Axolotl Translations

The New Year was fast approaching, and to ease the holiday shopping rush, the military district decided to send two trucks into town for the families. The service cooperative’s limited stock just couldn’t meet everyone’s needs.

That evening, when Qiao Haoyu returned home, he shared the news and asked if they needed anything from town, offering to have someone bring it back for them.

“Great-aunt, you and Jiajia should check what we’re running low on. I’ll ask one of the soldiers going on the trip to pick it up tomorrow. Jiajia definitely shouldn’t go in her condition, and I think you should stay back too. It’s freezing, and hours in the cold won’t be good for you,” Qiao Haoyu suggested.

They still had plenty of supplies from their last village trip, and Jiajia had gradually stocked up on things. There was no need to brave the cold for just a few extra items—they could simply ask someone to get them.

“They’re taking trucks?” Great-aunt asked.

“Yes, two this time. The meeting point is outside the compound at six-thirty in the morning. I expect a lot of people will want to go—it’s almost New Year’s, and everyone’s stocking up. That’s why the district added a second truck, just for the families,” he explained.

Normally, getting permission to leave the base was difficult. Unless it was an emergency and they could request a small vehicle, the only other option was to join the scheduled procurement trips, which were only every three days. Because of the hassle, most families in the compound rarely left unless absolutely necessary.

“That’s not so bad, then. The trucks have tarps to block the wind, and with everyone packed in, it won’t be too cold,” Great-aunt considered, before adding, “Actually, I think I’d like to go.”

This was, after all, the last big shopping trip before New Year’s. Who knew when she’d get another chance after the holiday rush? She wanted to stock up, and going with a group would be lively and fun.

With her mind made up, she announced her decision. “I’ll just wear extra layers, and I’ll be fine. No need to fuss over me—I’m in excellent health! I’ve barely even caught a cold these past few years.”

Seeing that Qiao Haoyu and Jiajia were about to protest, she cut them off before they could say a word.

Wei Jiajia knew that thanks to the nourishing spiritual spring water, Grandaunt was much healthier than most elderly women—perhaps even more robust than some younger ones. Confident in Great-aunt’s condition, she didn’t argue, simply letting her have her way. She tugged at her husband’s sleeve, signaling him to do the same.

Seeing his wife’s agreement, Qiao Haoyu kept quiet, tacitly consenting.

“We should go with Great-aunt,” Xiangdong suggested after a moment’s thought. “We’re younger, and we can help stand in line at the supply cooperative. It’ll be packed with people this time of year—Great-aunt won’t be able to handle the crowd on her own.”

“Exactly! With my brother and me there, Grand-aunt just has to tell us what to buy and wait outside. We’ll do the shopping,” Xiangxi chimed in, enthusiastic. He was eager to see what a northeastern department store looked like—he’d never been inside one before.

“We’ll go with Great-aunt too!” Nuannuan grabbed Yangyang’s hand, not wanting to be left out. She considered herself a big girl now, more than capable of helping. It wasn’t just curiosity, of course.

Yangyang, catching Nuannuan’s expectant gaze, sighed and nodded reluctantly. If it were up to him, he wouldn’t go at all. What was so interesting about shopping? It was crowded, noisy, and far away. He’d much rather stay behind and play war games with his friends outside.

He’d already found a great group of playmates in the compound, and they had all sorts of fun games every day—far more variety than back in Shencheng. He had no interest in “broadening his horizons” with a shopping trip.

Great-aunt playfully wagged a finger at Nuannuan from across the room and teased, “You little rascal, you always have to be in everything! What exactly do you think you can do? If you come along, everyone will have to watch you instead of focusing on shopping.”

Nuannuan pouted, clearly unconvinced. “I don’t need watching! I can help too!” She felt Grand-aunt was underestimating her—she wasn’t a burden!

Noticing the slight disappointment in the little girl’s eyes, Wei Jiajia crouched down and gently reassured her, “Great-aunt isn’t saying she doesn’t want you to go—she’s just worried. The streets will be packed this time of year, and your brothers will be busy buying things. They won’t be able to keep an eye on you the whole time. You’re still little, and she’s afraid that if a bad person tried to take you away, you could get lost. Imagine how heartbroken Grand-aunt and your brothers would be if they turned around and couldn’t find you.”

Seeing that the little girl understood, Wei Jiajia continued, “That’s why Great-aunt said no—it’s for your own good. You get that now, right?”

