Chapter 25

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"Truly a mischievous little mud monkey, go wash your hands, it's time to eat. Today, Dad made your favorite meat." Li Han rubbed Dudu's little head, wondering where he had been playing, covered in mud, his little face dirty like a little flower cat.

"Mm-hmm." With big blinking eyes, little Dudu happily nodded his little head, turned around, and ran into the bathroom, holding his little red basin and darted to the small pond outside the yard. He poked his little bottom and filled half a basin with water to wash his hands, not forgetting to use fragrant soap, creating a lot of bubbles. After washing, he sniffed his hands, which smelled nice, and then happily ran into the kitchen, standing in front of his dad, lifting his little head and showing his two little hands to Li Han. "Very good, help Dad bring the rice to the dining table." Li Han smiled and handed the bowls, chopsticks, and rice to little Dudu.

Praised, little Dudu happily took the bowls, chopsticks, and rice and ran to the dining room, climbed onto a chair, and placed the bowls and rice on the table, imitating his dad's way of arranging the small bowls. After arranging the bowls, Dudu's little mouth pouted, seeing only chopsticks and no spoons or forks, his little mouth pouted even more.

When Li Han came over with the dishes, Dudu had arranged the bowls and chopsticks and was sitting obediently. "Let's eat, do you still remember how to use chopsticks?"

Li Han served the rice and handed the chopsticks to pouting Dudu, smiling and rubbing Dudu's little head. "Can, can, can Dudu has forgotten." "It's okay, you'll learn it in no time." Li Han looked at Dudu, who was pouting and lowered his little head, and smiled.

But several times, Dudu failed to pick up the meat, and the pieces fell onto the table. The little girl's mouth pouted even more. "Dudu can't pick it up, sniff, Dudu has become stupid." "Dudu can't, what should I do?" "Sniff, Dudu doesn't want chopsticks." Dudu wiped her eyes, feeling wronged, as Dad didn't give her a spoon or fork, and she didn't know how to use chopsticks.

"It's okay, Dad will teach you, don't cry. Look, you can pick it up, good." Li Han sat next to Dudu, holding her little hand, and taught her step by step. "Grandma and Grandpa will be very happy to see Dudu using chopsticks when they come tomorrow."

Dudu wiped her tears, pouting. "But Dudu can't use chopsticks, what should I do? Grandma and Grandpa won't like Dudu." The little girl cried even more, feeling wronged. Li Han, who was about to comfort her, said, "It's okay, Dudu is very smart. After dinner, Dad will make a pair of small chopsticks for Dudu to eat meat, and then we'll practice."

"Okay." Dudu waved the big chopsticks, chasing the meat, opened her little mouth, and bit the meat, nodding her little head. After finishing the meal, Dudu stood on the chair and helped Dad clear the table and take the dishes to the kitchen. Li Han found a pair of small gloves and a chair, letting Dudu stand on the chair to learn how to wash the dishes and chopsticks. "Don't make too many bubbles, or it will be wasteful. Wasteful children are not good children." Li Han removed some of the bubbles from Dudu's hands and rinsed them off with water.

After washing the dishes, Dudu pestered Li Han to make small chopsticks. There were no bamboo sticks around the house, so Li Han had to use adult chopsticks, cutting them and carving them into smaller ones suitable for Dudu's little hands. He made three or four pairs, which Dudu found much easier to use. Li Han found two bowls and filled them with cheese for Dudu to practice with. During this time, Li Han received a call saying the beer equipment was ready for testing, and he planned to go and check it out.

He turned on the TV and subscribed to an educational channel for children, so Dudu could watch and learn to speak and gain knowledge. Dudu sat obediently on the sofa, placing two small bowls on her legs to practice picking up dry cheese. Li Han turned on the TV, adjusted the channel, and filled a large bottle with milk, putting the nipple in Dudu's mouth. "Practice well, if you get tired, go to sleep. Dad is going out to work." "Okay, Dudu will be good."

