Chapter 37

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Meimei took a bath, brewed a pot of green tea, and carried it to the sofa on the balcony, where she sat with her legs crossed, sipping the fine tea leisurely and enjoying the beautiful afternoon. The sun was shining brightly outside, and a few birds were hopping and chirping on the lawn, chasing each other. Not far away, on a small grass field, two lambs, a Brahman white bull, and two chestnut Quarter Horses were grazing leisurely.

"Mom, look, the way Little Han is lounging around, he really looks like a landlord," her sister said with a smile, holding the washed clothes to dry on the balcony and pointing at Li Han to her mother, Zhang Xiuying.

"Such a large piece of land, in the past, it would have been a landlord's," Mother said with a smile.

"You two, Little Han and his brother-in-law have been busy all morning. They should rest a bit. Little Han, what do you want for dinner? I don't know what Americans like," Li Pinghe said, holding a teacup and walking over.

"Any simple dishes will do. Lighter and less spicy," Li Han said, not taking it too seriously. A home-cooked meal would be fine; being too particular would make things awkward. "This child, you don't have any relatives in America. If you don't rely on friends, who will help you when you need it? Old Li, make a few good dishes tonight."

"Alright, Little Han, after you rest, buy more ingredients. I'll make some hometown dishes," Li Pinghe said. His cooking skills were really good, not inferior to a professional chef. Li Han's eyes lit up. "Dad, now that you mention it, I'm really craving it. I'll buy some mutton, and you can make hand-pulled mutton. It's been days since I've had it, and I really miss it."

"You, don't just think about yourself," Zhang Xiuying said with a disapproving look at Li Han, who chuckled. His sister and father smiled. After hanging the clothes, his sister and mother tidied up the tableware, while Li Pinghe tended to the flowers in the garden, leaving Li Han to rest for a while.

After resting for the afternoon, Li Han drove the pickup to town to buy ingredients for dinner, including beef, mutton, and pork. He specially bought a turkey, and the vegetables were already at home. Passing by Thomas's gun shop, Li Han bought two boxes of bullets to try out with his brother-in-law in the evening. When he passed the bar, he remembered that the beer at home was running low, so he bought a bucket of beer and a box of whiskey, loaded them into the car, and returned to the small farm. Baby and Dudu were awake, sitting side by side on the swings in the small playground in front of the farm, sweetly eating ice cream and swinging their little legs.

The two little ones were dressed in overalls, Baby in blue overalls, a red shirt, and a red hat, while Dudu was the opposite, with red overalls, a blue shirt, and a blue hat. They looked like Super Mario. Li Han drove closer and laughed. The ice creams in their hands were mushroom-shaped, and he wondered if his sister had done this. When Li Han and Li Mei were young, they loved the Super Mario game, with its big-bellied character in overalls, wearing a hat, and sporting a mustache, always jumping on mushrooms and collecting coins. This memory would never be forgotten. Li Han parked the car, and it really looked like two little 'Marios' eating 'mushrooms.'

"Beep beep beep." Li Han honked the horn, and the two little ones looked up, seeing Li Han return. They quickly jumped off the swing and ran over. "Uncle, you're back." Baby blinked her big eyes, tiptoeing, while Dudu climbed up directly. Li Han opened the car door and let the two little 'Marios' in. "Dudu, Baby, who changed your clothes?"

"Mom." "Aunt." The two little ones said while eating their ice cream, confirming that his sister had brought the clothes.

"Very pretty." Li Han rubbed Dudu's little head, and Baby was secretly rummaging through the big bag in the back seat, holding an ice cream spoon in her mouth, still looking for something to eat. "Hehe, Dad praised Dudu."

"Dudu is shy." Li Han saw the two little ones bickering and quickly stopped them. "Why aren't you playing at home?"

The two little ones immediately lowered their heads, especially Baby, who pouted, and Dudu blinked, imitating her sister.

Li Han laughed; these two little girls must have caused some trouble. His sister had chased them out. Li Han parked the car, picked up the bag, and Dudu rushed to help her dad. "Sis, what trouble did Baby and Dudu cause this time?"

"Little Han, you don't know. Baby is getting bolder. She just dragged Dudu to the stable, leading the chestnut horse and shouting to take her sister for a ride. If I hadn't noticed early, the little one might have really ridden the horse out," Li Mei said, glaring at Baby, who lowered her head. "And that's not all. The few flower pots you put on the windowsill, the two little ones somehow got their eyes on them and knocked them all over."