Nuannuan nodded, her cheeks flushing slightly with embarrassment as she apologized to great-aunt. “Grand-aunt, I’m sorry. I misunderstood! I won’t cause any trouble.” After a brief pause, she added, “But when there are fewer people, you have to take me and Yangyang! We want to see the county town too.”

Great-aunt looked at Nuannuan and chuckled. “Of course, I’ll take you next time. How could I forget you? If I did, you’d make a right fuss.”

Nuannuan giggled.

With everything settled, they decided Grand-aunt would take Xiangdong and Xiangxi into town the next day, while the others stayed home. Since they had to leave early, everyone went to bed early—they needed a good breakfast before heading out. In that freezing weather, an empty stomach would be unbearable.

At five o’clock the next morning, Qiao Haoyu woke up. He glanced at his sleeping wife and carefully lifted the blanket to get out of bed. Before leaving, he made sure to tuck the covers snugly around her, wrapping her up so thoroughly that only her little head peeked out. She slept soundly, her eyes still closed.

He lowered his head and watched her for a moment. She seemed to be dreaming of something delicious—her lips moved slightly, as if tasting an imaginary treat. She looked so adorable that he couldn’t resist pressing a soft kiss to her lips.

Fearing he might wake her, Qiao Haoyu only stole a few gentle pecks before quietly getting dressed and stepping outside.

“You’re up early,” a voice greeted him as he left the room.

Qiao Haoyu turned to see Great-aunt at the door, also ready to go.

Great-aunt was a bit surprised to see him. She smiled and said, “I couldn’t sleep, so I thought I’d get up and make breakfast. That way, we can eat and leave on time.” Then she asked, “What about you? Why are you up so early?”

“It’s not that early for me—I usually wake up around this time to exercise.” He’d originally planned to get up half an hour earlier to prepare breakfast, but since Grand-aunt was already awake, he decided to help light the stove before heading out for his morning workout.

By the time he returned, breakfast was almost ready, and Xiangdong and Xiangxi were already up, helping in the kitchen.

Once the four of them finished eating, they left the remaining food warm in the pot for the others. With everything ready, Qiao Haoyu led Great-aunt and the two young men out of the compound, ready for their trip to town.

“Captain Qiao, are you coming into town with us?” someone asked, curious, as Qiao Haoyu arrived at the meeting point.

Qiao Haoyu glanced at the woman who had spoken. She looked familiar—he recognized her as Sister Cui, someone close to his wife.

Seeing her there, he felt relieved and greeted her politely. “No, I’m not going. I just came to see my family off.” He then introduced them. “This is my great-aunt. She’s spending the New Year with us. And these two are my wife’s younger brothers. Since Jiajia isn’t feeling well, and I have work, they’ve kindly offered to do the New Year’s shopping for us. They’re still new to the area, so if they need any help, I’d appreciate it if you could give them some guidance.”

Qiao Haoyu wasn’t usually this talkative, but he trusted Sister Cui. She’d been very helpful when Jiajia first arrived, so he felt reassured leaving his family in her care for the trip.

“There’s no need to be so polite, Captain Qiao!” Sister Cui replied with a warm smile.

The other women at the meeting point turned their attention to the three people standing beside Qiao Haoyu. They’d heard Captain Qiao’s relatives were visiting, but because of the cold, most people had stayed indoors. Who would willingly go out in such freezing temperatures unless they had to? Only the restless children, who couldn’t stay still, had been running around outside.

In fact, the women knew about Qiao Haoyu’s visiting relatives because their children had come home talking about them. According to the children, their beautiful Aunt Qiao’s younger siblings had arrived at the military compound. They looked just like her—equally good-looking—and were very kind. Not only that, but they’d even let the children play with the basketballs and soccer balls they’d brought, which were much newer than the ones usually borrowed from the logistics department.

That alone had made them stand out. After all, in those times, who had extra money to buy things like that for kids? Such spending was seen as extravagant—money was better spent on necessities like rice, flour, and oil.

Naturally, when the children shared this news, it sparked curiosity among the women. They began speculating about Jiajia’s family background. And now, seeing the elderly woman with her quiet dignity and the two strikingly handsome young men, their suspicions seemed confirmed—Jiajia’s family must be either wealthy or influential.

Some of the women who had once spoken ill of Jiajia—gossiping about how she was stingy because she hadn’t let them take advantage of her—now regretted their words even more.

