The conditions in the house are basic. Although the tap in the yard isn't frozen, there's still no way to boil water.
Fortunately, Song Qing had a handkerchief with her. She wet it and used it to wipe An An's dirty little hands. Now that it was dark and the water was cold, An An kept shrinking back from the cold.
Song Qing chuckled and pulled her hand away again and again, saying, "Who told you to touch those things just now? Look at your hands, they're so dirty."
After wiping, An'an ran inside with a smile. Song Qing then washed her hands under the tap, but didn't turn it off completely, leaving water dripping down to prevent it from freezing.
Lu Yang had been frowning ever since An An was frozen and kept moving around. Now, seeing that Song Qing's hands had turned red, his voice became somewhat deep.
"You can stay at the guesthouse tomorrow, I'll come by myself."
Hmm? You think they're in the way?
Seeing Song Qing's furrowed brows, Lu Yang quickly added, "It's too cold here, and none of you have hot water to wash your hands."
After he finished speaking, he turned his gaze away from Song Qing's hand.
Song Qing ignored him, dried her hands, and walked towards the main room.
There was little furniture here, so they could only move the only table to the side of the kang (a heated brick bed) and put all the food on it.
An'an stood on the ground with her hands raised, but the kang (a heated brick bed) was too high for her to climb up.
After Song Qing came in, she opened the lunchbox without noticing An An. Lu Yang saw a hand and picked her up and put her on the kang (a heated brick bed).
Tonight's meal is stir-fried dried tofu with green peppers, a dish of stir-fried potatoes, eggplant, and green peppers, plus the leftover braised pork from lunch—it's quite a feast!
Although the braised pork had thawed, it was now showing signs of freezing again.
Lu Yang quickly picked up half of the rice with his chopsticks and put it into the braised pork. Then he put the other half of the braised pork into the remaining half of the lunchbox, mixed it up, and the steaming rice grains coated the braised pork, instantly bringing out the flavor of the braised pork.
An An sniffed lightly, her eyes brightening instantly. Lu Yang noticed this and a smile slowly crept onto his lips.
When he was a child, his family had a small dog. Back then, food was scarce, and people often went hungry. The dog was skin and bones from hunger.
Once, when the adults weren't looking, he secretly shared half of his food with the puppy, and the puppy secretly looked at him with its bright, wet eyes.
He placed the two lunchboxes containing braised pork in front of the mother and daughter. Song Qing glanced at him, picked up a piece of braised pork from the lunchbox, and placed it on his side.
An'an saw it, thought for a moment, and then pushed the lunchbox to Lu Yang.
"Daddy, eat."
Lu Yang was quite flattered. It was already unbelievable that Song Qing served him food, but An An had stopped calling him "Dad" ever since she saw them arguing yesterday. Now, An An not only called him "Dad" but also cared about him.
"I'll eat this, you eat it."
Lu Yang's mouth never stopped twitching after the entire meal. Song Qing finished her food, and An An had a little bit left, which Lu Yang finished as usual.
"It's still early, let's tidy up a bit more. An'an, you can sit on the kang and play. Don't get off, there are bugs on the ground."
Song Qing packed up the lunchbox, intending to take it back to the guesthouse to wash it with hot water, while Lu Yang finished sweeping the floor in the room that hadn't been swept yet.
"Tomorrow morning I'll go to Yanghe Village nearby to ask if there are any craftsmen who can build kang (heated brick beds), and then go up to the roof to check the tiles."
"Let's go together, and find a craftsman to make furniture while we're at it. I don't know if we'll be able to use this wood."
The wood inside the house hasn't been rained on, and it's still very hard after all these years, so it must be good wood.
Lu Yang nodded and walked towards the courtyard. Song Qing pouted. She had just told the mother and daughter not to come tomorrow, but now she had forgotten.
Although Song Qing didn't want him to do it alone, it would make her seem like she hadn't contributed to the family and therefore lacked confidence.
Just like she hopes her life won't be so hard, but shortly after waking up, she seizes the opportunity to finish her job first, as her salary is part of her confidence.
However, this didn't stop her from scoffing inwardly. Sure enough, men always have a way of saying nice things.
In fact, Lu Yang has changed his mind. He will bring a stove to boil water tomorrow, and he also hopes to spend more time with his wife and daughter.
Lu Yang also borrowed a flashlight to examine the large vats and eventually discovered that two of the eight large vats were broken, while the two small vats were fine.
It was quite late, so Lu Yang took the mother and daughter back to the guesthouse.
An'an nestled in Lu Yang's arms, occasionally exchanging a few words with Song Qing, before drifting off to sleep.
The little girl nestled on Lu Yang's shoulder, so soft and delicate, that he dared not use his strength for fear of waking her up.
Her head was resting against Lu Yang's shoulder, and a noise from the road disturbed her. She grunted twice in dissatisfaction and burrowed deeper into the ground like a little pig, patting her hands randomly.
Lu Yang's smile widened even more when his face was captured on camera.
Knowing that An'an was asleep, Song Qing stopped talking. The two walked silently along the road, carefully shining the flashlight ahead.
Lu Yang's heart felt like it was soaking in warm water, constantly swaying, making him want to let out a long sigh of comfort.
He was still thinking about what they would do in the future while lying on his bed in the dormitory last night. He thought about transferring to Ancheng in two years, but he was afraid that Song Qing would not agree.
He tossed and turned in bed like a pancake, feeling heavy-hearted and unable to breathe. He couldn't bear to part with them, but there was nothing he could do.
But in just one day, he got everything again.
very nice.
Even the longest journey can be completed with a little time. Inside the guesthouse room, Lu Yang placed An'an on the kang (a heated brick bed), then turned and went to the kitchen to fetch some burning charcoal and put it into the kang's firebox.
He also picked up a burning piece of coal and put it into the stove, where a pot of hot water was sitting.
He was full of energy and needed to go back to find out where there were bricklayers in Yanghe Village. He told the mother and daughter to rest and then he would leave quickly.
"I'm going back to the dorm. You guys get some rest and close the door."
He left as soon as he finished speaking, and Song Qing, who still had some things to say, could only see his back.
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