Chapter 7 Touched
"Are you Xiao Mao? Do you want to learn how to make dumplings? I'll teach you." Li Luo smiled, which he thought was very kind.

Who knew that Ling Xiaolei would run away all of a sudden, leaving Li Luo alone in the mess in the kitchen.

Why are these two brothers so noisy? Only Yaya is a little quieter, but... a little too quiet.

Li Luo then realized that something was wrong. Yaya was almost three years old, but she had never uttered a word... Looking at Yaya, she didn't seem to be mute.

There was only one possibility, that is, no one taught her to speak! Her road to becoming a stepmother was indeed long and difficult!
Li Luo sighed and continued to knead the dough into a long strip, pinching it into even-sized pieces one by one and rolling them into stacks of dumpling wrappers with a rolling pin.

Use chopsticks to wrap the filling and pinch it casually to make a lace dumpling.

Looking at the plump white dumplings in his palm, Li Luo smiled with satisfaction. It seemed that his cooking skills were still there.

The wrapped dumplings were placed on a bamboo grate. The water on the gas stove was gurgling. Li Luo put all the dumplings into the pot and then stirred them with a spatula.

After adding water twice, the hot dumplings came out of the pot. Smelling the fragrant dumplings, Li Luo couldn't help but whet his appetite and opened his mouth to taste them.

But she did not forget that she had three children at home, so she put the food in an enamel basin and took it out. She happened to hear the two brothers Da Mao whispering to each other.

"Brother, I saw that woman sprinkling flour on the dough just now. Does that mean these dumplings are inedible?" Ling Xiaolei whispered in his brother's ear in a serious tone.

Ling Xiaoguang's eyes suddenly turned cold, and he crossed his arms over his chest: "You actually poisoned the dumplings?"

Li Luo was stunned. When did she poison him? When she looked at Ling Xiaolei, she suddenly realized that when she sprinkled the flour, Ling Xiaolei had misunderstood her.

Li Luo felt amused. As the three of them confronted each other, Li Luo picked up a dumpling with chopsticks and put it into his mouth. The tender meat immediately filled his mouth.

It was scalded! But Li Luo managed to keep his composure.

"What do you think? If I poisoned it, would I dare to eat it?" Li Luo put the dumplings on the dining table with a frank expression, turned around and went to the kitchen to get two small porcelain bowls, and poured a dish of vinegar.

He then held Yaya in his arms.

Li Luo used chopsticks to pick up the dumplings and cut them into two pieces. After blowing on them a few times and finding that they were no longer hot, he fed the dumplings into Yaya's mouth.

Yaya's eyes lit up immediately after eating the delicious food. She pointed at the dumplings and then at her mouth: "Ah!"

Li Luo smiled and scratched the tip of Yaya's nose: "Little greedy cat."

Yaya also giggled and buried herself in Li Luo's arms, as if she was a little embarrassed.

Li Luo picked up another dumpling and dipped it in vinegar. The sour taste immediately stimulated Li Luo's taste buds. The more he ate the dumpling dipped in vinegar, the more he enjoyed it.

"If you stand there any longer, the dumplings will get cold. We have the first pot of dumplings and the second pot of noodles. You don't even eat the dumplings from the first pot. It's such a waste of food." Li Luo didn't even look at the two brothers who were still standing there in a daze, and continued to feed Yaya the remaining half of the dumpling.

Ling Xiaolei had been greedy for a long time, and poked his brother with his elbow: "Brother, the teacher told us that it is shameful to waste food. Look at that woman, she made so much. It's a waste if she can't finish it."

"This is meat! It's been a long time since we last had meat..." Ling Xiaolei poked around with his fingers looking aggrieved.

Ling Xiaoguang thought about it and nodded: "Yes, that woman did so much just to waste food, we can't let her do what she wants!"

After convincing himself, Ling Xiaoguang went to the kitchen and got two small porcelain bowls, and put some of the dumplings in the basin into the bowls.

Ling Xiaolei also wanted to imitate Li Luo and dip the vinegar into the dish, but Li Luo stopped him: "If you want to dip it in vinegar, go pour it yourself."

Although they haven't adopted the separate dining system yet, Li Luo has already had his hands on the vinegar, so naturally there's no way he can let Ling Xiaolei have his hands on it.

Ling Xiaolei curled his lips, but still obediently poured another dish of vinegar and tried this new way of eating.

For a moment, Ling Xiaolei blinked his eyes because of the sourness, and Ling Xiaoguang, who was already very nervous, could no longer sit still.

"How's it going, Xiaomao?"

"I'm fine, brother, it just tastes too sour and a bit... delicious." This attempt opened the door to a new world for Ling Xiaolei, and he ate eight or nine dumplings in one go.

"Brother, you try it too!" Ling Xiaolei picked up a dumpling dipped in vinegar and looked at his brother with expectant eyes.

Ling Xiaoguang chewed the food doubtfully for a few times: This woman's cooking skills are good, and even her way of eating is unique. However, he needs to observe for two more days and cannot be fooled by this woman's appearance.

Thinking of this, the two brothers didn't stop eating. The dumplings in the bowl were finished in no time. The two brothers had the most satisfying meal ever.

