Chapter 48: Guicai's Awakening

Bai Zhenggan asked people to call his brothers, and begged the villagers, "I'm sorry to have made a fool of myself! Please give me some face and let me settle this matter privately with my brothers!"

He has always been popular, and everyone can understand him, so they gave him some advice -

"Brother Zhenggan, my mother is a coward, but my child is a good one. The third and fourth sons can't choose who will be their father, right? For the sake of our forty years of brotherhood, please don't pursue the issue..."

"Oh, you are really talking without any pain in your back! What right do you have to ask Brother Zhenggan to investigate this matter that is not your fault? Just leave now! Go away! The words you said are so infuriating!"

"Brother Zhenggan, then you should talk to the third and fourth brothers properly later. Don't be angry. Let's get to work!"

"We are leaving. Brother Zhenggan, if you need anything, just give me a shout!"

Not long after the villagers left, the second, third and fourth brothers came over.

The few elders who stayed behind couldn't help but look at the old brothers of the Bai family.

——Bai Zhenggan and Lao Er are tall and thin. Although they are a bit old, they still have delicate looks and righteous expressions. The most important thing is that Bai is a common surname in Ruyi Village, and half of the people in the village have the surname Bai. Therefore, most of the men with the surname Bai in the village are like the eldest and second oldest brothers, all of them are tall, thin and have long faces.

——The third and fourth sons were short and strong, with square faces, and their head shapes were very similar. They are nearly ten years younger than the eldest and second oldest, and perhaps because they always look sad, they look older than the eldest and second oldest.

At this moment, the second, third and fourth brothers had just returned from the fields. Everyone had rolled up their trouser legs above their knees, leaving their legs bare!

Then the elders noticed that the third and fourth brothers had very obvious bow legs, while the second brother's legs, although wrinkled, were straight and long.

this……

The expressions of the elders became complicated.

"Brother, what's the matter? Finish it quickly because you have to go to work." said the second brother.

The third and fourth brothers kept staring at Chen Juxiang, who was lying unconscious on the ground with a white cloth tied to her forehead, and Li Cuier, who was kneeling beside her and crying.

There was actually a tablet of their father next to Chen Juxiang’s hand?

The fourth brother asked, "Li Cui'er, what happened?"

Li Cui'er looked at Bai Zhenggan fearfully, then looked at her husband, lowered her head and sobbed, "It's none of my business... It's really none of my business!"

Bai Zhenggan sighed and told Taotao, "Taozi, tell your uncles about this."

Taotao started talking in a crackling manner.

She was eloquent, and it took her only a few minutes to explain everything clearly.

Second brother: ...

The Third Brother: ...

Fourth Brother: ...

The scene was silent.

After a while, it was still the fourth brother who spoke up, "She stole a man? And it was her own brother?"

The second brother obviously didn't believe it, "No way? Our father wasn't dead at that time..."

After a pause, the second brother became angry again, "If it's true, then my father was already considered dead at that time! We don't even know if my father was killed by this vicious woman!"

"Second brother!"

Bai Zhenggan stopped him, "We both know how Dad died. We can't say that it was Chen who killed him, but she was also partly responsible..."

The third brother asked, "Big Brother and Second Brother, what's going on? I haven't heard you talk about this before?"

The second son glared at Chen Juxiang who had fainted on the ground, and said, "Our father was exhausted to death! He first went to the Chen family to help build a house, and he was busy for three days and three nights without closing his eyes. After coming back, Chen said that her niece was getting married, and she wanted our father to make furniture. He worked day and night to make furniture for her niece, and then it was time for the autumn harvest..."

"It was before liberation. If my father hadn't worked, he would have lost his job as a farmhand in the landlord Zhou's house. He was reluctant to give up the two dollars a month in wages, so he worked for a few more days. Finally, he couldn't bear it anymore and fell into the paddy field and choked to death!"

When talking about the past, the second brother's eyes turned red.

——When dad died, his eldest brother was thirteen, he was eleven, the third brother was five, and the fourth brother was only three. But Chen Juxiang was also unwilling to work in the fields to raise her son, and she was even clamoring to go back to her parents' home. There was no choice but for Bai Zhenggan to stand up and carry the burden of life on his young shoulders.

Of course, this was also because Chen Juxiang had already been married twice and was old, so she couldn't find a partner for a third marriage. The Chen family was also unwilling to support her as an idler, so Chen Juxiang was unable to return to the Chen family.

