The sunshine on Hailang Island is really not exaggerated. After working for a whole afternoon, Ning Xue was sweating profusely, her cheeks were sunburned red, and her hair was matted into wisps on her forehead with sweat, making her look very embarrassed.
Ning Xue had finally finished weeding the yard and was about to take a break. As she stood up, she saw Ning Tang coming out of the Shen family, followed closely by three children. So she quickly called out to Ning Tang, "Ning Tang, where are you going?"
Ning Xue thought to herself that Ning Tang had just arrived at Hailang Island like her, and was unfamiliar with the place. The security here was so tight, so Ning Tang should not run around and cause trouble, which would only bring trouble to herself.
After all, no matter what, she and Ning Tang are cousins and are one on this island.
Ning Tang wanted to tell the truth and say they were going to the beach, but when she saw Ning Xue's disapproving look, she changed her mind and said, "I'm just going out for a walk and will be back soon."
Ning Xue then smiled with satisfaction, "Well, don't go out and wander around if you have nothing to do."
She glanced at Ning Tang, who had stayed in the house all afternoon and looked refreshed. On the contrary, Ning Xue had been working in the yard all afternoon and was sweating profusely and looked very disheveled.
Ning Xue felt a little resentful and couldn't help but say, "Ning Tang, I'm not saying this, but your yard is too messy. If you have time to go out and wander around, why not do what I do and weed the yard?"
The Su and Chen families lived right across from each other, separated only by a small path. The fences were so low that one could have a clear view of each other's yards by standing on tiptoe.
Hailang Island has plenty of sunshine and rainfall, and the grass and trees grow vigorously. The weeds in the Shen family's yard are almost half a person's height, which is really an eyesore.
Ning Xue was angry with Ning Tang, and Ning Tang was speechless with her.
Being virtuous doesn't mean you have to be so virtuous. Even if you want to weed, you don't have to do it now.
The sun on Hailang Island is so strong, especially in the afternoon, that it can burn people to pieces. Anyway, she saw that Ning Xue was about to get sunburned.
But based on Ning Tang's experience of getting along with the heroine's cousin, Ning Xue is opinionated, to put it nicely, and stubborn, to put it bluntly. She is a person with her own ideas, and it is definitely not possible to force her.
If he told her the truth that he didn't plan to weed, with Ning Xue's personality, she would definitely carry a hoe to the Shen family and nag her to force her to weed!
Ning Tang could only laugh it off with her, "Okay, okay, I'll be back to weed in a bit."
Ning Xue thought Ning Tang had heard her and nodded repeatedly.
After this incident, Ning Tang lost all interest in enjoying the sea view and had to go back home.
The three children followed her back to the house, looking relieved.
Ning Tang suddenly felt like he was in prison.
Fortunately, around seven o'clock, Chen Lie came back.
As soon as Chen Lie entered the house, the eldest child excitedly shouted, "Dad!" The second girl followed him and also called out "Dad" crisply. The third child didn't call anyone, but hugged Chen Lie's thighs.
Compared to the unfamiliar Ning Tang, Chen Lie definitely makes the three children feel safe.
Before Chen Lie came back, he went to the grain and oil station and the vegetable market and bought a lot of rice, flour, grain, oil and vegetables.
He was carrying a lot of bags in his hands, and surrounded by three children, he didn't know where to start.
Ning Tang glanced at the three children, stood up and took the things from Chen Lie's hand, "I'll put it in the kitchen for you."
Chen Lie was stunned for a moment, handed the bags to Ning Tang, thanked him, and then bent down to comfort the three children.
After coaxing the three children for a while, Chen Lie went to the kitchen to cook. As soon as he entered the kitchen, he saw the wooden basin placed by the eldest child, in which the bowls and chopsticks used by the three children were soaked.
Chen Lie was stunned for a moment, picked up the wooden basin, and washed the dishes in the basin before starting to cook.
There were only two adults and three children at home, so there was no need to prepare much food. Therefore, Chen Lie only made three dishes and one soup.
