Wei Yuyan felt the porridge was too hot and she wouldn't be able to drink it later.
"good".
Wu Lei ladled out three bowls of pumpkin porridge and put them in a basin of water to soak; they would cool down in no time.
"I'm going to Sister Xiuhua's house in a bit, are you coming?"
Wei Yuyan was thinking of buying eggs to eat, and she thought it would be a good opportunity to chat with her sister-in-law Xiuhua.
"Go, I want to go!"
Wu Qian responded with her mouth bulging.
"I'll go too."
Wu Lei is more composed and less impatient.
"OK".
After dinner, Wei Yuyan followed the usual procedure and braided the hair of the two children.
Wu Lei is doing much better with his own hair now than before, and I estimate that he will definitely be able to do it without help in about a month.
"Alright, let's go."
Wei Yuyan took twenty copper coins out of the room and found the children drying medicinal herbs.
Generally, medicinal herbs are brought in at night and dried in the morning; otherwise, if it drizzles at night, we wouldn't even know.
"They've arrived."
Wu Lei and Wu Qian arranged the medicinal herbs evenly, then went out with Wei Yuyan.
She's been in the village for a year now, and although she doesn't know many people, she does know where Sister Xiuhua lives.
Sister-in-law Xiuhua also lives at the end of the village, though not at the very end.
They were about seven or eight households away from the Wu family.
"I don't know if Sister-in-law Xiuhua is home."
Wei Yuyan could already see the front door of her house, which appeared to be closed.
"Knock knock knock~, Sister Xiuhua."
Wu Qian jogged over and knocked on the door first.
"Oh, is that Xiaoqian? Oh, your sister-in-law is here too. Xiaolei, come in and sit down. I'm doing laundry."
Xiuhua's sister-in-law came to open the door with wet hands and was somewhat surprised to see Wei Yuyan.
The two children would sometimes come in and sit for a while when they passed by, but this was Wei Yuyan's first time here.
"I haven't even washed the clothes I showered with yesterday yet, I'm being lazy today."
Wei Yuyan then remembered that she had a lot of clothes at home. Oh well, she could wash them when she got back.
"There's no work in the fields right now, so it's a bit easier. You'll really be overwhelmed when the harvest season starts."
Sister-in-law Xiuhua invited them in to sit down while she went to wash her hands.
Wei Yuyan looked around Xiuhua's house and found it to be very well-organized.
The overall layout is similar to my own home, but it's very tidy, and the house is relatively new, probably only a few years old.
On the left is a woodshed, filled to the brim with firewood; on the right is a chicken coop, with at least six or seven chickens inside.
"Come on, have a cup of tea. I bought some tea leaves for the New Year, and there's still a little left."
Sister Xiuhe brought out four cups of water. Two cups for the children were without tea leaves, and two cups were with tea leaves. The cups were made of bamboo and polished very smooth.
"Sister-in-law, the water is sweet."
Wu Qian's eyes narrowed with laughter; it seemed that Sister-in-law Xiuhua had added sugar. Wei Yuyan realized that her family didn't have any sugar at all.
Should I buy some next time I go to the market, so I can brew some for my guests?
"Sister-in-law, you don't need to be so polite. Just drink some water."
Wei Yuyan took a sip of tea water, wondering if there were any tea trees on the mountain.
Alternatively, you can pick the tea leaves yourself, then dry and store them.
"This is your first time here, so you should get something nice to drink. Next time you'll just get plain water."
Xiuhua's sister-in-law is straightforward and says what she thinks.
"My sister-in-law always makes fun of me. I came here today to buy some eggs. None of the chicks I bought last year survived."
There were no eggs at home, and the children weren't getting enough nutrition, so I said I'd buy some for them.
Wei Yuyan was too embarrassed to say that she actually wanted to eat them too. She liked scrambled eggs, poached eggs, and steamed eggs.
"Oh, that's easy to say. I have eggs at home, but not many. My hens haven't been laying many eggs lately."
I don't know if it was because it was too cold before, but we still have fifteen at home. Do you think that's enough?
After saying that, Sister-in-law Xiuhua went to the kitchen and took out a small basket containing fifteen eggs.
"Okay, then I'll buy these fifteen first. Let's see which chicken lays the most eggs. I'll buy some more after we finish these fifteen."
Wei Yuyan thought that fifteen eggs would probably be enough to eat in a few days.
"That Aunt Fang who lives in front of my house, she has a lot of hens, and every month she goes to the market with a big basket of eggs to sell."
Sister-in-law Xiuhua pointed to a house outside the gate.
"Okay, I understand, sister-in-law. Hey, you still have some rice grains that haven't been husked. Are you saving them for the chicks?"
Wei Yuyan noticed that there was a basket of rice drying in her yard.
"No, these are seeds. We selected them last year. The weather is nice now, so we're just drying them to prevent them from getting damp and moldy."
Sister-in-law Xiuhua put the eggs aside and ruffled the rice grains a couple of times. This was the hope for the year, and she couldn't be careless.
"Oh, right, none of mine have been dried yet. Luckily you reminded me. I'll go and dry them when I get home."
Wei Yuyan suddenly realized that she would be starting to cultivate seedlings next month.
"Have lunch here, I'll cook."
Sister-in-law Xiuhua thought it was perfect; her husband had hunted a wild rabbit yesterday, and there was still half left.
"Sister-in-law Xiuhua, no need. We cooked porridge at home this morning, and I have to go home to do laundry. I'll come to see you again when I have time."
Wei Yuyan was flattered and quickly waved her hand, saying, "How could I accept this?"
"Don't be so polite. Your Wu Chen used to eat at my house all the time, so don't be so formal with me in the future."
Xiuhua's sister-in-law didn't think anything of it.
"How much are the eggs, sister-in-law? I brought the money."
Wei Yuyan was about to go back to do laundry.
"Well, fifteen eggs. My eggs are small, so I'll give you ten coins."
Eggs normally cost one coin each on the market, but Sister Xiuhua, who collects them, doesn't know how hard it is to do so, and only wants to charge ten coins.
"Oh dear, sister-in-law, you can't do that. I know they sell for one coin each in the market, but this is fifteen coins."
Wei Yuyan began counting the silver.
"So, consider this as me giving the children two eggs to eat today, and you give me thirteen coins."
Xiuhua's sister-in-law continued to haggle.
"Alright then, I can accept what you say. Xiao Lei, Qian Qian, quickly thank Sister Xiu Hua."
Wei Yuyan accepted this small favor.
"Thank you, Sister-in-law Xiuhua~".
The two little kids finished their cups of sugar water and thanked Sister-in-law Xiuhua sweetly.
"You're welcome. Come visit me whenever you have time. My husband is away from home for more than 20 days a month. He works in town, and I get very bored at home all by myself."
Sister-in-law Xiuhua saw the three people to the door, still reluctant to part.
"Okay, Sister-in-law Xiuhua, just don't find us annoying anymore."
Since Sister-in-law Xiuhua said so, Wei Yuyan decided to visit more often in the future.
"No, take care."
Sister-in-law Xiuhua didn't close the door and go home until they were far away.
"Xiao Lei, Xiao Qian, are you staying home to watch the chicks, or going out with your sister-in-law to do laundry?"
Wei Yuyan collected all three people's dirty clothes.
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