Dandan and Dongdong on New Year's Eve

Watching Zhou Shuling sway her hips as she went upstairs, seemingly in a good mood, Liu Chang'an smiled. The traditional, domestic charm of this woman was very endearing. In a sense, it was also a manifestation of inner strength and determination. No matter what other women in the world pursued, liked, improved their spiritual world, or awakened their independence, Zhou Shuling remained undisturbed.

Liu Chang'an looked at the paper-cut window decorations left by Zhou Shuling, smiled, cut a little bit himself, and then went to sleep.

Liu Chang'an woke up in the morning because someone was fiddling with his head. It seemed that only Zhou Dongdong would do such a thing. So Liu Chang'an didn't open his eyes. He only felt Zhou Dongdong holding his head with one hand, then leaning against him, sucking on something and making gurgling noises. Then, Zhou Dongdong put the straw in Liu Chang'an's mouth, squeezed it, and Liu Chang'an felt a tube of milk shoot into his mouth. He quickly sat up. Pretending to be asleep in front of Zhou Dongdong was really not a wise move.

If Zhou Dongdong wasn't sitting at the dining table or on a small stool eating seriously, she would often take a bite herself and then feed a bite to her companions like Lu Si'en or Liu Chang'an.

"Brother Chang'an, you woke up by yourself!" Zhou Dongdong said happily. This morning, she woke up and was stuck in the blankets, unable to move except for her eyes. Her mother said that Brother Chang'an was back, so Zhou Dongdong hurriedly grabbed some milk and went to see Brother Chang'an, whom she hadn't seen for a long time.

"Did I wake up on my own?" Liu Chang'an got up and dressed. Today, Zhou Dongdong was wearing a red cotton-padded jacket and a woolen hat, probably made by Zhou Shuling herself. Long ear flaps hung down on both sides of the hat, and two small plastic toy airplanes were tied to them.

"We're going to buy New Year's goods today! Mom says they're delicious." Zhou Dongdong had been looking forward to this for a long time because her mother said they would wait for her brother Chang'an to go shopping together, so Zhou Dongdong was also waiting for her brother Chang'an to come back.

"Hmm, have you gone downstairs?"

"No!" Zhou Dongdong said, biting her straw. She rushed over as soon as she got dressed after getting up!

"Wait for me."

Liu Chang'an got dressed, rinsed his mouth, picked up Zhou Dongdong, and went downstairs.

"It's snowing!"

Zhou Dongdong dropped the milk carton in her hand to the ground, staring dumbfounded at the silvery-white world around her.

"Aww!"

Zhou Dongdong yelled and rushed into the snow, spreading his arms and legs and rolling around on the thick snow.

"Ouch..." Zhou Dongdong's chin bumped against the edge of a brick hidden in the snow.

Liu Chang'an helped her up and was about to put some saliva on her when Zhou Dongdong kicked her legs and waved her arms wildly, trying to rush back into the snow, just like a dog that had seen its usual fighting prey but was being held back by its owner with a leash.

Liu Chang'an had no choice but to let her go, allowing her to run and frolic in the snow. This was probably not the first time Zhou Dongdong had seen snow, but a child's short life experiences of just a few years always make memories fade quickly, and when they experience it again, they are filled with novelty and joy.

Lu Si'en rushed downstairs... Zhou Shuling felt it was too cold, so she took Lu Si'en to stay in the house upstairs instead of letting Lu Si'en continue living in the little wooden house downstairs. Lu Si'en Zhou Shuling had been feeding Lu Si'en all this time, and it had become exceptionally shiny and smooth. It circled around Liu Chang'an a few times, shaking its head, and then couldn't wait to roll and wriggle on the snow with Zhou Dongdong.

Liu Chang'an frowned. He had thought Zhou Dongdong would be happy to see snow, but he hadn't expected her to react like a wild boar seeing a mud puddle. Wasn't she a human? Normally, children would tentatively step in the snow, run around, and then pick up some snowflakes to make balls, right?

At this moment, the small door downstairs opened a crack, Shangguan Dandan peeked out with one eye, looking at the snow and ice on the ground, then looked up at Liu Chang'an standing next to her, and the children and dogs frolicking under the tree.

Shangguan Dandan then pushed open the door, hesitated for a moment, and thought of a poem that matched the snow scene, the traveler returning home, and the loving mother's thoughts, but... perhaps because she hadn't had any sparkling water today, her thoughts were a bit scattered and she couldn't think of anything. Oh well.