The food was served on the table. Ning Tang took a quick look. There were steamed clams, stir-fried vegetables, fried small yellow croaker, and a pickled cabbage dumpling soup. The dishes were simple, but Chen Lie was a good cook, and every dish was delicious.
Although the bones of the small yellow croaker are soft, Chen Lie was still afraid that the three children would get the bones stuck in their throats, so he picked up the small yellow croaker and put it in his own bowl, carefully picked out the bones before giving it to the three children.
Ning Tang didn't have to take care of three children like him, so he picked up his bowl and started eating.
She had only had a bowl of noodle soup at noon, and by now she was starving.
Chen Lie looked at Ning Tang while picking faults and said hesitantly, "Well, let's discuss something."
Ning Tang put down his chopsticks and said, "You go."
Chen Lie said, "Let's divide the housework between the two of us."
Ning Tang said readily, "Okay."
After all, they are living together, so it is necessary to divide the housework. She will definitely not shirk the part that is hers to do.
Chen Lie carefully observed Ning Tang's expression and carefully considered his words. "You can cook at home from now on. I have to go to the army every day, and the training is very tiring. I definitely can't cook like this every day."
Ning Tang said bluntly, "Then I'll be honest with you. You can ask me to wash the dishes, but not to cook."
"Why?" Shen Lie wondered, which woman doesn't cook?
Ning Tang glanced at Chen Lie and guessed what he was thinking, "Did you ever see me cook when we were in Shangang Village?"
Chen Lie thought carefully and remembered that it was Ning Xue who cooked the meals when he was in Shangang Village.
Ning Tang, you haven’t even been to the kitchen!
Chen Lie was dumbfounded. No wonder he felt something was wrong in Shangang Village, but he couldn't put his finger on it.
He was stunned and said, "You can't cook, or you don't want to cook."
Ning Tang: “Both.”
In her previous life, she never knew how to cook since she was a child, and even after she started working, she still ate takeout every day.
After getting here, I don’t want to cook anymore.
In the era when she lived, technology was advanced and cooking was done by pressing a few buttons on a rice cooker. But after traveling here, cooking was not called cooking, it was called torture.
Yesterday, when Chen Lie was cooking, she took the time to watch. Frying a dish required burning firewood, and adjusting the heat depended on adding or reducing the firewood. It was very troublesome. Moreover, the weather was hot, and staying in the kitchen was like being in a steamer.
Shen Lie glanced at Ning Tang's expression and realized that she was serious.
Chen Lie thought about it and advised, "In fact, I only cook two meals a day, one at noon and one at night. I came home late today, at seven o'clock. Usually I come home at five thirty or six o'clock. I can cook the dinner in the evening, but what about the lunch?"
Without waiting for Ning Tang to respond, Chen Lie said, "You can't ask me to rush back from the army to cook lunch for you. Even if I'm willing, our division commander and political commissar won't agree."
This is indeed the case. For example, take the noodle soup that Chen Lie cooked for them this morning. It was cooked early in the morning and had already clumped by the time they ate it.
Chen Lie noticed that Ning Tang's expression had relaxed a little, and continued, "So, you will be the one to cook lunch."
Ning Tang rolled his eyes and said, "It's not that I don't want to cook, it's just that my cooking skills are just average."
Seeing Chen Lie's disbelief, Ning Tang reiterated, "It's really just average, you could even say it's unpalatable. Think about it, my cousin and I are both daughters of the family, so why does she get to go into the kitchen and I don't? It's because my cooking is terrible, really terrible. You don't want to get diarrhea from eating it, do you?"
Chen Lie said, "You don't need to stir-fry. You can boil it, right? It's just like boiling water. We have a lot of seafood on our island. For example, there are often fish, shrimps and crabs for sale in the vegetable market. You can just buy some and steam them and eat them. It doesn't take much effort."
