After Xiang Feng left for school, Song Jia began to wash all of their clothes. She did this using a mechanical washing machine, which she made Nian Shou build for her. Song Jia drew the structure and Nian Shou implemented her idea.
After pre-treating it with wood ash, the laundry was put inside a drum machine, and the wheel was turned. The back-and-forth movement churned the laundry in both directions, and the dirty water was drained away through a lip in the gutter. It was an invention of a French manufacturer during the 1800s that Song Jia shamelessly declared as her own.
One had to say, Song Jia's ability to memorize useless information would be considered a waste of brain space for a normal person. But for a transmigrator, it was a necessary ability.
When she finished washing the laundry, the sun was still high in the sky, and there was nothing else to do. All the house chores had been finished. Song Jia thought about it for a bit, and finally brought out an empty canvas from the pantry. Oil painting had already existed in this time period, and she wanted to try her hand at it. When she was Xu Qin Wang Fei, due to the lack of anything to do inside the wangfu, she became very proficient in the four arts.
Due to this, her painting skills had already passed the simply 'good' barrier, drawing close to the term 'excellent.'
Song Jia dipped her brush into a deep blue and began painting the koi pond of the estate, especially putting close attention to the cluster of red lotus flowers that floated on the water. Her brush glided across the canvas, and the waterside pavilion slowly appeared before her eyes. A woman in white sat there, her black hair falling over her shoulders as her fingers strummed a qin. She looked peaceful and content.
Song Jia looked at her painting with satisfaction.
As expected, this grandma looks cool no matter what she does, ah~
"What are you doing?"
Nian Shou had returned home, smelling like blood and raw meat. He peered over her shoulder, trying to look at what she was painting.
Song Jia wrinkled her nose and before he could even sit beside her, she stood up and pushed him towards the bathroom.
"Go and take a bath, you stink!"
Nian Shou sniffed at himself. Then he grinned and opened his arms, trying to hug Song Jia. She pinched her nose and quickly evaded him with a light turn of her heels, before her hand caught his ear and pinched it.
"Ow!" Nian Shou grimaced. "Didn't you know that this hardworking young master's body is sore from working too hard to put food in the table?"
"And my hands are sore from washing your dirty clothes. Why is it that Xiao Feng's clothes are cleaner than yours? Do you think it's easy to do laundry?"
"He only goes to school, I deal with meat and blood. It's unfair to compare an employed man with a lazy student!"
Song Jia ignored his whining. She only gave him a look and pointed to the bathroom again. Nian Shou threw up his hands in defeat and started taking off his clothes as he walked away. Song Jia ignored his half-naked body and started preparing the kitchen table for dinner. She had seen his body too many times to even be embarrassed at the sight of it.
Finally, Xiang Feng arrived home. In comparison to how she treated Nian Shou, Song Jia was all smiles as she put food on his plate and asked him about the things he did at school.
"It's always the same thing," Xiang Feng replied as he took a sip of his water.
Song Jia thought he was going through the 'school is boring' phase and understandingly nodded her head, "I know, but you still have to study hard and make good friends."
Wanting to tease him a little, she asked, "Is there any girl that you like at school?"
Xiang Feng choked on his water. After sputtering a bit and wiping the clear liquid that trickled down the corner of his red lips, he hastily denied, "I don't like any of them!"
Song Jia was amused. "You don't have to be so defensive. I'm only asking. Anyway, it's good to indulge in puppy love now and then."
"I don't like any of them. I'm not interested in any of them." Xiang Feng's expression was tense. His small face looked up at Song Jia. "Jia, please believe me."
Nian Shou delivered a piece of meat to his mouth and said while chewing, "She's only asking, no need to be so serious."
Nian Shou lowered his head and continued eating, not paying any more attention to the two of them.
Song Jia patted Xiang Feng's head. His black hair was silky and soft, and she couldn't help but touch it a couple more times. Since he seemed so upset about this matter, she comforted soothingly, "It's okay, I believe you."
Xiang Feng's face continued to look upset. He put his head closer to Song Jia's hand like a kitten seeking his owner's affection. Song Jia continued patting his head, until the child's forehead stopped wrinkling.
Almost inaudible, she heard him mumble, "No one is as good as Jia."
Song Jia shook her head while smiling. She was really blessed to have a child that thinks too highly of his mother, ah.
After dinner, Song Jia poured Xiang Feng a cup of milk. She was always telling him to drink more milk these days, as his body was too scrawny and short. She was afraid that his classmates would bully him.
The two of them were still sleeping together on the same bed. However, Song Jia transferred the main bed to the study, since the day bed was too small for both of them. Even though their bed was now spacious, Xiang Feng continued to stick close to Song Jia, telling her that it was easier for him to sleep that way. Song Jia knew he was having bad dreams, so she allowed him to do as he liked.
Sometimes when she left for the bathroom during the night, she would come back to Xiang Feng curling up his body underneath the blanket, his forehead soaked with sweat. He would either wake up screaming not to touch him, or pleading to somebody not to leave him. The second one was especially worse. Thankfully, they did not happen frequently.