Seven people sat down to eat, and Zhang Pingâan picked up a piece of fried fish, tasted it, and praised, âFourth Brother Xiao, the dishes you cooked are really delicious.â
âYeah, the winter melon stir-fried pork is much tastier than what my wife usually cooks,â Zhang Youlai chimed in.
Zhou Fuquan ate some flat beans, âThe beans are also very delicious. I didnât expect Qinghe to have such good cooking skills.â
Everyone kept complimenting the food, and Xiao Qinghe became embarrassed and gradually gained some confidence.
Su Qingyue decided what to cook but let Fourth Brother cook it himself, just to get him praised by others.
Fourth Brother really lacked⦠self-confidence.
Although there were many dishes and a lot of rice, everyone was able to eat a lot since they all did hard labor. In the end, a bowl of rice was left in the pot, but all the dishes were eaten without any leftovers.
The five men didnât waste any time after finishing their meal and went back to work on the empty land.
As they passed the courtyard, Xiao Yuchuan and Xiao Yishanâs footsteps paused, and they looked at the pot of medicinal mud toothpaste in the courtyard.
They both had doubt in their eyes.
Su Qingyue took the initiative to explain, âThe villagers think our medicinal mud toothpaste is useful, and more than ten people have bought it. One spoon sells for three cents, two spoons for four cents.â She pointed at the many fist-sized pots on the desk, âThese pots cost four cents each, and they are perfect for containing the medicinal mud toothpaste.â
Zhang Youlai and the others heard it as they were near the entrance of the courtyard and stopped. Zhang Youlai asked, âWife of the Xiao Family, didnât your family run out of medicinal mud toothpaste? I heard that your ointment was sold at a loss before.â
âI figured out a new recipe,â she simply replied, âNow we have it again.â
âYouâre really capable. Iâll also buy a pot of medicinal mud toothpaste to take home later.â
âSure.â
Zhang Youlai and the others left first.
Xiao Yuchuan and Xiao Yishan still lingered.
Yishan actually just wanted to talk to his wife, but seeing her turning to enter the kitchen, he had no choice but to go outside the courtyard.
âSecond Brother, Iâll go up the mountain to cut some bamboo first, then dig some soil this afternoon,â Xiao Yuchuan said to him.
He nodded and went out of the courtyard.
Xiao Yuchuan came to the pot and saw that more than half of the medicinal paste had been sold. He went to the storage room to fetch a hatchet and a new back basket.
After cutting the bamboo, Xiao Yuchuan made a large back basket. It was only then that his wife could return the borrowed back basket from Aunt Zhangâs family.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om
Su Qingyue came out of the kitchen and saw him with the hatchet and back basket. She asked, âThird Brother, are you going up the mountain?â
He came over and tapped her straight nose, âThe medicinal mud toothpaste is almost sold out. So many people bought it today, and I guess even more will buy it tomorrow. If I donât go up the mountain, you will have to. You told me about the several kinds of herbs needed for the toothpaste, and I can recognize them. Iâll go find them and cut some bamboo along the way.â
He looked up at the scorching sun, then at her face, âLook at my dear, you used to be so pale, but now youâve been sunburned and your skin has darkened. I canât bear to let you go up the mountain and get sunburned.â
She thought to herself how thoughtful Third Brother was. He must have thought about it before Second Brother, otherwise Second Brother would definitely replace her going up the mountain. She planned to go up the mountain in the afternoon to find the materials for the medicinal mud toothpaste, but she didnât expect Third Brother to think about it and not want her to suffer.
âI didnât help with clearing the foundation, so delaying half a day or a day wonât matter. Second Brother and the others are making good progress, itâs fine,â he said, threw the hatchet into the back basket, put the basket on his shoulder, and walked out.
Su Qingyue stared at his back for a second, her eyes flashing with a complex emotion.