"Little sister, mother is right. Five taels of silver may seem like a lot, but your new family will spend it quickly. Pay the debts you can to the villagers first, and buy the important things from outside first."
"Then I'll listen to my mother. We'll keep a record of the accounts when the time comes."
"They say a broken home is worth a fortune. That's a bit of an exaggeration, but it's true. Building a new home requires new things, and we don't have any money here, so we can only scrape together what we have here and there."
Zhang rested for a while and then got up to help them chop bamboo.
Seeing that it was getting late, Zhou went home to cook. When Chunxiao and her two sisters-in-law came back, it was already getting dark. The three members of the Yan family had also returned early.
"You all know that I come home to cook, but you still come back so late and make your father wait for you for dinner. That's not right." Although Zhou's words were reproachful, her tone was still gentle.
"Mom, we thought we'd finish chopping the bamboo before coming back, but we didn't expect it to be late. You guys should just eat first instead of waiting for us." Chunxiao walked over to her father and said, "Dad, we don't have to chop wood tomorrow. I was just talking to my sister-in-law today about taking a day off. Look at you all, you're all exhausted."
"Why rest? You have to work hard. The more you rest, the more tired you become and the less you want to work. Wait until everything is done, then you can rest properly." Yan Bingfa gestured for Zhou to set the table. "By the way, the village head brought a message today, saying that we should go get the land deeds tomorrow. He said everything has been processed."
"So fast?" Chunxiao was delighted. "Our village is quite efficient."
"It's been three days. I heard from your mother that everything is ready over there, so you don't have to go tomorrow, just stay home. Your Fifth Uncle Yan will come to our house tomorrow to get some wood. I've told him everything I need to do. You guys stay home and keep an eye on the wood. Don't let anyone take it away. I've asked Xiaoqi to help me watch over it for the past two days. Tomorrow we'll re-smear mud on the outer wall to reinforce it, and then lift the roof and re-lay the wood." He looked at Zhou again, "Did you get the thatch?"
"I don't have time today. I'll pack it up and send it to you tomorrow morning." Zhou turned and went to the kitchen to get food.
"Dad, I'd better go tomorrow to watch you guys work and help you out. My sister-in-law and the others at home can't help me."
"Okay, go ahead if you want to."
It was already dark when they finished their meal. They had no choice but to light an oil lamp and boil water in the dark in the kitchen to wash.
While washing, Chunxiao told Shufeng that she would not tell stories tonight, but Shufeng still ran over to sleep with them. Because there was no important work arranged for the next day, Chunxiao finally had a good sleep and slept in. Zhou didn't call her, knowing that she was tired, so she let her sleep.
When Chunxiao came out and saw his second sister-in-law, he scratched his head embarrassedly.
"You are now back to being a girl. No one will take care of you in the future. Your sister-in-law envies you." Zhang was hanging clothes in the yard. Her clothes got dirty quickly from working these days. If she didn't wash them in time, she would have nothing to wear.
Chunxiao took a look and found her thin coat inside. No wonder the clean one was placed beside the bed when she got up. "Sister-in-law, why are you still washing clothes for me? This is so embarrassing."
"What's there to be embarrassed about? It's just a piece of clothing." Zhang smiled. "Mother has warmed up some porridge for you. Come and have some."
Chunxiao arrived at the east yard. As usual, the children were not there. They must have gone to the riverbank to pick pig grass again. "Sister-in-law, it's good here. There is still pig grass to pick at this time of year. There is no pig grass in Zhoujia Village anymore."
"They're almost gone. There are still some on the riverbank, but there are too many people pulling them out, and the children go there early every day, so there are fewer and fewer. Nowadays, we have to add bran to the pig feed, otherwise they won't grow meat."
Chunxiao looked around but didn't see Zhou. "Where's my mother?"
"I went to the village to collect thatch. When will you go to the end of the village?"
"I'll go with mother when she comes back, and deliver the thatch together." She ran to the kitchen to eat porridge. "Sister-in-law, did mother say when she would go to town?" The last time Aunt Fang asked her, she said it would be in a few days.
"I don't know. You can ask Mom and find out. So, have you thought of something to buy?"
"Let me see when she goes and then I'll see what I should buy. If I can avoid buying some things, I'll just leave them for now. Like Mom said, the little money I have is really not going to be very useful."
"The Zhou family is such a piece of shit, why are they willing to give you five taels of silver?" She was curious when she heard her say that she got five taels of silver yesterday. She asked Dashan about it in the evening, but Dashan refused to tell her. She was afraid that there must be some trick going on.
"Of course their family is reluctant to give it, but my husband has to save face, so he has to give it to me."
"I think this silver is very good, but it's a little short."
"Forget it. I'm well aware of the Zhou family's financial situation. We should always leave some room for error. After all, I've lived with them for four years, and they haven't treated me harshly in those four years. I can't go too far."
"If you ask me, you're still a little kind-hearted, but it's okay."
Tian chatted with her while working. It was quite good to get along with this sister-in-law. At least she felt comfortable.
Soon, two women followed Zhou back, each carrying a bundle of straw on her back.
"Mrs. Zhou, where should I put it for you?" the woman asked.
"Just pile it on top of that backpack."
The woman put the grass up and saw Tian and Chunxiao in the yard. "Chunxiao, I heard that you've been back since you came back. You can visit my aunt when you have time." The other woman also looked at her and smiled.
"I'll go when I get a chance. Thank you, auntie."
The two women left.
"Mom, do you want money for these thatches?" The thatches were arranged quite neatly.
My dear, there is more to this chapter. Please click on the next page to continue reading. It will be even more exciting later!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
