Chapter 47 I'll help my sister-in-law carry water
Li had never imagined that the thoughtful gift Tu Subo prepared for Tu Su Minxu would also include one for Tu Su Yanting. She was silent for a long time, and finally whispered with emotion: "You really put in a lot of effort."
Leaving aside the intrigues within the family, since the third branch had only one daughter, Tusu Yanting, Li had been neglected and looked down upon since she married into the Tusu family. Tusu Yanting also developed a gentle and timid character in such an environment.
However, while Tu Subo and Gu Yuexuan cared for Tu Su Minxu, they also treated Tu Su Minyang equally selflessly, and were even more caring towards Tu Su Yanting, and never showed any bias.
It is easy to say that being fair and impartial, but in the Tu Su family, there are probably only a handful of people who can really do this.
Gu Yuexuan pretended to be bewildered, smiled softly, and said, "As the eldest son of the family, Tu Subo acts naturally and naturally. Why does Third Aunt need to mention it specifically?"
"By the way, I wonder how the charcoal fire that Grandpa and the others are refining in the backyard is doing. Aunt San, would you like to come with me to check it out?"
Li forced a smile and replied, "Okay, let's go over and take a look."
In the backyard, the old grandfather was directing everyone to conduct a new round of charcoal refining experiments.
However, this attempt seemed rather awkward.
The old lady seemed to have done something wrong. She held the shovel tightly and stood silently by. Xi Lanfang carried Tu Su Yunxi on his back, with a look of confusion and embarrassment on his face.
Tu Su Minfei used a long wooden stick to gently push away the sand that had piled up into a small hill, revealing a small pit, from which he took out a few pieces of charcoal with white charcoal ash on the surface.
He carefully pinched the charcoal with his fingers, and it instantly turned into powder, with the inside so loose that it seemed to break at the touch.
In pastry making, a pastry that is this crispy would definitely be praised as a sign of superb craftsmanship. However, these charcoal blocks, which should have a certain hardness, are disappointingly crispy.
Tu Suminfei's face, which was stained beyond recognition by black ash, showed an awkward smile and said, "Grandfather, the charcoal fire failed this time. It burned too much."
The charcoal-making technique may not sound complicated, but it actually requires extremely strict control of the temperature.
If the fire is not even slightly hot enough, the core of the wood will not burn completely, and it will become a defective product. Once used to burn charcoal, the whole room will be filled with thick smoke, and such charcoal will not be sold at all.
However, going overboard can also be disastrous.
The charcoal mixed with ash was too loose and had poor burning resistance. The flames were fleeting and the heat dissipated. Naturally, no one was interested in such charcoal fire.
The pile in front of me is exactly the defective products that were overcooked.
A flash of anger crossed the old grandfather's tense face. He glanced at the old lady with a sharp gaze, and said in a heavy tone, "Before Min Fei and I went to chop wood, I specifically told you to carefully manage the fire and not to burn it too hot at once. How could you sleep so soundly in the inner room?"
The old lady's lips moved slightly, as if she wanted to argue something.
Xi Lanfang, sweat on her forehead, tried to excuse her mother-in-law: "Grandfather, please calm down. This is really my carelessness..."
"What's your business?"
The old grandfather's tone was cold and hard as he continued, "You just returned with Yunxi fetching water, and you walked into the house almost at the same time as Minfei and I. How could you have known the fire's condition?"
Xi Lanfang immediately fell silent. When Gu Yuexuan and Li Shi saw this scene, they couldn't help but stop and looked nervous.
Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, the old lady lost all dignity and face. The color instantly drained from her aged face. She gritted her teeth and said in a trembling voice, "I felt a little unwell, so I went to rest for a while. Unexpectedly, I was careless for a moment and let the fire get out of control."
"negligence?"
The old grandfather laughed in anger, "This pile of burning firewood was diligently cut by Bo'er through the night, and it was Minfei who guarded the fire until his face was blackened by the smoke. You just made a careless remark and wiped out the hard work of two children. You must remember this from now on and never be careless again!"
The old grandfather has always been gentle, but today he couldn't bear it anymore and was furious.
After his last reminder, the old lady's hands and feet were indeed a little more nimble, but the laziness and stubbornness in her bones were still difficult to eradicate, and she would be lazy whenever she could.
Today, Tu Su Minfei proposed to go into the mountains to chop firewood, and even Yu went with him to carry the firewood. The old grandfather had no choice but to temporarily hand over the task of watching the fire to the old lady.
However, she couldn't even handle such a trivial matter!
The old lady's face turned pale and she was speechless.
The old grandfather said in a cold tone, "Since it is no longer usable, all our efforts today will be wasted. We will make plans tomorrow."
He turned away without even glancing at the old lady.
The old lady was furious. She threw the shovel in her hand to the ground angrily and returned to the main house with a grim face. Her back revealed an indescribable loss and anger.
Xi Lanfang and Li were about to turn around and leave when Gu Yuexuan hurriedly ran out and took the bucket from Xi Lanfang's hand.
"Mother-in-law, it's inconvenient for you to walk with Yunxi on your back. Let me go."
Tu Su Yunxi excitedly waved her chubby little hands to Gu Yuexuan, and Gu Yuexuan gently patted her little palms.
"The rice in the pot is cooked perfectly. I'll continue cooking the other dishes when I get back. Mother-in-law, you just need to keep an eye on the heat."
Xi Lanfang handed the shoulder pole to her with some hesitation, and as they walked into the room, she reminded her worriedly, "These two buckets are very heavy when filled with water. Just carry half a bucket at a time. Remember that."
Gu Yuexuan smiled and nodded, and when Xi Lanfang entered the house, she held the burden tightly.
"Sister-in-law, please wait a moment."
"What's the matter?"
Tu Suminfei hurriedly washed the coal dust from his hands and the dust from his face, rushed to her and said, "Let me carry the water."
As soon as he finished speaking, he grabbed the bucket and the shoulder pole. When he was about to leave, he suddenly shouted, "Sister-in-law, don't move."
The words that Gu Yuexuan was about to say were suddenly stuck in her throat. She saw Tu Sumin fly up to her and stretched out his hand.
He was the same age as Gu Yuexuan, but his stature was much taller than hers. He only needed to raise his arm slightly, and his fingertips would just brush lightly against the ends of her soft hair.
Gu Yuexuan subconsciously took a step back. The corners of her mouth just turned down a little when her eyes caught the withered yellow leaves that Tu Su Minfei was gently twisting between his slender fingers.
"There's something dirty in your hair. Let me help you remove it."
Gu Yuexuan instinctively raised her hand to stroke the top of her head, then looked up and was met with Tu Su Minfei's gentle smile.
"Okay, now it's clean."
"Sister-in-law, you might as well go and rest for a while. I'll be in charge of getting water."
He was carrying two buckets of water on his shoulders and the shoulder pole in his hand was swaying unsteadily. Just as he took a few steps, he happened to meet Tu Subo who was standing at the door.
Tu Subo looked at his right hand with an unfathomable gaze, a hint of sarcasm on his lips: "Didn't Second Aunt say before that you couldn't afford it?"
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