Chapter 31 Rules
The Zhou family had not had dinner yet, but the food was ready, obviously waiting for them. As soon as they arrived at the village entrance, Datou led his younger brothers and sisters and rushed up, yelling.
They climbed up the cart in a hurry without caring that it was moving. When Zhou Dalang and Zhou Erlang saw this, their eyes widened into smiles. While scolding them, they took the time to stretch out a hand and pile the children onto the cart.
From a distance, Old Zhou saw the smiles on their faces and knew that the trip was going well. He turned around and went back to the house with his hands behind his back.
Xiao Qian led her two sisters-in-law to move the table from the main hall to the yard. It was a little dark in the room, and it would be a waste to light an oil lamp. Anyway, there was still light outside, so they decided to eat outside.
Zhou Wulang and Zhou Liulang, one holding money in a cloth bag and the other carrying a big rooster in a basket, both rushed home.
Before she even entered the door, she shouted, "Sister-in-law, sister-in-law, let's stew chicken tonight."
Without even looking up, Xiao Qian said, "You are so beautiful! You have to eat chicken every time you go to the city. The chickens at home are all used to lay eggs."
Zhou Liulang had already rushed over, turned his back to let her see the basket on his back, and said loudly: "I don't want the chicken at home, I want this one."
Seeing the miserable chicken, Xiao Qian exclaimed, "Where did you get this chicken? Did you steal it?"
Xiao Qian's eyes widened. Could it be that after Silang learned to gamble, the other two little ones also learned to steal chickens?
So next time, should I pet the dog?
Xiao Qian couldn't help pinching her waist, but Zhou Liulang was unhappy. He turned around and said, "Sister-in-law, am I that kind of person? This chicken was given to me by someone else."
Mrs. Qian heaved a sigh of relief, took the miserable rooster out of the basket, weighed it, and found it was quite heavy. She couldn't help but ask, "Who is so stupid? Even though this chicken looks a little miserable, it's still meat, and it's so fat, yet they gave it to you."
Zhou Liulang chuckled, "I also think he's quite naive, but some people say we've suffered a loss. Anyway, this is a long story. Sister-in-law, let's kill the chicken and stew it first. Manbao brought this back specially for mother's health."
Xiao Qian looked at the time and said, "Forget it tonight, let's save it for tomorrow."
She carefully examined the rooster in her hand and couldn't help muttering, "Maybe if I keep it alive..."
Zhou Wulang and Zhou Liulang's eyes widened, as if they saw the chicken flying away from them. Without a second thought, the two brothers turned around and shouted to Manbao, who had just entered the yard, "Manbao, our sister-in-law wants to raise a rooster and sell it. Hurry and persuade her."
Xiao Qian glared at the two brothers.
Manbao didn't care that the cart hadn't stopped. He slid off the cart and ran to Xiao Qian's side, hugging her arm and shaking her. "Sister-in-law, sister-in-law, kill the chicken quickly. This is a rooster for mother's health. A rooster replenishes qi and blood. Maybe mother will get better after eating it."
Qian also walked out of the door slowly and said with a smile: "Manbao, don't bother your sister-in-law. It's getting late. If you want to kill her, you have to wait until tomorrow."
"No, look, there's still light. We can make a fire and eat in the evening. It's not too late."
The children were all looking at it eagerly, so Old Zhou said, "Okay, since it's such a filial gesture from the children, let's cook it tonight. It doesn't matter if we cook it early or late. I don't think the chicken is very energetic. If we leave it for tomorrow, it might die."
Manbao also nodded repeatedly, "Dead chicken is not tasty."
Xiao Qian took the chicken to kill, and Feng and He Shi hurried to help. One boiled the water on the stove, and the other prepared the ingredients for stewing the chicken.
There are not many good dishes to go with it at home nowadays, but you can pick two big radishes, cut them up and stew them together.
The three sisters-in-law were busy in the kitchen, while Zhou Dalang and others were reporting today's events to Old Zhou in the yard.
The money from the sale of grain and the purchase of medicine was used, and the rest was given to Old Zhou, who then gave it to Qian.
The family's money has always been managed by Qian.
The Zhou family has neither too many nor too few fields, and there is only some left in a good year. Fortunately, they have a lot of laborers, and they can take on some odd jobs besides farming, so they can save some money here and there.
Qian's contribution to the family's ability to save so much money was largely due to her, as she was the one who coordinated all the household affairs. She was the one who arranged who did what work and how it was done. Even Old Zhou would listen to her.
Qian took the money, counted it, and made a mental note. Turning around, she found Manbao huddled with the other children, chattering away incoherently. She couldn't help but smile and asked Zhou Dalang, "Did Manbao cause you any trouble today?"
Zhou Dalang glanced at Manbao, who was leaning on his back with his little butt sticking out, and muttered something to the children. Everyone was exclaiming in surprise, so he hesitated and said, "Dad, Mom, Manbao and the others made quite a bit of money in the county town today."
Old Zhou groaned and said with a smile, "Did Manbao sell the flower basket?"
Zhou Dalang said, "Not only that, she also sold a large rooster and made three taels of silver from it."
Old Zhou and Qian were stunned and quickly called Manbao over to ask.
Manbao was bragging to his nephews and nieces. When his parents asked him, he puffed out his chest even more and proudly recounted what they had done in the county town that day.
She grew up listening to stories. Her parents told her stories, her brother and sister-in-law told her stories, Mr. Zhuang told her stories, and Koko also often told her stories. In addition, she has recently been exposed to storybooks and has already touched the edge of storytelling. So she danced with joy and described things well, and everyone listened with great interest.
Especially those who had never been to the county town, such as Datou. Although they had never been there, after hearing my aunt's description, they imagined it in their minds and felt that they had been there too.
Manbao was talking so much that her mouth was dry, and Qian silently poured her a bowl of water.
Manbao drank it, his eyes sparkling as he said, "Mom, you don't know, there are so many people in the county town. Can I take you there next time?"
Qian smiled slightly, "Why would I go to the county town? You guys can go there."
Zhou Dalang's eyes slid from Manbao's small cloth bag to Zhou Wulang's cloth bag and said, "Mom, we can't let the children take so much money. What if they lose it?"
Qian also said to Manbao: "Manbao, give the money to me and I will keep it for you, okay?"
Manbao shook his head, "I want to take care of it myself. I'm an adult now."
Qian smiled slightly, patted her head and said, "You are also a member of our family. Do you know the rules of our family?"
Manbao shook his head.
Qian said, "Your brother and sister-in-law have to pay 60% of their earnings to the government. You can earn money yourself, but you have to pay 60%."
Since it was a rule, Manbao had no objection. She thought for a moment and said, "Okay, but I have to count how many there are."
(End of this chapter)
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