Chapter 459: Sweetness
Chapter 459: Sweetness
After Zhou Chenglei took Zhou Chensen to see the doctor, he accompanied him to request leave from his workplace and then sent him straight home.
Li Xiuxian had to work and didn't have time to take care of him.
Moreover, the couple seemed to have had another argument, otherwise Li Xiuxian wouldn't have returned to town so early in the morning.
Zhou Chenglei didn't interfere in their marital affairs, nor could he, but he could take care of his second brother when he was sick.
After Zhou Chenglei brought Zhou Chensen home, he went back to work in the fields.
Zhou Fu had already finished sowing the rice seeds.
The rice seeds had been pre-germinated to ensure a higher germination rate.
He was working with Zhou Chengxin, inserting bamboo strips to support the plastic film.
The weather was still not very warm, with significant temperature differences between day and night, and occasional cold fronts. To prevent the seedlings from freezing, they needed to cover them with transparent plastic film for insulation.
The three of them finished covering the film over three seedling fields, completing the seedling cultivation work.
From then on, they only needed to check the fields daily for germination. During the day, when the weather was warm, they would open the ends of the film to allow ventilation, and then cover it back up at night for insulation.
When the seedlings grew to a few centimeters tall and the weather became warmer, the film could be removed.
In the evening, Zhou Mu went out and gathered a large bundle of various tree leaves. She boiled a big pot of water for Zhou Chensen to take a bath.
While Jiang Xia was helping in the kitchen, Zhou Mu couldn't help but mention to her, "I don't know if I should prepare meals for your second sister-in-law and Yingying."
Jiang Xia also didn't know if they would return, so she suggested, "Let's cook extra rice! If there's any left, I'll use it to make fried rice for dinner."
These days, Jiang Xia had been eating late-night snacks before going to bed, and a bowl of milk bird's nest was no longer enough to satisfy her. If she didn't eat some staple food, she would always wake up hungry in the middle of the night.
Zhou Chenglei used to get up in the middle of the night to cook noodles for her.
Jiang Xia didn't want him to go through the trouble of cooking noodles in the middle of the night, so she preferred to eat her fill before bed.
By eating well before bed, she wouldn't wake up hungry, and her rest would be better.
Li Xiuxian didn't return in the end.
She had learned from Zhou Ying that Zhou Chensen had a fever, and when school ended, she hesitated about whether to go back to the village to take care of him.
But at that time, a light drizzle was falling, and she was worried that her daughter might catch a fever if she brought her back. So, she didn't return.
Anyway, Zhou Chensen's parents and brothers were all at home, and there was no shortage of people to take care of him.
An adult with a fever didn't require much care; as long as someone cooked for him, it was enough.
So, Li Xiuxian stayed in town with her daughter.
This time, Zhou Chensen's fever lasted for three days before it subsided.
On the day his fever broke, the weather finally cleared up.
Zhou Mu suggested he rest at home for another day before going to work, but he still went to work. However, he planned to return to the old residence in the village after getting off work in the afternoon, instead of going back to the town house, to avoid passing the cold to his daughter.
When the sun came out, Jiang Xia's mood brightened as well!
After almost a month of continuous rain, her mood had become as gloomy as the sky.
Two more days passed, waiting for the roads outside to dry up and not be muddy.
Then, Zhou Chenglei brought his camera and accompanied Jiang Xia for a walk in the fields.
There, Jiang Xia saw an endless field of purple clover, blooming with tiny purple flowers, and bees buzzing around, collecting nectar.
The blue sky, white clouds, and the vast expanse of purple clover created a breathtaking scene.
Purple clover was green manure; when the time came, they would turn over the soil along with the clover, fertilizing the land and enriching it with nitrogen.
Zhou Chenglei helped Jiang Xia to the middle of the field, "Stand here, I'll take a photo of you."
Jiang Xia smiled, "Okay."
Zhou Chenglei took over a dozen photos of Jiang Xia.
As they were taking pictures, a villager walked by and, seeing the couple, smiled and asked, "Would you like me to take a photo of you two?"
Zhou Chenglei handed the camera to her, "Thank you, Aunt Xiang."
"Don't mention it!" Aunt Xiang took the camera, asked how to use it, and then took two photos of the couple before returning the camera.
Jiang Xia smiled, "Aunt Xiang, let's take a photo of you too. We'll get the photos developed and give you a copy."
Aunt Xiang was delighted at this unexpected offer and said, "Sure! Thank you!"
After Zhou Chenglei took a photo of Aunt Xiang, she looked at Jiang Xia's belly and laughed, "You must be about seven months pregnant, right?"
Jiang Xia smiled, "Not yet, only five months."
Aunt Xiang examined Jiang Xia's belly again, "Five months and already this big? You must be carrying twins! The shape of your belly is pointed, so it's most likely a boy! What good luck! You'll have two sons in one go."
Jiang Xia just smiled, "We don't know the gender yet, but either is fine."
Aunt Xiang insisted, "It's definitely a boy. I'm very accurate in these matters; I've never been wrong! If you don't have enough breast milk after giving birth, come to me, and I'll help you. I'm very skilled at it! Many women from the production team come to me for help with breastfeeding after they give birth. Since you took a photo of me, I'll do it for free! I usually charge two yuan per session."
Jiang Xia smiled and agreed.
Aunt Xiang had to leave to help someone with breastfeeding, so she hurried off after a brief chat.
Jiang Xia and Zhou Chenglei continued strolling around.
Jiang Xia watched the bees buzzing in the fields and suddenly craved honey, "The children said they want to drink honey."
Zhou Chenglei had grown accustomed to Jiang Xia's sudden food cravings.
In the afternoon, Zhou Chenglei went out and returned with some wood to build beehives.
Jiang Xia, having just woken up from her afternoon nap, curiously asked, "Why did you buy so much wood?"
Zhou Chenglei glanced at her, noticing her thick clothing, and continued sawing the wood, "I'm making some beehives. The water in the cup is honey water. I just made it, so it should be ready to drink. Try it and see if it's sweet enough."
Jiang Xia went back inside, took the enamel cup, and took a sip. It was indeed sweet!
How could it not be sweet? She had just mentioned wanting honey water in the morning, and now, after her afternoon nap, she could drink it!
Even bitter gourd juice would taste sweet to her!
Holding the cup, she fed Zhou Chenglei a sip, "Are you planning to keep bees?"
Zhou Chenglei took a sip and nodded, "Mhm."
It was the season when many flowers bloomed in the fields, attracting numerous bees. Soon, the rapeseed flowers would blossom, followed by the fruit trees in people's yards. It was the perfect time to attract and keep bees.
Jiang Xia had a sweet tooth, and honey was more nutritious than candy.
Once they had a successful hive, the children could also enjoy honey.
Jiang Xia believed the children would also love sweets like her.
Curiously, she asked, "Do you know how to keep bees?"
Zhou Chenglei, having no experience in beekeeping, hesitated, "I've only seen others do it, so I want to try, but I can't guarantee success."
Jiang Xia, having seen beekeeping videos in her past life, was confident, "You'll definitely succeed."
Zhou Chensen returned from work and saw Zhou Chenglei building the beehives. He picked up a hammer to help.
Zhou Chensen hadn't been home for a week, and Li Xiuxian, worried that he was seriously ill, brought Zhou Ying back to check on him.
When they arrived, they saw Zhou Chensen looking energetic and helping Zhou Chenglei with the beehives, which made Li Xiuxian so angry that her face turned dark.
(End of Chapter)
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