Seeing Dudu's serious face as she practiced using chopsticks, Li Han was quite pleased. He closed the door, went to the garage, and drove the pickup to the small farm. "Pierre, I'm really sorry. I was supposed to treat you to a meal, but there are some things to take care of at the farm."

"Hank, you don't need to apologize. I think the equipment is ready for testing at any time." Pierre provided over a hundred pounds of barley that had sprouted, and Li Han nodded. The equipment was started, and the raw materials were added. The entire process was complex, and Li Han paid close attention, asking about precautions. After more than two hours, Pierre explained the entire process in detail, and Li Han was very satisfied. When Pierre and the workers left, Li Han gave them a $200 tip.

After seeing Pierre off, not long after, Will's pickup truck arrived at the farm with the malt. "Hank, I think our wonderful beer is waiting for us to enjoy." Li Han led Will to the beer house, where the equipment was already running. Li Han, excited, introduced it to Will.

"Hank, this is great news. I can't wait to taste the beautiful hop flavor, it's truly delightful." Will closed his eyes, looking completely entranced.

"I think we can have a drink first, Will, what do you think?" Li Han patted the entranced Will and suggested.

"Of course, that's a good idea." Will and Li Han returned to the small building. Li Han opened the fridge, took out two bottles of beer, and handed one to Will. "To the fresh and wonderful beer, let's have a drink, Will."

"Hank, congratulations. To the fresh and wonderful beer, cheers." Will gave Li Han a congratulatory hug. A fresh, cold beer on a summer day is a wonderful experience, with a refreshing taste and a unique hop aroma, making one moan with pleasure.

After finishing the beer, the two of them carried the malt to the large storage room and put it away. Li Han needed to master the technique of sprouting barley, as brewing beer is not as simple as it seems. "Will, thank you for helping me, and please thank Uncle Marbury and Uncle Ronald for me."

"Hank, my brother, I think this is not enough. For the hops and rice, Uncle Marbury might not be able to help much." Will is a few years younger than Li Han but is much stronger. "Will, Uncle Marbury and Uncle Ronald have already helped me a lot. I think the hops and rice will be resolved, and the fresh and wonderful beer is not far away."

"Of course, Hank, God will bless you." Will said with certainty.

"Will, there's something regrettable I want to tell you. I might not be able to attend the baseball game tomorrow afternoon. My mom and dad are coming to see me from China, and I think I'll go to Bandon in the afternoon." Li Han said with regret, as he had missed two baseball games, which was quite disappointing.

"Hank, I think Porter will understand. I'll explain the reason for you." Will was a bit regretful, but the game tomorrow was not that important. "Thank you, Will. These are some vegetables from George's farm garden. There are too many, so I'll give you some."

"Thank you very much, Hank. I think Sybil will like them." Will's mother, Sybil, is a nice lady, kind and friendly, and Li Han respects her very much. "It's my honor, Will, I'll see you off."

Li Han saw Will off, then received a call from Ronald, who told him that the small farm union had called the butler of Mr. Glasserman, Li Han's neighbor, but received no response. Li Han was not surprised, as the rich are often unwilling to listen to the voices of small farmers.

"Thank you, Uncle Ronald. I know, I'll be prepared." "Hank, tomorrow is Sunday. I think you can meet this neighbor."

"Yes, Uncle Ronald, I'll go over." Li Han thought he would attend the church service early tomorrow and then drive to Bandon. His parents were flying from Xi'an to Seattle, departing at around 10 PM tomorrow and arriving in Seattle the next afternoon, then taking a small plane to Bandon, which would take about an hour.

"Hank, I think we need to have a good talk with this gentleman." Ronald said.

"Yes, Uncle Ronald, I will be very calm when talking to this old gentleman." Li Han understood Ronald's concern. He is not a child anymore and knows that only calmness can solve problems. "Alright, see you at the church tomorrow."

"Alright, God bless you." Li Han hung up the phone, sat for a while, then stood up. "This is really a troublesome matter. I hope the spring water helps the pasture. Perhaps, this will make things better."

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