fynovel Chapter 8 Sister Qiu
Chapter 8 Sister Qiu
kitchen.
"Egg drop soup..."
Li Jun exclaimed in delight, his little eyes shining. He leaned forward on the small table, looking down at the bowl of egg drop soup, his little nose constantly inhaling, "So fragrant, so fragrant... glug glug..."
He swallowed mouthful after mouthful of saliva.
"Brother, look, these are oil droplets!"
The little guy pointed excitedly at the bowl, as if he had discovered something amazing.
Looking at him, Li Yuan felt both sad and amused. A few drops of oil were all he had to be so excited. It must have been a long time since he had seen any oil. This world... is really too hard.
"Don't lie down!"
"If you break the table, you won't even get to drink any porridge, let alone egg drop soup."
Wang Xiulan glared at him.
Upon hearing this, the little one immediately sat up straight, but his little eyes never left the bowl of egg drop soup. "It looks so good."
A bowl of egg drop soup.
The small kitchen is now filled with more laughter than usual.
Li Yuan gave him half, which Wang Xiulan insisted on giving him; Li Jun drank most of the remaining half, while she only drank a little.
"Mom, make an extra bowl tomorrow."
"You don't know how hard it is if you don't cook. Every time I see that there's not much food in the jar, I get so worried that I can't sleep."
Wang Xiulan paused with her chopsticks. "Let's use them sparingly, so we can eat for a few more days."
Especially in the past few days, she had countless nightmares. There was no food, and her family even ate wild grass and tree bark... Every time she woke up, she was drenched in sweat.
Although there are dozens of kilograms of flour and eggs in the jar, she still doesn't dare to eat much.
She was truly terrified.
"It's alright, Mother. This won't happen again."
Li Yuan knew that he was a light sleeper and felt bad when he heard Wang Xiulan's cries of alarm at night. Fortunately, he would not do that again. Now that he had become a ninth-rank martial artist, he could protect his family with a little caution.
However, Wang Xiulan was still somewhat unwilling, so he could only persuade her again, "Mother, look how thin Jun has become, and so have you. Besides, I need to eat more and cook more now, right? I'll take care of everything else."
Wang Xiulan hadn't changed her mind in the first two sentences, but when she heard that he needed it, she finally nodded and said, "Okay, I'll make an extra bowl tomorrow."
They even asked, "Would you like another pancake?"
She now makes four pancakes for each meal. Li Yuan eats three, while she and Li Jun still share half, just like before.
"Make one more."
Li Yuan thought about it. It wasn't for himself; he could manage eating three, so the extra would naturally be for her and Li Jun.
"OK!"
At this moment, Li Jun was holding the empty bowl of egg drop soup and licking it clean, so clean that there was no need to wash the bowl.
"It's delicious," he said, licking the food.
"It's delicious, but don't tell anyone, understand?"
Li Yuan patted his head and gave him some instructions.
"I know, brother. This is what Dad used to mean by 'the taller the tree, the more the wind will blow,' right?"
Forehead--
Li Yuan was taken aback; indeed, children from poor families mature early.
...
I've had breakfast.
Wang Xiulan washes the dishes, and Li Jun wipes the table.
With no worries about food, Wang Xiulan's face beamed with smiles.
As for Li Yuan, he began to prepare the medicinal ointment.
Prepare a little bit each day, and go to Xiaolingfang in three or four days.
And so, a peaceful and uneventful day passed. As evening fell, smoke began to rise from the chimneys of every household in Willow Lane.
Today, Wang Xiulan told me that some families are now eating wheat bran, and they only get one meal a day.
Li Yuan stood in the courtyard and sighed inwardly; life was getting harder and harder.
"I'm not playing anymore, I'm so hungry, I'm going home."
"Me too!"
...
Under the big willow tree, several children were playing with pebbles, and Li Jun was among them.
"Ah Jun, aren't you hungry?"
The one who spoke was a girl, from Aunt Liu's family, named Xiao Liu.
"I drank enough water when I came out to play."
Li Jun said, tilting his head back with a smug look on his face.
Hearing his words, Li Yuan's lips curled up. The little guy kept his mouth shut. "Not bad!"
Of course he wasn't hungry.
Yesterday he brought back so much flour, and although Wang Xiulan was frugal, the porridge she made was much thicker than before. She also drank egg drop soup and ate most of a pancake, and her little belly was slightly bulging.
"Then I'll go home and get some water too."
"I'm going too!"
...
As his friends went home one by one, Li Jun, seeing there was nothing left to play, prepared to go home as well. Just then, he saw Li Yuan in the yard, ran over, grabbed Li Yuan's hand, and whispered like a thief, "Brother, how did I do?"
They looked like they were just waiting for praise!
"Great, there's something delicious tonight!"
Upon hearing about delicious food, the little one couldn't wait and asked, "What delicious food is it?"
Li Yuan pinched his little nose. "You'll know when you eat it."
"elder brother....."
...
dinner.
An oil lamp barely illuminated the dark kitchen.
"Wow...is this meat?"
Li Jun's mouth opened wide, just like an adult's.
Wang Xiulan glared at him, "Keep your voice down, as if you're afraid others won't hear you."
As he spoke, he picked up a small bowl with his chopsticks, containing about six or seven pieces of meat, and instructed, "Go and take this to Qiu Yatou. She gave us quite a lot before. In return, we should send some of our good food over as well."
"good!"
...
He Qiu's house was right next to Li Yuan's house, just a few steps away.
In front of the courtyard gate.
"Knock knock knock..."
Li Yuan gently knocked on the wooden door.
But after waiting for a long time without hearing any sound, I wondered, "Is she not home?"
Li Yuan muttered to himself, preparing to try knocking again, when he heard a faint sound of footsteps. It was from home!
"Ah, Yuan Yao?"
Behind the door, He Qiu saw a figure through the crack, but it was too dark for him to see clearly; he could only make out the general outline.
"It's me, Sister Qiu."
Li Yuan immediately replied that in this day and age, especially for a woman living alone, it's normal to be cautious when someone suddenly knocks on the door.
After confirming, He Qiu opened the door. With a creak, a crack appeared, and a delicate face followed. "Ah Yuan, what is it?"
It seemed they didn't intend to let him in, not because they had a bad relationship.
Rather, it was her identity that made her a widow.
Her reputation has already been ruined by these people in Willow Lane. If the gossip about the widow seducing men is added to the mix, she won't be able to stay in Willow Lane any longer.
Although Li Yuan was just a child in his eyes, he was still a man.
Li Yuan naturally noticed her hesitation, so he said, "My mother asked me to bring some food over. Here!"
He then handed the bowl over.
"Ah... I've already eaten, no need..."
She was about to refuse, but Li Yuan shoved the bowl into her hands. Whether by accident or not, his hand touched He Qiu's palm, and his fingertips brushed against it.
He Qiu's face immediately flushed red; just a moment ago, her whole body felt weak.
Li Yuan, on the other hand, acted as if nothing had happened. "Sister Qiu, I'm going back now. By the way, wash your hair less often; you're not fully recovered yet."