bookcurios Chapter 268: Kettle
Chapter 268: Kettle
Growing day by day. Thinking of this, Bai Yi stroked his gray beard, a gentle smile appeared on the corner of his mouth, his eyes were deep, as if he saw through the future at this moment, and fell into deep contemplation.
As the two said goodbye to the Song family's gate, they set out on the journey to leave in a carriage. Shen Yan and Zhao reluctantly saw them off until they watched the carriage disappear at the end of their sight. Then they slowly turned around, with a bit of reluctance in their steps. After walking for dozens of steps, they finally returned to the house.
Inside the house, Song Yuanyi and Zhu were puzzled by Cui'er's eager but slightly vague gestures. After some difficult guesses and reasoning, they barely pieced together the whole story. They were about to go to Shen Yan to ask for the truth, but unexpectedly, they saw the extraordinary and dignified Chang Song and the elderly but energetic Bai Lao walking out of the Song family's gate steadily.
This unexpected scene immediately set off alarm bells in Song Yuanyi's heart. He hurriedly grabbed Zhu and found a secluded place to hide. "Who is that expert? His behavior is extraordinary, definitely not an ordinary person." Zhu lowered her voice, her eyes flashing with curiosity and doubt.
At the same time, Zhu couldn't help but think of the undying smile on Liu Xiujuan's face, and doubts arose in her heart, "Did Lin Ge'er not die? Why could she still smile so peacefully?" Song Yuanyi was also puzzled by this. After all, the scene yesterday, where Lin Ge'er was covered in blood and his face was as pale as paper, was still vivid in his mind. Could a miracle really have happened?
"Let's go back first." After weighing the pros and cons, Song Yuanyi decided to sneak into the city again and secretly find out more details in order to make the next plan. What if the boss's anger gradually subsided, maybe he would give him a chance to reform and let him return to work?
So, the two of them returned home cautiously. In the carriage carrying Chang Song and Bai Lao, each of them had their own thoughts and the atmosphere was heavy.
What Chang Song was most concerned about was Song Yunfeng's studies. He was worried that the villain who had ill intentions towards Song Yunfeng would attack again, especially as the big exam was approaching. He had high hopes for Song Yunfeng and hoped that he would make a big splash, and would not allow any mistakes. For this reason, he secretly made up his mind to go back and find the county magistrate in person to find out the identity of the mastermind behind the scenes.
As for Bai Lao, he was silent for a long time, and finally his frown relaxed, and he suddenly realized. "I understand, I understand where the weirdness comes from." When he was at the Song family, the indescribable sense of disharmony always lingered in his mind. At this moment, he seemed to have grasped the root of the problem.
"Pride, yes, it is this pride." Old Bai slowly expressed his feelings, which made Chang Song on the side quite confused.
Bai Yi pondered for a moment and explained, "Didn't you notice that whenever the Song family mentioned Madam Song, there was a subtle difference in their tone? Song Yunfeng's quiet nature is understandable, but Doctor Lu, just because of her great cooking skills, revealed an unusual pride in his words, as if she was his own child. This is not the attitude an outsider should have."
"Speaking of Song Yunlin, the various herbs drying in the courtyard were said to be taught to Madam Song by Doctor Lu. Normally, he should have praised Doctor Lu, but he proudly said that his younger siblings were as smart as his brother. Where did this sense of pride come from?"
"What's even more puzzling is that the old lady of the Song family relies on her young daughter-in-law for everything. This scene doesn't look like a mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, but more like a mother and daughter. Besides, which child is not closer to his or her mother? But the little girl of the Song family is like a little follower, always sticking to the young lady. How can this be explained?"
Chang Song was confused: "What do you mean...?"
"This Mrs. Song is no simple person!" Bai Yi exclaimed.
Chang Song's reaction seemed calm: "It can be seen that she gets along very well with the Song family, and Yun Feng thinks highly of her. What's so strange about this? The Song family is honest and kind, so family harmony is a natural thing."
Bai Yi fell silent again after hearing this, with a lot of thoughts in his mind. Chang Song's words did make sense, and he couldn't help but reflect on whether he was too sensitive. What he originally thought was weird became commonplace after careful consideration. What kind of earth-shattering secrets could a young girl hide?
Perhaps, I was just worrying too much.
On the other side, Zhao and Shen Yan returned to the house. Zhao felt relieved and breathed a long sigh of relief. Obviously, seeing off the guests had exhausted her both physically and mentally. Seeing that she unconsciously rubbed her aching waist again, Shen Yan persuaded her to go back to her room and rest first.
"I'll fill the water tank first and then take a rest." Zhao said. The water tank was almost empty, and it was obviously not appropriate for Song Yunfeng to fetch water at this time.
"Mom, do you know how much it costs to dig a well?" Shen Yan asked suddenly.
"Digging a well? That's not a small amount of money, at least eight taels of silver! Besides, it's not necessary, why waste the money." Zhao felt that this was too extravagant. After all, most of the daily laundry work was done by the river. It's just that the water consumption has been a little higher recently, and usually they only need to fetch water once every ten days or half a month.
Although eight taels of silver is not a huge sum of money, it is still a lot for an ordinary family. However, for long-term considerations, Shen Yan resolutely decided to dig a well for his family even if he had to live frugally to bring long-term convenience to his family.
We also had to build a small bathroom. After all, it was extremely inconvenient to take a shower in the house. It took a lot of effort to fetch water every time. The bucket was shaking and the water splashed from time to time, making the floor and clothes wet. In the summer, we could still tolerate the coolness, but once winter came, what should we do with the freezing cold water and the dampness in the house?
Anyway, for Shen Yan, not taking a bath for ten days or half a month is simply unimaginable torture.
"Mom, do we have a bigger kettle at home?" she asked tentatively. The existing kettle could only boil about two kilograms of water at a time, which was really a drop in the bucket for bathing. She had to use a big pot frequently. However, the slow heat made the wait particularly long, and half a day was wasted in the rising steam.
"How can there be a bigger kettle? Most of the ones we see every day are about this size." Zhao answered puzzledly, obviously not understanding what her daughter meant.
"Aren't there any kettles for sale that are hollow in the middle so they can boil water faster and more efficiently?" Shen Yan continued to ask.
"Hollow pot?" Zhao's face showed confusion. "I've never heard of this before."
Seeing this, Shen Yan had already made up her mind. It seems that this is not only a small trouble in life, but also a potential business opportunity. Hollow kettles can speed up the boiling process and have the advantages of large capacity and energy saving.