Chapter 140 Only Leftovers Allowed

"Hey!"

Li Guoqiang smiled slightly, responded softly, then looked at the little girl's pale and thin face, feeling confused.

Logically speaking, Zhu Caixia's father works in a winery, and she is his only child. How could he raise her to be like this?

Then he glanced at Xu Yuping again and found that her physical condition was not much better.

If it weren't for her natural beauty, she would probably look at least seven or eight years older.

In addition, he also found that the clothes of Xu Yuping and Zhu Caixia, mother and daughter, were not only a little worn out, but also ill-fitting.

Among them, Xu Yuping's clothes were obviously a bit tight, otherwise her advantages would not be fully highlighted.

Zhu Caixia's clothes were also more than one size too small. Her slender, pale wrists were exposed from her sleeves, making her look somewhat pitiful.

This shows that they haven't had new clothes for many years.

Just when he was about to turn around and take some White Rabbit milk candies from the cabinet as a gift to the poor little girl Zhu Caixia, he suddenly heard a "gurgling" sound coming from Xu Yuping's stomach.

He was slightly stunned, then turned his head to look at Xu Yuping, and his gaze met hers.

When Xu Yuping saw Li Guoqiang's gaze, she couldn't help but turn her head away embarrassedly, and her cheeks felt slightly hot.

Li Guoqiang was slightly happy when he saw this, and then he said quickly: "Auntie, you stay here and talk to Sister Yuping, I'll go cook!"

After saying this, he quickly stood up and walked out without waiting for Qu Yinfeng to object.

"Grandma, I'm going to help big brother light the fire!"

Seeing this, Xu Dani's eyes rolled, then she quickly threw down a few words and ran out.

Although Xu Yuping and Zhu Caixia, mother and daughter, are her elder aunt and cousin respectively, she has rarely seen Xu Yuping and Zhu Caixia since she was a child, so naturally she is not very close to them now.

She was even a little worried that if Xu Yuping and Zhu Caixia stayed at home, Li Guoqiang would think that she had someone to take care of her and would then hand her over to Xu Yuping and Zhu Caixia.

So, of course she had to keep up with Li Guoqiang to avoid being dumped by him.

"Mom, you say."

Xu Yuping glanced at the swaying door curtain, then asked hesitantly, "Do you think Qiangzi would be unhappy if Xiaoxia and I stayed in this house?"

"will not!"

Hearing this, Qu Yinfeng shook her head without even thinking and replied, "How could that be possible? Qiangzi is not that kind of person, you can rest assured!"

"Ok!"

Xu Yuping nodded and agreed, feeling relieved.

Although this is her mother's home, she is penniless now and will have to rely on Li Guoqiang for support in the future. She really can't ignore Li Guoqiang's attitude.

What's more, as the saying goes, a daughter who is married off is like water spilled. To be honest, her say in this family is far less than that of Li Guoqiang, the person entrusted by Xu Guangshan on his deathbed.

If this happened in the old society, not to mention this family, even Qu Yinfeng and Xu Dani, the grandmother and granddaughter, would be Li Guoqiang's private property.

Therefore, if Li Guoqiang was unwilling to let her stay at home, it would be useless even if Qu Yinfeng wanted to object.

However, Li Guoqiang never considered this home as his from the beginning to the end. He was just living here temporarily.

He had originally planned to wait until next spring when the flowers bloomed and then build a house of his own on the vacant land next to it, but now his plans have been completely disrupted.

While fetching water, he stood by the courtyard wall and looked at the open space next to it, with a thoughtful look on his face.

Now, it is the coldest time of the year. Even if he was willing to burn firewood to thaw the ground and dig the foundation, he would not be able to build the adobe wall.

Because the mud will freeze into ice before it dries completely, and then when the weather warms up, the wall will collapse.

He didn't want to be buried under the adobe bricks while sleeping in the house one day without realizing it.

The only feasible option is to build a thatched wooden house as a temporary solution and then rebuild the house next year.

However, before that, he still had to discuss it with Qu Yinfeng first. He couldn't let her think that he was a man who didn't keep his promise.

After thinking it over, he turned around, carried a bucket of well water into the house, and continued to cook.

Since he had no idea what kind of people Xu Yuping and Zhu Caixia were, and was worried that their stomachs would not be able to handle it, he did not prepare too much food. He just cooked a big pot of roe deer bone and meat noodle soup, baked some cornmeal cakes, fried a plate of spicy and sour potato shreds, and a plate of chicken offal with sauerkraut.

