Chapter 457: Avoiding the Inevitable
Chapter 457: Avoiding the Inevitable
Zhou Chenglei returned home the next morning, a little past eight o'clock.
Jiang Xia was in the courtyard, chopping vegetables while an old hen and her chicks foraged nearby.
Hearing the sound of a vehicle, Jiang Xia walked out.
As the car came to a stop, Zhou Chenglei stepped out, and she approached him, asking, "Are you tired? Did you not sleep last night?"
Zhou Chenglei observed Jiang Xia's complexion, which wasn't as good as it had been the previous morning.
Supporting her growing belly, he led her into the house, saying, "I'm not tired. I did sleep. I came home and went to bed at ten last night and woke up at four to send Jiang Dong to the airport. What about you? Did you sleep well last night?"
"It's okay. I just got hungry in the middle of the night and ate two boiled eggs," Jiang Xia replied, feeling hungry more quickly these days, but if she ate too much, she would feel a bit suffocated.
Zhou Chenglei gently squeezed her hand and asked, "Did you cook the eggs yourself in the middle of the night?"
"No, Mom knew you weren't here and was afraid I'd get hungry, so she cooked them before bed. She even kept them in a thermos, soaking in hot water so I could have warm eggs."
Apparently, a bowl of milk bird's nest wasn't enough to fill him up, so Zhou Chenglei said, "I'll make you some noodles for a late-night snack tonight."
"No need. Let's see if I get hungry in the middle of the night. You know I sleep like a log, usually straight through until morning without waking up."
Zhou Chenglei smiled.
Jiang Xia asked, "Have you had breakfast? I made some for you and kept it aside. I'll get it. I woke up early today and made egg pancakes."
"I had a little something around four this morning, but I can eat some more. I'll get it myself; you sit down," Zhou Chenglei said, helping Jiang Xia sit down before washing his hands and then getting his breakfast.
Zhou Fu had gone to the beach, Zhou Mu to the vegetable garden, and Zhou Zhou to school, leaving only the married couple at home. Zhou Chenglei ate the pancakes while updating her on the situation.
Jiang Xia sat there, continuing to chop vegetables for the chicks as she listened.
After hearing the whole story, Jiang Xia sighed, "Jiang Dong has learned to be smarter this time."
"Yeah, you learn from your mistakes," he agreed.
This time, Jiang Dong had prepared a note before his departure. When he felt dizzy, he knew something was wrong, so when the boss of Fumanlou supported him, he quietly slipped the note into the boss's hand, asking him to call the police.
The boss of Fumanlou immediately called the police and detained the classmate, locking everyone in the room. He also instructed the waiters to keep an eye out from the window for anyone attempting to destroy evidence.
Jiang Xia was delighted by Jiang Dong's cleverness and smiled, saying, "He must have been scared and learned his lesson."
Zhou Chenglei munched on the fragrant egg pancakes Jiang Xia had made, washing them down with sweet potato porridge, thinking to himself, 'How could he not be scared? He's been tricked so many times.'
Even a pig would learn to protect itself.
The first month of the lunar year was halfway through, and during this time, Zhou Chenglei accompanied Jiang Xia to take a boat exam and a motorcycle driving test, passing both on the first try. They could collect their licenses in half a month.
The day after the exams, it started to rain—a light, drizzling rain that continued for days. Jiang Xia hadn't seen the sun in ten days.
On rainy days, they couldn't go out to sea, but with the arrival of spring, every household was busy preparing for rice transplanting.
In the fields, villagers could be seen wearing conical hats and transparent plastic bags as they tilled the land.
The success of this early rice harvest would determine if there would be enough food for the second half of the year, and they also had to pay grain taxes. No one dared to delay or wait for better weather, as they didn't know when the rain would stop.
The previous night, Zhou Chenglei had removed the cart from the tractor and replaced it with steel wheels. This morning, after breakfast, he seized the brief rain break and immediately drove the tractor to the fields to plow the land.
Jiang Xia had never seen a tractor plow the fields and was curious to watch, but with the constant rain and slippery roads, and her growing belly, she stayed home to work on her translations.
