Chapter 100: Big Brother, Are You Afraid of Big Sister-in-law?

Back at home, Shen Lie sent the household register down the mountain. The five cents for handling the paperwork were given by Sang Luo.

On the first day back, he experienced what it felt like to spend his “wife’s” money. It was a truly complicated feeling. Fortunately, when Sang Luo handed him the household register, she had already prepared the money and handed it to him together, so he didn’t have to try the feeling of asking his “wife” for money.

He blushed as he took the money and the household register, hurriedly said thank you, and quickly left.

Make money, make money quickly!

…

With Shen Lie’s hard work, Sang Luo found herself completely liberated. Truly, all the most tiring tasks of making tofu and dried tofu were taken care of by Shen Lie. He ground the beans without needing anyone to take over.

Sang Luo noticed that he didn’t slow down his bean grinding speed even a bit after she finished making the magic tofu. She offered to take over a few times, but he refused, saying he wasn’t tired.

She glanced at his arms several times, then looked at his expression, trying to judge whether he was really not tired or just didn’t want to admit it.

Shen Lie’s face gradually turned red under her gaze. He couldn’t help but say, “I’m really not tired. I’ve carried wild boars out of the deep mountains before.”

Shen An on the side nodded vigorously, “Big Brother has indeed hunted wild boars before. My and An Ning’s padded jackets and quilts were exchanged for wild boars.”

Sang Luo was surprised to hear this. When they bought padded jackets and quilts, how old were they? Before they enlisted, sixteen?

Could a sixteen-year-old hunt and carry wild boars? She wondered if they were just small wild boars.

But both brothers said so, so Sang Luo finally stopped staring. “Alright, then I’ll go weave the reed curtains. If I get tired, I’ll ask Xiao An to call me.”

There’s a technique to scooping soaked beans and water into the hole of the millstone. The ratio of soybeans to water is crucial. Since it was Shen Lie’s first time grinding beans, there was no hope that he would master the technique. Therefore, Shen An was left to assist him.

Shen Lie nodded busily. After a while, when the people had left the kitchen, he breathed a sigh of relief.

He looked up and saw Shen An curiously staring at him.

“Why are you looking at me? Put the beans in.”

Shen An didn’t put the beans in, but instead approached a little closer and whispered, “Big Brother, are you afraid of Big Sister-in-law?”

Shen Lie: …

He directly knocked on Shen An’s forehead, “What nonsense are you talking about? Get to work.”

Shen An chuckled and added beans to the millstone again. He whispered again, “My Big Sister-in-law is really good, very, very good.”

Shen Lie glanced at him. He wondered what else he was going to say. How good was she? He realized that he could hear what was going on over here from the main house, so he ruffled his brother’s head and told him to be quiet and just focus on the work.

While working, Shen An was a little curious and asked Sang Luo, “Big Sister-in-law, what are we weaving this for?”

Sang Luo nodded towards the position of the bed and said, “To hang between the two beds.”

Shen Ning was puzzled, “Why hang a curtain between the beds? Wouldn’t it be inconvenient to talk?”

Normally, the two little ones slept on the new bed while Sang Luo slept on the old one. Before sleeping, they would sit cross-legged on their respective beds, chatting, reading the Thousand Word Classic taught by Sang Luo, or solving some math problems together.

Wouldn’t hanging a curtain in the middle block the view?

Sang Luo couldn’t say that it’s because of gender differences, and it would be very awkward if your brother saw me, so we need to create some space. She smiled, “It won’t be inconvenient, and it won’t block the sound. Hanging curtains looks nice. Once it’s finished, you’ll see.”

Shen Ning looked at the half-finished piece in her hand, imagined how it would look when hung up, then looked at the two beds. She couldn’t help but think that it might look better hanging against the wall.

But the little girl only doubted for a moment. If Big Sister-in-law likes it in the middle, then it should be in the middle. She’ll just follow Big Sister-in-law’s lead.