"What?" Li Han looked at the two little ones, not knowing what to say. "That's right, look at the mess inside." Li Mei pointed to the floor, which was covered with footprints from the lambs, the dog, and the chicks. How did they make such a mess?

"It was Baby who, following a book, made a mud puddle and smeared it on the hooves of the lambs and the chicks. The two little chicks almost drowned," Li Mei said, getting angrier, wanting to give Baby a couple of swats on the bottom.

"Uh-huh, it was Sister Baby," Dudu, who didn't quite understand, nodded, looking like Sister Baby was very capable. "Hehe, it's okay, sis. Baby, Dudu, you made these footprints, so you need to clean them up. Sister will get you a cloth."

"It's okay, Little Han, I'll clean it." Li Mei took the mop, but Li Han shook his head. "Sis, it's not tiring. Dudu, Baby, clean up, and then come eat cake. Uncle bought some small cakes."

"Uh-huh, Dudu will clean." Dudu, hearing about the small cakes, was happy and took the mop from Li Mei. The little girl had quite a bit of strength and pushed the mop quickly, leaving a trail of water, not knowing how to mop properly. Baby dragged the mop around, making the living room even dirtier.

"These two kids." Li Mei didn't know what to say, but Li Han watched with a smile, occasionally giving some pointers. After about half an hour, Dudu, with a red face, carried the big mop to her father, who was on the balcony surfing the internet and drinking tea. "Dad, Dad, Dudu cleaned up."

"Really? Let me see." Li Han walked over, looked around, and it was indeed quite clean. "Good job, Dudu. Take Sister Baby to eat the small cakes. They're in the fridge."

"Uh-huh, Sister Baby, the cakes are delicious." Dudu quickly carried the mop to the kitchen, brought a chair, opened the fridge, took out two small cakes, and ran to the kitchen to find small plates and spoons to eat the cakes.

Baby, exhausted, lay on the sofa, pouting. Li Mei felt a bit sorry for her, but Dudu wasn't tired at all, happily holding the small cake, sitting on the sofa, and swinging her big head and little leather shoes, very happy.

Li Han smiled and opened his QQ messages. There were quite a few. He had uploaded many photos of the farm and Dudu, and many classmates had left comments, expressing envy, admiration, and praise for Dudu's cuteness. Li Han was dazzled by the messages and opened the QQ window. "Bro, you there?"

"Hey, Tangbao, you're still up? What time is it?" Li Han's childhood friend, with whom he had been close but had less contact in recent years.

"Not yet, I'm working on the shop. You're doing well, always busy with the farm, and even have a daughter. Unlike me, who graduated a year ago and still can't find a job. Thinking about you guys living with American girls, I really regret not going with you," Tangbao said, his real name Tang Xiaoyao, but he was called Tangbao because of his chubby figure, which made him look like a bun.

Li Han laughed at Tangbao's complaints. When did this guy start being so sentimental? "What are you working on?"

"A pet shop. I don't know if I was crazy to study veterinary medicine, but I couldn't find a job. Pets have become popular in recent years, so I thought this might work."

Li Han thought about Tangbao's chubby figure and how he had once been mistaken for a human black bear. "You're right, pet shops in America can make a lot of money, more than farms."

"I don't want to make a lot of money; just enough to get by is fine."

"You need a lot to get by. You eat for three," Li Han laughed, thinking about Tangbao's appetite, and took a bite of the small cake Dudu offered. "Dudu, say hello to Uncle Tangbao."

"No, no, my hair is a mess, and my eyes are red like a rabbit. I don't want to scare the little niece."

Li Han chatted with Tangbao for a while. Tangbao planned to import some small pets from Australia or America, and Li Han agreed to help look into it.

"Little Han, who is the fat uncle Dudu mentioned?" Li Mei asked, having washed and hung up the mop, and came to the balcony.

"Tangbao."

"Little Fat, it's been a while since we've seen him." Li Mei smiled. "That's right, he's working on a pet shop now."

"Pet shops are good. More and more people are keeping pets in China these days."

"People have money and nothing to do. Americans are very welcoming to Chinese tourists, all because of money." Li Han closed the computer, put it aside, and stretched. "It's good that the country is wealthy."

"By the way, where are Dad and Mom?" "They went to the pond. Dad said he would catch some fish," Li Mei said.

"Let me go see." Li Han said, heading out. Dudu quickly followed, and Baby, who had been lying on the sofa, put on her big red leather shoes and ran out the door.

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