There was no need for formalities between him and Xiao Mengjie. He took the sweet potato from her and ate it slowly, bite by bite.
"Mengjie, how is your mother?"
While munching on half a sweet potato, Xiao Jian asked Xiao Mengjie.
Xiao Mengjie smiled and sat down next to them.
“My mother is much better now. I took her to a big hospital in the county last time, and the doctor prescribed some medicine. Now that she's taking it, she doesn't fuss as much.”
Xiao Weiguo had left her a large sum of money last time, and when she had some free time, she took her mother to a big hospital as Xiao Weiguo had suggested.
“Now, when I cook, she can help me light the fire, and she can also do laundry when she has nothing to do. But I’m afraid something will happen to her again, so I don’t dare let her go out.”
During this period, Gu Meiying's condition improved a lot, and she was basically able to take care of herself, which saved Xiao Mengjie a lot of trouble.
"That's good, otherwise it would be too hard for you to work alone."
Tiger replied with a touch of pity. His gaze towards Xiao Mengjie was full of tenderness, as if he had forgotten that his own background was even more tragic than hers.
Even if Gu Meiying is crazy, Xiao Mengjie still has a mother, but Hu Zi has no relatives other than Xiao Jian's family as friends.
Xiao Mengjie seemed reluctant to talk about her family affairs. After exchanging a few words with Xiao Jianhu, she rolled up her sleeves.
"I didn't have anything to do at home today, so I came here specifically to help you with the chores."
Xiao Changsuo only gave her two mu of melon patch initially, and the melons haven't even grown yet; they'll be ready to harvest in a few more days. Tiger and Xiao Jian often help with the weeding, so she doesn't need to do much work at all.
Xiao Jian quickly stood up and stopped her.
"No need, Tiger and I can finish this job in less than a day."
But Xiao Mengjie had already taken the sack and started breaking the corn cobs one by one.
Seeing this, the two of them stopped being polite to her and each picked up their tools to get to work together.
With an extra help, the progress was naturally much faster. The cornfield, which was originally planned to take a day to harvest, was mostly cleared in just one afternoon.
The cart also carried a dozen or so large burlap sacks, filled with golden corn cobs.
Once these barleycorns are brought home and dried for a few days, they can be shredded and stored in the warehouse.
Xiao Jian straightened up, looked at the morning's harvest, and felt a great sense of accomplishment.
"Alright, stop breaking it, or we won't be able to pull it anymore."
The dozen or so large sacks weighed a good seven or eight hundred pounds, which was already the limit of the cart. There were no good roads in the fields, and dragging a cart full of sticks back was not an easy task.
The three men loaded the vehicle, and Hu Zi set up the cart.
Don't let his shorter stature fool you; he's much stronger than Xiao Jian. He's the short, stocky, and powerful type.
In addition, I have been working hard to exercise during this period, and I am determined to learn the skill of Jiao Bai.
He's like a little bull right now.
In terms of fighting, even one or two ordinary people wouldn't be a match for him.
Xiao Jian and Xiao Mengjie pushed hard from behind, while Hu Zi pulled from the front, as they slowly walked home along the path leading to the Tian family's house.
Even a strong man like Tiger would find it very difficult to pull such a heavy load.
The three of them exerted a lot of effort and rested several times along the way before finally managing to drag the cart to Xiao Jian's house.
Xiao Jian stepped forward, opened the door, and pulled the cart into the yard. Bags of corn were dumped in the middle of the yard. They would need to be dried here for a few days before threshing, otherwise they would get moldy and sprout if they were too wet.
After finishing everything, the three of them finally had time to rest. They sat together by the stone platform in the courtyard, where Xiao Jian poured them a few glasses of water, and they drank and rested.
After sitting for a while, Xiao Mengjie looked up at the sky and realized it was getting late, so she got up to say goodbye.
After helping with physical labor all morning, how could Xiao Jian and the other man let her go back like this?
"Mengjie, don't leave. Come eat with us later. Call your aunt over too, so you don't have to cook."
In rural areas, it's common for people to eat at someone else's house when helping each other out.
Even if they don't help, neighbors will occasionally share a meal with each other, which is not a problem and no one cares.
If a child from one family goes to someone else's house to play and it happens to be mealtime, the host will usually feed the child a few mouthfuls of rice.
"Oh, you two are treating me to dinner? I've heard your cooking isn't very good."
Xiao Mengjie had long heard about their cooking skills, and usually just ate whatever was available. If it weren't for Xiao Shanshan and Zhang Huihui staying with them recently, they would have had a hard time getting a decent meal.
Seeing that Xiao Mengjie didn't trust their cooking skills, Hu Zi became unhappy.
"Who said that? We've both made great progress. You can try it later if you don't believe me."
Xiao Jian, who was standing next to him, was stunned.
Has there been any progress? I don't know.
"Okay, then I really want to try it."
Xiao Mengjie seemed to be deliberately making trouble for them, and plopped down next to the stone platform again.
"Come on, Brother Jian, let's broaden the little girl's horizons."
Tiger pulled Xiao Jian toward the kitchen.
Once in the kitchen, Xiao Jian plopped down in front of the pot, ready to start a fire and watch Hu Zi's performance.
Tiger was a step too slow and missed getting a spot to start the fire, leaving him dumbfounded.
"Brother Jian, why don't you do it?"
Xiao Jian shook his head like a peddler's drum.
"My specialty is boiling everything in hot water. Tiger, you should do it. I'm afraid my cooking will poison Mengjie."
Tiger turned his head to look outside, and Xiao Mengjie had already followed him to the kitchen door.
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