When she got home, she bumped into Yang Jia, who was at the door and preparing to leave.
“Brother Jia!”
Zhuang Zhuang saw him first and waved at him from afar.
Yang Jia stopped in his tracks. He recognized Zhuang Zhuang’s voice and waved back at him.
“Sister-in-law.”
Yang Jia saw Xiaoguo and greeted her.
Xiaoguo smiled and nodded. She looked at him, holding the books so preciously in his arms. She could roughly guess the reason for his visit.
“Have you finished reading the books?”
Xiaoguo asked Yang Jia while she handed the key to Zhuang Zhuang so that he could open the door.
“Yes, yes. I’ve finished reading. I was thinking of borrowing a few more…”
Yang Jia’s voice trailed off as he nodded in embarrassment. He sounded like he had made an unreasonable request.
Xiaoguo laughed when she saw his expression. “Zhuang Zhuang won’t be able to finish reading everything anyway. Don’t worry, you can borrow more books.”
Xiaoguo’s words touched Yang Jia. He didn’t know what to say and could only keep thanking her.
Xiaoguo stopped him from thanking her. “It’s nothing. You’re welcome.”
Zhuang Zhuang ran over at this moment. He handed the keys to Xiaoguo and went to the donkey cart to bring out the books that Xiaoguo had just bought. He said to Yang Jia, “Brother Jia, don’t worry. These are the new books that my mother bought for me today. I chose them myself. Let’s go in and see if there’s anything you want to read!”
As Zhuang Zhuang spoke, he led Yang Jia inside.
Yang Jia could not resist Zhuang Zhuang’s enthusiasm. He nodded politely at Xiaoguo and followed Zhuang Zhuang into the house.
Xiaoguo herded the cart into the yard and tried to move the bathtub herself.
After trying for a long time, she only managed to move it slightly. Helpless, Xiaoguo had no choice but to leave it and take a break.
Xiaoguo stood up straight and leaned against the wooden tub. It was much heavier than she had imagined. She almost broke her tiny waist earlier.
At this moment, Yang Jia came out of the house and said to Xiaoguo, “I’ll help you move it.”
Actually, he had seen the tub just now. He had guessed that Xiaoguo wouldn’t be able to move it by herself, so he came out again after putting the books down.
Xiaoguo nodded. Fortunately, Yang Jia was here. Otherwise, it would be really difficult for her.
Yang Jia rolled up his sleeves and tried to move the tub with Xiaoguo. They each held on to one side and on the count of three, the two of them managed to lift up the tub.
Although Xiaoguo was rather unsteady, with Yang Jia supporting the tub from the other side, she didn’t have to exert so much strength.
With Yang Jia’s help, Xiaoguo successfully moved the wooden tub to the newly built bathroom. After putting it down in the right spot, Xiaoguo took a good look at the interior. The tub was just right, and the measurements were perfect.
Xiaoguo took out the small footstool from the cart and placed it beside the bathtub. Then she took off her shoes and stepped on it to test the height.
Xiaoguo came down and put on her shoes. She was very happy. The height of the footstool was just right. Even Zhuang Zhuang could easily get into the bathtub by stepping on it.
It seemed like she should bring Zhuang Zhuang with her when she goes shopping in the future. Hahahaha…
Yang Jia helped Xiaoguo put down the bathtub and returned to the house. He was really anxious to see the books that Zhuang Zhuang was going to show him. As he was in a hurry to come out just now, he had only taken a glance at the books.
Xiaoguo unloaded the donkey cart and handed a handful of grass to the donkey before returning to the house.
Xiaoguo did not disturb the two boys and returned to her room alone. She used a small duster that she had specially made for cleaning the bed, to sweep the dust and grass off her body.
When she was stepping out of the room, Zhuang Zhuang, who had just sent Yang Jia off, bumped into her leg and almost knocked her over.
“Ouch, baby, slow down.”
Xiaoguo grabbed hold of Zhuang Zhuang. How could this child be so rash?
