Ping'er came out of the house and saw that Bai Xiaoyue was alone; her mother was nowhere to be found.
He slapped his forehead and quickly brought over some hot water: "Auntie, have some water. Has Mom gone out?"
Seeing the 14-year-old boy bustling around, Bai Xiaoyue quickly said:
"Ping'er, it's alright. Your mother must have gone to find your father. They'll both be back soon."
She sat down and asked, "Ping'er, why don't I see An'an?"
Ping'er said, "Xiao Bai came and called her away. I guess the two of them went up the mountain."
Bai Xiaoyue asked again, "Ping'er, why don't you go with your younger brother and sister?"
Ping'er said, "Dad said that a man should do things at home. Mom works very hard, and my little sister is still young."
Bai Xiaoyue laughed heartily upon hearing this: "That's right, that's right, a real man should do more things!"
She thought Wang Weiguo's teaching was very good, and she should learn from him and make Xiaobai do more work.
When Wang Weiguo saw his wife running to the factory looking for him, he thought something serious had happened and hurriedly asked, "What's wrong?"
Li Mingyue said to her husband, "Xiaoyue said that she wants me to take one of her sewing machines to work at the garment factory."
Wang Weiguo said with concern, "This is a good thing. You can wait until I get home to talk about it. Look how hot and sweaty you are."
Li Mingyue exclaimed, "Oh dear, I forgot Xiaoyue at home!" Then she hurriedly ran home.
Seeing his wife's startled reaction, Wang Weiguo shook his head, asked for leave, and went home.
When the couple returned home, they saw Bai Xiaoyue chatting enthusiastically with Ping'er.
Li Mingyue asked, puzzled, "Xiaoyue, what are you and Ping'er talking about that makes you so happy?"
Bai Xiaoyue said with a smile, "Mingyue, you and your brother-in-law have raised Ping'er so well, I'm so envious!"
Li Mingyue: "What's there to envy? My son is your son too. When I gave birth to him, you were the one who took care of me during my postpartum period!"
She then said to her son, "Wang Youping, you must take good care of your aunt from now on, do you hear me?"
Ping'er nodded: "I'll remember."
Wang Weiguo invited Bai Xiaoyue to eat at home, but Bai Xiaoyue declined, saying, "No need. Ruyi was already preparing when I arrived."
As soon as Bai Xiaoyue entered her yard, Xiaobai and An'an returned.
Xiaobai carried a basket on her back, and An'an carried a hampers.
Xiao Bai put down his basket, emptied the pig feed from it, and took out a pheasant from it.
He said to Bai Xiaoyue, "Mom, look at the pheasant I hunted."
Bai Xiaoyue patted her son on the shoulder and said, "Xiaobai is really amazing."
An An stood there smiling as she watched the two of them.
Bai Xiaoyue hurriedly called out, "An'an, quickly put the basket down and come inside to sit down."
Xiao Bai took the basket from An An and showed Bai Xiao Yue the bird eggs inside.
There were quite a few bird eggs, probably around 20.
Bai Xiaoyue praised, "This must be An'an's masterpiece."
An'an said somewhat embarrassedly, "It wasn't just me, Xiaobai and I took them together."
Bai Xiaoyue said, "That's perfect. You stay for lunch, and we'll fry these eggs."
An'an said, "Auntie, I didn't tell Mom I have to go home for dinner."
Bai Xiaoyue: "Okay, tell Mom that I'd like to invite your family to my house for dinner tonight."
An'an obediently said, "Okay, Auntie, goodbye," and then went home.
After Yan Ci returned home and finished lunch, Bai Xiaoyue said to him:
“Aci, Xiaobai brought back a pheasant. Go and teach him how to kill it and pluck its feathers.”
Yan Ci looked at his wife and asked what was wrong.
Bai Xiaoyue said, "Ping'er from Mingyue's family is capable; he can do everything. We also need to train our son."
"Just because you have two older sisters doesn't mean you can't do anything yourself; otherwise, you'll never find a wife."
