124 Chapter 124: Direct Gaze
Then, Qin Xiaoyao brought the three of them, one adult and two little ones, out of the courtyard.
Wang Xiaomei watched the four of them walk away, a look of envy flashing across her eyes.
Then, she quickly returned to her senses and went to prepare dinner.
After the four of them left the house, they knocked on each of their neighbors’ doors and visited all the neighbors in the alley.
Of course, they didn’t enter their premises. They only greeted everyone and got to know them.
Some of the neighbors had seen the Song family before, while some were meeting them for the first time.
They were very grateful to receive the lard scraps and candy from their new neighbor, and some of them even returned the favor.
Hence, when the four of them returned home, they were carrying a lot of things in their hands.
“Hehe! Aunt Sun from next door is too kind. It’s good to be her neighbor,” Madam Liu said happily.
They gave each family the same thing, a bag of lard scraps and a small bag of candy.
Among them, their next-door neighbor, Aunt Sun, returned the most valuable gift. She actually gifted them ten chicken eggs.
Moreover, Aunt Sun was about the same age as Madam Liu and treated Madam Liu very warmly. How could Madam Liu not be happy?
“Then we can get closer to the Sun family in the future. Didn’t Aunt Sun also do embroidery? If you are free, you can go and visit them, Mother,” Qin Xiaoyao said with a laugh.
“Your Aunt Sun said she’s coming over!” Madam Liu smiled and said to her daughter-in-law.
“Hehe! Then please entertain her. We’re new here, so we can’t wait to have guests.”
Madam Liu nodded with a beaming smile.
When they returned to the kitchen, the four of them realized that Wang Xiaomei was almost done with the cooking.
Madam Liu was a little shocked. She praised Wang Xiaomei outright for her diligence and brought Song Yun in to help.
Soon, the Song family’s dinner was ready.
Most of the dishes were leftovers from lunch, but there were also newly stir-fried vegetables.
All the dishes were cooked with plenty of oil.
Everyone at the table ate very happily.
After dinner, Madam Liu and Wang Xiaomei went to wash the dishes.
Qin Xiaoyao brought Song Ye and Song Yun to the courtyard to weave straw sandals and chat with the siblings.
Much to her surprise, Song Que also came out on crutches and sat down with them.
When he heard Qin Xiaoyao telling stories to the two little ones, he even listened along. Then, he expressed his opinion together with them.
The two little ones were very respectful to their big brother. When they heard their big brother telling them about the moral of Sister-in-law’s story, they nodded their heads.
Qin Xiaoyao, on the other hand, looked at Song Que with a bright smile, making no attempt to hide the twinkling in her eyes.
After Madam Liu and Wang Xiaomei finished their chores and came out of the kitchen, everyone lined up to wash up and take a bath.
Qin Xiaoyao noticed it when she was taking a bath.
The bathroom in the new house was not bad at all. Not only was it clean, but it was also spacious.
It was so much better than the dirty and narrow thatched hut back in Brook Falls Village.
After taking a bath, Qin Xiaoyao felt much more comfortable all over.
She was just about to suggest taking everyone out for a walk on the streets when she heard the sound of clothes being washed by the well.
She walked over and saw that it was Wang Xiaomei doing the laundry.
Wang Xiaomei also saw Qin Xiaoyao. She smiled at her and said, “Mistress, please leave the clothes here. I’ll wash them later.”
Qin Xiaoyao was shocked.
“It’s getting dark. You can leave the clothes here and wash them tomorrow. After everyone is done with their baths, I’m going to take everyone out for a walk on the streets.”
“It’s Yun’er who’s taking a bath now, so you should go and prepare. Let’s go together after you have taken your bath.”
The weather had been getting hotter and hotter recently. In addition, they moved house today, so everyone had worked very hard.
If she didn’t shower, she wouldn’t be able to sleep well at night.
“I… won’t be going. I can do the washing after changing my clothes. It’ll be dry by tomorrow morning.” However, Wang Xiaomei turned down her invitation.
