With everything arranged, Xiao Yunying was in an incredibly good mood and hummed a song as she went home.

Seeing her return alone, Luo Chen asked, "Where are Ali and Xin'er?"

"They're playing at Aunt Yang's house. If you're worried, go check on them yourself."

Luo Chen clutched the hem of his clothes: "I didn't mean that. Ali is naughty, and I'm afraid he might hurt Xin'er while playing around with her."

"I didn't say anything. Don't always be so reserved in front of me. It makes me feel weird."

Xiao Yunying entered the main room, covered the washboard and laundry detergent with her clothes, and stacked the wooden basin for shoes on top of the wooden basin for clothes. She tried it out and found it a bit heavy.

Luo Chen walked over and picked up the wooden basin: "Do you want to do laundry? I'll go with you."

Where is Luo Yang?

"We're drying firewood in the backyard; there's only enough firewood in the kitchen for tonight's cooking."

"Then you should tell him."

Xiao Yunying went out first, and soon heard running sounds behind her: "No need to rush, it's hard to see where you're going while carrying the wooden tub, be careful not to fall."

Luo Chen hummed in agreement.

Xiao Yunying was in a good mood and took the initiative to talk to him: "The new house is big, and each of you will have your own room. I have made desks for you and even built a study room. You can study together. Do you prefer to study in your room or in the study room?"

As Luo Chen imagined their future life together, following Xiao Yunying's words, he couldn't help but smile: "As long as Ali can sit still and not cause trouble, I'd rather study with my younger brother in the study."

Xiao Yunying said, "Luo Li is old enough to start his education, but he is too young. I'm not comfortable letting him go to a private school by himself. I don't know if the academy will accept such a young child. I'll feel more at ease if he comes with you."

“The academy will accept children of Ali’s age, but they will need to take a test. Ali is not illiterate. My second brother and I often teach him to read and recognize characters when we have nothing to do.”

"That would be even better. I'll send all three of you in together, and I only need to take Xiao Xin'er with me."

Luo Chen: ...We were discussing going to school, so why do I feel like I've been abandoned?

The two of them, unusually relaxed and harmonious, arrived at the riverbank together, the sky already beginning to darken: "We need to hurry up and wash."

Looking at the river water, which had risen considerably, Luo Chen said, "How about we wash tomorrow?"

Xiao Yunying put down the wooden basin, cupped a handful of water in her hands, and found it wasn't as murky as she had imagined; it was quite clear. "Since you're already here, hurry up and wash. After you're done, go back and cook."

He quickly rolled up his sleeves, scooped water into a wooden basin, poured in laundry detergent, and soaked his clothes. He took a breath as he put his hands into the water.

It's a bit chilly.

Fortunately, it wasn't as extreme as ice water; it was a temperature my hands could tolerate.

After quickly washing the clothes and waiting for Luo Chen to rinse them clean, Xiao Yunying said, "Go back and hang them up to dry, keep them dry so you can bring them into the main room tonight and take them out to dry again tomorrow. You don't need to come back. Boil a pot of water and I'll go back to cook after I finish washing the shoes."

"good."

After Luo Chen left, Xiao Yunying took out a shoe brush from the supermarket and quickly brushed the shoes.

This area has brushes made from stiff animal hair like horsehair, but they are not cheap and most farmers can't afford them. They just use a loofah or a handful of dried wheat stalks to scrub their shoes.

She only had two loofahs at home, and she couldn't bear to use them to clean shoes.

When Luo Chen arrived home, Luo Li and Luo Xin were already back. The two younger children were sitting at the door, and Luo Li asked, "Where's stepmother?"

"She's washing her shoes, she'll be back in a bit. Do you need to see your stepmother?"

"They've run out of bubble water from blowing on the stones and pillars, and they want me to ask my stepmother for some more."

"Let's talk about it when my stepmother comes back."

Luo Li couldn't wait any longer: "I'll go pick up my stepmother."

Luo Xin stood up and said, "I'll go too."

Luo Li said, "Little sister, you're walking too slowly. I'll hurry and pick up my stepmother."

Luo Chen glanced at the dim sky: "Go ahead, but don't wander off. Pick up your stepmother and come back quickly."

Luo Li ran out with her short legs: "I know, big brother, don't worry."

Luo Xin sat back down angrily. "Hmph, they think I'm too slow? I'll grow up and I'll definitely run faster than my third brother then."

Luo Li jogged to the riverbank, not encountering many people along the way; everyone had gone home to cook at this hour.

After spending these few days together, Luo Li was no longer so resistant to Xiao Yunying; on the contrary, she felt a sense of closeness to her.

He started to get bolder, and when he saw his stepmother squatting alone by the river, he suddenly had a mischievous idea and wanted to scare her.

It's quite dangerous to scare people by the river. Not wanting to frighten his stepmother into the river, Luo Li quietly ran behind a big tree on the dirt road, intending to scare Xiao Yunying when she passed by.

Unexpectedly, his act of hiding led him to witness something extraordinary that he regretted for most of his life, feeling guilty towards his stepmother whenever he thought about it.