Splendid peasant girl busy farming

Chapter 12004

The younger sister is different; she has to do all of this by herself, without anyone helping to share the burden...

“Mother, don’t worry about me. Sixi helped me cook breakfast this morning,” Xiuhong said. “After breakfast, I went back to my room to rest, and he also cleaned up the dishes for the whole family.”

"Huh? What did you say?" Cao Bamei thought she had misheard, and her voice rose several decibels.

Xiu Xiu stared wide-eyed at Xiu Hong in disbelief.

The eldest Sun family members stared intently at Xiu Hong, their eyes filled with admiration and approval.

Even Liu turned around, looked Xiu Hong up and down a few times, and gave her a thumbs up: "Second girl, you really have some skills. You actually managed to keep Sixi completely under your thumb!"

Xiu Hong blushed slightly, glanced at Liu Shi, and said, "Fourth Madam, please don't say that. We are husband and wife, and we have a relationship of mutual help, respect, and love. There is no question of one of us controlling the other."

Liu was taken aback for a moment, then smiled and said, "You're a clever girl, and you speak so frankly. It makes Sixi look good!"

"Grandma, my words may be rough, but they make sense. Men who can help their wives cook, especially the meal on the second day after a new bride enters the family, are probably more than you can count on one hand."

Madam Sun reminded from the side, "When Qing'er married into the Luo family, Tang Ya helped her cook."

Liu said, "Tang Yazi's kindness to Qing'er is unparalleled, not only in Changping Village, but even in the entire Daqi region. They are second to none, no one dares to be first, okay?"

Everyone laughed and didn't refute the statement, because it was true. They wouldn't dare say that they could look across the entire Great Qi, but at least among the couples they knew, they had never seen anyone more loving than Luo Fengtang and Yang Ruoqing.

"Sister, did your brother-in-law really go to the kitchen to help you? Did he help you from start to finish, or just lend a hand?" Xiuxiu asked, still somewhat incredulous.

Xiu Hong stared into Xiu Xiu's eyes and said very seriously, word by word, "From beginning to end, he got up with me. He tended the fire in the stove and helped me prepare the ginger and garlic, while I was in charge of cooking."

"After the food was cooked, he went to the pond and fetched water three times until the water tank was full."

Xiuxiu: ...

Although she was worried about her younger sister being overworked at her in-laws' house, and felt heartbroken and angry that her sister was being bullied, when she heard that her brother-in-law could actually put aside his pride and go into the kitchen to help her sister, the older sister's joy seemed to be shrouded by some unseen emotion, to the point that her smile was somewhat awkward.

She thought about how Wang Wei was fast asleep, wrapped in a blanket, when she woke up that morning, and a strange feeling of unease welled up inside her.

After hearing all this, Cao Bamei no longer cared about anything else and happily hugged Xiu Hong's shoulders.

"Good girl, well done! No matter what kind of mother Sixi is, as long as Sixi treats you well, I'm at ease!"

"Just bear with it for now. After the New Year, when you move back to your own house and start your own lives, there will be even fewer of those annoying things that you don't see."

……

The Luo family.

Today was the day for the two daughters of the second wife to return to their parents' home, and Yang Huazhong and Sun Shi Xiaohua went there, but no one from the Luo family went.

Because that was the day when Old Yang's two daughters returned to their parents' home, specifically Old Yang's home, not Luo's.

So the Luo family went about their business as usual.

Luo the blacksmith stayed in Zhoujia Village with Luo Da'e. Back home, after breakfast, Zuo Jinling accompanied Luo Wuyou back to the camp. The two of them transported a pile of supplies for the New Year and the first month of the lunar calendar to the camp using a donkey cart.

Tuantuan and Yuanyuan also went along. The group said they would stay at the campsite tonight and return tomorrow.

So, after breakfast, Wang Cuilian went to the small Buddhist shrine left by Tuoba Xian. Wang Cuilian and Rong Gu worshipped Buddha in the shrine and prayed for the whole family.

Having a small Buddhist shrine is good; it saves you from having to go to a temple to pray for blessings.

Ping An and Xing Wang were busy tidying up the front and back yards of their home. Although the Luo family did cleaning every day, the New Year was just a few days away, and they had to do a thorough cleaning before the holiday.

As for Luo Fengtang and Yang Ruoqing, they also have a lot to do today.