Later, Chen Juxiang also did odd jobs everywhere, but she would not give a penny of the money she earned to her four sons. Even when her own sons were crying for food from hunger, she refused to give any money. She just saved the money and food and returned to her parents' home every month to give it all to them.

Oh, by the way, what she eats and uses on a daily basis is still earned by Bai Zhenggan.

Hearing this, the third and fourth brothers looked at each other and remained silent for a long time.

The fourth brother asked Bai Zhenggan, "Brother, how do you think we should deal with this matter?"

Bai Zhenggan looked at the third and fourth brothers, and seeing how sad and old they looked now, he couldn't help but recall their cute appearance when they were young.

He was still a teenager at that time. His father had died. In order to earn two dollars a month, he replaced his father and worked as a farmhand in the house of landlord Zhou. Those days were really hard. There was a supervisor watching over us and we had to do a certain amount of work every day. If we didn't finish it, the supervisor would keep a record of it and settle the accounts at the end of the month... Not only did we not earn any money, we even had to owe money to the landlord Zhou.

At that time, Bai Zhenggan hated the landlord Zhou so much that he wanted to follow the Red Army and overthrow the evil old society many times! But when I think about it, there are still five mouths to feed at home...

He had no choice but to work hard no matter how tired or exhausted he was!

Of course, it was also at that time that he joined the party and became an active member, transporting supplies for the organization, protecting intelligence personnel, and so on... He made many contributions. After liberation, he became the first village chief, and only now has he become the party branch secretary of the village.

Thinking back to when he had just taken on the responsibility of supporting the family, the thirteen-year-old Bai Zhenggan would come home every night so tired that he couldn’t even eat. The second child didn't know how to cook at all, but he learned to cook and was fed. The third child poured hot water for him to soak his feet, and the fourth child lay behind him to massage his shoulders.

At night, the four brothers slept on a kang bed, and the third and fourth brothers would sleep closely to him.

The third child was only five or six years old at the time. Sometimes he had to get up three or four times a night and secretly touch the bottom of Bai Zhenggan's nose, for fear that he would die suddenly like his father.

Once, an old man in the village saw that the family was pitiful and secretly gave two boiled eggs to him and the fourth child. The fourth child was still young, and foolishly took the boiled eggs to Chen Juxiang to present his treasure, but Chen Juxiang snatched them away and ate them. The third brother was older and more sensible. He was afraid of being seen by Chen Juxiang, so he put the boiled eggs in his trouser pocket and ran to find his eldest brother.

When he found his elder brother, he had fallen several times on the road and there was a hole in his trouser pocket. The boiled egg...had disappeared without his knowledge!

At that time, Bai Zhenggan had no idea what was going on. He just saw the third brother come happily and then run away crying?

It was not until the night that the third brother came back, covered in bruises and dirt. He took out a boiled egg that had been squashed, covered in mud and had a few ants on it, and cried, "Brother, eat it. If you eat it, you will have the strength to work and earn work points tomorrow..."

At that time, Bai Zhenggan and the second brother were looking for the third brother all over the village and the mountains, and they were almost going crazy! See the third brother comes back with an egg?

The fourth brother immediately started talking - I met someone today, and he gave me and my third brother an egg each. My mother ate mine, and my third brother said he would give it to his eldest brother...

Bai Zhenggan burst into tears at that moment. He spent a long time peeling off the broken eggshells bit by bit, washing off the parts that were stained with ants and mud with clean water. In the end, all he put into his mouth was only a tiny bit of egg white as big as a thumb.

The third brother kept staring at him, watching him eat the egg, and then asked him hopefully: Brother, do you have strength now?

Bai Zhenggan nodded vigorously with red eyes, and the third brother was satisfied.

The fourth child also did the same when he was young. The little guy would call for his big brother in a daze in the middle of the night. As long as Bai Zhenggan responded and let him know that his big brother was still there, he would continue to sleep peacefully; if Bai Zhenggan didn't respond to him, he would wake up completely, crying and crawling around, determined to find his big brother.

When he was a child, the fourth child was very naughty. When he was four or five years old, he went up the back mountain by himself to pick mushrooms. As a result, he fell into a trap set by someone else. Bai Zhenggan called people to look for the fourth child all over the mountain and it took two days and two nights to find him.

