Chapter 177: Chapter 177: Addicted to Auction

Ambling along, the husband and wife, along with Da Hei, arrived in the county.

“Daddy, Mommy.”

Just as they entered the alley, they heard a familiar voice. Susu turned her head and indeed, it was their own children.

The triplets threw themselves into their parents’ arms, followed by Tianyu and Xiao Yu and Xiao Xue.

“Dad, Mom, you’ve finally come back.”

“Uncle Second, Aunt Second.”

The three siblings, being sensible, reached out to help carry things.

“No need, no need, what are you all doing outside?” Susu looked at the pair of children behind them.

“Mommy, playing hide and seek.”

Susu looked closely, sure enough, the triplets were covered in dust, even their black boots had turned dusty.

“Look at you three little pigs, how dirty you’ve made your clothes.”

“Hehe…” The siblings chuckled foolishly, stretching out their little hands to pat their mother’s boots.

“Alright, play a bit more and then come home, don’t catch a cold in the cold outside.”

Susu pinched the three little icy faces and pulled a couple of handfuls of candy from the bag she was carrying, “Go, share these with your friends.”

“Wow, Mommy is the best.”

The three little ones trotted after their elder brother and sister, who were distributing candy to the children in the Family Court. The siblings added to the supply.

Proudly puffing their little chests out, “These are from our Mommy.”

“Our Mommy asked our brother and sister to share some with you.”

“Is our Mommy good or not?”

Susu listened to the children’s childish voices, amused but determined to hurry home with her husband, as it was too cold on the road.

Da Hei dashed into the house, wagging his tail, and plopped down in front of the coal stove to warm up.

“Susu, Second Junior is back.”

“Dad, Mom, Brother, elder sister-in-law.”

“Susu, come and drink some hot water to warm up, it’s been freezing to death these past couple of days.”

…

“Your Mommy is really good, giving you all so much candy.”

“That’s right, our Mommy is the best～”

“Your Dad and Mommy are good-looking too, tall and beautiful.”

“Heehee, of course.”

“If only your Dad and Mommy were my parents as well.”

“Yeah, then there’d be lots of yummy things.”

“No way, Daddy and Mommy are ours and Brother’s; we won’t let you steal them.”

“My Daddy, Mommy…”

…

“Daddy, Mommy~”

As soon as the triplets got onto the kang bed, they snuggled into their parents’ embrace, putting on a wronged little expression.

Susu laughed as she pinched her little daughter’s cheek, “What’s this? You were just fine a moment ago, and now look at that pout, it could hang an oil pot.”

Tianyu, smiling happily, sat next to his parents and recounted the recent conversation among the little friends.

Xiao Yu and Xiao Xue, sitting next to their parents, kept adding a word or nodding in agreement.

Susu and Lu Xiaoting didn’t know whether to laugh or to cry, realizing it was fear that the other children might steal away their parents.

Smiling to soothe the three siblings, “Alright now, don’t be upset. Dad and Mom only have Big Brother and you three kids. We’re just your parents, and no one will take us away.”

“Really?”

Lele pouted her lips, and Pingping and Anan also gazed at Mom with hopeful eyes.

“Really, really.”

“Hehe, I love Dad and Mom the most.”

“Me too, me too.”

…

On the day of the Lunar New Year’s Eve, the entire family got up early to get ready, posting couplets, washing vegetables, cooking—everyone was bustling about nonstop.

The children couldn’t wait to get their eyes open, put on new clothes, shoes, sweaters, and scarves, and went out to show off to their little friends.

Because the third child’s couple had very young kids and were afraid of them catching a cold on the way, they chose to stay in the Provincial City this year and not come back for the New Year.

Mrs. Lu led her two daughters-in-law and daughter with efficient orderliness, while Father Lu and his two sons were responsible for taking care of the children at home and making the fried rice cakes.

After the family had eaten their fill, Susu took out the camera she had brought back especially.

“Hey, Susu, wait a minute. Mom didn’t dare to wear her new clothes this morning for fear of getting them dirty. Wait for Mom, I’ll quickly go and change into my new clothes.”

“Old lady, wait for me, I’ll also put on new clothes.”

“Brother’s wife, Big Brother and I will quickly go change clothes too. For the photo, we’ve got to spruce up a bit.”

…

Susu, with a smile in her eyes, went back to her room to spruce up with her man. No need to change clothes, the couple was already wearing their new clothes for New Year.

After a cacophony of bustling about in various rooms, the Lu Family finally began the official photo session, led by Susu who was an amateur photographer at best.

First were the couple photos and individual photos of Father Lu and Mrs. Lu, followed by a group photo of Father Lu and Mrs. Lu with their two sons and daughter.

Next were the couple photos for each family, the children’s photos, and individual photos for everyone.

“Sister-in-law, teach me how this works. I’ll take a few shots for you and my second brother, as well as some of the kids.”

Outside was freezing cold, and during the half-time break, the whole family huddled inside to warm up by the fire.

Brother Lu, who was naturally bright, quickly learned how to operate the camera.

After the whole family had posed for photos, all that was left was a group photo of the entire family. Mrs. Lu busily called the neighboring Wang Dong to come over and help take the photo.

“Okay, okay, Auntie, I’ll be right over.”

Following Wang Dong’s voice, he arrived in no time, and Aunt Wang came along with him.

“Goodness, Sister-in-law, this photo-taking of yours looks great.” Wang Dong’s eyes shone brightly as he scratched his head shyly.

“Sister-in-law, could you take a few photos for our family later? Don’t worry; we won’t get them for free. We’ll pay the price of a photo studio.”

Susu raised her eyebrows and nodded, “Sure, but my photography skills definitely can’t compare to those comrades in the photo studios.”

“No problem, sister-in-law.”

As a result, the activity at the Wang Family attracted the attention of the neighbors. Once they learned it was the camera of the Lu Family’s daughter-in-law and were paying the price of a photo studio, it seemed like a great idea. It wasn’t too expensive, and there was no need to go far, so representatives from several families came over to inquire if it was possible.

Susu laughed, not expecting that on this cold day, business would come knocking while sitting comfortably at home. Naturally, there was no disagreement, and Wang Dong was tasked with visiting each household to take photos and keep records.

This arrangement saved Susu trouble, and since she printed the Wang Family’s photos for free, Wang Dong couldn’t be happier.

One saved effort, the other saved money; both were quite pleased.

The next day, New Year’s Day, when visiting relatives, the photo-enthusiast Susu took photos for the visiting Uncle Su, Aunt Su, and Lu Xiaogu’s families.

Snap, snap, it was individual photos, group photos, and finally, they ran out of film in the spare roll before calling it quits.

The families insisted on paying the price of a photo studio, but Susu refused to accept it. With no other choice, they came to a compromise—paying for however many photos they had printed.

The whole family got really into the photo session in the yard, and the four siblings, with their bulging pockets, ran back home.

Tianyu and Xiao Yu, considering themselves older children, were embarrassed to run around with the younger kids, going door-to-door for New Year greetings and collecting candies and dried fruits.

“Big Brother, Big Sister, come inside, we’re dividing up the candy~”