Chapter 395 Aunt Fen
Because he needed to buy things, Zhou Chenglei drove a tractor this time. He also delivered a batch of dried fish to the city and went to the textile factory to see if the curtain fabric samples had been made.
He had one more thing to do in the city.
Jiang Xia sat on a cushion that was moderately hard and elastic, and looked down in surprise: "When did you make this cushion?"
They even modified the tractor seat!
Several thick springs are added to the bottom of the seat to prevent shock and bumps.
A backrest was added to the seat where she sat.
It makes her feel comfortable sitting or leaning.
The tractor had been parked behind the new house and Jiang Xia didn't even notice it.
"night."
The tractor was quite shaky, and he had thought before that one day he would need to use a tractor to take Jiang Xia to the city. Jiang Xia went to bed early at night, so when he had time, he took apart an old cotton coat and weaved a rectangular cushion with cattail grass, stuffing it with layers of cotton and straw. It was strong yet a little soft, and could also provide a certain cushioning effect.
Zhou Chenglei held the crank and turned it a few times, started the tractor, then pulled out the crank, walked to Jiang Xia, put the crank away, and sat in the driver's seat.
He reached out to help Jiang Xia adjust her scarf and woolen hat.
The woolen hat was pulled low to her eyebrows and covered her ears.
Then he pulled the scarf high to cover his mouth and nose.
Only a pair of eyes are revealed.
Jiang Xia: “…”
She fiddled with the woolen hat and scarf in front of the mirror for a long time before putting them on perfectly! "What are you doing? You messed up my look!" Jiang Xia glared at him and reached out to adjust her hat and scarf.
Regardless of the style, Zhou Chenglei pulled down her hand and said, "Don't move. Just like that. It's a lot colder today. Your ears and nose will turn red if you go all the way to the city. I'll help you get it back when we get there. It's also windy today, the road is dusty, and the diesel smell from the tractor is heavy. This is just right to block it out."
Jiang Xia thought it made sense and stopped moving.
"Sit tight." Seeing that she was seated, Zhou Chenglei reminded her, then reached out and started the tractor and set off.
When Zhou Chenglei drove the tractor out of the village, he met two villagers on the road.
It was a woman from the next village. She was carrying two snakeskin bags and a chicken coop on her shoulders, and holding a little girl of seven or eight years old by one hand.
The girl's clothes were patched but clean.
Zhou Chenglei said to Jiang Xia, "That's Aunt Fen, the mother of a former classmate of mine. I'll ask her where she's going."
"good."
The tractor came to a stop in front of the woman.
"Auntie Fen." Zhou Chenglei greeted her first, then asked, "Where are you going?"
Jiang Xia smiled and called out, "Auntie Fen."
"Hey, A-lei's wife." Aunt Fen responded with a smile, and then said, "I'm going to town. Isn't today a market day? I'm going to sell some things."
Zhou Chenglei got off the tractor and said, "I'm going to the city. It's on my way. Get on the tractor and I'll take you there."
"No, no! We'll be there soon! I can walk there by myself! I won't keep you any longer, just go ahead!"
She brought a cage of chickens with her! It would be bad if the chickens dirtied the tractor.
Jiang Xia smiled and said, "It's okay. It's on the way anyway. Aunt Fen, you're welcome. Hurry up and get on the tractor."
Zhou Chenglei got off the tractor, took over the burden on the other person's shoulders, and helped him carry the two snakeskin bags and the chicken coop onto the tractor.
"How can I do that! Then just drop me off when you get to the town's intersection!"
"Hey, do you have any old snake skin to put on the bed? I'm afraid the chickens will poop on the bed."
"It's okay, no need for padding." Zhou Chenglei said.
Aunt Fen still pulled a handful of dry grass from the roadside and put it under the chicken coop.
Then Aunt Fenn let her daughter climb onto the tractor by herself.
Zhou Chenglei remembered that the child was already 9 years old and a little big, so he did not carry her onto the tractor.
After they all got on the tractor, he returned to the driver's seat, sat down, and started the tractor.
Seeing that the little girl was thinly dressed, Jiang Xia took out a small blanket and handed it to the back: "Auntie Fen, cover the child to keep out the wind."
