Chapter 225 Rural Daily Life
As soon as Mo Lin finished everything, he prepared to start a fire and cook. Ye Shengge quickly snatched the task of stoking the fire.
"I'll do it, I've learned before."
But Mo Lin waited for a long time and only saw black smoke rising, and the kitchen was quickly fumigated to the point where they couldn't open their eyes.
Both of them ran out to catch their breath, and Xiao Tiantian also ran over from under the eaves, tightly holding onto Ye Shengge's clothes.
Just then, Ye Mama also returned. Seeing the black smoke billowing from the kitchen, she quickly pulled the three children further away.
"What's going on?"
Afraid that the kitchen would catch fire, Ye Mama quickly scooped up a basin of water to put out the fire. But when she looked into the kitchen, she realized there wasn't even a spark.
After the black smoke dissipated a bit, Ye Mama took over the task of stoking the fire. Ye Shengge remained by her side, diligently learning the steps.
"Mom, cooking here is really too difficult."
In the city, there was gas to use, but controlling a traditional stove was truly challenging.
"Who says not, neither of us is as useful as a ten-year-old child."
No matter how influential they were in the business world before, returning to family life made them realize how much they lacked, let alone in difficult rural conditions.
Mo Lin, however, smiled. His mother also couldn't do anything before.
"Ye Mama, you are already very good. My mother couldn't do anything before either. Let alone starting a fire, she could even scare my dad to death with a knife."
This was the first time Ye Shengge had heard Mo Lin mention his parents.
"Your mother must have been very pampered."
Mo Lin stirred the vegetables, a smile of remembrance on his face.
"Yes, my mother was doted on since she was a child. She loved listening to operas and buying jewelry the most. According to my grandma, thankfully my mother met my father, otherwise, she would have been sent back to her maiden home long ago.
But my dad loved my mother. Every month, he would take a portion of the money earned from the pharmacy to buy my mother a piece of jewelry and a beautiful dress."
Ye Shengge felt that this was the greatest happiness for a woman, because there was a man willing to satisfy and support his beloved woman's interests and hobbies.
"Mo Lin's mother is truly fortunate."
Ye Mama also nodded beside them. Her husband had never been so considerate, perhaps he didn't even know what she liked.
"Yes, very fortunate. Our family of six was truly happy, but the happy times were too short.
And I don't have the ability to keep even one of my mother's heirlooms for Xiao Tiantian."
Seeing Mo Lin's eyes growing increasingly fierce, Ye Shengge quickly spoke up.
"Mo Lin, you are already very capable. It's not easy to protect Xiao Tiantian alone for two years. So you have to grow up quickly and become stronger, so strong that no one can bully you again."
Mo Lin quickly regained his composure. He looked at his sister, his eyes filled with affection.
"Mm, I will. In the future, I will be strong enough to protect my sister, Xiao Tiantian, and Ye Mama and Ye Baba."
"Hahahaha, and us two, that's great, I have another person to rely on."
Ye Mama laughed heartily. She wouldn't try to comfort Mo Lin's wounded heart, but she would give him more care.
The meal was quickly prepared. Ye Shengge quickly washed her face, put on a straw hat, and carried a basket towards the fields.
Elder Fan and Elder Dang had time to eat at home, so Ye Shengge only needed to deliver meals to Ye Baba, his elder brother, and Zi Yisheng.
However, due to Ye Shengge's mistake and making too much dough, she took all the flatbreads to the fields, letting anyone who wanted them take them.
Among the nine people including Ah Can, only Ah Sen and Ah Rong knew how to cook, and they would go home early every day to prepare meals. Their meals were much simpler, just making rice balls from leftover rice and vegetables from the previous day.
So, seeing the extra meals Ye Shengge brought, they didn't stand on ceremony and started grabbing them.
Zi Yisheng looked at the little girl's flushed face and felt a pang of concern.
"Don't bring meals anymore in the future, I'll pick them up every day."
"Yes, Shengge, don't run out in the midday sun, what if you get heatstroke? Let your elder brother go back and get them in the future."
Ye Baba didn't want his daughter to work so hard. They, as men, worked in the fields precisely so that the women at home wouldn't have to endure hardship.
"Mm, in the future, elder brother will go get them. You must not run around again."
Ye Shengge sat under a large tree, smiling without speaking. One had to adapt to life according to their circumstances. She was now a village girl living in the countryside, and if others could do it, so could she.
Ye Shengge looked at her father and elder brother, who had tanned considerably in just two days. Zi Yisheng was slightly better, perhaps because his skin was naturally less prone to tanning.
"I already told you to pay attention to sun protection. Do you know how dark you've gotten?
Especially elder brother, if you keep tanning, it'll be hard to find a wife later."
Ye Mu'en touched his face and smiled dismissively.
"Country folk can't be too fair."
After speaking, Ye Mu'en didn't forget to glance at the fair-skinned Zi Yisheng.
Zi Yisheng, being a sensitive person, just lowered his head and didn't reply. He didn't dare to argue with his brother-in-law in front of the little girl.
"Hahahaha, it seems elder brother has adapted well to the current life. Good, you are indeed country folk."
Ah Can and the others squatted on the side, looking at each other. These men had followed Young Master Zi before, and except for missions, they had rarely suffered.
Now, suddenly engaging in intense manual labor, they were not used to it, but they hadn't paid attention to whether they were tanned or not. However, looking at the mud on their feet, they tacitly accepted their identity as country folk.
After eating, many villagers found a shady spot to lie down for a while. But Zi Yisheng and the others couldn't rest. They didn't work as fast as the villagers and still had a lot of tasks left to complete.
They urged Ye Shengge to hurry home, and they, a group of them, once again plunged into the fields to work.
On the way, Ye Shengge saw several of her uncles and cousins. Today's tasks didn't involve everyone working together. She wondered if they had eaten well at noon.
Ye Shengge, carrying her basket, walked towards her uncles' area.
"Why is Shengge running over here in such hot weather?"
The eldest uncle shouted upon seeing her. Everyone from the Bai family stopped their work.
"I came to ask if you ate enough at noon. If not, I'll go home and get some more food."
The fourth cousin, Bai Chenyi, and the fifth cousin, Bai Yuanhao, both sixteen years old, had crestfallen faces. Farm work was too tiring.
"Cousin, it's too tiring, I want iced soda."
"I want iced watermelon."
Bai San, the third uncle, looked at his good-for-nothing son and kicked Bai Yuanhao.
"You only earned five work points today, less than a ten-year-old child. And you still want iced watermelon? With the work points you earned, you can't even fill your stomach."
Although Ye Shengge wasn't clear on how tiring farm work was, she knew very well that the people of the Bai family were all weak and unaccustomed to hardship.
"I'll go back and prepare some iced drinks and bring them over later. You can work as much as you can, but don't hurt yourselves for work points."
"Send what? When you come here, you have to follow local customs. Quickly put away all those old ways of yours."
Bai Da, the eldest uncle, was still the most strict in the Bai family. Their family had come here to avoid trouble, and they couldn't live too well in the village for fear of being discovered.