At the beginning, he took his seven younger siblings to join Yi Zhonghai.

A day has passed.

Yi Zhongding can't do anything.

Just taking care of these little ones has kept me incredibly busy.

However, this is already much better than when he had to take care of them all by himself at home.

In any case, Tan Xiulian was a very competent sister-in-law.

He takes even better care of these children than Yi Zhongding.

They treated it with such care, as if they were afraid it would fall if held in their hands or melt if kept in their mouths.

She rushes to anyone's side as quickly as possible whenever they cry.

evening.

The workers gradually returned home after get off work.

Yi Zhonghai was no exception.

He came back carrying a bag of rice.

As soon as I got home, I hugged each of the kids and showered them with affection.

Yao Mei and the others weren't too happy about it.

Because his beard was prickly.

This is not.

Yi Zhonghai was holding Zhong Ren, wanting to cuddle up with her for a bit.

The little guy looked resistant and pushed his forehead hard with his little hands.

After spending these two days together...

He doesn't even resist Tan Xiulian's hugs anymore.

"Don't hurt them, their skin is so delicate, and they're covered in sweat. Go wipe yourselves down and change into clean clothes."

Tan Xiulian slapped him in an annoyed manner.

"Hey, how could that be? How was it? Weren't the kids well-behaved today? You, as their sister-in-law, got along well with them, didn't you?"

Yi Zhonghai retorted before asking the question.

"Of course we're close. When they're hungry or thirsty, they all call me 'sister-in-law.' They're all so well-behaved. I've never seen such well-behaved children."

Tan Xiulian hugged Zhong Ren to her arms and said with a smile.

"That's good. I was worried about you all at the factory. If I hadn't been thinking about improving my skills as soon as possible, I was planning to come back and check on you at noon."

Yi Zhonghai smiled and said upon hearing this.

"No need, just focus on your work. You deal with machines, so you can't be distracted. We're a big family now, so you have to be careful."

Tan Xiulian said with concern.

"Don't worry, I know what I'm doing. Where's Dingya?"

Yi Zhonghai looked around but didn't see anyone, so he asked.

"I just went to the outhouse. Taking care of kids is really not easy; there's never a free moment in the day."

Although Tan Xiulian said this, her eyes were still gentle when she looked at the children.

"You'll get used to it gradually. You're just pushing too hard right now. Today at the factory, I asked a lot of people for advice on how to take care of this baby."

Yi Zhonghai looked up proudly and said.

"Come on, who can you ask? They're all roughnecks from the factory, how would you know how to take care of kids?"

"I chatted with the women in the courtyard today and learned a lot."

Tan Xiulian retorted, not to be outdone.

At that moment, the door was pushed open.

Yi Zhongding walked in, saw the two of them, and said, "Big brother is back? You've had a long day."

"Haha, it's always my younger brother who cares about me the most. No one has ever said that before."

Yi Zhonghai was overjoyed upon hearing this.

"Hey, you old codger, I serve you food as soon as you come home every day. Isn't that enough to show my concern?"

Tan Xiulian was displeased and scolded him with a smile, her face falling.

"Let's do the math, that's what I was saying to Ding Ya Zi."

"Dingya, how are you doing today? Did you go out for a walk?"

Yi Zhonghai said with a forced smile, then quickly changed the subject.

"What are we even looking at? We haven't had a moment's rest all day; we can't take our eyes off any of these dolls."

"By the way, what did the old carpenter across the street say about the carpentry tools Ding Yazi wanted?"

Tan Xiulian interjected.

"I haven't forgotten. I'll take Dingya to get it in a bit."

Yi Zhonghai said with a smile.

"While you're at it, see what kind of wood they have, and buy some too."

Yi Zhongding said with a smile.

If it weren't for making little things for my younger siblings to use as toys.

He wouldn't even think of doing carpentry work.

"Okay, let's go. The old carpenter said we can pick it up today."

"I've already bought the materials for the wheels of the bamboo cart from the factory, and they'll be back tomorrow. We can start making the frame now."

Yi Zhonghai is also a person with strong initiative; once he has an idea, he immediately puts it into action.

"That's great! Now that Zhongxin and Zhongyan have walkers, they can wander around on their own."

"Otherwise, when they see their older brothers and sisters running off to play, they'll want to go too. But with the floor in our yard like this, I can't let them climb on it. I can only help them along with Ding Yazi."

"My back is really starting to give out after a long day."

Tan Xiulian rubbed her back and said with a smile.

"Hehe, I'll give you a massage after the kids are asleep tonight."

Yi Zhonghai said with a smile.

Then they led Yi Zhongding out of the courtyard and into the courtyard house across the street.

This is a two-courtyard house.

The courtyard is not as big as the one at No. 95.

The space looked very cramped.

A small door was opened in the back building for people in the backyard to enter and exit.

"Is Carpenter Li at home?"

"Who is it? Come in."

A brief conversation.

Yi Zhonghai pushed open the door to the west wing of the backyard.

An elderly man with gray hair was drawing on a wooden board with a charcoal pencil.

"Carpenter Li, this is my younger brother, Yi Zhongding. I hope I'm not bothering you this time?"

Yi Zhonghai took out a cigarette from his pocket and handed it to him.

"Master Yi, no need to bother you. Here are the tools you wanted. Take a look and see if you're missing anything. Anyway, I only use those, and they're all brand new."

Carpenter Li took the cigarette and said...

"Hehe, thank you so much."

"Do you have any wood? Could you spare some for me?"

"Don't worry, I'm not trying to steal business. He still has to go to school. I just want to make some little things for my younger siblings to use as toys."

Yi Zhonghai succinctly explained his purpose.

"Whether it's stealing business or not doesn't matter, I can't earn that much anyway."

"Take a look and see what you want, choose for yourself."

Carpenter Li glanced at the two of them and laughed nonchalantly.

"Don't worry, I'll be fair about the price. You can keep this pack of cigarettes."

Upon hearing this, Yi Zhonghai cupped his hands in thanks.

Yi Zhongding didn't stand on ceremony and went straight to select some timber.

I also bought a barrel of tung oil.

"Is that all? There are some good materials over there, would you like to take a look?"

Carpenter Li glanced at the selected materials and asked again.

"No need, thank you. As long as the things for the child are sturdy and durable, that's fine."

Yi Zhongding said with a smile.

"Master Yi, we're neighbors across the hall, but we don't see each other often. If I hadn't been so good at talking before, now that I have this opportunity, I'll be frank and say that I won't charge you for these things."

"I have a nephew who has been working as an intern at a steel rolling mill for two years. I hope you can give him a chance to see if he has potential and whether you can take him under your wing as a general apprentice."

Carpenter Li didn't look at the selected items, but pondered for a long time before speaking.

"What's your name?"

Yi Zhonghai asked bluntly.

"Li Dalu".

Li the carpenter said.

"I understand. He's a loader, right? He's brought a lot of stuff to my workshop, and he's hardworking. No problem. I'll go find the workshop foreman tomorrow and ask him to come over. I promise to train him with all my might."

Yi Zhonghai thought for a moment and remembered something, so he agreed.