The soft, slightly sweet texture melts on the tongue, carrying the aroma of wheat.
She scooped up some more cabbage and glass noodles with a spoon, and the warm food slid into her empty, burning stomach, bringing a long-lost sense of comfort.
She ate slowly and attentively, as if she were undertaking an important energy replenishment task.
Seeing that she had started eating, Howard picked up a steamed bun and began to eat it in large bites. He ate very quickly, devouring it in a flash, but his mind was not on the food.
As he ate, he kept glancing at Mingzhao out of the corner of his eye.
She ate politely, but at a considerable pace, clearly because she was genuinely hungry. However, she kept her head down the entire time, her long eyelashes drooping, making it impossible to discern the emotions in her eyes.
After finishing his meal, Mingzhao put down his spoon and remained silent, simply watching Huo Hua tidy up the empty lunchbox.
"You...sit down and rest." Howard stood up and took the lunchbox to the small kitchen outside to rinse it quickly.
Then, he rolled up his sleeves and began one of the most unfamiliar tasks of his life—thoroughly cleaning the temporary dwelling.
He first cleared away the clutter piled up in the corner, mostly old and broken items left behind by previous residents, which were of little use.
Then I found a rag to use as a rag, soaked it in water, and started wiping the old desk, chair, and the wardrobe with peeling paint.
His movements were somewhat clumsy, even a bit like a soldier using too much force, making quite a noise when wiping the table, and splashing water everywhere.
Mingzhao sat quietly by the bed, watching him work.
She watched him tackle the old stains on the table with an almost disassembly-of-weapons seriousness, watched his tall frame bend over to wipe the low cabinet with obvious frustration, watched him tiptoe slightly because he couldn't reach the top of the cabinet, the hem of his military uniform pulled up a bit to reveal his lean waistline...
Her gaze was calm and unwavering, as if she were observing the behavior of a strange creature on an alien planet.
In her understanding of interstellar space, cleaning and maintenance are the tasks of basic household robots, or are accomplished by specialized cleaning sonic waves.
This primitive method of cleaning, which relies on the physical friction of biological muscles and water, is inefficient and... somewhat comical.
After wiping the furniture, Howard started sweeping the floor. He swept very hard, trying to sweep out all the old ash from the cracks between the bricks, which resulted in a cloud of dust flying everywhere.
He couldn't help but cough twice, glancing somewhat awkwardly at Mingzhao sitting on the bed.
Mingzhao simply tilted her head slightly to avoid the dust that was kicked up, her face remaining expressionless.
Howard was even more embarrassed and quickly went to the yard to sprinkle some water to suppress the ash.
Then, he set his sights on the wooden bed.
The sheets are new, but the bed frame seems a bit unstable.
He tried shaking it, and sure enough, it made a creaking sound.
He frowned, half-knelt on the ground, and peered under the bed to examine its structure.
This position allowed his broad shoulders to almost fill the space under the bed.
Mingzhao watched his back as he bent over, half his body rummaging under the bed, and a fleeting look of something like confusion crossed her eyes.
In her opinion, an unstable bed board could be fixed by adding a support wedge at the key stress points, or by replacing the load-bearing structure altogether. His method of drilling in and groping around was far too inefficient.
After rummaging around for a while, Howard finally crawled out from under the bed, covered in cobwebs on his forehead, holding several pieces of wood of different sizes and a rusty nail in his hand—his "trophies" from rummaging through the pile of junk.
He used these "materials" to hammer and tap at the bed legs and central support points, trying to reinforce them. The hammering sounds echoed in the small room.
Mingzhao frowned slightly. The noise... was somewhat disrupting her thoughts. She was currently constructing a verification model of the fundamental physical laws of this era in her mind.
Finally, just before Howard nearly knocked the bed frame apart, the creaking of the bed legs seemed to lessen a bit.
He wiped the sweat from his forehead, let out a long sigh, and a silly, satisfied smile appeared on his face, as if he had completed a task.
He stood up, dusted himself off, and looked at Mingzhao, seemingly wanting to show off the fruits of his labor.
Mingzhao's gaze moved from his cobweb-covered forehead to his dusty hands, and then to the wooden bed that seemed even more crooked after being "reinforced."
silence.
Only Howard's slightly heavy breathing could be heard in the room.
Howard's smile gradually froze, turning into embarrassment.
Only then did he belatedly realize that his frantic, dusty "cleaning" might not have been very effective, and might even have caused more trouble for the "patient" who needed to rest.
He rubbed his dusty hands helplessly, looking at Mingzhao who was still sitting quietly by the bed like a still picture, wanting to say something... but then a sense of frustration welled up inside him.
He is adept at leading troops into battle and defending the border, but taking care of people and managing the household is even more difficult than dealing with the most cunning spy!
He opened his mouth, wanting to say something to ease the tension or apologize, but he was speechless for a moment.
Just then, Mingzhao made a move.
She slowly stood up and walked to Howard. Howard instinctively held his breath.
Mingzhao's gaze lingered on his hands, which were covered in dust and sawdust, for a few seconds.
Then, she raised her uninjured hand, pointed to the army green water bottle he had placed on the table, and then to his dirty hands.
Howard paused for a moment, then realized what he meant: "Huh? Oh! Water! Wash your hands! Yes, it's time to wash your hands!"
As if receiving a command, he immediately turned around, picked up the kettle, poured water to wash his hands, and moved so quickly that he looked somewhat flustered.
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