Chapter 202 The Blizzard Arrives
In about an hour, a whole cartload of firewood can be loaded.
The two of them dared not stop, working back and forth, their hands and feet freezing, but their bodies were very warm. The enormous physical labor caused me to sweat profusely.
When snowflakes began to fall, six large cartloads of timber were loaded and piled into a huge stack of firewood.
Mancang was still a little worried and wanted to drag me out to continue chopping wood.
"That's enough, that's enough! We still have so much coal!"
I was so tired that I grabbed Mancang and insisted that I didn't want to go out anymore.
Seeing that I said that, Mancang felt a little relieved and stopped walking.
The final finishing touch was to cover the newly erected woodpile with a whole piece of plastic sheeting.
All preparations were completed, the gate to the courtyard was locked, and a thin layer of snow had already accumulated on the ground.
The snowflakes are especially large, some as big as a one-yuan coin, so this snowfall is bound to be substantial.
Mancang and I went back inside, took off our hats and thick clothes, our foreheads were covered in sweat, and our hair was soaked.
What an exhilarating snow training activity! I haven't felt this utterly exhausting in a long time.
Thank you, Mancang-kun!
Dragging my exhausted body, I barely managed to move to the stove, warming my frozen hands and feet, pondering what method I could use to avoid getting my hands and feet frozen next time I went out.
"Mancang, come and warm yourself by the fire."
After changing his clothes, Mancang stood in the windshield looking at the snow outside, seemingly unaffected by the cold in his hands and feet.
Mancang obediently walked over and sat next to me by the fire.
Aren't you cold?
Mancang replied slowly, "It's alright, my feet don't feel cold much."
When I heard him say that, I was startled: "What do you mean?"
"I don't know either, it's just that my toes are amazing, they don't feel cold."
I quickly checked Mancang's toes. Apart from some scars, I couldn't see any other injuries, and it seemed to have healed.
He pinched his big toe, which was full of flesh, and asked, "How does it feel?"
Mancang shook his head.
He then pinched Mancang's other toes: "How does it feel?"
"I don't feel anything..."
What does "feel nothing" mean? Does he have no feeling in his toes?
"Can't you feel me pinching your toes?"
"Yes, Aunt Cheng, you can't feel it."
I forgot about continuing to warm myself by the fire and carefully examined Mancang's feet. The blood was flowing, and the skin and flesh were intact.
I couldn't help but mutter to myself, "What's going on?"
"Oh, it's nothing. My foot has been numb for a long time. I lost feeling in it two or three years ago. I can't feel pain or hot and cold anymore."
As Mancang explained, he pulled his foot back.
I thought the problem started recently because it was frozen, but I didn't expect it had been there for a long time.
The only reason I can guess is that working outdoors for too long caused nerve damage from the cold.
This wasn't caused by one or two frostbite incidents; it's because of frequent exposure to cold.
Seeing me frowning in thought, Mancang comforted me, "Aunt Cheng, don't worry, it's a good thing that your toe doesn't hurt, and it doesn't usually have any impact."
As he spoke, he also nimbly shook his feet.
Forget it, there's no rush to fix my toe. I've been busy for so long, I need to fill my stomach first.
In just a short while, the outside world was covered in white, with a large amount of snowflakes seemingly obscuring everything outside.
Let's have hot pot!
I suddenly felt like eating hot pot.
Mancang asked in confusion, "What is hot pot?"
You'll find out in a moment.
I smiled mysteriously and turned to walk towards the kitchen.
Mancang stood up and followed me around excitedly, saying, "Then I'll help!"
Various dried vegetables are soaked in water, and frozen beef and pork are sliced directly into meat rolls using a slicer.
There really was something Mancang could do to help. He picked some fresh, tender green vegetables from the vegetable basin and let Mancang carefully select and clean them.
Then find a bag of frozen vegetables in the back room, and try them out later to see which tastes better, fresh or frozen.
Knead another dough ball, cut it into hand-rolled noodles, and we'll have hot pot noodles as our main dish later.
After I finished cooking the hot pot base, Mancang had also picked out the vegetables and prepared the dipping sauce, so we started our hot pot on this snowy day.
The ingredients for the hot pot were placed directly on the stove, and the two of them sat on chairs around the stove to eat hot pot.
With some chili peppers in the broth, Mancang kept hissing and praising how delicious the hot pot was.
The rich aroma of oil and chili permeated the entire kitchen. The fresh greens were tender and delicious, while the frozen greens were crisp and chewy—absolutely delicious.
Outside, snow was falling heavily, while inside, the hot pot beef was coated in a thick layer of sesame sauce. Taking a bite was the authentic taste of winter.
Mancang was completely won over by the taste of the hot pot, and couldn't stop eating it, one bite after another.
"Aunt Cheng, hot pot is the most delicious thing I've ever eaten in the world!"
The soft and flavorful noodles brought out the end of our hot pot meal, and both Mancang and I were sweating profusely from eating.
I slumped in my chair, not wanting to move, while Mancang diligently washed the pots and pans and tidied everything up.
It's as if I'm not raising a doll, but a robot that can help me with chores.
"Go take a shower. Your wounds are almost healed. A shower will make you feel better."
Since Mancang came to our home, aside from cleaning his arms and legs when we wash his wounds, he hasn't had a proper bath yet.
Mancang was slightly taken aback; judging from his appearance, he probably hadn't taken a bath much.
After explaining how to use the showerhead and the shower gel for shampooing and bathing in the bathroom, Mancang hesitated before taking his first shower.
I took off all the used sheets and duvet covers from the bed and replaced them with new ones. The old sheets and duvet covers also needed to be washed.
Twenty minutes later, the bathroom door opened, and a little boy walked out in the steam, looking much more vibrant than before.
I threw his old sheets and duvet cover into the washing machine, and then I took a nice, long hot shower.
When they returned to the east room, Mancang was already rolling around on his new bed sheets and blankets.
Seeing me enter the room, Mancang said happily, "It feels so good to take a bath, Aunt Cheng. My clothes feel softer and the sheets and blankets smell nice too."
"You should live like this from now on; this is what a normal person's life should be like."
Every time I help Mancang change a lifestyle habit and see him happily accept it, I feel a great sense of satisfaction.
I hope this child can truly become happier and happier under my influence.
Amidst Mancang's tentative pleas, I found him another animated film.
He was watching "Up" in his own bed, while I was watching "My Sunshine" in my own bed.
We can enjoy our freedom without interfering with each other.
After eating hot pot, my mouth was probably a bit dry, so I found two bags of expired milk tea and made two cups.
For Mancang, this was another delicacy in the world.
I sipped the milk tea so slowly that I didn't want to swallow it.
Sipping milk tea and watching cartoons, he was so happy his tail was practically wagging in the air, and it was hard to connect him with the little boy who worked hard during the day.
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