Li Yuzhu walked into the cave and said loudly, "Father, Mother, shouldn’t the household chores be divided up? It can’t all be on me, right? I’m the youngest after all..." excluding the two younger ones.
Prince Luling was lying on a grass mat, patting his full stomach with a contented expression.
This stomach had been hungry for about a month, shrinking a lot, and today it finally got a little full.
His youngest daughter was angry, so Prince Luling immediately rolled over, sat up on the grass mat, and coaxed her, "Yuzhu, you’re right, but is there anything left undone at home?"
He looked around, full of confusion.
Li Yuzhu, "..." Sure, you used to be a prince! The emperor’s uncle!
Once you’re full, of course, you just lie there, no need to do any work?
But you’re not a prince now! You’re just a commoner in the smoky mountains!
She said irritably, "The bowls aren’t washed, the pot isn’t scrubbed! The leftover meat hasn’t been marinated! If not marinated, it’ll stink after two days! The bathwater isn’t heated, the bathtub isn’t scrubbed! The washbasin isn’t scrubbed either! There are lots of things to do!"
Prince Luling was taken aback, oh dear, how come there’s so much left to do?
He sat up straight, cleared his throat, and in a patriarchal manner said, "No one get any more sleep, get up and get to work quickly!" Then he called the Princely Heir, "Eldest, listen to your sister’s arrangements, quickly assign the tasks and get them done."
After giving the orders, he laid back down.
Li Yuzhu, "..." Well, the head of the family is exempt from labor.
The Great Princess didn’t want to work, hiding behind Princess Consort Lu Ruan.
Li Yuzhu wouldn’t let her go, "Big sister, why are you sitting there doing nothing? You ate the biggest piece of meat bone tonight."
The Princely Heir turned his head, saw the Great Princess hadn’t come out, and immediately called out in a deep voice, "Yu Wen?"
The Great Princess gave Li Yuzhu a defiant glare but reluctantly walked out of the cave.
The Heir’s wife didn’t want to work and immediately shouted, "I need to look after Guoguo!"
Princess Consort Luling glanced at her without saying anything.
Li Yuzhu nodded, "Father’s health is poor, Sister-in-law and Mother need to take care of the two children, they don’t have to do any chores, the rest come on over."
Prince Luling patted his stomach, "Oh dear, my stomach’s not well, moving makes it uncomfortable, I need to lie down more."
Princess Consort Luling frowned at him, "Your stomach’s unwell all year round, how is it so full? Isn’t a bad stomach supposed to make you skinny?"
Prince Luling, whose weight and height numbers are the same, "..."
The siblings came outside the cave and began dividing up the work under the light of the fire.
The Second Princess and the Great Princess washed the dishes together.
Second Young Master Li scrubbed the bathtub and the washbasin.
Third Brother Li Xing’an and Li Yuzhu salted the leftover meat together.
The Princely Heir continued tending to the fire.
When the firewood was nearly burned out, he went nearby to gather some more.
Gathering firewood was easier now, with the ax, he could easily find a bare tree and chop a big bundle with a few swings.
After tidying up, it was time to bathe and sleep.
The bathwater was easy to heat, with a big clay pot for boiling water and a stove.
Placing a bathtub in the cave for bathing was definitely not an option.
Though the cave was about thirty square meters, with so many people, there was barely any space left after everyone had carved out their own resting place.
Besides, after finally drying the ground, getting it wet again would leave no place to sleep.
Li Yuzhu surveyed the surroundings.