The children were more mischievous as they grew older. It was not as easy to coax them.

  Qiao Nan did not want to fail as a mother. She hoped that her children would grow up to be good and well-behaved. She would rather use her time to learn how to be a good mother and how to nurture her children instead of going for further studies. Right now, her world revolved around two things: her career and her family.

  “Mama.” Er Bao was smart. He knew that his papa seemed to prefer to hold his sister. Therefore, he changed his target to his mama. He ran with his short legs to hug his mama’s calf. “Mama, carry me, carry me.”

  The chubby who sat on her father’s shoulder smiled. “Mama does not have enough strength to lift you high up into the air.” Her father and Grandpa Zhu were the only two people that could lift her high up into the air. It was a pity that her father was the only one around. Grandpa Zhu was not with them.

  When Qiao Nan carried Er Bao into her arms, he pouted his lips and gave a hard kiss on her cheeks. He reached his hands to encircle her neck. “I like mama. Mama smells nice.” It was alright that he could not be lifted high up into the air. His mother smelled nice. Her embrace was soft and comfy. It was better than his father who was hard and stiff. He preferred his mother who smelled nice!

  Da Bao looked at his younger brother and sister with slight displeasure. He snorted and took the bullets model that his father brought with him. He then grabbed his grandma’s hands and ran over to the pile of toys. He had grown up. He would not fight with Er Bao and San Bao for his parents.

  Miao Jing was elated that her eldest grandson wanted her company. It was good to have more children at home. There was no need to fight over them. The younger grandson and granddaughter were attached to their parents, while the eldest grandson wanted her to accompany him. In other families, the grandma had to be prepared to be neglected while the parents played with their children.

  This would not happen to her!

  \r \r \r

  It had been quite a while since she stayed in the quad in the military zone. Miao Jing had heard a lot from her neighbors.

  Whenever Miao Jing brought the triplets to take a stroll under the sun, she heard cases where the daughter-in-law and mother-in-law quarreled with each other over the children. As the elders, they could not win against their daughters-in-law and could only complain and cry to their peers.

  Things were different for Miao Jing. She would behave like a rooster who just came back from victory. She held her head high and she looked very pleased as she walked past them with the triplets. Everyone could not help but grind their teeth at that scene.

  Miao Jing was proud that although the triplets were still young, they were not timid and had a sweet tongue. When they saw the adults who were of the same age as Miao Jing, they would address them as grandpa and grandma. They were not afraid of strangers. Miao Jing felt that they were smart and cunning.

  The elders would dote on adorable children. If they had any snacks with them, they would give the snacks to them to make them happy.

  Qiao Nan discouraged the triplets from having snacks. She had been teaching them not to have snacks since they were around eight months old. In particular, when they turned one year old and would run around and start to learn words, Qiao Nan was especially strict with them. She feared that they would not have proper meals if they had too many snacks. They would then not have the proper nutrition and would not grow up well.

  The triplets were very obedient and smart. When the elders gave them snacks, they would take the sweets from Grandpa Lee and give them to Grandma Shen. They would then give the biscuits from Grandma Shen to Grandpa Lee.

  There was once that Miao Jing realized to her surprise that, perhaps to avoid being discovered, the triplets would give the snacks interchangeably. Da Bao would take the snacks that he took from a grandpa and passed it to the grandma who gave chocolates to San Bao, while San Bao would give her snacks to the grandma who took care of Er Bao. Er Bao would then give the snacks to the grandpa who took care of Da Bao.

  Anyway, undoubtedly, the triplets had won the affection of all the elders in the military zone.

  At times, Miao Jing would be confused as to whom the snacks should be given to. But the triplets had a clear idea of who should get what snacks. Miao Jing felt like getting a piece of paper and pen to write down the sequence. But the triplets were very natural. They did not even need to think twice when deciding who to give the snacks to. Miao Jing was surprised that the triplets were so smart and cheeky. She wondered whether they were really less than two years old.

  As a result, Miao Jing specially asked Qiao Nan whether she remembered what food she had when she was pregnant.

  She surmised that Qiao Nan must have had the right food when she was pregnant with the triplets for their brains to develop well and have high emotional intelligence.

  She could take down what she ate so that she could pass the recipe to her daughter who was pregnant and tell her to eat accordingly.

  In that case, they would welcome the fourth child in the family who was just as smart and cunning. She welcomed more children who were smart and adorable.

  Miao Jing felt very proud now that the triplets were the most popular little stars in the quad in the military zone and were adored by the elders. She was even more elated that her eldest grandson chose to play with her even when his parents were around.

  “Brother Zhai, do you know where my master has been to? He seemed to be in a hurry to go out. He only left a message but did not go into details.” Qiao Nan sat down next to Zhai Sheng and could not help but ask him.

  Lin Yuankang stayed very near to the Zhai family’s residence, so they had frequent contact with each other.

  The men in the Zhai family were usually not at home, whereas Qiao Nan had to work and go to school. Miao Jing and the auntie were the only ones who took care of the triplets. After knowing this, Lin Yuankang would come over to play with the triplets and he would also teach them English. The triplets were still not fluent in their Chinese, and they liked to use duplicated words and speak short sentences.

  However, they knew how to say father, mother, grandpa, and grandma in English. Furthermore, they would speak with the authentic American accent under Lin Yuankang’s influence.

  Now that Lin Yuankang was away for urgent matters, the triplets were not accustomed to it. They kept pestering Qiao Nan yesterday, asking her where their grandmaster was. The triplets were smart to remember the complex relationship between the adults and the correct way to address Lin Yuankang.

  The triplets knew very well who was nice to them.

  Now that Lin Yuankang was not around, they kept calling for him. Luckily, Qiao Nan obtained Lin Yuankang’s latest contact number from He Yi and the triplets managed to talk to him on the phone. Otherwise, they would still be pestering Qiao Nan.

  However, Qiao Nan felt perplexed. Her master was advanced in years and he should be planning for his retirement and enjoying life.