"Miss Qi said your body is too weak to sleep after eating. Sit for a while first, then stroll around the house."
After eating, Da Jiang and Xiao He returned to their room. Xiao He was about to climb onto the kang, but Da Jiang stopped him.
Xiao He chuckled and obediently sat on a stool.
"Brother Da Jiang, are we dreaming?" Xiao He asked with a silly grin. "Miss Qi's mother's pan-fried cakes are so delicious. I wish we could eat them every day. And she's so gentle, speaking softly, just like the mother I dreamed of."
"We are not dreaming, this is real. As long as we follow Miss Qi properly, our lives will only get better. From now on, you must call Miss Qi's mother Madam. Although Miss Qi said we are not servants, we cannot be too presumptuous. It is proper to show respect."
Xiao He nodded. Whatever Da Jiang said, he would follow.
After tidying up and making the beds, Da Jiang went to the utility room to get two foot basins, carrying a bucket of hot water and a bucket of cold water into the room.
"From now on, you must soak your feet for a quarter of an hour before bed. Miss Qi said it's good for the body."
Da Jiang busily mixed the hot water for the two of them, took off their shoes and socks, and put their feet in.
The warm foot-soaking water warmed them from their feet to their hearts.
Before, it was difficult for them to even drink hot water, let alone soak their feet in it. Just as Xiao He said, these things could only appear in dreams. But now, they had become reality. He had resented the heavens for being unfair to them, but now it seemed the heavens had been kind to them—
Madam Lu treated them well, Uncle Er Niu was also good to them, and then there was Auntie Rui Xue, and Miss Qi...
"Xiao He, one must be grateful. We must remember those who are good to us and repay them when we can. For those who are not good to us, if we cannot resist, we must endure. If we can resist, whoever bullies us, we will bully them back in the same way."
"Okay."
In Madam Yun's room, Qi Zhen Zhen, Madam Yun, Madam Yu, and Song Ming Zhu sat cross-legged on the kang.
Qi Zhen Zhen told them about the recent events at the noodle shop.
"So, this Li Shan, that scoundrel, caused all this?" Madam Yu asked indignantly. "I thought at the time that such a person should be driven out of the village. My father-in-law disagreed. Now, he's directly in prison. When this matter spreads, my father-in-law will surely be upset."
"He was also used. If Fu Man Lou hadn't interfered, he wouldn't have been able to stir up any trouble." Now that the matter was settled, Qi Zhen Zhen said with a sense of calm detachment.
"Then Fu Man Lou is truly despicable. The two businesses have no connection, and neither interferes with the other. How could they resort to such卑鄙 (bēibǐ - despicable) means?" Song Ming Yue also interjected angrily.
Madam Yu tapped Song Ming Yue's forehead in the air. "But what if Zhen Zhen's noodles were moved to Fu Man Lou? If even a small noodle shop can be so popular, wouldn't the business be even more booming if it were moved to their restaurant? Fu Man Lou wants exactly that. You, you are getting older but your brain isn't growing. Are you trying to worry your mother to death?"
Song Ming Yue stuck out her tongue. "I don't do anything wrong. This is good enough for me. My brain doesn't need to grow anymore."
The four talked for a while longer. Madam Yu took Song Ming Yue back to her room. Qi Zhen Zhen lingered on Madam Yun's kang, and Madam Yun, unable to do anything about it, allowed it. Mother and daughter slept together.
The next day, before dawn, Qi Zhen Zhen got up.
After getting dressed and tucking in Madam Yun's quilt corners, Qi Zhen Zhen tiptoed out of the room.
The door to Da Jiang and Xiao He's room was ajar. Before Qi Zhen Zhen reached the door, it opened, and the two stood side by side, fully dressed.
"Let's go," Qi Zhen Zhen called to them in a low voice.
Although they didn't know what they were going to do, Da Jiang and Xiao He followed without hesitation.
"From now on, you will get up at this hour every day and go out for a run with me." Outside the main door, Qi Zhen Zhen's voice grew a little louder. "You two have a poor foundation. If you don't exercise, I'm afraid you won't be able to do the work."
Running to exercise?
Da Jiang really wanted to refute Qi Zhen Zhen. When they were beggars, they had to run desperately to get food, shaking off those who tried to snatch it from them. Da Jiang felt that even if Xiao He was weaker, he could still run, let alone himself.
Qi Zhen Zhen didn't explain further, leading the way and signaling them to follow.
Before a quarter of an hour had passed, Da Jiang began to pant, and Xiao He was even further behind.
Da Jiang felt a little ashamed. He had just thought this was a simple matter, but now—
Miss Qi's pace was steady, and her breathing was as if she had just started running. The two of them, however, were in a sorry state, the gap clearly visible.
Da Jiang gritted his teeth and tried his best to keep up with Qi Zhen Zhen.
Xiao He was practically walking, but even so, he didn't stop directly.
After half an hour, both of them had fallen behind Qi Zhen Zhen to varying degrees, but they persevered.
Their stamina was poor, but their endurance was indeed good.
Qi Zhen Zhen stopped and guided Da Jiang to switch from jogging to slow walking, and finally to a complete stop. Xiao He had been walking slowly for the last quarter of an hour.
After their breathing stabilized, Qi Zhen Zhen told them to stop.
"Was it easy?" Qi Zhen Zhen asked.
The two shook their heads like rattles. At first, they thought it was easy. But after they started running, they realized it was not easy at all.
"The first time I officially ran was when I was five years old. It was also for half an hour, and I couldn't stop midway. If I stopped, I wouldn't have food for the whole day. To have food, I pushed myself to persevere. The first few days were agonizing, but by the fifth day, I found I could run for half an hour with ease. I gradually increased the time myself, from half an hour to an hour, an hour and a half, two hours, and finally maintained it at two and a half hours," Qi Zhen Zhen said calmly.
"Madam, Madam was so strict with you?" Da Jiang was very surprised. Madam looked like such a gentle person, how could she do such a thing?
Qi Zhen Zhen was talking about her experiences after being chosen by a mercenary group as an orphan.
The two had misunderstood, and she didn't intend to explain. She just said, "Don't ask Madam about this. It's in the past, and it was out of necessity."
Da Jiang nodded. Madam, such a gentle person, must have been forced to do such strict things.
Qi Zhen Zhen continued, "Today, tomorrow, and even the day after, you will feel that running is a very tiring thing. You might even wake up tomorrow morning and feel like your legs are tied with stones, making it difficult to move even a step, and you will resist running from the bottom of your heart. But after persevering for these few days, you will find it to be an easy task, and you will gradually get used to it, making it a fixed habit every day. By then, your bodies will likely be much better than they are now."