Chapter 131 Widow Zhang is pregnant
In the morning sunlight.
Sun Shuiqin stood under the shade of a tree, her new light red dress very eye-catching.
She raised her chin slightly, there was a gleam in her watery eyes, her big eyes were blinking, and her hands were nervously pinching the corner of her clothes.
Seeing her like this, Zhao Ergou inexplicably thought of the way his mother spoke to him that night. His mother had the same look in her eyes, the same gesture, and then said some words that made his scalp numb...
Zhao Ergou took three steps back again.
"Brother Ergou, why are you so estranged from me?"
Sun Shuiqin spoke softly, her voice full of resentment.
Zhao Ergou got goose bumps all over his body.
He found that he couldn't even look Sun Shuiqin in the eye. Whenever Sun Shuiqin spoke, his mother's image would appear in his mind.
He turned his head and said, "I'll go talk to Sha Gen."
"Brother Ergou!" Sun Shuiqin chased after him. "Didn't you say you treated me like your sister? I've always treated you like your brother. I have a favor to ask of you..."
Zhao Ergou's heart was filled with alarm. He glared and asked, "You're not going to borrow food from me again, are you?"
Sun Shuiqin's face froze. It had been such a long time since she borrowed the grain, why was this man still holding it in his mind? He was too petty.
She took a deep breath and said, "Shagen also wants to study, but our family is poor and can't afford the tuition. Brother Ergou, could you lend me some silver? Your mother received a reward of one hundred taels of silver from the county magistrate yesterday. I don't need to lend more, one tael will be enough..."
Zhao Ergou looked at her in disbelief.
When Sun Shuiqin asked him to borrow food, he felt sorry for her because she had nothing to eat and was hungry.
But now, he only felt that Sun Shuiqin was even more hateful than Old Lady Cheng.
Old Lady Cheng was somewhat related to them by blood, so she had a reason to shamelessly rob the silver.
But Sun Shuiqin, why did she want to borrow a tael of silver the moment she asked?
He didn't even touch the one hundred taels of silver yesterday before his mother put it away. Couldn't he save the one tael of silver for himself? Why did he lend it to Zhao Shagen's wife?
"The tuition fee is only a dozen or so copper coins. If you can't even afford a dozen or so copper coins, then don't bother studying."
Zhao Ergou walked away without looking back.
He returned home and told Cheng Wanwan the whole story.
Cheng Wanwan praised him: "You did a good job, but in the future, try not to talk to the older girl or the new bride alone. If someone sees you, gossip will inevitably spread."
Zhao Ergou snorted, "It's Sanniu who ran too fast."
Zhao Sanniu touched his head and said, "How would I know she wanted to borrow money? Next time I'll stop her, and you run first, second brother."
Cheng Wanwan couldn't help but laugh.
She thought that Sun Shuiqin was definitely not the only one in the village who was eyeing the money in her hands, so she had to spend it as soon as possible.
Now that she has money, can she consider building a green-tiled house?
Although adobe houses are warm in winter and cool in summer, they are not as sturdy and clean as green-tiled houses. As a person in modern society, she prefers to live in a brick and tile house.
She finished the work at hand and went to the headman's house.
She told him the purpose of her visit, and the village head said, "Bricks are not cheap these days. Three cents a brick. In previous years, that could have bought a pound of corn."
Cheng Wanwan continued to ask, "If I build a house, it should have at least six rooms. How many bricks will I need?"
"A brick is so small. A square house has four walls, and each wall needs two layers of construction. Just roughly calculating, one wall needs more than a thousand bricks..." The headman had never done the math before, but after a casual calculation, he was shocked. "You are building six rooms in your house, and there are so many walls in front and behind. It will take 20,000 to 30,000 bricks in total. I don't know if it's enough. Anyway, this much will cost nearly 100 taels of silver. The house also needs beams and tiles, which are even more expensive. I think it will cost 130 to 140 taels of silver to build this house..."
Cheng Wanwan silently calculated in her mind that if she built a green-tiled house, the courtyard wall would probably have to be made of bricks, and the ground couldn't be too paved. It would have to be paved with something, otherwise there would be mud everywhere on rainy days. With this calculation, she was afraid that she would have to prepare at least more than two hundred taels of silver.
Taking a step back, adobe houses are actually acceptable. The most important thing is the ground. It is better to spend the money where it is most needed, and it will not be too conspicuous.
Cheng Wanwan said, "Then let's build an adobe house. But I want to lay stone bricks on the floor. Uncle Village Head, please ask where I can buy these stone bricks."
"Okay, I'll ask you after the autumn harvest."
The village head took a puff of his pipe, looked at the rice fields in the distance, and a smile appeared on his lips.
"We can harvest the rice tomorrow."
"Big brother, call a meeting of the whole village!"
As dusk fell, all the villagers of Dahe Village gathered around the big locust tree.
The village head stood on a rock, looking at the villagers below with a look of joy: "After the drought and locust plague, we finally have a good harvest. Tomorrow we will officially harvest the rice. Everyone must remember one thing: leave enough rice stalks, at least eight inches thick, otherwise there may be a third locust plague next year."
Zhao Fugui was the first to raise an objection: "Uncle Village Chief, I have no objection to burning the fields to kill the insect eggs, but there's no need to leave the rice stubble. If the stubble is eight inches, there's no place to put your hands when you harvest the rice. I used to be able to harvest half an acre a day, but now it's probably going to take me a day and a half to finish what used to be a day's work."
Zhang Wulai agreed: "Leaving three or four inches is enough. It will still burn and won't cause any delay."
The head of the village thought that what Cheng Wanwan said made sense, and Cheng Wanwan also told the county magistrate about this matter. The county magistrate has already informed all other villages. In other words, this method has been approved by the county magistrate and is feasible.
Zhao Fugui and Zhang Wulai are really two troublemakers.
The village head said angrily, "The insect eggs in the ground grew in your own fields. If you can't burn them all, that's your business. I don't care. You can leave as many rice stubbles as you want. I won't force you to do anything! But if there are locusts in your fields next year, don't expect us to help you kill them. That's it, adjournment!"
The villagers dispersed.
Zhao Fugui stood there indignantly.
His wife, son, and daughter all moved out to live on their own, and it would be exhausting for him to harvest rice from six or seven acres of land by himself.
He didn't want to give in, but he couldn't just watch the rice rot in the field. So he decided to let his wife and son come back and harvest the rice first.
He was about to go to Zhao Datou's house when a person came towards him. It was Widow Zhang.
Ever since their affair was exposed, they have never met in broad daylight, for fear of being drowned in spit.
Widow Zhang secretly gave Zhao Fugui a look, indicating that he should go to the woods behind. Zhao Fugui didn't want to go, so Widow Zhang's face darkened and she strode towards him.
He had no choice but to compromise and walked into the woods.
Widow Zhang looked at him, stroking her belly and said, "I might be pregnant..."
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