Chapter 30 3/3

Shen Ning didn’t mind at all. It was better for him to leave. But from what he said before leaving, it didn’t seem like he was giving up on getting grease residue.

Sure enough, not long after, Shen Jin came back, carrying their family’s small hoe on his shoulder.

It wasn’t the fake hoes made of stone that Shen An and Shen Ning had, which weren’t very effective. It was a real iron hoe, a small, pointed one.

Shen Jin was quite proud. “Watch closely; I’ll definitely be the first to get grease residue today!”

Shen An’s lips twitched. He moved Shen Yin and Shen Tie farther away from Shen Jin and then looked at Shen Jin. “Be careful not to hurt yourself. I won’t pay for medical expenses if you do.”

Shen Ning burst out laughing.

When Shen Jin swung the hoe down, he almost missed, which made him glare with wide eyes. “Who do you think you’re underestimating?”

Indeed, the kids in the mountains were all familiar with this. It was just a difference in strength and skill.

Shen An didn’t say anything more and busied himself. The plot of land he was clearing was by the side of the house, where he could keep an eye on Shen Jin and also look after their house door.

Around noon, when Sang Luo and Qin Fangniang returned here through the small path in the mountains, they saw five children, big and small, with hoes, stone hoes, and bamboo pieces, standing or squatting, busily clearing the land by the grass hut and behind the house.

Sang Luo: ??

Qin Fangniang, who was helping carry the buckets, was also taken aback.

Shen An, who was clearing the land by the side of the house, was the first to see his sister-in-law returning. He called out to her and quickly ran over to help her with the things. His reaction was very quick.

Following closely behind was Shen Ning, and then the three brothers from the third family, who heard the noise and ran over to the side of the house to peek at this side.

From tallest to shortest, the three of them, when Sang Luo took a glance at them, immediately shrank back.

Sang Luo looked at the three brothers in the distance, raised her chin in that direction, and asked Shen An, “What are they doing?”

Shen An felt a little embarrassed and nervous. He whispered, “They want to eat grease residue and cried at the door. So, I let them work and clear the land in exchange for grease residue.”

After speaking, he glanced at Sang Luo cautiously and continued in a low voice, “I didn’t give them much, just promised each of them a piece.”

Sang Luo smiled upon hearing this. “That’s fine. Just make sure they don’t hurt themselves. It’s too hot now, and there’s no shade here. Let them rest for now. They shouldn’t work anymore, or they’ll get heatstroke.”

Shen An knew that his sister-in-law didn’t have any objections to how he handled it. He grinned and said, “I know. I’ll ask them to go back for now. It won’t be as hot in the afternoon.”

Helping Sang Luo and Qin Fangniang move their things to the eaves of the house, Shen An didn’t open the door to let them in.

Even though the people from the Chen family who followed them were nice to their siblings, Shen An didn’t let them in either.

After all the running around, everything he did seemed natural, and Qin Fangniang didn’t think much of it.

Taking the small piece of pancake wrapped in lotus leaves from the bucket, she bid farewell to Sang Luo and hurried down the mountain path, back to the village.

Seeing Qin Fangniang leave, Shen An asked his sister-in-law to go wash her face and hands quickly, then quietly reminded Shen Ning to pay attention to something and the house door. He then ran to Shen Jin and his brothers.

Shen Jin was a bit nervous and pulled Shen An aside. “Will you keep your promise about the grease residue?”

In his view, such precious things were decided by adults.

When Sang Luo wasn’t at home, he dared to ask Shen An and Shen Ning for it. But once Sang Luo returned, the situation immediately changed.

He belatedly realized, could he still count on Shen An’s promise?

It had to be said that this wasn’t just Shen Jin’s understanding; it was the common understanding of most children.

Shen An was also a bit nervous when San Luo asked just now. After all, although his sister-in-law said the things were for him and his sister, it was grease residue, not for them to eat, but to give out.

And then, it turned out that his sister-in-law was the best sister-in-law.

The usually precocious Shen An felt a surge of pride in his heart. He glanced at Shen Jin and said, “Of course it counts. My sister-in-law treats me and An Ning the best. She gave us the remaining pieces of grease residue. She promised me to make the decision. But it’s too hot today. My sister-in-law is afraid you might get heatstroke. She said not to work at noon. Come back when it’s cooler in the afternoon.”

Shen Jin looked at the land he had already cleared, feeling somewhat reluctant. “It’s not that hot.”

He was worried about what would happen if Shen An changed his mind in the afternoon?

Kids’ words weren’t set in stone; changing their minds was normal. He didn’t want to go back if he couldn’t get rid of the grease residue.

Shen An glared at him. “Are you coming back or not? If you don’t, there won’t be any grease residue.”

A piece of lard practically controlled Shen Jin’s mind. “Fine, I’ll go back. But you can’t change your mind in the afternoon. I’ve been hoeing for so long that blisters are forming on my hands.”

He stretched out his right hand, showing Shen An the position of the blisters.

Although saying blisters had formed was an exaggeration, his hand was indeed a bit red.

Shen An pursed his lips. “Who would change their mind?”

“Agreed. Changing your mind is for dogs.”

With these words, Shen Jin picked up his hoe and, with his two younger brothers, walked away, taking three steps and then turning around to remind Shen An, “You can’t go back on your word.”

This remark made Shen Ning roll her eyes.

Back at home, as soon as Shen Jin entered the courtyard, he was caught by Mrs. Li. “Where did you take your brothers this morning? Why are you still carrying a hoe to play?”

“Just fooling around.” Shen Jin leaned his hoe against the courtyard wall and hurriedly ran to the main hall. He picked up a water jug, poured himself a glass of water, and gulped it down. Working under the sun for an hour made him thirsty.

As for the fact that he took his two brothers to work for Shen An, Shen Jin was smart enough not to mention it. Saying so would anger his mother.

In any case, his mother couldn’t be relied upon. If they wanted to eat the lard residue today, they had to rely on Shen An.

Mrs. Li found it strange. What did he mean by “just fooling around”? She then turned to grab the two younger ones and asked.

Chen Yin was also clever. Although nobody explicitly instructed him, he instinctively knew that his mother didn’t like his elder brother and sister-in-law. He shook his head with his mouth shut, then ran to the main hall, climbed onto a stool, and poured himself a glass of water to drink.

Digging mud, stones, and grass roots for half a morning was quite tiring, much harder than playing with mud.

Only Shen Tie was caught by Mrs. Li. “Tell me, what did you do this morning?”

Shen Jin and Shen Yin, who slipped away earlier, both felt a pang in their hearts. They stopped drinking water and ran back to the entrance of the main hall, signaling Shen Tie with their eyes.

Shen Tie couldn’t break free from his mother’s grip and cried out, “Playing with mud.”

Hearing this, the two younger brothers almost burst out laughing.

That was exactly it—just playing with mud.