For skills related to making a living, even if the relationship is very good, one would never easily teach others.
"If you are willing to call me 'sister,' I will teach you."
"Dream on." Sheng An rolled her eyes at her and directly picked up the basin of clothes and left.
When she was little, she originally loved to follow behind her and call her sister, but each time she received nothing but cold words. Sheng Ning really disliked this stepchild brought by her stepmother, so she never called again after that.
Sheng Ning touched her nose, smiling bitterly with helplessness.
Sheng Laosan and Shen Luhua came home after a day of farm work, and as soon as they arrived, Sheng Ning prepared the washing water and placed it in the main room.
Sheng Laosan nodded in satisfaction, while Shen Luhua suddenly felt a bit flustered.
"Ningning, you don't have to do all this. I can handle it."
"No worries." Sheng Ning placed the washcloth into the basin, stood up straight, and smiled, saying, "You've been working in the fields all day. Next time, I will join you in weeding."
"That won't do. How could you handle such rough work?" Shen Luhua, looking at her fair and tender skin, couldn't bear to let her.
Sheng An was wiping the table on the side and, after hearing that, said jealously, "Mom, was I picked up at the market? Are you my real mother? Every time there's work, you call for me. She wants to volunteer and you don't let her."
"You rotten girl, shut your mouth." Shen Luhua glared sternly at Sheng An, scaring her into obediently continuing to wipe the table.
"You rotten girl, why use so much force? Does the table have a grudge against you?"
"Fine, I'll sweep the floor, then." Sheng An grumbled, throwing down the cloth, and went into the yard to find a broom.
She really didn't understand why mom was so nice to this troublemaker. With just a few sweet words, even her own daughter seemed unimportant.
Sheng Ning watched the mother and daughter argue, originally wanting to intervene. But thinking that it was caused by her, she felt it would be inappropriate to speak up now.
She picked up the cloth and wiped the table again. Then, she went to the kitchen to bring out the prepared dinner. It was vegetable dumplings paired with the pancakes she made in the afternoon. Though there wasn't much oil, it tasted good. Especially the pancakes, which were fragrant and soft, appearing very appetizing.
"Our daughter's cooking skills are really good." Sheng Laosan praised after eating three pancakes in a row.
"Ningning, eat more." Shen Luhua put the leftover bean sprouts from lunch into Sheng Ning's bowl.
"Thank you, mom!"
"Ah!" Shen Luhua was overjoyed, smiling at her.
Sheng An initially wanted to say something sarcastic, but seeing her mother so happy, she eventually kept quiet and bit into a pancake hard.
When she was little, Sheng Ning bullied mom all the time. She had often secretly seen her mom crying alone in the kitchen. She understood it was hard being a stepmother, so she endured it.
After dinner, Sheng Ning called everyone together.
"Dad, I plan to teach everyone how to grow bean sprouts. We can sell them at the market for a bit of money."
"Will people buy them?" Shen Luhua asked nervously.
"Bean sprouts are cheap, and everyone can afford to buy them. The cost is minimal, so it's worth a try. But in summer, growing bean sprouts requires skill. If not done properly, it's easy to waste the beans."
"Then... then let's not learn it. We can't afford to waste beans," Shen Luhua hesitated, afraid of the waste.
"I think we should try." Sheng An's eyes lit up. Since Sheng Ning was willing to teach, why not learn? She wasn't stupid. "I want to learn. I'm sure I can learn it, not wasting any beans."
"Mom, I believe in An'an. She can definitely do it." Sheng Ning nodded in agreement.
This time, Sheng An surprisingly did not roll her eyes at her.