Soon, he prepared the food and asked Xu Dani to help bring it in.

"Okay!"

Qu Yinfeng sat on the kang, looking at the delicious dishes on the kang table. She couldn't help but praise in surprise: "Qiangzi, I think your cooking skills are almost catching up with mine!"

"No no!"

Upon hearing this, Li Guoqiang quickly waved his hands and said modestly: "My skills are far inferior to yours!"

As he spoke, he glanced at Xu Yuping and Zhu Caixia who were a little dazed on the other side, and then greeted them, "Come on, Sister Yuping, Xiaoxia, try it while it's hot and see if it suits your taste."

"Ok!"

Xu Yuping came back to her senses, nodded gratefully and agreed, then hurriedly reached out to take Li Guoqiang's bowl and poured him a large bowl of noodles.

In response, Li Guoqiang did not refuse or even say thank you.

Because he knew that if he was too polite, it would make Xu Yuping even more uneasy.

Soon, he reached out to take the bowl and started eating with big mouthfuls.

When Xu Yuping saw Li Guoqiang's attitude, she felt much more at ease and hurriedly made a bowl of noodles for Qu Yinfeng, Xu Dani, Zhu Caixia and herself.

However, she filled a full bowl for Qu Yinfeng and Xu Dani, but only gave half a bowl to Zhu Caixia and herself, obviously because she was embarrassed to eat too much.

When Li Guoqiang saw this situation, he did not try to persuade them immediately, but instead gave Qu Yinfeng a look.

Seeing this, Qu Yinfeng immediately said, "Hey, Ping'er, what are you doing? Since you're back home, how can I, as your mother, be short of you for a bite of food?"

"Come on, eat more. Xiaoxia, you too, look how skinny you are. You don't even have 200 grams of meat on your body. How can you not eat more?"

After saying that, without waiting for Xu Yuping to refuse, she quickly picked up some noodles with chopsticks and filled Xu Yuping's and Zhu Caixia's bowls.

Then, she saw that Xu Yuping and Zhu Caixia hadn't touched their chopsticks, so she hurriedly urged them, "Why are you just standing there? Eat quickly!"

"Ok!"

Xu Yuping looked at the fragrant, full bowl of noodles in front of her, her nose suddenly felt sore, and then she nodded vigorously with tears in her eyes.

Now, she has forgotten when was the last time she had noodles, let alone noodles in meat soup made from bones.

Originally, she had no other choice but to return to her parents' home with her daughter, holding on to a glimmer of hope. Even after learning that Xu Guangshan had entrusted the family to Li Guoqiang, she was prepared to be rejected by Li Guoqiang.

She didn't expect that Li Guoqiang would agree to let her stay at home and cook such delicious meals for her and her mother. This made her feel grateful and touched, and at the same time, her cold and lonely heart felt a long-lost warmth.

"okay!"

Seeing Xu Yuping like this, Qu Yinfeng couldn't help but sigh inwardly, then waved her hands and scolded her in a deep voice: "We're having dinner now! Why are you crying like this? Aren't you annoying me?"

"If you want to cry, go find a place to cry after dinner. Now hold it back, do you hear me?"

Hearing this, Xu Yuping quickly reached out to wipe away her tears, then forced out a smile, nodded and said, "Mom, I'm sorry, it's my fault, don't be angry, I won't do this again!"

"Ok!"

Qu Yinfeng's expression relaxed, and then she said softly, "Then eat quickly!"

After saying that, she glanced at Li Guoqiang and found that he didn't look unhappy, and she felt relieved instantly.

Upon hearing this, Xu Yuping also glanced at Li Guoqiang, then reached out to pick up the bowl and began to eat somewhat stiffly.

However, as she ate, she unconsciously sped up her chewing speed, and a look of enjoyment appeared on her face.

Then, just as she was immersed in the delicious food, she suddenly heard Li Guoqiang's voice, which woke her up immediately.

"Xiaoxia, why don't you eat?"

Li Guoqiang looked at Zhu Caixia, who had been sitting there with her head down and not moving, with a slightly puzzled look on his face.

Hearing this, Zhu Caixia raised her head slightly and glanced at Li Guoqiang, then timidly said in a low voice: "Grandma and Dad said that I was a money-loser and that I could only eat leftovers."

Hearing this, Li Guoqiang frowned and didn't know what to say for a moment.

