There were four large basins of dishes on the floor. Two basins were being washed, and the other two basins were being poured with ladles of hot water one after another.
Looking at the dishes again, it was obvious that they had not been washed for a long time. They were all dusty and would change color when water went in. The three girls who originally lived in the back house were all working with their heads down. The middle-aged woman was also there, but she was assigned to light the fire.
Bai Zhi turned around and saw the two of them, hurriedly came over, saluted, and said:
"Young Master, Young Master Cousin, the food has been cooked, and you can eat it with just one stick of incense. How are the Second Young Lady and the Young Master doing? My sister has already boiled the medicine and brought it over. Did you see it?"
Li Heng shook his head slightly, looked past her at the two big basins on the ground, and asked:
"Are these all the original bowls and chopsticks here?"
"Master, the dishes are all from here. The chopsticks were thrown away by the slaves, and they are all hairy and can no longer be used." Bai Zhi replied pertinently.
She didn't want to file a complaint, she was just seeking truth from facts. As for how the master's family would arrange it, it had nothing to do with her. Of course, she was not temperamental. There were eight people in the back house of the government office, but she lived a simple life.
There was no grain, and the dishes were still extremely dirty.
what!
Li Heng also suppressed the anger in his heart, said a dull "hmm", and turned around to go out.
Outside to the west, Shunxi and Shuangxi were chopping firewood. Looking at the wooden spoons on the stack of firewood in the corner, Li Heng laughed angrily. There were not too many wooden spoons, and they were piled up in a mess. It was obvious that they were just for use.
It doesn't matter.
In the village, only the firewood pile of the errand boy's house would be like this. I didn't expect to see such a strange scene in the house behind the government office. It's been a long time since I've lived.
Li Heng was obsessed with the stack of firewood and couldn't bear to see such a mess. He rolled up his sleeves and stepped forward, using the moonlight and lanterns to help carry the basket. Yan Yixin was not idle when he saw this, and worked together.
After transporting all the plows from the firewood pile, put the chopped firewood into the basket and transport it back.
While stacking firewood, Li Heng said softly:
"I think back then, my mother was afraid that I would be bullied by Li Wanshan when I went out to play, so she often made me work on the firewood pile at home. I am not just bragging to my brother. I used to work on the firewood pile at home, and it was all ruined."
"and after?"
"Of course my mother didn't care about me after that, so I went out to play. The worst thing about Chai Duo is that she is not a person who lives a normal life."
Just as he was talking, Bai Shao came over quickly, knelt down and saluted, and said:
"Eldest Young Master, Second Young Master, dinner is ready."
"Okay, got it."
After finishing speaking, Li Heng continued working until all the firewood in his hands was piled up, and then he and Yan Yixin walked to the front yard. They arrived within a few steps, and the whole yard was worse than the house before they moved.
Seeing Tiandong coming towards me, he asked:
"Brother Tiandong, they are going out to chop wood. Is anyone following them?"
"Young Master, don't worry, Yongxi will go with you. There will be no danger." Tiandong replied with a smile, "Second Young Lady and Young Master have taken medicine and have started to reduce their fever. Madam is waiting for you to have dinner with Young Master Cousin. You should rest early today.
, we have a lot to do tomorrow."
"Okay." Li Heng agreed and quickly returned to the house.
The food was placed in the west room. After washing my hands, I went to see my brother and sister. Just as Tiandong said, they all slept peacefully and the temperature on their foreheads was not as hot as before.
"Tie Dan, let's go. Bai Wei and Bai Zhi are here to keep an eye on us. Auntie is still waiting for us."
The two came to the west room together and saw that there were only two people in the room. Li Heng leaned on the kang and said while serving rice:
"Mom, is my dad busy now?"
"Probably." Cheng Xue replied, "How were you when you went out just now? The stack of firewood must be very messy."
Li Heng said "hmm", curled his lips and said:
"Mom didn't look at it. The stack of firewood was like an errand in the village. It was simply invisible. As long as you are diligent, you can't be like this."
Cheng Xue put some vegetables into his bowl and nodded lightly.
"Don't go out during these days. Just study and practice martial arts at home. When Master Wen is away, practice with Dexi and Chengxi. The yard is too small and you can't run away. Get over it."
"Don't worry, Auntie, Tiedan and I won't go out. There are too many places in the house that need to be tidied up. I'll have someone go out and buy some clear paper tomorrow. Let's paper up the windows first."
After listening to Yan Yixin's suggestion, Cheng Xue smiled bitterly and shook her head.
"I brought some clear paper, which should be enough. Tiandong just went out to buy some. Not to mention the clear paper, there are no candles in the grocery store. It is said that they have been out of stock for half a year. The grain sold is brought back from the capital by your uncle.
When these grains are sold out, the grocery store will probably be closed again."
They knew it would be difficult here before coming, but the difficulty was beyond their imagination.
Li Heng lowered his head and shoveled the food into his mouth. Yan Yixin frowned and had a solemn look on his face.
Everyone ate a lot during this meal, but they didn't feel comfortable. Not just the children, but also Cheng Xue. Especially after learning that there were only a hundred or so residents in the northern city.
The west room was left to Li Yue, Li Tian, Li Heng and Yan Yixin living next to the main house. Bai Shao went to his sister-in-law in advance, but Cheng Xue was worried and came over to check after dinner.
The room was not big, just over fifty square meters, which was enough for the three brothers. The furniture was just a wooden cabinet, not even a dressing table with a bronze mirror. They brought the box themselves. As for the original bedding,
Bai Shao had already taken it out and put it in the warehouse because it was so miserable.
"Mom, please go back and have a rest. This house is not bad. I'll just put it back in place tomorrow."
Seeing such a sensible child, Cheng Xue touched the top of his hair, nodded and said:
"Okay, I'll ask Tianma to bring you a charcoal basin later. It will keep you warm at night."
This house has air leakage everywhere, so there is no need to worry about poisoning from soot.
The two brothers nodded one after another, and Li Heng took her arm and sent her out of the house. Cheng Xue looked at the kitchen where the candle was still burning, and then turned around after thinking about it.
In the kitchen, Bai Shao, Bai Zhi, and Ging Guo are still squatting down and dusting the soil. The kitchen area is quite large, but there are only four stoves. The cabinet doors on both sides are so black that the original paint color can no longer be seen.
.You can clearly see the red bricks where the bang comes out, so you can imagine how dirty this kitchen is.
"Where is the original servant in the house?"
Bai Shao turned her head when she heard the sound, quickly stood up and saluted, saying:
"Madam, I asked them to go back. They are not working people. They are staying here to get in the way."
"What about their physical bonds? Did Ge Tao give it to your brother?"
Bai Shao shook his head as an answer.
Ging Guo, who was working on the side, suddenly spoke angrily——
"Madam, those Qiuyue and Qiu Tong are not working people at all. They talk in a low voice and always pretend to be aggrieved. I just said a few words that the kitchen is dirty, and they started crying. That Niu lady also helped me, Sister Bai Shao is afraid of me
If you have a conflict with them, let them go back first. Madam, I'm sorry, I didn't control my temper."
"There's nothing to apologize for. You didn't do anything wrong." Cheng Xue shook her head gently, then looked at Bai Shao and said, "You were wrong, you shouldn't let them go back."