TSWPF -Chapter 66 Heartache

Before her two little sisters had woken up, Li Qingling took the opportunity to go check on the progress of the house and see its layout.

Seeing that half of the house was already built, she couldn’t help but marvel at the wisdom of the ancients; their craftsmanship should not be underestimated!

Zeng Tietou glanced at Li Qingling’s expression. When he saw the satisfaction on her face, the tension he had been holding eased.

For those building the house, the most important thing was that the owner was happy with the result.

“Miss, after looking it over, is there anything that needs to be changed?” Zeng Tietou asked quietly.

Li Qingling shook her head. “No, you’ve worked hard.” Judging by the current pace, the house would be completed in less than a month.

That was a very fast pace.

Thinking that in about a month she could move into the new house, the smile on Li Qingling’s face deepened.

Hearing her words, Zeng Tietou felt embarrassed and said that it wasn’t hard work at all.

Being able to find a job paying that well so close to home was already satisfying; there was no way they would think it was tiring.

Li Qingling smiled, chatted a little more with Zeng Tietou, and then left.

Watching her retreating figure, Zeng Tietou admired her from the bottom of his heart. At such a young age, she not only managed a household but also had enough money to build such a large house. Truly impressive.

Others might think the money for the house came from Liu Zhimou, but he knew it didn’t—it came from Li Qingling. The one truly in charge of the household was this little girl, Li Qingling.

When he realized this, he was surprised, but after interacting with her a few times, he saw that she indeed had that capability.

From then on, he sincerely admired her.

“I wonder when I’ll be able to build such a big house.” Someone sighed, “I used to pity Xiaoling, but now… all that’s left is envy!” Who would have thought that Li Qingling, orphaned, could be so capable?

Not only did she avoid the life of having uncertain meals like others expected, but she was living very well and even had money to build such a large house. Truly remarkable!

“Yes, I wonder where Xiaoling earned so much money. Selling that snack… what’s it called… egg pancakes? Can that really earn so much?”

“That’s not even the impressive part. I heard she even sent her little brother and Liu family’s child to school!” Another man joined the discussion. Sending a child to school cost a lot—his own kids couldn’t even dream of it!

Everyone gasped. Building a house wasn’t enough—she even sent her brother to school? That was extraordinary.

This news made the previously lively discussion even more heated.

Zeng Tietou saw everyone stopping their work just to gossip and frowned slightly, though his voice remained calm. “The Miss doesn’t live far. If she finds out you’re not working and are only discussing her private matters, and she sends you away, don’t come complaining to me!”

Hearing this, everyone instantly went silent, casting nervous glances toward the neighboring Liu family’s house, worried Li Qingling might overhear and be upset.

It was early spring, and finding such a high-paying job was difficult—they didn’t want to lose it.

Seeing the fear on their faces, Zeng Tietou continued, “Alright, get back to work. If the Miss is satisfied this time, next time there’s work, she might think of us first and ask us to do it.” Previously, he had earnestly helped the Miss with the rice harvest without shirking. This time, she would think of him immediately.

He believed that the Miss would achieve even greater things, and following her would definitely be the right choice.

Everyone agreed silently and returned to their work.

Li Qingling didn’t know any of this. When she returned home, the two little ones left at home had woken up and were calling for “Brother” in the room.

Hearing this, she hurried inside. There, she saw Liu Zhirou with a messy bedhead sitting by the bed, calling out in a baby voice.

Li Qingning lay on the bed, holding her little feet and nibbling on them, drooling all over her mouth.

Li Qingling couldn’t help but smile. She walked over and kissed Liu Zhirou’s little face. “Brother has gone to school; he won’t be back that quickly.” She reached for the little clothes set aside. “Come, let sister help you get dressed.” She lifted Liu Zhirou onto the bed and dressed her.

After finishing her clothes and tying a little bow in her hair, she went to pick up Li Qingning to take her to pee.

“Come, let’s go have breakfast with sister.” Li Qingling held Li Qingning in one arm and reached for Liu Zhirou’s hand with the other.

Liu Zhirou obediently nodded and held Li Qingling’s hand as they walked out of the room.

Li Qingling placed Li Qingning on the small bed in the hall and set Liu Zhirou on a chair before quickly fetching two bowls of goat’s milk from the kitchen.

She handed one bowl to Liu Zhirou first. After she finished, she went back to the kitchen to get two bowls of egg custard.

“I’m done.” Liu Zhirou had gotten used to drinking one bowl of goat’s milk each day. She held the bowl and drank it all. She then handed the empty bowl to Li Qingling, who praised her and gave her the egg custard.

