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Tang Tang made a decision, she decided that from now on, she must change!
She glanced at the ingredients on the kitchen counter. Tang Tang was planning to make a dish herself to cheer Bao Bao up.
“Aunt Li, I’ll cook the ribs. I want to make a dish for Bao Bao.”
“Ah?” Aunt Li was stunned, “You want to make a dish? Can you cook?”
Tang Tang could now answer these types of questions easily, “I think I can. I might have cooked before. Let me try.”
Truthfully, Aunt Li didn"t know if Tang Tang could cook previously, so she was suspicious. Even though Aunt Li felt suspicious, it was not good for her to refuse Tang Tang. Especially when Tang Tang took the initiative to ask, so Aunt Li agreed, “Alright, you can make it.” In the worst case scenario, the dish wouldn"t turn out well and she could always make the dish again.
Tang Tang smiled sweetly. Then she picked up the ribs and washed them in the sink. Luckily she had been secretly watching when Aunt Li cooked for the past two days, so she knew how to use the appliances available in the kitchen. Although she couldn"t use the appliances smoothly, she didn’t make any mistakes.
Once she was done cleaning the ribs, Tang Tang started to prepare them. She used seasoning to marinate the spare ribs as it would only taste good that way. Also, that was what she had always done in her previous life.
At one side, Aunt Li was surprised at Tang Tang’s skillful actions. Aunt Li would have doubted that this woman was Xiao Zhuo’s mother if she didn"t already know Tang Tang. How can a person change so much, and how could it be so abrupt? She was like a totally different person. Maybe was it due to her memory loss?
Tang Tang didn’t bother with Aunt Li’s surprised look as she couldn’t do anything about it anyway. She decided to focus on preparing the ribs, which could be considered as one of her specialties. Tang Tang enjoyed cooking in her past life. Because she was confined in her small courtyard, if she wanted to eat, she had to cook for herself. So, when Tang Tang was 5 years old, she learned how to cook from her nanny, and as she grew up, her nanny got older, so she ended up being the one doing the cooking. Her skills gradually improved. Tang Tang’s favourite hobby after embroidering was cooking.
The spare ribs were soon ready. The scent was so fragrant that Aunt Li felt inferior. Aunt Li could tell from the smell that the dish would definitely be delicious even without tasting it, and that the taste might even be better than her own cooking.
Aunt Li felt for the first time that Xiao Zhuo’s mother actually had some merits when she was not drinking or being a crazy drunkard. Maybe the Sir liked this type of woman, and that was why he married her, but what caused her to change?
“Aunt Li, can you go and call Xiao Zhuo to come out and eat?” If she went to call him herself, Tang Tang guessed that he wouldn’t come out considering he was still annoyed at her.
Aunt Li nodded. She moved a few dishes to the dining table and then left to call Xiao Zhuo.
Tang Tang didn’t know what Aunt Li said, but Xiao Zhuo came out obediently. Though his expression was blank and he didn"t even glance at Tang Tang.
Tang Tang placed the sweet and sour spare ribs closer to the little one and said, “Bao Bao, come and try the spare ribs mummy made. They are very tasty.”
Aunt Li had also helped, “Xiao Zhuo, your mummy made it just for you. Come and quickly try it.”
The little guy was not moved. Instead, he went to get some aubergine from another dish, “I don’t like spare ribs.”
Aunt Li shook her head helplessly and gave Tang Tang a powerless gaze.
Tang Tang did not feel disappointed because she discovered that whenever the little guy went to get some of the other dishes, he would quickly cast a glance at the plate of spare ribs. Tang Tang held in her smile.
Why was the little guy being so awkward? Though it was very cute.
Tang Tang thought for a moment, and then she lifted her bowl and walked towards the kitchen with her crutches, “I’m going to the kitchen to get more rice. Do you want to come as well, Aunt Li?”
“Ah? I’m still –” Aunt Li suddenly stopped speaking as she understood Tang Tang’s meaning and followed up, “Yes, I’ll come and get more rice with you. It seems that I have eaten all my rice as well.”
The reason why the two adults entered the kitchen was for Xiao Zhuo. They purposely dawdled for some time before leaving the kitchen. When they came out, the little one was still eating like normal. It was like nothing had changed, but Tang Tang knew that there was one spare rib missing from the dish.
Tang Tang smiled in her heart. She became cheerful and decided that from now on, she would make tasty food for the little one. In the past, whenever her nanny was angry, she would always make her favourite pastries, as she knew that her nanny’s anger would always quickly disappear after that.
At this time, a ringtone started going off. It was Aunt Li’s mobile that was ringing in her pocket. Aunt Li quickly put her bowl down to pick up the call, “h.e.l.lo, son. Why are you calling, ah?”
It wasn"t known what the other party said, but Aunt Li’s expression changed, and she nervously stood up, “Why weren"t you careful!? Is she alright?”
“Ok, ok, I’ll try and come over now. You need to look after Fang Zi properly, okay?”
After hanging up, Aunt Li glanced at Ji Xiao Zhuo and Tang Tang. She became desperate and quickly tried to call someone, but the call did not get through. She stamped her foot in desperation, “Sir is not picking up the phone. He must haven’t come back yet. What should I do?!”
When Tang Tang saw Aunt Li acting so anxiously, she asked, “Aunt Li, what’s wrong? Did something happen?”
“My son just called. He said my daughter-in-law accidentally fell down, and she"s now in premature labor. She’s in the hospital, but there is no one available to look after my eldest grandchild, so they need me to go and look after him. But… if I go… then what about Xiao Zhuo, ah? I can’t get through to Sir’s phone. Ai ya, what do I do?”