"Good morning." Liu Chang'an watched as Shangguan Dandan walked out against the wall, carefully avoiding getting her feet dirty on the clean, white snow in front of the door.

"When did you get back?" Shangguan Dandan against the wall, glancing at Zhou Dongdong and Lu Si'en, somewhat worried that they would roll over and ruin the snow in front of her door.

"Last night."

"Then why didn't you knock on my door last night?" Shangguan Dandan said with dissatisfaction. Other people's children would always tell their mothers when they came home, no matter what time it was.

"Then why didn't you wait at my house? Zhou Shuling was waiting for me when I got home," Liu Chang'an retorted.

"Dongdong's mom is so good." Shangguan Dandan praised with great satisfaction. As for Liu Chang'an's other questions, she didn't hear them because her ears were a little cold from the snow.

Liu Chang'an shook his head.

Shangguan Dandan glanced at the snow-covered ground and the snow-laden sycamore trees, then decided to recite a poem. "The northern scenery is magnificent, a thousand miles of ice, ten thousand miles of snow. Looking beyond the Great Wall, only vast expanses remain; the Yellow River, both upstream and downstream, has lost its roaring flow. Mountains dance like silver snakes, plains gallop like wax elephants, vying with the heavens for height. Wait for a sunny day, to see the red-clad and white-draped landscape, exceptionally enchanting. Such is the beauty of this land, attracting countless heroes to bow down. Alas, Qin Shi Huang and Han Wudi... Qin Shi Huang and Han Wudi were indeed powerful; Tang Taizong and Song Taizu were slightly inferior. Genghis Khan, the proud son of heaven, only knew how to bend his bow and shoot eagles. All have passed; to find truly remarkable figures, look to the present."

"Qin Shi Huang and Emperor Wu of Han were really that powerful?" Liu Chang'an still clearly heard the sentence she had casually changed.

"Yes, Emperor Wu of Han here refers to Emperor Xiaowu of our Han Dynasty. Of course he was powerful, the most powerful," Shangguan Dandan said proudly. "Among the others mentioned in this poem, only Qin Shi Huang can compare."

"Alright then." Liu Chang'an didn't argue with her. He hadn't said that Qin Shi Huang and Emperor Wu of Han weren't powerful; he just thought her ability to arbitrarily change poems was too low.

"No one is allowed to trample on this patch of snow in front of my door." Shangguan Dandan went back to get the pliers for picking up coal briquettes, preparing to mark out a designated area.

At this moment, Zhou Dongdong, who was already like a snowball, rushed over, grabbed two clumps of snow and threw them at Liu Chang'an and Shangguan Dandan. Then, she fell down where Shangguan Dandan was about to draw a boundary, nimbly rolled over and got up and ran away.

"Is Dongdong still cute?" Liu Chang'an asked Shangguan Dandan, who stood there staring blankly at the snow where the wild boar had rolled around.

Whenever Zhou Dongdong does something that Liu Chang'an finds hard to understand, Shangguan Dandan likes to giggle and say, "Dongdong is so cute."

Shangguan Dandan silently put away the coal tongs, then brought out the small stove, kettle, and the long bench she liked to sit on while boiling water. She added some charcoal to the stove to start a fire, checked the flames, then extinguished the embers of a large piece of charcoal that she felt was unnecessary by dipping it in snow and putting it into a snakeskin bag. Only then did she place the small kettle, filled with water, on the stove, and then sat there holding the thermos, looking at the snow before her, ignoring Liu Chang'an.

Liu Chang'an laughed, "Dan Dan is so cute."

Shangguan Dandan rolled her eyes at him.

Zhou Shuling was upstairs, peeked out and said it was time for breakfast. Then she saw Zhou Dongdong, who was completely covered in snow – hood, hair, ears, shoes, and even her pockets were full of snow – running around everywhere. She was so angry that she ran downstairs to chase after Zhou Dongdong. However, she was wearing slippers and couldn't run into the snow. Seeing Liu Chang'an next to her looking at her expectantly, she pinched Zhou Dongdong Liu Chang'an's waist in anger. Zhou Dongdong's unruly behavior was definitely related to Liu Chang'an.

-

-

I'm begging for recommendation votes and monthly tickets, Various Requests.