Chapter 63 - Returning Home

Xiaoguo spoke loudly so that the people behind her could hear her clearly.

As expected, everyone stopped talking and left for home.

On their way back, Qin Anming heard from Xiaoguo that Mrs. Yang had helped her a lot. He was very grateful to her.

“Sister-in-law, thank you so much. Thank you for taking care of Xiaoguo.”

Qin Anming thanked her sincerely.

After Mrs. Yang knew who the other party was, she laughed heartily. “Ah, it’s fine. It’s just a small matter. Besides, Xiaoguo has helped me too! I’m just doing my part!”

They exchanged a few more pleasantries at the intersection. In the end, Qin Anming couldn’t hold up anymore and coughed a few more times. Xiaoguo then hurriedly bid farewell to Mrs. Yang and rushed home.

Xiaoguo handed the keys to Zhuang Zhuang and asked him to open the door. Xiaoguo drove the donkey cart in and Zhuang Zhuang followed behind to close the door.

As soon as they entered, the animals at home began to cry out, seemingly asking for food from Xiaoguo and Zhuang Zhuang.

As soon as Qin Anming entered the courtyard, he was shocked by the scene in front of him. What he heard from Xiaoguo paled in comparison to what he was seeing with his own eyes.

The chickens and ducks in the courtyard, the green seedlings in the wide vegetable plot, and the strange-colored cows that could be seen through the window. It seemed that his sister was really living well after the disaster. At this moment, he was truly relieved!

After parking the donkey cart in the courtyard and unloading it, Xiaoguo carefully helped Qin Anming into the house.

Xiaoguo was intending to tidy up Mrs. Jiang’s room for him. However, this was a bit last minute, so Xiaoguo didn’t have time to tidy up. She could only arrange for Qin Anming to stay in her room first and tidy up the other room in the afternoon.

After settling Qin Anming down, Zhuang Zhuang ‘s first thought was to feed the chickens, ducks, cows, and donkeys.

Xiaoguo walked to the courtyard and came to the donkey cart. She took out the pork ribs that she had packed for Qin Anming in the morning. She would make a pot of pork rib soup for his lunch.

Since Qin Anming was sick, he should stick to a light diet, and avoid heavy meals.

Xiaoguo first blanched the pork ribs and dropped them into a clay pot with boiling water. She added a little salt and brought them to the stove to stew.

Immediately after, she began to prepare the main course. A bowl of flour was kneaded into a smooth dough—then she took out a sharp knife and opened the lid of the pot, revealing the soup that she had just made with shredded meat and cabbage. Holding the dough in her left hand and a knife in her right, XIaoguo began slicing pieces of dough into the boiling soup.

In a short while, Xiaoguo was done with the slicing.

Zhuang Zhuang sniffed the air and came to the kitchen. “Mother, what are you making?”

Xiaoguo looked down at Zhuang Zhuang. “I am making shaved noodles for lunch today.”

Zhuang Zhuang asked curiously what shaved noodles were. Xiaoguo explained to him the origins of shaved noodles and how they were made. After hearing this, Zhuang Zhuang looked regretful.

If he had known earlier, he wouldn’t have fed the animals first. That way, he would be able to see his mother slicing the dough.

Seeing his regret, Xiaoguo patted the remaining flour with both hands. She squatted down and pinched Zhuang Zhuang’s round face. “I’ll make more for you in the future.”

Only then did Zhuang Zhuang look happy again. Seeing that he was fine, Xiaoguo asked him to play with his uncle in the house. When the food was ready, she would bring it into the house.

Zhuang Zhuang nodded and trotted into the house.

Xiaoguo lifted the lid of the clay pot and turned her body to avoid the hot air. When the heat had dissipated, she stirred the soup and scooped out a spoonful to check its color. The protein and fats in the bones had been fully released into the milky white soup. Xiaoguo poked at the ribs and saw that the meat had become soft and tender.

Xiaoguo put out the fire. Using two wipe clothes, she held up the pot and brought it into the house before removing the lid.