Ning Tang was about to refuse when Chen Lie quickly said, "I'll leave my salary to you. You just need to go to the market at ten in the morning and buy some fish, shrimp, and crabs to steam for lunch. I'll cook dinner for you."
Ning Tang thought for a moment and asked, "How much is your salary?"
Chen Lie: "Seventy-five yuan a month, plus some miscellaneous allowances, probably eighty."
Ning Tang's eyes widened at the sight of so much. She had never expected that Chen Lie could make so much money.
And Shen Lie said that she would be the one to arrange the salary. Does that mean she can buy whatever she wants?
Ning Tang immediately made the decision and said, "Deal."
Shen Lie breathed a sigh of relief, “Oh right, there’s still housework.”
"Housework?" Ning Tang raised his eyebrows.
Chen Lie said, "You didn't wash the bowls from lunch, right? I saw it when I entered the kitchen. I washed the bowls before I cooked."
Ning Tang said, "I washed the bowl I ate from."
Chen Lie choked, "Where are the bowls for the eldest, second, and third children?"
"No." Ning Tang said, "You washed the bowls they used to eat."
"I know." Chen Lie said, "Then can you help wash their bowls in the future?"
Ning Tang shook his head, "No."
"Why?" Shen Lie was confused. "We're married and have obtained a marriage certificate. You're their mother. Isn't it your responsibility to help them wash the dishes?"
Ning Tang pointed at herself and said, "I'm their stepmother, not their biological mother. They weren't born to me, so why should I help them wash the dishes? Besides, they treated me badly when I came here, and you're their biological father, so it's your responsibility to help them wash the dishes."
"You can't say that..." Chen Lie was stuck and couldn't explain it clearly.
Ning Tang only explained the reason to him and did not intend to embarrass him. He proposed a compromise, "How about this, I'll make lunch and wash the lunch dishes, you make dinner and wash the dinner dishes, and you take care of the other housework, is that okay?"
Ning Tang and Chen Lie got married, but they had no emotional foundation and no love at first sight. To put it bluntly, they just got what they wanted.
Ning Tang just thought of it as a change of job, treating Chen Lie as a superior and a colleague. Isn't it normal to assign tasks to colleagues? Anyway, she didn't think there was anything wrong with assigning housework to Chen Lie.
Chen Lie considered it for a moment, gritted his teeth and said, "Deal."
After the discussion, the three children finished their meal.
Shen Lie sighed, resignedly put the dishes away and took them to the kitchen to wash.
Before leaving, he looked at Ning Tang with resentment. Why did it feel like he had married a ancestor?
There are not many entertainment activities these days, and everyone goes to bed early.
Ning Tang was not used to it when he first came here, but now he feels sleepy as soon as it is nine o'clock.
After saying hello to Chen Lie, Ning Tang went to bed.
When Ning Tang was half asleep, she vaguely felt one side of the bed pressing down. She probably thought that Chen Lie had gone to bed after coaxing the three kids.
Chen Lie went to bed much later than her. Ning Tang thought, this is how raising a child is. If the child doesn’t sleep, you can’t sleep either.
No words were spoken that night.
When Ning Tang woke up the next day, he opened his eyes and found that there was no one beside him. Chen Lie was nowhere to be seen. He must have gotten up early to go to the army.
She turned over and three little faces came into view.
It was none other than Da Wa, Er Niu and San Wa.
The eldest and second daughter were standing at the head of her bed, and the third child was lying on her bed, shaking his little head from side to side.
Ning Tang was startled and covered his chest, "What are you three doing here?"
The eldest child was speechless, "Stepmother, do you know what time it is?"
Ning Tang glanced at the sky outside and said, "I don't know, it should still be early." The sun hadn't even set yet.
Erniu put her hands on her hips, like a little teapot, and shrilled, "It's already eleven o'clock."
"It's only eleven o'clock." Ning Tang turned around, his back facing the three children, "Then I'll take a nap."
The eldest child was so angry that he almost fell backwards. He stretched out his two little hands to push Ning Tang, "It's already eleven o'clock. Go and cook for us."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
