My College Teacher is My Children's Mom

Just then, Lin Feng and Zhang Yuxi had also finished their tasks.

At almost nine months old, Guo Guo had started to crawl, and he was surprisingly fast. Occasionally, he would even stand up and take a few steps. The couple let nature take its course and didn't rush Guo Guo into walking early. As a result, before they knew it, Guo Guo grew to love crawling.

As An Lan described it, he was like a spider scurrying across the floor. She even recorded a video of him to tease her son, which Zhang Yuxi saved to show Guo Guo when he was older.

In the living room, the four children, along with a cat, a dog, and Guo Guo, were playing hide-and-seek. Er Bao had forcibly dragged Fat Fat into the game. In this household, Fat Fat liked Er Bao and San Bao the most and was most afraid of Si Bao. Da Bai, on the other hand, was hiding with Si Bao, his tail wagging so hard it looked like it might break off, as if terrified no one would see him.

Lin Feng and Zhang Yuxi were cooking in the kitchen, Liu Bo was peeling an apple, and An Lan sat on the sofa, griping about her son. Her tone was full of disdain, yet her face was extremely gentle. Since having Guo Guo, although An Lan could still be silly and occasionally eccentric, her personality had stabilized. She cherished her family, husband, and child more and more.

For the first few months, Liu Bo had stayed home to help care for the baby and cook for An Lan. But as the year-end approached, both of their shops needed him, and he was swamped. An Lan now had to look after Guo Guo and herself, on top of managing her restaurant. The original plan was to wean Guo Guo in August and start him on solid food, but that was postponed because she was too busy. She only had time to make him nutritious rice cereal now and then.

She had come over this time for two reasons: for the food, and to ask for recipes. These were the recipes used for the four children, from the time they were weaned at eight months until they started school at three. Even now, whenever there was a nutritious meal the children particularly loved, Lin Feng would add it to the collection. He had already filled three notebooks.

"Honey, there's a file folder on the desk with the photocopied recipes. Could you give it to An Lan?" Lin Feng said. "I might forget if I get tied up later."

"Okay," Zhang Yuxi replied, wiping her hands.

In the living room, Guo Guo lived up to his nickname of Spider-Man, crawling with impressive speed. He crawled with his mouth wide open, drooling, as he went to find his older siblings. Guo Guo had started teething at eight months, so he drooled a lot and always wore a bib. It was much better now compared to when his teeth first came in.

The first person Guo Guo found was San Bao. She was hiding behind a potted plant, and when Guo Guo crawled over, he looked up at her and giggled.

San Bao crouched down and gently stroked Guo Guo's head. "You're so good, Guo Guo! You found your sister so quickly. That's amazing!"

Understanding the praise, Guo Guo smiled even more joyfully.

Next was Er Bao, hiding behind a pillar. He was given away by the cat's tail, which was swishing back and forth. Guo Guo pitter-pattered over, tilted his head, and peeked behind the pillar.

Er Bao exclaimed dramatically, "WOW, you found me! Great job! Little brother Guo Guo, you're a champ!"

Guo Guo grinned.

Around the corner, a black tail was wagging on the floor. The dog's tail caught Guo Guo's attention, and he scampered over to play with it, finding Si Bao in the process. Then, all three of them started playing with the dog.

"Guo Guo, you still have to find big brother Da Bao!"

"Guo Guo?!"

Engrossed in their new game, the children suddenly remembered they were playing hide-and-seek. To get his attention, Da Bao called out to him.

"Guo Guo, I'm over here!"

Guo Guo crawled over curiously, looking around the living room. His parents met his gaze and began to tease him.

"Why are you looking at Daddy? Daddy doesn't know where Da Bao is!"

"Mommy doesn't know either!" An Lan chimed in, though she discreetly gave her son a look, signaling in the right direction.

Da Bao had been the last to hide, so besides Liu Bo and An Lan, no one had seen where he went. So, the other three siblings and Guo Guo began searching for him together. Liu Bo and An Lan watched with amusement.

An Lan couldn't help but remark, "It's so much more fun with more kids, isn't it? It's less lonely."

Liu Bo nodded in agreement. An Lan felt a twinge of regret that they hadn't become neighbors with Director Lin and Yuxi.

Zhang Yuxi handed the file folder to An Lan and glanced around, but she still couldn't spot Da Bao. In the end, it was Da Bai who found him, barking at the curtains.

