This group of children had lived in the village all their lives. How could they have ever tried a snack before?
Their eyes brightened at once when they heard Nell’s words.
“Yes! Yes!”
Nell grinned and thought that even though this group of kids did behave a little strangely, they were at least cute.
It was nothing for her to make rice crackers for them.
As a mother herself, she had a natural liking toward children. She could never think to be wary of them.
The kitchen was bathed in darkness when they entered.
Fortunately, there was an average-sized window on the left wall. She pushed it open to let the sunlight streamed into the kitchen, and the once ill-lit space looked so much brighter now.
This village had no electrical supply, which meant they did not have a gas stove as well.
Nell turned and looked at the kids behind her. “Who knows how to start a fire?” she asked.
Everyone raised their hands up eagerly and shouted, “I know!”
“I know! I know!”
“I know too!”
Nell swept her eyes across the group of children and picked one kid who looked like she might be the oldest and pointed at her. “Let’s have you start the fire.”
The kid was at once elated to have been given the mission.
She walked to the stove with great confidence as the other children watched on.
Nell was afraid that some of them might make a mess of the kitchen, so she pointed at a few short stools at one corner of the kitchen.
“You don’t have to watch us. Go sit there and wait. We’ll be done very quickly.”
The group of children nodded and sat down on the stools obediently.
It was fortunate that Nell had some experience with kids, or else she would be at a loss of what to do with these kids who kept hanging around her.
They were living in the countryside and had limited resources, so Nell could not make use of her cooking skills like she usually could.
She learned from Aunt Caroll the ways to make rice crackers one time when she got bored at home. It was somewhat of a success. She decided to attempt the recipe once again today.
First of all, she scooped rice out of the tank standing right next to the stove. After washing, she left it to cook. Then, she poured the rice into a bowl and pressed it into the shape of a biscuit. Once that was done, she put the rice biscuits into the wok and fried them on low heat.
Although it was a simple dish, the group of children was practically drooling by the time the rice crackers were fried.
Every pair of eyes were fixed tightly on the wok. Their eyeballs were nearly bulging out of their sockets.
Nell thought it was a funny sight, but she could not help but feel sad for them at the same time.
These kids were kind of pitiful.
She did not know what their daily routine looked like but reckoned that the limited resources in the village meant that sources of the children’s happiness was equally finite as well.
Nell was done with the rice crackers in no time.
They looked good and had a heavenly smell.
She cut the crackers into smaller bits and asked the children with a smile, “Who wants to try? You have to raise your hand if you want to eat.”
The group of children erupted into screams and raised their hands as high as they would go.
Some of the more excited ones even climbed onto their stools and jumped on them.
Nell used a pair of chopsticks to deliver one cracker for each kid with a huge smile on her face. “Be careful! It’s still hot. Blow on it before eating,” she reminded the children thoughtfully as she handed the crackers out.
The group of children finally got a taste of the long-awaited snack. They looked so happy as they munched on the crackers.
Their impression of Nell was increasing by the minute.
When she saw that Nell was back, she asked with a smile, “Done with your tour? How is it? Our village is pretty big, right?”
Nell reciprocated her smile and nodded. “Yes, it’s pretty big.”
She hesitated for a moment but eventually said, “Did you just get back from the mountain? Are you tired? Do you need me to go fetch you a bowl of water?”
Flora waved a hand to dismiss her concern. “No need, no need. I can do that myself.”
She went and poured herself a bowl of water as she spoke. Then, she sat on a boulder outside the door and stared at her. “The people I sent over to Fred’s house to see if your friend is there should be back very soon. My husband should be with them too. You’ll know then if that person is your friend.”
Nell raised an eyebrow at her words.
She thought Flora did not have a husband since she saw no one else living in the house yesterday.
Although she was a little curious about her husband, she did not think it was appropriate for her to press the topic when they were not even close to begin with, and the culture here was different than the one she was raised in as well.
At least now she knew that Flora had a husband.
With this thought, Nell’s lips curled into a smile immediately. “Thank you so much.”
Flora waved a hand again to dismiss her, drank the rest of the water in the bowl, and stood up.
“Don’t mention it. Anyway, you should stay with me for a while. If that lady is really your friend, she’ll come for you.”
Nell pursed her lips but did not say anything as she followed her inside.
The sky turned dark really soon during this particular season.
The villagers had difficulty finding a source of light as soon as the sky darkened, so they usually had their dinner at an early hour.
They were ready to have their last meal of the day at around 4:00 pm.
Flora cooked up an especially delectable table of dishes for dinner. Perhaps it had something to do with her husband coming home tonight.
She even went to the pond and caught two fish on her own.
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