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Chapter 425: A Fall
Chapter 425: A Fall
Li Xiuxian really didn't want to go back to town and deal with the thick cotton clothes, so she suggested, "Why don't we go back tomorrow morning? Ah Lei can drive us back to town in the jeep."
Zhou Chensen replied, "You can go back tomorrow, but I'm taking Yingying back now."
With the cold weather and freezing temperatures, who would want to leave the warmth of their cozy beds early in the morning, especially when there was no need to go out to sea or work?
Even the fourth brother, who was usually willing to help, felt embarrassed to ask.
After saying this, he put his daughter on the bicycle, carried her schoolbag on his back, and rode out of the village.
Li Xiuxian: "..."
She couldn't believe it!
They were all family, and Zhou Chenglei was his younger brother. On a rainy and cold day like this, wasn't it normal for him to give them a ride back to town once or twice?
If she were Zhou Chenglei or Jiang Xia, she would have offered to drive them herself since she had a jeep.
As Zhou Chensen left, Li Xiuxian had no choice but to quickly follow on her bicycle.
Whether it was because she was upset or just bad luck, her wheel slipped on the village road, and she fell.
She wasn't hurt, but her clothes were dirty!
Zhou Chensen heard the commotion, turned around, and took his daughter off the bicycle. He let her stand in a clean spot nearby and then went back to help Li Xiuxian up.
Li Xiuxian immediately pushed him away and got up on her own, "I told you to go back tomorrow morning! But you insisted on going back now, are you happy now?"
Zhou Chensen: "I said I'm taking Yingying back now."
Why bother others when he could do it himself?
Li Xiuxian: "..."
This time, Li Xiuxian burst into tears.
Zhou Chensen left with his daughter, and she felt embarrassed to ask Zhou Chenglei for a ride.
The couple entered a cold war again.
The rain had been falling for three days straight and showed no signs of stopping. Moreover, the weather was getting colder each day!
Winter rain made the days unbearably cold, and the occasional sea breeze made Jiang Xia reluctant to even step out of the courtyard.
All the doors and windows were tightly shut, and the curtains were drawn, but Jiang Xia still felt a draft coming through the windows as she sat by the window translating.
Zhou Chenglei, on the other hand, took advantage of the rain breaks to go out for a run and then showered in cold water.
The water was pumped from the well into a rooftop water tank and then dispensed through the tap.
The water, after leaving the well, quickly lost its warmth, and the water from the tap was icy cold.
Even Zhou Mu preferred to use water from the well.
But Zhou Chenglei simply turned on the tap and took a cold shower.
He didn't catch a cold.
Jiang Xia was truly impressed!
The houses in this area didn't have heating during winter, making it unbearably cold indoors.
These days, the family, or rather the women, gathered around the stove for warmth.
The men went to the old house to dry the fish.
Zhou Mu: "This winter is especially cold. It's never been this cold before. I think the trees on your grandparents' mountain will be covered in rime and ice."
They lived by the sea, so it wasn't as cold as the inland areas.
Zhou Mu's hometown, where she grew up, was much colder.
Jiang Xia was learning to crochet sofa cushions from Tian Caixia, and she said, "Then when we visit our grandparents during the New Year, we'll have a chance to see the rime!"
The leather sofa was so cold that Jiang Xia felt her bottom freeze every time she sat on it, so she felt the need for sofa cushions.
Fortunately, Tian Caixia had bought a lot of yarn, not wool but still very soft and durable, perfect for making sofa cushions.
Zhou Mu was sewing clothes for the children: "But it will only be cold enough to see the rime during the New Year."
The house was filled with the aroma of roasted sweet potatoes.
Jiang Xia had just thrown a few sweet potatoes into the fire basin to cook.
They were deliciously sweet!
Zhou Mu was worried that Jiang Xia would eat too many and get a sore throat, so she also brewed a goji and chrysanthemum tea on the stove.
These days, Zhou Chenglei, Zhou Fu, and Zhou Bingqiang were at the old residence, drying fish and repairing the tractor's roof.
After the dehydrating room was built, it finally came in handy. Otherwise, with all the rain, the previously caught golden ear fungus would have been ruined.
