Chapter 171: Keeping Warm
When Xiao Shitou woke up, Zhao Chunhua fed him some water, then took him for a walk outside and went to pick up Shu Mian'er.
The baby's soft body pressed against his chest, warm and full of vitality.
Walking on the familiar path, surrounded by the unique earthy scent of the countryside, it is refreshing.
Seeing that Shu Mian'er's belly was getting bigger and bigger, Zhao Chunhua would try her best to pick her up and drop her off personally when she was free.
After all, it is inconvenient to move during pregnancy, and especially in the later stages of pregnancy, you must pay more attention to safety issues.
It is now September, and nearly two months have passed since the beginning of autumn.
During this period, Zhang Xufeng made a special trip home to visit his family and told everyone that he would return to his old home with his wife the next time he returned home.
The Zhang family raised a pig specifically for Zhao Chunhua, planning to slaughter it and give it to her when the weather got colder.
This is a recognition and support for her hard work; at the same time, Zhang's sister-in-law's family also bought a pig and prepared to give it to them as a gift at the same time to express their good wishes and support for the couple.
Even in the village, not everyone raises pigs.
Farming is not as simple as it seems. It not only requires a lot of energy, but also requires certain technical knowledge.
Some families are unwilling to raise pets due to laziness; and many people just don’t seem to have the affinity for raising pets.
For example, the Yu family had tried to raise pigs in the past, but unfortunately they encountered an epidemic outbreak and the sick pigs had to be disposed of collectively, resulting in huge losses. They continued to raise another pig the following year, but this pig grew very slowly, and they finally had no choice but to sell it.
The buyer originally planned to slaughter the pig and eat it, but due to some recent events at home, he was delayed for a few days and did not have time to do it. During this time, the pig actually gained a lot of weight.
Seeing that the pig was gaining weight, the buyer was no longer in a hurry to slaughter it immediately, and eventually they let the pig grow into a very strong and fat pig.
After hearing about this, the Yu family began to feel that their family might really have an inexplicable connection with pig farming.
In the past two years, not only did I fail to make any money, I even lost money, and I also wasted a lot of precious time and energy taking care of the animals.
Therefore, from then on, the Yu family completely gave up the idea of continuing to try to raise livestock.
Although the youngest son is still a teenager and has not yet considered getting married, it is still necessary for the family to prepare some pickled and cured products in order to prepare for various banquets that may arise in the future.
At least on important occasions like wedding banquets, these homemade meats can come in handy.
Even if there is not enough food, purchasing more fresh meat can ensure that the whole wedding banquet looks decent and rich.
However, there are actually not many specific matters such as planning the wedding that Zhao Chunhua needs to worry about personally.
At this moment, she was busy sorting out a series of items, which she intended for Shu Mian'er to take to the Zhang family for use.
During these few days, she used her free time to make a lot of children's clothes. All of them were carefully sewn for the upcoming little life and had been sorted out, waiting to be taken away and given to the children of relatives and friends.
Not only that, knowing that Shumian'er particularly liked food made with rice noodle skin, she specially filled a bag with it as a gift for her.
Recently, whenever Zhang Xufeng is free, he always offers to help, whether it is chopping wood or moving things, he is very willing to do it. This has directly resulted in not only the wood in the wooden shed being neatly stacked at the top position, but also the side of the yard against the wall is piled with firewood for burning and cooking.
It was because of his selfless help that the entire work process became very smooth and fast, and it also made Zhao Chunhua feel a lot more relaxed, so she kept in mind everything the other party had done and hoped to give appropriate feedback or care at the appropriate time.
Finally, an extra large pack of pumpkin and red bean rolls was added to the package to be delivered. The sugar content in this batch of snacks was deliberately reduced to meet the taste needs of more people.
Although she had never experienced pregnancy herself, she remembered that her friends would pay special attention to controlling their intake of sugary foods in the later stages of pregnancy in order to maintain a healthy weight.
They are well aware that too much sweets may not only cause blood sugar fluctuations in pregnant women, but may also lead to unnecessary weight gain.
Therefore, she would not consider letting her friend who is about to become a mother enjoy any food that is too sweet.
In order to better cater to her friend's special needs, she specifically told Shu Mian'er that the two packages of carefully selected snacks were actually prepared as a token of appreciation for the elders in her husband's family, and what was really left for the expectant mother to enjoy was the rice cake which was soft, nutritious yet light in taste.
In addition, she also added a small bag of high-quality millet to the gift. This arrangement will make it easier for her family to prepare porridge that is easy to digest and nutritious for the pregnant woman to drink in the future.
Considering that raw eggs are not suitable for long-term storage, especially in the face of the upcoming long journey, in order to avoid inconvenience or waste during the journey, Zhao Chunhua simply gave Shu Mian'er a hundred copper coins and asked her to buy the freshest eggs herself after returning to the village.
In addition, the fresh tofu that was just made this morning has been carefully divided into two portions: half is given to the visitors to take home directly; as for the rest, it has been cooked into a delicious side dish, ready for Zhang Xufeng to take back and share this delicious food with his family.
"Here is one ounce of silver. Please go back to the village and order a set of winter clothing for yourself and Jia Ze to keep warm."
The idea of giving fabric as a gift only lasted for a moment before being rejected. After all, even if the other party received the material, they would still have to go to the market to find suitable fillings and spend time and energy to make the finished garments.
"I'll keep these materials for my own use."
She explained.
Shu Mian'er and Zhang Xufeng stood in the middle of the room, watching Zhao Chunhua, like a good housewife who took care of housework seriously, carefully and methodically packing one thing after another into the big bag that she was about to carry back to the village.
"Mother, you are very thoughtful by doing this. There is no need to add anything else."
After exchanging a tacit look, the daughter, who is usually more cheerful and generous, took the lead in expressing her gratitude.
After all, for Zhang Xufeng, who is relatively shy and introverted, he would always feel a little restrained and uneasy to speak his mind directly in front of such a kind and respectable mother like Zhao Chunhua.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
