As Yuan Doudou watched Zhang Aiju turn and leave, she felt uncertain about whether she would be able to successfully fetch water.
She imitated Zhang Aiju's actions, and the bucket floated on the water's surface, struggling for a long time but refusing to go down.
What's going on? It looks so easy.
"You need to use your wrist."
Yuan Doudou turned around. The man looked familiar; he had a square face, thick eyebrows, and big eyes, and exuded a simple and honest air. He seemed to be Aunt Zhang's son.
With a serious expression, Wang Qiqiang grabbed the rope from behind Yuan Doudou's hand and gave it a slight shake, causing the bucket in the well to obediently sink.
That's strange. She just did it the same way. This wooden bucket seems to know what to do with whoever it is.
"You're not very strong, so don't fill it up completely at once, or you won't be able to lift it," Wang Qiqiang quickly reminded him as the bucket filled with water.
Yuan Doudou then realized what was happening and immediately pulled upwards with all her might. The bucket was full of water, and she managed to move it only an inch with all her might.
Her hands ached from the rope, and she was sweating profusely with anxiety. Remembering how much effort the original owner had put in to fetch water each time, she couldn't help but feel sorry for her.
"Let me do it." Since his mother asked him to help, he would help her to the end.
Yuan Doudou stood to the side, her face flushed. She wanted to refuse, but then she thought that it was also a kind of good manners to accept help from others in a generous way.
"Thank you so much. You and Aunt Zhang are both good people." There aren't many good people in this village, and she's met two of them all at once.
Wang Qiqiang quickly filled two buckets with water, carried them on his shoulders, and headed towards Yuan Doudou's house.
"Brother Wang, I can actually manage on my own, I can't trouble you any further." It was late at night, and there were few pedestrians on the road, which made Yuan Doudou feel embarrassed.
Wang Qiqiang ignored him and remained silent the whole way until he poured the water into the water tank. Only then did he say goodbye and leave without looking back.
Yuan Doudou looked at the water in the tank; it was about seven or eight-tenths full, which should be enough.
"Mommy, who was that person just now? He looked so fierce," Anji asked timidly, tugging at Yuan Doudou's clothes.
Yuan Doudou bent down and smiled, "He is Aunt Zhang's son, you should call him Uncle Wang."
Anji kept muttering "Uncle, Uncle Wang," when he suddenly remembered that his friends in the village always laughed at him for not having a father. He wondered if his uncle was similar to his father.
"Mother, may I call him Father?"
Yuan Doudou stared in disbelief, then stammered, "No, Uncle isn't Daddy, you can't just call him that." It would be troublesome if the bad guys in the village heard that.
Angie lowered her head and said aggrievedly, "I understand, Mother."
Grandma said that Daddy went to a very far place, and he will come back when he grows up and can take care of the family.
Seeing how sensible he was, Yuan Doudou put down the water ladle in her hand, hugged Anji in her arms, and coaxed him softly, "Anji, do you miss Daddy? Don't be sad. Daddy is a great hero. The children in the village just envy you. They don't really laugh at you."
She remembered how Angie had cried uncontrollably because people laughed at her for being born of a mother but raised by no father, but she was powerless to help and could only hold Angie and cry with her.
Now that she's here, Angie is her biological son, and she won't allow anyone to bully her child again.
"Really? But they still push me, and it still hurts here." Angie rolled up her sleeves, revealing her elbows with clear bruises.
"Mommy will blow on it for you, Anji, it won't hurt anymore. If anyone dares to do this again, you must run away quickly and tell Mommy, Mommy will protect you." Yuan Doudou's eyes were red. She didn't know that Anji was being bullied like this at such a young age.
These kids have been so bad since they were little; it seems they are the ones who were born with a father but raised without a mother.
"Okay, Angie understands. Angie will definitely run fast from now on so they can't catch me." Angie's face brightened, and her little eyes sparkled.
After appeasing Anji, Yuan Doudou went to boil water.
Once the water was boiled, she took out a wooden tub for bathing from the bedroom. It was long and narrow, with arched ends, and about half an arm's length high. This design used a bit of water, but it was spacious enough for an adult to sit in.
After preparing the warm water, Yuan Doudou stood aside, wanting to help her mother-in-law undress.
"DouDou, you can go out first, I can do it myself." She had been sick for a long time and was in a bad state. She really didn't want her daughter-in-law to see her in such a disheveled state.
Yuan Doudou immediately understood; she knew how to respect people's privacy.
"Okay, just call me if you need anything." She was mainly worried because Wang was weak and if she fell, the consequences would be serious.
Wang nodded, and after watching Yuan Doudou leave, she went forward to close the door and took a bath.
Yuan Doudou wasn't idle outside either. She filled a wooden bucket with warm water, undressed Anji, and put him inside.
"It's so much fun!" Angie happily splashed water on his face with his palms, grinning from ear to ear and revealing his little white teeth.
Yuan Doudou laughed along, holding a loofah sponge, wetting it with water, and wiping Anji's back.
There were no cleaning products like soap at home, so I could only wipe my body clean with a melon pulp and then rinse it with water.
By the time Anji finished washing up and put on clean clothes, Yuan Doudou was so tired she could barely stand up straight.
I never knew bathing a child was so tiring. Thinking that I'd never even had a boyfriend before becoming a mother, I couldn't help but feel a bitter smile.
"DouDou, I'm done washing up, come in." Inside the room, Wang coughed a few times.
Yuan Doudou responded and pushed the door open. The heat in the room had dissipated, leaving behind an unpleasant odor, though it was much better than before.
She looked down and saw that the water in the bucket had turned black, indicating that Wang had washed away a lot of ash.
To make the bath more effective, Yuan Doudou added mugwort to the water, hoping it would remove the sickness from Wang Shi's body.
Then I saw that Wang was already dressed in her undergarments, sitting on the bed, her hair wet and draped over her body.
"Mother, let me pour some water and I'll dry your hair." Wang was a patient and couldn't sleep with wet hair.
There weren't any good towels at home, and the linen towels weren't very absorbent, so Yuan Doudou found Anji's cotton coat and used it as a hair dryer to dry Wang's hair.
"Oh dear, why are you using Anji's clothes? This is the only decent set of clothes he owns." Wang was heartbroken when she saw the clothes.
Yuan Doudou didn't argue and quickly wiped Wang's hair. It's worth mentioning that although Wang was sick, she didn't have much hair; in fact, her hair was thicker than Yuan Doudou's.
Thinking about how I stayed up all night writing my thesis, but it didn't turn out well and I lost a lot of hair.
"Okay, my hair is almost dry, I can sleep peacefully now."
Yuan Doudou went out and brought back a bowl of herbal soup. She watched Wang Shi finish drinking it before turning around and leaving.
Seeing that Anji was asleep in bed, Yuan Doudou boiled another half pot of water, intending to give herself a good wash as well.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
