Chapter 156

"Grandpa! Daddy!"

"Grandpa!"

Two little bundles of energy came bouncing over. John Stone Sr. chuckled and waved them closer.

"Can you recite any poems?"

Tommy immediately puffed out his tiny chest. "Yes!"

In his adorable toddler voice, he began: "Hoeing millet under midday sun, sweat drips to the soil..."

The elder Stone's eyes lit up.

Not a single mistake from this three-year-old.

"How about you, David?"

David blinked his big eyes. "Mom taught us ten poems."

Without hesitation, he recited: "Leaving home young, returning old..."

In the kitchen, Mary Stone paused mid-stir.

When had her daughter-in-law found time for this?

"The Goose..."

"Thoughts on a Quiet Night..."

Tommy stomped impatiently. "I know this too! Red beans grow in southern fields..."

He stumbled halfway, substituting "May you gather" with "May Mommy gather."

David corrected him with solemn authority. "It's 'may you gather abundantly.'"

Tommy stuck out his tongue. "Oops, I forgot!"

Michael nearly dropped his teacup.

Since when was his wife this impressive?

"Mom promised to buy us a dictionary next time," David announced proudly. "She'll teach us phonics."

"Then I can read books all by myself!"

John Sr. looked thunderstruck.

If they knew this much before starting school, what heights would they reach?

"Can you count?"

David rattled off numbers to one hundred.

Not to be outdone, Tommy piped up with his rendition to fifty.

Mary emerged with steaming dishes, gazing at her grandsons with newfound wonder.

"Come eat now. Have extra meat—it's good for growing brains."

The aromatic braised pork made both boys' eyes sparkle like Christmas morning.