Chapter 377: Jiang Xia's Bossiness
Chapter 377: Jiang Xia's Bossiness
Li Xiuxian had no choice but to go to the kitchen to start a fire.
Jiang Xia said, "Second Sister, burn some firewood first. I'm afraid of burning straw, as the ashes might fly into my hair, and I won't have time to watch the fire anyway."
Li Xiuxian threw two pieces of firewood into the stove. After they caught fire, she added a few more pieces and said, "Done!"
Jiang Xia continued, "Second Sister, I shouldn't be lifting heavy things right now. Help me clean the big iron pot! Alei said he'll cook the vegetables when he returns. I was thinking, we haven't even sorted the fish yet. If we wait for him to cook, we won't have dinner until it's dark."
Li Xiuxian had no choice but to clean the large iron pot.
After she finished, Jiang Xia spoke again, "Second Sister, bring in two buckets of water. We'll need it for steaming rice and vegetables, and add some hot water to the pot. Zhou Zhou and Yingying will be using hot water to bathe soon."
...
Fifteen minutes later, Li Xiuxian left with a dark face, riding her bicycle.
By then, the rice was almost done steaming!
Jiang Xia was used to bossing people around!
No, Jiang Xia was deliberately bossing her around!
Jiang Xia had originally planned to cook the vegetables herself!
Doesn't cooking require starting a fire?
If she hadn't returned, would she not need to start a fire to cook or clean the big iron pot?
Just as Jiang Xia finished steaming all the seafood, Zhou Chenglei, Zhou Mu, and the Da Fang family returned.
Zhou Chenglei walked into the kitchen, "I thought I was supposed to steam it when I got back?"
Then he saw the two buckets of water next to the stove and his expression changed, "You carried water?"
Zhou Mu was also startled, "How could you carry such heavy water?"
These two buckets of water were in a wooden bucket, which was very heavy.
Jiang Xia said, "No, I asked Second Sister to help bring them in."
Only then did Zhou Chenglei relax.
Zhou Mu exclaimed, "Your second older brother is back too?"
Jiang Xia replied, "Second Brother isn't back, only Second Sister and Yingying returned."
Tian Caihua pursed her lips, "What did she come back for?"
She's back every day, isn't it annoying? But when Tian Caihua thought of her large gold bar, she felt Li Xiuxian's return was just in time!
Jiang Xia said, "Second Sister said she came to see if Jian Sheng was free and wanted to ask him to help with going out to sea."
Zhou Mu asked, "Didn't you ask her father and older brother?"
Jiang Xia shook her head, "I don't know, probably asking one more person."
Zhou Mu said, "Three people for one small boat?"
It's almost like the younger son's big boat!
Jiang Xia didn't respond to this.
Tian Caihua said to Jiang Xia, "Do you want to stir-fry the Dutch beans and pea shoots? I'll do it!"
Jiang Xia didn't stand on ceremony and directly let her take over.
Zhou Chenglei went to gut the fish. He brought back a yellow croaker and some mud eels.
Steaming another yellow croaker and making a fish stew would be enough.
Soon, a group of children returned, bringing some roasted sweet potatoes and chestnuts for Jiang Xia.
Jiang Xia ate one roasted sweet potato.
These sweet potatoes were very small, directly placed in the charcoal fire to roast until the skin turned black. After peeling off a thick layer of skin, only the thumb-sized sweet potato flesh remained.
This roasting method was very wasteful of sweet potatoes, but it was the most delicious way to eat them.
So fragrant!
Jiang Xia ate two in a row and then peeled and ate two roasted chestnuts.
The children must have roasted the chestnuts wrapped in mud, as the shells were only slightly charred, and the flesh wasn't burnt at all, making them very fragrant to eat.
Seeing that Jiang Xia enjoyed them, Zhou Chenglei picked up a few sweet potatoes and asked Tian Caihua, who was tending the fire, to throw them into the stove.