…

Shen Lie’s efficiency in grinding beans was much higher than when Sang Luo had to occasionally stop to rub her arms or switch people.

Sang Luo had only woven half of the reed curtain when Shen An came over to say that the soy milk was ready.

The rest of the work had to be done by Sang Luo. She left Shen Ning to continue weaving the curtain and had Shen An help her finish the other half.

Shen Lie waited in the kitchen until Sang Luo came alone.

He was actually very curious. This was the first time he knew that soybeans could be ground like this. Hearing from Shen An that Sang Luo taught him and Shen Ning all these skills, he didn’t want to appear suspicious, so he watched Sang Luo make the so-called dried tofu on the side.

Seeing him there, Sang Luo didn’t mind. She instructed him as needed, and when making tofu, she also taught Shen Lie some precautions and essentials.

When the soy milk was ready to be seasoned before making tofu, Sang Luo gave Shen Lie and the two little ones each a shallow bowl of soy milk and said to Shen Lie, “There’s a small jar on the shelf for the jars. Inside, there’s malt sugar. You can add a little bit. It’ll taste better. Three bowls, one for you, Xiao An, and Ah Ning.”

Shen Lie didn’t expect to be treated like this and was a bit stunned.

“I don’t need to drink this. You guys drink.”

Although he didn’t know what this soy milk tasted like, it could be sold, and sweet things like this were probably only liked by children. If he drank it, what would that mean?

Sang Luo smiled, “Go ahead. Taste the things you make at home. I usually don’t eat much at night. Usually, when I make tender tofu in the morning, I leave a bowl for myself. This is good for your health, but you can’t drink too much every day.”

She and the two little ones had slowly improved their health like this. However good soy milk was, it couldn’t be drunk every day, let alone in excess.

But Shen Lie’s attention was on making tofu in the morning.

“You’re going to make this again in the morning?”

Sang Luo nodded, “In the morning, we make tender tofu, and there’s relatively more water inside. It’s fresher if made later.”

Only now did Shen Lie realize how tired Sang Luo was when she brought her and the two little ones’ savings. He couldn’t help feeling a little guilty.

Seeing his expression, Sang Luo laughed, “Are you going to get up tomorrow morning to grind the beans?”

Shen Lie nodded without hesitation, “Okay. As long as I’m home, I’ll do this.”

A smile couldn’t help but appear at the corner of Sang Luo’s mouth. Well, although living together might be inconvenient in daily life, the benefits seemed to outweigh the drawbacks.

She nodded, “Good.”

…

Shen Lie found sugar to season the soy milk and brought it to Shen An and Shen Ning. He also brought his own portion to the room. He didn’t dare to admit that he was actually a little embarrassed to eat sweets in front of Sang Luo.

Sang Luo was busy in the kitchen, and the three siblings each had a bowl of soy milk in the main room. Shen Lie took the first sip and his eyes lit up.

This thing was so delicious!

Shen An and Shen Ning blew on their soy milk while smiling. “Big Brother, next time you can try soy pudding, sweet or salty, they’re both very delicious.”

“Soy pudding? What’s that?”

“It’s the tofu right after being made, before the water is pressed out. It’s especially delicious.”

Shen Lie’s horizons were truly broadened. Sang Luo seemed to know a lot of things.

Just as he was thinking this, Shen Ning whispered in admiration, “Big Sister-in-law is really amazing. She knows so many things. She can take me and Second Brother fishing, build a chicken coop, make fairy tofu, crystal beef, sweets, vegetarian tripe, and many other things.”

“Plus, she recognizes a lot of words and has read many books!”

Shen Lie: ???

He was completely stunned.

“Does your Big Sister-in-law know how to read?”

“Yeah!” Shen An and Shen Ning nodded in unison.

Shen An put down his bowl on the table and went to get his precious bamboo slips to show off to his big brother, “Brother, look, these were made by Big Sister-in-law for me. Zhou helped make the bamboo slips, and the words written on them were all written by Big Sister-in-law.”

