Chapter 88 Xie Yunze freeloads
Xie Yunze took the water glass from Xu Zhian, feeling its coolness on his fingertips, and took a small sip.
A cool sensation with a refreshing herbal scent instantly glided over my parched throat, like a gentle stream seeping into my heart, quietly dispelling the heat and fatigue of the journey.
He sighed contentedly, his brows and eyes relaxing: "It's so refreshing, it feels wonderful. Your sister is really good at taking care of people."
Upon hearing the praise for her sister, Xu Zhian immediately puffed out her chest, her face beaming with undisguised pride, and nodded vigorously in agreement.
"Yes, yes! My sister is the best. She does everything at home, cooking, washing clothes, growing vegetables... she can do it all."
He counted on his fingers, his eyes filled with admiration.
Looking at the sensible child in front of him, who was so adorable it broke his heart, and then at Xu Zhili's slender back as she deftly turned to go to the kitchen to prepare the wolf meat, Xie Yunze felt an even deeper pity for her.
He softened his voice, as if speaking to an equal little adult: "An'an, your sister works so hard, have you ever thought about what you can do to help her share the burden?"
Xu Zhian immediately put down her cup, placed her two small hands on her knees, her little face tense and serious, and tilted her head to think.
His thick eyelashes fluttered, and after a moment, he seemed to have made up his mind. His voice, though still childish, was firm.
"I want to grow taller and stronger as Brother Xie so that I can help my sister carry water, chop wood, and do heavy work. Now... now I can wash vegetables by myself and sweep the floor. In the future, I also want to learn to cook and sew so that my sister can rest more."
His voice grew louder as he spoke, as if he could see himself becoming an "adult" and helping his sister support the family.
Xie Yunze felt a warmth in his heart and couldn't help but reach out and gently stroke Xu Zhian's soft hair with boundless affection: "An'an is such a sensible and good child, but..."
He gently guided her, "You're still young. Right now, the most important thing is to eat well, sleep well, and grow up strong. Also, you need to study hard. When you have knowledge and understand principles, you can help your sister in more and better ways, right?"
Xu Zhian stared intently at Xie Yunce with his bright black eyes, as if he were carefully considering every word he said.
Suddenly, as if he had thought of something, he grabbed Xie Yunze's sleeve with his little hand and pleaded, "Big brother, then...then can you teach me? My sister is too busy, sometimes she doesn't have time to teach me to read..."
His voice lowered, carrying a hint of barely perceptible grievance and longing.
Xie Yunze's heart stirred.
He already had a good impression of the resilient and warm-hearted siblings, and now, seeing the pure desire to learn in the children's eyes, how could he refuse them?
He nodded immediately, his smile as warm as the spring sun: "Of course! What do you want to learn? I'll teach you anything I know."
"Really!" Xu Zhian's eyes lit up instantly, and he was so excited that he almost jumped off the stone bench.
"I want to learn to read. My sister said that if I can read, I can understand many, many books and know many stories. In the future, I can also help my sister write letters to Grandma and read them aloud!" He gestured with his little hands, as if he could already see the magical world in the book.
“Okay! Let’s start now, beginning with the simplest characters.” Xie Yunze was also infected by the child’s enthusiasm and became very interested.
He immediately pulled a shiny notebook and a pencil from his military green satchel.
The golden rays of the setting sun shone on the rough stone table. He spread out a piece of paper and, stroke by stroke, carefully wrote a large "人" (person) character.
“An’an, look,” he pointed to the character, his voice soft and gentle, with a guiding magic, “this character is pronounced ‘ren’ (人). Look at its shape, a left-falling stroke and a right-falling stroke, standing firmly, doesn’t it look like a little person, standing tall and upright?”
As he spoke, he gently held Xu Zhian's slightly nervous little hand, enveloping it in his warm, dry palm, and guided his fingers to carefully trace the character "人" (person) stroke by stroke on the paper.
Xu Zhiquan was completely focused, his face was tense, and even the tip of his nose was covered with tiny beads of sweat. Every stroke of his pen revealed the piety of a beginner.
"Sister, the little brother is teaching me to write!" Xu Zhian shouted excitedly towards the kitchen.
At this moment, Xu Zhili came out carrying freshly stir-fried, fragrant wolf meat slices and a small plate of bright green vegetables.
The rich aroma of meat mixed with the fresh scent of vegetables instantly filled the entire courtyard.
She looked at the tall young man by the stone table, patiently holding his younger brother's hand and teaching him stroke by stroke in the dim twilight. His focused and gentle profile warmed her heart, and the corners of her lips unconsciously curved into a beautiful smile.
"Stop writing, eat first, the food won't taste good if it gets cold," she said, placing the dishes on the table.
As darkness fell, a kerosene lamp was lit in the courtyard, its dim, yellowish light softly enveloping the three of them.
Xie Yunze then remembered something and slapped his forehead apologetically: "Look at my memory! Sister, I almost forgot the important matter."
He hurriedly pulled out a slightly worn letter from his satchel and handed it over. “This is what my dad asked me to give you. The postman delivered it this afternoon. We were on the mountain, and he couldn’t find us, so he left the letter at the brigade headquarters. I was so busy talking that I almost forgot about it again.”
A hint of doubt flashed across Xu Zhili's eyes, but she quickly realized that it was probably another letter from her hometown.
She took it casually, thanked her, and placed it on a corner of the stone table, weighing it down with a bowl to prevent it from being blown away by the wind.
"No rush, the letter won't run away. Come on, let's eat first and try my cooking. This meat has to be eaten while it's hot." She deftly served Xie Yunce a full bowl of wolf meat.
Xie Yunze sat down as instructed, picked up a piece of glistening wolf meat with his chopsticks, and put it in his mouth.
The meat is firm and chewy, with a rugged aroma from the mountains, which Xu Zhili skillfully brings out with simple seasonings to enhance its deliciousness.
His eyes lit up, and he exclaimed sincerely, "Sister, your cooking is absolutely amazing! It's so delicious!"
That sincere and undisguised praise brought a faint blush to Xu Zhili's cool face, making her look especially charming under the lamplight.
She smiled a little shyly and put some food on her and her brother's plates: "Eat more if you like. I don't know if it will suit your taste. There aren't many seasonings or good things to offer in the countryside."
"Yes! Yes, yes!" Xu Zhian's mouth was stuffed full, like a happy little squirrel, and he chimed in with a muffled but unusually loud voice, "Sister's cooking is the best in the world! Little brother, I wasn't lying to you, was I?"
He proudly shook his little head.
Xie Yunze looked at the scene before him: his gentle and quiet older sister under the lamp, his lively and adorable younger brother, and the simple yet steaming hot and homey meal on the table. A warm feeling welled up in his heart.
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