Chapter 59 The Water Vat Her goal was to borrow money from Qin Xiangxiang. ...

Qin Xiangxiang brought over an egg tart wrapped in parchment paper and traded it for a handful of chocolate beans. Zhou Lu originally didn't want to trade with her, but her son was watching longingly from the side. The egg tart had an enticing milky and eggy aroma, which was more attractive to the child than the chocolate.

The son held the egg tart in his hand, blew on it, and ate it without hesitation. Zhou Lu didn't even have time to taste it, but judging from her son's behavior, it must have been delicious.

...but I always feel like I'm getting the short end of the stick.

Because chocolate is hard to find!

These egg tarts are made with eggs, milk, and sugar, which are all good ingredients, so it's not a bad deal. But it's still unpleasant to feel cheated even by the slightest bit of someone else.

Zhou Lu had been living in the family compound for several years, and this was the first time she hadn't gained any advantage; instead, the other party had taken advantage of her.

Not to mention, she didn't borrow a single penny from Qin Xiangxiang!

When Deputy Political Commissar Xue returned, he was met with his wife, Zhou Lu, who looked angry. Zhou Lu complained to him, "That Qin Xiangxiang from across the street really knows how to take advantage. She sent me a cake and then directly asked me for chocolate beans. She really has the nerve to ask."

Deputy Political Commissar Xue held his breath, thinking to himself that the two of them were cut from the same cloth, but he didn't say this to his wife. After all, he and "Li Jianzhi" were silent beneficiaries of the system.

Li Jianzhi was just a bit more unlucky than him. Qin Xiangxiang came from a big city, was thin-skinned, and unwilling to ask others for money. She spent all the money she had each month and wasn't a woman who knew how to manage money.

His wife, Zhou Lu, also spends a lot of money, but she is good at handling things and manages to get things done properly.

Borrowing money is very common in this era. Poor families are often heavily in debt. It's normal for couples in rural areas to take more than ten years to pay off the wedding banquet debts they owe.

Many debts simply vanish with the passage of time.

Being able to borrow money is a skill in itself.

"Don't be fooled by how well the couple next door seems now. They're eating cornbread right away. How long do you think they'll stay together? Right now, they're just looking for something new."

"We'll see, they'll start arguing next month!"

After discussing the matter with their neighbor, Deputy Political Commissar Xue mentioned Zhuang Xiaoman to Zhou Lu, saying, "It's been two or three years now. Let's return Zhuang Xiaoman's money to her, and that way we'll have a good reputation."

Zhuang Xiaoman is the simple-minded sister-in-law from Hebei Province who lent Zhou Lu 500 yuan. Zhuang Xiaoman is too simple-minded and honest. She even came to take care of Zhou Lu during her postpartum period last year. It would be unreasonable not to pay her back the money.

Zhuang Xiaoman was a major creditor. The couple had discussed that if they returned the money to Zhuang Xiaoman, they could gain a good reputation by saying that they had borrowed money from their household to repay her.

The couple originally didn't plan to repay the money, thinking that Vice Political Commissar Xue had been transferred. However, it turned out that it wasn't their turn, so they had to repay the money, and they had to repay it neatly.

Zhou Lu strongly agreed to repay Zhuang Xiaoman's money. She was reluctant at first, but she wanted to build a good reputation for herself so that Qin Xiangxiang and Li Jianzhi would know that she would repay the money. Maybe they would lend her twenty or thirty yuan next time, which would be a free bonus.

Firstly, it was for the sake of a good reputation, and secondly, Zhuang Xiaoman was too naive and easily fooled. Now that she had given her 500 yuan, Zhou Lu was confident that she could borrow another 500 yuan from her.

With this one move, one gains both fame and fortune.

In addition, Zhuang Xiaoman's husband works in the submarine force. After a mission, he would be given some chocolates, which he would save for her and the children. Zhuang Xiaoman herself would not eat them on ordinary days and would hoard them. She was very frugal and thrifty in her daily life.

