36: Chapter 37 Earning Money to Support a Wife and Children_1 36: Chapter 37 Earning Money to Support a Wife and Children_1 Er Ya said with a smile, “Auntie, I saw that you hadn’t boiled water, so I ca to help.
You can take a hot bath soon!”
The little girl grinned, her eyes squinting adorably, so much prettier than Xiao Fu, yet those blind-hearted people would only beat or scold the young girl.
Qiao Duo’er thought for a bit before praising with a smile, “Er Ya is really capable!”
“Older sister is at ho boiling water for a bath, and I had nothing to do, so I ca to help you boil water,” she said.
Er Ya suddenly felt a bit shy after being complinted; she had never been praised like this before as she grew up.
Qiao Duo’er glanced towards the eastern wing, where Hu’s Clan was chopping wood and Da Ya was tending the fire, still without a sign of Tan Zhengyuan.
She had grown accustod to this sight; if she ever saw Tan Zhengyuan doing chores, it might just signal the end of the world.
After a while, Sun Erhu gathered all the bowls.
Qiao Duo’er took them over to wash herself, worried that Sun Erhu, a rough man, wouldn’t clean them properly.
Sun Erhu continued making straw baskets with Tan Zhenghong, as his sister-in-law’s cooking was delicious, but it ca at no small cost.
If they wanted to maintain such a standard of living, they had to save more money.
Brother Hong said since Qiao Duo’er married him, he had to at least ensure she was well-fed, and he strongly agreed with this.
As a man, one must always put feeding and providing for the family first.
If he still let a woman worry about the finances, that would be too feeble a man.
Qiao Duo’er began to worry because the pots and pans were greasy from the oily food, and she’d forgotten to buy dishwashing powder.
Should she really resort to using ashes?
Adding ashes to the pot would make it difficult to clean, and she couldn’t accept that…
Suddenly, she rembered the baking soda she had bought in the morning.
Couldn’t that also remove grease?
Qiao Duo’er hurriedly took so baking soda, and now she could easily clean the pots and pans.
“Er Ya, take a rest, I can take over the boiling,” she said.
Seeing Er Ya dripping with sweat, Qiao Duo’er couldn’t bear to say, it was just for a piece of candy, yet the girl took it so seriously.
Er Ya grinned and said, “Auntie, I’m not tired, it’ll be ready soon.”
Seeing Er Ya’s stubbornness, Qiao Duo’er gave up trying to persuade her.
She took a piece of bamboo from Sun Erhu; she needed to whittle a bamboo knife.
Many herbs are delicate and quickly lose potency when touched by iron tools.
“Auntie, what are you carving the bamboo for?” Er Ya asked curiously.
“I need to cut those herbs,” Qiao Duo’er gestured towards the herbs spread out on the ground.
Er Ya said admiringly, “Auntie, you’re really amazing!”
At this point, Er Ya was no longer afraid of Qiao Duo’er and beca quite talkative, and the two of them chatted happily.
Once Qiao Duo’er had nearly finished carving the bamboo knife, Da Ya ca over too, a little concerned, fearing that Er Ya might accidentally cause so trouble.
Qiao Duo’er put down her work and brought out the dumplings from the house.
“This is for you two, eat up,” she said.
Da Ya and Er Ya’s eyes lit up at the sight of the dumplings, each grabbing one.
They ate cautiously, as if they were savoring treasures of the world.
The dumplings tasted great, but after finishing one, they didn’t take another.
Qiao Duo’er urged them again, “Eat up, don’t be shy.
Er Ya has been helping with the fire for so long, and later I still need to cook the herbs, you’ll have to help with that as well.”
With Qiao Duo’er’s encouragent, the two girls started eating again, but when there were only two dumplings left, neither of them would take another.
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