Chapter 281 The Third Valley (7)
Night fell into the Yi family's backyard, and the chill descended, but the three people huddled in the kitchen did not feel a trace of cold.
The bowl was filled with hot rice, and Boss Yi kept adding more rice with his rice spoon until the rice grains formed a small hill standing in the bowl. Then he covered it with a large piece of meat, and the rich gravy slowly flowed down, making the rice look like a snow-capped mountain illuminated by the sunset.
A pair of hands lifted the beautiful snow-capped mountain and handed it to Hua Fu. "Hurry and eat." The third sister's eyes curved slightly. Under the warm orange candlelight, her silver-gray pupils faded from their coldness and gazed at Hua Fu tenderly.
Hua Fu obediently took the bowl and felt a long-lost warmth on the inside of her palm as it touched the bowl. She looked up and smiled sweetly at her third sister: "Thank you, sister."
Boss Yi handed Hua Fu a spoon. She grasped the long back handle and gently moved the meat atop the rice. The meat was incredibly firm, with no tendons to be picked out. If she'd tried to bite directly, she'd probably have to hold it in her hands. It would have been much easier if she had chopsticks.
Hua Fu raised her head and looked around the kitchen, but didn't find any chopsticks. She only saw several long ropes hanging behind the chimney, with many large and small pieces of meat hanging on them, and several sets of clothes piled on the ground.
What do chopsticks look like? She looked away, wondering blankly.
Hua Fu squatted in a daze beside the warm stove, while Boss Yi stood on a stool, scooping out rice and chatting and laughing familiarly with the third sister.
"Third sister, you are acting like a big sister." Boss Yi put his palm on the top of the third sister's head and rubbed it hard, then placed another bowl of rice with meat in front of the third sister with a smile.
The third sister had a used expression on her face. She ignored the mess of hair on her head and leaned over the stove, sniffing the smell of meat. "It smells so good."
"Of course it smells good." Boss Yi proudly held up the seasoning jar, which contained green salt and crushed peppercorns. "I added this. You can't eat it normally."
The third sister clapped her hands and responded, "Oh, you are indeed the eldest brother."
"You kid!" Boss Yi waved the rice spoon in his hand, feeling both amused and helpless.
The three people who were reported exchanged three rewards for Sanmei and Huafu. Sanmei used two of them to exchange for the food in front of her. Boss Yi cooked the food himself and also got one for himself.
Three bowls of steaming hot rice gave off the aroma of freshly sliced meat. The fragrance did not drift out of the closed kitchen, but permeated the air under the orange-yellow light.
The chill of the night misted the windows, separating the inside and outside of the house. The three of them, each holding a full bowl of rice, squatted around the stove. The firewood in the hearth crackled softly, the flames flickered, and the three siblings smiled at each other, a truly warm family moment.
This seems to be a good idea.
Hua Fu held the rice bowl and moved to the side of the third sister until her arm was close to hers. Then she said coquettishly, "Sister, let's start eating."
"Um."
The three of them lowered their heads simultaneously, and with a sense of contented happiness, they carefully bit into the meat.
"Hmm."
Hua Fu curled up in the haystack with her eyes closed, smacking her lips and still recalling the richness of the meat from last night in her dream. With a light bite, the warm gravy splashed in her mouth.
It seemed that as long as she had that warmth, even if she just slept in the haystack, Hua Fu would no longer feel as cold as she did yesterday morning.
Of course, this is an illusion.
"Fourth sister, get up quickly."
It was her sister's voice. Hua Fu opened her eyes dazedly. It was still dark. She raised her hand and rubbed the corner of her eye with her sleeve.
Hua Fu was originally wearing a thin shirt she had received from the adults at the Unified Yanzhen Pavilion when she was five years old. Not only was it thin, but the sleeves had become significantly shorter as she grew older. Furthermore, the rips she'd accidentally torn while working had no needle and thread to mend, so the cold wind would penetrate her from all directions.
But now her sleeves and hems are thick and long enough, like a thin quilt, enough to cover her hands and feet.
This was what Sanmei had bought for Hua Fu with her third reward. Sanmei and Boss Yi secretly cut the clothes from the corpses and used bone needles to sew the clothes to the cuffs and corners.
After blinking, her eyes finally adjusted to the darkness, and Hua Fu saw the worried face of her third sister shrouded in darkness.
You have to get up before the sun comes out, otherwise you will be reported by other children for being lazy.
Hua Fu immediately woke up and sat up from the haystack, whispering with lingering fear, "Thank you, sister."
The third sister smiled slightly, put her finger to her lips and shook her head, then stood up and left Hua Fu's side. Hua Fu kept quiet and climbed out of the haystack nimbly, thinking casually while tidying it up.
I seem to have almost adapted to life here.
No, you should think like this: it’s best to adapt to the work as soon as possible, otherwise you will hold your sister back.
Hua Fu encouraged herself mentally. She arranged the haystack into a square shape for bedtime, then turned around and looked around the backyard, looking for her next task.
There were a few buckets scattered on the ground in the backyard. A large number of children were either lying on the ground or leaning against the wall, holding brushes in their hands, constantly washing the remnants of elixirs on the ground and walls. No one was looking at her.
In the cold air, the only sound was the brush brushing, "brush, brush, brush," fine and a little harsh.
Occasionally someone scooped out water from the bucket, and drops of water dripped from between their fingers onto the ground, "tap, tap".
Hua Fu walked to the water buckets and looked inside. Several buckets were empty, so she picked up an empty bucket.
"Creaky!" It was the sound of the wooden barrel rubbing against the handle, which made Hua Fu's heart skip a beat. She pursed her lips and turned to walk towards the well.
The air, shrouded in a black veil, blurred the edges of the well. The dark well mouth was like a greedy mouth that refused to close. Even if one got closer, the silent terror still lingered.
Hua Fu stood by the well and suddenly remembered that Zhou Kui drowned in this well.
It's okay. Hua Fu hesitated, then untied the short rope from the well curb, tied one end securely to the handle of the wooden bucket, then bent down and tossed the bucket into the well...
At this moment, Hua Fu suddenly felt a gust of wind blowing from behind.
The faint breeze, like someone breathing hard, brushed against the back of her neck, sending goosebumps and chills flying. Hua Fu wanted to turn around to see who it was, but it was too late.
A hand gently pressed on Hua Fu's back and pushed her into the well.
It's going to fall.
Hua Fu slipped, her eyes widened, and her heart almost stopped beating.
The bucket fell into the rippling well water, and the splashing cold water splashed on Hua Fu's face, as if it was Zhou Kui's blood.
No, I don't want to die!
Hua Fu's body hit the edge of the well hard, then stopped. She was hanging above the wellhead - someone rushed over and hugged her waist.
Was she saved?
A violent heartbeat filled her ears, and Hua Fu almost thought her heart was about to jump out of her chest. Gently placed on the ground, Hua Fu clutched the hands that had saved her and looked up. That familiar face was also staring at her with worry.
It’s my sister.
She was saved.
Shock, grievance and doubts melted away along with the sense of relief of being rescued, and Hua Fu threw herself into her third sister's arms and hugged her tightly.
First update~Thanks to Xia Ri Zhan Yu for voting for a monthly ticket~
Chapter 128 posted yesterday was blocked. I revised it once but it still hasn’t been unblocked. I have to wait two days before submitting the next application. I didn’t write anything T～T
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