The van returned to the Li Family home. Liang Yuemei and Gu Xiaoxia looked helplessly at the adults and children, all spattered with mud.
The washing was left to the women, while the men took care of the fish.
"You managed to get yourselves covered in mud even in the dead of winter!" Liang Yuemei complained as she put the clothes into the washing machine. "A whole bunch of adults couldn't keep an eye on a few children, and got yourselves filthy too... but those fish really do look beautiful!"
"Sister-in-law, thank goodness you made clothes for Mingming and Haohao. Otherwise, I really wouldn't have known what to do," Gu Xiaoxia said sincerely. "You're so busy every day, yet you still found time to make clothes for them. You've really gone to a lot of trouble."
"What trouble?" Liang Yuemei said with a smile. "Isn't that what I should do? Besides, they're only little outfits. I haven't sewn the buttons on yet. I was going to have Mingming and Haohao try them on once I'd finished. I used the pattern from Qiangqiang's clothes when he was little, so I thought they should fit."
"They look just right. Look how much the children love them!"
After they brought the fish back, everyone had a change of clothes except Mingming and Haohao. Gu Xiaoxia had been in a bind, thinking she would have to keep them indoors without their coats until she could wash their clothes, dry them over the kang, and let them put them back on.
She hadn't expected Liang Yuemei to have already made padded coats for Mingming and Haohao, with only the buttons left to sew on.
That was already more than enough. Wearing their new clothes, Mingming and Haohao happily helped with the fish in the kitchen.