Before the New Year, Zhao Guizhi sold all the handkerchiefs and earned a total of two hundred coins, which was the result of her hard work for a month.
"Take these two hundred coins. This is all I can earn right now. I'll think of something next year and things will be better for the family." Zhao Guizhi gave all the money to Zhao Guihua.
Zhao Guihua snorted irritably and returned the two hundred coins. "Keep this money for yourself. I don't need it. Do you still consider me your sister? If you keep being polite to me, I'll get angry."
"I didn't mean anything by it, I just wanted to do my part for the family. You and your brother-in-law have it tough," Zhao Guizhi said with a wry smile.
“Your health isn’t good, so you should rest first. But you’ve been doing embroidery day and night, and I can’t stop you. Earning money can’t be rushed. After the New Year and spring, there will be plenty of work for you. Just don’t complain about being tired then.”
Zhao Guihua thought that since the family didn't have oxen to plow the fields, they would have to go to the fields to turn the soil after the New Year. By then, her sister would be almost fully recovered and would also have to work together.
After thinking for a moment, Zhao Guihua decided to confront Zhao Guizhi to ease her pressure. "Sister, there's something I haven't told you yet. Actually, we dug up a wild ginseng in the mountains before. It was huge, and I reckon it's quite old. It'll definitely fetch a good price."
I know you're quick-witted. If you have a good idea for what kind of business to do next year, I'll sell my wild ginseng and lend you the money first.
"Really?" Zhao Guizhi looked doubtful, thinking that her sister was just saying that to comfort her.
"Why would I lie to you? What kind of person am I? Would I be the kind of person who would use lies to coax people?" Zhao Guihua sighed and rubbed her forehead in exasperation.
Seeing that she really wasn't lying, Zhao Guizhi believed her and felt much more at ease. Otherwise, Chen Shunping would have needed another year to recover, and the cost of medicine and living expenses would have been considerable. She was worried that she would be a burden on her sister's family.
Before they knew it, it was Lunar New Year's Eve. The weather was exceptionally good today; there was no snow, and the clear blue sky was cloudless. Zhou Laoda and his five sons got up early to slaughter chickens and ducks.
Xingxing took the big bowl, put some salt and water into it, ran to the yard, put the bowl on the ground, and said in a clear voice, "Dad, you can bleed now."
Zhou Laoda held a cleaver in his right hand and grabbed the rooster's wing with his left. Zhou Dafu helped hold the rooster's feet, and with his other hand, he plucked the feathers from the rooster's neck and pressed down on the rooster's head.
"Alright." Before Zhou Dafu finished speaking, Zhou Laoda cut the chicken's neck with a knife, then pressed the chicken brain down, and all the chicken blood was poured into the large bowl. When there was only a little left, Zhou Erfu quickly grabbed some straw paper and spilled the remaining chicken blood onto the straw paper.
Then they bled a duck, and finally killed a rabbit. This rabbit wasn't one of their pets; it was the silly wild rabbit that Xingxing had run into yesterday while playing outside the gate, knocking Xingxing to the ground.
The rabbit bumped into Xingxing but didn't run away. It just sat still at her feet, so Xingxing took the rabbit home.
At this moment, Xingxing covered her eyes with her chubby little hands, not daring to watch the chickens and ducks being bled. Only when she heard the sound of the chickens and ducks flapping their wings on the ground and knew that the bleeding was over did Xingxing lower her hands to look.
Zhou Laoda and the five Fu brothers processed the chicken, duck, and rabbit together. They took the chicken to the kitchen, cooked it whole, put it on a plate, and then put some candy and fruit on two other plates.
All these things were packed in a basket, along with a wine pot and three cups, some incense and candles, as well as paper money and blood-stained straw paper. According to the custom of Nanyang Prefecture, on New Year's Eve, people would carry these things to worship the local Earth God.
Seeing her father and brothers leave with baskets, Xingxing also tried to follow with her short legs. Ruru is very attached to her older sister now. When she saw her sister go out, she immediately stuffed the dried fruit in her hand into her mouth and shouted that she wanted to go too.
"Sister, sister, wait for me, Ruru wants to play too." Recently, Ruru's condition has been getting better and better. Except for having nightmares at night, she looks no different from other children during the day.
Zhao Guihua firmly believed that Ru Ru recovered so quickly because of Xingxing's good fortune; Xingxing was their family's lucky star.
"You two little girls, slow down, don't rush," Zhao Guihua ran quickly to the door and called to her two sons who were walking at the back, "Erfu, Sanfu, wait a moment, bring Xingxing and Ruru along."
Zhou Erfu and Zhou Sanfu quickly turned around and ran over, hugging Xingxing at the same time. The two glared at each other for a few moments. Zhou Erfu, relying on his strength, snatched Xingxing away and hugged her, then raised his chin in a gesture.
"Why aren't you going to hug Ruru? She's about to cry. How can you be such a good brother to her?"
Zhou Sanfu gritted his teeth and glared at him fiercely. It was always the same. He would use his strength to push aside the other four brothers, and he was always the one who carried or carried Xingxing.
Although he was seething with hatred, when Zhou Sanfu squatted down to hug Ruru, his expression immediately returned to normal, revealing a gentle and refined demeanor.
Ruru is actually afraid of Zhou Erfu. Zhou Erfu doesn't like to hug her and will glare at her secretly. Ruru likes Xingxing the most, and Dafu and Sanfu the second most. They speak very gently and will hug or carry her when they go out to play.
Her two older brothers, Sifu and Wufu, wouldn't secretly scold her, but they would always secretly take Xingxing to play without her. She felt a little sad, but she didn't say anything.
As for Xingxing, this girl has always been carefree and didn't notice the lawsuits between her brothers and Ruru. It's just that her second brother has been particularly fond of hugging her lately, always vying to hold her, and he's become quite clingy.
Zhou Erfu carried Xingxing and ran very fast. Before long, he left Zhou Sanfu behind. Xingxing looked back and saw Ruru leaning forward, eagerly trying to catch up with them. But Zhou Sanfu was in no hurry and walked leisurely.
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