Sensing the subtle glances, Great-aunt smiled warmly at Sister Cui and said, “Thank you for looking after us.” She knew Qiao Haoyu must have trusted this woman’s character to ask for her help.

Then, turning to the rest of the group, she greeted them with a polite nod. “Hello, everyone.”

Sister Cui greeted great-aunt warmly. “Auntie, you can stick with me later. If you have any questions, just ask—I’ve been living here with the military families for nearly six or seven years, so I know how everything works.” Then, glancing at Qiao Haoyu, she added, “Captain Qiao, you should head to work now. Leave Auntie to me, don’t worry.”

“Thank you, Sister Cui!” Qiao Haoyu said gratefully. He reminded Great-aunt and the others to stay safe on the road, gave a polite nod to the other women, and then turned to head back toward the camp.

Since Grand-aunt wouldn’t be home that day, Yangyang and Nuannuan behaved particularly well when they woke up. After getting dressed on their own, they quietly washed up, making sure not to wake their sister. Then, they went to the kitchen to find breakfast.

After finishing their meal, they thoughtfully kept Wei Jiajia’s portion warm in the pot. Instead of running outside to play with their friends as usual, they pulled out their books and started working on their homework.

The two little ones had made a decision that morning: today, they wouldn’t go out to play. Since Great-aunt, Brother-in-law, and their older brothers were all out, it was their turn to take care of their big sister.

When Wei Jiajia finally woke up, she was greeted by the sight of the two children quietly studying at the dining table. She raised an eyebrow in surprise—this was definitely out of character for them. In their family, these two were the least interested in studying. Compared to their older siblings, their grades were simply… not worth mentioning.

“Sister, you’re awake!” Nuannuan looked up as soon as she saw her, then quickly jumped off her chair and ran over. Taking her sister’s arm, she asked earnestly, “Do you need to go to the bathroom? I’ll help you.”

Wei Jiajia couldn’t help but laugh at her exaggerated sense of responsibility. She played along and let Nuannuan escort her, listening as the little girl carefully instructed her along the way: “Slow down! Watch your step.”

After returning from the bathroom, she went to get some water to wash up, only to find that the basin was already filled with warm water. Yangyang grinned at her and urged, “Hurry up and wash your face before the water gets cold.” Then, without waiting for a response, he turned and headed toward the kitchen.

And that was how Wei Jiajia found herself experiencing the unnerving sensation of being doted on by two overly attentive little kids.

When she started eating a little too fast, a small but serious voice piped up beside her, “Eat slowly, or you’ll choke.”

It was spoken in the exact same tone Great-aunt always used. Predictably, she ended up choking.

“Cough… cough, cough…!”

Meanwhile, Yangyang sprang into action, dashing off to pour a cup of hot water. He placed it beside her and gently patted her back with his small hands. His expression was full of exasperated disappointment as he scolded, “See? I told you to eat slowly, but you wouldn’t listen. Now you’re choking!”

That only made Wei Jiajia cough even harder.

Under their intense gazes, she somehow managed to finish the last bite of her meal. Letting out a long breath, she finally relaxed.

This was exhausting…

The two little faces, which bore a striking resemblance to hers, now looked at her with an almost elderly kindness, their expressions filled with concern. It was so overwhelming that she nearly lost her appetite.

What was even happening right now? Glancing at the unusually well-behaved pair, she hesitated before asking, “Aren’t you two going out to play with Rourou and Goudan?” Normally, by this time, they’d be long gone, nowhere to be found.

She figured she should send them out for a bit. She was struggling to process their odd behavior—looking at them now, she felt like she was seeing a much older version of herself staring back.

“No need,” Nuannuan said matter-of-factly. “We have a mission today, so we won’t be hanging out with those little kids.” As she spoke, she even waved her hand dismissively, as if those “little kids” were beneath her.

Wei Jiajia: “……”

You’re not little kids yourselves??? Who was it that ran outside every day, so caught up in playing that they never wanted to come home? This was beyond absurd!

Meanwhile, since there was only a pregnant woman and two children at home, Qiao Haoyu had taken a few meal boxes with him when he left that morning. At lunchtime, after picking up food from the canteen, he hurried back home.

When he arrived, he was immediately greeted by a house filled with smoke. Amid the haze, his wife waved excitedly at him, looking as if she had just been rescued from some great disaster. Her relief was palpable—but what really caught his attention was the plate in front of her. It held a charred, unidentifiable object.

