When Jiang Zhi arrived at the Tian family's hut, only Tao'er's mother and three children were there.
Upon seeing her arrive, Tao'er's mother quickly wiped her hands clean on her apron, and stood outside somewhat awkwardly with her pregnant belly: "Village Chief, the children caught a few fish today, please stay for dinner!"
On the wooden board next to her, which served as a stove, were cleaned loach meat and scallions.
Jiang Zhi waved her hand: "No need, I've already asked Gen Youjia to cook, you can eat by yourselves!"
Li Laoshi took the grain and ate with Xu Genyou's family. As soon as Jiang Zhi entered the village, Liu Shi stopped her and asked her to eat at her place as well.
Both Liu and her daughter-in-law Tian were afraid of Jiang Zhi and dared not say much to her.
But she felt that since they were all from the Xu family, she couldn't let her own family members go hungry when they returned to the village and have to mooch meals from house to house, so she reluctantly hosted them.
Jiang Zhi naturally agreed. Liu's mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, as well as Xu Genyou, were all honest people who didn't have any ulterior motives.
Besides, the custom here is to eat two meals a day; if you're too polite, you'll go hungry.
Tian Gui is skilled at building shacks.
I knew it was sturdy and solid from the last time I visited, and it looks like it can withstand wind and rain now.
While other households in the village experienced leaks to varying degrees, the Tian family's house had no such problem.
Not only is the shelter fine, but the rabbit pen is also good.
Wild rabbits are afraid of people, and even though they have been in contact with people on the mountain for a long time, they all hide under the stone slabs now.
The rabbit pen was clean, and in the corner next to it was a pile of dry grass, which had been prepared before the rain.
Tian Tao pointed to the grass and said, "Village chief, this grass is dry. My dad said that rabbits will get diarrhea if they eat grass with dew on it."
Jiang Zhi nodded. Tian Gui was a hardworking and reliable man, and his children were sensible. This family would have a good life in the future.
So he praised the three children, saying, "Yes, you've raised your rabbits well! And your chicks are doing a great job too."
The Tian family really raises their chickens well.
On the muddy ground next to the shed, several chicks were digging in the damp soil looking for food.
The tiny claws rolled up small balls of mud, and even the pointed beak was covered in mud.
A chick found half an earthworm and chirped excitedly. Just as it was kicking and pulling the earthworm out of the soil, its friends saw it.
Immediately, three or four chicks began to surround and intercept, trying to steal the spoils without lifting a finger.
After running for a while, the discoverer was not about to give way, dodging here and there, and finally swallowed the big earthworm with its neck straight in a corner. Afterwards, it wiped the dirt off its mouth on a tree branch before swaggering out.
Because of the heavy rain, many earthworms emerged from the muddy ground and clung to the surface, causing the crops on the chicks' breasts to swell to one side and keep going, which amused Jiang Zhi.
Before Jiang Zhi and Tao'er's mother could exchange more than a few words, they heard Qin Shi from next door shouting, "Lianhua, where the hell is that girl? Hurry up and move the bundles of straw, are you trying to kill me with work!"
Jiang Zhi raised an eyebrow and turned to ask Tao'er's mother, "Does Qin Shi still bully you every day?"
Tao'er's mother shook her head: "No, ever since you hit her, village chief, she hasn't caused any more trouble. She just keeps bickering with her Lianhua every day."
"This time, with half of his shack collapsing, he'll probably be in a bad mood again."
Jiang Zhi was speechless. This Qin Shi was like a thorny pig, always arguing with outsiders or taking her daughter-in-law too seriously.
Most of the day had passed, and the Qin family's house was still not ready.
The collapsed thatched roof had just been cleaned up, and pots and pans were piled up to one side.
Xu Genqing leaned on a wooden stick, trying to rebuild the frame and then cover it with the straw mat.
The curtain was given to him by Xu Gensheng. After hanging it up and adding some tarpaulin, it could barely provide some shade at night.
Qin took out bedding from her own shack and looked enviously at the Tian family's shack next door.
She had envied it many times.
Having a capable man in the family makes all the difference, but unfortunately, my deadbeat husband... sigh!
Lotus carried a bundle of bamboo poles back down the earthen embankment.
Upon seeing this, Qin began to complain again: "What can you possibly do with such a short bamboo pole..."
Xu Genqing interrupted Qin Shi: "Mother, I asked Lianhua to get it. It can be used now if we piece it together."
“Piecing things together… sigh, how can that be sturdy? You’re just incompetent at doing things.” Madam Qin began to worry again.
Lianhua, carrying a bamboo pole, approached Xu Genqing and glanced at Qin Shi, whispering, "What's wrong, Mother?"
Xu Genqing frowned: "What else can we do but be envious of other people's shacks!"
He was also getting a headache from his mother's nagging, saying that he was not as good as Aunt Jiang, not as good as Tian Gui, and not even as good as his half-brother who had settled down elsewhere.
Xu Genqing didn't know why his mother was so harsh on her own son.
But Qin Shi accidentally overheard his words!
Immediately afterwards, Jiang Zhi heard a loud commotion.
Qin pointed at Xu Genqing and Lianhua, and said angrily, "If you two had any ability, you would be better than others, and you wouldn't be in this situation where no one is coming to help you repair the house."
Xu Genqing said with a dark face: "What kind of mess have you made? You've lost all face and you still want others to help you? People are probably laughing their heads off."
Qin was so angry she jumped up and down: "If you were so capable, I wouldn't have bothered to beg for the children's money and get beaten by Granny Jiang..."
"Yeah, you still have the energy to jump around, so you weren't hit hard enough!" Jiang Zhi added casually from behind.
"who?"
Qin Shi turned around aggressively, but the moment she saw Jiang Zhi, she was like a chicken with its neck being squeezed, instantly falling silent.
Jiang Zhi looked at the mess on the ground, then at Xu Genqing and Lianhua, who were covered in sweat and looked disheveled, and turned to Qin Shi and yelled: "Why are you yelling at the children all day long? Are you just bored?"
Qin turned her head away, her face full of resentment, but she didn't say anything more.
Granny Jiang is really going to hit someone!
Seeing that Qin had calmed down, Jiang Zhi said to Xu Genqing, "You should go and help Tian Gui and the others repair the dam. Put these things aside for now."
There's not much time left in the day, and we still don't have any materials.
Even with Xu Genqing alone, the place was still uninhabitable by nightfall.
Why not take action together with the village as a whole?
Once the water conservancy project was repaired, they immediately assigned the experienced Tian Gui and his team to repair the shacks one by one.
Xu Genqing was overjoyed.
Li Laoshi and Xu Gensheng both said all day long that nothing else mattered, the most important thing was to have enough to eat.
Xu Gensheng often said, "Follow the village chief and you'll get three meals a day," and after hearing it for a while, he naturally became willing to accept it.
Especially after seeing Tian Gui and his group selling tender corn and getting a good deal on the grain, their desire became even stronger.
But if I leave to work, what will happen to this mess at home?
Before he could even ask, his mother, Qin, had already started yelling, "Granny Jiang, you're so vicious! You clearly saw that my family was short-handed and would have to sleep in the open tonight, yet you still called Genqing away. You, you really don't want my family to survive!"
Jiang Zhi picked up a wooden stick about the thickness of her wrist, examined it, and tossed it at Qin Shi's feet, sneering, "You're going to use this to fix things? If it rains again tonight, you'll be buried alive!"
Qin's face immediately turned bright red!
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