Cleanup

The mother and son, who had eaten their fill, prepared to clean up the house. As the old saying goes, a new life begets new appearances.

In that era, bricks were not commonly used in constructing walls and houses. Peach Blossom Village was the only place with such a feature. This was all thanks to Jiang Danhe's father, who had passed away a long time ago. Before the Jiang family fell, they were the richest family in the area. But they were later framed by traitors and lost all their wealth. WIth the remaining money they had left, the Jiang family came to Peach Blossom Village. Most of that money was used to buy land and build houses.

Xiaoguo led Zhuang Zhuang around the house. The sky was already dark when she got here. There was barely time to look at the interior as she had to cook and eat. Now that there's time, she got a good look around the whole place.

The three main rooms were facing south, and in the middle of the house was the dining room. The room on the east side of the house was Mrs. Jiang's room before she died. Xiaoguo's room sat on the west side. The kitchen was situated about three meters away from Mrs. Jiang's room. The courtyard was huge, and there was a small plot for planting. However, the soil has completely dried up as it had not been tended to for a long time. The water well in the courtyard was Xiaoguo's favorite feature in the house. Jiang Danhe had dug the well all by himself, as he couldn't bear for his mother to walk across half the village to fetch water.

After they had oriented themselves around the house, Xiaoguo brought Zhuang Zhuang along with her to begin cleaning. The two of them moved the furniture out of the house first. The furniture all had a damp musty odor as It had been a long time since they had been put under the sun. The blankets, mattresses and upholstery also gave off a strong moldy stench.

Since there was a well at home, water supply was not an issue for them. Xiaoguo did not use it sparingly. She asked Zhuang Zhuang to bring out a brush. While he was doing that, Xiaoguo used her ring to 'transport' dish detergent from the other kitchen. She was planning to use dish detergent for the laundry as she couldn't find any cleaning agent around the house.

As Zhuang Zhuang came out with the brush in hand, Xiaoguo had just come out from the ring too. The boy obediently handed the brush to his mother and asked crisply, "Mom, what else do I need to do?"

Xiaoguo was about to say that there was no need, but as she saw Zhuang Zhuang's eyes sparkling in anticipation, she hesitated and looked around to see if there was any work that Zhuang Zhuang could help with. "Can you help to get a laundry basin and a washing stick?"

Zhuang Zhuang agreed and ran happily into the house. Xiaoguo went on to draw two buckets of water from the well. When Zhuang Zhuang returned with a wash basin , Xiaoguo quickly poured the water in. Since the basin was huge, Xiaoguo went back into the rooms to bring out more clothes—some from the wardrobe and those that they were wearing the day before. As she entered the courtyard, she saw that Zhuang Zhuang had brought out a stool and he was standing beside it. He was wearing a goofy smile and seemed really proud of himself. At that moment he looked like a puppy that was waiting to be rewarded. Xiaoguo burst out laughing at this sight in front of her.

"Mother?" Zhuang Zhuang did not know why his mother was smiling again. She seemed like a changed person from the moment she woke up the day before. In the past, his mother was always frowning and sighing. How he wished that she could always be smiling from now on.

Xiaoguo did not know what Zhuang Zhuang was thinking. She walked over and pinched his cheeks. His face has not regained its chubbiness yet. Xiaoguo said to Zhuang Zhuang in an encouraging tone, "Zhuang Zhuang, you're so awesome. I am so glad that you are helping me with the housework and now, you have even brought me a stool!"

Zhuang Zhuang blushed shyly at his mother's praise. "That's nothing. I still want to help you with many things. When I'm a little older, I'll do your laundry and cook for you."

Xiaoguo was delighted upon hearing Zhuang Zhuang's manly offer. "Then, I'll wait for Zhuang Zhuang to grow up," she said to him.

"Yeah! I'll grow up fast," Zhuang Zhuang promised Xiaoguo.

Xiaoguo sat on the folding stool and started washing the clothes. Zhuang Zhuang looked on and suddenly ran towards the kitchen. Xiaoguo didn't know where he was going, so she continued with her work. Zhuang Zhuang returned a moment later. He had brought another stool from inside the house. He sat himself down behind her and started massaging her waist with his little hands.

Xiaoguo turned back and watched Zhuang Zhuang in surprise. "This child is… just too sensible."

Zhuang Zhuang continued kneading and massaging Xiaoguo's back. His face was scrunched up in all seriousness, looking like he was carrying out an important task.

With him accompanying her, Xiaoguo was filled with zest as she quickly finished up the washing. After she was done with the clothes, she removed the blanket from its cover and went on to wash all the bedlinen. The furniture also got a round of cleaning under her hands. It was May weather, and the temperature was just nice for cleaning. Sunlight was ample in the day. Everything she has washed should be dry when the evening comes.

"Mother, you're amazing!" Zhuang Zhuang looked at the amount of clothes and bed linen hanging on the rope.

"Of course! With your help and massage, I am not feeling tired at all." Xiaoguo stretched her limbs and told Zhuang Zhuang. She wasn't just comforting Zhuang Zhuang, she was really not tired from the day's work.