Although the temperature was a bit low, the sun came out on time early in the morning.
The warm sunlight shone on the earth, and people came out in twos and threes to dry the seaweed they had caught over the past few days.
Ye Xiaocui wanted to dry the seaweed before going out, but Fu Wan grabbed her and said, "Mom, go change your clothes quickly. Dad and I will dry the seaweed."
It's almost nine o'clock now. The weather is cold and the roads are icy. We'll have to ride our bikes and drive slowly. If we dawdle, we don't know when we'll get to the county town.
Upon hearing this, Ye Xiaocui gave a few instructions on where to dry the seaweed, then turned and went into the room.
These women usually wear patched-up clothes at home, only putting on their best clothes when they go on a long trip.
Fu Wan and Fu Ming helped Boss Fu carry the seaweed to the open space in front of the door, where the sun was shining brightly and it was a good place to dry things.
As Fu Wan hung the seaweed on the hemp rope, she turned her head and gossiped with Boss Fu.
"Father, what does the village chief want you to do?"
She had just watched as Elder Fu and Boss Fu whispered to each other for a while before he sighed and left.
"Oh dear, it's all about Fu Dazhi. Your village chief's point is, after all, Fu Dazhi is also a young man from our village."
"A perfectly healthy person has become this wretched state, neither human nor ghost. His family isn't well-off either. Let's see if the villagers can each contribute a little to help him with his medical expenses."
"So that means donating money?"
Fu Wan was quite surprised, but thinking about Fu Dazhi's appearance at the village entrance earlier, he really needed to go to the hospital to see a doctor.
Upon hearing this, Fu Ming also came over and asked, "How much should we donate?"
To be honest, he didn't really like Fu Dazhi, especially since they had witnessed Fu Dazhi beating and scolding his wife when they visited Fu Dahai's house last time.
Fu Ming despises men who hit women.
Fu Wan also thought of the scene she had witnessed earlier, and a feeling of disgust immediately arose in her heart.
If Fu Dazhi recovers and ends up like before, it's better for him to just stay stupid!
"Dad, should our family donate money?"
Looking at the expressions on his children's faces, Fu Laoda could tell at a glance that they were unhappy.
"I'll donate, of course I'll donate. But how much I donate depends on my mood."
When Village Chief Fu approached him today, his first reaction was also not to donate. But what Village Chief Fu said later made sense. His family usually had such good shipping business. If they didn't donate, it would be easy for others to covet their business.
Donating is definitely going to be done, but Boss Fu knows exactly how much to donate.
After listening to what Boss Fu had to say, Fu Wan finally felt relieved.
It wasn't that she didn't sympathize with Fu Dazhi's plight, but if Fu Dazhi hadn't been greedy for more money and run away, he wouldn't have encountered such a thing.
"Dad, donating money is fine, but you should see how much other families are donating and we should donate the same amount."
"Won't Aunt Yu go around saying our family is stingy?"
Fu Ming pursed his lips. Yu Guixiang had a sharp tongue; if you provoked her, she could curse you for half a month.
Fu Wan, however, seemed indifferent. "Who cares about her, brother? She has her own mouth, what can you do about what she says?"
Besides, if we donate more today because Fu Dazhi got into trouble, everyone will see it. If a few more people like him appear in the village in the future, won't they come after our family?
A small favor is appreciated, but a large one breeds resentment; this is a principle we must always remember.
Upon hearing what Fu Wan said, Boss Fu nodded repeatedly.
“Ah Wan is right, that’s exactly what I think.”
"Don't worry, the old village chief isn't stupid. He said he'll have the village doctor take a look first to assess Fu Dazhi's condition. Then everyone can chip in some money for his medical expenses; that's all we can afford!"
After the three finished gossiping, Ye Xiaocui changed her clothes. Qin Anning tied red hair ornaments in the hair of both children, who jumped for joy.
When Ye Xiaocui went out, she was spotted by several villagers who were busy outside. Seeing that Ye Xiaocui was dressed differently, they asked her questions out of curiosity.
"Xiao Cui, where are you going?"
"Hey, let's go to the county town. It's almost Chinese New Year, and my wife Awan wants us to go to the county town to buy some New Year's goods."
After saying that, she couldn't help but pat off some nonexistent dust on her body. This scene was seen by Wang Zhaodi, who had just returned carrying a hoe, and she was so angry that she gritted her teeth.
That damned Ye Xiaocui, how come she has such good luck?
They're both born to the same father, yet Boss Fu is not only good-looking but also earns a lot of money. His son and daughter are also incredibly successful.
As for Fu Lao Er, he's always hunched over, can't make any money, and still smokes that damn cigarette.
None of the three children are reliable. The one who was pampered every day is now probably dead or alive. The second son, who got married, is being raised by someone else. As for the third son, well, he's even more heartless and cold-blooded.
If I run into my mother on the street, I won't even call out to her!
It's all Fu Lao Er's fault for being such a good-for-nothing.
Wang Zhaodi gritted her teeth in resentment. She was different from the other women in the village; she would take all the blame for any troubles at home.
The men and children in this family all have the surname Fu, so isn't this a problem stemming from the Fu family?
As Wang Zhaodi thought this, she then habitually began to mutter about her father-in-law, saying that he hadn't earned much money while he was alive, and hadn't blessed any of his grandchildren after his death.
They're all children of the Fu family, so how come the Fu family's children make so much money?
Thinking of this, a sudden inspiration flashed in Wang Zhaodi's mind.
Yes, even though they all share the same surname, Fu, they always offer different incense and prayers to different people when they visit graves!
Fu Laoda doesn't acknowledge Fu Laotou, so he only sweeps the graves of his mother and sister each time. This year, on the winter solstice, because Fu Fengying was found, Fu Laoda's family only swept the grave of Fu Laoda's mother.
Following this logic, could it be that because the people who burn incense and pray are different, their family is so unlucky that they can't even earn enough money to eat every day?
Upon thinking about it, Wang Zhaodi suddenly felt that she had discovered the truth, and then she picked up her hoe and hurried home.
She had to talk to Fu Lao Er, and if all else failed, she could buy some incense and paper money to burn for Fu Lao Da's mother.
In any case, they all have the same father, so maybe Fu Laoda's mother can bless their family to prosper?
The thing is, I can't let Old Lady Wang find out about this, or I'll definitely be beaten half to death.
After all, Old Lady Wang hated Fu Laoda's mother the most. Although Wang Zhaodi didn't know what had happened back then, she wasn't stupid and certainly couldn't go looking for trouble with her mother-in-law.
When Qin Anning started the car, Fu Wan, who was sitting in the passenger seat, saw Wang Zhaodi's hurried departure.
She didn't see the expression on Wang Zhaodi's face, but for some reason she had a special feeling that this person must be up to some bad trick again.
She just didn't expect that Wang Zhaodi's thought process would be so novel, that she would actually plan to burn paper money for her mother-in-law's mortal enemy!
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