Chapter 33: Chapter 033 A Bit Different
Translator: 549690339
Zhuang Yonghe sighed again and said, “Here’s the thing, these two kids really have tough lives. The last time we did not offer them much either, since now they’ve asked for help, let’s give them a bit more, and try not to be too stingy.”
Upon hearing this, Mrs. He chuckled.
“What is it?” Zhuang Yonghe looked at Mrs. He who was laughing heartily, his face full of confusion.
“I’m laughing at us for jumping to conclusions. We thought that the young Miss Ning came to borrow food, but she didn’t. She came to ask if 1 could help hem a few pieces of clothing for them. She even brought us a piece of tofu, wanting us to taste her work.”
Mrs. He then relayed her encounter to Zhuang Yonghe: “She initially intended to pay, but 1 declined. Let’s discuss this later. They just moved out and will need money down the line.”
“That is correct,” Zhuang Yonghe agreed while nodding his head, “In the sunshine later, tofu may not sell, or even turn bad too quickly. We don’t have much to give, so if we can avoid taking their money then we won’t.”
Seeing her husband in agreement with her, Mrs. He didn’t say any more. She just tidied up the cloth, calling to the kids who were playing around in the courtyard, telling them to do their chores or to go to bed if it was their bedtime.
When Zhuang Qingning came back inside the courtyard, Zhuang Qingsui was hoeing the ground. Bit by bit, she had already cleared a small patch.
“Let me take over. Have a rest, and go drink some water.” Zhuang Qingning took the hoe from her and continued hoeing.
The courtyard of this house had been deserted for a year. Weeds had grown all over the place. The ground wasn’t as hard as in other courtyards, making it easier to hoe.
The previous owner’s body was conditioned by years of farming labor, thus she was strong, and adept at this hard work. She hoed the ground without panting or getting flush faced.
While Zhuang Qingning was busy hoeing the ground, Zhuang Qingsui boiled some water for tea to cool down, so that she could drink it when she finished working later.
After a while, she insisted Zhuang Qingning take a break, and she took over the hoeing.
The sisters took turns in preparing the ground for growing vegetables in the courtyard. The task was accomplished quickly.
Once the newly turned soil had dried sufficiently in the sun, they would hoe it once again before starting to plant their vegetables.
It was getting late. After taking a break with Zhuang Qingsui, Zhuang Qingning cleaned up and went to Aunt Wen’s.
Knowing that Mrs. Wen usually went to bed early and was a light sleeper, Zhuang Qingning and Zhuang Qingsui were careful to enter quietly, making as little noise as possible.
They crossed the courtyard and entered the tofu workshop cautiously.
In the usually dark, silent tofu workshop, an oil lamp was burning. Mrs. Wen was sitting there, staring blankly at the large pot on the stove, where the soy milk was boiling.
“Aunt Wen?” Zhuang Qingning walked up to her with surprise and called her.
It wasn’t until this moment that Mrs. Wen came out of her trance. She squinted at Zhuang Qingning and Zhuang Qingsui: “You two, why are you here so early today?”
“We promised someone that we’d deliver tofu early in the morning, so we came to grind the tofu early.” Zhuang Qingning noticed the gloomy look on Mrs. Wen’s face, as if she was preoccupied with something. She asked cautiously, “Did we disturb you, Aunt Wen?”
“No bother. Go about your work. 1 was just looking for something and I couldn’t find it, so 1 drifted into a reverie,” Mrs. Wen said, getting up and heading out.
“You should get some rest early, Aunt Wen,” Zhuang Qingning said.
Mrs. Wen didn’t respond. She just turned around and walked slowly away.
Zhuang Qingning lit another oil lamp and took the soaked soybeans out of the water.
Zhuang Qingsui hurried over to help, unable to hold back, she asked: “Sister, don’t you feel that Aunt Wen was a bit different today?”
“Oh? What do you mean?”
“Usually, Aunt Wen always has a stern face, and her words are often sharp and unpleasant. Today she wasn’t being polite but her words were unusually gentle. It’s really weird…”
“You,” Zhuang Qingning teased, tweaking Zhuang Qingsui’s ear, “You should be grateful that Aunt Wen was gentle today!”
“Well, it’s great…”
But it was just something she was not used to.
Everyone is used to a certain behavior from a person. A sudden change in a person’s character feels pretty odd. It always seemed as if anything worse could happen later on.
“Maybe she had a happy event,” Zhuang Qingning laughed. “It’s nice that Aunt Wen is behaving like this, right? As for the future, we will handle it when the time comes. There’s no point in worrying about it now since you don’t know what will happen anyway, right?”
“Right,” Zhuang Qingsui said after thinking for a while. She found that Zhuang Qingning’s words made a lot of sense. So, she quickly helped Zhuang Qingning take all the soybeans out of the water and began to grind them into milk.
They were busy late into the night. By the time they finished making the tofu, not all the stars in the sky had faded away.
They enjoyed a simple meal with some dry food brought from home. They heated up the leftover soy milk from the night before, creating a nutrient-rich breakfast.
They prepared the tofu pudding and tofu that Mrs. Wen would need. As the sky brightened in the east with the break of dawn, the sisters got ready to set out.
Days were gradually getting longer in spring, the sky lightened up quickly. By the time they set foot on the main road, the day had already broken.
There were many people rushing to work in town at dawn. They often saw fellow travelers and bullock carts hurrying to town. The sisters paid two coins to ride a bullock cart. By the time they reached their usual spot for selling products, it was only a few moments past dawn.
At this time, not many street vendors were out. Only those selling breakfast, such as fried dough sticks with soy milk, buns and tofu pudding, were busy attracting customers.
At this time, since the streets were sparsely populated, they didn’t rush to sell but chose to rest for a bit. If anyone wanted to buy, they would sell their tofu.
Zhou Xueming came rushing over with a frown on his face. Seeing Zhuang Qingning, he paused, then exhaled slightly and quickly walked towards her. “Miss, I’m here for my ten catties of tofu,” he said.
“Alright,” Zhuang Qingning cut up the tofu niftily, weighed it, and put it into the bamboo basket that Zhou Xueming was holding. Then, she cut another piece of tofu and put it in as well.
“Since today is your mother’s birthday, this piece of tofu is a birthday gift. I wish her good fortune as boundless as the eastern sea and longevity as lasting as the southern mountains.”
Zhou Xueming had given twelve coins, but Zhuang Qingning felt it was too much and did not want to take advantage. Thus, she returned the favor with tofu.
“Since it’s a birthday gift, it would be improper for me not to accept it.” Zhou Xueming took the basket and said, “Thank you, miss.”
“My pleasure,” Zhuang Qingning responded with a smile, “If you find the tofu tasty, please visit us often in the future.”
“Surely,” Zhou Xueming promised decisively.
Considering there were still many things to do at home, Zhou Xueming didn’t linger. After saying goodbye, he picked up the tofu and left hurriedly.
[Ding, congratulations. The host has completed the filial piety random task, has received 18 hardworking points, and a random reward. The host can check it now..]
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