Even though they moved house today, after the Song family finished their work, no one in the family took any breaks at all, except for the youngest one, Song Ye.
This was particularly so for her Mistress. She spent the whole afternoon clearing out all the land in the courtyard.
Old Mistress refined the lard with her and then cleaned up the kitchen.
While Young Miss was tidying up the house, she still took the time to weave quite a lot of straw sandals.
As for the Master, he had been copying books in his room all the while.
Previously, Mistress had said that she wanted to teach her how to weave straw sandals and teach her to do business.
However, she was not a slave yet, so she could not be involved in those things.
So, all she could do was stay away from the place where they made straw sandals and help the Song family with the household chores.
Anyway, she was used to doing housework at home. It was easy to get water at the Song family’s house, and they had all kinds of tools for housework. It was much easier for her to do housework here than back home.
Mistress had been kind to her, and Old Mistress had also treated her well.
She had self-awareness and knew her position. She would abide by her duty and perform her tasks well.
Qin Xiaoyao chuckled and walked quickly toward Wang Xiaomei.
...
“I said do the laundry in the morning, so just do it in the morning.” Then, she pulled Wang Xiaomei up.
“You’ve been so busy since you came here early in the morning. It’s time to rest.”
Wang Xiaomei looked at the clothes that were half-washed and was a little anxious. “I have already soaked them. Mistress, why don’t you let me finish washing these?”
Qin Xiaoyao ignored her and dragged Wang Xiaomei back.
“Let them soak then. They won’t get damaged from soaking anyway.”
Qin Xiaoyao only let go of Wang Xiaomei after she had given in and stopped struggling.
“Go. Go back to your room and get your clothes. Take a bath and let’s go out,” she said.
Wang Xiaomei’s eyes were filled with gratitude.
“Alright,” she finally agreed.
Qin Xiaoyao couldn’t help but smile as she watched Wang Xiaomei leave.
She was only 12 years old and still a child, yet she was so sensible that it made one’s heart ache a little…
...
On the opposite side, Song Que had come out of his room and saw Qin Xiaoyao’s smile.
His heart couldn’t help but race a little.
He was about to turn around and return to his room to avoid Qin Xiaoyao when Qin Xiaoyao stopped him.
“Hubby…” A clear and crisp voice rang out.
Then, Song Que saw Qin Xiaoyao walking toward him with a smile.
His heartbeat became more and more chaotic until Song Que felt that he was not normal.
He decided to avoid Qin Xiaoyao’s eyes.
After Qin Xiaoyao came closer, he asked, “What’s the matter?”
“I’m going to take Mother and the others to the streets for a walk. You should come along too!”
After a period of recuperation, her attractive husband’s injuries had already recovered substantially.
Although he still had to rely on crutches to walk, it was only a matter of slow speed.
They were only going for a walk on the streets, so a slow speed was just right.
Song Que’s heart jumped momentarily.
He lowered his head and looked at his leg, but his excitement was dampened again.
“I won’t be going. You take care of Mother and the others,” he said.
Qin Xiaoyao’s face was filled with disappointment.
She didn’t insist and helped Song Que back to his room.
“Doctor Li said that you can exercise your leg now, and it’s best to maintain a certain amount of exercise.”
“If you’re afraid of being laughed at, you can move around in the courtyard. It’s good for your legs to walk in the morning and evening.”
Seeing that Song Que didn’t reply, Qin Xiaoyao continued, “I… and Ye’er can support you while you exercise.”
Song Que finally raised his head to look at Qin Xiaoyao. When he saw that the woman’s chubby face was a little red, his mood suddenly became better.
He then responded, “Mm-hmm.”
Qin Xiaoyao quickly turned her face away from Song Que’s ‘direct’ gaze.
Then, she helped Song Que tidy up his desk.
“Now that we’ve bought a courtyard dwelling, we don’t have to worry about food and drink. We’re not as short of money as before.”