Chapter 34...
Chapter Thirty-Four
Before Lu Jia and Yao Anhui could even test Qi Mingzhe, Qi Mingzhe had already revealed his hand.
"Auntie, let me help you wash the dishes." As soon as Yao Anhui put down her chopsticks, Qi Mingzhe helped clear the dishes.
"No, no, I can't let you wash the dishes," Yao Anhui instinctively refused.
"Auntie, I can do it." Qi Mingzhe looked up at Yao Anhui pitifully, as if not letting him wash the dishes was an unforgivable crime.
"Shall we wash the dishes together?" Yao Anhui really hadn't expected this situation.
Yao Anhui originally thought that Qi Mingzhe would confront her, but it seems that Qi Mingzhe has no such intention.
That's not quite right. It should be said that Qi Mingzhe doesn't seem to know that she came from the previous life.
Yao Anhui was also puzzled. It seemed that Qi Mingzhe had always looked at her with such an admiring expression in her past life. She used to think it was because he had raised her since she was a child, but now it seemed that was not the case.
The events have unfolded in a way that is quite different from what Yao Anhui had imagined.
Yao Anhui led Qi Mingzhe to work together. She washed the bowls once and twice, and then Qi Mingzhe rinsed them with clean water again, and the bowls were clean.
After washing the dishes, Yao Anhui had nothing else to do. Lu Yuanqing had already washed the clothes last night. At first, Yao Anhui was embarrassed to let Lu Yuanqing wash her underwear, but now, after only half a month, she had gotten used to it.
Yao Anhui originally wanted to make a few winter cotton-padded clothes. The climate in the north is different from that in the south. It was only the beginning of the seventh lunar month, and people were already wearing lined jackets in the morning. So Yao Anhui started thinking about preparing winter clothes.
With Hua Fangling, who has a knack for making clothes, all Yao Anhui needs to do is take the fabric that Hua Fangling brought back and make cotton-padded clothes according to the patterns Hua Fangling provided.
Yao Anhui couldn't help but marvel at Hua Fangling's talent once again. Not only could she write novels, but her paintings were also incredibly stunning. Following the drawings provided by Hua Fangling, Yao Anhui made several cotton-padded coats that were different from the current styles. The squares she made were three-dimensional and beautiful, and they looked very elegant.
However, everyone loves beauty, and Hua Fangling wanted to ask Yao Anhui to embroider a national flag below the left collar of her cotton-padded coat.
However, now that Qi Mingzhe has arrived, Yao Anhui is not planning to do it for the next few days. In her previous life in the harem, she would do needlework to pass the time, and Qi Mingzhe would most likely be able to recognize her habitual movements. Yao Anhui plans to wait a little longer.
But it's not like there's nothing to do right now.
Yao Anhui took a tape measure to measure Qi Mingzhe's dimensions. Since Qi Mingzhe was already here, and it would most likely be her and Lu Yuanqing's responsibility in the future, then... it would be better to cultivate a better relationship.
"Auntie, are you making clothes for me?" Qi Mingzhe's face turned red with joy, which was absolutely genuine.
"Hmm, what color do you like?" Yao Anhui took out several pieces of fabric and let Qi Mingzhe choose.
Qi Mingzhe, with his sharp eyes, immediately spotted two black cotton-padded coats, one large and one small, on the shelf next to him. They were already finished but hadn't yet been embroidered with red flags. They belonged to Yao Anhui and Lu Yuanqing.
"Auntie, can I make one in the same style as this one?" Qi Mingzhe asked cautiously, afraid that Yao Anhui would refuse.
“Sure.” Yao Anhui agreed without much thought. It’s good to have the same recipe; it’s easy to cook something that’s already familiar with it.
So Yao Anhui took Qi Mingzhe's measurements, quickly started cutting, and then took out the sewing machine to start sewing.
Speaking of which, this sewing machine is really useful. It makes making clothes much easier. The only difference is that when making a cotton-padded jacket, you need to add cotton, otherwise a garment can be finished in less than a day.
"Auntie, you're amazing." Qi Mingzhe looked at Yao Anhui with starry eyes, which gave her goosebumps. In her impression, Qi Mingzhe was a calm and mature young man. She was a little overwhelmed by his sudden display of sweetness and cuteness.
Yao Anhui was busy making cotton-padded clothes, and Qi Mingzhe watched over her for a long time. At 11:30, Qi Mingzhe went out by himself, lit a fire to steam rice and vegetables, and even went to the vegetable garden in the yard to pick a few eggplants, washed them, and put them on the steamer to steam.
Lu Yuanqing returned home from get off work at noon. Seeing the smoke rising from his own house in the distance, he assumed that Yao Anhui had cooked dinner before he got off work again, and his heart was filled with warmth.
When he got home, he saw Qi Mingzhe busy at the stove, chopping scallions, ginger, garlic, and chili peppers. There was also a bowl of steamed eggplant next to him, while the sound of a sewing machine could be heard from inside the room.
"Xiao Zhe, I'll cook. You're just a kid, don't play with knives." Lu Yuanqing was startled, worried that Qi Mingzhe might hurt himself, and his voice dropped several octaves.
"Uncle's off work." Qi Mingzhe, seemingly oblivious to Lu Yuanqing's worried expression, said with a bright smile, "From now on, I'll take care of the cooking at home, Uncle. My cooking is delicious!"
"That won't work either. You're only a few years old. Just go to school and study hard when school starts." Lu Yuanqing subconsciously refused. After all, Qi Mingzhe looked so well-behaved and fair-skinned that he didn't seem like someone who could do housework.
"Uncle, you can't judge a book by its cover. I've been cooking for years, why can't I do it now?" Qi Mingzhe said with dissatisfaction. He was faking it, he was doing it on purpose. Qi Mingzhe didn't believe that Lu Yuanqing could go to his deceased parents to ask for an explanation.
