Transported Into The Book, She Thrives In The 80s Chapter 176: Zhou Zhou's Unusual Behavior - Novel Cool

Chapter 176: Zhou Zhou's Unusual Behavior

Chapter 176: Zhou Zhou's Unusual Behavior

After the large ship set sail, Jiang Xia returned home and planted the flower and fruit seedlings.

The grapes she had planted earlier were already growing vigorously, covering a corner of the trellis with lush green leaves, showing signs of rapid growth.

The other fruit trees also sprouted new buds, looking lush and full of vitality. Some of the flowers planted in the corner of the wall had bloomed, and the purple chrysanthemums and small sunflowers were small and adorable in the sunlight.

After Jiang Xia finished planting the flowers and fruit seedlings, she went to prepare lunch.

Zhou Chenglei's comrade brought a lot of things, including fruits, sausages, smoked meat, and ham. She made a clay pot rice with preserved meat, a dish of steamed king mackerel fish with shredded ginger, a stir-fried water spinach, and a wintermelon seaweed egg drop soup.

The hot weather was perfect for water spinach to grow rapidly with sufficient water, but other leafy vegetables were difficult to cultivate. However, with the autumn equinox passing, the cooler weather would bring a variety of leafy vegetables to the table.

Jiang Xia noticed that Zhou Zhou was eating with a distracted mind. After she finished her meal, Jiang Xia washed a bunch of grapes for her to eat, "Zhou Zhou, are you feeling unhappy today?"

Zhou Zhou shook her head upon hearing this, "No, why?"

Then, she nodded slightly, "I miss my little uncle. When will he be back?"

Jiang Xia thought that Zhou Zhou might be worried because of Zhou Chenglei's departure. She comforted her, "Your little uncle will be back before the Mid-Autumn Festival. Zhou Zhou, after you finish eating the grapes, go take a nap, and then go to school. That way, you'll be more focused in class. I'll wake you up when it's time, okay?"

Zhou Chengyan, Zhou Chenglei's third brother, had also gone out to sea with the large ship and never returned, which might be why Zhou Zhou was feeling uneasy.

Zhou Zhou obediently nodded, "Okay."

Jiang Xia went back to her room to continue her translation work, fully immersed in her task. Soon, she heard Zhou Mu's voice from outside, "Why hasn't Zhou Zhou gone to school yet? Her brothers have all left."

Zhou Zhou quietly responded, "I'm going now."

Jiang Xia checked the time; it was only 1:10 pm, and school started at 2:00 pm, but the school opened its doors at 1:30 pm.

Zhou Zhou usually left for school around 1:00 pm.

Not only her, but many children in the village also liked to return to school early to play. They walked back to school, playing along the way.

Some students carried pocket money and wanted to arrive early to buy snacks from the school's small store.

Jiang Xia remembered that she had given Zhou Zhou one yuan as pocket money on the first day of school, so she wouldn't be empty-handed if the teacher asked her to buy stationery.

Previously, when Zhou Zhou was in preschool, she used her brothers' leftover stationery, but that couldn't continue.

It had been several days since Jiang Xia last gave Zhou Zhou pocket money. She put down her pen, took out one yuan from the drawer, and walked out.

Jiang Xia had never raised a child, but she had been a child herself. When she was young, she used to envy her classmates who had money to buy snacks.

She noticed that the Guang Zong Yao Zu brothers often asked for pocket money from Tea Caihua, Zhou Fu, and Zhou Mu to buy snacks.

However, Zhou Zhou was too considerate and never asked adults for pocket money, fearing she would be a burden.

Jiang Xia walked out and asked Zhou Zhou, "Zhou Zhou, do you want Auntie to ride her bicycle and take you to school? Auntie is free today."

Zhou Zhou shook her head, "No need, I'll go with my classmates."

Jiang Xia let her be.

In this era, children from the same village often walked to school together.

Some children from the mountainous areas had to travel long distances, perhaps not quite as dramatic as climbing mountains and crossing rivers, but they still had to go to school on their own.

However, Zhou's house wasn't far from the school, which was located next to a small hill in the neighboring village, just a ten-minute walk away.

The school's broadcast could be heard from the house.

