Chen Lishu’s smile faded slightly. "Xiao Hui, how old are you this year?"
Lin Xiaohui didn't understand why she suddenly asked her age, but she replied, "Seventeen. What's wrong, Sister Lishu?"
Chen Lishu looked at her with a half-smile. "At such a young age, you're not married yet, but you're curious about other people being pregnant. Isn't that improper?"
As her words fell, Lin Xiaohui's face instantly turned red.
"When Xiao Hui arrived, what did you promise me?" Lin Xiaoyue's face darkened, and her gaze towards her was unusually stern.
"Sister, I was just curious and asked a question. I didn't mean anything else."
"You're curious about so many things. My parents don't interfere, but you're worried about things they don't even care about. Even the village's 'Big Clock' doesn't mind their own business as much as you do."
The 'Big Clock' mentioned by Gu Xingping was a well-known busybody in the village, someone who butted into everything. Because of his long, rectangular face, he earned that nickname.
Lin Xiaohui's face turned pale, then flushed. She pursed her lips tightly and stopped speaking.
Although she didn't know who the 'Big Clock' Gu Xingping mentioned was, the name itself didn't sound like a good person. In her heart, she resented both Chen Lishu and Gu Xingping.
Because of Lin Xiaohui's incident, Lin Xiaoyue felt too embarrassed to stay any longer. After exchanging a few more forced pleasantries, she got up and left with her group.
After seeing them off, and thinking that she and Gu Xingping would be returning home in a couple of days, Chen Lishu decided to harvest the vegetables from the plot and dry them. This way, they would still have vegetables to eat in the winter.
"Xingping, come with me later to harvest all the vegetables."
"Okay, Third Sister-in-law." Gu Xingping readily agreed.
Soon, the two grabbed basins from the kitchen and went out to the vegetable patch by the window to start picking vegetables.
Wang Yufen stood by her own window and saw the two sisters-in-law in the vegetable patch across the way. Her expression changed, and she immediately went to the kitchen to get a basin and pulled Wei Xiaoya out with her.
Because Chen Lishu didn't always come over, and Gu Xingdong rarely cooked, he never minded which family member picked the vegetables after they were planted.
Wang Yufen benefited the most from this. Other military families, out of politeness, only picked vegetables occasionally. But she, for most of the summer, hardly bought any vegetables.
"Sister-in-law, are you busy?" Wang Yufen walked downstairs holding Wei Xiaoya, then stepped forward with a smile to greet her proactively.
"Mhm," Chen Lishu stopped her work and replied with a smile. "We're going back in a couple of days, so I'm tidying up these vegetables to dry them. We'll have some dried vegetables at home in winter."
Wang Yufen heard her words and thought her guess was correct. Seeing that Gu Xingping had already picked half a basin of eggplant, she felt anxious and said, "I was also thinking of picking some vegetables to take back and dry."
Since she had said it like that, she didn't believe Chen Lishu wouldn't let her have some.
However, she was destined to be disappointed.
Chen Lishu's smile remained unchanged, but her hands didn't stop. She picked four or five large, ripe tomatoes in a row. "That's a real shame. I'm almost done picking them."
Seeing her movements, Wang Yufen's smile became somewhat forced. "Sister-in-law, you're not here often. Commander Gu won't eat so many dried vegetables, will he? It might be wasted."
"Sister-in-law, don't look at how much there is. Once it's dried, there isn't much left." While speaking, Chen Lishu had already finished picking the few tomato plants in front of her.
Gu Xingping had also picked a whole basin of eggplant.
Looking at the nearly depleted vegetable patch, Wang Yufen felt a surge of frustration.
She had intended to leave some to eat for longer-term storage, which was why she thought of leaving them. She never expected Chen Lishu to show up halfway through.
"Xiaoya is getting more and more beautiful." Seeing that the picking was almost done, Chen Lishu stood up, praised her with a smile, and then picked out a large, ripe tomato from the basin and handed it to her.
Wei Xiaoya clutched Wang Yufen's clothes, her eyes like a frightened deer looking at Chen Lishu. After a while, she hesitantly reached out.
"Eat it. You only know how to eat all day. Do you take everything others give you? What if it's rat poison and kills you!" Wang Yufen suddenly snapped, shoving Wei Xiaoya sternly. The child was startled, and the tomato in her hand fell to the ground.
"Waa—" Wei Xiaoya's lips puckered, and she immediately burst into tears.
Chen Lishu's smile completely vanished. "Xingping, let's go when we're done picking."
She turned and said to Gu Xingping, and the two of them, carrying their basins, went straight back into the house, leaving Wang Yufen staring at the sniveling Wei Xiaoya, silent for a long time.
"This person is truly problematic. We're picking our own vegetables, and it's as if we've taken something from her family. I've never seen anyone like this," Gu Xingping said indignantly after returning to the house.
"Forget it. We see each other often anyway. We know what kind of person she is, so we'll just interact less in the future."
All the men in the family district worked together. Even for Gu Xingdong's sake, she didn't want to fall out with anyone completely. She decided to minimize her contact with Wang Yufen from now on.
For the rest of the afternoon, Chen Lishu and Gu Xingping were busy drying vegetables.
They first washed the eggplants, sliced them, and placed them on drying racks outside on the bench to dry. Then, they found the empty canned jars that had been used to hold the meat sauce for Gu Xingdong, washed them clean, and boiled them in water for a while to sterilize them. After the jars were boiled, they were placed in a well-ventilated area to air dry.
Afterward, Chen Lishu washed the tomatoes, cut a cross on top of each, and then blanched them in boiling water to peel them.
"Third Sister-in-law, will this method work?" Gu Xingping had never seen tomatoes prepared this way and asked curiously.
Chen Lishu smiled. "Don't worry. Once they're pickled, I'll make you cherry meat. It's sour and sweet and incredibly delicious."
Gu Xingping couldn't help but swallow when she heard that. "I really wish I could eat it now."
Chen Lishu smiled. "Your Third Brother is off tomorrow. We can go to the city to buy some meat, and I'll cook it for you tonight."
As they spoke, their hands continued to work. Soon, they had made three large jars of tomato sauce.
Chen Lishu took them to a cool place to store. Returning, she checked the time and realized it was about time to prepare dinner.
Gu Xingdong separated from Wu Zheng and the others. As he walked downstairs and smelled the aroma of food from the house, his steps unconsciously quickened.
"What delicious food are you making today? I could smell it from afar."
Gu Xingping was setting the table with bowls and chopsticks. Seeing him ask, she smiled and said, "Third Sister-in-law made oil pancakes and also simmered egg and tomato soup."
Gu Xingdong's eyes lit up. He quickly went to the bathroom to wash his hands, then went to the kitchen.
Seeing Chen Lishu busy at the stove, he glanced at the doorway and saw Gu Xingping wasn't there. He moved closer and lowered his voice to ask, "What did you do at home today? How did you rest?"
Chen Lishu felt a pang of annoyance seeing him. She reached out and slapped his hand off her shoulder. "Get lost."
Even her toes could tell that he had probably exhausted her too much the night before, making her angry.
Gu Xingdong stared at her for a moment, then suddenly said, "You said it yourself. Don't regret it!"