A yellow goat had fallen into the trap at that time. The frightened goat used its horns to poke holes all over Lao Si's body. The whole trap was filled with his blood. He had fallen into a coma and could not be woken up no matter what.

Everyone said that the fourth brother was so seriously injured that he would definitely not survive.

Bai Zhenggan was like a madman, carrying the fourth brother on his back and rushing towards the county town - he heard that there was a church hospital run by foreigners in the county town, which would definitely be able to save the fourth brother!

So Bai Zhenggan settled the third son in a clan member's home, and he and the second son took turns carrying the fourth son on their backs. If they could get a ride, they would kneel down and kowtow to the person, begging for a ride. If they couldn't get a ride, they would just walk. It took them a day and a night to reach the county town, where they found the church hospital and barely saved the fourth child's life.

As soon as the fourth child woke up, he grabbed the doctor and the nurse's hands and cried, "Please treat my brothers' feet..."

It turned out that Bai Zhenggan and Lao Er's shoes had been worn out a long time ago. They had been running all the way into the city, and the soles of their feet had been worn through countless times, covered in blood and dirt.

Recalling the past, Bai Zhenggan's eyes turned red.

The second, third and fourth brothers couldn't help but recall the time when they depended on each other, and tears welled up in everyone's eyes.

The elders including the Fourth Uncle and Seventh Grandmother advised:

"Yes, you are brothers. This has nothing to do with the Chen family. It is your own fate."

"Yeah, besides, this is just a guess and may not be accurate."

"Just take care of Chen, and forget about the rest. Don't hurt the harmony among brothers."

"You two brothers are actually very close... Everyone in the village is envious of you two brothers, but it's mainly because Chen is so annoying!"

On one side is the annoying Chen Juxiang, and on the other side are the brothers who have been relying on each other and raised each other since childhood. Bai Zhenggan is unable to make a decision for a while.

The fourth brother, however, is a sensible man.

——His mother repeatedly caused trouble for his brother's family, but his brother always endured it. Now that my brother has exposed this matter...it is obvious that it is because his mother has touched my brother's bottom line. The elder brother remained silent for a long time because he was still thinking about the brotherhood.

The fourth brother slowly spoke, "Brother, let me tell you a solution, please listen to it——"

"you say."

The fourth brother said, "I will send her back to the Chen family and sever this relationship from now on. The Chen family is not my uncle, and Chen is not my mother..."

"no!"

Chen Juxiang jumped up and screamed angrily.

She wasn't fainted at all, she just couldn't face it for a moment so she pretended to be fainted.

Now the fourth brother says that he wants to send her back to the Chen family and sever ties with the Chen family? ? ?

She knew very well what the environment of the Chen family was like - if she was really sent back to the Chen family, she would no longer be of any use and would be tortured to death by the Chen family!

Following the third and fourth brothers, even if she couldn't make a fortune like she does now, she would never starve to death as long as she stopped subsidizing the Chen family.

"Old Four, are you crazy? I won't go to the Chen family! No!" Chen Juxiang screamed frantically.

The fourth brother said coldly: "Don't you like going back to the Chen family the most? You move to the Chen family as soon as you get something good? Now I let you stay in the Chen family forever... Why, you are not happy again?"

After a pause, he continued, "Anyway, you have to go, whether you want to or not! We brothers have been harmed by you for decades, and you still think it's not enough? Don't worry, I will let you take the things you have saved for the Chen family and return home with you in glory!"

"I won't go to the Chen family!" Chen Juxiang screamed.

The third brother asked her excitedly, "...Did you really do something shameful? Did you really, really...make the fourth brother and I switch fathers?"

Chen Juxiang suddenly shut up.

The third brother was furious and asked loudly, "Speak up! Speak up! I'm telling you, don't lie! Last time when I was in the city, I heard that it could be diagnosed through blood tests..."

Bai Zhenggan: It’s a sin, it’s a sin. In fact, it was the beauty who deceived you.

Naturally, when Chen Juxiang was in the city, she heard Tang Liren say that a blood test could determine whether they were biological father and son, so she just cried and didn't dare to refute.

When everyone saw her guilty look, they knew that her father was not only cuckolded, but also made his own son the son of someone else...

The third brother was so angry that he was fuming. "Are you a slut? Are you a slut? I'm telling you, after you return to the Chen family... you are never allowed to come to see the fourth brother and me. If you dare to come, I'll break your legs! Then you can go beg for food!"

