General, your wife has gone to deliver another calf for your horse.

Chapter 9: Just eat big steamed buns every day!

Jiang Nuanzhi's brows furrowed more and more as she listened: "How much is the tuition fee?"

"Erliang, you've fooled me. What's the point of asking now? The academy won't let you study here anymore."

Jiang Nuanzhi narrowed her eyes: "Not only did they take your money, but they also expect you to cook for them every day?"

"Are all members of their family without hands and feet?"

"No one is allowed to go today. Anyone who goes will have their legs broken."

"Damn it, this is too much!"

Jiang Nuanzhi gritted her teeth in anger. Who would so eagerly send their own child to be someone else's slave?
What the hell is this? The more I listen, the more I want to slap myself.

After saying that, he counted on his fingers and said, "You said we have chickens and horses? They're all at their house? I even gave him money to support his studies?"

That's how the original owner's memories were; they could only be vaguely recalled when mentioned.

Li Xiaoer blinked twice and nodded subconsciously.

"Okay, I understand."

After saying that, he went back and added some firewood to the stove.

She'll get it back sooner or later!
Then, after going outside, I took deep breaths and practiced the Eight Pieces of Brocade twice to dispel the evil energy.

She was used to practicing Baduanjin (Eight Pieces of Brocade) and never missed a session, regardless of the weather. Now that her physical condition was too poor, she dared not stop practicing.

After finishing her practice, she turned around and found several children staring at her. Feeling a little embarrassed, she changed the subject.

"Ahem, children, remember, members of our family can chop firewood, but it must be firewood for our family. They can fetch water, but it must be water for our family. They can cook, but it must be food for our family."

"No one can order you around, not even me."

Jiang Nuanzhi wiped the sweat from her forehead, figured it was about time, and waved to them: "Come in and eat."

The three children were left standing behind him, looking at each other in bewilderment.

Li Baozhu hesitated to step forward, and secretly tugged at her second brother's sleeve: "Second brother, has that bad woman gone mad? She actually invited us to dinner!"

Li Xiaoer frowned deeply, recalling the bad woman's appearance just now and her unusual behavior over the past two days.

"It's good that he's gone mad, at least he's not as bad as before."

Li Junping's dark eyes remained wary. He glanced at his younger siblings, who were eager to try, and whispered a warning: "Be careful, don't eat anything she gives you."

“But brother, if we don’t eat, we have nothing else to eat, and we’ve run out of money,” Li Xiaoer said.

Just then, a gurgling sound came from inside.

The two older brothers instinctively looked towards Xiao Baozhu.

Little Baozhu clutched her stomach, her little brows furrowed, and said pitifully, "Brother, I'm hungry."

"Come in quickly, or the buns will get cold."

Just then, Jiang Nuanzhi waved to them while holding a bowl.

After not having meat for several days, the aroma of braised pork seemed to fill their nostrils. The children's eyes widened at the fragrance.

Li Xiaoer and Baozhu held hands and subconsciously moved closer to the fragrant braised pork.

Li Junping tried to stop his younger siblings, but ultimately withdrew his hand.

Yes, if she doesn't let her younger siblings eat her food, she won't have any left either.

They'll either starve to death or be poisoned by this wicked woman.

Thinking about it that way, it might be better to die with a full stomach. Besides, it might not even be poisonous; after all, from his observation, bad women are broke, and poison is quite expensive.

Feeling resigned to his fate, he sat down as well.

Jiang Nuanzhi placed the four buns into the bowls of the four people respectively.

Then, placing the braised pork in the middle, he said, "Stop looking, everyone, eat up!"

The child was clearly still worried and didn't dare to take the food in front of him.

Jiang Nuanzhi raised an eyebrow, then picked up a steamed bun and took a big bite: "Not bad."

I don't know why, but the filling of these buns tasted a bit fishy, ​​but the skin was thin and the filling was plentiful, so they were good value for money.

Seeing that the others hadn't touched their chopsticks, Jiang Nuanzhi picked up another piece of braised pork and stuffed it into her mouth: "Eat up, don't worry, it's definitely not poisonous."

