Chapter 75 ☆ Stir-fried minced meat with sour beans (Part 1)

Xie Zhao came out of the room and saw Cheng Yaoyao standing by the well, holding a rope and demonstrating how to draw water to Zhang Xiaofeng and Han Yin. Xie Fei was also watching. “Look, you throw the bucket down like this…”

“Sister…” Xie Zhao strode over and took the rope from Cheng Yaoyao’s hand. “It’s dangerous by the well; don’t stand here!”

Xie Zhao’s stern demeanor and cold voice startled Zhang Xiaofeng and Han Yin, making them take two steps back. Han Yin quickly pulled Cheng Yaoyao away. They thought Xie Zhao was quite intimidating and wondered if Cheng Yaoyao was being bullied at home.

Cheng Yaoyao’s eyes were filled with confusion. Xie Zhao had always forbidden her from standing by the well, and she wasn’t sure if he would punish her again. So, she approached him in a flattering manner, looked at his muscular arms, and said, “I told Han Yin and the others that the water in this well is very cold, but they didn’t believe me.”

Zhang Xiaofeng and Han Yin exchanged surprised glances. They knew how pampered Cheng Yaoyao was. If someone had spoken to her like that before, she would have been furious. But now, Cheng Yaoyao’s tone was affectionate and friendly.

What surprised them even more was what happened next. Xie Zhao, who had been cold earlier, softened his voice and said, “Then I’ll draw a few more buckets of water for you to use.”

Xie Zhao picked up a bucket of water with one hand and was about to pour it into the wooden basin. Zhang Xiaofeng noticed he was struggling with one arm and hurried over to help. “Let me do it!”

Xie Zhao said nothing, avoided her hand, and poured the water into the wooden basin.

Zhang Xiaofeng looked at Cheng Yaoyao in confusion. Cheng Yaoyao said naturally, “It’s too heavy. He’s strong, so let him handle it. Come quickly. The water is cold. Do you want to drink it?”

The freshly drawn well water was chilly. Cheng Yaoyao picked up a gourd-shaped water scoop and handed it to Han Yin. Han Yin took a sip and found the cold water sweet. She shivered but felt refreshed: “This water is so sweet!”

Zhang Xiaofeng also praised it after drinking: “Even the well water at the captain’s house isn’t as sweet and cold as this.”

“Of course, this well is deep and in a good location,” Cheng Yaoyao said proudly.

Han Yin teased her: “This isn’t your well; why are you bragging?”

“This…” Cheng Yaoyao was about to retort but remembered Xie Zhao didn’t want her revealing anything about them. Her cheeks turned red.

At this time, Xie Fei whispered, “This is Sister’s home.”

Cheng Yaoyao patted Xie Fei on the shoulder. “That’s right!”

Han Yin pretended to pinch Xie Fei’s cheek. “Okay, okay, I know you’re partial to your sister Yaoyao!”

Xie Fei screamed and hid behind Cheng Yaoyao. “Sister Yaoyao, help me!”

Cheng Yaoyao splashed water on Han Yin. “Don’t bully Xiao Fei!”

The cold well water hit Han Yin’s face, making her scream. She quickly retaliated by splashing Cheng Yaoyao, and Zhang Xiaofeng, who was trying to stop the water fight, got splashed and joined in.

The yard was filled with laughter and splashes as the girls played. The sun soon evaporated the spilled water. Grandma Xie looked out the window and shook her head, laughing.

When Xie Zhao came back in, he faced Grandma Xie’s teasing gaze and grunted a few times before admitting, “They’re playing in the water!” His ears turned red with embarrassment.

The girls’ summer shirts were thin and soaked with water, clinging to their bodies. Xie Zhao almost ran away.

Grandma Xie understood immediately and laughed heartily. “Alright, alright, just stay here for a while. It’s rare for them to be so happy. Let them play. These educated youth are also pitiable, leaving their homes to come to a place like ours. Yaoyao is the same; if she hadn’t come to our house, such a delicate girl…”

As this thought crossed his mind, Xie Zhao interrupted it firmly. He said, “I will make sure sister lives well.”

“You and Yaoyao should study hard and get into college in the future; you’ll have a good future,” Grandma Xie said. “It’s just that Yaoyao is suffering now. You hurt your hand, which cost a lot of money. You haven’t been working lately. The money for the family is all from Yaoyao, right?”

Xie Zhao thought about it and decided it was easier to admit that it was Cheng Yaoyao’s money rather than explain where it came from.

Grandma Xie didn’t speak for a while. She then took out a handkerchief bag from under the mat and handed it to Xie Zhao. “Take this and exchange it for some money.”

Xie Zhao opened the package and saw a heavy silver ornament that had tarnished with age. The pomegranate pattern on it was faintly visible. “Grandma, this is your dowry. Didn’t you tell me not to go to the black market?”

Grandma Xie’s eyes softened as she looked at the silver ornament in Xie Zhao’s hand: “These things are not important. Yaoyao is young and doesn’t know much, but we shouldn’t take advantage of her. This silver lock was a gift from my father, bought at Wanbaozhai in Beijing. It was quite expensive to make. You can exchange it for some money, which will last us for a year or so. You and Yaoyao need to focus on studying these days, and you can’t be out hunting often.”

Xie Zhao protested: “No, this is your favorite thing. The Qian family still has some…”

Grandma Xie cut him off: “Don’t you know how much money we have at home? Since Yaoyao came, we’ve bought many new things. The oil we use for one meal is more than what we used in a month before. We’ve also consumed all the food you hunted. How could we have any money left?”

