"Hmm," Lian Zhizhi nodded, continuing to imrse herself in her chores.
Lady Zhang’s interaction with Lian Zhizhi made Lian Manman secretly smile to herself as she watched from the side.
As evening approached, the mother and daughters packed up their belongings and returned to the old house.
As they entered the courtyard, they saw Lady Zhao feeding the pigs outside the pigsty while Lian Yeye was feeding the chickens in the chicken coop above. During the planting season, the three families took turns staying ho to cook, and it wouldn’t be fair to exclude the third family; today happened to be Lady Zhao and Lian Yeye’s turn to stay ho and prepare the als.
Staying ho to cook and feed the chickens and pigs was much cleaner and easier than working in the fields.
After exchanging greetings with Lady Zhao and Lian Yeye, the mother and daughters busied themselves with their tasks. Lian Zhizhi heated up the swill to prepare pig feed, Lady Zhang washed the rice and prepared vegetables for the family’s dinner, and Lian Manman was also not idle. She had made a special trip to the vegetable garden when she ca back from the shop and had picked so vegetables; she also selected so edible wild greens from the weeds Lian Shouxin had pulled up, intending to feed them to the chickens and ducks.
Lian Manman set the vegetable basket down at the doorway, fetched a small stool from inside, and brought out a worn cutting board to sit on, starting to chop the vegetables with a battered kitchen knife.
The chickens and ducks they had bought were already half-grown and were let out of the coop during the day to forage for themselves. Seeing Lian Manman chopping vegetables, they knew it was for them and wobbled over to surround her. As Lian Manman chopped the vegetables, she also had to shoo away the overeager little chickens and ducks.
The curtain of the Upper Room was lifted with a snap, and Lian Xiuxiu walked out carrying a basin of water.
When Lian Manman looked up and saw Lian Xiuxiu, she imdiately lowered her head and continued chopping vegetables.
When Lian Xiuxiu saw Lian Manman, she turned her head away imdiately, snorting coldly. Since that day’s incident, Lian Xiuxiu had stopped talking to them; whenever they t face-to-face, she would just snort and turn away.
Lian Xiuxiu walked to the center of the courtyard with the basin of water and stopped.
Lian Manman sneaked a peek and couldn’t help but twitch the corner of her mouth. She thought that after what happened that day, Lian Xiuxiu never managed to regain her composure. Surely Lian Xiuxiu wouldn’t repeat her trick and try to throw water at her?
"Yeye, what are you standing there for? Co on, pour the water out," Lian Xiuxiu called Yeye instead of throwing water at Lian Manman.
Lian Yeye, who was busy feeding the chickens, turned her head when she heard Lian Xiuxiu call her.
"Big sister, didn’t you see I’m feeding the chickens? What’s the big deal if you pour out the water yourself?" Lian Yeye said as she added another scoop of feed to the chicken trough.
"What, what are you saying? I’m telling you to work, and now I can’t even tell you what to do? You don’t want to work at ho; why don’t you go out into the fields? You just want to laze around at ho. These past few days, have we pampered you so much that you’ve beco insolent?" Lian Xiuxiu imdiately exploded, scolding Lian Yeye.
"Big sister, when have I been lazy? My mother and I haven’t rested all morning. I’m in the middle of sothing right now; it’s just a basin of water, what’s the big deal if you pour it out yourself?" Lian Yeye protested.
"Oh my, now you’re accusing . You’re getting too bold. What, you think you’ve got soone here to support you, soone to back you up? You want to follow her example and bully too..." Lian Xiuxiu’s anger escalated as she berated.
Lian Yeye pursed her lips, put down the feed in her hands, and walked over to take the basin from Lian Xiuxiu.
"Big sister, enough, I’ll pour out the water, okay?" Lian Yeye took the basin and headed towards the gate.
She gave in because she clearly heard in Lian Xiuxiu’s words a slight against Lian Manman and the others. If she didn’t hurry to pour the water, Lady Zhou might co out too, and while it was fine if she got scolded herself, she didn’t want Lian Manman and the others to get dragged into it and suffer undeserved reprimands.
"Always learning the worst habits, ungrateful and disrespectful, what good can you learn? Look at you, getting all smug; let’s see how long that lasts." Lian Yeye had already walked quite a distance away, but Lian Xiuxiu continued to scold, pointing at her back.
Lian Manman knew that on the surface Lian Xiuxiu was scolding Lian Yeye, but in reality, she was targeting them. However, when it ca to scolding, Lian Xiuxiu’s skills were far inferior to those of Lady Zhou and Zhao Xiue.
Lian Manman, of course, did not take Lian Xiuxiu’s provocation to heart; she kept chopping vegetables, tilting her head to look up. The setting sun cast a golden hue over everything in the courtyard, and smoke from cooking fires began to rise in the distance, marking the end of another beautiful day.
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