Chapter 652 Living in the Old House
Mianmian stayed at the old house for two days, pruning the branches and plants in front and behind the house, and it quickly returned to its former appearance.
Even though no one has lived in this house for years, it remains exactly the same as it was back then.
Mianmian sat on the small swing in the yard, holding a cucumber she had brought from the Chen family next door, eating it while swinging her legs.
Chen's maternal uncle and aunt passed away a few years ago due to illness, and now Chen's cousin is in charge of the household.
Unlike his uncle and aunt, Cousin Chen was not selfish. He was not only honest and kind, but also had no ulterior motives.
However, he has not married after all these years.
When the Zhou family became wealthy, Chen's eldest uncle originally wanted to ask Zhou's mother for help, but he was too ashamed to ask her because he remembered how Zhou had forcibly seized their land in the past.
Later, the Zhou family went to the capital, and even if Uncle Chen wanted to find them, he couldn't.
Even after the two elders passed away, Cousin Chen continued to take on the responsibility.
Although Aunt Zhou initially settled here using Chen Yue'e's identity, in many people's eyes, they were still relatives.
When Cousin Chen saw Mianmian return to the old house, he treated her like his own niece, bringing her rice, oil, flowers, fruits, and vegetables.
Mianmian accepted them all, and she also very kindly shared some of the food she had brought from the capital with them.
The Zhou family's original land still exists. Doctor Xu sent people to watch over it, and every year the harvest would be brought to the estate and delivered to Aunt Zhou's home, so no grain was stored in the old house.
"Mianmian, look at this fish?" Aruo carried a basket on her back and held a large blue carp in her hand.
Mianmian stopped swinging and looked up at the big fish in his hand, which was at least half a meter long.
"What a big fish!" she exclaimed, jumping off the swing with delight. "Where did you get such a big fish?"
Aruo placed the fish in the pond beside him and wiped the sweat from his forehead.
He was very tall, with the wheat-colored skin characteristic of the Southern Barbarians. His thin white clothes were soaked by the river, and the muscle texture on his chest could be vaguely seen.
He wiped the water off his face and arms with a handkerchief and said with a smile, "In your field."
Mianmian had gone to the fields with Du Wanchun in the past, and suddenly remembered that big pond.
There are many fish in the pond.
Aruo wrung out the water from the hem of her clothes and said with a smile, "I'll make you fish soup tonight."
Mianmian nodded.
"I'll go change my clothes first," Aruo said, turning and going into the house.
He changed out of his wet clothes and put on a dark blue robe, much simpler than he usually wore in the palace.
After changing her clothes, Aruo rolled up her sleeves and went to the backyard to start a fire and cook.
He was very clever; even though he had never cooked before, he could move around when he got to the stove.
Mianmian came up behind him. "Aruo, can you make fish soup?"
Aruo nodded earnestly, "I can do it, of course I can do it."
After lighting the fire on the stove, he began washing the pots and cooking. Although his movements were clumsy, they were still correct.
When Mianmian was little, she lived with Aunt Zhou and saw Granny Zhuang cook, so she roughly knew how to cook.
She rolled up her sleeves to help.
Aruo quickly stopped her, "Princess!"
Mianmian was startled and looked up at him with a puzzled expression.
Aruo slowly stepped forward and pulled down her sleeve. "How can you touch such rough work? Let me do it."
Mianmian is not a pretentious person; kitchen matters are trivial to her.
"It's alright, I'll help you start the fire."
Aruo's eyes were filled with the same gentle tenderness he never showed. He gently pushed her out of the kitchen and said, "If you really want to help, then help me guard that fish in the yard."
"Aruo...I..." Mianmian wanted to say something, but Aruo stopped her, "Go, leave this to me."
Aruo and Mianmian always speak gently and softly, and seem to have a gentle nature, but when it comes to crucial moments, no one can control them.
For example, right now, Mianmian wanted to go help in the kitchen, but Aruo forcibly sent her to the yard.
Mianmian couldn't resist Aruo's insistence and obediently returned to the swing.
She sat on the swing, looking at the fish in the basin, her face full of smiles.
After Aruo finished cooking the rice, she rolled up her sleeves, revealing her strong and powerful arms, scooped the fish out of the basin, cleaned the fish neatly, and took it to the backyard.
Before long, the aroma of fish wafted into the house.
Mianmian quickly got off the swing.
Aruo placed the cooked fish soup on the table. "Try it and see how it tastes."
Mianmian looked at the table and saw that the fish soup was white, just like the one that Granny Zhuang used to cook.
Aruo took out a spoon, scooped up a spoonful of soup, carefully blew on it to cool it down, and handed it to her.
Mianmian lowered her head, took a bite, and then her eyes widened.
The fish soup was so delicious, it was even better than the food prepared by the imperial chefs in the palace.
She took the spoon from his hand and ate several bites in a row.
"It's delicious, really delicious."
She ate while laughing.
Aruo stared at her smiling face, slightly lost in thought, and secretly put his right hand behind his back when she wasn't paying attention.
Those hands had been scalded with several blisters while cooking the fish soup.
The swollen, red skin under the blisters was originally excruciatingly painful, but when he saw how happily Xiaomianmian was eating, he suddenly felt no pain at all.
Mianmian quickly picked up a bowl and ladled a bowl of soup for him, saying, "Aruo, you should try some too."
Aruo took it, lowered his head and took a sip; the taste was indeed quite good.
When Mianmian saw that he was eating too, her smile widened.
Aruo stood up and said, "Mianmian, you eat first. There are two more dishes, I'll go get them."
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