Grandpa Zhao agreed with the Taoist priest's words, and it was rare that the two of them didn't quarrel today.
Xu Han didn't eat any staple food that evening, but instead drank two bowls of porridge to fill her stomach with water.
After everyone finished dinner, they sat in the courtyard to enjoy the cool air. Xu Han said, "Let's turn over the vegetable garden in the yard tomorrow! The weather isn't so hot now, so we can plant some vegetables."
"Okay, the three of us men will handle these things tomorrow. You don't need to do any of this work."
"From now on, we'll take care of all the heavy chores around the house. You should take good care of your hands; they're so rough, they don't look like a girl's at all," the Taoist priest said disdainfully.
Xu Han looked down at her hands, which were indeed quite rough. Even though she often wore gloves while working, she still inevitably developed some calluses.
"It is indeed quite rough. What girl doesn't care about her appearance? I'm just doing this to make a living, aren't I?"
"Let's leave aside the past. From now on, you don't need to worry about these heavy tasks. There are several of us here! We don't need you anymore."
The Taoist priest spoke in a irritable tone, then turned and glared at Lu Chuan, as if blaming him for not taking good care of Xu Han.
Lu Chuan, feeling guilty after being glared at for no reason, dared not speak. He decided to play the fool.
Although the Taoist priest and his companions had only been there for a few days, they had already taken on many household chores.
Every morning, the yard is cleaned up, and Xu Han doesn't have to worry about the chickens, ducks, and geese anymore, as the Taoist priest and the others have been helping to take care of these livestock these past few days.
Xu Han was very fortunate that the Taoist priest and Grandpa Zhao were not the kind of people who waited to be fed, but instead took the initiative to help Xu Han and Lu Chuan with many unseen household chores.
She washes her own clothes, helps with the dishes, and has someone to help with cooking, which has indeed reduced Xu Han's housework considerably.
After resting for a while, everyone went back to their rooms to sleep.
Now the Taoist priest and Grandpa Zhao are sleeping on the same kang (a heated brick bed). Fortunately, the kang is big enough, otherwise there really wouldn't be enough room for them.
Xu Han and Lu Chuan were still considering whether to take advantage of their relatively free time to build a few houses for future use...
Early the next morning, Xu Han was in charge of making breakfast, while Lu Chuan led the Taoist priest and the others to the backyard to till the soil.
"Can't you even do it?! Can't you dig a little deeper?" the Taoist priest said irritably to Grandpa Zhao.
"If you're so capable, then you do it! You're just standing there giving orders without any real expertise. Try it yourself."
"Give it a try, it's just turning over the soil, what's so difficult about that?" The Taoist priest said, taking the hoe from Grandpa Zhao's hand and starting to dig.
Neither of them had ever done farm work before, so they were clearly not used to it. Although Lu Chuan taught them, it was inevitable that their first attempt would not go smoothly.
Fortunately, both of them were hardworking, and they managed to finish turning over all the vegetable gardens in one morning.
In the afternoon, Xu Han and the others sprinkled the greens on the ground and watered them. Since the weather is hot now, they should sprout in two or three days.
The days passed by at a leisurely pace, and before we knew it, it was already the end of September. Due to drought and locust plague, there was no harvest this year.
The four of them got along quite well. Apart from the occasional bickering between the Taoist priest and Grandpa Zhao, they were quite harmonious.
Even if the two bicker, they'll make up in a little while, but then they'll start bickering again.
Lu Chuan and Xu Han have gotten used to this. At first, they would try to mediate, but eventually they just ignored it. If they didn't hear the two of them bickering one day, they would feel really strange!
During this period, the Taoist priest and Lu Chuan often took their dogs out hunting, and they caught quite a lot of wild game.
Thanks to their daily hunting from dawn till dusk, no particularly fierce wild animals appeared near their home, even during the dry season.
During this period, there was fresh meat every day. Xu Han would put the leftovers into her space and occasionally take out fresh vegetables from her space. Grandpa Zhao never asked about this.
It seems that these things have become an open secret, but Xu Han still doesn't dare to use the space too recklessly.
Grandpa Zhao stayed at home with Xu Han to take care of the household affairs, feeding the livestock, cleaning the yard, and helping to start a fire.
Of course, there's also the vegetable garden. The vegetables I planted recently are growing quite well, thanks to Grandpa Zhao watering them every day with water from the water tank in the backyard.
That day, the Taoist priest and Lu Chuan went hunting. Under normal circumstances, the two of them would not come back for lunch, so only Grandpa Zhao and Xu Han were at home.
"Xiao Han, the vegetables in the garden look quite tender. Let's have vegetable noodles for lunch today!" Grandpa Zhao said to Xu Han, who was making shoes for the Taoist priest, holding a bunch of vegetables.
"Okay, I'll go knead the dough. We'll have vegetable noodles for lunch today," Xu Han said, and then walked into the kitchen.
Vegetable noodles are easy to make, and Xu Han finished preparing lunch in no time. Not long after the two finished eating, they saw Lu Chuan and the Taoist priest walking over.
"Why are you back so early today?" Xu Han asked.
"It's alright. We didn't hunt any prey today, so wandering around any longer would be a waste of time. The Taoist priest and I thought we should come back as soon as possible!" Lu Chuan replied.
Upon hearing this, Xu Han didn't say anything more. In the past few days, the Taoist priest and Lu Chuan had been bringing back fewer and fewer prey, a fact that Xu Han had also noticed.
It's possible that the food available in the deep mountains has become increasingly scarce during this period, naturally leading to a decrease in prey.
Some of them ran to other places where there was food, while others became food themselves.
"Have you had lunch yet? I'll go make you some noodles!" Grandpa Zhao said.
"Can what you've made taste good? If it doesn't, I won't eat it!" the Taoist priest said disdainfully.
"Eat it or not, it's up to you. If you don't want to eat, go hungry," Grandpa Zhao said before going into the kitchen.
During this period, Grandpa Zhao helped with the fire whenever Xu Han cooked. After learning and practicing for a while, Grandpa Zhao also learned some simple dishes. They weren't particularly delicious, but at least they were edible.
Xu Han and Lu Chuan were happy about this, because Xu Han couldn't always be the one to cook! One of the three of them had to know how to cook some simple dishes.
Naturally, Grandpa Zhao became the one who learned to cook.
"Not bad, not bad, Old Zhao, the noodles are just right today, unlike last time when they were so salty you could kill the salt seller," the Taoist priest said to Grandpa Zhao while slurping his noodles.
Grandpa Zhao, who was being praised, smiled and said, "How was it? My cooking skills have improved, haven't they!"
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