Chapter 92 Sweet Potato Soup
Aunt Zhang was surprised that Gu Xixi insisted on building the stable herself.
She glanced towards the backyard and whispered, "Didn't you say that we don't keep idle people in our family? If he's willing to work, just let him do it?"
Gu Xixi's eyes flickered. She couldn't possibly say, "Letting that guy do the work will cause the wound to split open and it's not worth it."
"It's different now. He works as a teacher to earn a living, not just sitting around and eating idle meals."
"Besides, he owes several classes on this trip we're away."
"I told him to concentrate on preparing for class and not do any heavy work for the next few days."
Aunt Zhang understood, "Okay, he chopped a lot of firewood before, so it's enough for the time being."
Not long after, Shitou, Gou Wa and a few other friends ran into the yard.
"Sister Xixi! Is Sister Xixi back?"
Gu Xixi was marking out a spot for the stable and agreed casually, "It's here!"
The horse was tied to a wooden post in the mule shed, and the children went crazy with excitement when they saw the horse.
"This is the horse! So tall! So big!"
"Its legs are so long, it must be faster than the village chief's donkey!"
"I have seen horses. The door gods ride horses! They are so majestic when they ride horses!"
Shitou ran up to Gu Xixi, happy and proud, "We heard outside that Sister Xixi and Mr. Chen are back, and they brought a horse with them!"
"Everyone wants to see what a real horse looks like, so I brought them here."
Gu Xixi smiled and said, "Look at it as you like, but don't touch it. Horses also have tempers."
"If you make it impatient, be careful that it will kick you."
Shitou nodded, "Okay, I'll tell them that they can only look but not touch!"
Shitou ran over quickly to say a few words to his friend, then ran back quickly to Xixi.
"What is Sister Xixi drawing?"
After Gu Xixi drew the last white line, she straightened up and said, "Build the stable at this location."
Stone's eyes rolled and he came up with a good idea.
There are still a lot of wood stored by Gu Baopi when he was alive at home.
Gu Xixi and Aunt Zhang went to the backyard to move wood. When they came out, they saw a few little kids standing where the stable was built.
Gou Wa said, "Auntie Xixi, we want to make a place for the horse to live!"
The other children also nodded and chattered.
“The horses would love to live in the house I built!”
"It likes my cover better!"
"I love horses, they can't live outside!"
Aunt Zhang was so confused by the noise of the children, "Okay, okay, come on, everyone has a share!"
Gu Xixi looked at Shi Tou and knew without asking that it must have been this guy who instigated it.
Shitou stuck out his tongue and whispered, "Sister Xixi, just agree to them. There is strength in numbers."
Country children aged six or seven can all work to some extent.
Help to carry some small wooden boards, give a hand when adults are hammering nails, or run errands and pass things around.
Although they were all easy tasks, with the help of the children, the progress was indeed much faster.
Finally, Gu Xixi stood on the ladder and covered the roof with a thick layer of hay.
The stable is now considered to be preliminarily completed. The feeding troughs and water sinks inside can be replaced with other things, and then more can be added to them later.
Gu Xixi jumped down the ladder and announced, "Thanks to everyone's concerted efforts, the stable is now built!"
The children clapped and cheered happily.
Aunt Zhang smiled and said, "Don't leave, grandma will make sweet soup for you!"
The cheers grew louder.
Ever since Gu Xixi earned the two hundred taels of silver, the family's living standard has improved several levels.
For example, the condiments and side dishes in the kitchen.
When she first entered the book, she had to be very frugal with salt and could only eat candy in her dreams.
Now Aunt Zhang opens the cupboard and finds rock sugar, brown sugar, honey, cotton sugar, and various spices.
They were all bought by Gu Xixi when she went to the county town for bulk purchases.
Aunt Zhang picked out a few large sweet potatoes, peeled them and cut them into pieces, added a handful of cored lotus seeds, and cooked them in a pot.
When adding rock sugar, Aunt Zhang first grabbed a small handful, but thinking that children love sweet things, she added two big pieces without hesitation.
Before serving, sprinkle a pinch of dried wild wolfberries picked from the back mountain as garnish.
A few little kids sat around on the kang, waiting obediently for Aunt Zhang to bring them a bowl of sweet soup.
Ordinary people in the village rarely have the opportunity to eat sweets.
The kids were completely won over after their first bite.
So sweet! How can there be something so delicious?!
The soft and fluffy sweet potato noodles, the fragrant and tender lotus seeds, and a spoonful of sweet and smooth soup while it’s still hot are the ultimate treat in this cold winter.
For a moment, the only sounds in the room were the snoring and slurping of food.
Aunt Zhang smiled and said, "Eat slowly, be careful not to burn yourself."
Gu Xixi brought three bowls of sweet soup to the backyard.
The old doctor's door was ajar, and Gu Xixi's hands were occupied by the tray, so she could only use her shoulders to hold the door open.
The door opened, and what came into view was Mu Nanzhao with his clothes half open.
The four pairs of eyes met, and each pair of eyes blinked, then reacted.
One of them quickly grabbed the collar, and the other quickly walked in, turned around, and closed the door.
Gu Xixi turned to the door awkwardly, "I don't know you..."
"A cold wind blew in just now. Don't let you catch a cold again."
"Not bad." Mu Nanzhao was also trying to remain calm. He quickly put on his clothes and cleared his throat.
"Dinner so early?"
When Gu Xixi heard him ask this, she knew that she could turn around now.
She put the tray on the table. "It's not dinner. Some children helped us build a stable, so I made some sweet soup to entertain them."
"Oh, by the way, where are the others, Master?"
Gu Xixi didn't notice at all that she was saying "our family", and her tone was still so natural.
Mu Nanzhao glanced at her, then walked to the table and sat down in a good mood.
"Old Jiang went to the warehouse to look for medicinal herbs and will be back soon."
The place where Gu Xixi's father used to store herbs has become the old doctor's medicine cabinet.
Mu Nanzhao took a mouthful of the sweet soup and his brows relaxed, "It's delicious."
Gu Xixi was eating the sweet soup, but her eyes glanced uncontrollably towards Mu Nanzhao.
You can’t tell from the clothes he wears, but I didn’t expect he has such a good figure?
He had obvious muscles, and was totally different from the kind of fair, skinny, bony, and pretty handsome guy she had imagined.
Although he was a civil servant, he was proficient in martial arts, riding and shooting. How high were his expectations of himself?
When Gu Xixi was lost in thought, Mu Nanzhao happened to look up at her.
Gu Xixi almost choked on the sweet soup because she felt guilty. She tried to cover it up by saying, "Um, was my master treating your injuries just now?"
Mu Nanzhao sipped his soup and hummed, "He said the military doctor did a good job of stitching."
Although Mu Nanzhao seems to be playing it down at the moment, in fact, an incense stick of time ago, he was severely scolded by the old doctor.
"I asked Xixi to bring that medicine, but I didn't think you could use it!"
"I managed to suppress the poison in your body with great difficulty. What on earth did you do to overdraw your physical strength and lose too much blood, causing the poison to suddenly break out. Do you know that your life span is now shortened by at least another half a year?"
"If you want to die, don't ask me to heal you! Otherwise, I will be too old to preserve my integrity!"
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