Chapter 370: Sending Her Away
Chapter 370: Sending Her Away
Zhou Chenglei unloaded the fish from his motorcycle, "There's no need to trouble Zhou Jianxing, I've already asked someone else."
Zhang Aijiao: "..."
Her expression froze for a moment, but she quickly smiled, "You found someone so quickly? Who did you ask?"
Zhou Chenglei didn't respond to her question. Why would he need to explain to her whom he had asked? He parked his motorcycle, walked to the courtyard gate, and closed it halfway, "Is there anything else, Auntie?"
Zhang Aijiao: "..."
She was being sent away!
"No, I need to go home and cook too."
Zhang Aijiao stood up and walked to the courtyard gate, still unable to hold back her embarrassment, "Alei, you're so capable. You've bought several boats in such a short time and hired so many people to help you. If anyone quits or if you buy a new boat and need more people, remember to keep a spot for your cousin, okay? I'm reserving one in advance."
"I don't have a suitable position for him here," Zhou Chenglei said bluntly as he shut the courtyard gate.
"Bang!" The gate closed right in front of Zhang Aijiao.
Zhang Aijiao was left speechless, and she couldn't help but roll her eyes.
So what if he had a bit of money? What was so impressive about that?
Zhou Chenglei didn't bother to pay her any attention, as doing so would only invite trouble. Zhang Aijiao's son, Zhou Jianxing, was the same age as him, and they had attended the same primary school and junior high school.
Even during their school days, Zhou Jianxing had a habit of stealing and causing trouble. After graduating, he was picky about work and often stole from the commune.
Now, he was married with two children, yet he still did nothing productive at home.
His wife had to work to support the family.
If Zhou Chenglei were to hire someone, it would be for work, not to cause trouble.
Moreover, Zhou Chenglei didn't like working with relatives.
Hiring relatives brought few benefits and many inconveniences.
Except for a few relatives who genuinely needed help or to return favors, he generally avoided working with them.
He was used to strict discipline and would prioritize hiring those who had trained and fought alongside him in the past.
Jiang Xia waited until the gate was closed and asked, "Is this the family that owes our grandfather two hundred yuan and hasn't repaid it?"
Zhang Aijiao, outside the gate: "..."
No, this happened many years ago!
And it was something from their grandfather's generation!
Why were they gossiping about it?
Why would they tell their new daughter-in-law about something from their grandfather's generation?
Moreover, the debt was owed by her in-laws, so why was she involved?
Why come to collect the debt only after the person has passed away?
Zhou's Mother: "Yes, it's them."
Jiang Xia: "With this kind of relative, if they don't repay the money, we won't associate with them. We won't hire them for work! I heard from Alei that Grandma was waiting for that money to pay for her medical treatment!"
Zhou's Mother: "That's right. Your grandfather and grandmother were furious back then! Later, it was your great-grandfather and another uncle who lent us the money, and only then could Grandma afford the treatment. How could she have the face to ask Alei for it? She talked to me for so long, and I even thought she might be here to repay the debt!"
Zhou's Mother recalled how, in order to repay the debt, Zhou's Father had secretly gone fishing at the seaside at 10 PM for an entire year, sleeping only three to four hours each day.
She had almost ruined her hands weaving fishing nets to earn enough money to repay the debt.
That year, Zhou's Father had become noticeably thinner.
Zhou's Mother remembered that yellow croakers were only two cents per jin that year.
As Zhang Aijiao was about to leave, she paused upon hearing this, realizing that they had repaid the debt and were now being considered for work.
She had overheard Zhou Yongguo and his wife talking in their courtyard the other day, saying it was their last trip to the open sea before the New Year, and they wanted to earn some money for the holidays and then build a house afterward.
How long had Zhou Yongguo and his wife been working with Zhou Chenglei and his wife before they earned enough to build a house?
It seemed that Zhou Chenglei paid very well for the open sea trips.
Should I pay back that 200 jin?
But 200 jin is a lot, and she couldn't bear to part with it.
