As the sun was setting, a few of the little ones came back.
"Grandma, aunt, look, we caught river shrimps." Shuwen's voice came in before he even entered the door.
Then Yan Qi ran in and said, "Get the bucket, get the bucket and fill it up," and then ran to the kitchen.
Several children came into the yard carrying winnowing baskets. Zhou came over and asked, "Grandma, look, how much have you fished out?"
"Grandma, there are a lot." Yan Pan'er stood in front of her and smiled.
Chunxiao also went over to take a look. In the winnowing basket, there were more than a dozen river shrimps as thick as little fingers, jumping and dancing. There were only a dozen or so, which could only make half a bowl at most. But the children were happy, so she couldn't spoil their fun. "Wow, you guys are really good. You caught so many."
"Aunt, let mom make you some shrimp soup tonight. Dad said you are too thin and need to eat more." Shufeng was so happy at this moment.
"Sister, come, put the shrimps in." Yan Qi struggled to carry a wooden barrel out of the kitchen.
"Oh, just put it in the dustpan. Don't dirty the bucket. We still need to fill it with water. Your mother is going to cook soon. Let's eat fresh food today." Zhou took Yan Qi's bucket and put it back in the kitchen. "The sun is about to go down, why hasn't that third uncle come back yet?"
"I'll be back soon." Tian also looked out the door, "Mom, I'm going to cook."
Chunxiao helped Zhou bring the quilt back into the house. The quilt, after being dried in the sun, was fluffier and had a sun-kissed smell. Several children helped Tian in the kitchen. Shuduo and Paner watched the shrimps being put in before returning to their own yard next door.
Just as the two of them had made their beds, Yan Bingfa came back with his two sons, each carrying dozens of kilograms of firewood. They unloaded the firewood next to the haystack in the kitchen, and Yan Bingfa washed his hands.
"Why did you come back only now?" Zhou brushed the dust off his body.
"The weather is good today, and many people go up the mountain. We cut more firewood, and these firewood will be enough to last for quite some time." He pulled out a chair and sat in the main room to rest.
"Grandpa, we caught some shrimp today and we can have shrimp soup tonight." Yan Qi ran over to offer his treasure.
"Go, get two bowls of water for Grandpa and Dad. They haven't had any water this afternoon and their mouths are very dry." Yan Dashan also pulled out a chair and sat down. "Mom, we ran into Dongsheng while collecting firewood today. He caught a rabbit. It was so fat. I was so envious of him. I wanted him to teach me how to catch rabbits, but Dad wouldn't let me."
"You are a fool. You asked someone to teach you how to eat. What would he catch if he taught you?"
"Your father is right. It's not easy to ask about this kind of thing. You don't want to offend anyone."
"There's more than one rabbit nest on this mountain. If we catch them, we can save money on buying meat. Dongsheng isn't that stingy."
"If you really caught it, you would be willing to eat it yourself! You can just take it to the town and sell it. Forget it, how big your ability is, how big your job is. You are not the only one in this village who is jealous. Do you think others haven't asked about it? Don't worry about it if you shouldn't worry about it."
Yan Dashan curled his lips and said, "If you don't want to ask, then don't ask. I'll figure it out myself when I have time. Maybe a blind cat will catch a dead mouse and I'll catch it."
Yan Qi came out of the kitchen with a bowl in each hand and handed the bowls to Grandpa and Dad. "Dad, what did you say you caught?"
"What did you catch? I didn't catch anything. I just caught a little kid who was asking around." He drank the water in one gulp, hugged Yan Qi tightly in his arms, and deliberately poked his face with his beard.
"Oh, Dad, put me down, put me down quickly, your beard is pricking me and it hurts so much."
Chunxiao and the others all laughed.
Soon, Tian's meal was ready. As expected, she had made a large pot of shrimp and egg drop soup with the river shrimp and an egg. She filled a large bowl and asked Shuwen to take it to the next room. The rest was poured into a basin and brought to the table. In the evening, they had wheat bran dumplings. Chunxiao used to eat them often, but for some reason, now she found them hard and difficult to swallow. Even the egg drop soup that the children fought over tasted bland and fishy to her. It seemed that her taste had become picky without her noticing. She tried her best to act normal. After dinner, Zhou started to boil water in the kitchen for the children to wash. There were many people in the family, so if they didn't wash early, they would have to light the lamp after dark, which was a waste of oil.
When it was Chunxiao's turn, it was already dark. After Chunxiao finished washing, Zhou took her to the second child's yard. Zhang had already made the bed, and the two children were already in bed. When they saw Chunxiao and Zhou, they all got up from the bed.
"Lie down, lie down, or you'll catch a cold." Zhou pushed them back into bed. "Your aunt will sleep with you for the next few days, so you have to help grandma take good care of her, okay?"
"I understand, Grandma."
"Chunxiao, go to sleep now. You've been traveling all morning and haven't rested yet. Let's go." Zhou and Zhang left the room and closed the door. The room was already dim, and now that the door was closed, it was completely dark.
"Aunt?" Shuduo's voice came from the side, "Are you cold? Do you want us to warm your feet?" Grandma said that they should help take care of Aunt.
Today's quilts have been dried in the sun. Although her quilt is not thick, it doesn't make her feel cold at all. She smiled and said, "Auntie, I'm not cold. Thank you, Duo'er."
"Aunt, if you are cold, we can cover ourselves with a blanket. Pan'er will be warm, and I can help warm you up."
Chunxiao was about to be warmed by these two little cuties. She turned sideways and faced them, "Are you unable to sleep? How about auntie tell you a bedtime story?"
"What's a bedtime story?" Shuduo was puzzled.
"It's a story that can put you to sleep. You'll understand after you listen to it." She thought about it in her mind and began to tell the two little girls about Thumbelina. The two little girls were amazed at what they heard. At the end of the story, the two girls not only did not want to sleep, but also begged her to tell them another one.
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