Chen Juxiang shook her head desperately, "I won't go back to the Chen family! I won't go back to the Chen family! Bai Zhenggan doesn't care about me, I can't blame him, he didn't crawl out of my belly! But third brother, you and fourth brother were born after ten months of pregnancy, I, I am your biological mother..."

This time she was really anxious and cried.

"Mother?"

The third brother laughed out of anger, "Then let me ask you, why didn't you care about us when Dad just died? What were you doing when the fourth brother and I needed to rely on you? You didn't let us touch a penny of the money you earned, and you didn't let us eat a single grain of rice you bought. You sent it all to the Chen family!"

"Now that we don't need you to support us anymore and you can't make any money, you come to tell me that you are my biological mother? Your mother is not even a human being, and you still have the nerve to say that you are our biological mother! You, you are disgusting! I would rather not be your biological son, I can't afford to lose this person!"

The third brother scolded Chen Juxiang harshly.

Chen Juxiang was crying.

On the other side, the fourth brother was still working on his plan with Bai Zheng, "Brother, in addition to sending her back to the Chen family... Third brother and I will move out of the ancestral home, and the land deed will be given to you and second brother. Even Third brother and I will have our last names... After all, we have used them for so many years, so just consider it as... Third brother and I were raised by you to where we are today. So, let's continue to have the last name Bai, but you can cross our names off from the family tree!"

Rural people attach great importance to kinship, trace their ancestry, and value their own origins.

The Bai family has been passed down for more than thirty generations, so people in the clan are still very proud of their family tree.

Now that the fourth brother proposed to exterminate the clan, he felt extremely upset and hated Chen Juxiang even more.

Bai Zhenggan pondered for a moment and said, "I need to discuss this with your sister-in-law."

As they were talking, Tang Liren hurried over.

She put her hands behind her back, as if hiding something, and had a look of anger on her face. But when she rushed over and saw...

Oh, it seems that the situation is not what she imagined?

——The four Bai Zhenggan brothers sat on one side with their swords and horses, muttering to each other with serious expressions; while Chen Juxiang lay on the side with disheveled hair, howling like a ghost?

It seems like our side has the upper hand?

Bai Zhenggan saw his wife and waved, "Liren, come here!"

Tang Liren chuckled twice, moved towards Taotao first, and said stealthily: "Taotao, come here first, come here..."

Taotao followed her mother to the side without knowing what was going on. At her mother's signal, she turned around and faced away from Bai Zhenggan and his group.

Then Tang Liren quickly handed Taotao something and instructed, "Quick, take this home and put it in the main hall for worship... Be careful on the road, don't let anyone see it."

When Taotao took a look, she found that it was the memorial tablet of her grandmother who had passed away long ago?

Tang Liren saw Taotao's eyes widened, and laughed, "I heard that Chen Juxiang brought your grandfather's spirit tablet to cause trouble, so I brought your grandmother's... I thought Chen Juxiang came from the old society, and she would be a little taboo when seeing the spirit tablet of the original wife. Who knew that your father and the others had already taken care of it? How did they do it?"

Before Taotao could answer, Bai Zhenggan called out "Tang Liren" again.

Tang Liren had no choice but to say to Taotao: "Take it back safely! I'm going over..."

Taotao had no choice but to hold the tablet tightly in her arms and hurried home.

Seeing that she looked a little nervous, Song Zhi quickly chased after her, looking concerned, and asked in a low voice, "What's wrong?"

Tao Tao, "My mother brought my grandmother's tablet here to suppress Chen Juxiang, but it's no longer useful now, so she asked me to take it back!"

Song Zhi breathed a sigh of relief, looked down at the tablet Taotao was holding in her arms, and found it a little funny.

"Do you want me to take you home?" he asked Taotao.

Tao Tao, “No need!”

Song Zhi smiled and said, "Then I'll go to work?"

Taotao nodded again and saw Guicai standing aside, as if he was waiting for Song Zhi?

She asked him quietly, "Hey, do you really want to take care of your wealth? Aren't you afraid of being blackmailed by him?"

Song Zhi looked back at Guicai and said to Taotao, "Don't worry, he can't blackmail me... If it's Fuguier and Fuguier, then I really don't want to care. Guicai is still young, maybe he can be saved. Well, there is a lot of work to do in the fields today, I have to go, you should hurry up and get busy too."

