Chapter 494: How Much to Give?
Chapter 494: How Much to Give?
Tian Caifen had just witnessed Li Xiuxian carrying fish jerky, her hands trembling, and was genuinely surprised.
Jiang Xia: "I don't know either."
Jiang Xia suspected that there might be issues between Li Xiuxian and Zhou Chengsen, so she tried to show some effort.
Tian Caifen pursed her lips: "I doubt she'll be diligent for long. After Qingming, it'll be time for transplanting rice seedlings. Don't let her complain about sore hands and refuse to help! Every year, she finds excuses not to transplant. When the time comes, you should persuade Mom not to help them with the transplanting."
Jiang Xia replied, "If it doesn't rain, our family is also planning to hire people to transplant the seedlings."
After the recent seedling cultivation, they started planting peanuts, sweet potatoes, and corn, all done by hired help. During that time, the whole family was busy making small squid, and Zhou Chenglei had to go out to sea at night, so they really didn't have the time.
She didn't know how to plant, and with her big belly, even if she wanted to go, Zhou Chenglei wouldn't allow it.
Hearing this, Tian Caifen also wanted to hire people for the transplanting, but then she thought about the cost—two yuan per day, and she wasn't even sure if they could finish one mu (about 0.067 hectares) in a day. Hiring people to weave fishing nets only cost one yuan per day; she couldn't bear the expense!
Forget it, she'd hire people to weave fishing nets, and she'd do the transplanting herself.
After all, transplanting was quick, and there was no need to plow the fields; even with a tractor, it wasn't strenuous work.
After dinner, Zhou Fu took out a red, white, and blue plastic bag and distributed gifts to his grandchildren.
During his recent trip ashore to collect small fish jerky, he had wandered around and bought some toys and clothes for his grandchildren.
He gave each of them a toy car and a set of clothes.
After Zhou Fu finished distributing the toys and clothes to Guangzongyaozi, Zhou Ying, and Zhou Zhou, he had half a bag of things left, which he gave directly to Jiang Xia: "These are for my three unborn grandchildren."
Jiang Xia took a look; there were clothes and various small toys, all in sets of three, and she laughed, "Thank you, Dad. We don't even know if they're boys or girls, how did you manage to buy clothes for them so quickly?"
Zhou Fu smiled, "I bought clothes that both boys and girls can wear. Those rattles, tambourines, and toy cars are all suitable for both genders."
He believed there would be both boys and girls among the three children.
Of course, Zhou Fu wouldn't say this aloud, as he didn't want to pressure Wang Cai.
Looking at the entire production team, which family had the luck to have three treasures in one pregnancy?
When he went to collect small fish jerky this time, he encountered a temple and went in to draw a fortune stick.
It was an extremely auspicious sign.
The fortune-telling master said that he would get whatever he wished for!
He immediately rushed into the temple and knocked three loud heads, praying for a son and a daughter, and for the well-being and prosperity of his family.
His requests were not excessive; he only asked for these few things.
Li Xiuxian watched as Zhou Fu took out a large bag of things, and Tian Caifen's four sons took half, while Jiang Xia's three unborn children took the other half! Even the unborn ones got half!
In that large bag, her daughter didn't even have a tenth of it.
Who wouldn't think it was unfair if they knew?
So, how could she not have more children?
Now that Zhou Fu had money in hand, he was generous with the red envelopes during the New Year, giving 1,000 yuan to each adult.
This proved that he was very wealthy.
Then, in the future, when Zhou Fu passed away, wouldn't he leave behind a large sum of money?
If that money were divided equally, wouldn't the second family be at a significant loss?
Li Xiuxian felt uncomfortable, but she wouldn't bring this up with Zhou Chengsen again, knowing he didn't like to hear it.
He would only side with his parents and siblings, feeling that he owed his family a lot.
For the sake of having a son, she endured her unhappiness.
That night, Li Xiuxian, who had been attentive all day, leaned against Zhou Chengsen.
Zhou Chengsen was genuinely tired from carrying fish jerky, his hands going numb. He yawned, "So tired, let's sleep early!"
Li Xiuxian: "..."
