Chapter 23: Planting Vegetables Together

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The cooperative had an excellent selection of vegetable seeds, and Lu Mingyue chose several varieties suitable for planting at this time of year.

Huo Zheng had already turned over the soil and set aside separate vegetable beds.

The two children wanted to join in as well. They watched with eager, hopeful eyes.

“You can, but there are two things you must agree to first.”

Lu Mingyue raised two fingers and discussed the rules with them in advance.

“What are they? Yao Yao can agree to anything.”

Yao Yao accepted whatever her mother proposed without a second thought.

Huo Minglei pinched his little sister’s cheek. “You haven’t even heard the rules. How can you agree already?”

Yao Yao rescued her cheek and looked at her brother. “Everything Mom says is right!”

In less than a day, Yao Yao had gone from her brother’s little shadow to her mother’s little shadow.

Huo Minglei felt completely abandoned.

Lu Mingyue was amused by his expression. While he was distracted, she ruffled his hair and said, “Don’t worry. I’m not going to sell either of you. The first thing is simple: change out of those new clothes.”

The children were wearing brand-new outfits. If they helped in the garden, they would inevitably get them muddy.

Then she would have to wash them all over again, greatly increasing her workload.

Yao Yao hurriedly nodded. “Mom, what’s the other thing?”

Though Yao Yao was still young, she had already learned to add and subtract numbers up to ten.

Huo Minglei liked to count things around the house with little wooden sticks, and Yao Yao had been influenced by him.

She could not handle anything difficult, but numbers up to ten were no problem.

“The second is that you must listen to your father and me. Every vegetable seed might grow into a little seedling, so we mustn’t waste any.”

Children always approached hands-on work with a touch of innocent playfulness.

Afraid that she would not be able to keep the two children under control, Lu Mingyue had laid down the rules beforehand.

A trace of defiance appeared on Huo Minglei’s face. “I’m not a three-year-old child.”

Yao Yao raised her little hand beside him and happily announced, “Yao Yao is three!”

...

Well, in any case, both children agreed to the two conditions.

They changed clothes as quickly as they could and ran outside to plant vegetables with the adults.

Huo Zheng took a slender bamboo stick and drew a furrow along the vegetable bed.

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The two children handled the middle step, carrying water in enamel mugs and pouring it into the furrows.

Lu Mingyue pinched the vegetable seeds and scattered them evenly.

Then she carefully covered them with soil and laid the weeds they had prepared over the top.

By the time everything was finished, it was already getting late. Lu Mingyue took the children to wash their hands.

While they were planting, Huo Zheng had heated water on the outdoor stove. By the time they finished, it had boiled.

Just as Huo Zheng ladled out the hot water, someone knocked on the gate. When he opened it, a young soldier was standing outside.

The soldier said a few words to him and left. Huo Zheng told Lu Mingyue that he had to go out for a while and would be back later.

“Will you be back for dinner?”

It was almost mealtime, and Lu Mingyue was preparing to cook. If he was not coming back, she would not make a portion for him.

The weather was still somewhat hot, so there was no point leaving leftovers whenever it could be avoided.

If Huo Zheng did not eat at home, there would be no one to finish the leftovers.

Huo Zheng: What?

He coughed once and said, “I’ll be back.”

“All right. Then I’ll make a few extra dishes.”

Having received a definite answer, Lu Mingyue was delighted. She rolled up her sleeves, ready to prepare a feast.

The cooperative had a special section selling seafood and meat. They had bought a sea fish and a piece of lean pork.

In those days, fatty meat was the most popular, followed by pork belly. Lean meat was the last choice, and often no one wanted it at all.

Everyone lacked sufficient fat in their diets. Fatty meat could not only be rendered into oil but also replenish the nutrients their bodies were missing.

If they had not arrived so late, they would probably have had only the sea fish as a meat dish that day. The butcher’s counter had been left with nothing but this piece of lean pork.

“All right, children. Let’s go wash our hands and get ready to cook.”

After Huo Zheng left, Lu Mingyue urged the two children to put down the mud in their hands and wash up.

“Can you manage on your own?”

Huo Minglei’s face flushed red as he declared loudly, “Of course I can. I’m a man.”

Bathing was a small matter and not beyond him at all.

Lu Mingyue raised an eyebrow and adjusted the water for him. “All right, then. Our little man can bathe by himself. Call me if you need anything.”

Children this age had already begun to feel shy. Respecting his privacy, Lu Mingyue left after setting the water to the right temperature.

Huo Minglei’s face still red, he closed the door and, before doing so, made sure Lu Mingyue had gone far enough away.

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By the time he came out again, Lu Mingyue was already cooking in the kitchen.

Huo Minglei had scrubbed his clothes clean himself, then stood on a little stool and hung them on the drying rack.

Sometimes Huo Zheng was away on missions, and Huo Minglei worried that the hired nanny would not take good care of his sister. He often helped wash clothes and tend the fire.

As long as he had something to do and could contribute to caring for his sister, the little boy felt immensely happy.

Lu Mingyue started the rice first. That evening, she planned to make clay-pot rice.

They had just bought a new earthenware pot from the cooperative, and it had to be put to use at once. Only then would its high price be justified.

The sea fish would be braised in soy sauce, while the lean pork would be made into sweet-and-sour pork, the children’s favorite.

With its tangy, sweet flavor, it was one of her favorites too.

Yao Yao noticed the fine beads of sweat forming on her mother’s forehead. She scampered outside and quickly returned with a spotless handkerchief. Tugging at Lu Mingyue’s sleeve, she gestured for her to bend down.

Lu Mingyue was preparing the side dishes. Feeling her sleeve being pulled, she met the concern in the child’s eyes and bent down slightly to look her in the face.

“What is it, Yao Yao?”

Yao Yao said nothing. Instead, she simply acted on what she wanted to do.

So she wanted to wipe away her mother’s sweat.

A warm feeling spread through Lu Mingyue’s heart. Daughters really were so considerate.

Her fragrant, soft little Yao Yao was far more adorable than that cool, handsome little boy, Huo Minglei.

Lu Mingyue was busy complaining about him to the system and did not notice Huo Minglei appearing behind her.

Huo Minglei paced around the kitchen, glancing at Lu Mingyue and then at his sister. He seemed to have something to say, but ultimately held it back.

Lu Mingyue grew anxious on his behalf. What exactly was the child trying to say? Why had he still not said it?

She was not the sort to beat around the bush, so she asked Huo Minglei directly what he wanted to say.

Huo Minglei pressed his lips together. “Dad says I’m a man, so I have to take good care of you and my sister. Tending the fire is dangerous, so let me do it.”

So that was what he had been struggling over for so long.

“All right. I happen to be stir-frying the dishes, but don’t stand too close.”

Lu Mingyue found him a safe spot, close enough to tend the fire but far enough away that he would not be hurt.

Huo Minglei held the fire tongs and worked with great enthusiasm, a swell of pride rising in his heart.

Mingyue had not looked down on him simply because he was a child. Instead, she spoke to him as an equal. That made the little boy extremely happy.

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