Money earned was meant to be used after all!
Every piece of furniture and item in their house was brand new. All their old possessions were either changed or discarded by Liu Duo.
Aunt Li, who had gotten used to life in poverty, could not bear to part with her usable, albeit worn out, belongings.
“That’s alright, it still works.” Aunt Li smiled.
Since that was what she wanted, Liu Duo had nothing to add to that. It was just a suggestion.
“Aunt Li, you’ll be staying in this room for the time being. Li Wazi and Sister Lian will take the other one.” Ye Liu pointed at the two empty rooms on the first floor, both of which were bright and spacious.
“It’s fine.” Aunt Li nodded in agreement.
Why would she care about how big the room was? As long as she had a roof over her head, sheltered from the wind and rain, anything would do!
Many hands made light work. By the time the sky had darkened, the gang had more or less finished cleaning the first floor.
After the other family had moved in, everyone followed the bathroom schedule and allowed women and children to wash up first. The five men would go last.
When even the men were done bathing, it was already pitch black outside.
After a hard day’s work, they quickly went to sleep. That was how things officially ended that day.
Aunt Li woke up by dawn, about an hour earlier than everyone else. She washed up and got busy making breakfast in the kitchen, banging on pots and pans as she worked.
“Aunt Li, you’re up early.” Ye Ling had washed up too and arrived at the kitchen. He greeted her with a smile.
Since he was young, he had never seen his mother making breakfast early in the morning. So, seeing Aunt Li like that was like seeing his mother preparing a meal for her children.
It was a warm, fuzzy feeling!
“It’s a habit,” she said, looking up at him. “You’ll be leaving in a few more days, so you can sleep in a bit more, reserve your energy. Leave the cooking to me.”
Aunt Li, who was almost in her fifties, smiled kindly.
Back in their old house, whether it was when Little Lian married into the family or after she gave birth to Little Huzi, Aunt Li was never like the regular mothers-in-law of other households, who would force the younger women to get up early, make breakfast and take on all the housework as well as farming.
It was rare to find such a nice mother-in-law in the old times.
“Aunt Li, let me help you,” Ye Ling said with a smile, neither accepting nor denying her proposal.
After all, he could not bear to refuse her kindness.
Not long after that, Ye Mo came down too and helped with whatever work they had, while Ye Yang, Ye Liu, and Little Wazi cleaned up the yard.
Little Lian took Little Huzi out for his morning pee, then she went back to bed.
As for Liu Duo, she was still sleeping.
“Aunt Li, why don’t you let the four of us take you as our mother? We keep calling you ‘aunt,’ but it doesn’t feel as close as ‘mother’!” Ye Liu suddenly suggested.
The three finished sweeping the yard and came to help in the kitchen.
Aunt Li blinked, as she was taken aback by Ye Liu’s proposition. Li Wazi, too, could not respond in time.
The three other brothers turned to look at Ye Liu as well. Clearly, they found this to be rather unexpected.
But that only lasted two seconds as Ye Yang agreed with the motion. “Very good.”
He believed his brother’s proposal was feasible. It might not have come from him, but they had always thought of Aunt Li as a mother anyway.