“Zhuang Zhuang, bring Uncle out for dinner!”

Xiaoguo rushed into the house and called out to Zhuang Zhuang. She had wanted to bring the food to Qin Anming as he was not well and it would be difficult for him to walk out. However, there was no table in the room—the only table in the house was in the dining room. As it was too big, it couldn’t be moved into the inner room either.

While Xiaoguo was going to the kitchen to get the noodles, Zhuang Zhuang helped Qin Anming out. Qin Anming took a look at the food on the table and his stomach began to growl.

Qin Anming quickly lowered his head to look at Zhuang Zhuang to see if he had heard anything.

He heaved a sigh of relief when he saw that Zhuang Zhuang was still holding on to him and had not noticed it.

In actual fact, when Xiaoguo was cooking earlier, Qin Anming could already smell the fragrance from inside the room. Even though It had been a long time since he had eaten meat, he could tell from the smell that it was meat stew. The fragrance seemed to be calling out to him and enticing him while he was resting on his bed.

His body—which had been filled with water to suppress the waves of hunger—subconsciously cried out. His internal organs seemed to be protesting in unison and wailing in agony.

Qin Anming finally walked to the table and sat down. At the same time, Xiaoguo came back in with the noodles and set them down on the table. She first scooped a bowl of soup, which was half-filled with pork ribs and gave it to Qin Anming.

“Brother, have some soup first to fill your stomach.”

Qin Anming took the bowl from Xiaoguo’s hand and picked up the spoon with great effort. He swallowed the soup in one gulp. As soon as the broth slid down his throat, it instantly warmed his internal organs. The growling instantly calmed down.

Qin Anming couldn’t be bothered to speak. He tried his best to suppress the urge to wolf down the food, as he was worried about scaring Xiaoguo and Zhuang Zhuang. He kept reminding himself to eat slowly and not be too anxious.

After Xiaoguo handed Qin Anming a bowl, she went on to give Zhuang Zhuang his food. She filled a bowl of sliced noodles with shredded meat and cabbage and placed it in front of him.

“Eat slowly. It’s a little hot.”

Xiaoguo reminded Zhuang Zhuang, afraid that he would burn his tongue.

Zhuang Zhuang first picked up a strand of noodles and blew on it. He counted down to ten in his heart. This was what his mother had taught him the last time.

Xiaoguo was relieved to see that everyone was doing fine. She was used to taking care of Zhuang Zhuang by herself, but now that she had an older brother, she was really afraid that she would be flustered. But from the looks of it, it was not bad at all!

After Qin Anming finished his soup and pork ribs, Xiaoguo scooped a bowl of noodles for him.

Qin Anming finished the last strand of noodles and put down the bowl. He couldn’t help but give out a loud burp.

Zhuang Zhuang finished the soup in his bowl and spat out the last piece of bone. He also burped loudly.

“Uncle, your burp isn’t louder than mine…”

Zhuang Zhuang seemed proud as he compared the volume of his burps with Qin Anming.

Upon hearing that—Qin Anming, who was feeling a little embarrassed at first—started laughing along with Zhuang Zhuang.

Xiaoguo slowly drank the soup and watched the two of them banter. Her gaze on Zhuang Zhuang was filled with tenderness. “That is my precious Zhuang Zhuang. What a considerate boy.”

Recently, Xiaoguo realized that Zhuang Zhuang seemed to be very sensitive to changes in people’s emotions. Just like the other day, when her period came suddenly and she had cramps—even though she did not behave or speak differently—Zhuang Zhuang could still tell that something was wrong by the occasional frown on her face. He asked her if she was feeling unwell.

Zhuang Zhuang must have seen Qin Anming’s embarrassed expression just now, so he burped to ease the awkward atmosphere.

Xiaoguo really felt that Zhuang Zhuang was such a considerate boy. He had a high IQ and good EQ. To think that such an outstanding son was actually hers. It must be the blessings she had earned from her previous lifetimes.

1