"Hei Mei, it's me—Xiaoying."
Liu Dajiao heard a familiar voice and opened the door to see the couple holding flashlights at the gate. She hurriedly opened the gate and said, "Xiaoying, Daddy, come in quickly."
"Hei Mei, just say it here." Du Xiaoying said quickly without moving.
"I came to you to ask you to help me cook for my family tomorrow. I'll pay you fifty cents a day until the spring plowing season."
"Cook food?" Liu Da Jiao was a little confused for a moment.
"Yes, it must be kept secret from outside."
"Okay, okay, okay. Then what time should I go there tomorrow morning?" Liu Dajiao nodded in agreement without thinking too much and agreed on a time.
Xiaohegou Village
The Du family room was silent, and several adults looked at Du's father, waiting for his decision.
"You can't rely on outsiders. At critical moments, your own family members have to step up."
Father Du slammed his hand on the kang and said directly, "Just listen to your little sister. Big brother, send Niu Niu and the other two over early tomorrow morning. When the time comes, just accept the money your little sister gives you."
"Dad, we are all family. It's unreasonable to charge money for helping his aunt." Second Brother Du frowned.
"Okay, since your little sister said that, she must have known what was going on. She told the kid to help out well when he got there."
"I understand, Dad." The two brothers nodded in response.
When Liu Honghong thought about her son earning six yuan a month, her face almost froze with joy.
"If our Xingxing didn't have to study, our two children would earn two sixty dollars a month. The eldest wife earns more than us..."
Du Ershan turned over impatiently and muttered, "Alright, you're busy even with a big belly, how can you be so calculating?"
"Hey~ Who am I doing this for? It's for our little family." As Liu Honghong was speaking, she heard her husband's snoring and rolled her eyes in annoyance.
Dafang
Li Feng whispered to the two children, "Be diligent when you go to your aunt's house, and listen to what your aunt and uncle say."
"Mom, we know~"
"Don't worry, she's my aunt..."
——
The next day, at daybreak, Brother Du carried a backpack and took the three brothers Niu Niu down the mountain.
Except for the eldest child Niu Niu who was studying, this was the first time for the other children to come down the mountain. They looked around curiously, and even though the fields and trees they passed by were bare, their steps were filled with joy.
On the other side, Liu Dajiao was thinking about what happened last night and couldn't stay at home. As soon as the sun rose, she braved the cold wind and went to the Song family at the foot of the mountain.
"Xiaoying, what did you mean by making food last night? Let's start now."
Du Xiaoying didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "Don't worry, Hei Mei, let me explain it to you in detail first, and then we can start."
"Don't worry, Xiaoying, I won't even tell my daughter and son." Upon hearing this, Liu Dajiao immediately patted his chest and made the promise.
"But wouldn't it be too much of a loss for you to pay me fifty cents a day? I have nothing to do during the winter anyway, so I can come over and help out without interfering with household chores."
"Don't worry, Hei Mei, I know what I'm doing and I won't let myself get hurt."
Seeing this, Liu Da Jiao said nothing more and happily rubbed her fingers clean.
Du Xiaoying demonstrated with a whisk, "Remember, stir in one direction, never back and forth."
"Okay, I remember that." Liu Da Jiao said and started to do it, switching his arms back and forth.
"It's not easy, right?" Du Xiaoying joked.
Liu Dajiao swung his arms and said, "This job looks quite simple."
The room was bustling with activity. Looking at the freshly baked golden egg cake, Liu Dajiao couldn't help but sniff, "It smells so good! It's really made of good stuff."
As he was speaking, there was a noise at the door, and a group of three, one big and three small, walked in one after another.
"Brother." Du Xiaoying quickly put down the work in her hands and invited her eldest brother and three nephews into the house.
Du Dashan put down the backpack, took out the sack of things inside, and said in a rough voice: "Little sister, this is the rations for the three children."
Du Xiaoying glared, her eyebrows furrowed. "Brother, what are you doing? The children came to help with the work, and I can't ignore their meals. Besides, how much can the children eat?"
"These little brats are eating me out of my house." Du Dashan chuckled, "Don't underestimate these three brats because they are young. They can still eat a lot."
Du Xiaoying rolled her eyes at her eldest brother in anger, then turned to look at her nephews and said with a smile, "Now that you're at my aunt's house, treat it like your own. Don't be so shy."
"Um."
The three brothers nodded shyly, feeling a little unfamiliar with this aunt whom they had seldom seen for many years.
After lunch, Du Dashan went back early with the things prepared by his younger sister.
Everyone in the room was busy, and before they knew it, it was getting dark outside the window.
Although this was the first time the brothers and sisters met, they became familiar with each other in a short while, perhaps because of their blood relationship.
Daya and her sisters were lying on the table on the kang doing their homework, while the brothers were watching them curiously.
After finishing the third grade, Niu Niu couldn't keep up with his studies and stopped going to school. He kept learning hunting at home with Du Dashan.
Erniu and Xingxing had not gone to school yet, and were curiously watching their sisters write.
"Niu Niu, why don't you continue studying?" Du Xiaoying looked at her nephew.
Niu Niu scratched his head and said a little embarrassedly: "Aunt, I'm not cut out for studying. I get sleepy as soon as I'm in class. Studying is a waste of our family's money. I might as well help with some housework at home."
Du Xiaoying sighed, "Even if I can't concentrate on studying, I still have to learn to do the math. Then I won't be so easily deceived in the future."
Niu Niu chuckled and said hurriedly, "Aunt, I'll go help uncle cook."
Du Xiaoying shook her head. This kid gets overwhelmed when he hears about studying.
After dinner, Du Xiaoying cleaned up the west room and heated up the stove. "Niuniu, take your brother to have a good bath in the big tub while it's still hot. Pour the water and call your uncle directly."
"I understand, aunt~"
The three brothers looked at the soft quilt on the kang, their eyes wide with joy, "Brother, the quilt at my aunt's house is so soft."
Niu Niu looked at the nice quilt on the kang, wiped his red eyes, and hurriedly asked his two younger brothers to take off their clothes and give him a bath while it was still hot.
"Wife, how about I deliver the goods from now on, so you don't have to run back and forth in the middle of winter." Song Guoliang said tentatively.
Du Xiaoying thought about it and decided that she couldn't hide business matters from men, so she simply nodded in agreement and said, "Okay, I'll take you there to show you the way tomorrow morning."
"Um."
Song Guoliang breathed a sigh of relief. Does this mean that he and his wife are getting closer?
Du Xiaoying recalled what happened after she came back. This man who died early in his previous life always stood in front of her and her children without exception, using his broad shoulders to protect them from wind and rain.
She felt it was time to make things clear with this man!
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