Chapter 86 Something Happened to Zhao Fugui
Making adobe bricks is not an easy task.
But this is the most economical way to build a house, and almost every household does it.
The adobe mold was borrowed from the village head's house. The soil on the ground was dug up by Zhao Dashan from the other side of the village three days ago and had been left in the yard, soaked with water. Because the soil was not very sticky, it needed to be mixed with a finger-length of rice straw and stirred together.
Zhao Sanniu was in charge of shoveling soil into the mold, while Zhao Dashan was in charge of tamping the soil into the mold to make it firm and flat.
Cheng Wanwan sat on the side and watched for a while, then shook her head.
While adobe bricks can indeed be used to build houses, their sturdiness is certainly lacking. In the event of heavy snow, strong winds, or torrential rain, the houses may not be able to withstand the pressure and will require frequent repairs.
She did want to buy blue bricks, but the village head's family only used blue bricks for the threshold and load-bearing pillars; most of their houses were still made of adobe. If she were to build a house with blue tiles, she feared it would make the whole village envious and jealous.
However, she could improve the adhesion of the adobe bricks.
She bought a bottle of adhesive in the mall. It was a type of building adhesive used in modern rural construction, which is obsolete in modern times but is a rare and valuable item in this era.
While Zhao Sanniu wasn't looking, she poured half a bottle in, and the soil visibly became sticky, making it impossible to shake off the shovel.
Making adobe bricks might be a bit tiring at this stage, but once the house is built, its safety and lifespan will be better.
Before many adobe bricks had been made, Zhao Youyin and Zhao Youcai had finished their work. Cheng Wanwan paid them their daily wages, and each of them took fifteen coins to go back and do their chores at home.
Just then, Zhao Sidan returned carrying a basket on his back, his face beaming with joy: "Mom, I caught so many locusts, the chicks can have their fill now."
Zhao Youyin glanced at it and was immediately startled: "Why are there so many locusts?"
He went to the fields every day and saw only a few locusts. He would stomp on each one he saw. But now, half of his basket was full of locusts, buzzing around, which reminded him of the locust plague last year. These things flew everywhere and ate all the crops in the fields.
"It's perfectly normal to have locusts in the fields." Zhao Youcai wasn't too concerned. "As long as they don't fly over in swarms, it's not a big deal."
The two brothers walked away as they talked.
Zhao Sidan, without a care in the world, took locusts to feed the chickens.
Chickens that eat wild vegetables are completely different from chickens that eat locusts. Since these chickens and ducks started taking a lot of supplements, they have changed every day. Before, they were yellow and fluffy, but in the past few days, they have started to fade and their size has increased a lot.
As the sun began to set, Zhao Dashan and Zhao Sanniu stopped making adobe bricks and went down to the fields to weed and fertilize.
Cheng Wanwan then began preparing dinner.
Fortunately, Wu Huiniang woke up while she was making dinner.
"Don't rush to get up, lie down." Cheng Wanwan pressed her shoulders. "The baby in your belly is fine, it's mainly because your body is too weak. You almost lost the baby. Relax and take good care of yourself..."
With tears blurring her vision, Wu Huiniang said, "Mother, thank you, Mother..."
"We're all family, no need to thank me," Cheng Wanwan said with a smile. "I'll go make you some fish soup."
The fish was stewed until it turned milky white. The fish soup and the meat from the fish's belly were left for Wu Huiniang to eat. Wu Huiniang was deeply moved and silently ate it all.
The rest of the fish was divided among the three children.
Cheng Wanwan doesn't dislike eating fish, but she doesn't want to compete with the children for food. If she really wanted to eat it, she could secretly buy one from the mall and stew it herself.
After dinner, it was still study time.
Because the children haven't fully grasped the concepts yet, Zhao Tiezhu hasn't been asked to teach them new material for the time being.
"At the beginning of life, people are inherently good."
"Natures are similar, but habits make them different."
The sound of reading aloud could be heard again and again.
The next morning, Cheng Wanwan was woken up by Aunt Wang.
Since arriving in this era, she has been waking up very early every day, but she still can't keep up with the locals.
Every day when she gets up, Aunt Wang has already been busy outside. Now, while she is still sleeping, Aunt Wang's voice rang out from outside the yard: "Grandma Dashan, wake up! Something's happened!"
It's Zhao Fugui who's in trouble.
Zhao Fugui lay under the big locust tree, his face deathly pale. When someone called him, he didn't respond and looked like he was dead.
However, he would suddenly twitch and then ramble incoherently in a panic.
"I was wrong, Zhao Youjin, I was wrong!"
"You Jin, please let me go, I'll kowtow to you!"
"Don't come any closer! Don't kill me!"
Zhao Fugui's mother sat outside the circle of the big locust tree, wiping away tears incessantly, crying as if her heart was breaking.
Many villagers stood by and watched.
"Zhao Youjin has appeared; Zhao Fugui is probably going to die this time."
“He should have thought of this when he dared to bully orphans and widows.”
"Who would have thought that Zhao Youjin would actually appear? I have to say, it's a bit scary, I feel a chill down my spine."
"My son!" Zhao Fugui's mother wailed, "You liked to steal chickens and dogs when you were little. I thought you were too young and didn't know any better, so I didn't pay much attention to you. I never imagined it would cause such a disaster... I was wrong. I, as your mother, failed to raise you properly..."
As dawn broke, the area under the old locust tree was already packed with people.
Cheng Wanwan squeezed into the crowd. She glanced at Zhao Fugui and saw that his face was not only deathly pale but also had an abnormal redness, probably from fright.
She slowly said, "I spoke with Da Shan's father, and he agreed to let someone go in to take care of Zhao Fugui."
Zhao Fugui's mother immediately said, "Let me in. Even if my son dies, he must die in my arms."
Cheng Wanwan shook her head: "You're too old, you can't."
If Zhao Youjin were to accidentally get an electric shock and something were to happen, he would likely be talked about behind his back for the rest of his life.
Just then, Zhang quietly appeared in the crowd.
She had only come to see what was happening to Zhao Fugui after hearing that he had gotten into trouble. She didn't want anything to happen to him, since he was the most generous of all her friends... If Zhao Fugui died, no one in the village would want to get involved with her anymore.
As soon as Zhang appeared, she was spotted by the villagers and pushed to the front.
"Tsk, let Widow Zhang go in and take care of him. Isn't she very fond of Zhao Fugui? He already has a wife, yet she still tries to get close to him."
“Widow Zhang, you are Zhao Fugui’s woman. He’s in such a state, shouldn’t you go in and see him?”
Widow Zhang was so frightened that her face suddenly turned pale.
This place is being watched by Zhao Youjin's ghost; if she goes in, she'll definitely be scared to death.
She shook her head frantically: "I have nothing to do with him, why should I take care of him? I need to go back to work, everyone move aside..."
She lowered her head and ran away quickly.
"I'll do it."
Aunt Fugui stepped out from the crowd.
Her complexion was terrible, ashen and bluish-gray.
But without hesitation, he walked towards the big locust tree.
Cheng Wanwan was somewhat disappointed.
She thought Aunt Fugui would give up on Zhao Fugui completely, but she never expected that she would still take care of such a man so devotedly.
Forget it, in ancient times, women regarded their husbands as their heaven, so she shouldn't judge them with her modern views.
Cheng Wanwan casually took a couple of steps, turned off the power, and then turned the power back on after Aunt Fugui went inside.
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