Chapter 10: Borrowing Books from Dad

“Ah?” Bai An looked up at Cui Ju, who was a head taller than her, feeling a little dazed. She muttered, “I’ve never done any farm work.”

Cui Ju’s eyes widened slightly when she heard this. She looked at Bai An in surprise, “You’ve never done any farm work?”

Bai An nodded softly.

Listening to Bai An’s soft voice and noticing her slightly babyish, fair face, Cui Ju felt that, had it been her, she wouldn’t have been able to bring herself to do that either.

At that moment, Da Zhuang also caught up, carrying three full baskets. “Why are you two running so fast?”

Cui Ju took two of the baskets from Da Zhuang and smiled lightly. “Thank you for your hard work.”

“You know how hard it is,” Da Zhuang grumbled as he plopped down onto the grass. “How come you didn’t think about how hard it’d be when you handed me the baskets?”

“Alright.” Cui Ju glanced at Da Zhuang, who was lying on the ground. “A few baskets and you’re this exhausted?”

“What do you mean, a few baskets?” Da Zhuang said somewhat aggrievedly. “We ran from that place to here, and you two were running so fast. Who wouldn’t be tired?”

Bai An, seeing they were about to start bickering again, quickly grabbed her own basket. “It’s getting late, we should head back.”

Cui Ju rolled her eyes at Da Zhuang, then hooked her arm around Bai An’s and started walking back.

Da Zhuang also picked up his basket and followed them.

“Mom!” Bai An ran into the kitchen excitedly. “Look at what I picked!”

Wan Qing looked at Bai An, who resembled a little kitten with her clothes covered in dry grass and stains.

Amused, she took out a handkerchief from her pocket and wiped Bai An’s small face. “Where have you been? How did you get yourself so dirty?”

Looking down, she noticed the wild vegetables in Bai An’s basket. “Did you go pick wild vegetables? Good job, Bai An.”

Bai An was thrilled by her mother’s praise. She handed the basket over to her mother and excitedly said, “Then can you make this dish for dinner tonight?”

Wan Qing smiled and tapped Bai An’s nose. “Sure.”

With Bai An’s help, Wan Qing no longer had to go out for labor and could focus on managing the household and educating the children. Her complexion had become more radiant, and she looked more beautiful than ever.

While Bai An hummed a tune outside, admiring the vegetables her mother had planted, a hand suddenly reached out and grabbed her collar.

Bai An quickly turned around. “Brother, you scared me!”

Lu Jin’an lowered his gaze and looked at Bai An, who was covered in dirt. He frowned. “You always get your clothes so dirty when you go out to play. Your clothes are the hardest to wash in the whole family.”

Bai An wrenched herself free from Lu Jin’an’s grip and looked at herself, inspecting from one side to the other, not feeling like she was really that dirty.

“Do you think your clothes aren’t that dirty?” Lu Jin’an could tell what she was thinking just from the look on her face. “If you get your clothes this dirty again, you’ll have to wash them yourself.”

“Do you understand?”

Seeing Bai An remain unmoved, Lu Jin’an really felt like his patience was running out with her.

“I’m asking you, do you understand?”

“Yes!!!”

Bai An cupped her hands to her mouth like a horn and yelled at the top of her lungs.

“White An!”

Lu Jin’an looked at Bai An’s retreating figure, feeling frustrated and helpless, rubbing his brows with his hand.

Wan Qing, hearing Bai An’s shout, curiously came out to see what had happened but only saw Lu Jin’an standing there.

She chuckled and said, “Bai An is just like that by nature, a child with a temper.”

“I know, Mom,” Lu Jin’an said, thinking about Bai An’s behavior earlier. His expression softened as he said, “She’s fine just the way she is.”

“By the way, you can’t wash Bai An’s clothes anymore. She’s old enough to do it herself,” Wan Qing said, sitting by the door, picking vegetables. “Starting tomorrow, you should have her wash her own clothes.”

“No need, I’ll still wash them for her. She won’t do a good job washing them herself,” Lu Jin’an said, pulling a stool to sit next to his mother.

Wan Qing glanced at him and laughed. “When you were her age, you were already washing her clothes.”

Bai An ran into her father’s room. Lu Demin, seeing her enter, quickly put down the book he was reading, bent down, and asked, “What brings you to find your dad?”

Bai An looked at the large stack of books on her father’s desk and asked, “Dad, can I borrow a few books?”

“Why do you suddenly want to read? Didn’t you always dislike reading?” Lu Demin teased, pinching his daughter’s fair, round cheek.

Bai An didn’t like her father constantly pinching her cheek, but it seemed like everyone loved doing it.

“It’s not for me,” Bai An dodged her father’s hand and sat down in the chair. In a soft voice, she asked, “Dad, do you remember Cui Ju?”

“Cui Ju has an older brother who loves reading, but his family’s books were all burned. So I was wondering if I could borrow a few books for her brother.”

Lu Demin thought for a moment and then recalled, “You’re talking about Cui Ju, the little girl who often plays with you?”

“Yes, Dad, that’s her.” Bai An glanced at Lu Demin’s desk and then turned back to look at him.

Lu Demin thought about the incident with the burned books. He’d heard about it, and it was hard to say who was right or wrong in that situation.

He picked out a few books suitable for her age and handed them to Bai An. He noticed that Bai An was still staring at him.

“Reading is a good thing, so of course, I’ll lend them to you,” Lu Demin said, gently patting Bai An’s head as he handed her the books. “Here you go.”

Bai An happily hugged the books and said, “Thank you, Dad!”

Lu Demin looked at Bai An holding the books and couldn’t help but feel a little nostalgic. It would be great if Bai An loved reading as much as this.

In the yard, Lu Jin’an was helping to pull weeds from the vegetable garden. When he looked up, he saw Bai An, with a small bag on her back, about to leave. He quickly called out, “It’s almost time for dinner. Where are you going?”

“I’m going to Cui Ju’s house,” Bai An waved at Lu Jin’an. “I’ll be back soon.”

The sun was setting, and the golden glow of the sunset fell on Bai An, giving her an almost ethereal look, like she had a delicate veil on, beautiful and mysterious.

Wan Qing came out with the dishes and saw Bai An in such a hurry. She turned to Lu Jin’an and asked in confusion, “Where is Bai An going? It’s almost time for dinner.”

Lu Jin’an took the dishes from Wan Qing’s hands and replied, “She said she’s going to Cui Ju’s house. She should be back soon.”

“The sun’s almost down. How can you let Bai An go out alone?” Wan Qing lightly patted Lu Jin’an’s shoulder. “You should go and bring her back.”

Lu Jin’an smiled and told Wan Qing to sit down and eat. “I’ll bring her back soon. She still has homework left to do.”

Looking at the closed courtyard, Bai An felt a bit scared. After all, Cui Ju’s house looked a little eerie in the evening.

The desolate atmosphere, the broken doors and windows, the leaves that hadn’t been swept up, and suddenly, a pale face appeared.