Ling Xiaolei wanted to eat some more dumplings, but Li Luo spread his hands and said, "All the dumplings I made have been eaten up. There is still some dumpling soup. You should drink less." "This is called original soup and original food." Li Luo served a bowl for himself and Yaya first. After taking a sip, the two brothers went to serve themselves soup.

Sure enough, after drinking a bowl of dumpling soup, the choking sensation in their chest suddenly became smoother. After drinking a bowl of soup, the two brothers could no longer eat dumplings.

Seeing the satisfied expressions on the brothers' faces, Li Luo smiled slyly: "So what if they become villains in the future? We should correct their thoughts from a young age, and they will not harm the society in the future."

"Wash the dishes later. I'll go take Yaya to take a bath. Can you complete the task assigned to you?" Li Luo's tone was not negotiating. After all, she could cook, but asking her to wash dishes...

Sorry, I can’t do it!
The two brothers nodded. Ling Xiaolei might have felt that he had misunderstood Li Luo, so he felt a little embarrassed. He cleaned up the dishes very quickly, went to the kitchen, put the dishes in the sink, and started washing them while standing on a small stool.

Li Luo looked around, turned to see Ling Xiaoguang still staring at him, and asked him, "Where is the bathroom?"

Ling Xiaoguang was stunned for a moment, and pointed forward for some unknown reason.

Li Luo looked at the door in the corner and nodded: "Thank you, Damao."

Ling Xiaoguang's ears suddenly turned red: She actually said thank you to him?
"Brother, come and help me, I can't put the dishes in the cupboard." In the kitchen, Ling Xiaolei urged Ling Xiaoguang.

Ling Xiaoguang had no choice but to look away and went to the kitchen to work with full of doubts.

After Li Luo found the bathroom, he turned on the light in the dark. The entire bathroom was covered with tiles, but it didn't look like it was used often.

Li Luo adjusted the water temperature to an appropriate level, filled the red plastic basin with water, took off Yaya's clothes, and discovered that there were faint bruises on Yaya's waist and arms.

Li Luo's eyes suddenly turned cold.

Judging from how much Da Mao and Xiao Mao value Yaya, they would definitely not bully Yaya. Ling Zhuoqun is often not at home, and Yaya can't speak, so the culprit can only be Aunt Wang!

What a good Aunt Wang, she could do such a thing right under her master's nose! Not only did she steal food, she also abused the child. It was simply unforgivable!
Li Luo carefully washed Yaya's body and her tangled hair. It took him nearly half an hour to finish. He then helped Yaya change into dry clothes.

All of a sudden, the little country girl turned into a delicate girl like a doll.

"It's outrageous that such a beautiful baby is left unattended at home." Li Luo rubbed Yaya's cheeks. They were so soft that Li Luo couldn't let go.

"Hehehe~" Yaya was teased by Li Luo and laughed non-stop. She stretched out her two chubby little hands to hug Li Luo, and Li Luo's heart softened all of a sudden.

She loves cute kids so much!
But there are two not-so-cute kids at home.

When Li Luo brought Yaya out, he saw the two brothers doing their homework. Ling Xiaoguang's paper was on the table. Li Luo curiously went over to take a look.

Wow! That's incredible, double 100.

She wasn't this powerful when she was a child. It turns out that this little villain is also a top student? He is quite smart.

Noticing Li Luo's gaze, Ling Xiaoguang closed his paper and decided not to show it to Li Luo.

Li Luo uttered "Ah", feeling a little helpless.

Yaya kept rubbing her eyes after taking a bath. Li Luo thought she was sleepy, so he held Yaya in his arms and hummed a lullaby.

After a while, Yaya fell asleep on Li Luo's shoulder. The two brothers listened to the lullaby, and no one knew what they were thinking in their hearts. It seemed that when they were young, they had also heard such tunes in their mother's arms.

For a moment, the two brothers' writing speed slowed down.

Li Luo asked softly, "Where is Yaya's room?"

Ling Xiaolei was about to give birth when Ling Xiaoguang quickly covered his mouth and pointed in the direction of the second floor.

Ling Xiaolei's heart, which had been tense, suddenly relaxed. He almost woke Yaya up. Fortunately, his brother acted quickly.

Li Luo went upstairs and saw that Yaya was sleeping alone in the cradle. Ling Xiaoguang and Ling Xiaolei's rooms were on both sides of Yaya's room. If Yaya made any movement, the two brothers would appear in time.

Li Luo sighed. Ling Zhuoqun was really too busy. He was rarely at home. No wonder he knew nothing about it even when Aunt Wang came to bully him.

It’s really not good to have no housekeeper at home!
Thinking of Ling Zhuoqun, she wondered if he had eaten dinner yet. In keeping with the principle of "one should be grateful to another for his services", Li Luo made another batch of dumplings and covered them with a steamer cloth. She would be able to put them directly into the pot when Ling Zhuoqun came back.

After finishing everything, Li Luo smelled himself and still smelled. He went to the room to get his pajamas and went to the bathroom to wash up.

(End of this chapter)