Yan Ci nodded, and Xiao Bai also earnestly learned how to kill a chicken and pluck its feathers.
When it was time for him to cook dinner that evening, Xiaobai protested: "Mom, I can't even light the fire properly, do I have to learn to cook too?"
Bai Xiaoyue nodded: "That's right, every child has to learn, not just cooking rice, but also how to cook dishes, otherwise what will they eat in the future, raw food?"
Xiaobai asked, "Do boys have to learn too? Dads don't have to."
Bai Xiaoyue: "That's right, boys need to eat too. Your dad can cook. When you were in my belly, your dad cooked every day."
Xiaobai frowned: "Really?"
Bai Xiaoyue shouted, "Aci, come quick!"
Xiao Bai opened her eyes wide: "Mom, why are you calling Dad? I didn't say I wouldn't study."
Bai Xiaoyue tapped her son's forehead and said, "What's wrong? Afraid your dad will beat you?"
Xiao Bai stubbornly replied, "I'm not afraid at all."
Yan Ci came into the kitchen and asked, "Wife, what's up?"
Bai Xiaoyue said, "Aci, it's been so long since I've had your cooking!"
Yan Ci smiled and said, "Then I'll cook today."
Bai Xiaoyue added, "You can teach your son while you're at it; I'd like to eat his cooking too."
Yan Ci nodded.
Xiao Bai watched as Yan Ci swiftly chopped chicken into pieces, heated oil in a pan, and stir-fried the chicken pieces.
He was incredulous: "Dad, you can really cook?"
Yan Ci glanced at his son and said, "You'd better study hard. What if your mother wants to eat this one day and you don't know how to make it?"
Xiao Bai nodded: "Oh, I understand."
Chang Le and Ru Yi went to the vegetable garden and picked eggplants and cucumbers, and also cut some chives. The two of them washed the vegetables clean.
Ruyi followed Xiaobai to watch Yan Ci cook, which she found very interesting.
I had met Chang Le when I was a child, but I haven't seen Uncle Yan take action for many years.
When Li Mingyue and Wang Weiguo arrived with their child, Yan Ci had already prepared the meal.
Pheasant stew with mushrooms, stir-fried eggs with chives, braised potatoes and eggplant, and smashed cucumber.
Li Mingyue asked, "Xiaoyue, why did you invite us over for dinner? Is there something you need?"
Bai Xiaoyue said, "Xiaobai and An'an hunted some pheasants in the mountains, so we invited you to come and eat with us."
Li Mingyue laughed heartily:
"Time flies so fast. In the blink of an eye, the little baby from back then can hunt pheasants now."
Bai Xiaoyue said with a smile, "Yes, these two were born on the same day. I can still remember the scene back then."
The two chatted happily while Yan Ci and Wang Weiguo focused on their meal.
The two families had a lively dinner, and then the children went to clean up together.
Yan Ci took Wang Weiguo to the courtyard for a smoke, while Bai Xiaoyue and Li Mingyue sat and chatted.
Li Mingyue asked, "Xiaoyue, you said today you'd give me a sewing machine to take to the factory. What about you? Are you going to work?"
Bai Xiaoyue said, "My Ruyi can go, I won't go."
You know my skills; they haven't improved much over the years. You all do it better than me.
Li Mingyue asked, "What about Chang Le? What are the arrangements?"
Bai Xiaoyue: "Chang Le, don't rush. Let her think about what she wants to do at her own pace."
Li Mingyue: "That won't do. Otherwise, I won't go, and I'll let Chang Le go instead."
Bai Xiaoyue: "No need, just focus on your work. When you have time, learn more about tailoring as well, and try to become proficient in every position."
Li Mingyue asked, "Xiaoyue, what do you mean?"
Bai Xiaoyue: "You're familiar with every step, won't you be able to walk around the factory like a hog? Trust me, you won't regret it."
Li Mingyue nodded: "Okay, I'll listen to you and study hard."
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