Zhou Chengsen was truly exhausted, having carried nearly ten thousand catties of fish jerky. Who wouldn't be tired? He soon fell asleep.
Li Xiuxian was so furious that she couldn't fall asleep. After a while, she got up to use the bathroom, hoping to return to bed afterward.
As she opened the door and stepped into the hallway, she heard Zhou Fu's voice coming from the kitchen, "I'm going upstairs to give Ah Lei the money for this trip to the open sea. Is Xia's midnight snack ready? I'll take it up as well."
Li Xiuxian pricked up her ears.
She had no idea how much money Zhou Fu had earned for Zhou Chenglei's deep-sea fishing trip.
Zhou Mu was in the kitchen, cooking a conpoy and lean pork congee, "It's not ready yet, you go first! Otherwise, Xia will fall asleep soon. This time, Ah Lei is setting up the net boxes, and he needs electricity and has to build a house on the island, it's quite complicated and expensive. The villagers don't know how to install them, so it's the people brought by Boss Yu who are helping. There are over ten people, and they provide food and accommodation. I estimate that even ten thousand yuan might not be enough. Ah Lei is giving you money, don't take it. He always gives a lot. The couple hasn't even gathered enough money for their big boat, and they can't attend the Sui Trade Fair this time."
"I know," Zhou Fu said as he walked back into the living room.
Li Xiuxian quickly hid in the bathroom, closing the door and leaving a small gap, without turning on the light.
Zhou Fu returned to the room, took a suitcase from the cabinet, and then left the room, heading towards the staircase.
In the darkness, Li Xiuxian saw Zhou Fu carrying a heavy suitcase upstairs.
A suitcase full of money?
Was the suitcase filled with nothing but money?
She couldn't help but wonder how much money it would take to fill a suitcase.
How much money did Grandpa make for the fourth family? How much did Zhou Chenglei and his wife give to their grandparents? Half? Impossible! A third?
That's probably impossible too! Grandpa and Grandma wouldn't ask for that much.
A tenth should be possible, right?
If they can't even give a tenth, Zhou Chenglei and Jiang Xia are too unfilial!
Li Xiuxian quickly finished in the bathroom and returned to her room.
She took out the suitcase and then pulled out several newspapers, folding them up to resemble a stack of thousand-yuan bills.
She placed them in the suitcase, estimating how many stacks of a thousand she could fit. The more she compared, the faster her heart raced. The suitcase was filled with money, at least eighty thousand yuan, if not a full ten thousand! Could Zhou Chenglei give ten thousand yuan to his grandfather?
In the second-floor dressing room, Jiang Xia stood by as Zhou Chenglei placed the items bought by Zhou Fu into the cabinet.
Even before the three children were born, the cabinet was already filled with toys and clothes.
Some were bought by Jiang Xia's parents, some by Zhou Chenglei and Jiang Xia, and Zhou Mu had also made many clothes, blankets, and diapers for the babies.
"The new clothes in the cabinet will need to be taken out and washed thoroughly in May or June when the weather is good and the sun is strong," said Zhou Mu.
"Okay," replied Zhou Chenglei.
Jiang Xia added, "We should ask Dad not to buy more. Kids grow up fast. They'll be born in summer, and by the time autumn arrives, they won't be able to wear those clothes anymore. By the time they turn one next year, they'll have outgrown them."
Zhou Fu walked in, smiling, and said, "Don't worry, I bought the clothes a size bigger, so they should fit when they're one year old. Some can even be worn until they're two. I bought the jackets in a size that should fit a two-year-old. They can wear them from one to two years old."
In Zhou Fu's memory, the clothes for his children and the Guangzongyaozi brothers were all altered from adult clothes. Zhou Mu always prepared larger sizes, ensuring they could be worn for two to three years.
That's how the villagers had always prepared clothes for their children.
Where else would they get so much fabric?
Even if they had the money to buy fabric, they needed fabric coupons.
But things were different now. The family was wealthier, and they didn't have to worry about coupons anymore, so he only bought clothes one size bigger.
Jiang Xia turned around and smiled, "Dad, you're still not asleep?"
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