Zhou Mu fetched water for Zhou Zhou and Zhou Ying to bathe.
The two sisters wanted to bathe together, so she prepared a bucket of hot water for each of them, reminding them to hurry up and not catch a cold, leaving the rest up to them.
The weather was cold, and the two of them bathed together, but the shower room had more steam, so it wasn't as cold.
With only one bucket of water, they wouldn't be too tired, and Zhou Zhou was very sensible in this regard.
Usually, Li Xiuxian helped Zhou Ying bathe, but today, Zhou Zhou learned to bathe herself, and the two sisters finished their bath just before dinner.
Li Xiuxian also came back and was delighted to see that Zhou Ying had learned to bathe herself.
Tian Caihua saw Li Xiuxian and immediately exclaimed, "Oh, Second Younger Sister, you're back! You came back just in time for dinner. How did you manage to be more punctual than the rooster in our house?"
Li Xiuxian was too lazy to bother with her and pulled Zhou Ying into the room, "Mom will put on an extra layer of clothes for you."
Tian Caihua was in a good mood and didn't argue with her. She would wait until after dinner to argue when she took the small gold bar.
During the meal, Zhou Mu asked Li Xiuxian, "Does Jian Sheng have time to help?"
"No, he's preparing to become a driver."
Zhou Mu wasn't surprised.
Zhou Jiansheng and Zhou Jianxing were two brothers. Zhou Jiansheng had recently gone to learn driving and planned to become a driver for large trucks.
Driving large trucks was a relatively profitable job.
It was not easy for him to save enough money to learn driving and get a driver's license.
His uncle had helped him get this job, so he shouldn't decline it.
Li Xiuxian said again, "I asked several people, and none of them were available. Mom, why don't you help me find someone? I just need someone to help my dad and brother go out to sea for four days. Once they become familiar, I won't need help anymore. The daily wage is two yuan."
Li Xiuxian told Zhou Mu about everyone she had asked.
"You've asked everyone you could, and it seems like no one is available," Zhou Mu couldn't think of anyone available at the moment. It was the end of the year, and those who were diligent were out earning money for the New Year. Asking those who were lazy wouldn't be helpful.
Li Xiuxian glanced at Jiang Xia and then asked Zhou Chenglei, "Fourth Younger Brother, do you have any brothers available to help?"
Jiang Xia immediately understood that Li Xiuxian wanted to ask Zhou Junwen, but she felt embarrassed because of what she had said earlier.
Zhou Chenglei replied, "Yes, but they're not familiar with our sea area."
"Then what should we do? Everyone who is familiar is busy. I can't just leave our boat idle! I'm only asking for a few days. Once my dad and brother become familiar, I won't need help anymore."
Tian Caihua laughed and said, "That's right! Today, our boat earned over seventy yuan, and Xia's boat earned more than one hundred and forty yuan. If you don't sail for a day, you'll lose over a hundred yuan!"
Li Xiuxian really disliked Tian Caihua's words. She continued, "Originally, we planned to ask Great-Grandfather, but unexpectedly, he listened to Xia's words and went to work at the convenience store in the school! When I asked several people, none of them were available. I guess they thought I was only asking for a few days. Actually, I'm only asking for a few days of work. It doesn't matter who I ask, as long as they are familiar with our sea area and aren't lazy or dishonest."
Zhou Mu nodded, "You can ask anyone for a few days, as long as they are familiar with the sea area. It doesn't matter if they are diligent or not. The most important thing is, who has time at this time of year? More people will be available at the end of December."
The second daughter-in-law was only offering two yuan a day and asking for four days of work. Who would be willing to do that?
Alei had previously paid Yongguo ten yuan for a day's work at sea.
Li Xiuxian said, "When I came back today, I happened to meet our neighbor Xiu Hui, who asked if Xia was looking for someone. She said Zhou Junwen was available. So later, I'll tell her to ask Zhou Junwen to take my dad out to sea for a few days."
Zhou Mu: "..."
(End of Chapter)
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