226. Expert at picking up trash
Lin Fuman's place was not big; it consisted of a small courtyard, a room, and a kitchen.
There wasn't even a place for the old gatekeeper to stay, but fortunately, the Marquis of Beiding's mansion provided enough money for an inn.
In the small open space of the yard, there were piles of planes and saws of all sizes, several stacks of wood of varying thicknesses in the corner, and the ground was littered with all sorts of random things.
Some were failures, and some were half-finished products.
"Little Moon!" A clear voice came from the corner, and Lin Fuman, carrying a small iron hammer, nimbly ran over the obstacle.
The little dumpling was stunned again.
The person in front of me, with black clothes, black hands, and a black face, was actually the exquisite and beautiful Sister Fufu from the former Duke Anguo's mansion.
"Why are you here? Oh, that's not important! Come and see my newly made charcoal bars, they're much stronger than before!" Lin Fuman ran to the stove again, where an iron box was placed, emitting wisps of steam.
The little dumpling trudged across with difficulty, one step at a time.
Things were piled up everywhere, some of them very old, and some of the ironware was even rusted.
Fortunately, everything was clean and there was no strange smell.
The little dumpling steadied herself and exhaled, "Phew, Sister Fufu, Yue'er just saw everyone in town using the charcoal pencils you invented!"
“Yes, I’m currently trying to find ways to further improve it and make the charcoal pencil more durable.” Lin Fuman pointed to a metal box on the side.
The little dumpling leaned closer to look and saw several pieces of dark charcoal sticks inside the tin box, which looked much denser than usual.
The little dumpling then turned its gaze to Lin Fuman and reached out to pull her.
"Oh, my hands are dirty." Lin Fu tried to avoid it, but the little dumpling insisted on holding her back.
Her fair and tender little hands also turned black.
The little dumpling's eyes welled up with tears: "Sister Fufu, you..."
In just a short time, Sister Fufu has lost weight and gotten darker.
Her hands have become much rougher.
"Oh, don't cry, don't cry. Even though my house is dilapidated, I'm very happy." But Lin Fuman is still the same Lin Fuman, optimistic, confident, and cheerful.
"What happened, Sister Fufu?" The little dumpling sniffed.
"Well, it's a long story..."
Lin Fuman didn't have much money to begin with, and after paying the rent, she didn't have much left.
In addition, the need to allocate a large amount of resources to research has made their already meager living even more difficult.
Fortunately, Lin Fuman was skilled in survival skills, and without the constraints of rules, etiquette, and status, she completely let go of herself.
I go out for a stroll now and then, and if I come across any unwanted little trinkets on the way, I pick them up and recycle them.
They would excitedly rummage through any trash can they came across, and occasionally they would go to the market to pick up some unwanted vegetables.
...Although she was quite content with herself, others always looked at her with pity.
Especially after she shared her charcoal pencil making method for free, people would stop her from picking up trash every now and then and invite her to dinner with pitying eyes.
...But she really loves picking up trash.
So, what started as openly picking up trash eventually turned into secretly picking up trash.
"...It's a long story, so I'd better not go into it." Although Lin Fuman was quite enjoying herself, most people would think she was pitiful and that the little dumpling would probably cry.
The little dumpling was even more upset, but luckily Lin Fu's stomach rumbled just in time.
She scratched her head and changed the subject: "I was so focused on making the charcoal sticks that I forgot the time. Wait for me, I'll make you something delicious!"
As she spoke, she rolled up her sleeves, revealing her slender arms: "Yesterday, the old lady next door brought me some pork and flour, and the cabbages in the yard are ripe too. Let's go pick some vegetables and make dumplings for lunch!"
She didn't give the little girl a chance to react at all, and pulled her to the water tank to wash her face and hands clean.
It would have been better if she hadn't washed it, because once she did, all the large and small scars on her face, hands, and arms were exposed.
Burns, cuts, lacerations, and various bruises.
The little dumpling's nose tingled: "Wow—"
"Don't cry," Lin Fu hurriedly comforted her. "I did it myself, really. It's just manual labor, it's normal."
The little dumpling was still very sad.
Lin Fuman thought for a moment, then handed her a bamboo basket and led her to the vegetable garden.
The little dumpling's feet left the ground and its head went blank.
“Little Moon, look, this is the cabbage we’re going to eat today,” Lin Fuman released the little dumpling’s hand, squatted down, and gently patted a plump cabbage with her little hand. “Choose the kind that grows tightly and has white leaves; those are the best.”