Tao Tao stared at Gui Cai with a serious face, and said to Song Zhi: "If Gui Cai comes to blackmail you or bully you, don't be afraid... Come to me and I will deal with him!"

Song Zhi laughed.

He watched Taotao walk to the intersection, and then he left with Guicai.

On the way, Guicai felt a little uneasy, "Brother Song Zhi, how could it become like this? My father and uncle... turned out not to be brothers?"

Song Zhi did not answer but asked, "Will you still have the nerve to ask your uncle's family for things in the future?"

Guicai was so ashamed that he was speechless.

After a while, he asked in a low voice: "Brother Song Zhi, let me ask you... The villagers hate me, Fugui and Fugui'er so much, is it because they hate old women? Or are we born evil?"

Song Zhi thought for a moment and said, "This is caused by the environment."

Guicai said with a sad face, "I don't want to be hated by others, I don't want to have no friends at all, I also hope that my family is like my uncle's family. None of my uncle's sisters have boys, but everyone in the village likes their family... The food in their family smells so good, and they laugh so happily..."

Song Zhi, "Are they like you, unreasonable and making jokes every day? Or are they like you, lazy and not working every day?"

Guicai couldn't hold it in any longer. "I know what you mean! But look at my uncle's daughter, Zhenzhu! Except for her and her father, everyone else in her family is a lazy bum! She's the only one among her sisters who's willing to work, but look at her, who has ever felt sorry for her?"

Song Zhi thought for a moment and said, "Maybe I gave the wrong example. Can you refer to Zhou Xiaoni again?"

Guicai was stunned.

——Zhou Xiaoni? Zhou Xiaoni is the most miserable person in the village, no doubt about it! Her brother left and her sister got married, leaving her all alone with no way to survive.

But I also seemed to have heard that on the day Zhou Chunni was leaving, Xiaoni angrily went to make a bet with her sister, for a period of ten years, saying that in the future she would definitely live a better life than her sister?

Guicai felt that Zhou Xiaoni was talking nonsense!

It is hard to say whether a twelve or thirteen-year-old, extremely skinny girl can survive on her own. Zhou Chunni is an adult and is married. It is impossible for Zhou Xiaoni to be better than her sister.

However, Zhou Xiaoni, who was so thin, held a sickle and worked hard in the fields like an adult.

Song Zhi said: "Zhou Xiaoni could earn five work points a day. She could make a living by catching some small fish and shrimp in the river and picking bamboo shoots and mushrooms in the mountains. Moreover, those were her own work points. She had the final say on whether she wanted to exchange rice, flour, duck eggs or other things at the production team. No one else could make the decision for her."

"As for the bet she made with her sister, she is not completely without a chance of winning. She works hard on the farm during the busy season, and does some side jobs and learns some knowledge during the slack season... If she continues to be so diligent, and her sister remains as lazy as she was in the village and doesn't change at all, then in ten years, Xiao Ni may be living a better life than her sister."

Guicai was stunned.

After a while, he asked with difficulty: "What if I do the work, but Fuguier and Fuguier treat me like a cow and a dog?"

Song Zhiqi asked: "Is your father still alive?"

Guicai: ...

Song Zhi said, "I know your mother is lazy and maybe biased. But your father and your third uncle were both raised by your eldest uncle. Your eldest uncle is a reasonable man, so your father and your third uncle won't be much worse. It seems that your father doesn't know how to teach children... Tell your father about your concerns and see what he says."

Guicai gritted his teeth and said, "Okay!"

As they were talking, the two had already arrived at the field.

Guicai had eaten a roasted sweet potato in the morning and was now hungry again. He could not help but ask Song Zhi again, "Brother Song Zhi, you said... I have harvested the rice, and the production team will provide lunch at noon, and they will make sure I am full, right?"

Song Zhi nodded.

"But I have a big appetite!"

"Always full."

“What if I don’t have enough to eat?”

"You can take mine. But you can't take it away. You have to eat it on the spot."

Guicai finally felt relieved.

Although such a big bloody drama happened today, it is the autumn harvest time and the work in the fields does not wait. So everyone was talking about it, but they were very quick...

At noon, the women's team came to deliver food as expected.

Guicai smelled the fragrance of food from afar and immediately became flustered.

