Chapter 76:
Boil water, take off the pot, heat oil, fry……
Add seasonings……
When the kitchen was filled with fragrance, Li Sanmao and the others also came home.
Muqing, Yunliang, Liuliu also followed up the slope, called by Old Li Tou to pull weeds!
The children were tired and hungry. When they got home, they ran to the kitchen and saw Luo Zhi’er busy at the stove, shouting: “Third Aunt, are you making something delicious?”
Luo Zhi’er looked at Muqing apologetically: “Uh……sorry, Third Aunt is making goods to deliver to the restaurant tomorrow!”
“Oh!”
Muqing disappointedly ran to the water jar, picked up the water ladle, and scooped water to drink!
The other two children did the same!
Li Sanmao saw that Luo Zhi’er and Miaomiao not only safely came home but were also busy in the kitchen.
A hint of smile appeared in his eyes, and he finally felt relieved.
He ran to the kitchen, picked up Miaomiao in his arms, and helped her light the fire.
Zhou Shi had a dark face, much of which was tanned black by the sun.
The rest was because she was unhappy!
Her stomach was so hungry it stuck to her back, and she was tired to the point of collapsing. With a “clang!”, she threw down the hoe and followed the little ones to the kitchen to find food.
She rummaged through, turning pots, bowls, and ladles upside down, and found the meal that Xiao Zhou Shi had left on the cutting board.
She took a look and immediately lost her appetite.
She had smelled such a fragrance from afar in the yard earlier, but now inside it was leftover corn paste, pickled shredded radish……
Hands on hips, she started scolding again!
“Luo Zhi’er, you fat hoof, frying, frying, frying. You came home so early, why didn’t you know to make some delicious meal first?”
Before, she had been gathering wild vegetables on the mountain and made such delicious meals when she came back, but now she didn’t do it anymore. It really felt a bit unaccustomed……
It seemed she was relying on this old woman. Previously, it was always her who cooked.
Luo Zhi’er only collected mushrooms and didn’t gather wild vegetables, definitely to be lazy!
“Mom……I just got back too, and I still have to deliver goods to Yumian Tower tomorrow! Don’t pick on me for no reason!”
“You!”
She actually said she was picking on her!
“If the business falls through and goods can’t be delivered, you’ll have to refund the silver!”
One sentence deflated her anger, and Zhou Shi was so mad she could only glare!
Old Li Tou came in and hurriedly kept giving eye signals to Zhou Shi. After signaling, he politely spoke to her: “Third Wife, did you collect enough mushrooms today?”
“Just right, Father-in-law!”
“Sigh, then that’s fine!”
“Hehe, you go ahead with your work!”
She scooped some water and went out to wash her hands……
Luo Zhi’er shrugged at Li Sanmao: no way around it, being able to earn silver gave her say……
Zhou Shi didn’t say that going up the slope was to slack off; today weeding and digging nearly exhausted her!
Previously, such physical labor was done by the oldest brother, the old man, and the third child. In reality, she did little work in the field!
The old man was too sly today; no matter what, he wouldn’t let her come back, letting her get dizzy from the sun, drenched in sweat……
With no choice, she went to the yard again to grumble and vent,
“Zhou Hanjuan, come out for this old lady! When I left, I clearly agreed you’d stay home to watch the house, feed the chickens, and make the meal. Tell me, is what you made pig feed?”
“Chicken shit all over the yard, and you didn’t know to sweep it?”
“You did it on purpose, right? Sneaking snacks at home, who knows what delicacies you ate, leaving that stuff for us that even pigs won’t eat!”
“Oldest Brother, you come out too. As soon as you got home, you anxiously went into your room. What devilish thing hooked your soul?”
“Come see, with this old woman gone, is the inside and outside of the house still decent?”
She slanted her eyes toward her old man at home!
The old man treated it as if she farted!
Then she continued,
“This is the wife you keep defending and speaking well of!”
Saying Zhou Hanjuan didn’t take good care of the house, tomorrow she wouldn’t need to go up the slope. This digging and weeding wasn’t for an old woman of her age!