Da Bao mumbled from his hiding spot, "Da Bai, you're cheating!" He had been so proud of his perfect hiding spot.

Lin Feng called out loudly, "Dinner's ready!"

The children washed their hands and came to eat. Lin Feng had made a soy milk and peanut rice cereal for Guo Guo. The soy milk was made from ground soybeans. The peanuts were also crushed, cooked with the soybeans, and then the mixture was strained. Finally, it was cooked with crushed rice.

Lin Feng asked An Lan, "Guo Guo's cereal is still warm. Should we eat first and feed him afterward?"

"That's fine," An Lan agreed. "Let him get a little hungry. He might eat more later. Whenever I make him rice cereal, he refuses to cooperate."

Guo Guo played in the living room under Da Bai's watchful eye while the adults and the four children ate in the dining room.

"I'm done! I'm going to play with little brother Guo Guo."

"Daddy, Mommy, I'm done too!"

In just a short while, everyone except San Bao had finished eating. San Bao continued her meal at a slow and steady pace, not at all rushed.

Struck by a sudden inspiration, An Lan put a small bowl of rice cereal aside for her son. Checking that the temperature was just right, she brought it to the living room. "Kids, can Godmother ask you for a favor?"

"Can you help me feed this bowl of Fan Fan to little brother Guo Guo?"

The children happily agreed.

An Lan emphasized, "Don't force him to eat. You have to coax him, okay?"

The children assured her it was no problem.

An Lan clapped her hands, her face brimming with relief. "I'll leave it to you then. Thank you all so much!"

Returning to the dining room, An Lan ate her meal while sneaking glances into the living room. Guo Guo was sitting in the small high chair the quadruplets used to use, with his bowl of food in front of him.

Er Bao took the small spoon. "I'll feed him!" He blew on the spoonful before bringing it to Guo Guo's mouth. "Come on, little brother Guo Guo, time to eat your Fan Fan! Open wide..."

With so many older siblings around him, Guo Guo wasn't bored at all. In fact, he seemed to think that eating was part of the game. With Er Bao feeding him and the other children keeping him entertained, he finished the small bowl of solid food with ease.

An Lan was deeply moved and immediately got him another small bowl. He ate half of this one, which was incredibly well-behaved for him.

Sitting back down, An Lan vented, "You have no idea. Every time I feed Guo Guo his solid food, it makes my blood boil. Once, it took me almost two hours! That little rascal just can't sit still in his high chair, it's like it's full of nails."

"It really is better with more kids around to distract him," she added. An Lan then sought advice from Lin Feng. "I remember when you used to feed your kids their solid food, Director Lin, they were always so good. They never made a fuss."

Zhang Yuxi had also helped with the feeding, so she remembered some of it. "Back then, San Bao was a very slow eater, and Er Bao was fussy and demanding. They were the hardest to feed. When I fed Da Bao and Si Bao, they would finish quickly without much trouble."

An Lan sighed. "I could understand if he refused because the food I made tasted bad. But solid food is tasteless, and he still won't eat much! He's almost nine months old now, and I'm so worried."

Lin Feng pinpointed the issue at once. "You should probably wean him. Once that source of food is gone, he won't be thinking about it anymore and will probably start to like solid food."

An Lan's head began to throb again. "I tried to wean him once. He just cried and cried!"

Lin Feng shook his head. "That's not the right way to do it. Weaning isn't something you can do all at once; it has to be a gradual process. You start by introducing solid food, then gradually increase the amount until it replaces milk as the main meal. Milk becomes just a snack, something to occasionally fill his tummy."

"Hmph, that's not going to be an easy road," An Lan muttered.

Lin Feng smiled. "Raising a child was never meant to be easy. Of course the road is challenging."

Zhang Yuxi suggested, "How about this? In a few days, when we go back to Modu, you can go to your parents' place to wean him. You're home alone, Liu Bo is busy, and when the baby sees you and smells your scent, he just wants to nurse. It'll be very difficult to wean him if this continues."

An Lan slapped her forehead. "Okay! That's a great idea. I'll have my mom make his food using Director Lin's recipes!"

It's true what they say about pregnancy brain. How could I not have thought of that? I'm so silly!

After dinner, An Lan and Liu Bo prepared to take Guo Guo home. Guo Guo began to wail, crying his little heart out. The four children couldn't bear to part with their little brother Guo Guo either.

And so, it was decided that An Lan's family would not go home that night but would sleep over at Zhang Yuxi's place.

The four children and Guo Guo were thrilled.