Chapter 9: You Can’t Get Fat With Just One Bite
Listening to Zhang’s fierce warning, it seemed her intention wasn’t to protect the four siblings, but rather to incite something.
“I guess so,” Bai Shuiliu nodded, sighing at the same time.
In the past, Zhang hadn’t been kind to the four sisters, often criticizing Su Mulan. Bai Shuiliu had silently regarded Zhang as a good person.
Now, it seemed things weren’t that simple.
“Stop talking and hurry up with the work. If Mother hears us chatting here, she’ll probably get angry,” Bai Shuiliu whispered, sneaking a glance at Su Mulan, who was already far ahead of them, and recalled quietly.
Although Su Mulan had fed them a full meal at noon today, Bai Shuiliu still felt cautious. Remembering Su Mulan’s past fierce demeanor of either beating or scolding, she thought it was better to be careful, lest they end up being punished again.
Especially now, after just arguing with Zhang, Su Mulan was definitely feeling upset. One careless remark could easily result in another round of punishment with the willow branches.
After speaking with Bai Lixia, Bai Shuiliu still felt uneasy. She reminded Bai Zhuye and Bai Midou, “Remember, speak less and work more.”
The three siblings understood Bai Shuiliu’s concern and nodded quickly, then resumed vigorously weeding the grass in the four-acre corn field. Despite Su Mulan leading them tirelessly from after lunch until the sun began to set, with only a brief rest for water, they had only managed to clear grass from three acres of the field.
The weeds were abundant and extremely resilient, so they couldn’t be casually discarded on the ground. Otherwise, they would quickly take root and spread extensively. They had to be gathered into baskets and taken to the edge of the field, which also slowed down their work efficiency.
However, since farming couldn’t be rushed, taking it slow was acceptable.
With this in mind, Su Mulan casually wiped some mud off her shoes with a handful of weeds just pulled from the ground. “Let’s go home for now. We’ll come back early tomorrow morning.”
The four children also brushed off the mud from their feet and followed Su Mulan home.
In Su Mulan’s household, they had eaten noodles for lunch, and every child had their share. Plus, the fact that she had led the children to weed in the afternoon was almost common knowledge throughout the village by now.
As they watched Su Mulan and the children return, people couldn’t help but sneak a few glances.
The label of being a malicious stepmother was stuck on her, but now her actions didn’t match that stereotype. It was normal for others to be surprised, but Su Mulan remained calm. When someone greeted her, she responded casually without saying much.
They walked all the way home like this.
“Fetch some water to wash off the mud from your body. After washing, rinse the shovel with the soybeans and corn leaves, tidy up the stools and tables. Lixia, pick two cucumbers from the shelf and pull some shepherd’s purse leaves. Shuiliu, come help me with cooking.”
Su Mulan gave instructions, and the four little radishes hurried to obey, bustling about.
Su Mulan scooped out some stick noodle dough, mixed in white flour and sweet potato flour, added water, and began kneading the dough to make stick noodle cakes.
In a large iron pot, she cooked stick noodle porridge at the bottom and made noodle cakes along the rim of the pot. By the time the cakes were ready, the porridge was also done, making it a time-saving and labor-saving method commonly used in rural households.
With this round of cooking almost complete for her and the four little radishes, it was enough to ensure they would eat their fill that evening.
However…