"Got it, go wash your face."

The old man turned his head away impatiently. How could he bear to see his great-grandson get hurt? Learning to walk without anyone to guide him and falling down by mistake was no joke.

Yan Rushan shook his head and smiled, then took his wife to the kitchen. Stepping into the small courtyard that served as the kitchen, they were met with a scene both busy and deserted. Gu Lingguo was drawing water, while Fang Guozhong was picking vegetables at the well, his back to them. Feng Zheng hadn't seen them, and hadn't realized Feng was busy in the kitchen.

Gu Lingguo turned around with the water in his hand and suddenly found the two of them there, and spoke out.

"Comrade Yan, Comrade Zhong, you are up."

Fang Guozhong heard what Gu Lingguo said, turned his head and greeted the two, "Comrade Zhong, Comrade Yan, good afternoon."

"Well, good afternoon to you all. What is Feng making for dinner?" Yan Rushan nodded lightly and asked casually.

"Comrade Feng Zheng is stewing soup. The ingredients Comrade Gu sent back include beef, which is warming and nourishing. We have been in the car for several days, and Comrade Zhong has not eaten or slept well. It is time for him to replenish his energy." Fang Guozhong answered as soon as Yan Rushan asked.

Gu Lingguo nodded and said, "When I passed by the market, I saw someone selling fresh beef at the entrance, so I bought ten pounds. I heard that the cow was old and couldn't plow the fields anymore, so they had to kill the old cow and sell the money to buy a calf. The meat is very fresh. I checked it carefully and it's not sick."

"We trust your eyesight. Is there any hot water in the kitchen?"

"Yes, there is a pot of hot water boiling in the largest pot inside as a backup." The dishes in the kitchen need to be washed, and there must be hot water to wash them after meals. A group of eight people plus three children need to take a bath after meals.

The hotter the hot water is, the better, because it can be mixed with cold water to make warm water; the more boiled water you have, the more times you can use it.

"Then you guys get busy." Yan Rushan said, and took his wife into the kitchen.

Feng Zheng saw the two men come in and quickly straightened up from the casserole. "Comrade Yan, Comrade Zhong."

It was a dry greeting, spoken in a silly voice. Yan Rushan nodded indifferently. Zhong Yuxiu smiled and asked, "Dasha, what delicious food did you make?"

"Meat, beef stewed with radish, Kung Pao chicken...hot pot, the dishes are ready." Feng Zheng pointed to a dozen plates that had been cut into slices and placed on the kitchen table. Among them were pork, various seafood, but no beef. The beef was stewed with radish.

"Eating hot pot on a hot day can easily cause sore throat," said Zhong Yuxiu.

Feng Zheng smiled innocently, "Yes, there is herbal tea."

"Dasha is very thoughtful. The herbal tea you prepared is very effective in reducing internal heat. You can reduce internal heat while eating hot pot, and you won't have heartburn after eating." Eating hot pot on a hot day, especially at night, can easily cause heartburn and insomnia.

Feng Zheng's herbal teas solve this problem. It's hard to tell how many chefs Feng Zheng has learned from. Sichuan and Shandong cuisine is delicious and authentic, and he also makes delicious snacks, herbal teas, and scented teas. However, Feng Zheng is only good at making scented and herbal teas.

"It's all my duty." Feng Zheng scratched his head, his silly smile still lingering.

With a slight smile, Yuxiu said gently, "You go about your business. Whoever we beat just washes his face. Don't worry about us."

"Okay." Feng Zheng turned around and went to the casserole. Zhong Yuxiu took a look at the opened casserole. The radish and beef stewed in the casserole contained different kinds of radish, including white radish and red radish. The aroma was so fragrant that it was really delicious.

"Wife, please wait outside for a while. I'll see where the washbasin is." Yan Rushan said.

Zhong Yuxiu nodded, walked out of the kitchen, and asked, "Comrade Gu, have you bought a new washbasin?"

"Yes, Comrade Zhong, they're in the little compartment under the kitchen cupboard. We bought nine basins in total. Comrade Fang and I have one, Comrade Feng Zheng has one, the old man has one, you and Comrade Yan have one each, Comrade Wang and Comrade Gong will share one, and the remaining three are for the children."

Gu Lingguo and Fang Guozhong were not afraid of sharing the washbasin, as there were not so many taboos; as long as the person using it was not sick, there would be no hygiene issues.

Before Gu Lingguo did this, he must have asked Wang Daya and Gong Zhaodi first, and they made the decision; Zhong Yuxiu didn't know what to say, so she nodded to show that she understood, turned her head to look at Yan Rushan in the kitchen, and saw that he had gone to the corner of the cupboard and took out the darkest porcelain basin from it.

In this era, people use both wooden basins and porcelain basins. Due to workmanship problems, wooden basins will crack and leak after long-term use. Porcelain plates are the opposite, so they are more popular. They are light and thin, not easy to break, and their value lies in the fact that they can be used for many years.

When Yan Rushan came out, he had a towel draped over his shoulders. He brought out a basin of warm water and placed it on the small staircase under the eaves outside the kitchen. "Yuxiu."

"Coming." She responded and walked over to him.

Yan Rushan handed her the towel on his shoulder and said, "Wash your face first."

"Okay." She took the towel and threw it into the basin, where it was soaked and instantly submerged in the warm water. She first splashed the warm water on her face, then used the towel to carefully clean every corner of her face. There was no such thing as facial cleanser in those days. Even if there was, she wouldn't know how to use it. Only a few facial cleansers were harmless to the skin, and many of them were.

After wiping his face, Yan Rushan took the towel from her hand and placed it on the edge of the porcelain basin. He splashed the water on his face several times and wiped it casually with the towel.

Zhong Yuxiu opened her mouth, but ultimately said nothing; if he didn't despise her, what could she say? In the compound, where conditions were good and there wasn't the issue of shared washing water, she had never seen this side of him. But here, she saw another side of him.

"Wash your face and you'll feel refreshed." Yan Rushan said with a sigh, picked up the basin of water and poured it into the ditch beside him.

The courtyards were well built, and each one had a ditch connected to the drain, so dirty water could flow out as soon as it was poured in, causing a lot of trouble. Furthermore, outside the drain was a river.

People in ancient times often did this. Zhong Yuxiu only took a look and decided not to use the water from the river outside.

Yan Rushan felt relieved. He put away the towel and basin, and walked back with his wife. Feng Zheng and the other two were left to work in the kitchen courtyard, and they went back to talk to the old man.

Back to the third courtyard, this time it was not two children learning to walk, but three children standing side by side in front of the flower bed; they walked with their hands on the flower bed, and refused to hit anyone.

Three chubby little kids stood side by side, their chubby little hands resting on the edge of the flower bed. They moved forward one step at a time, and when they saw the adults reaching out their hands, they glared at them angrily. They were really persistent and adorable.

"Grandpa, we're back." Zhong Yuxiu and Yan Rushan walked into the yard, and Zhong Yuxiu went straight to the children.

When the three chubby cubs saw their mother, they forgot about not letting adults touch them and rushed straight into her arms. The three little guys were standing side by side, and now they rushed over like a pyramid, which scared Zhong Yuxiu so much that she quickly picked up the two at the back, and the third one threw himself into her arms.

"Mom, Mom."

“Numb, numb…”

The fat little cub who was brought over kept rushing towards her, as if he would not give up until he achieved his goal.