Hearing this, Xie Zhao started to explain, but Grandma Xie raised her hand to stop him: “I’m not blaming Yaoyao. Such a precious girl came to our house, and I just feel that I haven’t treated her well. I’m not worried about these things. But our family is really running out of money and food now. You can’t earn any money these days. Yaoyao’s family’s support is being used up by our family. This isn’t right! You are a man; you can’t rely on the money from your future wife.”

When Xie Zhao heard the term “future wife,” he felt a warm feeling in his heart and didn’t argue with Grandma Xie. Seeing her determination, he accepted the silver ornament.

Grandma Xie hadn’t been out for a while and didn’t know the market conditions. Nowadays, except for gold, silver and other antiques couldn’t be sold for a high price. The silver lock Grandma Xie cherished could only be exchanged for a small amount of millet on the black market. Xie Zhao hid the silver lock in the cabinet and took out a roll of banknotes to put in his pocket.

He hadn’t been keeping track of family expenses recently, but he realized Cheng Yaoyao had likely contributed a lot. As a man, he felt it was his responsibility to support the family and not let Yaoyao bear the financial burden.

Cheng Yaoyao and others had a water fight in the yard. After getting wet, they ran back inside to change clothes.

Han Yin wiped her hair with a towel and said with a smile, “Luckily, I sold my hair last time. Now my short hair dries easily with just a wipe. How convenient! Yaoyao, your hair has grown a lot longer. You should sell it quickly.”

Cheng Yaoyao’s hair was black and shiny, looking like silk when spread out. She slowly dried her hair with a towel and pouted, “I won’t cut it.”

Xie Fei added, “Sister Yaoyao’s hair is beautiful; it shouldn’t be cut.”

Zhang Xiaofeng agreed, “Yaoyao, not only does your hair grow fast, but we all got tanned this summer, so why is your skin getting whiter?”

Han Yin said, “Xiao Fei is also fair. Is the water from the Xie family particularly nourishing?”

Xie Fei’s fair skin was rare in the village but was the result of staying indoors for years. Unlike Cheng Yaoyao, whose skin was as white and glowing as fresh snow, delicate and smooth without blemishes.

Han Yin studied Cheng Yaoyao’s face closely. Cheng Yaoyao, fearing she would notice flaws, quickly stepped back and said, “I told you, drinking more scented tea can make you fairer. Have you finished the ones I gave you?”

“Really?!” Han Yin slapped her thigh in annoyance, “I thought it was too much trouble, so I never drank it.”

Cheng Yaoyao said angrily, “I gave it to you specially! Why didn’t you drink it?”

Han Yin’s skin was darker due to hard work in the countryside. Cheng Yaoyao had specially brewed scented tea with Spiritual Spring water and often brought bayberry soup and dried bayberries made with this water.

Cheng Yaoyao wondered why Han Yin wasn’t getting whiter despite drinking the tea. It turned out Han Yin hadn’t drunk any!

Zhang Xiaofeng smiled and said, “I bring some to work every day. I rarely get heat stroke these days, and I sleep better at night.”

Cheng Yaoyao laughed at Han Yin’s regret and said, “You deserve it. Didn’t you always complain about your tan? I gave you something good, and you didn’t use it.”

“I live in someone else’s house. It’s not easy to get boiled water,” Han Yin said with a frown.

Zhang Xiaofeng added, “Isn’t Jinni a nice person?”

Han Yin replied, “Ginny and her husband are straightforward, but Ginny’s mother-in-law… I usually boil water for bathing, and she complains if I use too much firewood. It’s so annoying that I don’t even boil water anymore; I just drink cold water.”

Cheng Yaoyao said, “You live in their house, they should provide you with food. Why shouldn’t they give you food? A bundle of firewood in the countryside only costs 10 cents on the black market. You could give them a few cents and use as much firewood as you want!”

Han Yin and Zhang Xiaofeng looked at each other and shook their heads, saying, “You don’t understand. A few cents is nothing. We can’t create this precedent. If we pay for firewood today, we’ll have to pay again tomorrow for anything we need or eat. We only earn a few cents a day. How can we cover all these costs? Besides, if other families housing educated youth hear about this, they might start charging too.”

Cheng Yaoyao was taken aback by the complexity of the situation.

Zhang Xiaofeng explained, “It’s not very convenient to live in someone else’s house. You have to be careful everywhere. Just endure it.”

Han Yin added, “Who is as lucky as Miss Cheng? The Xie family treats you so well, and you live such a comfortable life.”

Cheng Yaoyao snorted. Grandma Xie and Xie Fei were kind to her, but Xie Zhao… sometimes he was too overbearing!

When they changed their clothes and returned to the yard, the wooden basin was full again. Cheng Yaoyao felt pleased. Xie Zhao was indeed very good to her.

Since they couldn’t play in the water anymore, they finally got to work. They dried the beans and carefully placed them into the prepared kimchi water. The kimchi water had been prepared by Grandma Xie a long time ago. After the beans were completely soaked, they covered the lid and pressed a stone on top.

Cheng Yaoyao clapped her hands and said, “We’ll be able to eat it in half a month. The ones Grandma pickled last time are already tasty. I’ll stir-fry some minced meat with sour beans for you guys at noon.”

Han Yin and Zhang Xiaofeng realized it was almost noon and quickly said, “No, we’re going back. We can’t trouble you any more!”