Soon, Old Madam finished preparing the goat milk and emerged from the kitchen with a tray of bottles. Chen Lan quickly placed the twins into their stroller, found the bottles labeled with their names, and handed them to the little ones. With something to occupy their mouths, the twins finally quieted down, and peace descended upon the world.
Chen Lan then called out to the children playing in the playground, "Xiao Hehua, Xiaotou, Xiaoshitou, bring your younger brothers out for goat milk and snacks!"
Upon hearing the mention of food, Hu Tou and Xiao Shitou, without fully processing her words, immediately dashed out of the playground, not even waiting for Hehua or their younger brothers, Xiao Douzi and Xiao Tietou.
As soon as they emerged, they called out, "In-law Grandma, Auntie Xiaolan, Cousin Xiaolan!"
Chen Lan grunted, putting on a stern face. "You two are big brothers now, how could you run out first without looking after your younger brothers? Look at how your sister Hehua is doing, quickly go back and help her."
The two little fellows immediately agreed, "Okay! We'll go now!" Before they even finished speaking, they turned and ran back. Chen Lan followed them. Upon entering the playground, she saw Xiao Hehua tugging at Xiao Tiedan's chubby arm, her voice still milky as she said, "Xiao Tiedan, get up, hurry and get up, it's time for milk!"
Xiao Tiedan was both plump and strong, and Xiao Hehua couldn't budge him. He was engrossed in his favorite game of crawling through holes, his head down, his bottom sticking out as he tried to wriggle into the opening. Chen Lan then looked at Xiao Douzi, who was on the other side of the hole.
Chen Lan found it very strange. Why did the children love playing the hole-crawling game so much, and play it every day without getting bored? She really couldn't understand the way these children's minds worked!
Chen Lan first walked to the other end of the hole, picked up Xiao Douzi, who obediently hugged her neck without a sound.
Chen Lan then returned to this end of the hole and, with her other arm, scooped up Xiao Tiedan, whose body was already partly in the hole with his bottom sticking out. The little fellow was unhappy, crying and shouting.
Chen Lan ignored his cries and nimbly placed both little ones on the sofa. At this moment, Old Madam handed her a warm towel. Chen Lan wiped each child's hands clean, then picked up the bottles from the tray, gave each child one according to their name, and then handed each one a small cake. Instantly, the living room fell silent, filled only with the sound of children gulping down their milk.
When one is busy, time flies by quickly! It seemed like a blink of an eye until the day of Xiao Nian.
Chen Lan woke up early, washed up, and except for herself, Old Madam, and the twins, as well as Wen Kai and Wen Qi's clothes, she took out the new clothes she had prepared for the whole family from the system warehouse. She packed them in flawed cloth and brought them downstairs.
Since it was Xiao Nian today, everyone woke up relatively early. By this time, the mother-in-law, Cui Mama, and Liu Mama were already up and busy preparing breakfast for the whole family in the kitchen.
Chen Lan greeted the three women one by one, handed the bundle to her mother-in-law, and said, "Mother-in-law, these are new clothes for the whole family. Ask everyone to change into their new clothes after breakfast. Today, our whole family will take a family portrait."
The mother-in-law's eyes lit up at the mention of taking a family photo. Liu Mama and Cui Mama were also overjoyed.
Liu Mama said with a smile, "Xiaolan, this is wonderful! In the past, when we were in the capital, we could only go to a photo studio to take pictures. I never expected that after coming to the valley, we could take family portraits at home. It's so convenient!"
Cui Mama chimed in, "Yes! Yes! In our small town of Gu'an County, there wasn't even a photo studio. To take pictures, we had to go all the way to the capital. It was really inconvenient. Now it's so good, we can take pictures at home whenever we want. It's truly convenient."
The mother-in-law also heartily agreed with a smile, "That's right! It's great now! In our own home, we can take pictures however we like. Today, I'll ask Xiaolan to take a few more for me. I want to take one with Mingzhe, one with my two dear grandchildren, and then..." the mother-in-law happily planned.
Chen Lan smiled and agreed, "We'll take them all, family photos, couple photos, single photos, however you want to take them, I guarantee everyone will be satisfied today."
Chen Lan thought to herself, since it was a digital camera, she wasn't afraid of them taking many photos. At worst, before sending them for printing, she could carefully select the good ones and pay for printing. They wouldn't know exactly how many were taken.
Because everyone was eager to take photos, they finished breakfast in a hurry and returned to their rooms to change. Normally, they would chat for a while, but today, they didn't. After putting down their bowls, the women rushed to the kitchen, all wanting to finish tidying up quickly so they could go back to their rooms to change into new clothes and take family portraits.
Chen Lan also went upstairs with the twins, Old Madam, and her two younger brothers to change into new clothes.
Old Madam's new outfit was still a qipao, but the one she wore for her birthday was dark green. For this Xiao Nian, Chen Lan bought her an elegant dark blue velvet qipao. When she put it on, Old Madam looked as graceful and refined as ever.
The two younger brothers received identical outfits: a dark green woolen suit. Wearing them, the two little fellows looked steady and handsome.
For the twins' new clothes, Chen Lan this time bought bright red Hanfu. For Jiahui, she bought a bright red padded jacket and dark blue underskirt.
For Jiayao, she bought a bright red long padded jacket and dark blue trousers. When the siblings changed into them, they truly looked like a pair of golden boy and jade girl, incredibly adorable.
When Chen Lan and the others finished changing and came downstairs, everyone had already changed and was waiting in the living room. So, Chen Lan cut to the chase, first arranging for everyone to take a few family portraits, then individual family groups, and finally, they could take photos however they pleased. In short, today was an opportunity for everyone to have their fill of taking pictures.
Chen Lan adjusted everyone's positions. Old Madam and the mother-in-law sat in the very center, with the twins, one holding each. Liu Mama held Hu Tou and sat next to Old Madam. Cui Mama held Xiao Shitou and sat next to the mother-in-law. Chun Cao held Xiao Douzi and sat next to Liu Mama. The two younger brothers stood behind Old Madam, while Mingzhe and Mingwei stood behind the mother-in-law.
Behind them, Uncle De and Uncle Fu, Hu Yuzhen, Cui Qiao, and Zhao Xiaoyue stood in order of height. Chen Lan found the right angle, pressed the shutter, and took several family photos. For the last one, she asked Chun Cao to help, and Chen Lan sat in Chun Cao's position, holding Xiao Douzi, and took a family photo.
One family photo captured the kind faces and warm smiles of Old Madam, the mother-in-law, Liu Mama, Cui Mama, Uncle De, and Uncle Fu.
A family photo freezes an eternal reunion, captures warmth and happiness, and freezes many beautiful and happy memories. It records the happy moments of a family and is a spiritual wealth that everyone in the family needs to cherish for a lifetime and pass down through generations.