Chapter 41 : “Little Bean” Gives Gifts

“Aunt, Aunt, we are here!”  

Lu Fangfang had just accepted a bunch of things sent by her sisters-in-law when she saw a group of little kids running in through the courtyard gate.  

Each child was holding branches and firewood in their hands.  

As soon as they entered the yard, they shouted, “Aunt, Aunt, we brought you firewood! We won’t eat your food for free!”  

Lu Fangfang didn’t know whether to laugh or cry and quickly told the children to put it down.  

Looking at this group of “little kids,” she felt deeply moved. Although they were small, they were much more thoughtful than some of her sisters-in-law, who only knew how to make snide remarks.  

“Aunt, wait for us! We’ll go get more!”  

“Hey? Slow down!”  

Lu Fangfang watched helplessly as the children hurriedly ran off again.  

She glanced at the branches and firewood on the ground, feeling a little surprised.  

The firewood they brought had clear signs of being chopped, where did they even find it? Could it be that one of her sisters-in-law asked them to bring it?  

Shaking her head, Lu Fangfang decided not to think too much about it.  

The soup had to be cooked well otherwise, she would feel guilty about the kindness of these “little kids.”  

Picking up the hammer, she was just about to smash the last few bones when Wang Shufen entered the yard.  

Seeing that Lu Fangfang had already smashed two large basins full of beef bones, Wang Shufen grabbed a tin bucket and went to fetch water.  

After a while, she returned, carrying two full buckets of water, with Yang Yufen following behind while holding a child.  

“Oh, you bought so many bones?”  

Yang Yufen’s eyes lit up when she saw the two large basins of beef bones in the yard.  

With a shameless yet flattering tone, she said, “I knew Sister Fangfang was just joking with me. How could you possibly be short on money?”  

Lu Fangfang felt a headache coming on as soon as she saw Yang Yufen.  

“Sister Yufen, I’m not joking. I don’t know when Mingcheng will be back, and I don’t have much money left. How about lending me some?”  

“Ah…”  

Yang Yufen quickly ignored her words and awkwardly changed the subject. “Ahem, the weather is nice today, not too cold or too hot.”  

Lu Fangfang: “…”  

She simply pretended Yang Yufen didn’t exist and continued with her work.  

Yang Yufen, however, didn’t feel awkward being ignored. She glanced around and carefully inspected the yard.  

After a while, she turned back and saw Lu Fangfang scooping water into an enamel basin, which startled her.  

“Don’t wash it! Don’t wash it! Don’t wash it! The oil on the bones will be washed away. Just throw them straight into the pot!”  

Lu Fangfang rolled her eyes and couldn’t be bothered to respond.  

Don’t wash it? Forget the dirt on the bones, just the blood alone had to be cleaned off, or the soup would turn out way too fishy.  

She filled the enamel basin with water and started washing the bones herself.  

By the time she pulled them out, the remaining water in the basin was murky red with blood and dirt. Just as she was about to pour it out, Yang Yufeng stopped her again.  

“What a waste! Such a waste!”  

“Sister Fangfang, please don’t throw it out. Hold on a second, I’ll go home and grab a bucket to feed my chickens.”  

With that, Yang Yufeng hurried off, still holding the child.  

Since her house was right next door, she returned in no time.  

In the yard, Lu Fangfang and Wang Shufen exchanged confused looks.  

“Sis, this one’s even thriftier than us,” Wang Shufen remarked.  

Lu Fangfang nodded in agreement.  

She had only thought of grinding the bones into powder for the chickens and quails, but her sister-in-law took things a step further, she even found a use for the blood.  

Since Yang Yufen’s husband was Zhuang Mingcheng’s comrade-in-arms, Lu Fangfang wasn’t in a hurry. She waited until her sister-in-law returned, then poured the bloody water into the bucket she had brought.  

As Yang Yufeng carried the bucket away, Lu Fangfang called out with a smirk, “Sister-in-law, there’s still another basin of bones to be washed. Don’t you want that too?”  

“That’s enough. I only have two hens at home. They couldn’t drink this much even if they died.”  

Hearing this, Lu Fangfang couldn’t help but smile.  

Shaking her head, she decided not to bother anymore.  

After washing the bones, she tossed them into the large black pot, filling it to the brim.  

She then added clean water and used the firewood brought by the little kids to start a fire under the pot.  

This was a time-consuming task, it would take at least half a day of boiling to extract the oil from the bones.  

She hadn’t added any spices yet, planning to do so only after she finished rendering the butter.  

With nothing else to do for the moment, Lu Fangfang took out the beef liver and tripe. As she washed them, she began chatting with Wang Shufen about family matters.  

The two were deep in conversation when Yang Yufen returned, still carrying her child.  

She didn’t interrupt but simply stood there staring at the big pot, lost in thought.  

Lu Fangfang and Wang Shufen continued talking as if she wasn’t even there.  

“Sis, I’m planning to hatch the eggs tonight. By the end of next month, the chicks should hatch, and I’ll give you two of them.”  

“Oh, and if you come across any quail eggs, save them for me, I’ll hatch them for you.”  

Lu Fangfang nodded. “Alright.”  

“Sister Shufen, come by early tomorrow and check if my sisters-in-law have any goose or duck eggs. If they do, buy some from them.”  

Hatching chicks wasn’t easy. They needed to keep a fire going every day to maintain warmth on the kang, and it required constant attention.  

From the start of incubation to the time the chicks hatched, it would take about twenty days. It was a lot of work, so it was best to hatch everything together.  

The two then started talking about land reclamation. With the weather warming up soon, they couldn’t afford any delays.  

After buying the necessary farming tools and seeds, they planned to report to the regiment tomorrow and then start clearing land by the riverbank.  

Thinking about it, there was so much to do.  

Lu Fangfang didn’t mind the busywork, staying occupied meant she wouldn’t have time to think about Zhuang Mingcheng.  

“Aunt, Aunt, we’re back!”  

As they were chatting, a child’s loud voice rang out from outside the yard.  

Lu Fangfang turned her head and saw the little kids running in again, carrying more firewood.  

“Aunt, Aunt, I—hiccup.”  

Daya had originally been excited, but when she saw Wang Shufen, she suddenly fell silent.  

“Daya, where did you get the firewood?”  

“Mom, we picked it up.”  

“Picked it up? Where did you pick it up from? I’ll go get some too.”  

Wang Shufen eyed the firewood in the children’s hands, it looked quite sturdy.  

The area around the family compound was mostly covered in grass, and the little bit she had raked up before barely burned at all.  

With the chicks about to hatch, having some proper firewood would be much better.  

“Uh… um…”  

Daya panicked. She dropped the firewood, turned around, and bolted. “Mom, we’re going out to play!”  

The other children, seeing this, immediately followed suit. They dropped their firewood and ran off without a second thought.  

“Daya? Daya! Slow down! Watch where you’re going!”  

Wang Shufen sighed helplessly.  

Her daughter had always been a bit of a troublemaker back in their hometown, she’d either be fishing in the river or climbing trees to raid bird nests.  

Now that they had joined the regiment, with her father as her biggest supporter, she had become even more unruly.  

“Sister Shufen, Daya is actually quite well-behaved,” Lu Fangfang said with a smile.  

Looking at the pile of firewood on the ground, she felt genuinely happy.  

These little kids had completely solved her firewood problem.  

Once the beef bone soup was ready tomorrow morning, she’d have to get more meat to share with the children.