Luo Fengtang received a secret letter from the military camp, and then summoned several of his secret guards to his study for a talk.

Yang Ruoqing returned to her dormitory. To prevent herself from feeling drowsy after breakfast, she brewed a bowl of green tea, sat down at her desk with a charcoal brazier at her feet and a thick stack of account books on the table.

The account books of Tianxianglou from Qingshui Town, Wanghai County, and Qing'an County over the past six months are all laid out here.

She conducts audits twice a year, once in the summer and once at the end of the year.

It used to be once a year, but we found that the workload was too great, so we changed it to once every six months.

She has already audited one-third of the books and plans to finish the other third today. Then, before the 24th of the twelfth lunar month, which is the day after tomorrow, she will finish reviewing all the books and go to the restaurants in the town and county to distribute the restaurant's red envelopes and monthly allowances before the New Year, so that the managers and employees will have money to go home for the New Year!
By the way, let's have a year-end farewell dinner together in the county town, and wish the restaurant business continued success in the coming year.

Yang Ruoqing was engrossed in looking through the ledger. Next to her was an abacus, a pen, and a stack of white paper. She was calculating as she looked through the ledger, and then writing down some important things on the white paper. The ledger was also covered with many circles and crosses.

Time passed by unnoticed. It wasn't until Luo Fengtang returned to his dormitory and placed a large orange, which he had kept inside his clothes to keep warm, into her hand that she came back to her senses.

"Is everything settled?" she asked with a smile.

Luo Fengtang nodded, walked over and pulled her up from the armchair, then sat down himself, and then pulled her onto his lap, sitting sideways.

"You must be tired after looking at the ledgers for so long. Have an orange and take a break," he said.

"Okay, this orange is at the perfect temperature, thank you, honey." Yang Ruoqing peeled the orange with her long, slender fingers, smiling sweetly at him.

"Just a verbal thank you? Can't you say something more?" He raised an eyebrow, his gaze fixed intently on her red lips.

Yang Ruoqing leaned over and kissed him on the cheek.

Is this enough sincerity?

"Barely enough, but could have a little more."

"No way, my back is still sore, you beast," Yang Ruoqing muttered under her breath.

She barely slept last night after returning from Zhoujiacun. When she woke up this morning, her back ached terribly, as if it had been run over by a horse-drawn carriage.

Hearing her mutterings, Luo Fengtang smiled with pleasure and pride, but then placed a pair of warm hands on her lower back and gently massaged it.

"I must say, his technique is pretty good," Yang Ruoqing sighed comfortably, then popped a piece of orange into his mouth. "It's quite lively in the small apartment across the street today. I heard two sets of firecrackers going off earlier," Luo Fengtang said. "Why don't you go over there for a visit and clear your head?"

Staying indoors looking at account books is too boring.

Yang Ruoqing shook her head: "I had to go yesterday because I was sending the sisters off on their wedding day. Actually, I don't like to join in the fun most of the time."

Luo Fengtang nodded; that was the truth.

"Moreover," Yang Ruoqing took a bite of the orange in her hand, "more than going out to join the fun, what I'm thinking about right now is that Da'an should have arrived in Changhuaizhou and met that pregnant Ruan Xiaowei."

"I wonder how he's handling things. When he was at home, he was very firm in his stance. I just don't know if he'll soften his mind and change his mind once he sees Ruan Xiaowei. Sigh, it's tough!"

Luo Fengtang gently stroked Yang Ruoqing's hair that was draped behind her back and said, "I knew you were at home, but your heart went to Changhuaizhou with Da'an."

Yang Ruoqing smiled helplessly: "It's not just me. I'm afraid my parents, and Xiaohua and the others, are worried about this even if they don't say it."

Luo Fengtang nodded: "I understand. Don't worry, we'll get news from Changhuaizhou by tonight at the latest."

"No matter the outcome, at least we can keep track of Da'an's progress every day after he arrives in Changhuaizhou, so we won't panic."

"Ah? Really? Tang Ya Zi, you're so amazing! You actually kept it from me and secretly sent someone to follow Da An to Changhuaizhou!" Yang Ruoqing got excited, hugged his neck, and kissed him twice more.

"That's amazing! He's such a great man, we're so in sync!"

If she's all talk and no action, then he's all action; they truly understand each other perfectly.

