Chapter 95: You’re Not Welcome
Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation
“In a neighboring village. A few houses were robbed in a single night. You should be careful.”
Han Qiao nodded.
“Who are those two women? What are they doing here?”
“One of them is someone I bought to wash the clothes and cook. Her surname is Zhao. The other one is Lin, who will come back to teach the three children embroidery.”
Han Yuan really didn’t know how to speak.
“Then… Then can Yuanyuan and the others come over and learn together?”
Han Qiao thought for a moment. “I will have to ask Lady Lin if she is willing. However, if they want to learn from her, my courtyard won’t be able to accommodate too many people. Wait until I discuss the details with Heng Yi. But maybe we could build two rooms next door?”
The main thing was that they were going to move in February, so they wouldn’t stay here forever.
Even if the building was repaired, no one would come to live in it. It would be a complete waste of time and effort.
“Of course. There are so many people at home. The two houses will be repaired in a few days.”
“We’ll talk about this later. Mother, don’t cook too much tonight. I’ll make some braised pork and bring some over. Do you still have cuc.u.mbers at home? Pick a few of them for me. I also want a tender pumpkin, so you can also pick some pumpkin tips and leaves. I’ll go to the sweet potato field to pick some leaves later.”
Han Qiao was not generous when it came to giving things to her family, nor was she polite when she asked for things.
“The cuc.u.mbers are all crooked and cracked. I’ll pick the good ones for you. There should be a few tender pumpkins left, I’ll give two to you. You can pick them up tomorrow so that they won’t be too old by the time you cook them.”
Han Qiao nodded.
“Then Mother, I’ll go home first.”
“Go, go. Don’t you want to raise a cat? Hurry up and go to your youngest uncle’s house to take the cat. It’s already so big.”
“Alright, I’ll go hug him in a while.”
Now that she was out of her confinement period, she really should raise a cat.
When Han Qiao returned home, she arranged for Aunt Zhao and Lady Lin to stay in the same room for the time being.
“This is the situation at home. You would have to live together for the time being. If Lady Lin wants to drink tea or something tonight, Aunt Zhao can help pour a gla.s.s for you. Even though the contract is with me, Lady Lin is the master of the three children. After they officially acknowledge you as their master, I will return the contract to you.”
Lady Lin’s eyes reddened when she heard this.
Having been a servant for her entire life, she never thought that she would meet such a kind master in her old age.
Aunt Zhao was very envious when she heard this.
“Aunt Zhao, as long as you are dedicated to our family and work well in the future, I will return the contract to you too.”
“When the time comes, it’s up to you whether you want to stay or leave.”
The two of them agreed in unison, indicating that they would do their part.
Aunt Zhao was a diligent person. She washed the pot and boiled the water quickly. She and Lady Lin both took a bath and washed their hair.
Living in the broker house was very inconvenient. They could be pulled elsewhere at any time, and it was common for them to eat and sleep in the open.
n.o.body cared about their lives.
This was because they were sold to the broker house at an extremely low price.
Aunt Zhao’s cooking skills were not bad either, especially when it came to cooking big-pot rice.
She was even more skilled when it came to cooking braised pork. She held the spatula like a tiger playing with its food.
Soon, the fragrance of the red braised meat wafted to all parts of the house.
Grandpa had come to the kitchen several times to see what it was.
Han Qiao asked him, “Grandpa, do you want to eat steamed buns or steamed rolls?”
“Meat,” Grandpa said, his eyes locked onto the big iron pot.
“Grandpa, you still have to eat steamed buns tonight.”
Grandpa nodded, “Then let’s eat buns. Meat buns.”
“Alright, I’ll prepare some meat buns for you.” Han Qiao agreed.
Grandpa smiled and went to tell Grandma that they would eat meat buns and braised pork tonight.
Grandma even laughed at him and told him to eat less.
When one was old, one should avoid eating too much for fear of not being able to digest it.
Fortunately, although the old man was confused, he was not greedy.
Han Yuan could smell the fragrance from afar.
She had brought over cuc.u.mbers and tender pumpkins for Han Qiao. Since her daughter had wanted to cat pumpkin tips and leaves, she had picked more than what was asked.
