Chapter 28 When will the hard times end?
Seeing that her mother looked unhappy, Li Caiyun approached her cautiously and took Zhang Guifang's arm: "Mom, who provoked you?"
Zhang Guifang looked at her daughter and said, "No one has offended me. I am just upset."
She was fine before she went out, but her face turned dark after she came back from a visit to Zhou's house. She said that no one had provoked her, but Li Caiyun didn't believe it at all.
"Mom, is the Zhou family asking for money again?"
Zhang Guifang sighed and stopped: "The Zhou family is simply a bottomless pit. I just gave Zhou Gang 30 yuan last night, and he said the money was not enough, so he asked me to help make up another 20..."
Li Caiyun knew that her mother was unhappy because of the money issue.
"Mom, is there any money at home? If you don't have any, don't make it hard on yourself..."
It’s not that Li Caiyun is selfish, it’s just that the Zhou family has asked her family to borrow money many times in the past three years.
The Li family also has to make a living, and it is impossible for them to always help the Zhou family for free.
Zhang Guifang looked helpless: "I don't want to help the Zhou family either. After all, Zhou Yong is here. Although he and the Zhou family are not happy, his last name is Zhou after all..."
Although Zhou Yong had no contact with the Zhou family, Zhang Guifang and Li Baotian could not break off their relationship with the Zhou family.
The couple needs to make plans for the future of Zhou Yong and Li Caiyun. It is precisely because of these things that they are willing to bite the bullet and help the Zhou family.
Li Caiyun bit her lip and fell silent. Zhang Guifang started to nag in her mind: "If you hadn't liked Zhou Yong in the first place, why would our family marry into the Zhou family? In the end, it's all because of you, girl..."
What could she say? She could only let her mother nag.
Zhang Guifang muttered to herself as she went into the house, rummaged through the drawers and took out twenty yuan.
She stared at the money again and again, thought about it, and put the ten dollars back.
After closing the cabinet lid, Zhang Guifang rolled her eyes at Li Baotian who was soundly sleeping, then left home with the ten yuan in her hand without a second thought.
The Zhou family does not have many relatives to rely on, and if possible, they do not want to shamelessly ask the Li family for help.
Ultimately, these are all caused by lack of money. If relatives were well-off, how could these things happen between them?
Li Caiyun watched Zhang Guifang leave home while sewing her shoe soles. Gradually, her expression became a little dazed, and she fell into thinking about the relationship between the Zhou and Li families.
Obviously if things continue like this, the Zhou and Li families will eventually fall out. Li Caiyun has already realized this.
Just when she was worried, her cousin Li Caixia came.
Li Caiyun was very happy to see Li Caixia and quickly stood up to greet her.
"Sister Xia, when did you come back?"
Li Caixia married into a commune a few years ago and would occasionally go back to her parents' home to beg for money.
"I just got home a while ago. I missed you, so I came to see you."
Li Caiyun took Li Caixia's hand and sat on a small stool, and the cousins chatted about family matters.
"Sister Xia, you and my brother-in-law are getting along well, right?"
Li Caixia sighed, and Li Caiyun secretly blamed herself for talking too much.
"Isn't that so?"
Li Caiyun's smile was somewhat unnatural, because Li Caixia's husband was a bastard who made money but didn't support the family, and just lived comfortably.
It is precisely because of this that Li Caixia would occasionally return to her parents' home to beg for money, which is really a helpless act.
Li Caiyun raised her hand and supported her temples: "Sister Xia, there are a lot of vegetables from my vegetable garden. I will bring some back for you later..."
Li Caixia responded with a smile, and she pulled her upper body back while sitting on a small stool and put one hand into her trouser pocket.
"Keep this."
Li Caixia slipped a note into her cousin's hand.
Li Caiyun looked at her cousin with a puzzled look on her face. Li Caixia lowered her voice and whispered in her ear: "I found you a fertility drug. It is said to be effective. I guarantee that you will have two children in three years..."
"Thank you, Sister Xia."
In the past two years, Li Caixia has been collecting various folk remedies for having children for Li Caiyun from time to time.
Li Caiyun would accept them every time and was very grateful to her cousin.
"I have to go back, otherwise the kids at home will make trouble..."
Li Caiyun stood up: "Sister Xia, I'll go pick some vegetables for you."
Li Caixia responded with a smile, and Li Caiyun took a small basket and went into the vegetable garden with her cousin.
There are a lot of pickled vegetables in the vegetable garden, but very few other vegetables are ripe.
There was a small basket full of pickled vegetables, and Li Caiyun picked some beans for her cousin.
As the cousins were talking, they walked out, and Zhou Yong carried some water into the yard.
If Zhou Yong had seen Li Caixia before, he would definitely not say hello first, because she was Li Hongjun's biological sister.
Today, Zhou Yong saw his aunt and greeted her with a smile.
Li Caixia showed a look of surprise, and when Zhou Yong entered the yard carrying water, she looked back.
"Xiao Yun, has Zhou Yong changed his personality? He actually took the initiative to talk to me!"
Li Caiyun's eyes were full of smiles: "Sister Xia, Zhou Yong has changed a lot recently. I can't explain it to you in a few words. When you come back next time, we will talk about this together..."
Li Caixia looked gossipy: "Then just keep it short, otherwise I won't be able to sleep when I get home."
Li Caiyun rolled her eyes at her cousin and said, "Aren't you afraid that the child will make trouble at home now?"
Li Caixia curled her lips: "Okay, let's talk next time we meet."
After seeing Li Caixia off, Li Caiyun turned around and walked into the yard with a smile.
"Just have enough water, don't be picky."
Li Caiyun entered the yard, and Zhou Yong walked out carrying an empty bucket.
"I am carrying water once, so I don't have to carry water at night."
The water in the jar is enough for dinner, but not enough for breakfast tomorrow.
Li Caiyun glanced at him and nodded, then Zhou Yong walked out the door.
Li Baotian rubbed his eyes and walked out of the house. Li Caiyun looked at her father.
"Caiyun, where's your mother?"
"My mother went to Zhou's house."
Li Baotian said "oh" and went to the toilet at home. Li Caiyun sat on a small stool and started mending the soles of shoes.
After a while, Li Baotian came to the front yard from the back garden and asked: "Why did your mother go to Zhou's house at this time?"
He was in a hurry to go to the bathroom and didn't ask any more questions.
Li Caiyun looked at her father and talked about her grandmother's hospitalization for surgery.
Li Baotian was at the brigade last night. He frowned after hearing what his daughter said and said helplessly, "The Zhou family has many people but little income. When will the poverty end?"
Li Caiyun did not respond. Li Baotian muttered to himself for a few words, washed his face and prepared to go to the team.
When Zhou Yong came back with the water, Li Baotian was still dawdling and hadn't left the house yet. The father-in-law and son-in-law left home together.
On the way to the brigade, Li Baotian walked slowly with his hands behind his back, while Zhou Yong took small steps and walked side by side with his father-in-law.
The father-in-law and son-in-law strolled to the front gate of the brigade. Before they entered the yard, they immediately heard the old lady Han cursing with full confidence.
Li Baotian and Zhou Yong looked at each other, and he saw helplessness in his father-in-law's eyes.
Even so, Li Baotian still walked in with gritted teeth. After all, hiding was not a solution.
"What are you arguing about?"
After entering the yard, Li Baotian asked loudly even though he already knew the answer, and the villagers who came to watch the fun automatically made way for him.
Zhou Yong followed his father-in-law into the crowd. When Old Mrs. Han saw Li Baotian, she burst into tears, scaring the unsuspecting people.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com