The vegetable garden is really small, but it's packed full of vegetables.
This was left behind by the landlord. Lin Fuman took it over and took good care of it, and it became one of her main sources of food.
The little dumpling's feet returned to the ground, and her eyes, still wet with tears, were drawn to the attention.
"Come on, let me teach you how to pick it." Lin Fuman selected a cabbage, held the root of the cabbage with her small hand, twisted it slightly, and then pulled it upwards. The whole cabbage was then held firmly in her arms.
The little boy stared intently, tears still clinging to his eyelashes.
"Little Moon, why don't you try it?" Lin Fuman pointed to a smaller cabbage for the little dumpling.
"Oh..." The little dumpling nodded blankly, her actions faster than her thoughts. She stretched out her two little hands and hugged the cabbage tightly, just like Lin Fuman did. Then she used all her strength, and her little face turned red.
The cabbage was slightly loose, but it couldn't be pulled out.
She looked at Lin Fuman with some helplessness.
"Little Moon is so strong! You almost succeeded!" Lin Fuman immediately encouraged, then placed her little hand over the little dumpling's hand, "Let me help you, one, two, three... Heave-ho!"
With their combined effort, the little bok choy finally emerged from the soil.
The little dumpling, holding the cabbage, stumbled and almost fell on its bottom.
"Little Moon is so great! Look, we picked these together!" Lin Fuman took the heavy cabbage, put it in the basket, and then reached out to help the little girl brush off the specks of dirt stuck to her skirt.
The little dumpling has a lot on its head, it's a bit overloaded right now, and it looks a little dazed.
Lin Fuman looked at the little dumpling with a maternal smile.
In her eyes, the little dumpling is an adorable, fragrant, and soft glutinous rice dumpling.
She picked up the small bamboo basket and took the little dumpling's hand again: "Let's go, Little Moon, let's go wash the vegetables!"
The kitchen was small and very simple, almost to the point of being rudimentary.
Beneath the tall stove was a small stool, its four legs and the board made of different old and new materials pieced together.
Lin Fuman stepped onto a small stool, just enough to reach the stove.
She rolled up her sleeves and was earnestly teaching the little girl how to wash cabbage.
"Little Moon, look, you have to do it like this: break the leaves apart one by one and wash them in the water with a splash..." Lin Fuman's little hands moved nimbly.
Below, Lin Fuman moved a small basin for her to play with.
The little dumpling imitated her, her chubby little hands tightly clutching a cabbage leaf, stirring it haphazardly in the water, splashing water droplets all over her face. But she tilted her long eyelashes, still wet with water droplets, and looked at Sister Fufu with bright eyes: "Is Yue'er doing it right?"
"Yes! Little Moon is so smart!" Lin Fuman bent down and gently wiped the water droplets from the tip of her nose with her fingertips. "See, the dirt is washed away."
After washing the vegetables, Lin Fuman picked up the kitchen knife, which was a bit heavy for her.
The little dumpling stood on tiptoe, her little hands gripping the edge of the table, watching intently as she skillfully shredded the cabbage and then chopped it up with a thud.
"Come on, Little Moon, help me put this in the bowl." Lin Fuman handed a small handful of chopped cabbage to the little dumpling's palm.
The little dumpling was carefully moved to the edge of the basin as if it were a precious treasure, solemnly placed inside, and then let out a long sigh of relief, as if it had completed a great task.
"Little Moon is truly my best helper!"
Next, mix the filling.
Lin Fu held the little dumpling's hand and together they used chopsticks to stir the cabbage and minced meat in the bowl.
"You need to spin around, like this... that's it!"
The air was gradually filled with the fresh aroma of pork and the clean scent of cabbage.
Then comes kneading the dough, wrapping the dumplings, boiling water, putting them in the pot, taking them out of the pot, and eating the dumplings...
After finishing a bowl of dumplings, the little dumpling leaned back in her chair, her round little belly full, and let out a satisfied burp.
This bowl of cabbage and pork dumplings was exceptionally fragrant. The rich, oily pork mixed with the sweetness of the cabbage made every bite warm and comforting. She even drank every last drop of the broth.
"It's so delicious!" The little dumpling patted its tummy, thinking it was incredibly tasty.
It must be because she participated in the labor too!
She lazily basked in the sun, but as she did so, her mind started working again, and she remembered the important matter at hand.
"Sister Fufu, Yue'er has something to say."
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