Zhuang Zhuang stood up straight and stuck out his tongue at Xiaoguo in embarrassment. “Mother, I’m sorry…”
“It’s okay but be careful next time, okay?”
Xiaoguo ruffled Zhuang Zhuang’s hair. He was at a mischievous age now. She should pay more attention to him.
“Yes, Mother.”
Zhuang Zhuang was not unhappy at all. When he heard Xiaoguo’s lecture, he took it in stride and expressed his agreement. He promised that it would not happen again.
Xiaoguo was very happy with Zhuang Zhuang’s response, so she dragged him to the kitchen and started cooking.
“Mother, do you know? Brother Jia has the same hobby as me. He even said that he had made preparations to go to school some time back.”
“Is that so?”
Xiaoguo was a little surprised. She didn’t know that Yang Jia was making preparations to enter school.
Zhuang Zhuang nodded. After that, he kept telling Xiaoguo about Yang Jia. It was not often that he got to meet someone who loved to read as much as he did. How he wished he could read together with Yang Jia.
Although Xiaoguo was cooking, she was also listening attentively to Zhuang Zhuang. She knew the reason for his excitement.
In the village, there wasn’t anyone of his age who liked to read. Zhuang Zhuang himself said that he found it hard to play with the other children. Now that he had met someone who was just as interested in reading, even though there was a huge age gap, Zhuang Zhuang still enjoyed talking to Yang Jia.
Xiaoguo conversed with Zhuang Zhuang patiently. She didn’t brush him off just because she was cooking.
Fortunately, she had mastered multitasking during the apocalypse. Otherwise, she wouldn’t be able to listen to Zhuang Zhuang’s incessant chatter.
During the apocalypse, although Xiaoguo was in a safe camp, there were zombies surrounding the camp at all times. No matter how safe it was, she couldn’t let her guard down. She had to stay alert and pay attention to her surroundings.
Otherwise, she would be bitten to death if the zombies attacked while she was cooking.
“Okay, time to eat.”
Xiaoguo grabbed Zhuang Zhuang, who was still talking, and stuffed the bowls and chopsticks into his hands. She brought the food back into the house first, with Zhuang Zhuang following closely behind.
The next afternoon.
Xiaoguo placed the two pairs of shoes she had sewn on the table. The smaller pair belonged to Zhuang Zhuang. The larger pair was hers.
Xiaoguo called out to Zhuang Zhuang and asked him to test the fit of the shoes. She wanted to try on her shoes too. After all, this was her first time making cloth shoes, so Xiaoguo was not sure about the fit.
Zhuang Zhuang took the shoes and sat beside Xiaoguo. He took off the shoes on his feet and changed into the new pair.
“Mother, how is it?”
Zhuang Zhuang stood up in his new shoes and stamped his feet to show her how they looked.
Xiaoguo bent down and pressed her fingers against Zhuang Zhuang’s big toe to see if the shoe was cramping his feet.
“Not bad! Not bad!”
Xiaoguo was relieved. To think that she can even make shoes now! What a genius!
“Mother? Mother!”
Zhuang Zhuang continued to walk in circles so that Xiaoguo could admire his feet. But she was just laughing on the side and didn’t say anything. Hence, Zhuang Zhuang raised his voice and called out to Xiaoguo.
“Yes, yes, they look good!”
Xiaoguo was jolted back to her senses by Zhuang Zhuang’s voice. She praised him repeatedly. She didn’t know if she was imagining things, but the shoes she made look much better than those in the stores. Hehe.
Xiaoguo also put on her shoes and took a few steps. She didn’t feel any discomfort from the shoes. She could proceed to make new shoes for Qin Anming.
After all, Qin Anming was on his feet all day. If she could not make a pair of well-fitting shoes, Qin Anming’s feet would have to suffer.
But now that she had made two pairs, it would be so much easier to make another pair.
Xiaoguo’s confidence was very much boosted. After taking off her new shoes, she rummaged through the needlework basket for some fabric. She had made up her mind and would send over a pair of new shoes for Qin Anming the day after tomorrow.