Fang Rou studied the laundry detergent for a while, and then watched Xiao Yunying wash clothes on a washboard for a while before reluctantly starting to wash her own clothes.
"If you like it and don't mind, you can take the rest of the laundry detergent home and use it."
Fang Rou wasn't one to be pretentious by nature, and she didn't feign reluctance; she genuinely liked the scent of the laundry detergent: "This... how many copper coins?"
"Just take it and use it, I bought a lot."
"No, I can't just take your things. Tell me how many copper coins it costs."
Xiao Yunying wiped the water that had splashed on her face while washing clothes with her sleeve: "Don't be so polite with me. It's not much money, just consider it a thank you for taking care of my children."
"Then I'll accept it."
"Keep it safe."
Xiao Yunying had finished washing all the clothes, only rinsing was left. She handed over the washboard.
"Here, you can borrow this. It'll save you a lot of effort and be quick. It's almost lunchtime, so hurry up and finish washing up before heading back."
Washboards aren't anything valuable; she has seven or eight in the supermarket, but she can't give them away.
In front of so many people, firstly, she couldn't be too generous, and secondly, she didn't have a third reason to come up with.
Yes, it's the third one, because she plans to give another one to her mother.
Each family washes their own clothes. According to Mu Lianrong, her parents are still able to move around, so they don't need their daughter-in-law to wash their parents-in-law's clothes.
If you want to be filial and take care of them, wait until they are old and can't move.
To be honest, her mother had a bad temper and was quite shrewish, but she was a good person and didn't have the habit of tormenting or bullying her daughter-in-law.
Washboards may look simple in structure, but they are actually very useful and save effort.
Fang Rou took the washboard: "Thank you, I'll bring it back to you when I'm done using it."
"Okay, no rush."
Fang Rou followed Xiao Yunying's example and placed the items in the container. She rubbed them a few times, and although she was a little clumsy at first, she gradually became more skilled.
Xiao Yunying rinsed off the foam and went back with Luo Chen. She had to hurry; it was getting late and the children must be hungry.
Upon entering the courtyard, Luo Yang was already back: "I'll hang the clothes out to dry. Big brother, you help stepmother cook. Ali said she's hungry."
"Okay, here you go."
Xiao Yunying placed the wooden basin on the ground. The water-soaked basin was quite heavy, and she missed the plastic basin.
Luo Chen secretly observed Xiao Yunying's expression. Didn't she hear her second brother call her stepmother?
Why didn't she react at all?
Xiao Yunying heard it, but because she didn't care, she wasn't really bothered by it.
In her view, it's just a title; whether she calls her "mother" or "stepmother" makes no difference.
Anyway, she's neither their biological mother nor their stepmother, so they can call her whatever they want.
Luo Xin wanted to follow Xiao Yunying into the kitchen like a little tail, but Xiao Yunying coaxed her out.
"Xin'er, the kitchen is a mess when I'm cooking. There's fire and knives, and I can't keep an eye on you when I'm busy. It's dangerous. Why don't you go outside and wait for me?"
"Okay, Xin'er will wait for her mother outside."
"Good girl."
After giving the little girl a routine compliment, Xiao Yunying rolled up her sleeves and went into the kitchen, first taking out the writing brush, ink, paper, and inkstone from the basket on her back:
"Luo Chen, put these on the table in my room first."
Luo Chen took the brush, ink, paper, and inkstone, his eyes lighting up as he suppressed his excitement: "What do you need these for?"
Xiao Yunying took out all the ingredients one by one and placed them on the stove: "I'm going to draw some blueprints."
Ugh, one pot, it really wastes time.
Just bear with it for two more days, and you'll have a new pot to use in two days.
The light in Luo Chen's eyes dimmed. So it was for her own use. She said "Oh," and took the things out of the kitchen.
Luo Chen's voice was so uneven that Xiao Yunying glanced at his back before turning her gaze back to the stove.
Before Luo Chen returned, she took out a small cutting board and a marble mortar and pestle from the supermarket.
She planned to make a cucumber salad, and she was used to using separate cutting boards for raw and cooked food.
The ribs were divided into two portions and wrapped. She took out only one portion, unwrapped the lotus leaf, poured it into the pot, and added water.
When Luo Chen returned after putting his things away, his face was uncontrollably downcast, but his expression didn't change much after seeing the ribs.
Xiao Yunying said to him, "Help me start the fire, I'll blanch the ribs."
Luo Chen was dissatisfied: "Why buy this? It's all bones. We should buy meat instead. We can render oil from the fattier pieces."
Xiao Yunying didn't care about his attitude: "This is cheap. One pound of fatty meat can buy three pounds of pork ribs."
"Where is the cheapest option? Three pounds of ribs and two pounds of bones."
Xiao Yunying washed the cucumbers: "But the ribs are delicious."
Before Luo Chen could say anything more, he heard a series of loud bangs from the stove.
It was like a blow to his heart, making him swallow the rest of his words and obediently concentrate on tending the fire.
Xiao Yunying cut the flattened cucumber into sections and put them into a small porcelain bowl. She also smashed a few cloves of garlic, peeled them, and put them into a mortar and pestle.
Just then, Luo Yang came in after hanging up the clothes, and Xiao Yunying handed him a mortar and pestle: "You've come at the right time. Help me mince the garlic. Be careful, it's a bit heavy."
"knew."
Xiao Yunying was worried that cooking rice would take too long and the vegetables would get cold if she cooked them first, so she cooked the ribs a little longer so they could be stir-fried faster.
Xiao Yunying cracked three eggs into a bowl and stirred them. She then asked, "Luo Chen, I remember you'll be nine years old after the New Year, right? Have you thought about what you want to do in the future?"
Luo Chen added firewood to the stove: "No matter what I do, as long as my younger siblings have enough to eat, that's fine."
After putting down the beaten eggs, Xiao Yunying washed the tomatoes and chopped them on the cutting board: "Do you want to go to school and learn to read?"
A glimmer of light flashed in Luo Chen's eyes, but it was immediately extinguished.
"What's the use of wanting to go? Studying costs a lot of money, and our family can't even afford to eat."
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