When young she had no choice but to do it, but after getting older and having a son, she hardly ever did physical labor in the field!
Xiao Zhou Shi walked out from the room with calm eyes, not very emotional.
“Mom, I just made food with the corn flour you left. For vegetables, I searched the yard for a long time and only pulled a radish……”
The meaning was clear: if you have no appetite, you control all the ingredients at home, and only left these things. Where could she conjure more from?
She didn’t argue openly with her, just stated the facts!
“This chicken shit……I just swept the ground earlier; probably the chicken flew out again and pooped!”
“Yeah, Mom, Muqing Yunliang’s mom still isn’t fully recovered, and today she did so much work……”
Li Daqiang came out from the room, wanting to say something but hesitating, interjecting a few words!
Just back, his wife’s complexion wasn’t good. Yesterday she had barely given him a good look; he asked a couple questions, and she said her stomach started hurting again……
Zhou Shi was furious to death; this oldest brother must have been fooled by Zhou Hanjuan. All day dazed, simply a two-faced person!
“You! Even if you don’t think of us old couple, look at your few children and your man; aren’t their stomachs hungry?”
“Sleeping lazily all day at home, have you no shame?”
Xiao Zhou Shi’s face didn’t blush nor heart skip, “Mom, I didn’t sleep lazily all day……The ground has been swept several times, and the meal is made……”
“I just felt unwell earlier, so I went in to lie down……”
With those words, she forced herself to go to the main hall to get the broom to prepare to sweep the ground.
Just as she bent down, she held the wall as if about to faint. Li Daqiang quickly caught her, “Wife, I’ll do it……you go rest!”
“You!”
Zhou Shi gasped in anger!
Xiao Zhou Shi’s gaze passed through the back door of the main hall, looking at Luo Zhi’er busy by the stove. The family seemed quite warm; a flash of coldness passed through her eyes……
“But……Mom, this is strange. You all being hungry is normal, but Miaomiao and her mom ran around all day without saying they’re hungry or wanting to eat!”
Zhou Shi felt a twinge of alertness in her heart. Speaking of which, it was true: yesterday they came back without eating dinner and didn’t fuss about hunger, and today it seemed they hadn’t eaten either!
With this fat hoof’s gluttonous nature, absolutely impossible!
As if remembering something, she rushed inside, “Luo Zhi’er, did you hide some good eats? Hand them over quickly!”
“Good eats? No……”
Luo Zhi’er didn’t take her startled reaction seriously!
She continued stirring the pot. Zhou Shi looked her up and down; something was off……
“Old Woman, what madness are you having now?”
Old Li Tou was furious to death. He had just washed his hands and come in to mediate; couldn’t she let him have some peace?
“Still daring to lie, his father. This Luo Zhi’er definitely hid things; make her hand them over……”
Old Li Tou looked at her with deep suspicion.
Luo Zhi’er turned around, as if remembering something, went to her own room, and took out the steamed buns that Old Lady Zhao had just sent!
She handed them to Zhou Shi, smiling naively, “Mom, is this what you mean?”
“You, Luo Zhi’er, really hid things?”
Her tone questioned.
“Mom, this is what Old Lady Zhao just sent for Miaomiao to eat!”
She glanced at Xiao Zhou Shi, not missing her smug look that flashed and vanished……
This was probably what she was aiming for!
“Miaomiao? Why give it to Miaomiao?”
A bit disbelieving; adult interactions, why give to Miaomiao?
This must be a favor for her Li family, but thinking it over, their two families had no interactions at all!
“Old Lady Zhao said Miaomiao is well-behaved. That day when she carried water, Miaomiao helped her and even added water to her jar, so she gave her steamed buns to eat!”
“Nothing else. I’ve been losing weight these past few days, not eating dinner. Miaomiao’s father can vouch for it……”
“These steamed buns, if you’re hungry, take them to tide over! Just don’t let Old Lady Zhao know, or she’ll be unhappy!”
Old Li Tou felt a bit embarrassed. At his age, still eyeing the snacks Old Lady Zhao sent for his little granddaughter!
