Chapter 1653

The group stayed at the river beach until the sun set and night fell, and only then did they return, carrying baskets and holding large handfuls of lotus leaves.

At the homestay, Master Chai and Xiao Zhou had already prepared dinner; seeing those fragrant lotus leaves, they tore them open to smell them and immediately made a decision:

"Steamed lotus leaf sticky rice chicken tomorrow morning!"

And those small lotus pods, he also dug one out to taste and dug one out for Xiao Zhou as well.

The master and apprentice stood there savoring it for a long time, and only then were they reluctant to part:

"This is too tender; it doesn't have that flavor for porridge or soup, so just eat it directly like this."

Everyone swarmed up: That was exactly their intention!

After eating, everyone held a small lotus pod in their hands, sitting in the courtyard blowing the breeze, looking at the stars and the Milky Way in the night sky, peeling lotus seeds, and chatting...

It couldn't be more comfortable.

The children, however, were now full of energy again; Xiao Shi followed He Tuoluo, crowding and squeezing, making him unable to take a step even if he wanted to run.

Qin Beibei and Yun Danqing had played for a day and completely let go of their wild nature, and now they swayed and wanted to go to the kitchen again.

The pots, bowls, ladles, and stoves there were much more complete than their little toys for playing house!

Moreover, because of how modern commercial housing was designed, no matter how big the house was, the kitchen was mostly small.

And here at Lu Chuan's place, in the newly built house, the kitchen was as spacious as could be, and the combination of the firewood stove and technology appeared especially novel!

Master Chai was still busy preparing ingredients for tomorrow morning inside, and when he turned his face, he saw three children clinging to the stove, scaring him into a shiver.

Master Xiao Zhou, who now had a family, didn't urge or chase them away, but simply brought out a small rice cooker and gave on-site guidance:

"Children, you've worked hard for a day; do you want to make a bowl of late-night snacks for your parents tonight?"

A bowl of rice, a measuring cup, an egg, a handful of washed green vegetables, and a little salt.

"Come, Uncle will teach you how to make green vegetable and egg drop porridge—"

The parents only then realized the children were interfering with work and quickly came over embarrassedly. But seeing that they were still relatively quiet, they didn't say anything.

Looking at the rice cooker again, the rice cooker was much safer than fire; the children had long been aware not to touch the power cord, and now they stared at the porridge inside with the lid open, not knowing if it could be cooked, their expressions eager to try.

Yun Feng looked at it and felt a pang of heartache: "This wouldn't be that kind of good rice and good vegetables, would it?"

"That's exactly what it is."

Master Xiao Zhou had never lived such a lavish life, and now his words carried a sense of pride: "There are no other inferior ingredients to be found in the kitchen here. But it doesn't matter—"

He gave them a reassurance: "Don't worry, this rice is cooked; at most, the flavor will be a bit worse, it won't be hard to eat."

If he had given them raw rice, the children would have stirred it around, and this porridge probably wouldn't have been cooked.

If it had been wasted like that, he would have felt pained in his heart.

Sure enough, this real-life version of playing house and cooking instantly conquered the three children.

He Tuoluo was a bit impatient and wanted to rush into the kitchen again. But Xiao Shi stared at these ingredients on the table, already sticking out its long tongue, its gaze focused, not moving at all.

Under its paws, it was still pressing He Tuoluo's harness rope; the other party could pull it if he struggled gently, but...

He Tuoluo looked at this whole room of adults: what if he was pressed into the mud by Xiao Shi here again? How embarrassing!

He had to give up and endure the humiliation to play house with the two girls.

But as the hot water slightly stimulated the aroma of the rice again, he couldn't help but swallow his saliva:

Was this the fragrant food Mom and the others were eating today?

The night in the village was so quiet; everyone sat in the courtyard until 9 o'clock, feeling only the silence of all things, with only the faint chirping of insects and frogs.

Under these circumstances, sleepiness swept over them before they knew it, and the children were the first to yawn.

Looking at that pot of porridge again—

Oh!

It was really hard to describe.

Because the two sisters were chattering, you put in a handful of green vegetables and I want to put in some too, you cracked an egg and I want to stir it with chopsticks, you stirred it and I want to stir it too...

Now it was a chaotic mess, not knowing what it was.

But fortunately, Master Xiao Zhou came out and took a peek, adding salt while he was at it; although it didn't look good, tasting a mouthful, it was actually quite delicious.

It was just that the single-person small rice cooker was really tiny; everyone looked at it and finally decided to let the children share it.

He Tuoluo thus ate the fragrant green vegetable and egg drop porridge he had been craving all night.

He held the bowl and gulped it down in one go, and then his face was covered in porridge, rice soup, and egg drop, and he pitifully acted like a spoiled child to his mother:

"I won't climb trees tomorrow, can I still eat it?"

To be honest, he had been so well-behaved today that the He family had already softened their hearts.

But looking at Xiao Shi sitting upright there, staring seriously at He Tuoluo, his mother hardened her heart again:

"We'll see how you behave tomorrow morning."

He Tuoluo responded gloomily, not knowing this was the beginning of the adults' softening attitude.

But the next moment, Xiao Shi, who had been waiting for a long time, had already pounced!

The hot dog head got close to his face, and with a flick and roll of its tongue, slap, slap, it quickly licked his face until it was damp and shiny.

Everyone:...

He Tuoluo endured the humiliation and accepted it all; clearly, today's training wasn't without results.

After Xiao Shi finally retreated and sat quietly to the side maintaining a steady appearance, he opened his eyes and awkwardly raised his arm to wipe his face.

Looking at his mother opposite, who was dumbfounded and hadn't had time to react, the little boy said deeply:

"Mom, is my face clean?"

He Kuang's wife:...

She wanted to laugh, but also regretted why she hadn't taken a picture just now?

At this moment, she wanted to reach out and smooth the child's hair, but looking at his sweaty hair sticking to his scalp and his face full of glistening saliva, she withdrew her hand as if nothing had happened:

"It's fine, why don't we go back and take a bath first."

These words seemed to break a spell; everyone burst into laughter, and He Kuang touched Xiao Shi's head: "You really don't waste a bit!"

Xiao Shi grunted, its head held high.

It had smelled it long ago, but unfortunately, it had circled around the three children, and none of them thought to let the dog taste a bite first!

Fortunately, its fragrant meat and milk had it in mind, and there was plenty left on its face! Salty and fragrant.

It wagged its tail: Xiao Shi will work harder tomorrow!

And at this time, Lu Chuan had already come out of the kitchen carrying a large bucket:

"This is the bath soup boiled in the pot; it's just right to take a bucket to each of your rooms; take advantage of the heat and mix it with some water in the bathtub for the children to soak."

He said considerately: "Playing wildly for a day is actually very energy-consuming, especially for children; otherwise, they might have a fever tomorrow."

Lu Chuan had also worked hard this day, spending money, effort, and favors; how could everyone have the heart to let him carry this heavy water bucket again?

Qin Yun quickly reached out to take it—

Forget it.

He put the bucket down as if nothing had happened: "Why don't you carry it..."

?? Coming! My mom's annual work started yesterday and ended today; she'll be back at six tomorrow morning...