The two baskets of persimmons were a bit heavy, and seeing that Jiang Mingzhu was having a hard time, Gu An'an didn't take her to look for herbs on the mountain anymore.
The two carried the persimmons down the mountain.
Halfway there, they ran into Sister-in-law Jiang. Upon seeing Gu An'an and her daughter, Sister-in-law Jiang quickly put her hands behind her back, looking like she had something to hide.
Gu An'an felt something was off, but she didn't take it to heart. She greeted them politely and then led Jiang Mingzhu home.
"My aunt is acting strangely."
Gu An'an was somewhat surprised, "Our family actually has a female detective who can see through everything."
The teasing made Jiang Mingzhu's face flush slightly. "How can you be so irresponsible?"
Is this considered being irresponsible?
Gu An'an stopped teasing the little girl. "It's not right that she's carrying a bamboo basket full of food, going up the mountain to deliver food to people."
It's not the busy farming season, and everyone is staying home because it's cold. Why would anyone go all the way up the mountain to deliver food?
Thinking of the unconscious man in black she had encountered on the mountain yesterday, Gu An'an had some ideas, but she did not tell Jiang Mingzhu.
Young girls don't need to know about these fighting and killing things.
"They probably went up the mountain to hunt and set traps."
"Really?" Jiang Mingzhu felt that this was completely unbelievable and simply a way of fooling people.
The persimmons on her back were heavy, and she didn't have the energy to think about what her aunt's intentions were. Even though she knew that Gu An'an was treating her like a child, she didn't say anything more.
Going down the mountain was a little easier, but even so, I was still covered in sweat when I got home.
Gu An'an missed air conditioning, heating, the internet, and food delivery terribly, but asking her to work in the industrial information industry would be worse than killing her.
Won't she get better?
Nothing was wrong at home. Seeing that the two women in the house were too tired to talk, Jiang Mingyi took the initiative to cook.
It's called cooking, but it's really just heating up the leftover rice from yesterday and mixing it with meat broth.
Compared to last night's lavish dinner, this lunch was quite simple.
But the children in the family ate everything clean, even licking the soup off their plates.
Cherishing every grain of food, what a good child!
Seeing the children sitting in a row after they had eaten their fill, Gu An'an was very satisfied. "Let's rest first, and we'll get back to work this afternoon after we wake up."
Jiang Mingxu was the first to raise his hand and ask, "What are we doing this afternoon?"
"Of course we'll gather firewood. We need to heat the kang (a traditional heated bed) so we won't be cold in winter."
Gu An'an is someone who is afraid of the cold and heat. You should know that in ancient society, it was not uncommon for poor people to freeze to death. Although it did happen, it was relatively rare. After all, the urban heat island effect had not yet occurred, and the weather was not so unbearably hot.
Jiangjia Village is a mountain village, so it is relatively cooler.
Instead of worrying about dying from the summer heat, it's more reliable to think about how to prevent mosquito bites.
Of course, summer is still a long way off; let's get a kang (heated brick bed) first and get through the winter comfortably.
Jiang Mingyi, who had just returned from washing the dishes, asked with some confusion, "What is a kang (heated brick bed)?"
They had never heard of that word before.
There doesn't seem to be such a saying in Jiangjia Village, so where did Gu An'an hear such strange news?
Gu An'an remained expressionless. "I heard it from a businessman who travels all over the country when I went to the county. He said that northerners would put this thing in during the winter to add firewood so that they wouldn't be cold when they slept."
Jiang Mingxu's little head was full of questions. He stared at Gu An'an with wide eyes, "If there's a fire, won't we turn into roast suckling pig?"
Gu An'an: "..." This child, if you can talk, then shut up!
"If you don't want to sleep, that's fine. But don't blame me for mistreating you in the cold winter."
Jiang Mingxu got anxious at Gu An'an's hands-off attitude and quickly tugged at her arm, "Mom, tell me how to heat the kang (heated brick bed), I'm afraid of the cold."
The little boy gave a wink, and Bao'er ran over excitedly, burying her head in Gu An'an's arms. "Mom, Bao'er wants to sleep on the kang too."
The little girl darted around in Gu An'an's arms like a headless fly, leaving Gu An'an at a loss.
The two older boys' eyelids twitched at the sight. Jiang Mingyi turned her head away, not wanting to look. These two little rascals recognized their mother so quickly.
Jiang Mingzhu tugged at the hem of her clothes, her eyes filled with envy as she looked at her younger siblings. When she was little, her grandmother and second aunt always called her a money-loser, and no one had ever loved her like this.
"Alright, alright, we're all family, of course we'll all sleep on the kang (heated brick bed)."
Out of the corner of her eye, Gu An'an saw the two adults breathe a sigh of relief and grabbed one of them with each hand, asking, "Do you two want to help me build the kang (heated brick bed) and gather firewood?"
Caught off guard by the sudden "ambush," Jiang Mingyi glared at him awkwardly, "What are you doing?"
Although he was uncomfortable bending over, he couldn't escape Gu An'an's clutches.
Jiang Mingzhu remained silent, her slender hand carefully tugging at Gu An'an's sleeve.
The room is peaceful and quiet.
...
The people of Jiangjia Village all felt that Jiang Laosan's family was a little different.
People who used to beat and scold their children are now actually changing their ways and becoming mothers again.
When the villagers couldn't stand it, Gu An'an simply pushed them forward, saying, "If you can't stand it, then take this child back and raise him. You can pamper him however you want."
This is just sophistry. Everyone in the village is struggling to make ends meet; who can afford to raise a child who is only half a child?
With this spare money, wouldn't it be better to buy some meat for your own daughter and son?
The once wicked stepmother has changed completely. She now gathers firewood with her children, laughing and chatting like their own mother.
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