Chapter 86: Chapter 86: Doubting Life Chapter 86: Chapter 86: Doubting Life There is a smell of old rice, not fresh.
But looking at how fast my cousin is eating, a child without a mother really seems pitiable.
Even this thin porridge, tasteless as it is, he eats with relish.
The cooking isn’t even done properly. At the very least, it should have been made into preserved egg and lean pork porridge.
Or perhaps a minced pork porridge. Just plain porridge like this, the rice not even fully cooked, is a disappointment.
If it were at home, it would be a definite dismissal.
But now, looking at the chubby little girl, he really couldn’t bring himself to say anything harsh.
On their journey, they had seen many children. Dressed in wrinkly clothes and looking filthy, but the little girl wasn’t, dressed in a little skirt, sandals, with cute baby fat and sweet braids, very adorable.
He managed to slowly sip, forcing himself to finish it in the end.
Group pet came in to collect the bowls, and seeing that he had finished, group pet smiled happily, her face becoming even cuter.
“Brother Ouyang, you guys rest well, see you tomorrow,”
“Okay.”
After getting Brother Ouyang’s response, group pet then left the room.
Bai Ye somewhat didn’t understand why his sister was so nice to them.
“Sister, why are you so good to them, saving them and even cooking for them, couldn’t you just let them leave?”
Bai Ye always asked whenever he did not know, he didn’t think they necessarily had to keep them.
His heart felt oddly uncomfortable when his sister was kind to others.
“Brother…”
Group pet pouted, disagreeing, as she looked at Bai Ye.
“Isn’t it supposed to be joyful to help? We should aid those who need help, right? If we didn’t save them, they would have died.”
If Bai Zhi were here, she would definitely retort, “You’re overthinking it.”
“Stop talking,” Bai Yu spoke up at that moment.
“Sister, let them leave tomorrow.”
Group pet couldn’t believe it. Did Brother Bai Yu disagree as well?
“They’re awake now, naturally they should return home. Let’s go have some dinner.”
Bai Yu glanced unintentionally at a room, which was Xixi’s room, and he hadn’t expected that Xixi would have given up her room without hesitation.
It made him conflicted. Xixi’s willingness to help was her kindness, but…
“Alright, why haven’t dad and brother come back yet?”
Group pet and the others then went to have dinner, also porridge, as the three of them couldn’t cook anything else. It was just as well since they didn’t need to eat much in the evening.
But they had already started training Bai Ye, hoping he would soon make something tastier.
After eating the porridge, Bai Ye started to feed the pigs, always him, always pinching his nose. He was always frustrated, initially complaining that it was always his job thanks to Bai Zhi, but as time went on, he became lazy and no longer wanted to rinse. He began to wonder how Bai Zhi had managed to persist?
Bai Yu’s job was to do the dishes, while Bai Xixi was responsible for cleaning the house, and they often finished only by midnight due to their slow pace.
Nevertheless, when they finally rested, Bai Da still had not returned…
Group pet stayed in Bai Ye and Bai Yu’s room, and the two brothers went to Bai Da’s room.
…
Early in the morning, the first thing Bai Zhi did was to check her canned pears.
After soaking them overnight, Bai Zhi couldn’t wait any longer; she took out a jar with the least amount, served herself some, took a bite, and found it to be soft and sweet, incredibly delicious.
The juice was even sweeter, tasty indeed.
However, Bai Zhi didn’t like things too sweet, so she only tasted a little.
For breakfast, they ate noodles, the simplest meal to prepare. Just add some vegetables and scallions, and you’re full. Bai Zhi had already cooked it by the time Bai Dan woke up, accompanied by pickles. The fruit was in the cans.
“Grandpa, this is the pear can I made. Eat more of it; it’s good for your throat. I’ll take a jar to my cousin and bring some to the market. If they sell well, then I will make more.”
But these cans were just for this season’s fruit; buying other fruits to can wouldn’t be cost-effective, especially since she used quite a bit of white and rock sugar.
A jar of pickles in the fermenting pot would cost at least ten yuan each.
After all, that’s equivalent to about two or three pounds, and selling pears could make a few yuan each.
“You shouldn’t exhaust yourself, my dear, and don’t worry about money, okay?”
Bai Dan felt a bit uneasy, seeing his granddaughter working so hard, always thinking about how to make money, he felt a sense of guilt. Was he making a mistake?
“Xingxing, if one day you found out that Grandpa had deceived you, would you hate me?”
Bai Dan put down his chopsticks, looked at Bai Zhi anxiously, his heart tightened.
“Grandpa, what are you talking about? No matter what you’re keeping from me, you must think it’s for the best. Grandpa loves me, I know that, so I wouldn’t.”
How could Bai Zhi hate her grandpa? Whether for the original owner or for herself, Grandpa had always been especially loving, even sacrificing his life for the original owner. How could she possibly hate him?
“Xingxing, Grandpa has money, I really do have money. So, don’t wear yourself out, okay? Buy whatever you want.”
Bai Dan felt particularly heart sore; Xingxing was always so well-behaved and sensible.
Seeing the earnest and solemn look on Bai Dan’s face, Bai Zhi suddenly felt that there might indeed be something she didn’t know about.
“Grandpa, I can earn money too, can we discuss your money later, okay?”
Bai Zhi suddenly had a feeling that maybe Grandpa didn’t get hurt just because of running down the mountain, maybe…
“Xingxing, Grandpa is old; how much money can I spend? Actually, it isn’t much, just a few tens of thousands. It’s what I saved before, and your grandma said it’s all for you, to save for your university. But I thought, you still have a long way to go to university, so how about we buy a house? In the county, it’ll make going to school more convenient for you.”
In Bai Dan’s eyes, his Xingxing was the most capable; getting into a junior high school in the county would surely be a piece of cake. The lackluster academic performance is surely because Xingxing hasn’t yet tapped into her real strength.
In the past, when he was alone, any living condition was manageable. But now he was ready to save the money for Xingxing, which, back when she hadn’t realized, telling her would have likely led to her being hoodwinked.
Better he keeps it himself, but now things are different.
Xingxing has now seen through that outsider and has even moved in to live with him; he must start doing something.
“What?”
Bai Zhi was a bit dazed, foolishly looking at Bai Dan. Just yesterday she intended to work hard to earn money for a house, and now Grandpa tells her they can buy it directly?
It made her question her life.
“We should be able to buy a house with a yard. Grandpa plans to go look at one soon, and we’ll plant the green onions tomorrow.”
Bai Dan was also hasty; once he said it, he did it. After eating, he went out immediately, not taking Bai Zhi with him.
It takes more than a moment to look at houses, and it was too hot; he didn’t want Xingxing to get tired.
He suggested Bai Zhi go find Bai Fei to play…
Bai Zhi was utterly confounded by the wind.