Li Qingling then held Li Qingning, who was entertaining herself, fed her half a bowl of goat’s milk, and a bowl of egg custard, then patted her little tummy. Seeing she was full, she didn’t give her more.

“Rourou, can you watch your sister here? Sister’s going to wash the dishes.” Li Qingling placed Li Qingning back on the small bed and left her in Liu Zhirou’s care.

“Mm…” Liu Zhirou nodded. She thought her little sister was quite capable.

Li Qingling ruffled her little head and praised her again before taking the bowls to the kitchen to wash.

In modern times, a three-year-old like Liu Zhirou would only act spoiled with her parents, asking for toys. Here, a three-year-old could actually take care of younger siblings.

Li Qingling didn’t really want to do this, but there was no choice—if she needed to work, this was necessary.

After quickly washing the dishes, Li Qingling returned to the hall to play with the two little ones.

Usually, their two older brothers played with them, but today both brothers were absent, and the little ones weren’t very enthusiastic.

From time to time, Liu Zhirou would ask when her brothers would return. Li Qingling had to repeatedly tell her they wouldn’t be back until dinner.

Upon hearing it would take so long, Liu Zhirou’s expression fell.

To cheer her up, Li Qingling carried Li Qingning and took her to the backyard to play with the rabbits, diverting her attention.

With the little rabbits, she finally became a bit happier.

When she got tired of playing, Li Qingling took her back to the room to sleep.

Seeing the two little ones asleep, Li Qingling finally relaxed. She realized that having Li Qingfeng and Liu Zhiyan to help with the two little ones had saved her a lot of effort.

For now, she had to work harder.

Once they grew older and more sensible, life would be easier.

Li Qingling kissed the two little ones and quietly left the room. Just as she stepped out, she heard Liu Zhimou calling at the door. She hurried to open it.

Seeing Liu Zhimou, she smiled and asked if the two children were adjusting well to school.

Though she hadn’t shown it earlier, she had been worried about whether they would adapt.

Liu Zhimou walked in and closed the door behind him. Smiling, he nodded. “They’re adjusting well.”

He had secretly observed from outside the window and saw no signs of fear, so he returned at ease.

“That’s good.” Li Qingling breathed a sigh of relief. “Are you hungry? I haven’t made breakfast yet. I’ll go cook.” She hadn’t had time to cook while taking care of the little ones.

“I’ll handle it. You sit down.” Liu Zhimou headed to the kitchen, asking her what she wanted to eat.

Li Qingling followed him, saying they still had the potato and egg pancakes from this morning—they just needed to be heated.

Lunch just needed to fill their stomachs; no fancy cooking was necessary.

Liu Zhimou nodded, heated both types of pancakes, and decided they were ready, letting Li Qingling eat.

After lunch, both of them went to rest.

When it was almost time to cook dinner, Li Qingling went to the door to check, noticing the two children hadn’t returned yet. She felt a bit worried.

Could they have gotten lost? Why hadn’t they come back yet?

“Don’t worry, they won’t get lost.” Liu Zhimou smiled reassuringly, seeing her anxious expression. The school was far; it took time to walk. They couldn’t be back so quickly.

“When will brother be back?” Liu Zhirou carried a small stool to the yard and sat at the gate, staring at the distant road, waiting for her brothers.

All day, she had been calling out, “Brother… brother…”

When Li Qingfeng and Liu Zhiyan reached the village entrance, they saw Liu Zhirou propping her little chin up, staring pitifully into the distance.

Their excitement about going to school immediately halved. They waved at her and called her name loudly.

“Second brother, third brother are back!” Hearing this, Liu Zhirou’s eyes lit up. She ran toward the two brothers with her little legs. “Second brother… third brother…”

Liu Zhiyan ran forward a few steps, crouched down, and caught Liu Zhirou in his arms. “Sister, did you miss second brother?” He also missed them the moment they were apart.

Liu Zhirou leaned on Liu Zhiyan’s shoulder and nodded. “I missed second brother and third brother.” She reached for Li Qingfeng’s hand, pouting at him.

Li Qingfeng ruffled Liu Zhirou’s little head. “Third brother missed you too.” Spending every day with the two little sisters, being apart for a moment really felt strange.

“Will second brother and third brother go to school tomorrow?”

“Yes…”

Seeing Li Qingfeng nod, Liu Zhirou’s face showed reluctance to part. Her little chubby hands holding Liu Zhiyan’s neck gripped tighter. “Can you take Rourou with you?” She wanted to play with her brothers.