Chapter 350
He saw Zhou Zehan and a group of children in the courtyard, squeezing icing and making a cake.
He had never made a cake before. Every birthday, his mother would have it ready for him, and he would just eat it whenever he wanted.
He had never made one together with friends.
Nor did he understand what was so fun about it.
Yet, he just couldn't look away, entirely mesmerized for a moment.
Fang Hui walked in and frowned when she saw her son standing by the window.
She stepped forward.
She caught sight of the noisy Zhou family next door.
She pulled the window shut in disgust, saying, It's too noisy. Let's keep it closed so it doesn't distract you from your studies.
Fang Bowen reluctantly withdrew his gaze, sat back on his stool, and continued doing his exercises.
The Eldest Child and the Second Child's respective teams were getting ready for a cake-making competition.
The children scrambled about clumsily, and in no time, their hands were covered in frosting.
On Zhou Zedong's side, however, things were orderly as he methodically piped the frosting to trace out a pattern.
A beautiful little cake quickly took shape.
The Second Child, who had been loudly boasting that he would definitely win, turned completely red in the face.
Soon, Zhou Yueshen returned.
He had bought an electronic watch for each of the two children.
This way, they could check the time whenever they wanted.
Not only Zhou Zehan, but even Zhou Zedong broke into a happy smile.
This was the first time they had ever received a birthday present from their father.
Now they had everything that other children had.
Zhou Yueshen had not expected his two sons to have so many friends.
While slightly surprised, he also felt gratified.
His sharp, stern features softened a bit.
Back in Xingfu Village, the two kids had always kept to themselves and barely had any friends.
At least Xiaohan played well with Shitou from next door, but Xiaodong had never interacted with anyone his own age.
After moving to the city, he had initially worried that the two boys would find it even harder to get along with city folks.
He feared they might be ostracized.
But looking at it now, he had overthought things.
The situation had improved tremendously.
The group of children instantly fell silent upon seeing Zhou Yueshen.
This huge uncle, who was as tall as a mountain, was actually the father of the easygoing Second Brother (and the difficult-to-approach Zhou Zedong).
It was truly astonishing.
Their dad was so tall; did that mean they would also grow as tall as a mountain in the future?
Moreover, he was terrifying. A single punch from him could probably send them flying.
If he were their dad, they would have nightmares every night.
They probably wouldn't dare throw tantrums ever again.
Seeing the kids hiding behind his sons, seemingly a bit frightened, Zhou Yueshen straightened up and decided not to disturb them.
He went into the kitchen to help Si Nian cook.
Si Nian hadn't expected him to be back so early today and was a little surprised.
Didn't you say you wouldn't be back until tonight?
Zhou Yueshen helped her wash the vegetables and said in a deep voice, I'll go over after celebrating their birthdays.
In the past, he always put work first, thinking that just keeping the children fed was enough.
Now he knew that beyond providing for them, the most important thing was the children's physical and mental well-being.
If simply taking some time to care for them could make the children feel happy and secure, Zhou Yueshen was more than willing to do so.
Being from a poor rural village, Zhou Yueshen had indeed been influenced by his background.
Because as long as they had money, they could improve their lives.
He used to think the exact same way.
After all, there was nothing harder in this world than having no money.
But later, Si Nian taught him that while money was incredibly powerful, neglecting to care for your children was absolutely unacceptable.
Soon, with the couple working together, they prepared a large table full of dishes.
Si Nian's hands grew sore from cooking, so in the end, Zhou Yueshen took over, frying each dish one by one following her instructions.
Although there were more wealthy people these days, such a lavish feast was usually only enjoyed during major holidays.
For the children's first real birthday celebration, both of them went all out.
Looking at the grand feast, even the worldly little ones opened their mouths in awe.
They were extremely envious.
It turned out that Zhou Zedong and Zhou Zehan's family really was this rich; they could eat fish and shrimp even when it wasn't a holiday.
The classmates of the Second Child felt an even deeper admiration for the Second Brother.
In contrast, Brother Chen and his two friends felt uncomfortable at every turn.
They knew Zhou Zedong lived here, but since the family had only moved recently, they assumed they were just ordinarily wealthy.
They had always thought the gap between them wasn't that big.
But now, seeing that a casual birthday meal consisted of things they had never seen in their entire lives,
Their feelings of inferiority reached a peak at this moment.
They felt an urge to turn and flee.
Because they profoundly experienced what the word unworthy meant.
They were even more afraid of being looked down upon once they sat at the dinner table.
They heard that his younger brother's friends were all classmates from the Foreign Language Primary School. Who didn't know about that school? It was a place where only the children of rich families could attend.
Even though they lived in the city, let alone the Foreign Language Primary School,
They couldn't even afford to attend a regular primary school.
So those kids were very happy and didn't act like them at all.
All they could see in themselves was overwhelming inferiority.
Because Zhou Zedong didn't like to talk much, unlike the Second Child who would liven up the atmosphere, the three of them stood stiffly in the back, staring at each other, not knowing what to do or how to act.
Their silence was heartbreaking.
Having interacted with many children, Si Nian could roughly understand what they were thinking.
In the past, the Eldest Child and the Second Child weren't much different from them.
Even though she tried her best to show a friendly attitude, she still couldn't ease their nervousness.
She simply called out to the Second Child.
The Second Child was still bragging, but upon hearing her call him, he immediately ran over with eager eyes.
He thought Si Nian had prepared another new gift for him.
Si Nian was amused by his expectant and endearing little expression. She patted his head and said, Xiaohan, help entertain your brother's friends while your brother helps me serve the dishes.
Receiving his orders, Zhou Zehan nodded immediately. Mom, I'll take good care of them.
He also really liked Brother Chen and the others, because every time he went to buy a pancake, Brother Chen and his friends would make it a bit larger for him out of respect for his brother.
This made the Second Child feel quite proud.
He immediately went over and pulled the group to the table, saying that since they were older brothers, they should sit down first.
Then, a bunch of little followers crowded around them too.
They chattered away, asking if the next time they went to buy pancakes, they could be made as big as the Second Brother's.
They also expressed their admiration, asking how they made their pancakes taste so good.
They mentioned that the Second Brother even secretly ate them during class.
Their endless chatter made Brother Chen and his two friends feel socially anxious.
Well, they suddenly understood why Zhou Zedong didn't like to talk.
But the enthusiasm of the group of children dissolved the awkwardness the three of them felt.
Little Pig and his gang from the tube-shaped apartment building had originally wanted to come over and laugh at Zhou Zehan.
They thought that since they weren't playing with him anymore, Zhou Zehan definitely wouldn't have any friends coming to celebrate his birthday.
Running over now, they caught a whiff of a mouth-watering aroma.
It smelled like a grand feast.
They only ever smelled something like this during the Chinese New Year.
The group of kids couldn't help but cling to the iron gate and peek inside.
Just in time to see the dining table full of little kids, eating and chatting happily.