Shen Lie looked at the elegant handwriting, and as he unrolled the bamboo slips, he saw that dozens of them were filled with different words, all written very beautifully.

How many words were there?

He looked carefully, recognizing only a few. Those were the ones he begged Zhou Lizheng to teach him back then—his name and some very simple common words.

“Did your Big Sister-in-law write all of these?”

Shen An nodded vigorously, his eyes shining with admiration, “This is the Thousand Word Classic. It has one thousand words, with only one repeated. Big Sister-in-law said that if you learn these nine hundred and ninety-nine words, you’ll know most of the common words. I can now recognize and write forty-two words.”

Shen Lie was envious.

He was also very curious, “How did your Big Sister-in-law learn so many words?”

At this time, there were very few people who could read. In the neighboring villages, only Zhou Lizheng and Zhou Cunzheng, and some of the Zhou family’s children could read a little. Many village chiefs didn’t even recognize words, so most literary affairs had to be handled by the village head.

Shen An glanced at him, “Didn’t Big Sister-in-law tell you? Big Sister-in-law’s family was originally from a wealthy household, well, probably even bigger than the Wang family’s.”

“Noble family?”

Shen An and Shen Ning nodded in unison.

Shen An also sighed with emotion, whispering, “When Big Sister-in-law first came, she didn’t know how to do many things, like gardening. Grandma Chen gave us some seedlings, and the three of us planted them together, but they all died or just wouldn’t grow.”

“Big Sister-in-law also didn’t go out much. When we moved to the mountain, she only stayed near the house for a few months. It wasn’t until she was almost starving to death that she was saved by Grandma Chen’s sugar water and grain. After that, Big Sister-in-law changed. She started walking farther, taking off her shoes and rolling up her pants to carry a basket on her back with me and Ah Ning to catch small fish in the river to make fish soup. She also started using the recipes from her home to sell food at the market. Only then did we slowly have food in the house.”

Shen Lie listened with lowered eyes. Indeed, the young mistress of a wealthy family received much education and had many rules to follow since childhood. As for the recipes, they were from her family, and unless parents gave them as dowry, they couldn’t be taken to another household.

Their family actually benefited a lot from Sang Luo.

Recipes were just one aspect. His fingertip touched the words on the bamboo slips. She was willing to teach Shen An and Shen Ning to read, which was an opportunity that many people couldn’t get no matter how hard they begged.

Shen Lie walked out, knowing better than before the importance of literacy. Among military commanders, those who could read obviously climbed higher and faster under the same circumstances, and most of those who could read came from aristocratic families. Common people rarely had the opportunity to learn.

He rolled up the bamboo slips again and handed them back to Shen An.

Shen An carefully put them away in a cloth bag specially made by Sang Luo for storing bamboo slips.

Shen Lie looked envious, calculating in his mind. After finishing the urgent matters at hand and stabilizing their lives a bit, should he shamelessly ask Sang Luo to teach him the Thousand Word Classic?

Thinking of this, he quickly dismissed the idea and looked at Shen An.

Yes, it’s better to let Shen An teach them. In case he learns slowly or makes mistakes, it won’t be too embarrassing.

But, should he ask for her permission to learn secretly?

In his heart, Shen Lie felt that learning secretly would be better.

However, these things belonged to Sang Luo. If she taught Shen An and Shen Ning, then it was still hers. He still had to ask.

Actually, Shen An didn’t say anything wrong tonight. He was actually a little afraid of Sang Luo.

Hmm, maybe not afraid?

It’s a kind of… very different fear? He himself didn’t quite understand this inexplicable nervousness.

Fortunately, this wasn’t urgent. He probably wouldn’t have time to learn how to read for a long time. Thinking of this, the inexplicable nervousness disappeared.

He finished the soy milk in a few sips, “Take your time drinking. I’ll go help Big Sister-in-law.”