She herself hadn't tasted it, and even the small portion in Ling Mohan's bowl was saved for him. The ingredients were truly limited. During winter, fruits were scarce and precious, and this little bit of fruit was from her own family's cultivation.
An apple's market price now was more than ten times the usual, truly more expensive than meat.
"Alright, stop feeling so miffed. It's true that fruits are scarce in winter, and the little bit our family grows is barely enough for ourselves. Making juice is indeed a bit too extravagant. When summer arrives, I'll make you a whole basin of juice."
Feng Jin comforted Ling Mohan, who was still throwing a tantrum, with a helpless sigh. She didn't know why he was now acting like a child, getting upset at the slightest dissatisfaction.
He was even sulking over a cup of juice. When summer came, she'd let him drink juice every day to prevent him from being so petty.
Ling Mohan pouted unhappily, completely uninterested in the promises Feng Jin made. He didn't even want to smell it. He had heard such words before.
Weren't they all just to appease him, to prevent him from dwelling on it? Once the matter passed, they would completely forget about it, never to remember it again.
"Alright, it's settled then. I'm going to check on Dabao and Erbao."
The two of them were growing bigger and more mischievous by the day. If she didn't keep an eye on them, she didn't know where they would go to cause trouble. It was best to keep them under constant watch.
As her words fell, Feng Jin, ignoring the increasingly gloomy expression of the man beside her, packed up all the juice and walked out with the basket, as if Ling Mohan wasn't even there.
The man's lips drooped further. This was definitely not his imagination. His thoughts were entirely correct; Feng Jin truly no longer cared about him.
Her entire mind was occupied by the two children, leaving no room for him at all.
At that moment, his heart turned cold, and he felt utterly miserable.
...
"Mommy... Mommy..."
Upon seeing Feng Jin's figure at the door, Dabao eagerly rushed forward and surrounded her, his small body rubbing against Feng Jin as he waved his hands, asking her to pick him up.
Feng Jin sighed helplessly and bent down to pick up Dabao. The boy was getting heavier by the day.
It seemed that all the meals he had eaten had not been in vain; they had all gone onto his body, not a bit wasted.
"Mommy... hug..."
Dabao tightly hugged Feng Jin's neck and didn't forget to give her cheek a big kiss, trying to win her favor this way.
"You've gotten your drool all over my face..." Feng Jin touched her face with a hint of disgust. Indeed, it was all drool. How could such a big child not pay attention to hygiene?
She placed Dabao on a chair and took out the juice from the food box, placing them on the table one by one. There were several flavors.
"It's juice!" Dabao exclaimed, eagerly grabbing a bottle of juice and drinking it. It was so sweet and sour, truly delicious.
Mommy certainly doted on him the most. Look, the juice was already prepared for him. This was wonderful.
"Drink a little less. It's still cold, don't drink too much and get a stomachache, then cause trouble tonight."
Seeing Dabao's ravenous consumption, Feng Jin couldn't help but feel a bit disgusted. She shouldn't have taken out so much at once. Dabao truly knew no moderation.
Whenever he saw food or drinks, he behaved as if he had been starving for a long time, gobbling them down.
"Mommy, it's delicious..."
Dabao managed a fawning smile, acting playful and cheeky, not forgetting to sneak another sip.
"Don't drink too much, or your stomach will hurt tonight."
Still worried, she bent down to remind Dabao. If it were Erbao, she wouldn't have worried at all.
"I know, Mommy."
Dabao nodded obediently on the surface, but in his heart, he was planning to drink as much juice as he wanted once Mommy left, as no one would be supervising him anymore.
After eagerly anticipating it, Mommy finally left. Dabao instantly became like a wild horse unleashed, gleefully grabbing the juice and pouring it into his mouth, finishing a whole bottle in one go.
His hearty manner completely stunned Erbao beside him. He had drunk so much in one go. He had already forgotten Mommy's words.
Erbao hesitated before kindly reminding him, "Mommy said that drinking too much will give you a stomachache. Don't drink anymore."
Dabao dismissed Erbao's words with disdain. Mommy's words were clearly a lie, and only Erbao would believe them. He absolutely wouldn't.
"Talk less. These are all for you. We'll split them, and don't say your brother didn't give you any."
Fearing that Erbao might report him as soon as Mommy returned, Dabao reluctantly split the juice into two portions and pushed Erbao's share towards him.
The two of them had their own portions, clearly divided, like distinct territories.
No one should interfere with the other's affairs; taking care of one's own patch of land was the most important thing.
"You can't drink so much, you'll get a stomachache."
Mommy would never lie to them. How could Dabao's stomach withstand drinking so much at once? If his stomach really started to hurt, it would only cause Mommy more worry and effort.
Couldn't he exercise a little self-control and drink one less bottle? Couldn't he save it for tomorrow?
Dabao's eyes were now solely focused on the juice, completely ignoring Erbao's words. He only thought that Erbao was scared by Mommy's words. Didn't he know that Mommy's words were just to scare them?
He was so smart; he had long seen through Mommy's little tricks, so why would he fall for them? This was juice, the same as fruit. He wouldn't get a stomachache from eating too much fruit, so how could he get a stomachache from drinking more juice? It was simply impossible.
"Sigh..." Erbao sighed helplessly. He had said it so many times, yet Dabao remained stubborn, completely disregarding their words.
He could only let him be. He hoped Dabao's stomach wouldn't actually hurt later, as he didn't want to be woken up by Dabao in the middle of the night.
He should still tell Mommy about this so she could discipline Dabao.
"Erbao, you can't be a traitor and tell Mommy!"