Chapter 119: Building a Stable
Qin Yao went out the back door and said hello to Liu Bo and Liu Zhong, asking them to call her if they needed anything.
The two brothers waved their hands, too busy to respond to her.
Qin Yao shrugged, smiled at Dalang and Erlang, told them to call her if they had anything, turned back to the kitchen and asked Sanlang and Si Niang if they had eaten.
"Mother, we've all eaten. Big brother said everything in the pot is yours." Sanlang answered obediently.
Si Niang closed her eyes and was so absorbed in the recitation that she nodded her head.
Qin Yao signaled Sanlang to pay attention to her and not to fall off the chair.
Sanlang glanced at his sister in annoyance and poked her evenly rising and falling belly. Si Niang instantly opened her eyes, subconsciously sat up straight, and recited loudly:
"If you throw me a papaya, I will give you a jade pendant in return. It is not a reward, but a token of our everlasting friendship."
Qin Yao carried the whole pot, accompanied by the roast chicken that she had not finished last night, and listened to the children reading aloud. Even eating became a rhythm.
After they finished eating, the sound of recitation in the house stopped. The morning reading was over, and the twins could no longer hold back. They took the small bamboo cage containing grasshoppers and crickets and went to the wasteland behind the house to catch insects for the chickens. They also visited their old Huang and fed it some tender grass.
Because Qin Yao had specifically instructed them not to get too close to the horse for fear of being kicked away, the twins stayed far away and used a bamboo pole to fork the young grass they had pulled over.
Watching the horse chewing, the brother and sister giggled with joy.
Qin Yao took a hoe and weeded the two acres of vegetable garden behind the house. She looked at the vegetables, peppers, eggplants and loofahs planted in the field. Because they were not well taken care of, the fruits they produced were all strange.
But it is still edible and the taste is not affected.
It's the pepper. It should have been long and thin straight strips. I don't know if the seeds Zhang gave were the wrong variety, so when they grew out, they all turned out to be curved.
Of course, it doesn't affect the taste, it's quite spicy.
After Qin Yao finished weeding, she picked some eggplants and melons that she liked and took them home, then started preparing lunch.
Liu Bo and Liu Zhong had already made the rough outline of the shed. In the afternoon they went to the river to get some reeds and weaved them into a thatched roof, and it was almost done.
When winter came, Qin Yao surrounded herself with straw mats to keep out the cold.
Of course, it would be stronger if wooden boards were used, but it would be more time-consuming and costly, so it depends on Qin Yao herself.
Anyway, the framework is there, so it is easy to modify it.
Qin Yao asked the two of them to stay for dinner at home. Liu Bo and Liu Zhong wanted to finish the work early and save time by eating here, so they agreed.
It was noon and the sun was strong, and there was still some time before lunch. Liu Zhong dragged a log more than one meter long, sat on the back doorstep and hammered around, finally carving out a trough.
Qin Yao came out and asked them to come in for dinner. Seeing such a big log, she was a little surprised, "How come such good food is used as a horse trough?"
Liu Zhong said embarrassedly: "My father told me to do that. Anyway, we won't use it at home. Why not carve it out and use it as a trough for the horses? It's just the right size."
It is indeed just right, but such good material should be worth some money.
Qin Yao wanted to give them some extra money, but Liu Bo saw her intention and felt even more embarrassed. He hurriedly said,
"Sister-in-law, don't even think about giving us some extra money. I don't know how many pieces of wood we could have bought with that big bag of meat last night."
Qin Yao was not hypocritical. She appreciated the kindness and smiled lightly, "Okay, then I'll use it."
Liu Bo and Liu Zhong nodded happily, "Hey!"
"Okay, wash your hands and have lunch. My cooking skills are just so-so, so please bear with me." Qin Yao gave the two of them a heads-up in advance, telling them not to have too high hopes for the lunch she made.
Liu Bo and Liu Zhong were mentally prepared, but they were still shocked by the messy stew on the table that was green and purple, purple and green.
The brothers looked at each other, wondering if they were poisoned.
Qin Yao rushed the four brothers and sisters into the house and sat down. She sat down last, picked up the bowl and chopsticks, and took a chopstick of food first. While eating, she said, "It's okay, there is salt."
"Come on, eat. Don't be polite. I cooked a lot of rice. It's enough. Eat as much as you want." Qin Yao greeted them.
Thinking that everyone was familiar with each other, he started eating without paying any attention to the Liu brothers.
The four brothers and sisters of Dalang seemed to be used to it. Si Niang took a bite of the purple vegetable with her mouth smeared with honey, and looked at Qin Yao with a wow, "Mother, it's eggplant."
Qin Yao, with rice in her mouth, nodded and gave the little girl a look that said "you're so smart". The little girl was so beautiful that she lifted up her little feet and dangled under the table.
Erlang closed his eyes and swallowed the food made by his mother, in his heart he despised himself for becoming too pampered. He used to be able to swallow even rice bran rice balls, but now he actually began to miss the days when his father was at home.
Seeing that his uncles hadn't picked up their chopsticks, Dalang explained to them, "These are eggplants and gourds grown in our home."
So you can eat it with confidence, you will never get poisoned, he swears!
There is really no concept of beauty, aroma and taste when a stepmother cooks. Of course, she may be able to do so, but she is limited by her ability.
But she will definitely stew it until it is cooked through, saying that high temperature can kill the virus.
Therefore, Dalang can assure his two uncles that he will not get diarrhea after eating it.
Seeing their nephew's confident promise, Liu Bo and Liu Zhong tentatively extended their chopsticks for the first bite.
Yes, there is salt.
And then nothing happened.
Qin Yao drank three bowls of white rice in a row and was full. She had not done much exercise today and had plenty of oil and water, so she naturally ate less staple food.
She put down her bowl and chopsticks, looked up and saw Liu Bo and Liu Zhong eating only white rice, and asked awkwardly:
"Is the food bad?"
The two men shook their heads, and one of them picked up a large piece of food with his chopsticks out of respect.
But in the evening, Qin Yao invited them to dinner, but the two refused no matter what. They said they were embarrassed to ask her to spend money again, and ran home as if they were escaping.
Qin Yao raised her eyebrows and looked back helplessly at the four candied haws strings in the yard.
They told her very seriously: "We like the food cooked by our mother the most."
Qin Yao laughed and waved, "Let's go and move Old Huang!"
Hearing this, the four children ran to the back of the house, shouting happily.
Erlang and Sanlang didn't ride a horse yesterday, and they wanted to ride one today. Qin Yao fulfilled their wish, carried them onto the horses, and led them from the back mountain to the stable. The two felt that they had not yet had enough.
However, riding was still a bit uncomfortable without a saddle, so they readily let Qin Yao take them off the horse.
Old Huang had already eaten his fill in the back hill. The mother and her two children fed him some water, then took him to the river, washed him, and moved him into his new home cleanly.
Qin Yao took out the medicine powder she bought from the veterinarian in the city and applied it to the bald areas of Lao Huang. After finishing this, she clapped her hands, went into the house, washed her hands and started eating.
I didn't finish the stew at noon, so I had a quick dinner with bacon and rice porridge.
It got dark late and it was still light after dinner. Qin Yao thought about going to Carpenter Liu's house to check on him. He had to install a water mill for a customer tomorrow, so the two of them checked the data and details in advance.
She asked Dalang and the others if they wanted to go to the village well to play. The four of them immediately took the newly bought Cuju balls and happily followed her out.