Chapter 553: Keep Up
Chapter 553: Keep Up
Li Xiuxian now lives in Cun Li, and she’s always being pointed at and gossiped about, which is incredibly embarrassing! Moreover, her sister-in-law says that since she doesn’t have a job, she might as well do all the housework, which is exhausting!
Liao Ruixiang’s wife is also formidable. She hired a lawyer who said that until they are officially divorced, Liao Ruixiang’s money is also hers, and not a single cent can be touched. They have to wait for the divorce proceedings to conclude and the judge to make a decision before they can use it!
She even refused to let Liao Ruixiang rent her a place in the city.
Li Xiuxian has some money, but she dares not spend it. What if she runs out, and Liao Ruixiang hasn’t finished the divorce proceedings, and she loses her job? What will she do then?
So, she wants to move back into the house in Zhen Shang. After all, that house is partly hers too, but Zhou Chengsen disagrees, and she’s also considering filing for divorce!
She got nothing in the initial divorce, which was a huge loss.
She was too kind and too foolish, not as shrewd as Liao Ruixiang’s wife.
Li Xiuxian decides to find an opportunity to talk to Zhou Chengsen.
The best time would be when he takes Zhou Ying out to play. With their daughter around, Zhou Chengsen wouldn’t be able to refuse her.
Or maybe she could ask Ying Ying to talk to Zhou Chengsen?
*
Zhou Fu and Zhou Chengsen return home, and the courtyard is bustling with activity.
Grandma is playing with the triplets in the baby stroller, holding little sister’s tiny fingers and making them "fly", then doing the same with the older and younger brothers.
Zhou Zhou, Zhou Ying, and Zhou Jie are showing the triplets how to play with bamboo helicopters.
The brothers are using the chicken feathers Zhou Mu plucked that morning to make shuttlecocks for Zhou Zhou and Zhou Ying to play with.
Zhou Mu and Tian Caifua are washing vegetables.
Jiang Xia and Zhao Cheng Lei are cooking in the kitchen.
Zhou Chengxin is cleaning fish and ducks.
Zhou Fu goes into the kitchen to discuss the hiring issue with Zhao Cheng Lei and his wife, mentioning four people.
Zhao Cheng Lei listens and says, "Let's invite Uncle Guiquan and Uncle Dequan! No one else. Twenty-two people should be enough."
"Enough is good!" After all, they don’t want to pay too many people. If they have bad luck and don’t catch many fish, the more people they hire, the bigger the loss.
The most important thing is the pressure of taking so many people out to sea.
Besides the financial pressure, there’s also the safety risk.
Zhou Fu sits down to help with the fire and discusses when to set sail.
"In a few days, someone is only available three days from now."
...
That evening, the three families celebrate together.
It’s a joyous occasion, and Zhao Cheng Lei brings out a bottle of Maotai, filling everyone’s cup. He also pours a small half-cup of rice wine for Jiang Xia.
In Cun Li, people often add a little rice wine when cooking chicken soup during the postpartum period, so Jiang Xia isn’t afraid to drink a little.
They all raise their glasses, and Zhou Fu smiles and says, "Here’s to smooth sailing and a bountiful catch every year!"
Grandma smiles, "May the boats get bigger and the houses get bigger!"
The family cheers and drinks their toasts.
*
The next morning, after the sun comes up, Zhao Cheng Lei and Zhou Fu start spreading out the rice to dry, preparing for the public grain delivery.
The rooftop and the courtyard are filled with drying rice.
After the father and son finish spreading the rice, they drive the tractor to the mill with twenty bags of rice. This rice will be taken on the large ship for the sea voyage. Then, they head to Zhen Shang to buy supplies for the trip.
The new boat has a kitchen, but it lacks cookware, a gas stove, pots, bowls, chopsticks, plates, and basins, among other essentials.
They buy all the necessary items and food, eventually filling the entire tractor with supplies before heading home.
After lunch, Zhao Cheng Lei and Zhou Fu drive the tractor out again to buy twenty gas cylinders, fill them, and move them to the new boat.
By the time the sun is setting, the father and son return home with Zhou Chengsen, who has just finished work.