Song Zhi, who was not far away, instructed him, "You haven't finished your work yet, so you are not allowed to eat... Hurry up, you have to finish the land that the old master and his men allocated to you."

Guicai straightened up and looked——

Song Zhi had finished his work, but he was still a little short of it, but not by much.

So he gritted his teeth and continued to work, despite his hunger, moving very quickly.

More than ten minutes later, Guicai finally finished his work and ran towards the edge of the field.

The daughter-in-law who came to deliver the meal was surprised to see him, "Oh, Guicai is here to work too?"

Guicai stared at the large wooden barrels and nodded.

Several daughters-in-law divided the work and quickly took a large bowl, filled it with white rice, pressed it tightly, poured some marinade on it, piled a bunch of fried cabbage, fried pickled vegetables, and a dish of fried duck eggs and black fungus.

The food piled in the big bowl was even bigger than Guicai’s head!

Guicai was extremely excited!

——Song Zhi didn’t lie to him. As long as he came to work, he would really have food to eat! And it’s pure rice!

Oh my god…

The food here is better than the one at home!

A daughter-in-law next to him smiled and said, "Silly, aren't you hungry? Why are you just looking at it and not eating? Come on and eat!"

Guicai's tears flowed down and he picked up the chopsticks and started to eat rice desperately.

The wife laughed again, "Oh, eat slowly, be careful not to choke... Don't worry, there's more if you don't have enough! There's plenty of food! If you choke, there's vegetable soup here!"

Guicai only took a few minutes to finish a whole bowl of rice and vegetables!

"Sister-in-law, give me another bowl!" he said excitedly.

The daughter-in-law really gave him another bowl and asked, "Is this enough? Do you want some more?"

Guicai nodded.

His wife gave him more rice, pressed it firmly, and poured a spoonful of soup on the rice, along with a little bit of various dishes.

Guicai took it and was about to eat it——

Song Zhi said to him, "Did you thank them for giving you more food?"

Guicai was stunned.

He immediately looked at his wife, bowed to her, and said, "Thank you, sister-in-law!"

This time it was the daughter-in-law who was stunned.

She looked Guicai up and down, and said with satisfaction: "Oh, Guicai has grown up and become sensible! That's right! You, although you are still young, you are also a man... Your mother is too lazy, and your two brothers are lazy too! With your father working alone, how can you eat enough at home? Come here to work! Come back tomorrow, and your sister-in-law will give you more food, okay?"

No outsider had ever spoken to him so calmly like the sister-in-law in front of him.

Guicai's eyes were red.

He held the food in his mouth and wanted to cry, but he wanted to eat more...

The wife smiled and said, "Okay, okay, I won't say anything to you anymore. Eat well! Only when you have a full meal will you have the energy to continue working hard in the afternoon!"

Guicai nodded desperately.

Later, Guicai added another full bowl of vegetable leaf soup.

Gulp, gulp, drink it all in one breath...

He didn't hand the empty bowl back to his wife until he was so full that he couldn't eat any more.

Suddenly remembering Song Zhi's teachings, he stood up again and bowed to his wife, "Thank you, sister-in-law."

This sister-in-law was the first person who spoke to him in a kind and gentle voice since he could remember. So Guicai added with great thought, "This food is delicious."

The daughter-in-law's eyes widened instantly!

"Oh, this meal... I didn't make it alone, hahahaha. However, in order to allow you to work well in the fields, we who are in charge of logistics are also very hard-working. We are worried that the meal will not be cooked enough or taste good, and we are also worried that you will be hungry if the meal is delivered late..."

Guicai seemed to have discovered the code to wealth, "Sister-in-law, you have worked hard too!"

With these words, the wife's face and eyes turned red. "No, it's not hard! Hey, if you've finished your meal, I'll... go back quickly!"

As she spoke, the daughter-in-law ran away in a panic, carrying the rice bucket in one hand and the bucket of bowls in the other. Whenever she meets someone, she would tell the other person, "Hey, let me tell you, Guicai has changed!" It really changed! He worked today, and his work was not bad... He was also very sweet and good at talking, saying "Thank you, sister-in-law" and "Thank you, sister-in-law, for your hard work" like people in the city...

Guicai smiled foolishly and scratched his head. He felt that working hard, eating well and talking to others in a nice tone actually felt so good!

There is a half-hour break after the meal.

Most people leaned against the edge of the field, covering their faces with their hats, and took the time to take a nap.

