Adorable Kids in Space: Lucky Wife is So Carefree

Because she had to make a lot of steamed buns and mantou, Ruxiu arrived at her second aunt's house at the crack of dawn the next day. Her second aunt's house was a bit far from the Tang family's house, but it was less than a hundred meters away from the old house.

The risen dough filled a large bowl and overflowed. My second aunt, being elderly and needing less sleep, was already up kneading the dough to release the air. The meat filling was chopped last night, and once the seasoning was ready, the two of them quickly started wrapping the dumplings by hand.

The steamer wasn't very big, so they steamed the meat buns first before starting to steam the steamed bread. It took four batches to finish steaming them all, by which time it was already broad daylight. Auntie Er was still cooking porridge over the fire, so Ruxiu used a few lotus leaves to divide five large meat buns into portions and carried them in a basket to the four clan elders at the east end of the village.

In autumn, the small villages in the Jiangnan water towns are truly beautiful. The sounds of doors opening, roosters crowing, and water buffalo mooing, along with the splashing of laundry, make the tranquil mornings even more vibrant.

Tangjia Village is nestled against the mountains and beside the water. Not far behind the village is Dama Mountain. The houses at the east end of the village are relatively new and close to the official road. There is a butcher shop and a small grocery store. To the west of the village, there are small rivers and streams, and a lot of farmland. Most of the residents live in the middle of the village, in old houses. Aunt Er and the Tang family's old house are located here.

As soon as they opened the door, they were greeted with steaming hot meat buns. No one was unhappy. The elders of the clan greeted Ruxiu with polite conversation and praise, and some even gave her a handful of melon seeds and a few peanuts as a return gift.

The three little ones were all dressed up neatly at Auntie's house. Sister Shi even styled Ge'er's hair into two little buns, which looked adorable.

Upon seeing her mother, Ge'er nestled into Ruxiu's arms with great joy.

"Niang Qing."

"Mother."

As soon as Ru Xiu entered the door, Sister Shi put down the broom she was holding, and Brother Le very sensibly moved a stool.

“These kids insisted on waiting for you to eat together. They’re so sensible; Old Mrs. Jiang will regret it someday,” said Second Aunt, affectionately patting Little Qiuqiu.

"Second Aunt, you've been busy for hours, hurry up and eat some steamed buns." Ru Xiu, the head of the household, quickly told everyone to sit down.

"Second Aunt, hurry up, the meat buns won't taste good if they get cold." Sister Shi was especially well-behaved.

"Mmm... this is the best thing I've ever eaten." Brother Le took a big bite, his mouth full of oil, and he closed his eyes, shaking his head like an old scholar.

"Mommy, eat! It smells so good! It's so delicious!" Ge'er lifted the food high for Ruxiu.

"Wow, it's really delicious! Our Ge'er made it especially fragrant for her mother." One bite, and the tender, oily meat filling was incredibly fragrant.

Except for Ge'er, who was too small to eat one, everyone else ate two. Le Ge wanted to eat more, but his second aunt stopped him.

"You little rascals, your stomachs are going to explode if you eat any more. If you want to eat, I'll steam some for you at noon."

The village chief's house wasn't far away, located in the middle of the village, towards the south. Ru Xiu thought for a moment and packed five more steamed buns, then called Brother Le to deliver them together.

The village chief has four grandsons. Just as he entered the house, his eldest grandson, Tang Long, was about to leave for school. Ru Xiu quickly handed him a meat bun. He seemed a little lost, probably because he didn't recognize Ru Xiu. Ru Xiu's mother was usually busy with chores and rarely went out in the village.

Tang Long is Tang Zijie's eldest son. He, Tang Dafu, and Tang Ercai are the only two people from Tangjia Village who study at the town's academy.

"Brother Da Long, this is my mother, hehe." Brother Le's lively personality was familiar.

"You spoil Ershi's son! This is your second aunt, hurry up and take it to school!" The village chief's wife came out to greet them.

"Thank you, Second Aunt." Tang Long then thanked her respectfully, blushing as he took the steamed bun, bumped shoulders with Brother Le as he walked past, and left.