Zhou Mu and Jiang Xia are about to go upstairs to collect the rice, having already finished gathering the rice in the courtyard.
Zhao Chenglei saw Jiang Xia's face covered in sweat and her neck red from scratching. He said, "I'm here to collect the rice. Go take a shower quickly. The kids will wake up soon."
Collecting rice can easily make your skin itchy all over.
When Zhou Mu saw them return, he said to the three of them, "Go collect the rice. Once you're done, carry it down and weigh it, then load it onto the tractor. I'll cook dinner."
Jiang Xia went upstairs to take a shower. Her skin was already itchy—her face, neck, and arms all felt uncomfortable.
She had no idea that collecting rice could be so painful. She had thought it would be simple.
As she walked, she took off her arm guards and noticed that her arms were red from scratching.
Zhao Chenglei followed behind her, looking at Jiang Xia's pale arms, now red in patches. "It will feel better after you shower. Try not to scratch."
"Okay", Jiang Xia said as she went upstairs to shower.
The children were sleeping soundly in their cribs.
Zhao Chenglei, Zhou Chengsen, and Zhou Fu went up to the roof to collect the rice. They then carried one bag after another down the stairs and loaded them onto the tractor.
There were many people at the grain station, so they had to form a long queue. They prepared everything the night before, planning to leave for the grain station before dawn the next day to avoid waiting in line all day.
This time, they had to deliver the public grain from the two acres of land, totaling about fifty bags of rice. The three of them made several trips, carrying over fifty bags of rice onto the tractor.
Zhou Chengxin also brought over a cartload of rice, about ten bags.
They loaded a few more bags, stacking them high. There was no concept of overloading, so they kept loading until the tractor was full.
Once all the public grain was loaded onto the tractor, they covered it with a red, white, and blue plastic tarp to protect it from the rain at night.
Zhou Fu instructed the three brothers, "We'll leave for the grain station at 4:30 tomorrow morning. Go back to sleep now!"
The three brothers responded and went back to bed.
The next day, Zhao Chenglei got up at four, tiptoed downstairs to wash his face and brush his teeth, trying not to wake Jiang Xia.
However, the rumbling of the tractor still woke her up.
The three children were still sleeping soundly, a trait they seemed to have inherited from Jiang Xia.
Jiang Xia put on a jacket and stepped out onto the balcony to look down.
Zhao Chenglei was driving the tractor out of the yard.
Zhou Chengxin and Zhou Chengsen were also pushing a cartload of rice out, while Zhou Mu closed and secured the gate.
Their neighbors, Zhou Bingqiang and Zhou Guohua, were also pushing a large cart of grain out.
Jiang Xia watched them leave and then went back to her room to continue sleeping.
She planned to sleep a bit more and then go see the scene at the grain station, something she had never seen before.
Their village was not far from the town, and they arrived at the grain station just before five. However, there were already over a dozen carts in line.
They had also seen many people pulling carts on foot, all loaded with bags of grain.
Because they had a tractor, they were much faster than those on foot.
Zhou Chengxin sighed, "We came early this year, so we won't have to wait as long."
Zhao Chenglei glanced at his watch. They still had to wait a couple of hours until the grain station staff arrived. Was this considered not waiting too long?
Zhao Chenglei said, "Older Brother, Second Brother, you two go back home and sleep. I'll wait here. There's no point in all of us waiting here; we might as well rest."
Indeed, there was no need for so many people to wait. Zhou Chengsen still had to go to work, so he said, "Older Brother, you and I will go back to the house in town and sleep for a bit. We can get up around seven and get Lei some breakfast."
Zhou Chengxin was too lazy to move. "You two go back. I'll just rest here. I'm too lazy to move, and it's almost dawn."
Zhao Chenglei said, "Alright, you stay here and keep an eye on things. I'll go for a run."
So, the two brothers went their separate ways—one went back to the house in town to sleep, and the other went running back to the village.
Li Xiuxian was also accompanying Li Qingmin and Li's Father to deliver the public grain. The family had asked her to come and wait in line since she was the only one with nothing to do.
Then, Li Xiuxian saw Zhou Chengsen walking toward the house in town.
She quickly informed them and followed him.
(End of Chapter)
Chapter end
Report
