"Have you never used this fruit to wash clothes before? Always using that grass ash?" Zhou Qiong was also curious.
Yang Miao first shook her head, then nodded.
"Auntie, you want to use this fruit to wash clothes? How do you wash clothes with this fruit?" Gui Bao held the Wuhuanzi fruit in her hand and examined it. "I've tasted this before, it's bitter, definitely not edible."
"When we go back later, you'll see how Auntie uses it to wash things."
Soon, they had gathered a basketful. Gui Bao imitated her by kicking the tree, but being small and weak, only a few fruits fell down.
"Alright, this should be enough. We can come pick more if needed later."
She took the two children home and moved the table from the main room to the doorway of the kitchen.
"Xiao Miao, find a stone, smash the fruits open, take out the seeds, and put the skin and flesh into this basin. Mother is going to start working."
Gui Bao sat down next to Yang Miao. "I'll help you."
Zhou Qiong checked the water vat. Earlier, Xiao Shu had fetched two buckets of water, but the vat was far from full. Since she would need quite a bit of water for cleaning later, she took the bucket to the river. After several trips, the vat was finally filled.
Next was the inside of the house, but the smell was truly nauseating. She found a piece of cloth, tied the sleeves around her nose, and secured the ends. Hot or not, it was better than being overwhelmed by the stench.
She made trip after trip, moving everything out into the yard—including the bed frame and cabinet from the room, along with a pile of miscellaneous trash. Then she began sweeping the house with a broom and, unsurprisingly, swept up two dead mice, nearly scaring her out of her wits.
The empty room was finally cleaned. If it hadn’t been an earthen floor, she would have washed it down too. She opened the window that had been blocked by clutter to let in some air. The windowsill, unwashed for too long, was also filthy.
Drenched in sweat, she walked over to the two children, who instinctively pinched their noses.
"Is it because I smell too bad? Don’t worry, everything will be washed clean today. I see you’ve finished peeling everything. Xiao Miao, why don’t you go play at Gui Bao’s house and come back after Mother has tidied up? The house is too messy right now." At that moment, she wished her nose would stop working, as even she couldn’t stand the smell.
But Yang Miao shook her head. "I’m not going. I want to help Mother." She stood up from the chair. "Mother, what do you need me to do?"
"Auntie, I’ll help you too."
The two little ones frowned as they looked at her.
Zhou Qiong guessed they were also suffering from the smell. She smiled and said, "Alright then, you can help. Scoop two ladles of water into the fruit basin and rub it hard for me. I need that water to wash the bed and cabinet."
Following her instructions, the two happily got to work. Soon, bubbles began to form in the basin.
"This water is so interesting—slippery and bubbly. Look, Xiao Miao." Gui Bao cupped a bubble in her hands and held it out excitedly. "See how pretty it is."
Yang Miao glanced at it in amazement, then swatted her hand back into the basin. "Stop playing around. My mother is waiting to work."
Zhou Qiong found another basin, poured some water from their basin into it, and added a bit of fresh water. "I'm going to wash the windowsill. Who will help me wipe the beds?"
"I'll go, Mom, I'll go," Yang Miao quickly stood up.
"I'll go too."
There was only one basin at home, so Zhou Qiong mixed half a bucket of soapy water for her. After searching for a long time, she couldn't find any rags. Helpless, she went to the kitchen and gathered a few handfuls of straw. "Use this to scrub. Make sure to clean everything thoroughly. The sun is strong, so it'll definitely dry before dark."
"What about the straw bedding on the bed?"
"Throw it away." That foul-smelling straw had long been tossed as far away as possible.
Although the soapy water made from Wuhuanzi wasn't as effective as detergent, it was much better than plant ash. The windowsill was cleaned in no time. By the time she carried the basin out, the children's beds had already been scrubbed, and they were now cleaning the cabinet.
"Don't worry about the cabinet yet. Once the beds are almost dry, we'll move the things from the cabinet onto the beds and clean both inside and out. But before that, I need to check if the beds have been scrubbed properly."
She walked around the bed boards. The two children had been quite meticulous, even cleaning the sides of the frame. She smiled. "You two did great!"
Yang Miao and Gui Bao exchanged glances and covered their mouths, giggling. "Mother, this water cleans really well, so we scrubbed everything thoroughly."
"I'm going to tell my grandmother that this fruit can be used for washing. It's better than plant ash."
"Mother, if we can't wash the cabinet now, what should we wash next?"
"The table and chairs we eat on."
They scrubbed vigorously under the blazing sun, and before long, the water in the basin and bucket turned black.
They changed the water and continued washing. After finishing inside the house, Zhou Qiong also cleaned the kitchen stove and windows. While the children washed the cabinet, she took the straw mats from the beds to the riverbank to rinse.
By the end of the afternoon, aside from clothes and bedding, they had finally washed everything in the house that needed cleaning.
When Feng Shi from next door returned and saw the items outside their yard, she was quite surprised. "Xiao Miao, what are you all doing? Why is everything piled outside?"
Gui Bao ran up to Feng Shi. "Grandma, Auntie picked some fruit by the river today. It turns out that fruit can be used for washing! Today, we cleaned everything in the house. Look, I helped Xiao Miao wash this bed. See how clean it is!"
Feng Shi looked at the cleaned bed frames, cabinet, and other items, as well as the pile of trash in the distance, and smiled. "It's about time the house got a good cleaning." She had worked in the fields all afternoon and now her back was aching.
"Come back once you're done helping. Grandma is going to rest for a bit." Feng Shi walked away, carrying her hoe.
Zhou Qiong, however, glanced outside. "Why hasn't Xiao Shu come back yet?"
"He won't be back until almost dark. He has to wait for Third Uncle and Third Aunt to finish their meal."
"Are there only our two households living in this area?"
"Only our two households live on this slope. Just down the other side of the slope is Third Uncle's house. Mother, have you forgotten again?"
"I've forgotten some things, but with you here, you can always help me remember. You two play outside for a while. I'll tidy up and bring the things inside."
She moved the beds, cabinet, and a trunk into the house, then removed the cloth she had tied over her face.
Although the smell inside the house was still unpleasant, it was much better than before. With all the clutter cleared away, the house looked clean and tidy.