When Ruxiu and her companion entered the house, they were surprised to see a basket of steamed buns and mantou. Usually, when villagers came to ask for favors or visit each other, they would only bring a few eggs and a couple of bunches of vegetables. This kind of gift was almost like visiting relatives.

"Ershi's family, what are you doing? Everyone knows your family's situation. Take this back for the children to eat, so you don't cause any more trouble later." Usually, when Tang Laoqi's family comes to visit, it's always a headache, and even the village chief's family is afraid of them.

"Auntie, our village chief has taken good care of us. If it weren't for the protection of the village chief and the elders yesterday, we don't know how badly we would have been bullied. Today, we started construction on our house, so we made a few steamed buns and mantou, thinking we'd give your grandsons a taste. We hope you won't mind." Ru Xiu originally wanted to ask the village chief about the academy, but seeing that the village chief hadn't come out and she didn't know if he was home, and that the village chief's wife didn't seem to want to keep her and was speaking a bit harshly, she decided it wasn't urgent in the next couple of days. After saying that, she went home to get busy.

This made the village chief's wife feel a little ashamed, realizing that she had been upfront about her intentions. She quickly grabbed two handfuls of dried vegetables and chased after Ruxiu, trying to force them on her. Ruxiu didn't stand on ceremony; only by exchanging favors could things last. Tang Laoqi's family had had too many troubles in the past, so it was no wonder that others had their own thoughts.

Tanjiacun, where Tan the carpenter lived, was not far from the next village. It would only take Auntie and Ruxiu a short walk to get there. Three generations of Tan's family had been carpenters. His grandson, only eight or nine years old, was already helping out. When a customer came in, he politely poured tea for him. In ancient times, children from poor families could start working at a very young age.

Auntie was quite familiar with Carpenter Tan, so she chatted with him about the items Ruxiu wanted while Ruxiu looked around the yard. Antique furniture was simple and rustic, but made without glue or nails, using mortise and tenon joints, making it very environmentally friendly and exquisitely crafted. Ruxiu ordered four beds and two wardrobes according to the samples, and then, after some thought, ordered a desk and chair; she'd deal with the bookcase later.

After looking at the main room of Tan Mujiang's house, we ordered an eight-immortal table for sacrificial rites, which is the standard configuration for the main room in ancient times. We decided to postpone the high chair next to the eight-immortal table, since we are still far from getting a daughter-in-law!

We ordered a round dining table with ten chairs; if it were too small, more people wouldn't be able to sit down.

I paid a deposit of one tael of silver, and they agreed to deliver the goods two days later.

"Second Aunt, can you come to town with me tomorrow? I've only ever worked before, and I haven't been to town since Ershi was here. I'm not familiar with it!" Ru Xiu felt sorry for the original owner, even though there must have been many women in ancient times who suffered such misery.

“Even if you didn’t say anything, your second aunt would have gone with you. Tonight we’ll sort things out again and see what we need to buy. It’s only a half-hour drive. If we go too early, the shops won’t be open. The steamed buns we made today can be steamed again tomorrow. I’ll cook the porridge tomorrow.”

"Then I'll have to trouble you, Auntie. Actually, there's no need to sort things out. What you get isn't anything good. Use the broken plates and pots to feed the chickens and ducks. Just buy new ones."

"It's alright, you'll definitely see the light at the end of the tunnel once you change your ways." Auntie patted Ruxiu's shoulder and grinned.

Uncle Tang and his men worked quickly. With porridge and steamed buns, none of the five of them went home for lunch. After eating and resting for a while, they continued working. The two young men assisted Uncle Tang, and on the first day, they had already put up the crossbeams for the three main rooms and nailed the rafters for two rooms. They should be able to put on the tiles by tomorrow afternoon. The other two spent the whole day mixing mud, chopping straw, and also brought back some stones and made some mud bricks to prepare for building the kitchen and woodshed.

After finishing work, Tang Zijie stayed behind to help tidy up the mess before going home.

Although Ruxiu fed him the spiritual spring water several times, Xige still woke up twice a day, but for longer periods of time. Ruxiu tried to use her mind to recall the blood-replenishing medicine, but her hands were empty and she got nothing.