Zhou Mu was relieved that Zhou Chenglei hadn't listened to her earlier and had built the two dehydrating and drying rooms, otherwise, hundreds of pounds of yellowtail snapper would have gone to waste.
Jiang Xia listened to Zhou Chenglei's plans to install a detachable iron rack on the tractor's cart, so that when covered with a tarp, it would be like a small truck or a dual-purpose jeep for cargo.
This way, even on rainy days, they wouldn't have to worry about the fish drying out when delivering them to the city.
Currently, there weren't any strict regulations on tractor modifications.
As she thought about Zhou Chenglei, he entered the courtyard carrying two buckets of seafood and a basket of vegetables.
He had gone to retrieve the fishing net and, on the way back, stopped by the vegetable garden to pick some vegetables.
Jiang Xia put down her knitting and went out to take the straw hat from his head and the raincoat he'd taken off, hanging them in the garage. "You went to set the net again? Aren't you cold?"
Recently, due to the cold weather, the family had been having hot pot for lunch and dinner, especially seafood hot pot.
Otherwise, by the time one dish was cooked, the previous one would be cold, and the food would be barely warm by the time it reached their mouths.
Shrimp and crab were a bit better, but steamed fish, once cooled, became particularly smelly.
Noticing that Jiang Xia was eating less meat, Zhou Chenglei focused on devouring the hot rice that had just been cooked in the rice cooker.
He was thinking of making a hot pot.
So, even if it rained all day, Zhou Chenglei would go to the seaside every day to cast a net, place some earthenware pots, and catch some seafood to bring home for a hot pot, ensuring that Jiang Xia had fresh seafood to eat every day.
"I'm not cold. I don't fear the cold."
Jiang Xia looked at his nose, ears, and hands, which were red from the cold, and thought, "How could he not be cold?"
Jiang Xia loved eating seafood hot pot and never got tired of it, but she didn't want Zhou Chenglei to go out in the icy rain to set the net.
They didn't have to eat seafood hot pot; they could have lamb hot pot instead.
Jiang Xia suggested, "The neighboring village has sheep for sale, right? Why don't we buy a sheep tomorrow? Lamb hot pot is delicious too."
One sheep could feed them for several days, and with the refrigerator at home, they could store the meat.
This way, he wouldn't have to go out to sea every day to set the net just so she could have fresh seafood.
"Lamb is nourishing, especially in winter. I hadn't thought of that before." Zhou Chenglei put on his raincoat and straw hat and headed back to the garage. "I'll go and ask Uncle Wen to reserve a sheep for us."
If they reserved it now, Uncle Wen could slaughter the sheep in the afternoon and deliver it by evening, and they could have lamb hot pot for dinner.
"No, why are you in such a hurry? We have so much seafood today that it'll last for two days. We can go and reserve it tomorrow or the day after if it doesn't rain then," Jiang Xia said.
"It's fine. I'll go and reserve it first," Zhou Chenglei said, leaving on his bike.
"..." Jiang Xia trailed off.
She had wanted to spare him from overworking, but it seemed like she had made things more challenging for him.
By evening, the rain had stopped, and Uncle Wen arrived with a sheep in an iron cart.
Zhou Bingqiang's wife came out of the courtyard and was about to go to the vegetable garden to pick some vegetables when she saw Uncle Wen delivering a sheep.
She smiled and greeted him loudly, "In-law!"
Then she turned and called out to the house, "Xiaowan, your in-law is here! He's sent a sheep for you to nourish your body!"
Wen Wan, who was in the hall, heard this and quickly came out. "Dad, it's so cold. Why are you delivering a sheep?"
Uncle Wen, feeling awkward, explained, "No, this is a sheep that Ah Lei reserved. I'm delivering it to him."
Zhou Bingqiang's wife: "..."
Wen Wan: "..."
She knew her father wouldn't be so kind.
At that moment, Zhou Mu rushed out, smiling. "It's here! Quick, push it into the house! Ah Lei bought this for you to nourish your body!"
Wen Wan: "..."
Thank you, everyone, for your blessings,
Thank you for your votes and rewards,
May everyone have a happy, healthy, peaceful, and smooth New Year!
(End of Chapter)
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