Lin Feng returned with a flyer to find that the babies had already woken up. They were playing on the sofa in the living room.

Zhou Cuilan came over. "What's that in your hand? Let me see."

After reading the flyer, she asked, "Are you going to take the children to an early education class?"

"Yeah, it's 19.9 yuan for a trial lesson. I'm going to take the little ones to check it out."

Since the last crawling competition, Lin Feng had discovered that his babies really enjoyed playing with other children their age. Living in Cuihu Villas, there weren't any kids around for them to play with, so the early education flyer gave him an idea. He could take the babies there to play and interact with more children their age.

"I'm taking them to have a look," he explained. "I heard there will be a lot of kids their age there."

Zhou Cuilan nodded. "Going just to play is fine."

For dinner that night, Lin Feng made noodles with ribs and steamed two egg custards, which were split evenly among the four babies.

"Come on, time to eat!"

Lin Feng placed the babies in their walkers while he and Zhang Yuxi sat on small stools beside them to feed them. At nine months old, the babies had already grown several of their teeth. They could eat some solid foods now, which helped strengthen their chewing ability. As they grew, the variety of their supplementary foods also increased.

In addition to the three main meals they shared with the adults, the babies were given smaller meals in the morning, afternoon, and evening. The principle was to eat small, frequent meals and to never get too full.

The First and Fourth Babies were obedient eaters. The Second Baby, however, couldn't kick his old habit of needing to play while he ate. The Third Baby was still a slowpoke, eating so gradually that his food would get cold and need to be reheated for him.

Lin Dashan, Lin Daan, Lin Jiajun, Wang Lu, as well as Lin Dahu and his wife, also came over. Since Lin Feng had gone into business with Lin Jiajun, Lin Xiaolan and Lin Rui had completely stopped contacting him. Lin Dahu, however, as an elder, would occasionally call to check in.

At the dinner table, Lin Feng took a few bites before putting some food in a separate bowl and heading to the living room.

"Lin Feng, don't go! We're waiting for you to have a drink with us," Lin Dahu said with a laugh.

"Second Uncle, I don't drink. The babies don't like the smell of alcohol."

The last time he'd prepared a chicken, the smell had clung to him. All the babies, except for the First Baby, had looked at him with disgust. The Third Baby had nearly thrown up from the smell. Ever since then, Lin Feng made sure to shower immediately after handling chicken. He imagined the babies would dislike the smell of alcohol even more.

"Just have a little," Lin Dahu insisted.

"No, thanks."

Lin Daan smiled and said, "If he doesn't want to drink, then let it be. The other day I had a few drinks, and my Xiao Wen kept saying I stank. He's already getting picky."

Lin Dahu sighed. "Kids these days are getting more and more delicate."

The Third Aunt chimed in, "Our living conditions are better now. Most of us are only raising one child, so who wouldn't want to give their kid the best?"

After eating for a little while, Wang Lu said she felt sleepy and went to nap on the living room sofa.

When Zhou Cuilan brought up the topic of early education, it immediately resonated with everyone present.

"Taking the kids out to have fun and develop some interests is fine."

"But what can they really learn from actual classes?"

"There's a family in our neighborhood who spent over ten thousand yuan on early education for their three-month-old. Don't they have better things to do with their money?"

The Third Aunt retorted the Second Aunt, "You can't look at it that way. Early education has its benefits. It all depends on what you, as parents, want for your child. Different parents have different expectations, which leads to different approaches to education."

The Second Aunt snorted. "It's just these education companies fleecing people."

The Third Aunt replied with a laugh, "Our Xiao Wen is two years old. I plan on sending him to kindergarten this September."

Zhou Cuilan asked, "Let's see, that means Wang Lu is due in September, right?"

"Yeah, her due date is in mid-September. The house will be nice and quiet by then."

"For her confinement period, are you going to hire a nanny, or will you look after her yourself?" Zhou Cuilan asked.

The Third Aunt sighed. "I'd rather spend the money on a confinement nanny than wait on her myself during her postpartum month. I'll let Wang Lu's mother come over to help, and I'll just focus on taking care of Xiao Wen."

When Xiao Wen was born, taking care of Wang Lu during her confinement had caused a lot of friction. Two years later, she had no desire to create more stress for either of them.

Zhou Cuilan nodded, glancing guiltily at Zhang Yuxi. She hadn't been much help when her own daughter-in-law was in confinement. Because of that, every time Zhang Yuxi visited, Zhou Cuilan always fussed over her, hoping she was eating well and staying warm. She'd lost count of how many times she had reminded Lin Feng to cherish and take good care of Zhang Yuxi when she wasn't around.

