Chapter 393: Chapter 142: Little Sister, Jing Si Is No Good

"Fourth Sister-in-law," Jing Qi tried to protest.

"Be good, now." Qin Mei patted Jing Qi on the head.

Jing Qi bit her lower lip and stopped insisting. "Alright, then. Fourth Sister-in-law, please be careful. Don’t get burned." 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

"Don’t worry, I won’t get burned. This isn’t my first time cooking," Qin Mei said, a little proudly. She had made lunch under Qin Xiang’s guidance. Though she hadn’t exactly volunteered, she still felt a sense of pride.

Jing Qi said nothing, sitting obediently on the long bench with a complex, grave expression. As she watched Qin Mei fumble about, her look immediately tensed, her eyes filling with worry. "Fourth Sister-in-law, don’t rush! Slow down. Don’t let your hand touch the pot, and don’t stand so close! That spoon is too short. Fourth Sister-in-law, use the spatula!"

"Don’t worry, I know my limits. I won’t burn myself." Qin Mei stirred the rice in the pot with the spatula, keeping it from sticking.

Watching Qin Mei’s inexperienced but extremely careful movements, Jie Jingshan’s tense expression relaxed quite a bit.

"Fourth Sister-in-law, I saw Little Brother go out. Where did he go?" Jie Jingshan asked.

At the mention of Qin Xiang, Qin Mei’s stirring hand paused. She turned to look at Jing Qi. Though Jing Qi’s expression was calm, Qin Mei felt a painful pang in her chest. "We were out of groceries, so he went to buy some."

Hearing Qin Mei say that Qin Xiang had gone to buy groceries, Jie Jingshan subconsciously let out a sigh of relief.

With just her and Jing Qi at home, Qin Mei hesitated for a few seconds. She set the spatula aside, walked over to the dining table, and sat on the bench across from Jing Qi. She looked at her, on the verge of speaking. "Jing Qi..."

Jie Jingshan looked at her and asked calmly, "Fourth Sister-in-law, what is it you want to say to me?"

Qin Mei thought for a moment, then decided not to beat around the bush. She asked bluntly, "Jing Qi, do you have feelings for my little brother?"

A flicker of panic crossed Jie Jingshan’s face, but it was gone in an instant. She answered with composure, "I do."

Qin Mei was stunned. Her question had been blunt, but Jie Jingshan’s answer was just as direct. She had expected a denial, or at least some attempt to cover it up.

Jie Jingshan’s eyes curved into smiling crescents. "I like Mom and Dad, I like Fourth Brother, I like you, I like Third Sister-in-law, I like Fifth Brother, and I like your little brother."

As Qin Mei listened, her eyes searched Jie Jingshan’s face. But Jing Qi didn’t show the slightest hint of avoidance, her expression remaining perfectly composed.

Suddenly, Qin Mei smiled. ’This is good,’ she thought. ’It’s reassuring.’ Everyone has secrets buried deep in their heart, and she was no exception.

"Jing Qi, your most important task right now is to study," Qin Mei said with a smile.

"Besides studying, I also need to exercise," Jie Jingshan said.

"What’s that smell?" Qin Mei caught a strange scent. She sniffed again. Burning. It finally dawned on her. "Oh no."

Qin Mei stared at the rice in the pot, crestfallen. "Too little water and too much rice. How am I supposed to drain it?"

Jie Jingshan used the table for support as she rose and slowly walked over to Qin Mei. After a glance into the pot, she said comfortingly, "It’s alright, Fourth Sister-in-law. We can just have congee for dinner. It’s good for digestion."

Qin Mei gave a wry smile. Even if she hadn’t been distracted by their chat, she couldn’t have drained this rice. There was simply too little water. The result would be something that was neither congee nor proper steamed rice.

"I guess we’ll just have to make do," Qin Mei said. She didn’t dare suggest throwing it out and starting over. In an era of scarcity, wasting food like that would be met with severe criticism.

Qin Mei lifted the pot off the honeycomb briquette stove and set it on the floor. Seeing this, Jie Jingshan reminded her, "Sister-in-law, the rice isn’t cooked yet."

"I know." Qin Mei picked up the fire tongs, grabbed a nearby honeycomb briquette, and placed it in the stove, carefully aligning the holes. Then, mimicking Jie Jingchen, she lifted her foot and stomped down hard on it.

Jie Jingchen could press it down with ease, but Qin Mei struggled. A particularly acrid smell wafted up, making her choke and cough uncontrollably.

"COUGH, COUGH, COUGH." Qin Mei waved a hand in front of her face. ’The smell from these briquettes is just awful. Natural gas in the future is so much more convenient.’

