Baba covered its face.
It had always worried about its little master drowning, never letting her play in water when they were in the mountains.
Its little master had grown to two and a half years old without ever taking a bath. Soaked in water like this, she was bound to lose color.
Grandma Fu ran over to check on her granddaughter. The little chubby one seemed a bit swollen.
She reached out and gently rubbed, getting a handful of mud.
Grandma Fu…
Pang Fu tilted her head to look at Grandma, completely unaware of what was happening.
Grandma Fu sighed. Still just a baby, what could she understand?
“Xiao Si, Xiao Wu, Xiao Liu, Qingqing, come help scrub Fufu. Finish quickly so she can get up sooner and avoid catching a cold.
Be gentle—children’s skin is delicate.”
Little hands, little feet, and a chubby head were divided among them. Pang Fu was firmly held in the water, enjoying a five-star scrubbing service.
It didn’t hurt, just tickled.
“No scrub Baby.”
Fu Little Four, holding one chubby leg, said, “We have to scrub you, Fufu. You’re covered in mud—it’s too dirty.”
Fu Little Five held the other leg. “Fufu, do you not take baths?”
Fu Little Six was assigned the chubby head.
There was mud on her head too, no wonder her hair wasn’t visible—it was all buried in the mud.
“Little sister isn’t being good. Not taking baths makes you a bad child.”
Qingqing Yin was given the two chubby hands. Pang Fu resisted, wanting to rebel, but was subdued by a stern look from Grandma Fu.
Perhaps she also understood this was for Pang Fu’s good, so she didn’t forcefully resist. Instead, she gave Pang Fu an ingratiating smile and gently scrubbed the mud from her armpits.
Pang Fu didn’t understand what bathing was all about. Her whole body felt ticklish, and she giggled, kicking her little legs without breaking free. “Baby good, brothers bad, Grandma bad, Qingqing bad.”
Grandma Fu chuckled and gave her little bottom a light pat. After all, she was a little girl and couldn’t be naked in front of her brothers. Grandma Fu scrubbed her bottom and little body through her clothes.
“Are we all bad and only you good? How did your previous Baba take care of you? You’ve turned into a genuine mud monkey.”
Looking at this situation, it seemed the child had never been bathed. How could someone be a father like that?
Grandma Fu felt a twinge of resentment toward Pang Fu’s lifesaver. If a child isn’t kept clean, they can easily get sick.
Baba silently pulled down the data curtain. It hadn’t meant to, really.
If it had a physical form, it would definitely have kept its little master clean.
Pang Fu didn’t understand, just grinned and giggled.
A full half-hour later, with five people scrubbing one chubby bundle, she was finally clean.
Looking at the brand-new Pang Fu, the three brothers’ eyes sparkled.
“Grandma, little sister is so fair she’s glowing!”
“Little sister’s hair is curly like Xiaoshen’s!”
“Little sister looks like a doll.”
Grandma Fu looked at the fair, chubby bundle, practically a carbon copy of Fourth Brother Fu, and couldn’t stop smiling. She was just too adorable, especially with the Yin Family’s signature natural curls—absolutely irresistibly cute.
Qingqing Yin also had natural curls, but hers were stylishly wavy, nothing like an afro, with a distinct Hong Kong flair.
Qingqing Yin was already hugging Pang Fu close. A clean baby was even softer and sweeter. “Baby, mine.”
Pang Fu was dazed from all the scrubbing, sitting blankly as everyone fussed over her.
Worried the little one might get sick, Grandma Fu patted her grandson’s head. “Alright, you all hurry and scrub yourselves too. Wash your clothes as well. We need to get back quickly. Everyone will have a bowl of hot ginger soup—we can’t afford to catch a cold.”
The three brothers weren’t too dirty. After a quick scrub, rinsing their clothes, and changing into clean outfits, they headed back.
The mushrooms hadn’t been cleaned yet, but Grandma Fu couldn’t worry about that now.
The little dumpling had taken quite a while to scrub clean, and her dazed, blank expression made Grandma Fu’s heart tighten.
