Old Zhang got out of the car and helped Xiao Yunying take the iron pot and put it away. Xiao Yunying paid the fare, but this time Old Zhang refused to accept a single penny from Luo Xin, so she had no choice but to take it back.
Luo Xin, being sensible, held up the mung bean cake her mother had bought for her and offered it to Grandpa Zhang, saying, "Grandpa Zhang, have some mung bean cake."
Even the usually serious Grandpa Zhang couldn't help but smile when faced with the childish Luo Xin, though the smile wasn't very obvious: "Grandpa Zhang doesn't want to eat it, Xin'er can keep it for herself."
Xin'er picked up a piece and held it to Grandpa Zhang's mouth: "Grandpa Zhang, have some. Mom bought it for me. It's very sweet."
Old Zhang couldn't bear to refuse any longer, so he opened his mouth and took the mung bean cake in. It wasn't big, and after it left the little girl's hand, he ate the whole piece: "Mmm, so sweet."
Then I couldn't help but cough. It's a bit dry, and it's easy to choke if you eat too fast.
He quickly picked up the bamboo tube hanging next to the oxcart, took a sip of water, and rinsed his mouth.
"Grandpa Zhang, have another piece."
"I don't want to eat anymore, it's too sweet, Grandpa's teeth can't handle it."
The mung bean cake wasn't too sweet. With sugar being so expensive, how could a pastry shop bear to put too much in it? Old Zhang was just making an excuse.
He ate too much dry pastry at once, and it stuck to his upper palate when it got wet. He was trying to push it down with his tongue, but he was too embarrassed to say it.
"All right."
Luo Xin took small bites of the mung bean cake and sat back in Xiao Yunying's lap.
Luo Yang couldn't wait to go home, so he picked up a book and started reading, while Luo Li and Luo Chen compared the differences between the large and small headbands.
Old Zhang originally intended to give Xiao Yunying a few words of advice when no one was around: be nicer to the children and stop hitting them.
Now it seems she wasn't as vicious towards the children as the rumors in the village made her out to be, so I didn't say those words.
Once everyone had gathered, the children put away their belongings and started heading back in the oxcart.
Some people noticed that Xiao Yunying's basket was bulging, but since it was covered by a cloth, they couldn't see what was inside. They were curious and asked, "Yunying, what did you buy in town?"
Xiao Yunying pretended not to hear. These people are really shameless. Have they forgotten the fight they had when they came here?
"You bought this big iron pot, didn't you? I heard that the price of ironware has gone up again. It costs about two taels of silver to make one now."
Since the other party hadn't caused any trouble, Xiao Yunying couldn't just ignore them: "Probably, I didn't notice, I bought it together with the axe."
"You bought an axe? What did you buy an axe for?"
Xiao Yunying lost her patience. This question was like asking what chopsticks were for; an axe only had a few uses, after all.
"For self-defense, specifically for cutting people."
She was telling the truth; she didn't use it for chopping wood or cutting trees, but for self-defense.
The woman gasped for breath, unable to utter the rest of her words.
The oxcart was even quieter than when they arrived. Xiao Yunying stretched contentedly and hugged Luo Xin tightly.
When they arrived at the village entrance, Xiao Yunying wanted to get off the cart, but Old Man Zhang stopped her and drove the oxcart to take her to her doorstep.
"Thank you very much, Uncle Zhang."
Old Zhang waved his hand and drove away in his oxcart. He had to hurry back; the mung bean cakes on his palate weren't cleaned properly yet, and he needed to use his hands to clean them.
Luo Chen picked up the basket and unlocked the door. Xiao Yunying carried the large iron pot and quickly went into the kitchen. With the help of the two men, she placed it on the stove.
He clapped his hands: "Great, now we have two pots."
From now on, we can cook together and prepare dishes at the same time, without having to wait.
Are you hungry?
Luo Li touched her slightly protruding belly: "Not hungry."
"Then I won't cook. I'll just have some snacks this afternoon if I'm hungry, and I'll cook a proper meal for dinner."
The children have no objections; they can't eat anymore even if you ask them to.
Xiao Yunying took the things out of the basket, distributed the shoes, paper, pens and other items to the children, and while the children were away, she threw the meat into the supermarket to keep it fresh. She then carried the basket into the house herself.
Luo Li knew there was an axe in the basket and was a little scared: "Brother, does our stepmother really want to use the axe to kill people? She won't kill us, will she?"
Luo Chen wasn't sure either, but she reassured her silly younger brother, "Don't talk nonsense, how could a stepmother kill someone?"
Luo Li muttered to herself, unsure whether she was speaking to her two older brothers or comforting herself: "Yes, our stepmother has changed for the better now and won't kill us."
Xiao Yunying had no idea that an axe and the scare words she had uttered on the oxcart had frightened the children. She took off Luo Xin's shoes, carried her to bed, and then used a wet towel to wipe the little girl's face before washing her own.
After playing with building blocks with the little girl for a while, I felt I had rested enough, so I called Luo Chen over: "I'm going up the mountain for a bit. You guys stay home and look after your little sister."
"I'll go with you."
"no."
"Why not?"
"I'm going deep into the mountains, and it's inconvenient to take you with me; you're too small."
Luo Chen gripped his hand tightly nervously: "It's not safe for you to go into the deep mountains alone."
"Don't worry, I dare to go in alone, I have the ability to protect myself."
She went to the pharmacy today specifically to buy snake and insect repellent powder, just to prepare for going up the mountain.
Luo Chen frowned. Was she afraid that he would discover something because she didn't want him to follow?
“Then I won’t go into the deep mountains with you. I’ll gather firewood at the foot of the mountain. Winter is coming soon, so we need to store up more firewood.”
"Okay, but you can't come into the mountains to find me. If something happens to you, it will be too late to save you."
After the two of them discussed it and told the other three children, they each carried a basket on their backs and headed towards the western mountains.
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