Assembling the two parts together posed no difficulty for Luo Shu, aside from the speed of doing so.
"Click!" In a moment, the two parts were snapped together.
Seeing how quickly Luo Shu had finished assembling it, Lin Helian was a bit surprised, "Have you assembled this before?" The thing looked simple, but there was a part that required a knack during assembly. People doing it for the first time wouldn’t know, so they’d usually take a long time to figure it out. It was rare for someone like Luo Shu to know how to assemble it as soon as they picked it up.
Luo Shu smiled and shook her head, "First time assembling." In her previous life, she had used so many small ornaments; how could she not know the steps to assemble such parts.
While Luo Shu and Lin Helian chatted and worked on their handicraft, occasionally glancing at Yhan Cheng, who was beside them, they saw him intently reading a book in his hands.
In about an hour, Luo Shu and Lin Helian had finished assembling all two bags of parts.
Looking at the time on her wrist, Luo Shu stood up and said, "It’s about time, I’ll go heat up the food, and we can eat." Hanmo knew she had invited Lin Helian over, not really to help with cooking or house chores, so when he had gotten up in the morning, he had prepared the meals as usual.
"I can help you," Lin Helian said, packing up the handicraft into the bag and standing up.
Luo Shu smiled and shook her head, "The food is ready; it just needs heating. You can sit for a bit; it will be ready soon." The rice was constantly kept warm in the rice cooker, and she just needed to heat the dishes in the microwave. It’s just that in this era, such home appliances did not yet exist.
"It’s not convenient for you alone; let me help you," Lin Helian said, looking at Luo Shu’s belly and expressing her concerns.
"No worries; I always do it . If I really can’t manage, I’ll call you for help," Luo Shu said, already heading to the kitchen.
Lin Helian wanted to follow, but after thinking it over, she stopped and turned her head to look at Yhan Cheng beside her, "Xiao Cheng, do you understand all the words above?" When she had free time, she would teach him to read and recognize characters. Except for some uncommon and complicated characters, there shouldn’t be any problem.
Yhan Cheng nodded, "I understand." He just didn’t quite grasp the meaning of the content. Although he didn’t understand, he still liked the book very much.
Lin Helian walked over to Yhan Cheng, looked at the book in his hands, and was somewhat surprised by the content. She had thought he was engrossed in a children’s picture book, but it turned out to be text, and even she couldn’t make sense of what it meant.
"Sister Yhan, Yhan Cheng, we can eat now," Luo Shu’s voice came from the side.
Lin Helian looked at Luo Shu in surprise, then saw Luo Shu carrying dishes toward the dining table and quickly went to help, "You’re done that quickly?"
"Just heated it up." Seeing Lin Helian willing to help with the dishes, Luo Shu handed what she was carrying to her, then walked back to the kitchen.
After bringing the rice and dishes to the table, Luo Shu looked towards Yhan Cheng, still absorbed in his book, "Yhan Cheng, continue reading after we eat."
"Okay!" Yhan Cheng closed the book somewhat reluctantly.
As he came to the dining room and saw the array of dishes on the table, his eyes widened in amazement, "So many dishes!" He’d never seen such an assortment of delicious food before in his life.
"Sit down," Luo Shu said with a smile, gesturing to the chair beside her.
Yhan Cheng looked at his mother, saw her nod, and walked over to the chair with a radiant smile to sit down.
"Sister Yhan, Yhan Cheng, eat more, and it’d be best if you could finish all this food for me," Luo Shu said, smiling as she picked up her chopsticks.
"Okay!" Lin Helian nodded and picked up her chopsticks. After spending some time with Luo Shu, she’d come to understand that Luo Shu wasn’t just being polite with them.
Luo Shu reached out with her chopsticks to pick up a piece of braised pork and put it into Yhan Cheng’s bowl, "Eat more, don’t be shy at my home."
"Thank you, aunty!" Yhan Cheng nodded his thanks, picked up the braised pork from his bowl and put it into his mouth, "It’s so delicious!" He had dreamt of eating meat, and today, his wish had finally come true.
Seeing Yhan Cheng eating with such satisfaction filled Lin Helian with remorse, "Eat slowly, don’t choke." These years had been hard on him; aside from buying a few dollars worth of meat during the New Year’s, she usually couldn’t bring herself to buy any.
Luo Shu withdrew her gaze and looked toward Lin Helian, "Sister Yhan, when Centurion Yhan comes back, would you like to find something to do?" She was fully aware of their family’s situation, and even with Yhan Zhan’s return, life would still be tight.
Yhan Zhan’s allowances, after looking after mother and son, had to be mostly sent back to their hometown. His parents were in poor health, and his siblings had just grown up; they couldn’t even take care of themselves, let alone their parents.
"Let’s wait for him to come back," said Lin Helian with a tinge of melancholy in her expression, eating the food in her bowl without tasting it. As long as he could come back, all the waiting would be worth it. But would he really come back?
"In at most one week, Centurion Yhan will be back," Luo Shu said earnestly as she looked at Lin Helian. This woman really had suffered a great deal.
She had wanted to surprise Lin Helian, but seeing her , she couldn’t bear it. So she decided to give her a definite time to look forward to.
As soon as Lin Helian heard Luo Shu give a definite time, she was startled and then stared at Luo Shu with excitement and anticipation, "Are you serious? You’re not lying to me?" Initially, when Luo Shu had only told her that Yhan Zhan would return, she had hope, but deep down, she was still uncertain, fearing disappointment. However, now that Luo Shu had provided a definite time, it gave her a target to look forward to.
"No!" Luo Shu nodded affirmatively.
Seeing Luo Shu so certain, Lin Helian was overwhelmed with excitement. She stood up, ran over to Yhan Cheng, and grabbed his shoulders, exclaiming, "Xiao Cheng, did you hear that? Your dad’s really coming back, we’ve finally waited for your dad to return." She had already cried before, but now all that was left in her heart were excitement and joy, and a deep sense of anticipation.
Yhan Cheng’s face beamed with a bright smile, "When dad’s back, no one will bully us again."
"Yes! No one will bully us again," Lin Helian said, her face breaking into a happy smile. With Yhan Zhan’s return, she wouldn’t have to face all those cold jeers and sneers alone anymore.
Lin Helian looked gratefully at Luo Shu, "Thank you for telling me this good news, thank you for finally giving me something to look forward to, thank you!" In at most a week, she would see Yhan Zhan, and their family of three could finally be reunited.
"Then shouldn’t you and Yhan Cheng eat more to celebrate?" Luo Shu suggested with a wink. Seeing them happy made her happy too.
"We should!" Lin Helian nodded happily and sat back down at the dining table. Now that she was in better spirits, her appetite naturally improved as well.