This was prepared for her by Zhou Chenglei, but she was wearing thick clothes so she wasn't cold.
"No, no. She's not cold. She's wearing a cotton-padded jacket. You cover yourself, you guys cover yourself!"
Jiang Xia smiled and said, "Cover it up! Riding a tractor is windier than walking. If the child gets caught in the wind, he might catch a cold."
After hearing this, Aunt Fen took it and covered the child.
The blanket was very soft, with a faint scent of soap and sunshine, and it was obviously washed very clean.
She was a little embarrassed and afraid of getting it dirty.
Zhou Chenglei is a man of few words. Apart from talking more to coax Jiang Xia to enhance the relationship between the couple, he usually speaks very little when there are outsiders around.
Jiang Xia himself is a man of few words, but it would be a bit awkward if he didn't speak, mainly because he was afraid of embarrassing Aunt Fen and her daughter.
Jiang Xia asked, "Auntie Fen went to town to sell things, why is she so late?"
"Yeah, it's a bit late if you get up late."
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In fact, I have a paralyzed mother-in-law at home who needs to be taken care of. I have to wait for her to wake up and feed her before I can go out.
Jiang Xia thought that he would move into a new house in a while and would invite relatives, friends and villagers to dinner at that time.
Marriage and housewarming are both big happy events here. Villagers always invite the whole village to a banquet for these two happy events.
Zhou Chenglei calculated that by then there might need to be 20 buffet tables.
As the saying goes, no feast is complete without chicken, a table needs half a rooster or a hen.
There are many hens at home, but only two roosters. But the hens are all laying eggs, so I can't bear to kill them.
One rooster must be slaughtered during the winter solstice to offer sacrifices to the gods, and the remaining one must be kept to provide for the hens, otherwise the eggs the hen lays will not hatch chicks.
Jiang Xia asked, "Aunt Fen, do you have a lot of chickens? It just so happens that my family is planning to buy some chickens for the wedding banquet."
Aunt Fen immediately asked, "How many do you need? I have sixteen roosters and twenty hens."
She makes money by raising chickens, so she raises a lot.
Jiang Xia asked Zhou Chenglei: "Do you want sixteen roosters? Or hens?"
The Chinese New Year is coming soon. During the Chinese New Year, we still have to worship gods with roosters, and there are also annual festivals and parades of gods.
Zhou Chenglei: "Auntie Fen, we want all the roosters and hens you can sell."
Didn’t Doctor Gao say that it’s better to eat a little bit of everything? It’s also good to buy more chicken and eat chicken once or twice a week.
Aunt Fen smiled and said, "Okay, then I won't sell this cage of chickens. I'll keep them all and send them to your house when the time comes."
Jiang Xia smiled and said, "Thank you Auntie Fen for your help. We will buy this cage of chickens first and return the cage to you later. Have you weighed the chickens at home? How much are they?"
There are two roosters and two old hens in the cage, both are fat!
Aunt Fen smiled and said, "We've weighed them. One rooster weighs seven and a half pounds, and another weighs seven and a half pounds. The hens weigh four and a half pounds, and one weighs four pounds. The roosters have been raised for more than a year, and the hens have been raised for three years. They are very nutritious. I'll charge you nine cents per pound."
Nowadays, chickens generally sell for 70 or 80 cents per pound. Of course, it also depends on how long they have been raised. If they have been raised for four or five months and are still unable to lay eggs, they will be cheaper.
Roosters and old hens are more expensive, usually one dollar to one dollar and a little over one cent per pound.
The national prices for agricultural and sideline products often vary, but not by much.
Jiang Xia gave Aunt Fen twenty-five yuan.
“Not so much.”
Jiang Xia: "It's almost time. We can't take advantage of you. I don't even need a ticket to buy from you! So that's it! Otherwise, I won't dare to buy from you if you lose money."
Only then did Aunt Fen accept it, and kept saying thank you, and said that the cage was given to them.
Just as they arrived at the town market entrance, Zhou Chenglei stopped the tractor and helped her take the contents of the two snakeskin bags off the tractor.
Aunt Fen took her daughter and waved goodbye to them.
After the tractor drove away, Jiang Xia asked Zhou Chenglei: "Is Aunt Fen's daughter..."