Just as Luo Fengtang predicted, when it was almost dark during dinner, a message arrived at the Luo family's home by carrier pigeon from Changhuaizhou.

After finishing her dinner, Yang Ruoqing immediately went back to her dormitory with Luo Fengtang. When she saw the small note that Luo Fengtang handed her, she couldn't wait to open it and read its contents.

It contained only a few words, written on the other end of a feather; just a few words, conveying little information.

The gist is that after Da'an arrived in Changhuaizhou, he did not go into his own residence, but went straight to a two-courtyard house in Willow Alley in the south of the city.

He went in and stayed for two hours before coming out. He didn't stay overnight in Willow Alley, but returned to his own residence.

"Didn't Da'an's decision not to stay overnight in Ruan Xiaowei's courtyard and instead return to his own residence indicate that he didn't soften his heart and change his mind?"

Yang Ruoqing read the small note over and over again, trying to deduce more useful information from it.

Luo Fengtang thought about it carefully and said, "That should be the case. Some things may need to be done step by step, and Da'an should know what to do."

Yang Ruoqing nodded in agreement. It certainly wouldn't be an easy task to persuade a young woman to have an abortion.

This incident not only hurt the girl's body, but also her heart. Da'an is not a cruel person, and besides, he had developed genuine feelings for Ruan Xiaowei.

Asking her to do something so cruel is difficult for him, so he will definitely need some time.

"We will continue to follow up on the situation and provide timely feedback!" Yang Ruoqing said.

Luo Fengtang nodded: "Don't worry, I've already given the instructions."

The next day, Zuo Jinling and Luo Wuyou returned from the camp. Tuan Tuan and Yuan Yuan were in a particularly good mood. As soon as they got back, they surrounded Yang Ruoqing and couldn't wait to share all the fun and novel things that happened at the camp. The two little ones kept talking non-stop.

Although Yang Ruoqing and Luo Fengtang were not surprised by these things at all, especially when they were told from a child's perspective, it added a lot of fairytale elements and some whimsical things to it.

However, the couple tacitly agreed not to interrupt their child's outpouring. They listened very patiently, and sometimes even added a few words of emotional support.

This is what parents should do: don't ignore every time your child confides and shares, as it shows their trust and reliance on you.

As they grow older, these opportunities to confide in each other without reservation may become fewer and fewer.

Finally, after they finished venting, they were satisfied and their emotional value was fully realized.

Before leaving, the two little ones even snuggled up to Yang Ruoqing, hooked their arms around her neck, and gave her two big kisses on her cheeks.

Yuanyuan was chewing something while she was talking, which caused a stringy residue to form on Yang Ruoqing's face.

Yang Ruoqing touched her cheek, feeling both amused and exasperated.

That brat! I just applied skincare cream...

"Mom is going to cook for your brother-in-law. After we finish eating, he will be going home."

"Mom, let's go find my brother-in-law to play."

"Okay, let's go."

After seeing the two little ones off, Yang Ruoqing and Luo Fengtang exchanged a smile. Luo Fengtang walked over and put his arm around Yang Ruoqing's shoulder: "Just let Linglan and the others cook. Why do you have to do it yourself?"

Yang Ruoqing shook her head, "A son-in-law is like a son. It's not easy for Jinling to come all this way. He ate lunch at Xiao Er's house yesterday, and he also ate at my daughter's camp last night and this morning. He hasn't even used our chopsticks yet."

"I would feel guilty if I didn't cook a meal for him myself."

Luo Fengtang nodded, "Alright, then I'll go to the kitchen and help you put firewood in."

"Oh? No need, no need, Linglan and the others are here."

“I’m going. Let Linglan and the others do other chores. Didn’t you just say that a son-in-law is like a son to his mother? As the father-in-law, I also want to participate in this meal.”

More importantly, he wanted to relive the days when he and his wife cooked together.

"Okay, I'll go tell them that lunch will be our duo performance."

Half an hour later, a table of steaming hot food was set on the dining hall in the backyard of the Luo family.

Because it was the dead of winter, in the twelfth lunar month, there were several small clay stoves on the rotating round table, each with a small iron pot with two handles on it.

"This smells amazing! Wow, a mini pot party? Let me see what kind of pots they have!"

When Luo Wuyou and Zuo Jinling arrived at the dining hall, Luo Wuyou was immediately drawn to the array of items on the table. He rushed to the table with burning eyes and began to examine each item one by one.