Proofread Peter Gong

Jin Weiwei is so happy to see that Tao Xiaoqing is excited about the two suits. The only reason why she spares a room and makes new clothes for Tao Xiaoqing is that she wants him to settle down and work hard. “How about the clothes?” “Good! Very Good! Very suitable for me!” says Yao Xiaoqing, with a big smile on his face.

“That’s fine. Well…Have a good rest, Xiaoqing. I will take a look at those sheep and pigs.” She turns to go away. “It’s getting dark outside, my Boss. You still need to see them?” says Tao Xiaoqing. He takes off his new clothes immediately, and continues, “My boss, your leg hasn’t recovered yet and it is getting dark outside. If you have something to do, just ask me to do it for you.” Hearing that, Jin Weiwei feels warm in her heart, because her kindness to Tao Xiaoqing, a grateful person, is not in vain.

“Nothing special. I am just used to taking a look at whether the sheepfold and the pigsty are well-managed, in case some beasts break in. That way, I will feel at ease, and can have a good sleep.” “My Boss, if you trust me, I can take care of that! I promise to check them carefully every night!” Tao Xiaoqing says that seriously, clapping his chest. Looking at his serious face, Jin Weiwei bursts into laughter, and says, “Since you have already promised me that, how can I disbelieve you!” Tao Xiaoqing stands still immediately and replies firmly, “Trust me, my boss. I will never let you down!”

After he accepts the new suits from Jin Weiwei, Tao Xiqoqing, who treats Jin Weiwei as her sister, is diligent and keeps himself busy all the time for her. Tao Xiaoqing gets up early in the morning and cooks breakfast for her. The moment Jin Weiwei washes up, a bowl of hot porridge will be served right before her. Besides that, after the meat shop closes at night, Tao Xiaoqing goes to the mountain and finds a stick suitable for making a walking-stick. He has made a refined and carefully polished walking-stick for Jin Weiwei whose leg is broken and hasn’t healed yet. Every time when Jin Weiwei raises her arms to take something, he will shout, “My boss! Wait! Leave it for me!”

Day by day, Jin Weiwei begins to like Tao Xiaoqing more and more. She often praises him for his diligence. Every time hearing her praise, Little Rich, without a single word, will pull a long face the whole day. “Hey, you see how diligent Xiao Qing is. Washing clothes, cooking meals, and … Look at you, you know nothing. It’s Ok for you to do nothing. But how dare you wear a cold face every day!”

Looking up at her and saying nothing, he just buries his head into the accounting book. Jin Weiwei is not satisfied with the attitude of Little Rich. She goes to his side, stamps his shoulder forcefully, and says, “Can you hear me? I said treating Xiaoqing better. Do not keep your poker face all day long. Just … smile, OK？You will be held responsible if your poker face scares away my staff!”

Tao Xiaoqing hears her words while he is walking in. Immediately he smiles and says, “Boss, you treat me so well. I’ll never leave you, no matter what happens.” Delighted by his words, Jin Weiwei smiles and says, “You have a sweet mouth, Xiaoqing. No wonder everyone likes to buy meat in our shop!” Praised by Jin Weiwei, Xiaoqing wears a bashful smile.

It seems that Little Rich dislikes their conversation. He stands up and goes out, closing the accounting book forcefully. “Alas! Did you finish your work today? How can you just stop your work and go?” Staring at Little Rich, who is leaving, she feels confused by his bad mood recently.

The next day, Jin Weiwei waits for Tao Xiaoqing to serve the breakfast as usual. However, after a long while, Tao Xiaoqing is still not coming. Touching her hungry stomach, Jin Weiwei rushes to the kitchen. On the way to the kitchen, she is almost choked to death. Rubbing her eyes, she says, “What are you doing Xiaoqing? Do you want to burn my kitchen？” “He went to the meat-shop.” Jin Weiwei is shocked for she recognizes that the voice isn’t Xiaoqing’s. She swings away the smoke and looks closely. It is nobody but Little Rich crouching there, adding hay into the stove. Somehow his face is stained with ashes and dust like a roan cat.

“What are you doing here?!” Looking at your face, Jin Weiwei can’t help laughing. “Cook the porridge.” Little Rich doesn’t know that his face has already been stained. “Cook the porridge? You cook the porridge like that?” Jin Weiwei laughs so hard that she cannot stand up straight. “Let me see what kind of porridge has the power to make my kitchen messy like that.” Jin Weiwei approaches the cooking bench. She all but faints when she looks at the porridge in the pot.

“Jesus Christ! How can you pour all the rice in the pot? You think I eat as much as a pig?!” The whole pot of rice makes Jin Weiwei want to laugh and weep all at once. She wonders why Little Rich cooks the porridge whimsically, since he knows nothing about cooking. The kitchen is in complete mess. He just pours a little bit water in the pot for cooking a whole pot of rice; moreover, he keeps filling in the stove with hay when the fire in the stove still burns, producing a lot of smoke. Little Rich senses the irony in her words. He throws down the stick in his hand, stretches his neck and looks into the pot, “Too much rice?” “Of course!” Giving him an angry stare, Jin Weiwei says, “Fetch a basin quickly, remove some rice away and dry it.”

Following her order, Little Rich fetches a big basin. Jin Weiwei removes three fourth of the rice in the pot, and fills it with water. “All right. Porridge cooked with the rice left in the pot is enough to feed us for a few days.” After that, she pulls Little Rich to the side of the cooking bench, crouches, and brings out all the hay in the stove. “In addition, it is a skillful work of making fire. You can’t fill too much hay into the stove, which will cover the flame and produce smoke.”

Saying that, Jin Weiwei picks up some fine firewood, breaks it, and puts it into the stove. “Come here. I teach you how to make fire.” She hands a handful of hay to Little Rich, and says, “First, fire it with the torch. Then, fire the firewood in the stove. Keep fanning until all the firewood is burning completely. And continue to add more firewood in it. Remember, the stove will never be filled with too much firewood. Otherwise, the fire will not burn bright.” Taking the hay from Jin Weiwei, Little Rich goes on to make the fire under her instruction, and the fire bursts into a blaze quickly.