Zhou Lu then offered to exchange her chocolate for money, which made Zhuang Xiaoman very happy. She felt like she had made a profit. Zhou Lu then invited her to her home for dinner, cooked for her, made her happy, and persuaded her to eat chocolate beans. She flattered her so much that she agreed to lend her five hundred yuan on the spot.

Zhuang Xiaoman is a big eater with a huge appetite, but she is also very stingy with her daily diet. She secretly buys rice bran and bran, saying it's to feed the chickens, but she also eats it herself, and she and her children eat it together. She also spends money to buy cheap tofu dregs from the mill. She can easily eat a whole bunch of rice bran and coarse grain rice by just adding a little salt to this stuff and stir-frying it.

Zhuang Xiaoman and her husband also faced significant financial pressure, as they had to send money home. Despite this, Zhuang Xiaoman, known for her frugality, managed to save a considerable amount of money; Zhou Lu guessed she had at least 1,500 yuan.

I'll give her back 500 this time, and next time I can try to borrow 1000 from her.

"I'll call Zhuang Xiaoman over in a while and make a big show of paying her back."

"This matter must be handled beautifully."

Zhou Lu nodded and then frowned: "I didn't want to pay her back. We need an electric fan for the house. I'm worried that this year will be another scorching summer. We also need to store water in the summer. Our big water tank from last year broke and we haven't replaced it yet. It's okay on other days, but we have to store water in July and August."

Water is scarce on the island in the summer, especially tap water, which is often unavailable. Their house is on the second floor, which is a big problem for them. The tap water pressure is not working, so the tap water flows freely on the first floor, gurgles on the second floor, and drips slowly on the third floor.

When water is scarce, it can take most of the day to fill only half a bucket.

This is also why many people are reluctant to live on the third floor. In the summer, it is difficult to get water. If you need water urgently, you have to go to your home on the first floor to fetch water. If the waterworks shuts off the water supply, you have to go to the well in the yard to fetch water. Climbing up and down to the third floor is exhausting.

Therefore, storing water regularly is very important to avoid running out of water when the water supply is interrupted.

Deputy Political Commissar Xue said, "A table fan costs more than 100 yuan. It's not hot on the island in the summer nights. With the breeze blowing, you can just endure it. It won't be hot for many days."

"You can endure it, but can the children? Can you bear to see them get prickly heat?" Zhou Lu muttered softly, "After returning the money to Zhuang Xiaoman, we'll find a way to borrow it back to buy a fan."

Deputy Political Commissar Xue remained silent, thinking to himself, "Who told you not to be more frugal with your food and drink on ordinary days?"

Actually, Deputy Political Commissar Xue himself wasn't qualified to say that. When the couple first got married, their life wasn't like this yet; they lived a normal, albeit bumpy, life. Back then, Deputy Political Commissar Xue liked to treat people to meals. In their initial assigned area, several of his brothers from his village lived nearby. Deputy Political Commissar Xue frequently treated them to meals, enjoying the flattery of his fellow villagers. He wouldn't want to lose face by eating lavishly. Zhou Lu couldn't stand it; she felt he was treating people to free meals and not leaving anything for her and the child. The couple argued several times and were forced to start borrowing money to make ends meet.

Later, as Zhou Lu continued to borrow money, she found that she was living a pretty good life, so she simply started to eat and drink extravagantly, since she still had Zhuang Xiaoman, an easy fat sheep to coax.

If you borrow money and don't pay it back, you're spending someone else's money.

If her husband's brothers or relatives come to eat and drink for free again, she will ask to borrow money, just to see if they dare to come again.

Once you get used to borrowing money, you'll have plenty of comfortable days. You won't worry about having a lot of debt, just like you won't itch from having too many lice.

Deputy Political Commissar Xue: "Storing water is crucial in the summer. We absolutely must buy a water tank. As for the electric fan—you can decide what to do with it."

This means letting the wife handle it; if she can borrow the money, she'll buy it; if not, then so be it.

“As long as you decide to buy it, you’ll definitely be able to borrow the money.” Zhou Lu looked at her daughter on the small bed. If she got heat rash from being cooped up, she could definitely borrow the money to buy a fan.

Her goal was to borrow money from Qin Xiangxiang.

