Chapter 175: Chapter 175 Surprise

The booming business at Su’s Restaurant made Susu extremely happy as she lay at home with her legs crossed, looking at the account books.

All the shops owned by Susu, including the restaurant, brine goods shop, and clothing store, had their accounts handled by Lu Xiaomei and Su Nian.

The two of them checked each other’s work, and Susu would conduct random audits from time to time.

In the first month, Su’s Restaurant’s business exploded, including the hot and spicy soup, which also boosted the sales of brined goods.

Susu, looking at the numbers in the account books, laughed with joy until her eyes disappeared.

Mrs. Lu, who tiptoed in to deliver hot milk, saw this and immediately couldn’t help smiling broadly, whispering,

“Susu, I’ve put the hot milk here for you.”

“Ah, thank you, Mom.”

—

The north wind howled, and tiny snowflakes danced and swirled around, even the thin layer of snow on the ground piled up and fluttered aimlessly with the wind.

In the early morning, the empty streets were lined with thin layers of piled snow, and the figures of two people, one tall and one short, slowly walked on the street.

Despite carrying bags big and small and breathing heavily, their eyes sparkled exceptionally bright.

“Thump, thump, thump—”

“Who is it?”

Father Lu, who had just warmed milk for his grandchildren, donned his cotton coat and stepped outside, guessing his daughter had forgotten something.

“What did you kids leave—”

Seeing the two people at the door, the rest of Father Lu’s words were swallowed back, and after a stunned moment, his face lit up with surprise.

“Older brother, from the elder brother’s family? How come you’re back?”

“Isn’t it early for you to come back this year?”

“Dad.”

Father Lu, overwhelmed with excitement, hurriedly helped with the luggage, and the three of them cheerfully entered the house.

“Mom, younger sister.”

“Older brother from the elder brother’s family, why did you suddenly come back, and so early?”

Susu momentarily paused, then smilingly called out, “Brother and elder sister-in-law, hurry and warm up on the kang.”

“Exactly, quickly, come up on the kang.”

Mrs. Lu said as she quickly got off the kang to make brown sugar water for her eldest son and daughter-in-law.

With a cup of steaming brown sugar water, Brother Lu and Jiang Nan both felt warmth spread through them.

“Mom—”

The siblings next door, hearing the noise, rushed over competing who could get there first.

“Dad, Mom!!!”

The two sisters immediately threw themselves into their parents’ arms, their mouths turning down, their voices taking on a crying tone.

“Elder uncle, aunt.”

Tianyu, smiling, finished calling out and swiftly directed his three younger siblings, who were staring with a mix of familiarity and strangeness, to greet them.

“Pingping and Anan, Lele, these are our elder uncle and aunt, quickly greet them.”

“Elder uncle, aunt.”

The triplets obediently greeted.

“Oh, Tianyu, Pingping and Anan, Lele, you all are good, and the elder uncle and aunt also brought you New Year’s presents.”

Jiang Nan said and immediately got off the kang and went straight for a big denim bag, rummaging through it to pull out heaps of stuff.

Clothes, shoes, toys, and various little trinkets were laid out on the floor.

“Tianyu, these are yours.”

“Pingping and Anan, you two brothers share these, divide them among yourselves.”

…

After Jiang Nan finished distributing gifts to the six kids, she also gave presents to her parents-in-law and the second elder couple, all specially bought by the couple the day before they returned.

The sisters held their toys, playing on the kang bed with their little sister.

As soon as the two brothers entered with toys, they started a battle, with Tianyu anxiously following behind them, worried they might bump into something.

The adults were joyfully chatting and laughing, discussing the big events of the past year.

“Wait a moment, elder brother, elder sister-in-law, wasn’t the train supposed to arrive at four or five in the middle of the night? How come you didn’t get back until after seven?” Su Nian suddenly remembered.

Brother Lu coughed and said, “We waited at the station until almost seven before we left.”

It was only then that the family realized that the couple had waited at the station to avoid disturbing the family, returning only when it was almost time.

Mrs. Lu frowned, “We are all family; what’s there to worry about? If we wake up, we can just go back to sleep.”

Susu nodded, “Yes, elder brother, elder sister-in-law, don’t do this next time. Just come straight home next time. It’s not like we don’t have enough space.”

…

That night, Brother Lu and his wife Jiang Nan took their daughter to the newly built house next door, having heartfelt talks as a family.

The next day, being a day off, Lu Xiaomei came back from the store early to help out at home.

The third child couple also came over early with their six-month-old baby.

“Third one, Xiaoxiao is here, hurry and come inside to warm up.”

Mrs. Lu beamed as she took her grandson, and when she opened his swaddling, the little guy stared with his big, round eyes.

“Oh my, is grandma’s good baby awake? Such a good child? Not making a fuss at all?”

Just as she spoke, the little guy’s mouth puckered up. The next second, a loud cry rang out.

Mrs. Lu first checked her grandson’s bottom, which was damp, and upon checking, indeed, he had pooped. She quickly wiped him down and changed his diaper.

The nearby triplets, seeing their brother mess himself, ran away covering their noses.

“Eww, brother is stinky.”

“Run! Brother pooped.”

“Little troublemakers, baby poop doesn’t smell bad, you exaggerate too much,” Mrs. Lu scolded the little ones with a smile.

Who would have thought that would meet the triplets’ disdainful little looks, their small hands fanning their noses, making expressions as if to say grandma’s nose isn’t working.

Bai Xiao took her son, smiling as she stood up and went next door to breastfeed.

In winter, hot pot is the best. A large family enjoyed a steaming copper pot full of beef, lamb, and various vegetables spread across several dishes.

Wary of the little ones, the six siblings sat at a separate table, letting the adults serve them whatever they wanted.

The whole family talked and laughed loudly during the meal, and after finishing the hot pot, everyone was stuffed.

Having eaten their fill, the siblings had long since run off to the playroom on the west side.

“Big sister, I’m so happy.”

“Xiao Xue, elder sister is also very happy.”

The sisters’ smiles never faded from their faces since their parents returned.

The triplets also jumped around joyfully shouting how happy they were.

Tianyu straightened the slippers scattered all over the floor, “You’re happy because of all the toys you got.”

“Hehehe… Elder brother is so clever to know that.”

The three siblings giggled, twisting their hips.

It was then known that Brother Lu had recently taken on small construction projects, no longer having to labor intensively on construction sites, but rather overseeing workers and keeping an eye on project progress.

He was somewhat of a subcontractor now, occasionally helping out when chasing deadlines.

Meanwhile, Jiang Nan had hired a lady to help wash vegetables, leaving her much less stressed, and her boxed lunch business had improved significantly compared to when she was alone.

The couple decided to come back early this year for the New Year, to see the kids and family.

Today, with the whole family present, Susu immediately took out her camera and took photos of everyone.

Family portraits of Brother Lu, Jiang Nan, the two as a couple, and the children.

Others had various group and individual photos taken.

Lu Xiaoting even called the neighbors next door to help take two full family portraits in the middle of the yard.

The more they shot, the more excited it got, and finally, Susu used up a whole roll of film before stopping.