Zhou Dafu was the first to get out of bed, squinting as he said, "Xingxing can't go up the mountain to pick honeysuckle today. Dad has to dig up thorns, and Mom is planting rice by herself. We need to help."
Although picking honeysuckle can earn money, growing grain is more important. Xingxing understood this after being here for a while, so she nodded solemnly, "Xingxing understands, Xingxing will also help with transplanting rice seedlings."
"Xingxing is still young, so you don't need to go to the fields to do farm work. Later, we'll get some cages, dig up some earthworms and put them in the cages, and you can catch eels and loaches in the marshland." The rice paddies we're transplanting today are right next to a stream, so they can catch loaches while they're at it.
Zhou Dafu had a little trick up his sleeve, because he discovered that all the people in his family combined couldn't catch as many loaches as Xingxing alone. Whenever Xingxing guarded a cage, there were always a lot of loaches and eels. You couldn't argue with that.
Southerners have a knack for catching small fish and shrimp in streams. The most direct method is to place the cage next to the water plants, then stick out one foot and stomp through the water plants to drive the loaches or small fish into the cage.
However, this method catches few fish, and there may be water snakes among the aquatic plants, so the chances of being bitten are high.
It's safer to put earthworms in a cage to catch them, but it also depends on luck. Not everyone can catch that many fish. The village is only so big. They often go to the stream to catch loaches, and other villagers have already discovered this.
Many people come to catch loaches and eels, and they can definitely catch some, but not as many as Old Zhou catches. The villagers also find it very strange.
But many villagers have tried it. They squeezed into the same place as the quintuplets and put their cages in the same spot, but the other quintuplets' cages still had more loaches than theirs. Isn't that infuriating?
Zhou Laosan and Zhou Laosi were especially jealous, their eyes turning red. Zhou Laosan wondered, "Brother, I'm asking you, how can you eat all those loaches you catch every day? And you can't sell them, so why don't you give some to our parents?"
With food supplies so scarce, loach and eel could play a vital role, so Zhou Laosan and Zhou Laosi set their sights on Zhou Laoda's family again.
“We can eat it all. I have many sons, and they’re all growing up. No matter how much we eat, it won’t be enough.” Old Zhou said in a gruff voice before turning and leaving.
He would never tell his third and fourth brothers that the family used the loaches and eels they couldn't finish eating to dry into fish jerky, which they then stored in earthenware jars in the cellar.
By the way, the location of their cellar is still unknown to the Zhou family. We absolutely cannot let them know, otherwise all that dried meat will be discovered.
When his parents come to ask him for money from time to time, will he give it to them or not?
Zhou Laosan angrily cursed, "Fourth brother, tell me, which of our four brothers is the most honest?"
Zhou Laosi: "Big brother and second brother."
Zhou Laosan sneered, "Second brother is really honest. He does whatever we ask him to do. Eldest brother is two-faced. He looks honest and simple, but he's actually the most cunning. Otherwise, how could all five of his sons have survived the hardships of fleeing?"
“That makes sense. It seems like the eldest sister-in-law is causing trouble. The eldest brother is afraid of his wife. But if you think about it carefully, the two of them cooperate very well in everything they do. They are united in their dealings with outsiders and keep their little family perfectly safe.” The more Zhou Laosi thought about it, the more he agreed with his third brother.
Zhou Laosan stroked his chin and said in a low voice, "Why do I feel that after that little girl arrived at my elder brother's house, the whole family's complexions have become much rosier, and the five little nephews have also become much stronger?"
“Third Brother, you’re not mistaken. It’s true. Anyone with eyes can see that the whole family has gained weight,” Zhou Laosi added.
"Let's secretly follow our eldest brother these past few days and see what he's been up to." Zhou Laosan loves to wander around all day and doesn't want to work. He feels uncomfortable when he sees others doing well.
Seeing that his older brother was living a good life, he kept targeting him, harboring malicious intentions and plotting against his own brother.
However, Zhou Laosan and Zhou Laosi had been watching Zhou Laoda for several days and discovered that Zhou Laoda would dig up brambles one day and plant rice seedlings the next, and after planting the rice seedlings, the couple would dig up brambles together.
Digging up thorns was a painful experience; one could easily get pricked by the thorns. After carrying them all the way from the mountain to the village entrance, they still had to dig holes to plant them. Zhou Laosan and Zhou Laosi quickly gave up because while they were watching Zhou Laoda, they also had to pretend to be digging up thorns nearby. The two of them suffered quite a bit.
“Let Second Brother dig up the thorns tomorrow. There’s nothing to keep an eye on with Eldest Brother. He just buries himself in his work. It’s more reliable for him to keep an eye on Sister-in-law.” Zhou Laosan was still unwilling to give up.
Old Zhou shook his head. "It wouldn't be good if two grown men like us followed a woman like my sister-in-law. What would become of our family's reputation then?"
Zhou Laosan smacked Zhou Laosi on the head in annoyance and scolded, "Who said we have to keep an eye on things ourselves? We can let our wives do it, and we can let Da Jin and Da Yin keep an eye on our five nephews."
The villagers have finished all the work in the fields. The adults have all gone up the mountain to dig up thorns and plant them at the entrance of the village, and the children also have their own things to do.
Most children would take cages to catch loaches in the stream and eels in the marshes. Some families, whose adults didn't know how to make cages, would use hoes to dig for eels.
The five Fus didn't join them; instead, they took Xingxing up the mountain to gather firewood. Gathering firewood was secondary; their main purpose was to pick honeysuckle and chrysanthemums.
"What does my sister's chrysanthemum look like?" Zhou Erfu scratched his head, looking very confused.
"Even the stars don't know," the stars said honestly.
Five Blessings: "..." So who was the person who confidently vowed to pick chrysanthemums before?
Oh well, what can I do? She's my sister, so I'll just have to do whatever she says.
Upon reaching the mountain, the six children picked three baskets of honeysuckle. Just as they were about to search for more honeysuckle, Zhou Erfu suddenly realized that someone was spying on him from behind.
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