The group was bustling about in the yard. When they finished processing the wild boar, Zhou Laoda returned with his two sons. Each of the three carried a basket on their backs and another in their arms. Two of the baskets were filled with melon vines, while the others were filled with bamboo shoots.
The three of them, Zhou Laoda and his companions, were exhausted. Xingxing poured water for them in a wooden bowl, but since she couldn't lift the earthenware pot, she asked the village chief to help her pour the water.
After watching Zhou Erfu and Zhou Sifu finish drinking their water and catch their breath, Xingxing pointed at Zhang Jiacai and said, "That uncle said he wanted Xingxing to stay at his house. He also has five older brothers, but I didn't agree. This is Xingxing's home. My five brothers are my brothers. I will not recognize anyone else as my brother."
"Oh dear, little ancestor, I was just joking with you, why are you complaining? You little brat, are you deliberately trying to make things difficult for me?" Zhang Jiacai wailed, about to ask Boss Zhou for help.
Zhou Laoda pretended not to see his pleading eyes, turned around and went to the kitchen to fetch water to take a bath. Serves him right, he actually tried to kidnap his daughter, he deserves to be taught a lesson, let's see if he dares to talk nonsense again next time.
Zhou Erfu and Zhou Sifu leaped up, and Zhang Jiacai was caught and lifted up by them before he could run more than a few steps. Zhang Jiacai was so frightened that he cried out for mercy.
"Will you dare to talk nonsense in front of our sister again next time? I'll give you a chance to reform this time, but if there's a next time, I definitely won't let you off the hook," Zhou Erfu said threateningly.
"I won't do it again, Uncle knows he was wrong. Erfu and Sifu, please put Uncle down quickly. Oh, my heart is about to stop. Uncle is old and can't take this kind of fright." Zhou Jiacai wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, still feeling lingering fear even after he had stood up.
The two Zhou boys are incredibly strong; they easily lifted him, a grown man, onto their heads. They'll be amazing when they're a few years older.
He wouldn't dare joke about Xingxing again next time. Xingxing is the apple of Zhou Laoda's eye. If he really dared to seduce that little girl, Erfu and Sifu would probably tear him apart.
Zhang Jiacai trembled as he picked up a bowl of water and drank it to calm his nerves before slowly saying, "With Erfu and Sifu's strength, I don't think lifting a 300-pound wild boar would be a problem."
"What are you saying? They're only ten years old. Even if they could barely lift it, they'd probably hurt themselves. They're at the age where they're growing, so we can't let them lift anything too heavy," the village chief said frankly.
"You think you're so capable? What kind of nonsense are you spouting? You can't even lift it properly, yet you dare to talk big. You should be sewing your mouth shut with a needle and thread. It's too messy."
Zhou Fagen glanced at Zhang Jiacai, signaling him to shut up. He told him to just help slaughter the pig and not to talk so much nonsense.
Do you still want to eat wild boar meat?
Zhao Guihua originally wanted to invite them to stay for dinner, but Zhang Jiacai's words today really made her uncomfortable. Seeing that her husband and sons were exhausted, she decided not to invite them to stay.
Each person received five jin of wild boar meat, and each person also received a section of pig intestine before they went home to eat. The village chief was the last to leave. After Zhou Laoda finished taking a bath, he called the village chief into the house to talk.
The two talked about the children's schooling in town. Dongsheng was able to attend Jiang Xiucai's private school because the village chief had given him his early education. Since Dongsheng was young, it was definitely not feasible for him to live in town alone; he needed someone to take care of him.
For the past month, the village chief had been taking care of Dongsheng in town. He would stay at the town's house at night, and after sending Dongsheng to the private school in the morning, he would rush back to the village to farm. In the evening, he would have to rush back to town, which was very hard work. So he was thinking of buying a cow or a donkey so that it would be more convenient for him to travel back and forth.
Zhou Laoda suggested, "Actually, you could have your wife go to town to take care of Dongsheng and do some small business on the side. That way, she won't have to work so hard, and Dongsheng can go back for lunch."
“There are no elderly people in our family now, just my wife and I farming. We’re too busy to manage. No amount of money can bring peace of mind as much as having plenty of grain. We should stick to farming.” In fact, it’s not just the village chief who thinks this way; everyone in Yegou Village thinks the same way.
Back then, people were terrified of fleeing from famine. Even if they had a few taels of silver, they had nowhere to spend it. And even if they did, during times of famine, grain prices skyrocketed, reaching exorbitant levels. One tael of silver could only buy ten liters of coarse grain at most, which was unaffordable for the poor.
And last year there was another disaster, which cast an even deeper shadow on them. They are afraid that there will be another disaster at any time, so they must grow more grain. After paying taxes, even if there is surplus grain, they cannot sell a single grain and must hoard it all.
Actually, the village chief didn't intend to come up with anything from Zhou Laoda. He just wanted to chat with Zhou Laoda for a bit because his son Dongsheng's schooling had exhausted him and his wife.
When Zhou Laoda's oxcart is no longer needed, he can borrow it for a day or two, but he would feel embarrassed to borrow more than that. He would have to spend his own money to buy an ox or something, which is not impossible for him.
Finally, the village chief ate dinner at Zhou Laoda's house before leaving. Zhou Laoda gave him pig lungs and pig liver, plus eight catties of pork to take home.
That evening, Zhao Guihua stewed pig's heart and stomach together with dried mushrooms, and also stir-fried a plate of pig's large intestine and a plate of pig's head meat.
We sent out dozens of kilograms, but we still have quite a bit at home. We used the pork fat to render lard, and the rest of the meat was smoked to dry. The weather is too humid now, so no meat keeps well.
I need to bring half of the meat back to town the day after tomorrow. Five boys need a lot of meat to eat, so I have to prepare more.
Before going to bed that night, Zhao Guihua said to Zhou Laoda, "Honey, I saw that big rabbit trying to dig a hole to escape today. This rabbit burrow isn't sturdy enough. When you have time, nail some more planks on it, so that we don't end up with rabbits that we've raised for so long and haven't even seen a single hair."
Rabbit droppings and urine are very smelly. Don't be fooled by their small size; rabbits eat a lot and their mouths are practically never stopping all day long. The more they eat, the more they poop, which is why they smell so bad.
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