"Fourth Sister-in-law, your foot!" Jie Jingshan cried out, seeing that Qin Mei’s foot was still on the briquette. She was terrified Qin Mei would get burned.

Qin Mei saw it had only gone in halfway. She couldn’t give up now. She stomped down hard again, but it still wouldn’t budge.

’Hmph, what is wrong with this thing? Jie Jingchen can do it, so why can’t I?’ Qin Mei stomped again, but nothing changed—except that the entire stove began to wobble.

"Fourth Sister-in-law, stop! You’re going to knock the whole stove over!" Jie Jingshan exclaimed, more worried than ever about Qin Mei’s foot.

Qin Mei gave up. ’It’s so easy for Jie Jingchen, so why is it so hard for me? This stupid stove is just making a fool out of me!’ She was furious and wanted to give it a few kicks, but she was afraid she’d knock it over. If that started a fire, the consequences would be unthinkable.

"Jing Qi, what should I do?" Qin Mei asked. She had been in this era for less than a year, while fourteen-year-old Jing Qi had more experience.

"I don’t know either," Jie Jingshan shook her head.

’Jing Qi has never had to lift a finger in her life. What was I thinking?’ Qin Mei tapped her forehead. ’It’s true what they say: never praying when times are good, but desperately hugging the Buddha’s feet in a crisis.’

"Fourth Sister-in-law, why don’t you put the pot back on top?" Jie Jingshan suggested. "The weight of the pot might be enough to push down that briquette you got stuck."

One was bold enough to suggest it, the other was bold enough to try it.

Qin Mei lifted the pot from the floor and hoisted it onto the stove. As it turned out, Jing Qi’s suggestion was a bust. The pot was unstable on the half-stuck briquette, and Qin Mei didn’t dare let go. The combination of the heat and the briquette’s fumes was unbearable.

"No, no, this won’t work," Qin Mei said, setting the pot back on the floor.

’The rice is half-cooked, and I just had to go and add another briquette. Just great!’

"We’ll just have to wait for my little brother to get back," Qin Mei said.

"Why don’t you go ask Second Auntie for help?" Jie Jingshan suggested again. "Your brother went to buy groceries, and who knows when he’ll be back. Asking Second Auntie would be quicker."

Qin Mei fell silent. ’If I send Jing Qi to get Second Auntie... she walks so slowly. By the time they got back, Qin Xiang would probably already be home. But I’d be even more worried leaving her here alone. And taking her with me wouldn’t be any faster.’

"How about we ask the next-door neighbors for help?" Qin Mei asked tentatively.

"Fourth Sister-in-law..." Jie Jingshan looked conflicted.

"I’m talking about the neighbors next to our place, not the ones next to Third Brother’s," Qin Mei clarified, thinking Jing Qi had misunderstood. ’I’m not about to get involved with Jie Jinghun and his ex, Shen Qing. That would just be asking for trouble.’

"Fourth Sister-in-law, everyone is still at work at this hour. There’s no one next door," Jie Jingshan said, clearly relieved.

"Forget it. We’ll just wait for my little brother to come back with the groceries," Qin Mei said, giving up on finding help.

And so, the two of them sat on the bench, waiting. They watched as the half-submerged briquette slowly burned from black to glowing red. The flames and the smell were getting to be too much for Qin Mei. Worried about Jing Qi getting sick from the fumes, she said, "Jing Qi, it smells terrible in the kitchen. You should go wait outside."

"Fourth Sister-in-law, let’s go out together," Jie Jingshan said, covering her nose.

"No, I have to keep an eye on it. In case it catches fire, I need to be here to put it out." Qin Mei shook her head. ’Just to be safe, I have to watch it. Most big fires start as small ones that aren’t put out in time.’

"Fourth Sister-in-law, you go outside. I’ll watch it here," Jie Jingshan said.

Qin Mei’s lip twitched. She refused flatly. "Absolutely not. You go outside."

’If I leave Jing Qi alone and something happens, I’ll be the one everyone blames.’ Her expression darkened as she recalled what Jie Jingchen had told her before she began treating Jing Qi’s legs.

"We’ll sit by the doorway and wait," Qin Mei said, worried they might actually get sick from the fumes. She moved the bench to the doorway, waited for Jing Qi to approach, and then helped her step over the threshold.

Sitting in the doorway, the smell was still acrid, but it was much more bearable.

The two sat on the bench, glancing into the kitchen from time to time.

After half an hour, there was still no sign of Qin Xiang. Qin Mei gave up waiting. She stood, grabbed the water dipper, and poured a ladleful of water directly into the honeycomb briquette stove. It let out a loud HISS.