Wei Yuyan was very worried about whether the loofah would survive, but unexpectedly, she actually ate it.

For lunch, I had stir-fried loofah with eggs and stir-fried water spinach stems with chili peppers; it was a great dish to eat with rice.

"Qianqian, Xiaolei, eat more, you'll have to work later. We need to gather a lot more firewood today and tomorrow."

Wei Yuyan ate an extra half bowl of rice at noon, mainly because the dishes were delicious.

Summer is the season with the most abundant vegetables, and Wei Yuyan was thinking that she should start drying vegetables soon.

Dried eggplant and dried green beans are a rare delicacy when there are no other vegetables to eat in winter.

"Sister-in-law, take two machetes with you later, I can chop too."

Seeing his sister-in-law working so hard cutting branches by herself, Xiao Lei wanted to help cut some branches too.

"No, Xiao Lei, what if you accidentally cut your hand?"

"Just like Qianqian, you can help your sister-in-law bundle firewood and pick up some firewood from the ground. That would be good enough."

Wei Yuyan would never agree to Xiao Lei taking a wood-chopping knife; after all, he's only twelve years old.

At home, I handle the kitchen knife slowly, and I'm always there to guide you.

Unless it's a special circumstance, I wouldn't let him chop vegetables.

"Alright then, sister-in-law."

Xiao Lei nodded.

Before Wei Yuyan had even finished washing the dishes after dinner, Xiuhua and her husband came over.

"Sister-in-law, Sister-in-law Xiuhua is here."

Xiao Lei opened the door and quickly came to inform Wei Yuyan.

"Okay, then bring out the machete, sister-in-law, it'll be quick."

Wei Yuyan quickly put the bowl down and changed her shoes before going out.

“Sister-in-law, my husband and I are chopping firewood for our own family today, and we’ll chop it for yours tomorrow. Don’t rush, take your time.”

When Brother Zhang arrived at the destination, he specifically told Wei Yuyan not to rush.

"Okay, Brother Zhang, let's chop slowly."

Wei Yuyan can't possibly be slow; she just needs to do her best.

And so, the group chopped firewood all afternoon. Brother Zhang and his wife were incredibly efficient, chopping seventeen bundles of firewood.

Wei Yuyan, Qianqian, and Xiaolei also did quite well, cutting eleven bundles.

"Ouch, my hand is numb from chopping."

Wei Yuyan felt a numbness in her hands, but fortunately no blisters formed on her palms.

“Me too. We don’t need to cut so much tomorrow. The three of us can each cut a few bundles for our younger siblings’ family.”

Sister-in-law Xiuhua hadn't chopped firewood for so long in a long time, and her hands were sore from it.

"How about we come and cut it down tomorrow morning? We don't have much to cut down anyway."

Wei Yuyan just wanted to finish as soon as possible and get some rest.

"Sure, go to bed early tonight and get up early tomorrow morning to chop wood."

Xiuhua's sister-in-law also agreed to chop firewood in the morning and sleep in the afternoon.

Back home, Wei Yuyan stir-fried the leftovers together, and the children ate it with relish, exclaiming how delicious it was.

"Qianqian, Xiaolei, you two don't need to go tomorrow, just stay home and rest."

Wei Yuyan thought the children must be exhausted this afternoon.

"Sister-in-law, we can manage. We're not that tired."

Xiao Lei immediately said he wasn't tired.

"Hmm, not tired."

Qianqian felt a little tired, but since her brother had said so, she couldn't fall behind.

"You have an even more challenging task ahead of you tomorrow. My sister-in-law is very hungry after she came back from chopping wood."

"Tomorrow you can cook for me, Sister-in-law Xiuhua, and Brother Zhang at home, okay?"

Wei Yuyan had no choice but to entrust this task to them, otherwise they wouldn't agree.

"Okay then, let's cook at home."

Xiao Lei thought about it and realized that the task was indeed quite important, so he agreed.

"Tomorrow I'll stir-fry water spinach, stir-fry water spinach stems with chili peppers, and stir-fry three eggs with chili peppers."

I'll chop the chili peppers tomorrow morning, so you'd better not chop the vegetables yourself.

Wei Yuyan also arranged the dishes for him, so that he wouldn't be unsure what to cook.

"Okay, sister-in-law, I understand."

Xiao Lei nodded, promising to cook well tomorrow.

That night, Wei Yuyan fell asleep as soon as she got into bed, without suffering from insomnia at all.

The next morning, Wei Yuyan got up early to make pancakes, scallion pancakes, and made several. Then she chopped the chili peppers.

Just then, Sister-in-law Xiuhua and her husband arrived.

"Sister-in-law Xiuhua, have you had breakfast yet? I've made some scallion pancakes."

Wei Yuyan took two bills and handed them to Sister-in-law Xiuhua.

"We've already eaten, we don't need any more."

Xiuhua's sister-in-law refused to accept it.

"Then you can eat it during your break, since I've already taken it out."

Wei Yuyan insisted on giving the pancake to Sister-in-law Xiuhua, and then closed the door.

"Okay, okay."

Xiuhua's sister-in-law had no choice but to put the scallion pancake inside her clothes.

The three of them went up the mountain and started chopping firewood. They finished before noon.

"Sister-in-law Xiuhua, Brother Zhang, that's enough, that's enough. There's too much food at home, we can't fit it all."

Wei Yuyan noticed that there were already fifteen bundles of firewood; any more and there wouldn't be enough room in the house.

"Then let's go back."

Xiuhua's sister-in-law started carrying firewood down the mountain, and parked the oxcart at the foot of the mountain.

"This time it can burn for at least a month and a half."

Wei Yuyan made a prediction.

"Okay, once it's burned, we can continue chopping."

Brother Zhang quickened his pace; it was too hot, he wanted to finish quickly and go home.

"Come to my house for lunch. I told Xiaolei to cook lunch at home."

Wei Yuyan breathed a sigh of relief after carrying the last bundle of firewood.

“Sister-in-law, you always invite us to eat. We won’t dare to ask for your wages anymore. We’ll be eating at your house every day.”

Xiuhua's sister-in-law was helpless.

"There's no such thing as 'everyday' anyway, let's go since it's all cooked."

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