Chapter 400

Chapter 400

"That's good. Have you two had dinner yet?"

Wei Pozi had been worried lately. The two kids had been out all the time, and she didn't know if the He family's meals were to their liking.

She noticed that they'd both lost some weight.

"We've eaten. It's so late, Mom, don't worry about us. Go rest first. It’s a holiday tomorrow, and Qinghe and I will help clean the house.

We’ve been here in the city for so long and haven’t really cleaned up yet."

Xiuxiu tried to comfort her mother, urging her to go to sleep.

She felt guilty. Ever since Mom came to stay with her, she had either been helping with chores or looking after the children. This wasn't what letting Mom retire was supposed to be about; it was Mom taking care of their family.

"I can walk on my own, why are you supporting me? Oh dear, you're all cold. Go warm up first. Both you and Qinghe shouldn't go out tomorrow.

I'll make chicken soup for you two.

I traded some eggs for an old hen that doesn’t lay anymore. I've put it in the small firewood room."

Wei Pozi felt warm-hearted as her daughter supported her.

Since coming here, she had felt more at ease than at Xiuxiu's older sister's place.

At the elder daughter's home, there were constant visits from in-laws and relatives, and the children were older than Mingming and Yuanyue, making it less convenient for her to take care of them.

It was nice there, but she preferred being with her younger daughter.

She could even go back to the village to visit whenever she had time.

Life couldn't be better.

"Thank you, Mom." Xiuxiu whispered her thanks.

Wei Pozi patted her. "You child, why are you thanking your own mother? Where did you learn this bad habit?"

Xiuxiu smiled at her but said nothing.

Even though this was her mom, she was also an independent person outside of that role.

Nobody said she had to dedicate herself to her daughter.

After getting Mom settled in her room, Xiuxiu and Qinghe went back to their room, washed up, and went to bed early.

The next morning, Xiuxiu heard the sound of chopping wood outside.

Even though she didn't have to go to work, she got up early.

She was used to waking up early and couldn't sleep in.

In the kitchen, there were two pots. The large one was simmering chicken soup, and the small one was frying rice.

They had cooked extra rice yesterday, and it had sat out all night. After thawing it out, the grains were perfectly separated.

She added two eggs, and the aroma was rich.

When she saw her daughter come out, Wei Pozi called her over.

Bai Xiuxiu was puzzled, and as soon as she approached, the old lady ordered her to work.

"The preserves I made earlier should be ready by now, go take a look."

"Alright, I'll go and check."

Bai Xiuxiu yawned and headed to check on the preserves.

"That many?"

Bai Xiuxiu was startled, seeing that the old lady had actually prepared twenty-eight jars of canned food.

She and Qinghe had rarely been home lately and had no idea how much her mom had made. This was truly shocking.

"Sure enough! I've canned all the hawthorn from our place. I've also canned other wild fruits. The rest need a couple more days, but these have been stored long enough.

Store half of them, and we’ll eat the rest before the New Year."

Wei Pozi urged her to put the jars away.

"Alright, I'll put them away."

Bai Xiuxiu took the jars inside. There were twenty-eight jars in total; she stored ten in her space and planned to send ten to Qinghe's master's house, leaving eight for the family to eat before the New Year.

"Done? Once you’re done, wash up and get ready for breakfast. Also, wake up the two children. Our family will have chicken soup for lunch today, and we'll just fry some rice and cabbage for breakfast."

Wei Pozi was about to take the fried rice off the stove.

Bai Xiuxiu reluctantly joined in the hustle and bustle, and she didn’t stop until Wang Qinghe came in after chopping the wood.

"Time to eat," Wei Pozi said cheerfully as she saw her son-in-law enter the house and urged him to wash his hands.

The family had breakfast, and Bai Xiuxiu, enjoying a rare moment of free time, helped Wang Qinghe feed the two kids.

"Mom, what chores do we have today? Qinghe and I will take care of everything today, so we won’t be busy tomorrow when we go back to work, leaving you to do everything by yourself."

Bai Xiuxiu asked the old lady while feeding the children.

"I was thinking about reinforcing the area around our well, and our woodshed is a bit cramped. Let’s see if we can extend it a bit towards the front. I’ve already bought the planks, just waiting for you two to have time.

I wonder if that young man from the He family will come today. If he does, take him along."

Wei Pozi had already made the day's plans for the household.

"Son-in-law, make me a few more wooden baskets. I want to plant some small vegetables in them. The day before yesterday, I got some cabbage seeds from our neighbor. In the dead of winter, I’ll grow them inside.

It’s just for our family, no one else will see."

With the New Year approaching, Wei Pozi was already thinking about the New Year’s dishes.

"We can’t just have cabbages, potatoes, and radishes for the New Year."

"Sure." Wang Qinghe readily agreed.

These small tasks were much easier compared to the work at Old Wang’s place.

Here, they barely felt like chores at all.

"Big brother, sister-in-law, I'm here for food." Wei Pozi hadn’t even mentioned getting He Ming to help when his voice was already heard from outside. He hadn’t arrived yet, but his voice traveled fast.

He Ming had his hands full with several items, all of which he had bought early that morning with the money he got from his mom.

There were ten pounds of rice, ten pounds of flour, and thirty eggs.

"What's with all the stuff today?" Wei Pozi looked puzzled.

He Ming was also confused.

"Mom just told me out of nowhere this morning to bring them over, saying it would look bad if people found out I was freeloading. Who cares about our family's business anyway? I didn’t think it was necessary."

He Ming was puzzled, but of course, he was more than happy to bring some things over.

It was better than eating for free every day.

"You didn’t have to go through all that trouble. How much can one person eat? You came at just the right time. Stick around for lunch—chicken stew’s on the menu today. You haven't had breakfast yet, have you? I’ll get you a bowl."

Wei Pozi beamed, not bothering to wonder what her son-in-law's mom was thinking.

"Hey bro, Mom seems preoccupied today." He Ming frowned, not even paying much attention to the bowl of food he had just received.

Wang Qinghe didn't respond, waiting for him to continue.

"She asked about Big Sister-in-law today. She wanted me to ask how her work is going now. Think something's bothering her?" He Ming was very confused about his mom's attitude.

Bai Xiuxiu was also surprised; it really didn’t seem quite right.

"My work is going smoothly," Bai Xiuxiu replied, pondering what her thrifty mother-in-law was up to.

"Just tell her that. And hurry up and eat—we’ve got work to do after."

"Oh, okay... Ah? Work?" He Ming was dumbfounded. Did he seriously have to work after eating?

Before he could even react, there was a knock at the door.