“Water is scarce in the summer, and the neighbors grow vegetables and raise chickens. I wonder if they’ll work themselves to death.”

Qin Xiangxiang and her husband received the floor fan parts that Qin Wutong had sent by boat. He remembered that the young couple said they wanted to install an exhaust fan to remove cooking fumes in the kitchen. He cooked himself and knew how uncomfortable kitchen fumes were. Feeling sorry for his daughter, he went to the electric fan store and got a lot of simple parts.

A simple frame, including a motor, fan blades, and a speed controller...

Li Jianzhi used these parts to assemble a floor fan, a wire mesh safety net, and a stand. The stand was an old one and didn't look good, but it worked very well and was quiet once assembled.

"We finally have a standing fan at home!" Qin Xiangxiang's wish was fulfilled. She was a little annoyed by the ugly stand of the standing fan, so she put some thought into making a lace mesh cover for the standing fan at home and wrapped it on the stand, turning it into a beautiful standing fan.

Li Jianzhi also used the materials to make two simple fans, which were just right to be placed in the kitchen as exhaust fans. To make an exhaust fan, all you need to do is reverse the fan blades.

"My dear wife, you're so good at craftsmanship." Li Jianzhi had originally complained that the material of the floor fan was too old, but his virtuous wife made a cover for it. She was so thoughtful.

Qin Xiangxiang kicked him: "Who are you calling my good wife? I'm not good at all."

"Whether she's obedient or not, she's still my wife."

With the weather getting hot, this floor fan is perfect for the small living room. When we eat, the whole room can enjoy a refreshing breeze. However, there is only one downside to this tall fan: it's inconvenient to use ice cubes. You have to put the ice cubes on the stand before the fan can blow out cool air.

“Li Jianzhi, summer is coming soon and I’m afraid of the heat. Our family needs to buy more earthenware jars and put in a large vat to store water. Otherwise, if we run out of water, we’ll have to go to the well in the yard to fetch water, which is too much work.”

Li Jianzhi: "Sister Gao, what do you think of the tap water situation here in the summer?"

“We’re on the second floor, which is okay, but the water pressure is a bit low. It takes a while to fill a bucket with water. But if there’s a severe drought, the waterworks will shut off the water for a while, and we’ll have to drink well water.”

Li Jianzhi sighed. Life was tough in this era, not just on the island, but also in Shanghai. Summer was the peak season for water and electricity consumption, especially in high-rise buildings where the water pressure was insufficient and only the first and second floors had water. If the waterworks shut off the water supply, people had to fetch well water.

"I'll take some time to buy a water tank and an earthenware pot. I also need to put a water tank in the vegetable garden to store water."

The vegetable gardens in the residential compound are in good condition. There is running water on the first floor on weekdays, and as long as the water supply is not interrupted, there are also extended water pipes, so watering the vegetables is relatively convenient. In the summer, you have to queue to water the vegetables. Putting a water storage tank next to the vegetable garden and setting up a shade canopy makes watering the vegetables even more convenient on weekdays.

"If earthenware pots are cheap, you can buy a couple more to collect rainwater."

Li Jianzhi nodded solemnly, and Qin Xiangxiang gently patted his face, "Why do you look like that?"

"I just feel sorry for you. I knew I shouldn't have grown vegetables." Li Jianzhi grabbed her hand. "This is too much trouble. Even a pampered city girl like you has thought of collecting rainwater."

"Let's not plant any more next year."

Qin Xiangxiang: "??????" Can't you stop being so dramatic?

Their vegetable garden is currently thriving, and she feels it will soon bear fruit and be ready for harvest! In her dream, her vegetable garden was a mess, but this time, following Li Jianzhi's plan, the garden is neat and tidy, and there are no pests. It will soon bear fruit, but this man is saying discouraging things.

Her chives and loofahs are growing incredibly well! Her hens are all plump up too, and it looks like they'll be laying eggs soon!

"Li Jianzhi, you better take good care of my land. If I don't get to eat any of my cucumber salad this year, you'll be sleeping with Little Fatty all summer!!!"