“That’s easy. I know where to find sand.” Excited, Little Five put down the vegetable, jumped up, and ran out. When he got to the doorway, he turned his head and smiled at Li Man. “Older sister, leave this to me.”
“Walk slowly,” Li Man quickly urged, “It’s going to be dark soon. Don’t go too far.”
“En.” Little Five dashed off like a wisp of smoke.
Right after Little Five ran off, Li Shu returned home. He parked the small cart underneath the eaves and excitedly handed a large paper bag to Li Man. “Wife, I brought back all the things you asked. Look.”
“Oh, alright, I’ll take a look.” Li Man wiped her hands and opened the paper bag. Inside, there were several smaller paper packets. However, in addition to the medicine that she had requested, there were a wooden comb and a fragrant bar of soap.
“Wife, do you like it?” Seeing her staring at that bar of soap, Li Shu crouched down and smiled as he watched her.
Li Man felt a bit embarrassed. “Why did you buy this stuff? So wasteful.”
“Fourth brother brought this. He said you would like using it,” said Li Shu.
Li Man blushed. “This must have been costly.”
“Here!” Li Shu took out the remaining money from his pocket and handed it to her. “Here’s what’s left. The shopkeeper for the fur store has a good relationship with oldest brother. He always offers us a slightly higher price than other shopkeepers. Also, this time’s wolf fur wasn’t damaged at all, so he paid us three silver taels. Fourth brother brought the medicine that you wanted. It’s wrapped in those paper packets. It cost one silver tael. The comb and soap cost fifty coins, and I bought some buns for lunch, that costs thirty coins. Oh right, wife, I left the buns in the cart.”
After saying this, he quickly went out and brought back the steamed buns from the small cart. He handed them to Li Man. “Wife, I saved this for you.”
Just by smelling it, Li Man could tell that filling was grounded fatty meat. “Put this on top of the stove to warm them up. We can eat them for dinner.”
“Okay.” Li Shu agreed, put down the steamed buns, and added, “I’ll go check on oldest brother. I’ll come back to help you with dinner.”
“No need -” Before Li Man could refuse, he had already speedily left the kitchen. However, just as Li Man had wrapped up the large paper bag and put it away on a shelf in the cupboard, he had already come back. “Wife, are you done separating the leaves? I’ll help you wash them.”
He looked like someone that was all thumbs. Worried that he would damage the small leafy vegetables, Li Man stopped him. “No need. You’ve been working hard all day. Go rest.”
“I’m not tired.” Li Shu had been outside all day. He missed her a lot and wanted nothing more than to stay by her side.
“I’ll go wash the rice for you.” Li Shu circled around the stove area looking for a pot.
Li Man lightly looked at him in annoyance. “I’m using the pot right now to hold the leafy vegetables. If you have nothing to do, go keep your oldest brother company. He’s been lying in bed all day. He’s probably bored out of his mind.”
“Hehe, then I’ll start the cooking fire for you.” Li Shu grinned. He slid around her to go to the bottom part of the stove. He actually wanted to keep wife company more.
Li Man gave up. “Fine, but you have to wait. The rice isn’t ready to cook yet.
“En.” Li Shu agreed. Staying by the lower part of the stove was good too.