Returning to the shed, Old Master Fu was fiddling with a pile of mud. Hearing the commotion, he looked up to greet them and immediately locked eyes with the little white dumpling cradled in Qingqing Yin’s arms. “This… this child…”
Grandma Fu chuckled with a hint of exasperation. “It’s your freshly washed little granddaughter. This child was covered in mud from head to toe. After scrubbing her clean, she turned out like this.”
Old Master Fu stared wide-eyed for a long moment, unable to find the right words.
Grandma Fu waved her hand. “Alright, stop standing there stunned. Hurry up and boil a pot of ginger soup. Make sure everyone drinks a bowl. The water wasn’t too cold, but coming out of it, the wind makes it feel chilly.”
Old Master Fu quickly nodded. “Alright, alright, alright. I’ll use the stove from this morning. It’ll be ready soon.”
Grandma Fu took the little dumpling from Qingqing Yin’s arms and handed her over to the three brothers. Then, she pulled Qingqing Yin into the shed, using a bedsheet to create a makeshift curtain. “Be good, Qingqing. Change out of your wet clothes.”
Qingqing Yin simply liked to space out and ignore people, but she could take care of herself. When she was in a good mood, she would obediently listen.
This time, when Grandma Fu told her to change clothes, she obediently did so.
Her hair was also wet. Grandma Fu wiped it for her and then had her sit in the sun to play with Pang Fu.
Old Master Fu’s ginger soup was ready quickly. Grandma Fu made the six of them each down a bowl. They broke out in a sweat all over, and Pang Fu regained her energy.
Afterward, they started preparing lunch. They also had to deliver food to those working in the fields, so they couldn’t delay.
It was already getting late, so they decided to make something simple: directly steam a pot of mixed grain rice with some cured meat placed on top.
These supplies were all prepared by Fang Xiong, and there wasn’t much. They still needed to figure out how to earn their own food.
They didn’t have extra pots or stoves, so they could only cook everything in one pot to save time and effort.
The mushrooms hadn’t been cleaned yet, so they had to save them for dinner.
Fortunately, Pang Fu wasn’t fussing about them. At the moment, the mother and daughter were in the woods, digging for cicada shells to play with.
Fu Little Four and his three brothers didn’t join in the play. Sensibly, they ran off to cut thatch grass.
Fu Little Four and Old Master Fu had gone in the morning. Although it was by the river, it was still some distance away and not dangerous. The two elders weren’t too worried about the three little ones going there.
The three brothers weren’t very strong. After cutting the grass, they carried it back bit by bit.
During the time it took to cook the rice, they managed to bring back a full basket’s worth, which was quite good.
Just then, Aunt Hao arrived.
Aunt Hao was older and didn’t have to go to work.
Of course, she could go if she wanted to.
Usually, she would go to the fields to earn a few Work Points, as her family had a bunch of growing boys, and food was truly scarce.
But now, during the busy farming season, meals couldn’t be sloppy. She had to stay home to cook and, in the meantime, plant the autumn vegetables. Otherwise, they’d have nothing to eat in winter.
Knowing the Fu Family might not know where the fields were, she came over specifically to take them along when she went to deliver the food.
“Brother and sister of the Fu Family, are you ready?”
Aunt Hao’s loud, booming voice carried over from afar.
Grandma Fu was just packing the food. Hearing this, she hurriedly called out, “Ready, almost ready. Elder Sister Hao, please wait a moment.”
“No rush, no rush. Take your time.” The voice drew closer, and soon she appeared within sight.
As soon as Aunt Hao arrived, she began searching for Pang Fu. Spotting a small, pale figure in the nearby woods, she asked uncertainly, “Is that child… Fufu?”
The fair and tender little one bore no resemblance to the dark and chubby Xiao Pang Fu she remembered.
Grandma Fu’s face flushed with embarrassment as she forced a dry laugh. “This child is too eye-catching, so we smudged her to avoid attracting unwanted attention on the road. We washed her off today at the river.”
Aunt Hao exclaimed, “No wonder! Our Fufu really is lovely—it’s best to keep her hidden. There are plenty of bad people out there, so we can’t be careless.”
“Washed clean, Fufu looks just like a New Year’s painting doll—so incredibly adorable.”
Unable to resist, the old woman hurried over, scooped up the little dumpling, and hugged her close. The little one was fragrant and soft, fluffier than a steamed bun—she could hardly resist taking a bite.