Zou Yu was knitting a sweater, glancing at her husband Xu Yaoping every now and then, wanting to say something but not saying it.

"Xiaoyu, just say what you want to say. You've looked at me several times this morning. It's making me feel uneasy."

Zou Yu sat up abruptly. "Hey, do you think Uncle Hongshan would agree to let me rent his orange grove?"

"Be careful, you're pregnant," Xu Yaoping said, supporting his wife with a worried expression.

"I know, I know, let's get down to business. Do you think it's feasible?" Zou Yu had wanted to rent that orange grove for a long time, and she had a plan in mind, but she just hadn't found a good opportunity.

"No way, we've been rejected by other people who asked before. How about I find another place and we fence it off ourselves?" Xu Yaoping knew his wife wanted to raise some chickens to supply the restaurants in town, which would be a way to generate extra income.

"No, after searching around, I still think Uncle Hongshan's orange grove is the most suitable."

Look, we raise chickens down there. They can find their own food and even help catch bugs for the orange trees. Isn't that great?

Uncle Hongshan was reluctant to rent it out before because those people were thinking of cutting down the orange trees. I didn't have that intention, and I can help take care of the oranges, so I think it's feasible and I still want to give it a try. So, go and take the two bottles of liquor and the box of pastries we bought earlier, and go ask them now, so I don't have to keep sleeping tonight.”

As she spoke, Zou Yu put down her knitting needles and urged her husband to quickly grab the things and head to Xu Hongshan's house.

"Oh dear, why are you in such a hurry to go? Today is the second day of the Lunar New Year, and they're entertaining their new son-in-law. Why don't we wait until tonight? It's too conspicuous; it wouldn't be good if someone saw us."

"That works too, just don't forget."

In winter, darkness falls early, and every household turns on their bright lights early. It was around this time that Zou Yu and Xu Yaoping arrived at their door.

"Knock knock, knock knock, Uncle Xu, are you home?" Xu Yaoping's voice came from outside the door.

Hearing the noise, Granny Liu quickly went to open the door and asked, "Who is it? Oh, Yaoping and Xiaoyu, what brings you here? Be careful, Xiaoyu's belly is quite big. It's getting dark, Yaoping, please help her."

As soon as Granny Liu opened the door, she saw Xu Yaoping and his wife standing outside with smiles on their faces, and quickly led them in.

"Xuemei, Xuemei, pour two cups of brown sugar water for Yaoping and Xiaoyu," Granny Liu called out as she walked toward the kitchen.

Chu Xiaoxiao, who was boiling water in the kitchen, pushed Zhang Xuemei aside and whispered, "Third Sister-in-law, Mom is calling you. Go quickly. I'll finish washing these dishes in a bit. Go on!"

Zhang Xuemei, who was rolling up her sleeves, paused and smiled at Chu Xiaoxiao, "Then I'll trouble you, Xiaoxiao. I'll pour two glasses of water over first."

Zhang Xuemei, who was carrying brown sugar water, was also surprised to see Zou Yu sitting in the living room, but she quickly smiled and asked, "Xiao Yu, have you had dinner yet?"

"I've already eaten. Sister Xuemei, it's been quite a while since we last saw each other." Zou Yu smiled as she took the brown sugar water and sipped it.

"Yes, I only come back once a year. Your belly is quite big, how many months pregnant are you?"

"It's been about six months. The doctor said I've been taking good care of myself, so my belly has gotten bigger."

"That's wonderful. The little one will be born in a few months, and you'll be parents soon."

Zou Yu smiled and smoothly steered the conversation towards the children, saying with a smile:

"That's right. Yaoping and I aren't very capable, so we were just thinking of finding a piece of land in the village to raise some chickens to supply the restaurants in town. After looking around, we still think that your orange grove is the best, so we shamelessly came to ask for it."

When Granny Liu heard about this, she breathed a sigh of relief, knowing it wasn't anything troublesome.

But he still frowned, "The orange trees in our orange grove have only been growing for a few years, and we can't bear to cut them down. There's no point in you renting them out."

"No, Auntie, you've misunderstood. We didn't intend to cut down the trees. It's like this: we were thinking of fencing off the entire orange grove and raising chickens inside. The chickens can find their own food inside, and their droppings can fertilize the orange trees, killing two birds with one stone."

We'll also help look after the orange trees, and we can help pick the oranges when they're ripe each year. What do you think?

Zhang Xuemei wanted to curry favor with Zou Yu, so before her mother-in-law could speak, she said directly:

"Mom, I think this is a good idea. It saves Dad from having to keep thinking about coming back to fertilize the orange trees. Raising chickens won't bother us either. I think we should just rent them out."

Upon hearing Zhang Xuemei's words, Zou Yu looked at her gratefully and said, "Thank you for speaking up for us, Sister Xuemei. If possible, we can also help sell the oranges, if you can trust us."

Granny Liu, who had been somewhat hesitant, no longer hesitated and asked directly, "Can you really help sell oranges? I don't have any wages to pay you."

"Yes, it's easy. I happen to know a friend who wholesales fruit, so I can ask him. But the price will definitely not be as high as selling it individually," Xu Yaoping said honestly.

Granny Liu waved her hand, "I know that. If you can really take care of all these things, I will hand over the orange grove to you. We will pay for the fertilizer ourselves every year. It will just be hard for you to fertilize it."

Zou Yu's face lit up with joy upon hearing this. "You can rest assured leaving it to us. I just don't know how the rent will be calculated?"

Granny Liu glanced at her and said generously, "What's this about rent? We're just helping each other out. Just make sure you take good care of the orange grove and don't let anyone steal the oranges."

Although every household in the village has orange trees, there are always a few troublemakers who like to steal other people's oranges, and you can't stop them no matter what.

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