Inside the house, a brazier was lit, as the weather wasn't too cold, but the continuous rain had made the house damp, especially on the first floor. The brazier helped keep the house dry and comfortable.
Li Xiuxian and Zhou Chensen returned around nine o'clock.
The couple entered with Zhou Ying in tow.
Yingying joyfully shouted, "Auntie, I'm back! Where's my little sister?"
Jiang Xia smiled and replied, then greeted Zhou Chensen and his wife.
Yingying immediately ran upstairs.
Zhou Chensen asked Jiang Xia, "Did Dad and Mom go to the fields?"
"Yes, they went to the fields to start preparing the rice seedling beds and transplanting the seedlings."
Li Xiuxian asked, "Is A-Lei using the tractor to plow the fields?"
"Yes."
Li Xiuxian heaved a sigh of relief. So, she wouldn't have to go to the fields to turn the soil?
Zhou Chensen said to Jiang Xia, "Xia, your second brother-in-law and I will go to the fields. Can you help look after Yingying?"
"Sure."
Li Xiuxian said, "But A-Lei is already plowing the fields with the tractor. Do we still need to go? Let's just cook a meal for them when they return!"
With the rain, she really didn't feel like going to the fields. This weather would dirty her clothes, and even after washing, they wouldn't dry easily. After a few days of drying, they would smell musty.
Zhou Chensen replied, "After plowing with the tractor, we still need to prepare the seedling beds before sowing. You can stay home and wash the vegetables. Then go to the outhouse to get some manure and carry a few loads to the fields. We'll apply a base fertilizer, and tomorrow we can directly sow the seeds."
Jiang Xia said, "Second Sister-in-law, you don't need to cook. I'll take care of it. Mom and Dad already mixed the manure with wood ash last night. You can just pack it in sacks and send it over with the cart. That way, we can deliver it to all three families at once."
So, Zhou Chenglei wouldn't need to come back later to load the manure.
Li Xiuxian was speechless.
Jiang Xia was indeed skilled at putting people to work!
Li Xiuxian said to Zhou Chensen, "I'll come with you to the fields to prepare the seedling beds. With the rain, let's hurry up and get it done so you won't have to stay in the rain for too long."
Zhou Chensen couldn't be bothered to argue with her. He hurried back to the old residence to get the farming tools and rushed to the fields.
In the fields, Zhou Chenglei was plowing the family's seedling beds with a tractor and had also plowed the seedling beds for Zhou Chengxin and Zhou Chensen.
When Zhou Chensen and his wife arrived, Zhou Chenglei had just finished plowing all three families' fields.
Great-Grandmother's fields also needed plowing, so Zhou Chenglei lent the tractor to Zhou Yongguo, asking him to plow the fields and then pass the tractor to Zhou Guodong.
Recently, villagers had been coming to their door every day, requesting Zhou Chenglei to plow their fields with the tractor.
He didn't have the time to earn this money.
Although they could make money by using the tractor to plow fields and transport goods, the income from translation work was much higher than what they could earn from those tasks.
So, he gave the tractor to Zhou Guodong to plow fields for others, letting him earn that money, and they would split the earnings.
After plowing with the tractor, the fields still needed to be prepared into furrows for sowing. With the help of his brother's couple and his parents, their family's fields were already prepared, and they were now working on his second brother's fields. Zhou Chenglei also picked up a hoe to help.
At this moment, Zhou Chensen and his wife arrived.
Zhou Chensen said to his parents, "Dad, Mom, A-Lei, my wife and I can manage. You two can take a rest."
Zhou Mu replied, "No need. I'll rest after I'm done. We've already started, so I might as well finish."
Zhou Mu was full of energy and didn't mind doing a little more work, especially since it was for her own sons.
Moreover, plowing with the tractor made the preparation work much easier, and she was used to it, so it wasn't tiring for her.
Zhou Fu said to Zhou Chensen, "You two go back and bring the manure over. Once the fields are prepared, we can spread it."
"Alright," Zhou Chensen agreed.
Li Xiuxian was speechless once again.
Fine! She couldn't escape the task of carrying manure!
(End of Chapter)
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