She secretly planned to cook something nice when she had more money; this meat was really unpalatable. In her past life, she was quite picky about food, refusing to eat anything she didn't like or that wasn't prepared properly. Now that she had transmigrated, she no longer had the right to be picky. She forced herself to finish the meal, suppressing the nausea churning in her stomach. She secretly thought about going out today to see if she could earn some money to buy some ingredients and cook something she liked.

Li Xiaoer couldn't help but swallow his saliva early on, and upon hearing Jiang Nuanzhi's words, he immediately reached out to grab a steamed bun.

Just as the steamed bun was brought to her mouth, her older brother blocked it.

Li Junping snatched the steamed bun from his younger brother and took a bite.

Then he closed his eyes, as if facing death without fear.

The rich, fragrant meat juices flowed into his mouth, and for a moment he was almost speechless. He hadn't eaten meat in a long time, let alone such carefully wrapped buns. He felt a warm glow in his stomach, as if his whole body was warming up.

Seeing that there was no reaction after a long time, he finally felt relieved and gave the bun to his younger brother. He then took the bun from his sister's hand in the same way and took a bite. Only after confirming that she was alright did he give it to his sister.

Jiang Nuanzhi felt uneasy as she watched.

Is this what they mean by children from poor families maturing early? In her world, an eight-year-old child is only in first grade, the age when they need to be picked up from school.

At this moment, Li Junping finally picked up his steamed bun, took a bite, and after confirming that it was okay, broke it in half and gave it to his younger brother and sister.

The two younger children, Li Xiao'er and Li Baozhu, hadn't had a proper meal in days, and their eyes were red as they buried their heads in their steamed buns. They seemed oblivious to the fact that their older brother had given them his.

"Eat slowly, don't choke," Jiang Nuanzhi instructed, then turned to look at Li Junping and couldn't help but ask, "Aren't you hungry?"

He glanced again at the little boy's hands, which were covered in chilblains and cracked open, now showing traces of blood, and couldn't help but frown.

Li Junping looked up and met Jiang Nuanzhi's eyes. Seeing that she was looking at his hands, he subconsciously put his hands, which were covered with chilblains, behind his back and said with pursed lips, "I'm not hungry. I'm going to chop firewood."

Jiang Nuanzhi pulled him over, examined his hand closely, sighed, and then handed him a small bottle.

"This skin oil can prevent frostbite and cracking. Wash your hands with hot water later and apply it evenly. I'll buy you some ointment for frostbite later, and it will be fine in a few days."

Li Junping took the porcelain-white perfume and looked at Jiang Nuanzhi, puzzled.

Jiang Nuanzhi stuffed another steamed bun into his hand: "Eat this steamed bun."

Seeing him hesitate while holding the steamed bun, Jiang Nuanzhi said noncommittally, "After you eat the steamed bun, you have to help me with the work. I'm going out this afternoon. You stay home and take care of your younger siblings and our family's belongings."

Hearing him say that, Li Junping lowered his eyes and brought the steamed bun to his mouth.

At this time, the steamed buns were quite large, and one was enough to fill a child's stomach.

The two little ones each ate one and a half steamed buns, and their faces showed satisfaction.

Li Xiaoer was still licking his fingers when he couldn't help but look at his brother: "Brother, I wish I could eat big steamed buns every day."

Li Baozhu nodded vigorously: "Yes, brother, the steamed buns smell so good, even better than the meat that Daddy makes."

Li Junping patted his sister's head and then his brother's shoulder, his lips moving several times, but he didn't say anything. He got up to tidy the table, but his gaze couldn't help but drift towards Jiang Nuanzhi.

If this woman really doesn't need him to take care of the second young master's family, then maybe he can earn big steamed buns for his younger siblings?
Wang Mazi had said that he could earn thirty coins a day carrying goods at the town's ferry crossing. If he could go out to work and save up some money, he could take Xiao Er to see a doctor for his leg.
(End of this chapter)