Forget it, I'll ask my daughter-in-law if she's willing to use this money to pay it back. After all, my son earned the money, and it's only fair that she benefits from it.
Zhang Aijiao also didn't hesitate anymore, as she knew she wouldn't use this money anyway! 200 jin is practically her entire life savings.
Zhou Chenglei locked the door and went to the kitchen to fetch hot water for Jiang Xia to wash her hair.
When Zhou Mu saw that they had brought so many mullets, black tiger shrimp, and mackerel, she knew they had a good catch today. Smiling, she asked Jiang Xia, "Are you tired after a day at sea? Is your stomach feeling alright?"
Jiang Xia took the basin and towel to wash her hair, "I'm fine. I mostly just laid there and didn't do much, so I'm not tired."
Hearing this, Zhou Mu was relieved, "If you're hungry, eat something before taking a bath. Don't bathe on an empty stomach. I'll go make some food."
"Okay, I'm not hungry. I ate a lot on the boat."
Zhou Chenglei had brought plenty of jerky, biscuits, and fruits on the boat, and she had eaten a good amount.
Zhou Chenglei carried a bucket of hot water out and said, "Mom, I'll handle the fish later. I'll make fish balls. Let me help Jiang Xia wash her hair first."
After filling the basin with water and setting up the recliner, Zhou Chenglei began washing Jiang Xia's hair.
"Alright." Zhou Mu started cooking rice and asked, "Is your second older brother's father-in-law coming to eat at our place? Should I cook enough for them?"
Zhou Ying, Zhou Zhou, and several of her older brothers were still in the fields flying kites, so the second older brother's family was definitely eating at home.
Zhou Chenglei gently massaged Jiang Xia's hair, "Probably not."
Zhou Mu rinsed the rice as she spoke, "You should still hire someone to help at sea. Xia can't go out to sea regularly. Today, several villagers saw that you only took Xia out to sea, and some came to ask me if we needed help."
"You must have refused them! I plan to ask Brother Kang Ping for help."
Kang Ping? Zhou Mu nodded, "That's good. But didn't he go to work in the city?"
Zhou Chenglei said, "Auntie said he'll be back by the end of the month."
"In that case, a few days won't matter."
Zhou Kangping was the grandson of the uncle who lent money to Zhou Chenglei's grandmother for medical treatment.
He had suffered from cerebral palsy as a child and still had after-effects, affecting his gait. Two years older than Zhou Chenglei, he hadn't found a wife yet.
Last year, he went to the city to work as a dishwasher in a restaurant and met a woman. He thought they could be together, but she ended up scamming him out of all his money. After returning home for the New Year, he never came back.
Zhou Kangping didn't even know the woman's address, so there was no way to get the money back.
A full 3000 jin, that was the money Zhou Kangping had saved for many years, intending to use it to find a wife.
At that moment, the courtyard gate opened, and Li Xiuxian walked in. Tian Caihua shouted from outside, "Mom, Second Sister-in-Law is back to help with cooking. I'll head home first!"
Li Xiuxian's face darkened. She was back to cook, and Tian Caihua was reporting to her?
Li Xiuxian looked at Jiang Xia, who was comfortably lying in the courtyard, being served by others.
Truly, different people had different fates! She was covered in the smell of fish and seawater and also wanted to wash her hair and bathe, so she asked, "Mom, is there still hot water in the pot? I'll take a quick bath before cooking too."
Why was it that when everyone returned from the sea, only Jiang Xia could wash her hair and bathe immediately?
Zhou Chenglei replied, "No more hot water. Xia needs it. Second Sister-in-Law, you can wait a bit."
Jiang Xia's hair was almost clean, and she could bathe soon.
Sometimes, Li Xiuxian wouldn't finish bathing for an hour and a half.
An hour and a half was enough time to finish a meal!
Li Xiuxian: "..."
How could he say that? Jiang Xia took forever just to wash her hair!
Couldn't she use some hot water to bathe first? By the time Jiang Xia finished washing her hair, the next pot of hot water would be ready!
(End of Chapter)
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