Guicai was so happy that he sat alone by the edge of the field and thought about his future plans. He also laughed to himself for the whole afternoon.

The time was almost up, so the old master came over and rang the gong, informing everyone that it was time to continue working.

Guicai jumped up like a ball and was ready to start work happily.

Song Zhi also sat down by the edge of the field to take a nap. He looked at Guicai with amusement and said, "The production team doesn't provide dinner."

He wanted to see if the kid was profit-driven.

The smile on Guicai's face faded a little, "It's okay, I ate a lot at noon, it's the same if I hold on until tomorrow noon."

"Just for one meal a day?" Song Zhi started to work, cutting rice while asking, "But the production team only provides meals during these few days when we have to rush to harvest."

Guicai asked curiously, "Didn't you say that? You should earn work points every day, and go up the mountain and down the river when you don't have any? I've already thought about it. I'll follow Zhou Xiaoni to learn how to catch small fish, and then go to pick mushrooms with my fourth sister (Taotao)... If Li Cui'er, Fugui'er and Fugui'er want to eat me and take advantage of me... then I'll build a stove outside, catch fish and shrimp, pick mushrooms, cook them outside and eat them, and then go back! Anyway, if they don't work, don't think of taking advantage of me!"

Song Zhi smiled, "It's OK, but it's still a little short of the mark."

Guicai was waiting for Song Zhi's praise, but he heard him say...it's not quite there yet?

"What's missing?" he asked, chasing after Song Zhi.

Song Zhi, "You have made a plan to solve the problem of hunger through labor, which is good, but this is a basic need for survival, not life."

"What?" Guicai widened his eyes.

Song Zhi thought for a moment and said, "Forget it, you should fill your stomach first!"

"No, Brother Song Zhi, what's the difference between survival and life?" Guicai asked puzzledly.

Song Zhi's men kept moving. "Survival means that you can eat your fill... but it doesn't matter whether you eat bran or wild vegetables, as long as you are full. Life means that after you are full, you still want to eat something better, and after you are warm, you still want to wear cleaner clothes... that's it!"

Guicai understood, "Isn't that my uncle's family?"

Song Zhi laughed.

Take a deep breath,

"Let me fill my stomach first! I'll talk to my dad about this when I get home tonight... I don't want to be like Bai Zhenzhu! If I'm the only one working among the three of us brothers, then not only will I have to eat what my dad earns, but everything I earn will belong to me too! Unless the two of them also come to work together to earn work points, then I'm willing to eat whatever they want... As for the life you mentioned, let's talk about it after I fill my stomach!"

Song Zhi smiled.

Guicai worked for a while and suddenly remembered something very important. "Brother Song Zhi, let me ask you... How many work points do you earn a day? How much rice can you get for one work point?"

Song Zhi's position is quite special.

He is a blacksmith, and he can earn 12 work points a day regardless of whether he has work or not. Now he works in the fields, and he is strong and quick, so he can still earn 12 work points a day.

But he didn't plan to tell Guicai about this, so he said, "Your second uncle, third uncle and your father are physically strong and experienced, and they can earn 12 work points a day, which is the highest work points. Your eldest aunt earns 8 work points a day, your third sister earns 7 work points a day, Zhou Xiaoni earns 5 work points a day, and you... can earn 3 work points today."

Guicai was stunned. "I, I only earned 3 work points?"

Song Zhi, "Your fourth and fifth sisters only earn 5 work points a day in total."

Guicai was not convinced. "Draw a boundary of 5 work points for me tomorrow. I, I can lose to anyone but Zhou Xiaoni! Look how thin she is. Her waist is not even as thick as my thigh! By the way, Brother Song Zhi, tell me quickly, how much rice can be exchanged for 1 work point?"

Song Zhi told him with a smile.

Guicai was immediately disappointed, "So little..."

——No wonder his mother refused to go to the fields to work!

Song Zhi, "Do you think it's not worth it again?"

Guicai said worriedly, "No, I just feel like... I can't even eat enough if I work 5 hours a day for a whole month."

As he was talking, he suddenly saw Zhou Xiaoni working in the distance. Her thin body was half bent, and she was cutting rice skillfully with a knife...

Guicai suddenly became full of enthusiasm again, "It's okay, Zhou Xiaoni can do it, so can I! Can't we still go up the mountain and down the river?"