The two of them first went to the hand pump water well to wash away the dirt on their feet, then they moved the stools over, sat down beneath the eaves, and soaked their feet in the warm water.
The soles of their feet had felt cold and numb from walking barefoot on the muddy paths. Once their feet were soaking in the warm water, they sighed in pleasure.
“Ah, so comfortable.” Li Shu let out a deep breath. Turning his head towards the kitchen to look at Li Man, he said, “Wife is the best.”
Li Mo slightly smiled. His gaze, which was focused on Li Man, heated up and became increasingly affectionate.
—
Once she had finished washing the clothes, Li Man moved the bamboo laundry pole from underneath the eaves to her hut. For now, she would hang up Little Five’s clothes. She might have to rewash these clothes once the weather was better.
After finishing her work here, she went back to the eastern hut to take a look. She relaxed when she saw that there weren’t any signs of Li Yan’s fever getting worse. She quietly returned to the kitchen by herself and started to prepare for dinner.
Seeing that his brothers were all in the eastern hut, Li Mo thought about going to the kitchen to help Li Man. However, just as he was going to rush over there, he felt somewhat embarrassed doing so in front of his brothers. After all, even his third brother, Li Shu, wasn’t rushing to go over there. If he went over there, would it be too…
Li Hua was sitting on the side of the bed and reading a book. Seeing that Li Mo was lost in thought, he quietly said, “Oldest brother, she doesn’t know how to start a fire. You should go help her.”
“Ah? Oh.” Li Mo flushed in embarrassment. He swept his gaze over Li Yan and Li Shu.
Li Yan had his eyes closed. Li Shu and Little Five were sitting by Li Hua’s side and asking him about the book.
“I’ll go take a look then,” Li Mo quietly said. He hastily headed out as if he worried that Li Shu was going to snatch this chance from him.
They had eaten noodles for lunch, so Li Man had originally wanted to cook something different for dinner. However, Li Yan was sick, and the others had gotten soaked in the rain. She decided that it would better for them to drink soup to warm up their stomachs. And so, she scooped out some flour and kneaded the dough.
The sky was gradually getting darker, and the kitchen slowly became dim too.
Li Mo came into the kitchen and saw that she was kneading dough by the window, so he helpfully lit an oil lamp and placed it by the stove. The warm saffron glow instantly made people feel nice and warm and swept away the rainy day’s hazy gloom.
Li Mo walked to her side, slightly turned his head to stare at her sweet, beautiful face from the side. He pretended to casually ask, “We’re eating noodles for dinner?”
“Oh, I’m going to make dough drop soup. It’ll be easy to digest.” Li Man answered as she continued kneading the dough.
(T/N: Below is a picture of dough drop soup.)
“En,” Li Mo murmured. Leaning against the stove, he tried to think of something he could help with.
After Li Man had been kneading the dough for a while, just as she was going to get the ladle to sprinkle some water onto the dough, Li Mo took the initiative of bringing the ladle in front of her.
“Eh?” Li Man was taken aback. “Why didn’t you go back to rest?”
A burst of cold wind suddenly came through the partially open window, and the candlewick flickered for a few moments. Li Mo hurriedly used his hand to block the wind while replying, “I’ll start a fire.”
The kitchen wasn’t big to begin with. In addition, the lighting was dim, so when Li Mo stood by her side, he cast a large shadow over her. She suddenly felt an indescribable sense of oppression. “It’s okay. I can do this by myself. I’m not going to cook anything else except for the soup.”
“Let me to do it.” Li Mo glanced at her warmly, then he went over to the lower part of the stove and prepared to start the fire. However, as soon as he got the firewood, he suddenly remembered something and came back.
Seeing him suddenly approaching her with a tense expression and a heated gaze, Li Man felt panicky. “Is there something else?”
Li Mo suddenly didn’t dare to keep looking at her. Instead, he took out the fated marriage string that he had hidden in his clothes all day. He pressed it into her hand. “This… It’s for you.”