Li Xunli walked to the stove and saw the chopped green peppers and the finely beaten egg mixture. She then found a damp kitchen cloth, covered the casserole lid, and lifted it to look inside.
The thick, fragrant potato and chicken wing stew lay glistening in the clay pot.
The aroma of mushroom and chicken soup wafting from the pressure cooker next to it was even more enticing.
"You...you did all this?" Li Xunli still couldn't believe it. "Didn't your father come back?"
Shen Qingqing shook her head proudly: "Of course not! I did it all by myself. I got home at 4:30. How about that? Aren't I amazing!"
Shen Qingqing said earnestly and sincerely, "Mom, look, I've grown up. I can not only cook, but I can also take good care of my younger sister. Although I can't take care of my younger brother yet, he is being well taken care of at Grandma's house."
“Dad comes home after get off work, so it’s not just the two of us sisters at home at night.”
"You going to work in Shancheng will be no problem at all!"
Li Xunli's eyes were slightly red, and she looked at Shen Qingqing with mixed feelings.
Not long after, Shen Rongzhou returned, bringing good news that the contract had been successfully signed and that the company was reliable.
When she learned from Li Xunli that Shen Qingqing could actually cook, she was so surprised that she couldn't stop smiling.
"She truly is my daughter!"
Shen Qingqing sat down at the table in a good mood and forcefully took over the task of taking care of Shen Yangyang's meals from her mother.
"Delicious! Sister is amazing!" Shen Yangyang grabbed chicken wings with both hands and ate them until her cheeks were covered in mashed potatoes.
In fact, Shen Yangyang is already four years old and can eat by herself. The only problem is that she can't reach the food with her chopsticks.
Since giving birth, Li Xunli hasn't had a proper meal at the dinner table in a long time.
After dinner, Shen Rongzhou went to wash the dishes, and Shen Qingqing volunteered to give Shen Yangyang a bath.
The weather is still terribly hot, so Shen Qingqing wasn't worried about Shen Yangyang catching a cold when she bathed her, which is why she dared to take on this job.
Li Xunli, however, was not at ease. The bathroom floor was slippery, and it would be a big problem if the two children fell while playing in there.
She wanted to stop her, but Shen Rongzhou understood why his daughter had suddenly changed so much. He sighed that he hadn't tried hard enough and stopped Li Xunli: "Just let Qingqing try. She's seven years old. When we were seven, didn't we cut the grass to feed the pigs and geese?"
“But…” Li Xunli wanted to say something more.
Without saying a word, Shen Qingqing picked up Shen Yangyang and went into the bathroom.
Li Xunli stood at the bathroom door, listening to the sounds of the two sisters playing and laughing inside, occasionally accompanied by exclamations, but there was no heart-wrenching crying.
Li Xunli didn't have to wait long before Shen Qingqing pushed Shen Yangyang out, who had given her a bath just like usual.
Shen Qingqing raised her head: "Mom, you can rest assured now!"
Tears welled up in Li Xunli's eyes, and she nodded repeatedly with a complicated expression.
She thought that her daughter's change was ultimately due to the family's lack of money, and she should not hesitate any longer. For the sake of her hardworking daughter, she had to give it a try!
Shen Qingqing's actions were very effective; her mother decided to accept the job in Shancheng!
When Li Xunli went to pick up Shen Hong from her grandmother's house that evening, she took the initiative to talk to Li Xunjin about work.
"Sister, I'll go to Shancheng with you this Saturday and Sunday to look into that job." Li Xunjin was very interested in this matter after learning that his sister had agreed to go.
Li Yuxing added, "Since you're going to Shancheng, why not visit your aunt and uncle on the way? They've lived in Shancheng for a long time, and they might be able to help."
Li Xunjin thought about it and agreed.
Shen Qingqing listened carefully to what Li Xunjin said, desperately trying to recall if Li Xunjin had a classmate like this in her previous life.
This is a very important change for her mother; she doesn't want anything to go wrong.
"Uncle, is the college classmate you mentioned the Uncle Hong who invited you to his wedding banquet last year?" Shen Qingqing thought back on the few friends she could barely remember around her uncle and decided to ask them one by one.
Li Xunjin paused for a moment, then laughed, "No, do you remember that chubby uncle who wore glasses and always liked to pinch your cheeks?"
Fat, glasses, and a sculpted face—with all three elements present, Shen Qingqing remembered who this person was without breaking a sweat.
Shen Qingqing lived with her maternal grandparents (who were also her uncles) until she was six years old. Before Li Chunchun was born, she was the only child in both families.
So when many of her uncle's friends came to visit, they always liked to tease her.
One of the worst was this chubby uncle with glasses, who kept pinching her face, making Shen Qingqing angry, and then he would pinch her face again!
The key point is that this person looks fierce and is very strong, so young Shen Qingqing had no chance to dodge him.
When the child asked an adult for help, the adult thought it was just a joke and didn't take it seriously at all.
Later, after this uncle started his own business, he really didn't come around as often.
But childhood trauma can't be erased overnight. Even after growing up in her previous life, Shen Qingqing was still terrified of this type of man: "Is this the uncle's company that Mom is going to?"
Seeing that her expression was a little off, Li Xunjin chuckled, knowing that she had remembered. "Right, how could I dare to introduce a classmate I'm not very close to to your mother?"
Now, Li Xunli knew which of her brother's classmates it was.
Because we had visited each other frequently before and everyone in our families knew each other, the atmosphere immediately became relaxed.
Shen Qingqing secretly called her uncle away, and the two of them went upstairs one after the other.
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