Chapter 11
When he got home, Zhou Yao said he had to go out for something.
Wen Yue, who was alone at home, took off the sheets and quilt covers in the double room and threw them into the basin. She should have washed them yesterday, but she didn't remember to do it.
The wooden basin was large and heavy. She dragged it to the center of the yard with great effort. She went in and out of the kitchen with a wooden ladle to scoop water, and her legs were sore from walking.
I really miss my fully automatic washing machine.
Wen Yue held her aching waist with her hands and sighed. She was about to add more water to the basin when she saw Zhou Yao push open the gate and walk in with a cooked chicken in his hand.
She stared at the chicken with some curiosity: "Where did the chicken come from?"
Zhou Yao replied lazily: "I stole it from someone else's house to give you some nutrition. So what do you think? Am I being nice to you?"
Wen Yue was too lazy to pay attention to him and turned to go into the kitchen to scoop some water.
Zhou Yao strode into the kitchen and casually placed the chicken on the chopping board. He watched her carry water again and again, feeling somewhat displeased, and snatched the wooden ladle from her hand.
"I'll come, you stand aside."
He went straight to the wooden barrel, filled the barrel with water, easily carried it to the yard and poured it into the wooden basin. He squatted beside it, picked up the bed sheet, rubbed it twice and planned to wring it dry.
Wen Yue was shocked: "Are you done washing now?"
Zhou Yao raised his eyebrows: "Just rub it twice."
As an old man, he didn't care about these things. When Grandma Zhou was alive, he would occasionally help with the washing. After she passed away, Zhou Yao's life became very rough.
Most rural men are like this. In comparison, he is already lucky because at least he takes a bath every day.
In the original owner's memory, uncle Wen Guoqiang only took a bath once a week. He would be a little more diligent in the summer, but then he would take a bath once every two days.
Wen Yue couldn't accept it at all.
She raised her hand and pushed Zhou Yao: "Let me do it, you just help me fetch water."
Zhou Yao glanced at her, probably thinking of her cleanliness obsession, and stood up, swinging his hands and carrying the wooden bucket, and walked towards the kitchen.
She secretly complained that Wen Yue's life was even more complicated and troublesome than that of the girls in the city.
But he didn't say it, for fear that she would cry again and be upset.
Wen Yue squatted beside the wooden basin, holding a small piece of soap in her hand and rubbed it on the sheets a few times, scrubbing them back and forth vigorously.
She washed very seriously, but her legs became numb and uncomfortable after squatting for too long.
Zhou Yao moved the small stool in front of the kitchen stove and placed it next to her: "Sit down and wash."
"Thank you." Wen Yue was stunned for a moment, then slowly stood up and sat on the stool. His legs finally felt better.
With Zhou Yao helping her, she washed fairly quickly. After washing twice, she called Zhou Yao over to help her squeeze it dry.
Wen Yue meant that they each picked up one side and twisted it in opposite directions.
Zhou Yao was annoyed, so he picked up the heavy wet bed sheet and twisted it with a little force, causing a splashing sound of water.
He exerted force on his arms, and his muscles lifted up his sleeves. The protruding blue veins on the back of his hands looked a little bit sharp, but his face still had a relaxed expression.
Looking at the sheets and quilts hanging on the clothesline and fluttering in the wind, Wen Yue nodded with satisfaction.
It was approaching noon.
She thought of the chicken Zhou Yao brought back and asked, "Chicken for lunch?"
"It's up to you." Zhou Yao answered casually.
Wen Yue thought for a moment and said, "Then let's have it at night, half stewed and half braised. For lunch, we'll have braised pork, which is my specialty."
This was her reward to Zhou Yao for helping her get the land back.
Zhou Yao glanced at her slightly smug expression, and felt some anticipation in his heart. He licked his lips and said, "Okay, I'll light the fire."
Wen Yue: "I remember there is brown sugar in the cupboard, can you help me get it out?"
It is best to use rock sugar for braised pork, but if we don’t have it at home, brown sugar will do.
"OK."
