Chapter 124: Chapter 124: Even the Cleverest Housewife Can’t Cook Without Rice

When Yu Hai returned home, Yu Nuannuan had just woken up from her afternoon nap and was being held by Xu Shuhua, who was wiping her face with a damp towel.

Xu Shuhua was different from the other old ladies in the village—she couldn’t stand seeing the children in her family dirty. Even Yu Wei and his brothers were no exception. They could play outside all they wanted, but as soon as they came home, they had to wash their faces and hands and change their clothes.

In Xu Shuhua’s words: “Clothes can be old, but they must be clean. People can be dark-skinned or ugly, but they can’t be dirty!”

Yu Wei and his brothers were older now and could take care of themselves, so Xu Shuhua generally left them be. But Yu Nuannuan was still little, so she couldn’t just ignore her. Washing her hands and face several times a day and changing her clothes twice was the bare minimum.

Xu Shuhua put down the towel and glanced at Yu Hai. “Why are you back so soon? And why are you alone?”

“The roof of the house over there is leaking. I’m worried it’ll rain and water will get in. I remembered we still have some oilcloth and thatch at home, so I thought I’d bring them over. Is that okay, Mom?” Yu Hai looked at Xu Shuhua hopefully, afraid she’d refuse and send him away.

Xu Shuhua glared at Yu Hai in exasperation. “What’s with that look? Do I look like someone who’d say no? Hurry up and take it over—what are you standing around for?”

Yu Nuannuan watched this scene with a smile, finding Xu Shuhua rather cute at the moment.

Xu Shuhua turned and saw Yu Nuannuan smiling, and she couldn’t help but laugh too. “Nuannuan, are you laughing at how silly your dad is?”

Yu Nuannuan: I’m not! I didn’t! Don’t make things up!

Yu Hai quickly found the oilcloth and thatch, but he couldn’t carry it all by himself, so he called Chen Qiaoqin to help him.

Seeing this, Xu Shuhua picked up Yu Nuannuan and followed behind. “Come on, let’s go take a look too!”

Yu Nuannuan was quite curious about the place Gu Mo would be living in, so she was just about to ask if they could go see it, but Xu Shuhua beat her to it.

Before long, they arrived.

Xu Shuhua stood outside the little fenced yard, holding Yu Nuannuan, who finally got a good look at the place.

There were two rooms and a thatched shed, all surrounded by a fence. The fence looked like it hadn’t been tended for a long time—some parts were crooked, others broken, giving the place a rather desolate feel.

There was a pile of grass in the yard, clearly just pulled up. Though things were still a bit messy, at least you could see what the house looked like now.

Chen Qiaoqin followed them into the yard, handed what she was carrying to Gu Jianguo, and went inside to find Qin Yuelan.

Qin Yuelan had already been cleaning inside for a while. The cobwebs were gone, and she’d swept the thick dust off the furniture with a broom.

There were two rooms: the outer room was a main hall, and there was a small door in the east wall that led to the bedroom. The bedroom had a bed, a wardrobe, and a table by the window. The main hall was even simpler—just a square table and three long benches.

Chen Qiaoqin looked around and saw there wasn’t even a basin. She sighed inwardly. “I’ll go back and get a basin and a bucket, and bring some water to wipe things down.”

As the saying goes, even the cleverest housewife can’t cook without rice. Qin Yuelan was just worrying about this when she heard Chen Qiaoqin and gratefully nodded. “Thank you, sister-in-law.”

“What are you thanking me for? Everyone has tough times. Things will get better!”

Chen Qiaoqin was a decisive person. As soon as she finished speaking, she left the house.

Since Xu Shuhua was still the head of the Yu family, Chen Qiaoqin went to tell her first. Once Xu Shuhua nodded, she hurried back home."

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