Qiao Haoyu chuckled as he walked over. “What have you all been up to?” he asked, grinning. “Why is the house filled with smoke? And… what is this? Did you make it?” He reached out and picked up the mysterious item from the plate, examining it curiously.

Seeing Qiao Haoyu teasing her the moment he stepped inside, Wei Jiajia huffed and gave him a firm slap on the arm. Sure, her cooking wasn’t on par with the chefs at a state-run restaurant, but it certainly wasn’t this bad!

Pouting, she looked at him with an expression full of grievance and said, “The chef is in the kitchen. This—” she gestured towards the plate with her chin, “—is the first dish they made for me.”

“They went into the kitchen?” Qiao Haoyu asked, surprised.

“They said they needed to take care of me and their little niece, and that I wasn’t allowed to lift a finger. I just had to sit here and wait to be served.” She glanced at the two kids, who still looked thrilled with themselves, and hadn’t had the heart to refuse them. In the end, she was the one who had suffered.

Qiao Haoyu barely managed to hold back a laugh at his wife’s exasperated expression. He did his best to comfort her. “Alright, let me go see what’s going on in there. You just sit tight. Good thing I brought food back, so at least we won’t go hungry today.” With that, he picked up the failed dish from the table and strode toward the kitchen.

Moments later, he emerged with the two little troublemakers, each dangling from one of his hands like stray kittens. He set them down, prepared warm water for them to wash up, and instructed them to clean themselves properly. Meanwhile, he headed into the kitchen to deal with the mess they had left behind.

After freshening up, Yangyang and Nuannuan sat beside their sister, waiting eagerly for their brother-in-law to serve the meal. They had never imagined that cooking would be this difficult. Every time they watched Great-aunt do it, it had looked so easy! But the moment they tried, everything fell apart. Was this some sort of trick against kids?

Both of them thought for a moment and came to the same conclusion: the problem was that they had only watched Grand-aunt cook but never actually asked her for guidance. Once she was back to teach them properly, they wouldn’t run into these issues again.

With newfound determination, Nuannuan turned to Wei Jiajia and solemnly promised, “Don’t be disappointed, Sister. Today we’ll eat the food Brother-in-law brought back, but tomorrow, I’ll learn more from Great-aunt. The day after that, my little niece will get to eat a meal made by me!”

Wei Jiajia was startled by Nuannuan’s bold declaration and quickly waved her hands in refusal. With a face full of concern, she said, “No… definitely not. Wait until your little niece is born and has teeth to eat. You can cook for her then. But if you cook now, she won’t even be able to eat it!” She hurriedly reassured Nuannuan, thinking to herself, I’m not disappointed at all. In fact, I’m relieved. But please, don’t do that again. I’m afraid it might poison me.

From the kitchen, Qiao Haoyu overheard the conversation between the two sisters and couldn’t help but laugh out loud. The two of them together were too amusing.

He brought out the hot meal and began serving everyone, casually adding a piece of braised fish to his wife’s plate. “Here, eat quickly. Let good food comfort that little heart of yours after all the shock today.”

After Qiao Haoyu left, the three siblings sat staring at each other, unsure of what to do next. Eventually, Wei Jiajia couldn’t take the awkward silence anymore and started guiding the two little ones with their homework. But she made a silent wish: Please, don’t stare at me like that again, or I won’t be able to get anything done.

When Great-aunt and the others returned that evening, Yangyang and Nuannuan eagerly reported how they had taken care of their sister all day. Great-aunt praised them for being so considerate, which made the two children puff out their chests in pride, each promising that when the adults weren’t around, they would take charge of looking after their sister.

Wei Jiajia, still unable to hold back her laughter, recounted the whole day’s series of events to the three of them. If not for her husband returning at lunch, she wasn’t sure if she would’ve survived that disastrous meal. Hearing about the comical events that transpired in the house that day, everyone was amused by the antics of the two little ones.

Grand-aunt remarked that their enthusiasm was commendable, but as for their cooking skills, she’d need to give them some proper training before they could be trusted with such tasks. Otherwise, they might end up giving someone a stomach ache!

Being the youngest and spoiled by their older siblings, the twins had never done much work around the house. After seeing how they performed today, however, Great-aunt decided they could be entrusted with simple tasks in the future.

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