Premature labor. Tang Tang had heard of this before. It was dangerous for women to be in labor prematurely, so it was not surprising that Aunt Li was so anxious in this situation.
Tang Tang thought for a second and said, “Aunt Li, you should go and take care of your daughter-in-law. I will look after Bao Bao. Don’t worry, I’ll take care of Bao Bao properly.”
“Ah, this …” Aunt Li was worried. After all, being good for the past two days was not enough to make up for the past few years of neglect, so how could she be at ease to let Tang Tang look after Xiao Zhuo? What if Tang Tang started to drink and go crazy drunk again?
Aunt Li was so anxious that she sweated. She did not give up and called Ji Yan again, but no one picked up.
It was then that Xiao Zhuo, who had been silent said, “Grandma Li, you can go. I’ll be fine. I can look after myself.”
Aunt Li hesitated multiple times, but, in the end, she couldn’t come up with another way. So, she clenched her teeth and told Tang Tang, “You need to look after Xiao Zhuo properly. Don’t bully him, and don’t drink anymore alcohol.”
Tang Tang nodded, “Relax, Aunt Li, I promise!”
Aunt Li was still not relieved. She told Ji Xiao Zhuo, “My number is in your little watch. Call me if anything happens.”
Ji Xiao Zhuo nodded obediently.
Aunt Li quickly rushed to her room and packed up her things. When she came out, she pasesd Tang Tang a card and a pile of cash，”This is what the Sir gave me for the daily expenses. Now I’m giving it to you. Look after Ji Xiao Zhuo properly. I’ll come back as soon as I can.”
Tang Tang roughly understood that the pile of red paper was money. She took it and said, “I know, Aunt Li. Don"t worry about us and go look after your daughter-in-law."
Even with Tang Tang’s rea.s.surance, Aunt Li was still worried, so she sighed as she left. There were only Tang Tang and Xiao Zhuo left in the house.
Picking up a tissue, Ji Xiao Zhuo wiped his mouth. Once he was done, he slowly climbed down from his chair and ran back into his room.
Tang Tang wanted to stop him, but she wasn’t as nimble as him. In the end, Tang Tang could only start tidying up the table. It took her an hour to clean and tidy up the kitchen due to her leg injury.
Tang Tang couldn’t read the time on the clock that was on the wall. Instead, she relied on her instinct and knew that it was not early anymore. She limped to Xiao Zhuo’s room and knocked, “Bao Bao, you need to go to sleep. Should mummy help you wash?
There was no response. Tang Tang tried opening the door. She was surprised when she found out that the door was not locked.
After opening the door, Tang Tang saw that there was a little lump on the bed. The little guy was curled into a ball. Tang Tang wasn’t sure if he was asleep, though.
Tang Tang slowly got closer. Then, she pulled the blanket a little lower and saw Xiao Zhuo’s head, “Bao Bao, are you asleep?”
The little guy’s eyes didn’t move, but Tang Tang noticed the movement of his eyelashes.
He was pretending to be asleep.
Tang Tang laughed slightly. Then she pretended that she was speaking to herself, “So Bao Bao was sleeping, ah.”
Xiao Zhuo’s lashes moved again.
Tang Tang lifted the blanket gently and found out that the little guy had changed his clothes. She also noticed a nice scent coming out from him; it appeared that he took a bath by himself. Tang Tang was filled with tenderness. This little kid could eat and bathe by himself. He was really a good child. Tang Tang still remembered when her oldest sister brought her child back to the manor. At that time, the child was already five years old, but he had a maid following him wherever he went. Also, whenever he ate, he still needed his nanny to feed him. He wasn’t as capable as Xiao Zhuo.
Tang Tang immediately felt pride because she felt that her child was better than someone else’s child. She praised, “Our Bao Bao is so capable. He can bathe himself. So amazing!”
The little guy’s stomach bulged.
Tang Tang pretended not to notice. She lightly patted Xiao Zhuo and used this chance to apologize. Even though it wasn’t herself who committed the wrong, she was now in the original owner’s body. Since she will be living with the original owner’s ident.i.ty, she was responsible for everything that the original owner had done.
“Bao Bao, mummy was wrong. Mummy was not nice in the past, right? That was because mummy’s head wasn"t well. But, when mummy got injured, mummy’s head started working again. I know I was wrong, and I’ll change. Mummy will definitely love Bao Bao from now on and treat daddy well as well. You can supervise mummy, okay?”
Tang Tang noticed the Xiao Zhuo’s body had tensed as he pursed his lips.
When Tang Tang had said everything, she bent down and kissed Xiao Zhuo’s forehead. She made sure he was tucked in before leaving. Before she shut the door, Tang Tang said to Xiao Zhuo, “Bao Bao, mummy is going to sleep now.”
The little guy remained still. Tang Tang smiled and shut the door gently.
The next morning, Tang Tang woke up early to make breakfast. Not only did Tang Tang made breakfast, but she also made a red bean cake for Xiao Zhuo as a snack for when he was at the nursery.
When she was done, Tang Tang was going to wake the little guy up, but he was already standing at the kitchen entrance staring at her. She didn’t know how long he had been watching, but when she was going to greet him, Xiao Zhuo suddenly ran off.
Tang Tang blanked. After putting the breakfast on the dining table, Tang Tang spoke to Xiao Zhuo who was on the sofa, “Bao Bao, come over here, let’s eat breakfast and go to the nursery!”
The little one reacted to what she said and climbed down from the sofa. He walked up to the dining table. Then, he lifted his short legs to climb onto the chair. Once he was seated, he started to eat.