Zhou Yao agreed, walked two steps into the room and then stopped, "Let's fry all the meat at home. Leave half of it for Yeliang and Laofang to taste."
Wen Yue had no opinion on this and only asked, "Are they the two people who came to our house the day before yesterday?"
"Yeah." Zhou Yao stared at her. Seeing that she didn't say anything after asking, his brows furrowed again and he said in a low voice: "Do you have any opinions about them?"
Wen Yue was confused by the question: "Why should I have any opinion about them?"
She just asked casually.
Zhou Yao lowered his eyes and sneered, "Because they have a bad reputation."
Wen Yue was curious: "How bad is it? Worse than you?"
Zhou Yao: “.”
He thought about it carefully and said, "No."
Knowing that Wen Yue really didn't care, his face returned to normal, and he sat in front of the stove and said lazily, "They are not lucky."
Fang Shitao's father passed away early.
When he was fifteen, his mother ran away with a strange man, leaving behind his younger sister who was less than two years old and his grandmother who was in her fifties.
The fifteen-year-old boy was as thin as a bamboo pole and often stole crops from the villagers' fields. One time, he was so hungry that he ran to Zhou Yao's house to steal food, but was discovered and beaten by Zhou Yao.
When he was beaten, he was still holding two sweet potatoes tightly in his arms, saying that he would take them back to his grandmother and sister to eat. Zhou Yao saw that he was in a miserable state, so he beat him twice and let him go, and threw him a few sweet potatoes before leaving.
Later, Fang Shitao often followed Zhou Yao. Zhou Yao seemed to dislike him very much, but secretly he often brought food to Grandma Fang and Xiaomei Fang.
Ren Yeliang wasn't much better.
There are three boys in the Ren family, and he is the middle one.
Dad favored the first-born brother, and mom favored the smart and sweet-talking younger brother. Ren Yeliang was very embarrassed and didn't like anyone. Moreover, his brothers and sisters were afraid that he would steal his parents' love, and they bullied him. Once, he was almost pressed to death in the river by the two of them, and it was Zhou Yao who picked him up.
As a result, Zhou Yao had two followers following him, and they followed him for several years.
In fact, the three of them didn't do anything bad in the village, but Zhou Yao had a bad temper, Fang Shitao had stolen things before, Ren Yeliang was slandered by his brothers, and they didn't go to the fields to work and ran out every few days.
In the eyes of the villagers, this was evidence of idleness, and his reputation naturally became bad. Everyone would sternly warn their children not to associate with Zhou Yao and the other two, lest they be influenced astray.
"Ah, then they are indeed quite pitiful." Wen Yue even slowed down the speed of cutting meat, and a look of obvious sympathy appeared on her fair little face.
Zhou Yao stopped talking, his lips were pursed into a straight line, and there was a hint of doubt in his dark eyes.
He didn't quite understand why he said these things.
Would Wen Yue dislike giving up? Is it important to him?
It doesn't matter at all.
After reaching this conclusion, Zhou Yao simply changed the topic: "When will the fire start?"
"You can grill it now." Wen Yue had just finished cutting the meat and put it into a yellow enamel bowl and placed it on the stove.
After the pan is heated, start frying the sugar color. When the sugar color is done, add the meat and stir-fry with a spatula: "Turn up the fire."
Zhou Yao stuffed two more bundles of dry firewood into the stove.
The temperature in the kitchen rose and beads of sweat appeared on Wen Yue's face.
Zhou Yao, who was closest to the heat source, was also feeling extremely hot. He took off his dark blue coat and put on a white vest, revealing his strong arms. When he turned to get firewood, his muscles bulged, and the vest was soaked with sweat and stuck to his body.
His hair had probably not been trimmed for a long time, and his bangs were a little long, covering his eyebrows.
He reached out and impatiently lifted his bangs, revealing his dark and just-right messy eyebrows. He lowered his eyes, looking handsome in a wild manner.
Wen Yue inadvertently glanced at it and couldn't help but look at it several times. Her mood, which was originally depressed due to the heat, immediately improved a lot.
The advantages of having a handsome partner are now apparent.