Qu Yinfeng's face darkened and a hint of anger appeared in his eyes.

Xu Yuping felt a pang in her heart, and then she quickly picked up the chopsticks and stuffed them into Zhu Caixia's hands, and said in a gentle voice: "It's okay, this is grandma's house, you don't have to eat leftovers!"

"really?"

Zhu Caixia's eyes lit up, and she asked in disbelief, "Do I really not have to eat leftovers?"

"real!"

Xu Yuping nodded, and then said with a distressed look on her face: "Of course it's true, mom will never let you eat leftovers again!"

"That"

Zhu Caixia hesitated, then quickly glanced at Li Guoqiang and asked in a low voice, "If I eat it, will Uncle Qiangzi beat me with a stick?"

"will not!"

Xu Yuping shook her head, then said with red eyes: "No, if you don't believe it, you can ask your uncle Qiangzi!"

After saying that, she turned her head and looked at Li Guoqiang, with a hint of expectation in her eyes.

"That's right!"

Seeing this, Li Guoqiang nodded hurriedly and said, "Xiaoxia, just eat without worry! I won't hit you!"

"Ok!"

When Zhu Caixia heard what Li Guoqiang said, she was delighted, and then she hurriedly picked up the chopsticks and started eating with big mouthfuls.

"Hey!"

Li Guoqiang looked at Zhu Caixia, who looked like a starving ghost, and was slightly stunned. Then he quickly advised: "Don't be anxious, eat slowly, don't choke, there's more if you don't finish it."

However, at this time Zhu Caixia had already been hooked by the deliciousness of the noodles and did not hear what Li Guoqiang said at all. She just kept stuffing noodles into her mouth, fearing that if she ate slowly, she would not have the chance to eat such delicious noodles again.

Seeing this situation, Li Guoqiang did not continue to persuade.

Anyway, there is soup in the noodles, so Zhu Caixia will probably not choke on it.

Since she is so eager to eat, let her enjoy it!

Soon, the whole bowl of noodles went into Zhu Caixia's stomach, and then Li Guoqiang served her another big bowl of noodles without waiting for her to ask for more.

After eating most of the second bowl of noodles, Zhu Caixia finally slowed down her eating speed.

Seeing this, Xu Yuping hurriedly told Zhu Caixia not to eat so much and to be careful not to overeat.

Zhu Caixia nodded obediently and agreed. After finishing the noodles in her bowl, she sat aside and watched Li Guoqiang and others eat quietly.

After a while, Li Guoqiang and others also had their fill one after another.

Immediately afterwards, without waiting for Qu Yinfeng to take action, Zhu Caixia took the initiative to collect the dishes and chopsticks, and then together with Xu Yuping, took the dishes and chopsticks to the outer room to wash.

Seeing this, Qu Yinfeng and Xu Dani did not sit idle either. They immediately went to the yard to fetch water and prepare to boil water for a bath.

Li Guoqiang turned on the radio as usual, and while listening to the radio program, he used a knife and wood to carve dolls.

Not long after, Xu Dani ran in and said that the bath water was ready.

Upon hearing this, Li Guoqiang did not waste any time and hurriedly took his clean clothes to the bathhouse to take a bath.

After he came out of the shower, Xu Yuping and Zhu Caixia cleaned the house and prepared the firewood for tomorrow.

He didn't say anything about this, but just quietly returned to the kang and continued to carve dolls, brushing up on his carpentry and knife skills.

After a few days of hard work, my carpentry skills have successfully reached L5, and my knife skills are approaching L6.

I believe that it won’t be long before he can go to Xu Guangshou to learn the butchering skills of the same master.

In addition, once his carpentry skill reaches L6, he can also build a better wooden house to make himself live more comfortably.

Just as he was concentrating on making the last cut on the wood, a clear and pleasant sound suddenly came to his ears.

"Uncle Qiangzi, what are you doing?"

"Oh!"

Li Guoqiang was slightly stunned, then he smiled softly and said: "I am making a puppet!"

"Doll?"

Upon hearing this, Zhu Caixia couldn't help but ask in confusion, "What is a doll?"

"Ah!"

Li Guoqiang was delighted, and then he laughed and said, "A puppet is a person's image carved out of wood or stone with a knife, just like the one in my hand. Look carefully and see who it looks like."

After saying that, he opened his palm and placed the little puppet in front of Zhu Caixia.

(End of this chapter)