Ah, what kind of mess is this? I originally brought them here out of kindness, hoping they could survive this cold winter. Who knew they'd become my burden?
What should I do now? I was thinking I could live a carefree life here, find a pretty girl, and end my over-30-year single life.
But instead, I've been saddled with four people to take care of all at once.
Qin Ge casually pulled out a pack of Daqianmen cigarettes from his pocket, struck a match, took a couple of puffs, and was comfortably savoring the taste when Ye Ningyu walked over.
"Aunt Ye, is something wrong?" Qin Ge asked.
"Little Qin, what are you doing here?"
"I just saw Director Wang off, taking a smoke break."
Aunt Ye said with a guilty look, "Little Qin, I've really caused you too much trouble."
"No trouble at all. Aunt Wang just told me to take good care of you all."
"Little Qin, it's Aunt Ye who's let you down. I lied to you."
"What's going on?" Qin Ge looked puzzled.
Aunt Ye slowly explained, "Actually, we noticed you when we were on the bus.
You're a good person. In these times, being generous to an old man you don't know, seeing us homeless on the street, giving us meat buns, and bringing us to the Siheyuan—Aunt Ye could see you have a kind heart."
"Aunt Ye, please don't say that. It's what I should do. I'm not exactly wealthy, but I can help within my means."
"Actually, Director Wang told me everything. When I went to get your documents, she thought something was off about you all and analyzed it with me. But she wasn't sure at the time, so she came with me to check."
Ye Ningyu secretly felt relieved she hadn't lied in front of Director Wang. "Little Qin, in these times, we mother and daughters don't dare trust anyone easily, so we've been observing you carefully."
"We widows and orphans have been on guard against ill-intentioned people all along the way. You don't know—on our journey fleeing famine, dozens of women around us ended up in terrible situations because they trusted traffickers or seemingly kind-hearted people. Some were sold, some were violated."
"Alright, Aunt Ye, please don't say anymore. I understand your caution toward me. Settle in here peacefully for now. As long as I have food, you'll have food too. You can figure things out slowly later."
"Aunt Ye is going back to cook." With that, the two of them walked into the Siheyuan.
Inside the Siheyuan, the three young girls were still cleaning. Qin Ge clapped his hands and said, "Alright, little sisters, stop cleaning for now. Let's cook first."
Leng Ning skipped over excitedly and asked, "Brother Qin, what are we having for dinner?"
Ye Ningyu walked over and gently tapped the little girl's head. "All you think about is eating. The cleaning isn't even finished yet."
Qin Ge looked at Ye Ningyu. "Cleaning can be done anytime. Eating a full meal comes first."
Qin Ge was the first to enter the small room. Looking around, he saw a coal stove with half a bag of coal next to it.
"Luckily, the previous owner must have left in a hurry and didn't sell this. It should last a few days, and I just bought pots, pans, and utensils."
Qin Ge thought, still stuck in modern thinking habits, then asked Aunt Ye, "Aunt Ye, do you know how to use this coal stove?"
"Yes!" Ye Ningyu replied.
Leng Ning and Leng Meng picked up the coal basket and the half-bag of coal, respectively.
Qin Ge asked concernedly, "It's snowing outside. Won't you be cold going out?"
"Brother Qin, if we light the coal stove indoors, it'll be very smoky," Leng Ning explained.
"That's true."
Qin Ge smiled, thinking to himself that he'd never actually done this kind of thing.
Then, he opened the cloth bag, took out the pots, pans, and utensils, and said to Aunt Ye, "Aunt Ye, take a look. Is this enough for our dinner?"
Aunt Ye peeked in and saw a bag of rice and a bag of flour, each probably around 10 pounds, along with a pound of pork, several potatoes, and a few chili peppers.
"Little Qin, why did you buy so much fine rice and flour? Why didn't you get any Cornmeal?" Aunt Ye asked, puzzled.
Qin Ge looked confused. "I didn't see any Cornmeal for sale."
In this era, fine rice and flour were very precious. Usually, only wealthy families could afford them. Ordinary families couldn't bear the expense and mostly ate Cornmeal.
Qin Ge quickly said, "Aunt Ye, don't worry. There's plenty of rice and flour."
Aunt Ye waved her hands hurriedly. "That won't do, Little Qin. With so many of us, how can we eat fine rice and white flour every day? You eat the white rice and flour; we'll have Cornmeal."
Qin Ge said firmly, "Aunt Ye, listen to me. From now on, everyone will eat white flour."
Aunt Ye sighed helplessly, thinking to herself that this Little Qin hadn't suffered much. He looked refined, like a college student. No, she had to remind the girls to eat less.
Qin Ge watched the girls busily working—some washing vegetables, some lighting the stove, others washing pots and pans.
At this time, seasonings were scarce. If there were more seasonings, the food would definitely be more delicious.
Qin Ge zoned out for a moment. Soon, the aroma of stir-frying wafted out.
"Little Qin, dinner's ready," Aunt Ye called.
"Coming!" Qin Ge stubbed out his cigarette and stood up to enter the room.
On the table was a full bowl of stir-fried potatoes with pork, dotted with a few chili peppers, a full bowl of rice, and several small bowls neatly arranged.
"Aunt Ye, you all eat first," Qin Ge said.
"How can women eat first? At home, the men eat first. After the men finish, the women eat. You eat first, young man," Aunt Ye said.
Qin Ge quickly replied, "Aunt Ye, there aren't so many rules here. Let's all eat together."
Aunt Ye looked at the stunned girls. Qin Ge picked up the rice scoop, filled each person's bowl with a heaping portion of rice, and finally took the little bit left for himself.
"Why only one bowl each? Aunt Ye, did you not make enough rice?" Qin Ge asked, puzzled.
"It's enough. Don't eat so much at night," Aunt Ye replied.
Qin Ge wondered to himself—were girls in this era like modern ones, afraid of gaining weight?
But in this era, everyone did physical labor and didn't have much oil in their diet, so they should have big appetites. Oh well, let's eat first.
Qin Ge picked up a bite of food, tasted it, and thought it was okay, though it definitely wasn't as fragrant as dishes made with various seasonings in later times.
Not having done much physical labor today, Qin Ge lost his appetite after a few bites and put down his chopsticks.
He watched the girls wolfing down their food, with Aunt Ye also eating heartily.
The twins kept shoveling rice and vegetables into their mouths. Qin Ge couldn't help but smile. Looking at Leng Shuang beside them, her face still unclear, she was also eating vigorously.
Qin Ge looked at Leng Ning and Leng Meng and said, "Slow down, both of you. If it's not enough, we can make more."
"Little Qin, it's enough, it's enough. Don't eat so much at night," Aunt Ye said. Leng Ning and Leng Meng looked up at Qin Ge, a bit shy, and started eating in small bites.