postpone it for a few days.”

Mi Yang also began to speed up his talking. He didn’t dare to appear too intelligent himself, so when the adults weren’t around, he would work hard with little Bai Luochuan, practicing useful spoken words with him. After the little young master proudly performed for everyone, a few days later, he also “learned” them, much to Cheng Qing’s pleasant surprise.