As she ate, Zhang Yuxi mentioned, "In September, the babies will turn one. Lin Feng says he wants to throw a big celebration."

"That's wonderful!" Zhou Cuilan said happily. "We'll have a banquet at a hotel and invite your parents, too."

Zhang Yuxi nodded.

Just then, Han Wen leaned in and whispered in her ear. "Miss Zhang, could you pass me a piece of the pork knuckle?"

"Why don't you get it yourself?"

"There are so many guests... I-I'm too embarrassed."

Wasn't this the girl who would abandon all shame for the sake of food?

Zhang Yuxi gave her a large piece of pork knuckle. Han Wen took it, though she said politely, "Oh my, Miss Zhang, you've given me too much."

Zhang Yuxi was speechless.

While Lin Feng was eating, the Fourth Baby, drawn by the aroma, skillfully began to scale the playpen fence.

Lin Feng smiled wryly. "Son, I'm not sneaking any delicious food, you know."

The Fourth Baby didn't believe him and scrambled right over the fence, staring intently at Lin Feng. Lin Feng gave him a tiny piece of the pork knuckle.

"Here, try some!"

The supplementary food the babies usually ate had no salt added, making it bland and tasteless. But of course, the babies didn't know any better. After tasting the pork knuckle, the Fourth Baby acted as if he had discovered a new continent, stomping his feet and demanding more.

Lin Feng was at a loss.

"Honey, are you done eating?" he called out.

Zhang Yuxi came over. "I'm done, what's up?"

"Can you watch the Fourth Baby? I'm going to finish my meal."

"Go ahead."

Seeing that his daddy was about to leave—and take the delicious food with him—the Fourth Baby panicked. This can't happen! I must follow him!

The Fourth Baby grew anxious. He let go of the coffee table he was holding onto, clenched his little fists, and started running with a pitter-patter of his feet.

Zhang Yuxi gasped, rushing to hover her hands behind him. "Honey, honey, look! Quick!"

Not just Lin Feng, but everyone else turned to look.

The Fourth Baby was wearing handmade cloth shoes that an old woman sold, which Zhou Cuilan had specifically told Lin Feng to buy. She said these shoes were soft and that he should buy them whenever he saw them. If not, modern cushioned shoes were the next best thing.

He ran the whole two meters by himself and threw his arms around Lin Feng's leg, staring at the bowl in his hand. "Dada... Dada..."

Just as the Fourth Baby was about to plop onto the floor, Lin Feng immediately used the Weeble-Wobble Skill.

The baby hugged his leg tightly. "Dada, wanna eat... meat... meaty..."

This cute display from the little foodie made everyone burst into laughter. Zhang Yuxi scooped up her son from behind, unable to stop laughing.

"You little glutton, you're always thinking about food!"

But the Fourth Baby's gaze never left the bowl in Lin Feng's hand. "Meaty! I eat meaty!"

After staring for a while and getting no more meat, the Fourth Baby grew impatient and tried to grab the bowl. He decided to take matters into his own hands.

Lin Feng quickly tried to soothe him. "Wait for Daddy to rinse the meat in some hot water for you, I'll be right back."

The Fourth Baby couldn't understand a word of it. Seeing Lin Feng about to walk away, he became even more frantic. "Dada, meaty!"

The sight was both adorable and hilarious. Zhang Yuxi had no choice but to follow along, carrying the Fourth Baby in her arms.

She had just taken a step when she heard Wang Lu, who was napping on the couch, call out, "Oh my, the Second Baby and First Baby have jail-broken!"

Everyone went over to look and saw that, somehow, the Second and First Babies had climbed out of the playpen. Zhang Yuxi and Zhou Cuilan hurried over. The Fourth Baby was still wailing for meat in Zhang Yuxi's arms.

The activity area was full of obstacles: a coffee table, stools, the TV cabinet, a vase... The First and Second Babies walked unsteadily, as if they were strolling on clouds. Thankfully, the carpet hadn't been put away yet, so it didn't hurt much when the Second Baby plopped down on his bottom.

The First Baby had always been strong. He toddled forward with his little fists clenched, bouncing with each step. It was a heart-stopping sight to watch them totter about.

Zhou Cuilan shadowed him from behind, her eyes crinkling into slits as she smiled. Zhang Yuxi stood in front of the First Baby, holding the wailing Fourth Baby. As expected, the First Baby immediately hugged her leg. "Mama... Mama..."

For parents, every step of their babies' growth is an incredibly precious memory.

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