Song Tan's Notes

The group stayed on the riverbank until sunset and nightfall, then they carried baskets and handfuls of lotus leaves and leisurely returned home.

Inside the guesthouse, Master Chai and Xiao Zhou had already prepared dinner. Seeing the fragrant lotus leaves, they tore one open, smelled it, and immediately decided to have dinner.
"Steamed lotus leaf-wrapped sticky rice chicken tomorrow morning!"

He also picked out a small lotus seedpod to taste, and then picked one out for Xiao Zhou as well.

The master and apprentice stood there savoring the moment for a long time before reluctantly parting.
"This is too tender; it won't have the right flavor when used in porridge or soup. Let's just eat it as is."

Everyone rushed forward: That's exactly what we were thinking!

After dinner, everyone held a small lotus seedpod, sat in the courtyard, enjoyed the breeze, gazed at the stars and the Milky Way, peeled lotus seeds, and chatted...

It was incredibly pleasant.

The children, on the other hand, are full of energy and ready to fight again. At this moment, Xiao Shi is right next to He Tuoluo, so close that he can't even move his legs if he wants to run away.

Qin Beibei had spent the whole day playing with Yun Danqing, completely letting loose her wild side, and now she was swaying and wanted to go to the kitchen again.

The pots, pans, stoves, and other utensils there were much more complete than the little toys they used for playing house!

Moreover, because of the design of current commercial housing, no matter how big the house is, the kitchen is mostly small.

In Luchuan, the newly built houses have incredibly spacious kitchens, and the combination of wood-fired stoves and modern technology is particularly novel!

Master Chai was still busy preparing ingredients for tomorrow morning when he turned around and saw three children clinging to the stove, which startled him.

However, Master Zhou, who now has a family, didn't rush or urge him. Instead, he simply took a small rice cooker and went out to provide on-site guidance.

"Kids, you've had a long day. How about making your parents a midnight snack?"

A bowl of rice, a measuring cup, an egg, a handful of washed greens, and a little salt.

"Come on, Uncle will teach you how to make a vegetable and egg drop porridge—"

The parents then realized their children were disturbing their work and quickly approached, feeling embarrassed. But seeing that the children were all relatively quiet, they didn't say anything.

Looking at the rice cooker, which is much safer than fire, the children are already aware of not touching the power cord. Now, staring at the rice porridge inside with the lid open, unsure if it will even cook properly, they are eager to try it.

Yunfeng, however, felt a pang of heartache upon seeing this: "Could this be some kind of high-quality rice or vegetables?"

"That's right."

Chef Zhou had never experienced such lavish living before, and his words were laced with pride: "We couldn't find any other inferior ingredients in this kitchen. But that's alright—"

He reassured them: "Don't worry, this rice is cooked. At most, the flavor might be a little off, but it's not bad."

If you give them rice, the children will stir it around, and the porridge probably won't cook properly.

He felt pained that it was such a waste.

Sure enough, this real-life pretend cooking activity instantly won over the three children.

He Tuoluo was getting impatient and wanted to rush into the kitchen again. But Xiao Shi was staring intently at the ingredients on the table, panting and sticking out his tongue, his gaze focused and unwilling to move.

Its claws were still gripping the top's strap, and the top could be pulled away with a slight struggle, but...

He Tuoluo looked at all the adults in the room: What if Xiao Shi pinned him to the ground again here? How embarrassing!

He had no choice but to back down and endure the humiliation, playing house with the two girls.

But as the hot water gently rekindled the aroma of the rice, he couldn't help but swallow hard.

Is this the delicious food that Mom and the others are eating today?

……

The village was so quiet at night that everyone sat in the courtyard until 9 o'clock, feeling as if all was silent except for the faint chirping of insects and croaking of frogs. In this atmosphere, drowsiness would creep in without them even realizing it, and the children were the first to yawn.

Look at that pot of porridge again—

Alas!
It's really hard to describe.

Because the two sisters were constantly chattering, if one put in some greens, the other would put in some too; if one cracked an egg, the other would stir it with chopsticks; and if the other stirred it, the other would stir it too…

Now I'm completely lost and don't know what I am anymore.

Fortunately, Chef Zhou took a look and added salt. Although it didn't look very appetizing, it actually tasted quite good after one bite.

The single-person rice cooker was so tiny that after looking at it from all angles, everyone decided to let the children share it.

He Tuoluo was finally able to eat the fragrant vegetable and egg porridge that he had been craving all night.

He gulped down the bowl in one go, smearing his face with porridge, rice soup, and egg drop soup, then pitifully begged his mother:
"I'm not climbing trees tomorrow, can I still eat?"

To be honest, the He family has already softened their hearts because he was so well-behaved today.

But then she looked at her son, Xiao Shi, sitting upright and staring intently at He Tuoluo, and the mother hardened her heart again:

"We'll see how you do tomorrow morning."

He Tuoluo responded dejectedly, unaware that this was the beginning of the adult's softening attitude.

But the next moment, Xiao Shi, who had been waiting for a long time, rushed forward!

The hot dog's head came close to his face, its tongue flicking out and rolling, slapping and licking until his face was wet and shiny.

Everyone:...

He Tuoluo endured all of this with humility and forbearance, and it was clear that today's training had not been in vain.

After Xiao Shi finally withdrew and sat down to the side, maintaining a composed demeanor, he opened his eyes and awkwardly raised his arm to wipe them.

Looking at his mother, who was staring at him in disbelief and hadn't even had time to react, the young boy said solemnly:
"Mom, is my face clean?"

Moreover, his wife: ...

She wanted to laugh, but also regretted not taking a picture earlier.

I wanted to reach out and stroke the child's head, but then I looked at his sweaty hair plastered to his scalp and his face glistening with drool, so I casually withdrew my hand.
"That's good. Otherwise, let's go back and take a bath first."

These words seemed to break the spell, and everyone burst into laughter. Moreover, he patted Xiao Shi's head and said, "You really don't waste a single bit!"

Little Ten grunted and raised his head high.

It had smelled it long ago, but despite circling around the three children, none of them thought to let the dog have a taste first!
Luckily, I had some of it in my delicious meat and milk filling, and there was so much left on my face! It was salty and fragrant.

It flicked its tail: Little Ten will work even harder tomorrow!

At this moment, Lu Chuan had already come out of the kitchen carrying a large bucket:
"This is bath water that has been simmering in a pot. We'll bring one bucket over to each of your rooms. While it's still hot, add some water to the bathtub for the children to soak in."

He said considerately, "Playing around all day is really tiring, especially for children, otherwise they might get a fever tomorrow."

Lu Chuan had worked really hard that day, contributing money, effort, and favors. How could anyone bear to ask him to carry that heavy bucket of water again?

Qin Yun quickly reached out to take it—

Forget it.

He casually put the bucket down: "Why don't you carry it yourself..." (End of Chapter)