Pumpkin leaves and pumpkin tips were not delicious on their own.
“Mom, can I go pick some pumpkin flowers?”
Han Qiao wanted to make pumpkin meatball soup, a light, and nutritious dish.
“If you don’t mind the trouble, you can.”
Han Yuan greeted her parents-in-law and did not stay long.
She still had to go back to work.
Han Qiao wanted to pick some pumpkin flowers, and her uncles and aunts all urged her to pick them. At their insistence, she didn’t stay any longer and picked a basket full of them.
She even went to her youngest uncle’s house to get the cat.
The cats were kept in sealed bamboo cages. According to Aunt Yao, since the cats couldn’t see them through their cages, they wouldn’t run back to them in the future.
These two cats were male and they were skinny, but their bright eyes stood out among their features
The three children were overjoyed when she brought them back.
The four of them bathed the cats, wiped them, and placed them in the bamboo cage to bask in the sun.
The two orange cats had fleas on their bodies. Han Qiao wanted to look for them after they were dried. She also wanted to trim their nails and clean their ears.
With Aunt Zhao doing the cooking, and Heng Yi was responsible for moving things around the house, Han Qiao became a lot less busy. Heng Yi put some of the food in the jars in the kitchen, some in the cabinet behind her house, and some of the empty jars were placed under the eaves.
They would wash them whenever they needed to use them.
She sat under the eaves, stroking the cats and cleaning them up.
The three children surrounded her and watched her.
When Han Qiao was almost done, she handed one of the cats to Sun Xiu.
Sun Xiu hugged it carefully as if she really wanted it.
This cat was also very docile. It remained calm as the girls touched and rubbed its furs as they pleased. It was very obedient.
While the first cat was busy, Han Qiao took care of the other one. Catching fleas was not an easy task. One had to be sharp and fast, and have a strong mental strength. Otherwise, just looking at that thing would make one’s scalp go numb.
The cat’s ears should also be carefully checked and cleaned to prevent water or earwax from acc.u.mulating inside.
She also had to cut its claws slowly and carefully to avoid hurting the cat.
It was not easy to raise a cat well.
After tidying up the two cats, Han Qiao handed the cats to Sun Ke.
Her youngest daughter hugged them and was overjoyed.
Fate is particular when it comes to raising animals. When the cats arrived at Han Qiao’s house, they meowed very obediently.
Just for them, Han Qiao had specially cooked some rice in a clay pot, roasted the dried loach that she had prepared earlier, and cut it into pieces for them to eat.
The two kittens meowed when they smelled the loach, and they howled when they ate the loach powder rice.
“You really can eat.” Han Qiao laughed.
The three children enjoyed watching the cats.
They never had a pet before.
Not even a doll.
“Mother, can I hug them to sleep tonight?” Sun Ke asked.
Sun Xiu and Sun Yi looked at Han Qiao expectantly.
“They still have fleas on them. Let’s wait a little longer.”
The three sisters agreed in unison, but that night, they still secretly carried the cat to the bed and slept under the covers.
When the braised pork was done, Han Qiao’s family sent a bowl over. When she returned, the basket was filled with cuc.u.mbers, tender pumpkin, and sweet potato leaves.
Lady Lin had been ill for a long time and couldn’t eat foods that were too greasy. She couldn’t eat the braised pork, so she ate the white steamed bun with stir-fried pumpkin shreds with relish.
She could enjoy the simple meals today mainly because she had hope for the future.
This life was not bitter, and it was easy to recover from illness.
Lady Lin was not in good health, so Han Qiao was not in a hurry to let her teach the children. Instead, she asked Heng Yi to build a bamboo shed beside the side room. In order to cool the inside, he even put a layer of straw on top, both inside and outside.
After the jars were washed and sun-dried, he moved them in. He boiled a pot of water and poured it into the jar. When the duck eggs were brought over, he washed the dirt on the eggsh.e.l.ls, dried them, put them in the water, and scaled the opening to soak the salted duck eggs.
Each jar could hold 200 salted duck eggs.
He was really good at filling things..