Chapter 1212: 1085: Truer Than Pearls

After some restoration, the winter backyard looks different from previous years, and the scenery is breathtaking. Since the beginning of the year, Zhou Jiao hadn’t come over, but now, pushed by her son, she entered her courtyard — my goodness, it had turned into a world of ancient charm.

——The empty rooms have already been furnished with furniture and old items.

In the East Wing, Zhou Jiao lovingly touched several screen panels, thinking she could pick up needlework again, "Son, how many good things did you guys get?"

Seeing his mom was satisfied, Ping’an was delighted, "Haha, not much. We’re just missing a canopy bed, heard from Grandpa that we have one at home, so we didn’t place it here; having outsiders sleep on it would feel odd."

"These few screens were bartered with some porcelain items. My dad once said you like embroidery, but embedding gold foil and jade would seem tacky to you."

"The daybed was handpicked by my dad, though one foot was repaired. But my dad also found many types of flowers, and when spring comes, we’ll plant them so you can smell the fragrance every day. My grandpa even wanted to set up a swing in this yard for you to play, haha... but my dad argued it’s dangerous and vetoed it..."

"In the end, my grandpa had another plan. He said he’ll convert the East Wing of his courtyard into a large study, dedicated to collecting ancient books. The west wing will be transformed into a music room, solely for you and my grandma to play instruments.

Haha, my dad says grandpa is being retaliatory; grandpa says you, a good daughter, have been snatched away by this naughty boy, and I won’t let it go..."

Zhou Jiao laughed happily... a child loved by their father truly is fortunate.

Before the mother and son could leave the courtyard, sounds of dogs barking came from outside, followed by May 1st’s scolding voice.

"Our little treasures probably saw those two unfamiliar aunties."

Zhou Jiao chuckled and glanced at her son, "Little treasures? You three brothers intentionally picked those names, right?"

Ping’an, one hand in his pocket, tilted his head in deep thought, "How could it be? We quite like when Mom calls us Da Bao, Er Bao, Little Treasure."

"Really?"

"Truer than a pearl. Mom, listen." Ping’an smiled at her then suddenly shouted, "Hu Niu, Leopard Girl, come here..."

As his voice fell, two big dogs dashed over, accompanied by May 1st’s shout, "Da Bao, Er Bao, be careful, don’t scare my mom."

Zhou Jiao laughed so hard she doubled over. So, this is how they shared names, poor dogs living their lives having to remember two names.

May 1st ran over, sticking to her other side, "Mom, why are you here? We were about to finish up and fetch you from work to go home together."

Oh dear, speaking of work, Zhou Jiao nearly forgot she had to head back to work in the afternoon, quickly raising her hand to check her watch.

"Mom, there’s time, when it’s time, I’ll ride you over."

Zhou Jiao smiled and nodded, it’s a different feeling being picked up by her son compared to her husband.

"Where’s your brother Er Bao?"

May 1st teased, looking at Ping’an, "Er Bao brother said with Da Bao brother here, he’s stationed over there."

Ping’an glared at him, then pet the big wolfdog that stood almost to his shoulder, "Hu Niu, bite him!"

May 1st quickly patted the approaching Hu Niu, "Shoo shoo, I just fed you a big plate of wild game."

Zhou Jiao cheerfully watched her two sons, then petted the remaining Leopard Girl’s head, "Did Old Yi scold you for these names?"

"Mom, you wouldn’t know. We’re so wronged, not only Grandpa Yi but even Grandpa Mo wouldn’t allow it, saying every time he sees us, he’ll scold us."

Zhou Jiao was startled by this, then burst into laughter. The Yi family has Yi Hunu, and Mo family’s eldest son’s nickname is naturally Leopard!

May 1st winked at Zhou Jiao, "Mom, do you know what are the other dog’s names in our family?"

"You wouldn’t be teasing again, would you?"

"Oh, this time it really was a coincidence. Us brothers were thinking names are so hard to pick, so we simply named the other three as Big One, Big Two, Big Three, and later it’ll be Big Four, Big Five one by one..."

Zhou Jiao didn’t wait for him to finish, laughing so hard she squatted down holding her belly. Truly a wonderful creation, it’d be surprising if Da Yi isn’t hopping mad!

Ping’an amusingly kicked his brother’s leg, helping up his mom.

On the way to work, May 1st explained, "It’s all to tease Uncle Da Yi. Our little treasures’ names are actually nice, Lightning and Gale, very majestic."

"Mm, don’t joke like that again, occasionally it might be fine, but if it’s often, it might seem disrespectful to elders. To fit in nowadays, you have to go with the flow."

May 1st frowned, "Mom, if you’re tired at work, just quit, we’re all grown up and can support the family."

"Wishful thinking?" Zhou Jiao patted her son’s arm, "A woman without a career, stuck in household chores every day, her world gets very small."

What Zhou Jiao didn’t say was, appearances age, and as someone who lacks a sense of security, regardless of the time, she feels a sense of crisis; she wants to progress alongside Zhang Guoqing.

"On your way to work? Who’s this one of yours?"

A familiar face greeted them, Zhou Jiao smiled, "It’s the third one. You also rushing to work?"

"Yes, your three sons look alike, if you don’t seriously differentiate, you really can’t tell apart. A while back, Sister Chen at my office said she saw the eldest and called him the second one; it was so awkward. Luckily Liu Yi is understanding and helped her out."

Zhou Jiao glanced at her son hesitatingly, "Is it really that exaggerated? The eldest resembles his father more, the youngest resembles me more. The second one leans towards my dad, he’s the easiest to recognize."

"Haha, of course, they’re your sons, you can easily recognize them. If you don’t believe it, let me tell you a funny story. Did your three sons take turns picking you up from work last year?"

Zhou Jiao nodded. Though her husband did pick her up a few times.

"A young lady newly assigned to my office seemed to fancy your eldest. One day she saw your son coming to pick you up and deliberately pulled a friend to go up and chat."

Zhou Jiao really hadn’t heard about this.

"Guess what happened. The grandpa at the entrance said, ’Liu Yi, come in and warm up, your mom’s still in a meeting and won’t be out soon.’"

"Oh dear, later the young lady’s quarrel revealed this incident, making a few of us laugh our heads off..."

Zhou Jiao’s smile faded, she disliked using her son’s name as a joke. Admiration, what young person doesn’t feel it, but discussing right and wrong behind someone’s back is too much.

When the person finished talking, she raised her wrist at them, "It’s almost time, I’ll go ahead, let’s chat when we can."

Once the mother and son left, May 1st asked, "Who was that, Mom? Seemed they really wanted to get close to you."

"Just an insignificant acquaintance."

May 1st understood and nodded, turning to glance at the person’s back. Such a busybody, if you truly wanted to get close to his mom, why wouldn’t you first understand her temperament?