If this had been an ugly one, Wen Yue couldn't imagine how angry she would have been.
She looked away and said, "Turn down the heat."
Then put the lid on the pot and simmer for another half an hour.
At this time, the aroma from the pot could no longer be covered up. It seeped out through the cracks, filling the entire room and going straight into people's noses.
Zhou Yao's greed was aroused, and he frowned when he heard this: "Another half an hour?"
"Yeah, it tastes better if it's stewed longer. Are you hungry?" Wen Yue blinked and looked over, smiling, "How about eating some rice cakes to fill your stomach first?"
When she smiled, her eyes curved into crescent shapes and sweet smiles appeared at the corners of her mouth.
Zhou Yao: "...No, it'll only take half an hour. I can wait."
Although he said this, his expression was obviously uglier than before.
Wen Yue wanted to laugh again.
In addition to the braised pork, she also prepared mapo tofu and stir-fried green vegetables, and the rice had already been steamed.
Time flies, and half an hour goes by in the blink of an eye in the busyness.
The two families next door also came back from the fields. They made quite a lot of noise, and Wen Yue vaguely heard her own name and Zhou Yao's name.
She ignored him and lifted the lid of the pot. The unique aroma of the braised pork wafted out crazily, so fragrant that Wen Yue couldn't help swallowing.
Wen Yue took out a pair of chopsticks and poked the meat in the pot, easily piercing it: "Add more heat and simmer for a few more minutes. It will be almost done."
Zhou Yao picked up the dry firewood and stuffed it into the stove.
Suddenly, a piece of red meat with fat and lean parts appeared in front of him. He raised his eyelids and saw the little girl looking at him with a smile, holding the meat with chopsticks in her hand, and coaxing her like a child: "Try it."
Zhou Yao sneered inwardly: What if he was just a three-year-old kid?
Then he leaned forward very honestly, took a bite, and the juice overflowed into his mouth. The tender and smooth meat fell apart at the slightest touch, as if it melted in his mouth.
A little sweet, but not greasy at all.
Zhou Yao's dark eyes brightened up, and he pretended to be calm: "Not bad."
This is actually a subconscious act of warmth.
In her previous life, when she was cooking at home, if there were people around, they were usually her best friends, who would pester her and ask her to taste the food, and then she would take a bite with her chopsticks. Over time, she got used to it.
The moment she stretched out the chopsticks, she was actually stunned.
But seeing Zhou Yao's calm face, she pretended nothing had happened and took back her chopsticks: "It's just okay? Then I won't make this dish next time. You don't look like you like it."
Zhou Yao: “…”
Zhou Yao: “It’s delicious.”
Wen Yue's eyes curved: "Do you like it? If not, I won't make it."
Zhou Yao was silent for a moment, then uttered two words awkwardly: "...like." His face was slightly distorted, as if someone was holding a knife to his neck.
Wen Yue was about to laugh out loud when she saw his expression, thinking that this man was really awkward. She stopped when she saw that it was good enough, and didn't continue teasing him. Thinking that it was almost time, she took out the pot, fried another two dishes, and asked Zhou Yao to bring them into the house.
Wen Yue simply tidied the stove and scooped a few ladles of water into the pot.
The fire in the stove is still on, perfect for boiling water for washing dishes later.
Wen Yue Shengfan walked out of the kitchen and happened to meet Lin Fang and Liu Cuicui.
She ignored Lin Fang and smiled friendly at Liu Cuicui, who looked at her with a complicated look and also smiled.
Lin Fang next to her rolled her eyes almost to the sky, her eyes filled with hatred and jealousy.
Wen Yue turned and went into the room.
Lin Fang was so angry that she complained to Liu Cuicui: "Look at this damn girl's attitude. I am her elder and she didn't even say hello to me!"
Liu Cuicui sighed: "What can I do? Just be quiet. Do you still want to be punished by Zhou Yao?"
Lin Fang's expression was still angry, but her voice was a little softer: "Did you hear that Zhou Yao gave this much as a betrothal gift?"
She made a one.
"One thousand dollars! A full one thousand dollars!!"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