Jiang Xia placed the one yuan in Zhou Zhou's school bag and instructed her, "This is your pocket money for the week. If there's anything you want to eat or buy, get it yourself. If the teacher asks you to buy learning materials and you don't have enough money, come back and tell Auntie, and I'll give you more money, okay?"

Zhou Zhou moved her lips as if to refuse but eventually nodded. Then she said, "I'm off to school, Grandma. See you later, Auntie!"

Jiang Xia rubbed her head and smiled, "Be careful on the way, and remember to wear a hat."

Zhou Zhou nodded obediently and then left the village.

But as she walked out of the village, her pace slowed down. She waited until there were no more classmates on the road and then hurried towards the school, guessing that class was about to start.

The school bell rang, and Zhou Zhou ran into the classroom, panting heavily. She sat down and finally breathed a sigh of relief.

After two classes in the afternoon, it was time for the third period, which was a free activity period.

Zhou Zhou didn't go down to the playground but stayed in the classroom to do her homework.

Suddenly, several older boys entered the classroom and approached Zhou Zhou.

Zhou Zhou's face turned pale, and her body trembled.

"Classmate, where's the money?"

Zhou Zhou tightly gripped her backpack in the drawer and shook her head. "I don't have any."

One of the boys snatched her backpack, opened it, and found a one-yuan note inside before tossing the backpack back onto the desk.

"Bring more money tomorrow, and don't tell any adults, or I'll beat you up!"

After taking the money, the boys hurriedly ran out.

Once they were outside, they went to a large tree outside the playground.

The boy holding the one-yuan note asked, "Brother Qiang, do you think she'll really not tell the adults at home?"

Under the tree, an older boy, around eleven or twelve years old, was waiting. "Don't worry, she's too scared to say anything. Besides, she doesn't have any parents, so no one will take care of her. Where's the money?"

"No one takes care of her, so how does she have money?" The boy handed over the one-yuan note.

"She can take it from her home secretly! Her uncle's family is rich; they're the only ones in the village with a big ship. Her uncle went out to sea today, and when you go out to sea, you don't come back for ten or fifteen days! What are you afraid of? Let's go buy some snacks and toys."

The boy who had been speaking took the money and pursed his lips.

Zhou Zhou's aunt had been arrested, and her father was too afraid to return home, fearing the same fate.

Because of them, no one gave her pocket money now!

So, taking the money from the wild plants was fair, wasn't it?

...

Jiang Xia spent the afternoon translating at home, while Zhou Fu worked on an iron frame in the courtyard.

When the room grew dim, Jiang Xia left to prepare dinner.

Zhou Zhou continued to use her chair as a desk, writing pinyin letters in the courtyard with great concentration. Jiang Xia didn't disturb her, as it was said that when children are focused on a task, it's best not to interrupt them, or they'll develop a habit of being easily distracted.

At this moment, Zhou Mu entered the courtyard with a bucket of fish, laughing, "Your brother gave us a bucket of fish and some shrimp. These fish have a lot of bones, but the meat is very sweet."

The Zhou family actually loved eating fish with lots of bones, and there was a saying, "The more bones a fish has, the fresher it is."

Jiang Xia took the bucket and smiled, "I'll take care of it."

For dinner, Jiang Xia prepared a sole stew, smoked meat with chilies, shrimp and century egg steamed rice, and garlic shredded loofah stir-fry. The shrimp and century egg steamed rice was Zhou Zhou's favorite, and since she hadn't eaten much at lunch, Jiang Xia made it especially for her.

During dinner, Zhou Zhou indeed ate heartily, and Jiang Xia smiled and asked, "Does it taste good?"

Zhou Zhou smiled, "It's delicious!"

Jiang Xia smiled in response.

Zhou Fu asked Jiang Xia, "Xia Xia, are you going out to sea tomorrow?"

Jiang Xia looked at Zhou Fu and smiled, "Yes."

With Zhou Chenglei away, the two families would go out to sea together. Zhou Chengxin and Zhou Fu would be the ones fishing, and the earnings from fishing and fish farming would be evenly divided.

As for other income, such as finding valuable items, they would keep whatever they found individually, which was also fair.

Jiang Xia wanted to go underwater tomorrow to look for pearl oysters and try artificial pearl cultivation.

This would significantly increase the probability of pearl formation.

Of course, she hadn't tried it herself, but she had seen it done at a pearl farm in her previous life and had also watched videos online about the process.

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