“Oh, look at my memory! I got so caught up chatting with you that I completely forgot about it.”
Yun Yixuan lightly slapped her forehead with an annoyed expression. She then turned toward Li Meiling, who was sorting through some miscellaneous items behind her, and raised her voice.
“Meiling, I’m going with Auntie to her house to get the wok. Otherwise, the two of us really are going to starve. You stay here and keep cleaning up.”
“Okay, go ahead.”
Li Meiling stopped what she was doing and looked up with a gentle smile, her eyes filled with gratitude.
“Thank you, Auntie. It’s all thanks to your help. Otherwise, we really wouldn’t know what to do today.”
“Look at you two. You’ve already thanked me several times. There’s no need to be so polite.”
The team leader’s wife waved her hand and laughed heartily, her laughter warm and cheerful.
“We’re all neighbors. What’s the big deal about helping with a little thing?”
With that, she headed toward the door with brisk, efficient steps.
“Come on. The sooner we bring it over, the sooner you two can cook. Don’t go starving yourselves.”
Yun Yixuan hurried after her, chatting and laughing with the woman along the way.
Before long, Yun Yixuan followed her into the storage room at her house.
The room was crammed with all kinds of miscellaneous objects. Old farming tools and broken bamboo baskets were scattered around haphazardly, while a faint smell of dust lingered in the air.
The team leader’s wife steadily made her way around several piles of clutter before pointing toward an iron wok in the corner.
“Educated Youth Yun, that’s the one. This wok has been with our family for quite a few years. Keeping it around only takes up space, so it’s perfect for you two to use.”
Yun Yixuan followed the direction of her finger, and her eyes immediately lit up.
She quickly walked over, crouched down, and carefully examined the wok.
“You’re right! This wok still looks almost new. There’s just a big chip along the rim, but that won’t affect its use.”
She looked up happily.
“Auntie, you’ve really helped Meiling and me out tremendously! Without you, who knows how long we would’ve had to worry about finding a wok?”
She grabbed both handles and lifted it with all her strength.
Unexpectedly, the wok was quite heavy. Her arms trembled slightly before she managed to steady herself.
“Auntie, I should head back now. There are still so many things at home that haven’t been sorted out. The place is as messy as a chicken coop. If I don’t go back and help, Meiling will have far too much to do by herself. I’ll come chat with you properly next time.”
The woman smiled warmly, her eyes filled with concern.
“Go on, then. Be careful on the way back and don’t fall. Come visit whenever you have time. You girls are always welcome.”
“Definitely! You get back to your work, Auntie. I’ll be going now!”
Holding the iron wok tightly, Yun Yixuan carefully made her way home step by step.
The weak winter sunlight fell across her figure.
This wok really was heavy.
By the time she arrived home, she was already panting from exhaustion, yet a satisfied smile remained on her face.
The moment Yun Yixuan entered the courtyard, she shouted at the top of her lungs, “Meiling! This wok is really good! We’re lucky Auntie helped us out!”
As she spoke, she carried it into the main room and carefully placed it on the stove.
She was just about to let out a long sigh of relief when she noticed a fairly large gap behind the stove.
She immediately froze.
“Meiling, come take a look at this! What am I supposed to do with it? I seriously have no idea how to fix this. What do we do?”
Hearing Yun Yixuan calling her, Li Meiling put down the clothes she was sorting and walked out of the room.
A playful smile appeared on her face.
“Oh? So there are actually things you don’t know how to do? I thought you were capable of everything. You’re always charging around so confidently that I thought a little problem like this wouldn’t be enough to stop you.”
Yun Yixuan didn’t mind Li Meiling teasing her in the slightest. Instead, she replied with a bright smile.
“Only immortals know how to do everything, and I’m obviously not one. This young lady is merely a little fairy who still has to work for her meals. Repairing a stove is clearly beyond this fairy’s abilities.”
Li Meiling could no longer hold back.
She burst into laughter, doubling over as her shoulders shook violently. Her laughter echoed throughout the room.
It took quite a while before she finally managed to stop. Tears of laughter glistened in her eyes as she patted her chest to catch her breath.
Then, with complete confidence, she declared, “Leave it to me. It’s just a gap in the stove. I guarantee that in less than half an hour, you’ll be eating a hot, delicious lunch. Just sit back and enjoy yourself.”
“Then I’ll leave the important mission of filling your big sister’s stomach to you.”
Yun Yixuan blinked smugly before reaching over and gently pinching Li Meiling’s cheek.
Then, humming a cheerful tune, she happily escaped to her own room to continue cleaning.
Li Meiling was left standing there helplessly.
She rubbed the cheek Yun Yixuan had pinched and muttered under her breath, “This girl really is addicted to calling herself my big sister. But cooking is more important right now, so I’ll let her off this time.”
With that, she rolled up her sleeves and marched toward the stove, full of determination and ready to show off her skills.
Time slowly passed.
Sure enough, less than half an hour later, Li Meiling proved that she knew exactly what she was doing.
Steam rose throughout the kitchen as an irresistible aroma filled the air.
A pot of piping-hot mushroom soup was ready. Several tender mushrooms floated on the surface, while the rich broth gave off a naturally savory fragrance.
Beside it were four coarse-grain pancakes mixed with wild vegetables.
The pancakes had been fried until golden brown on both sides, their edges curling upward slightly. Unfortunately, their rough texture served as a constant reminder of the difficult living conditions Yun Yixuan and Li Meiling currently faced.
Looking at the food, Yun Yixuan gave a helpless, bitter smile.
How had she forgotten that all they had right now were coarse grains?
Unfortunately, her stomach chose that exact moment to growl loudly, as though protesting her hesitation.
As her hunger grew stronger, Yun Yixuan had no choice but to pick up one of the pancakes and slowly begin eating.
The coarse grains felt dry and rough in her mouth, making every bite difficult to swallow.
Yun Yixuan silently swore to herself that she had to find some way to obtain refined grains.
There was no way she could tolerate eating food like this for long.
The two sat quietly beside the heated brick bed and ate their meal.
The only sounds inside the room were the occasional clinking of bowls and chopsticks and the sound of them swallowing their food.
After Yun Yixuan finished her last bite, she put down her bowl and chopsticks and looked apologetically at Li Meiling.
“Meiling, sorry, but I’ll have to trouble you with washing the dishes. I’m planning to go to Uncle Wei’s house to buy a table and two chairs for the main room. That way, we’ll have a proper place to eat and review our high school lessons. We can’t keep leaning over the kang all the time. It’s far too inconvenient.”
“Why don’t you wait for me? Once I finish cleaning up, we can go together.”
Li Meiling looked at her seriously.
“It’ll be easier for two people to carry things, and we can keep each other company along the way.”
Yun Yixuan looked around at the messy room and estimated that it would still take quite some time to finish organizing everything.
Li Meiling had already worked hard all morning, and Yun Yixuan didn’t want to make her even more exhausted.
She firmly shook her head.
“No need. If I buy anything large, Uncle Wei will deliver it for us. Besides, look at how messy this place is. Someone needs to stay behind and clean it up.”
She gently patted Li Meiling on the shoulder.
“You’ve been busy all morning, so stay home and get some rest. I’ll be back soon. Once I bring the table and chairs back, we can organize the house properly together.”
After saying that, Yun Yixuan stood up, straightened her clothes, and walked out of the house with light, cheerful steps, heading in the direction of Uncle Wei’s home.
Li Meiling remained inside, watching Yun Yixuan’s retreating figure with a helpless yet warm smile before turning around and beginning to clear away the bowls and chopsticks.