When Li Yao arrived at the market, she headed straight for the stalls and bought a few jin of fresh pork belly.
Although the chili peppers in the fields were still small, she could make do with a platter if she picked carefully, so today she wanted to make stir-fried pork with chili peppers.
Hanging the few jin of meat on her bike's handlebars, Li Yao saw Liu Hunter from the next village over leading two fawns for sale, so she bought them on the spot.
The family was already raising plenty of animals, so raising two more fawns wouldn't be an issue.
With all her shopping complete, Li Yao rode her bike home, leading the two fawns behind her, ambling leisurely along.
The whole way the road was smooth, with idyllic farmland on either side. With no worries about food or money and no need to work herself, this ideal retired life had been Li Yao's for almost half a month now.
Blissful.
When she got back home, before even entering the kitchen, Li Yao smelled the aroma of cooked rice.
The cook Song Zhe had brought was gone, could it be that He Xiaoya was ignoring her instructions and cooking again?
Entering the kitchen, Li Yao was slightly surprised.
Bustling busily in front of the stove was none other than Da Zhuang, while He Xiaoya sat behind the stove, helping him tend the fire.
"Mother, you're back," Da Zhuang had on a flowery apron and was washing a wind-dried wild chicken, "Today I'm going to cook this chicken."
"Since when do you know how to cook?"
"I don't know how, but I can learn," Da Zhuang said with a silly smile, "Just happened that there wasn't much to do in the fields today, so I figured I shouldn't make you cook every day."
Li Yao thought to herself that cooking was one of her daily joys, and now he was trying to deprive her of it?
But still, a grown man like Da Zhuang willing to put on a flowery apron and cook for her did feel nice.
"I bought meat today, let's stir fry spicy pork belly later," said Li Yao, putting the meat in a basin, "Have Xiaoya teach you."
"Okay!"
With nothing more for her to do in the kitchen, Li Yao led the two fawns to chop some bamboo to make them an enclosure.
Animals like fawns are easily startled, and getting overly frightened can make them sick, so she had to find them a quiet spot.
"Mother, what are you doing?"
While chopping bamboo, Wang Xiao Si somehow popped out from who knows where, drenched in sweat, with mud smeared all over his face.
"Chopping bamboo to build an enclosure."
"Then let me help you!"
Wang Xiao Si had grown several centimeters taller in the past half year, and gotten noticeably stronger. Most importantly, the little guy was getting more and more sensible, and was learning everything quite proficiently.
Li Yao planned to send him to school after this summer.
She gripped the cleaver and hacked through a bamboo shoot with a crack, and Wang Xiao Si dragged it out with all his might.
Mother and son coordinated pretty well, and quickly chopped a big pile.
But when trimming the bamboo branches, Li Yao wasn't careful and nicked her finger on the tip.
"Mother, you're hurt?"
Wang Xiao Si hastily threw down the bamboo shoot and ran over, grabbing Li Yao's hand to take a look. Then he put her finger right in his mouth and sucked hard, like he was nursing, forcefully drawing out the blood.
"Who taught you to do that?"
"Big brother taught me," said Wang Xiao Si, "He said if you get hurt, you have to suck the blood from the wound, otherwise it will get infected and you'll get sick. Wait here, I'll go grab some cloth."
Wang Xiao Si dashed back from the house with clean cotton cloth and a small bottle of medicinal wine. He carefully washed Li Yao's wound, then wrapped it thickly in cotton, tying it gently with a thin thread.
Looking at her finger wrapped up like a mummy, Li Yao didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
Such a tiny cut would heal up in no time if she just slowed her movements!
"Mother, you just rest, let big brother finish this later," said Wang Xiao Si, pressing down on Li Yao's shoulders, "You're tired, let me massage you a bit."
His small hands adeptly kneaded her shoulders. While not professionally done, this was still the first massage service Li Yao had enjoyed since coming to this world.
"Mother, I noticed you're even more beautiful lately."
Li Yao: ......
"Who taught you to say things like that?"
"No one taught me," said Wang Xiao Si, "But everyone in the village is saying it. They say you look best in official robes, but I think you're prettiest in regular clothes, mother."
"Oh? Why's that?" asked Li Yao. Those official robes were quite well-made after all.
"When you wear official robes, it just feels like you're a big official, not like mother."
Li Yao couldn't help laughing. A child's heart really was just that simple and direct.
She didn't actually like wearing official garb either. She was just a retiree! Wearing soft, comfy cotton at home would be so much nicer. If not for this world still being so feudal, she'd love to lounge around the house in pajamas and slippers all day.
"Mother."
"Hm?"
"I miss third brother."
As he said this, Li Yao recalled that third brother had gone with Grand Marshal Xu to the northern borderlands, and it seemed like almost two months now.
"Do you think third brother is in danger, going to the border to fight?"
"Your third brother is pretty capable," said Li Yao. "He should be fine under normal circumstances."
"So there is still danger?" Wang Xiao Si scurried around to face Li Yao. "Then mother, will you teach us martial arts too? Once we learn it, we can all go help third brother fight!"
It wasn't that Li Yao looked down on her three sons, but they really weren't suited for practicing martial arts.
Da Zhuang had the strength, but was too old, his body no longer flexible enough. Second brother Wang Er even less so, clearly a bookish type. As for Wang Xiao Si, his physical ability was decent, but aside from math he was hopeless at everything else.
But thinking it over, martial arts wasn't just for fighting battles. It was good for strengthening the body too.
She could also teach them each some targeted self-defense skills according to their individual traits. That way if they ran into minor incidents in the future, they wouldn't be totally helpless to retaliate.
"Alright, mother will teach you."
"Yay! I'm telling big brothers right now!"
Wang Xiao Si sped off like the wind, but halfway there dashed right back. "Mother, it's too hot outside, let's rest inside. Yesterday I helped sister-in-law brew sour plum soup, it's chilling in the ice cellar. I'll bring it out for you to drink."
Dragged back home by Wang Xiao Si, when Wang Er returned from school and saw the cotton wrapped around her finger, he immediately tossed aside what he was doing.
"Mother, how did you get hurt?"
"What, auntie is hurt?" Song Zhe had been sneaking snacks in the kitchen, and upon hearing rushed right over. "Oh no, it's that badly injured? I'm going to town right now to fetch the medic."
Then he ran towards the bike in the yard.
"Come back!"
Li Yao unwrapped the cotton from her finger and showed them the cut.
"It's already healed."
Wang Er: ......
Song Zhe: ......
With a wound that small wrapped up so thickly, this could only be Wang Xiao Si's doing.
Seeing everyone's strange looks directed his way, Wang Xiao Si stood there holding a basin of ice-cold sour plum soup, completely baffled.
Brothers, what did I do wrong?