Chapter 782 - 403: Hairy Egg

Chapter 782: Chapter 403: Hairy Egg

Aunt Liu, stoking the fire under the stove, heard this and said gratefully, "You’re always so thoughtful and considerate, Ma’am. My mother often says that even her own son couldn’t treat her any better."

He held a spatula, flipping the pancakes in the pot as she laughed. "Oh, don’t say that, you’ll make me blush. She’s an old woman, how much can she possibly eat? Besides, she always helps me look after my grandson! We used to be poor, so I couldn’t be as generous as I wanted. Things are much better now."

Aunt Liu thanked her again, saying that not all employers were so kind, and that her family was truly blessed to have found the Zhang family!

Juhua saw the two women exchanging polite praises and didn’t interrupt. She carried out a basket of pancakes and asked Pu Pao, "Where’s your little brother? Is he asleep already?"

Pu Pao nodded. "My grandma took him home to sleep."

Juhua said, "Then let’s take Banli and Cong to their maternal grandmother’s house and deliver the pancakes while we’re at it."

So the two of them each carried a child. Juhua struggled to also tuck the basket under her left arm, and they headed for the Zheng Family’s home.

But the pancakes were still hot. Holding them so close, she soon felt the searing heat and quickened her pace. Before she even reached the gate of the Zheng Family Courtyard, she shouted, "Brother! Brother! Quick, come give me a hand!"

When Pu Pao saw what was happening, she knew Juhua was getting burned and wanted to help, but she was already struggling just to carry Cong. How could she possibly take a basket of pancakes, too? There were twenty of them in there.

Fortunately, Qingmu was in the courtyard. Hearing her voice, he hurried out, first taking the basket and then Banli. He hefted the basket’s weight and chided her, "How could you be so careless? There are so many pancakes here, it must be several pounds, and they’re still hot! Didn’t you think to make two trips? Or you could have called for me first, and I would have come to meet you. Did you get burned?"

Juhua shook her arm and smiled sheepishly. "I’m fine. I just thought it was right around the corner. It’s such a short walk, I figured I’d be here in a second. Let’s go in, Pu Pao won’t be able to hold on much longer if we stand here."

They entered the courtyard and saw Liu Yunlan sitting next to a sieve that Qingmu had just washed. The sieve was propped up on two large benches with a cutting board inside it. In her hand, she was cutting a round, gray block of fermented bean curd.

Seeing Juhua, she asked with concern, "What happened to Juhua?"

Qingmu told her what had happened, and she also chided Juhua a little before having Qingmu bring over Hulu’s small cart. They put Banli inside, and she held Cong in her arms.

Hearing the commotion, Mrs. Yang came out of the east room leading Hulu by the hand. With her was a little girl about Pu Pao’s age. She had a delicate face, but she was a bit pale and thin.

Pu Pao’s face lit up when she saw her. "Niuniu!" she cried, then shyly called out to Mrs. Yang, "Grandma Zheng!"

Mrs. Yang smiled. "It’s not often you two get to see each other, go on and talk. Just keep an eye on Banli and Cong while you’re at it."

The two little girls were overjoyed to hear this. Pu Pao, having been around Juhua longer, was more mannerly; she first politely thanked Mrs. Yang before pulling Niuniu over to Banli’s side. They grabbed two small stools, sat down, and started chattering away. She then waved Hulu over. "Come play with your little brother! Look, he’s smiling at you."

Hulu, however, threw himself at Juhua’s side. He had just called out "Auntie!" when Banli started wailing. Hulu had no choice but to let go of Juhua’s hand and resign himself to soothing his little brother—if he ignored him, Banli would just keep screaming. He knew this from experience.

Still, he preferred playing with his little sister, so he pestered Qingmu to put Cong down. He gave her a hug, then a kiss, then took her little hand and giggled. To be fair, he performed the same routine on Banli, which made Qingmu and Liu Yunlan chuckle.

Juhua helped Mrs. Yang over and said with a smile, "Mother, we made some pancakes. The filling is savory, so they’re not too rich. Why don’t you try one or two? Yunlan, you should rest for a bit too. I’ll help you cut that later." She then added, "Is Grandma cooking? I’ll go to the kitchen to get some chopsticks and ask her to have some as well." With that, she headed for the kitchen.

Before she even reached the kitchen door, she smelled a toasty aroma, a bit like fried eggs.

"Grandma, what’s that delicious smell?"

Mrs. Wang was standing by the counter, using chopsticks to arrange a plate of something fried to a golden brown. Looking up at the sound of Juhua’s voice, she smiled. "Juhua, you’re just in time! Look at this delicious thing Aunt Ma fried up. I’m sure you’ll love it. I was just about to take it out for everyone to try."

Aunt Ma was a farmer’s wife in her forties. Her face was a bit weathered, and she wore a scarf on her head. Her clothes were clean and neat—Juhua recognized them as old clothes of Mrs. Yang’s—and she had the look of a tidy person.

When she saw Juhua, she offered a shy smile but didn’t say a word. She was a quiet woman, unlike the enthusiastic Aunt Liu.