At this moment, Yao Anhui, who had listened to the whole thing from inside the house, couldn't help but ask, "Why don't you two argue about this after dinner? I'm hungry, let's cook quickly."
Yao Anhui was really hungry. She had drunk most of a bowl of porridge in the morning, so she was indeed hungry now.
"Wait a minute, I'll be done here soon." With his wife's meals being the most important thing, Lu Yuanqing immediately forgot about Qi Mingzhe and went to the vegetable garden to pick vegetables.
The braised pork leg was steamed with rice in the morning. Qi Mingzhe made a cold eggplant salad, while Lu Yuanqing planned to simply stir-fry some bitter melon and make a tomato and egg soup.
Yao Anhui can't cook, but she loves to eat good food. However, she is not picky about food. She can eat well when she has the means, and she can tolerate it when she doesn't.
This was evident in the fact that he could eat an extra half bowl of rice every time he went to Hua Fangling's house for a meal.
After lunch, Yao Anhui became a hands-off manager, while Lu Yuanqing, who had been unhappy about Qi Mingzhe cooking earlier, was now earnestly teaching Qi Mingzhe how to wash dishes.
Lu Yuanqing had been reflecting on things very hard during dinner. He didn't need anyone to lecture him. He just suddenly remembered that Qi Mingzhe was also eight years old. At that age, many seven or eight-year-olds would help with household chores, such as washing clothes, cooking, and taking care of their younger siblings.
Lu Yuanqing had two concerns before. One was that such a young child might get hurt playing with a knife. But after watching for a while, Lu Yuanqing found that Qi Mingzhe was quite skilled at chopping vegetables, unlike a novice. He really did seem to be a skilled cook, just as he said.
Secondly, there was the concern about the negative impact on Yao Anhui's reputation. After all, Qi Mingzhe wasn't their biological child, so they couldn't be too lenient or too harsh. Lu Yuanqing couldn't bear the thought of others gossiping about Yao Anhui because of Qi Mingzhe's cooking.
But now that I think about it, if other people's children can be like Qi Mingzhe, why can't he? He's no more precious than anyone else.
Besides, if Qi Mingzhe does the work, Yao Anhui won't have to do it, which is good. It'll be more reassuring if he has to go on a mission someday, right?
Therefore, Lu Yuanqing was very serious about teaching Qi Mingzhe how to wash dishes, water vegetables, and sweep the floor—all easy household chores.
After washing the dishes, Yao Anhui went to take a nap. Lu Yuanqing was carrying buckets of water to fetch water when he met Shen Wenkang, who was also carrying buckets of water, at the gate of the courtyard.
"Fetch water?"
"Yes, together."
"Old Shen, how does your wife manage to fetch water when you're away on missions?" Lu Yuanqing suddenly asked.
This was also a problem that Lu Yuanqing had just thought of. In Lu Yuanqing's mind, Yao Anhui was definitely not the type to carry water. Putting aside the question of whether the seemingly delicate Yao Anhui could even lift the load, he couldn't bear to let her do it. He couldn't even bear to let Yao Anhui cook, let alone let her do heavy work.
“When I’m on a mission, I ask my neighbors for help. In the past, it was Lao Guo and Lao Wei (neighbors who lived on the other side of Hua Fangling’s house) or I would ask my comrades in the battalion for help.”
Lu Yuanqing frowned and thought about Yao Anhui's quiet personality. He figured she was reluctant to use water so as not to bother others.
“That won’t work either. It’s too much trouble for others. My wife is very clean and wants to take a bath every day. It’s not good to ask others for help. I think we should dig a well in the yard and install a crank well.” Lu Yuanqing thought for a moment and proposed a solution.
"You want to dig a well?" Shen Wenkang was startled by Lu Yuanqing's abrupt change of thought. They had just been talking about fetching water, and now he was talking about digging a well?
“Digging a well is relatively simple. I can do it slowly when I have time. Once it’s dug, I can make a well frame with reinforced concrete, buy water pipes, and crank the well. It’s not very convenient for us to hire someone to drill a well.” Lu Yuanqing had really gone to great lengths to make it easier for Yao Anhui to get water.
"But where do you want to dig?" Shen Wenkang asked. "Half of your yard is paved, and only half is left for vegetable gardens."
"Let's just harden this side. After digging out the well, we'll put two more well rings on top and put a well cover on top. It won't cause any problems." We'll make a reinforced concrete well cover later, and it can be used as a platform or table.
Shen Wenkang thought for a moment and said, "How about I help you dig it? If the well has a lot of water, I can run a water pipe to it for my family?"
Shen Wenkang originally wanted to say that he dug the well himself, but he was afraid that the water level in the well would not be high enough, and if Lu Yuanqing did not install the well, he would be suspected of deceiving people into doing the work.
So he made the above suggestion: if the water flow is too large for his family to use, it wouldn't be a problem for him to run a water pipe; if the water flow is too small, then consider it a favor, and Shen Wenkang can just dig another one in his own yard.
“Sure, no problem.” Lu Yuanqing had no objections, because Guan Kangde had told him that he might be going on a mission soon. With Shen Wenkang’s help, one more person would be able to dig the well sooner. If he was away on a mission, Yao Anhui wouldn’t have to worry about water.
So when Yao Anhui woke up from her afternoon nap, she learned that her family was going to dig a well.
Yao Anhui looked completely bewildered.
Furthermore, Lu Yuanqing and Shen Wenkang were incredibly efficient. In just ten days, a well over ten meters long was dug, and in another five days, the reinforced concrete well ring and cover were finished and dried.
Twenty days later, Yao Anhui's and Hua Fangling's families each had their own well.
That's some serious drive.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
