◎ A Loving Family of Six ◎
Lu Xingyun, as the eldest brother, led his four younger siblings to pay respects to their grandparents and uncle at the Dong family ancestral hall before leaving.
Hetian Village was their mother's hometown, and this wasn't Lu Xingyun's first visit.
Every New Year, the family would return to worship, and this year was no exception.
With their parents still at the village chief's house discussing matters, Lu Xingyun took his younger siblings to play around the village.
The second eldest, Lu Mingzhu, was frustrated. Despite being born only minutes after her elder brother, why was she the second child?
So, she refused to listen and deliberately went against Lu Xingyun.
Lu Xingyun was no gentle older brother.
He picked up a nearby twig and skillfully dealt with the second child, giving her a good spanking.
At eight years old, he didn't yet understand the need to protect his younger sister.
He was asserting his authority as the eldest brother in his own way.
Under his forceful discipline, Lu Mingzhu complied.
The other three looked at him with admiration.
Lu Xingyun was satisfied and let go of Lu Mingzhu.
The third child was the chubbiest of the five siblings, four years old this year. He looked up to his big brother with admiration, hoping to learn a few moves.
It was useful for resisting when the second sister was hitting him.
The fourth and fifth children were twins, three years old this year, and frequently bullied by Lu Mingzhu.
So, they were thrilled to see their elder brother "educate" their second sister and thought he was really amazing.
Lu Mingzhu: "You guys, don't you remember that big brother often hits you too?!"
Though Lu Mingzhu was a girl, she had been fighting since she was little.
If she couldn't beat her big brother, could she not handle the three younger ones?
Seeing the younger siblings laugh at her was intolerable!
As soon as Lu Mingzhu was free, she immediately launched an attack on the three younger ones.
The three seemed to sense it coming and scattered immediately.
The third child, being chubby and slow, was quickly caught by Lu Mingzhu.
He cried out, "Big brother, save me! Fourth and Fifth, come help!"
The fourth and fifth children, who often got treats from the third child, had some conscience and rushed to help.
The four quickly turned into a tangled mess.
Lu Xingyun tried to intervene but accidentally got hurt in the process.
A big brother should not be hit, not even by accident!
So he immediately changed his mind and decided to give all four siblings a good spanking.
Thus, the four-on-four fight turned into a five-on-five battle.
Dong Jiaojiao and Lu Jinzhu, alerted by the commotion, rushed out to see what was happening.
When Lu Xingyun and the others saw their parents arriving, they instantly turned into well-behaved kids, blinking their big innocent eyes, looking extremely pitiful.
Dong Jiaojiao, used to their pitying tricks, was unmoved and snorted coldly:
"Tell me, what is this time?"
Lu Xingyun obediently explained what had happened.
Dong Jiaojiao sighed in exasperation at the ridiculous reasons for their fight. How could they even come to blows over such things?
Ah~ Having more children does make things chaotic.
After Dong Jiaojiao gave birth to the third child, Lu Jinzhu had undergone a vasectomy.
But unexpectedly, even after the procedure, she became pregnant again.
The doctor explained that a vasectomy only reduced the chances of pregnancy; it couldn't completely eliminate it.
At that time, the country had already begun strict birth control enforcement.
According to regulations, Dong Jiaojiao shouldn't have had this baby.
But as she had already conceived, Dong Jiaojiao couldn't possibly terminate it.
Eventually, with some connections, they paid a fine of ten thousand yuan and had the fourth and fifth children.
Thus, the household suddenly had five children.
It was... quite a noisy affair.
However, the children were very well-behaved in front of their parents.
This was due to Lu Jinzhu's education.
Although he doted on the children, he never spoiled them.
The children were very smart and sometimes said things that were so adorable it was hard to stay mad at them.
Dong Jiaojiao even thought that Lu Jinzhu might be more influenced by the children's sweet talk than she was.
In any case, she found it quite enjoyable.
But Dong Jiaojiao and Lu Jinzhu couldn't always be watching them.
Whenever they weren't around, the situation became another story.
The three nannies and two drivers at home couldn't control them.
Parents often came to Dong Jiaojiao to complain, whether it was the eldest hitting someone, the second eldest causing trouble, or the younger ones getting into fights together.
In short... sometimes she really didn't know what to say.
How could such usually obedient and cute kids end up fighting?
But the reality was!
There were quite a few complaints!
Other children in the residential compound privately called them the "Five Bully Masters of the Military District."
Dong Jiaojiao believed this must have been influenced by Lu Jinzhu, not her, as she was very well-behaved in her own childhood.
Today's issue was naturally left to Lu Jinzhu to handle, ensuring the children received a thorough lesson and stopped fighting so easily.
Though Lu Jinzhu had raised the children, everyone was more afraid of their father and less so of their mother.
Hearing that Dong Jiaojiao would let their father deal with them, the five children immediately swarmed her legs, acting cute and begging.
"Mommy, I'm sorry, I won't hit my siblings anymore."
"Mommy, I'm sorry too. I'll listen to Big Brother from now on and won't hit the third one anymore."
"Mommy, I'll eat one less bowl of rice every day to save for you. Please don't be angry, okay?"
"Mommy mommy mommy mommy mommy..."
Dong Jiaojiao looked at her well-behaved and adorable children, her heart softened again. She patted this one, hugged that one, creating a scene of maternal affection.
Dong Jiaojiao thought: The kids are just a bit mischievous; they don't have any ill intentions. Maybe... we can let this one slide.
Lu Jinzhu sighed in resignation. He knew it would end up like this.
The little rascals were too clever.
So, soon enough, they were back to being a loving family of six.
The end!
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Rebirth in the 1970s: Refusing to Be a Side Character
General FictionSummary: After dying, Dong Jiaojiao discovers her life was a story in which she was the original protagonist, but her fate was stolen by a transmigrator, leading to her tragic end. Given a second chance, she is determined to rewrite her destiny an...