Chapter 82: Chapter 82: A Calculated Life

“Cousin, do you know what postcards are?” Tang Xiaonan asked.

“What’s a postcard?”

Amanda Chapman asked distractedly, not really paying attention to her younger cousin. She was already swamped with chores.

After washing the clothes, she had to sweep the floors, dust the furniture, and prepare her grandfather’s medicine. She also had to go to the market to pick up discarded vegetable leaves to feed the chickens. Phoebe Thorne kept a few chickens in the yard, saving a good bit of money on eggs each month. Most of the chicken feed consisted of scraps Amanda Chapman brought back from the market.

Her father, Brian Chapman, worked in market administration, and the market was under his jurisdiction. That was why Amanda Chapman could always gather plenty of vegetable scraps, enough to feed the family’s chickens.

At only eight years old, Amanda Chapman was already a great help to Phoebe Thorne, constantly busy from dawn till dusk. How could she have the energy to care about something as frivolous as a postcard? She had never even heard of one.

Tang Xiaonan asked again. This time, Amanda Chapman registered the question and shook her head. “Never heard of it. What’s it for? Is it edible?”

Even as she spoke, Amanda Chapman’s hands never stopped moving. She scrubbed the clothes vigorously, and the white foam frothed up, some of it splashing onto her. Her small hands were bright red from the cold and covered in chilblains, yet Amanda Chapman seemed oblivious to the pain, her hands submerged in the icy water as she scrubbed with incredible speed.

Tang Xiaonan’s gaze was drawn to her cousin’s red, swollen hands. She couldn’t help but ask, “Cousin, why don’t you use hot water to wash the clothes? It’s freezing.”

Amanda Chapman stared at her with wide eyes, as if she had just heard the most absurd thing in the world. “Hot water? What do you know, Xiaonan? How could we possibly use hot water for laundry? There’s barely enough for us to wash our faces and feet.”

“Then just boil more when you run out.”

Tang Xiaonan was even more confused. ’If there isn’t enough, why not just make more?’

“Easy for you to say. Doesn’t boiling water use up the coal briquettes? One briquette can heat five thermoses of water and brew a bowl of medicine. Five thermoses is just enough for our whole family for one day, so we can only use one briquette per day.”

Amanda Chapman rattled off the household arithmetic. It was a good thing Tang Xiaonan had the mind of an adult, or her head would have been spinning. She never imagined that Phoebe Thorne’s family had to budget so carefully over a single coal briquette.

“What about for cooking?”

“We burn firewood for that. There are mountains nearby, so my brother and I go gather it after school.”

Amanda Chapman finished scrubbing the clothes and strained to lift the wooden tub, which was almost bigger than she was. Tang Xiaonan rushed to help but was waved off by her cousin. “I don’t need your help.”

’My cousin is so delicate, the apple of her uncle’s eye. I can’t let her do chores. Besides, she doesn’t know how to do anything and would only get in the way.’

Tang Xiaonan watched in shock as her eight-year-old cousin hoisted the large tub of clothes. She staggered a few steps over to the faucet and began rinsing them. Her movements were a single, fluid motion, more deft than those of many adults.

’She was only two years older than me.’

’And yet, she was more capable than my twenty-six-year-old self from my past life.’

Tang Xiaonan felt a little ashamed.

Since she couldn’t get any information from Amanda Chapman, Tang Xiaonan went to bother her other cousin, Gentry Chapman.

Gentry Chapman was ten and didn’t resemble Phoebe Thorne. Amanda Chapman, on the other hand, not only shared her mother’s looks but also her fiery, whirlwind-like personality. Gentry, however, was rather quiet and reserved, offering only a shy smile to people he met.

“Where are you going, cousin?”

Gentry Chapman, a basket on his back, was about to head out. He smiled good-naturedly. “To gather some firewood.”

’They had to ration the firewood at home. With guests over today, Mom would definitely be making extra dishes, so he had to go gather some more.’

“I’ll go too.”

Tang Xiaonan wanted to tag along, but Gentry Chapman hesitated. Adrian Hawthorne walked over and asked, “Are there any more baskets?”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep