The meal was casual and relaxed, no longer the feeling of surviving a disaster that I had experienced the first year when I went up the mountain.
As Grandpa Xiaoman and Old Man Li got drunk and left the table, Grandma Xiaoman went to make hangover soup for everyone.
The young people hadn't had enough to eat when Chunfeng, holding a glass of wine, pulled Xu Dazhu aside and said to Jiang Zhi, "Auntie, this glass of wine is for you. Brother Zhu is getting better and better, and he wants to thank you."
Xu Dazhu also said, "Auntie, I don't drink alcohol, so Chunfeng can drink this for me!"
In Jiang Zhi's eyes, Chunfeng and Dazhu were like her subordinates, juniors, and nephews. It was not easy for the two of them to get to where they are today, and they would only get better and better in the future.
She picked up her wine bowl and said, "Could you two give me another grandson next year?"
Chunfeng was extremely embarrassed, her face turning red instantly. She stammered, "Auntie, it all depends on fate!"
A few days ago, she quietly told Jiang Zhi that Dazhu's health was much better than before. She never expected that her aunt would bring up the child in front of her.
Xu Dazhu, standing to the side, also blushed and said awkwardly, "Let Errui have another one!"
What are you saying about me?
Upon hearing his name mentioned, Errui looked over blankly, a chicken bone still dangling from his mouth.
Qiaoyun was dividing the last piece of chicken in the soup bowl, one piece for Errui and one piece for Xiaoman. She had overheard what Chunfeng's sister-in-law had said to her mother, so she smiled and said, "Mother said that Nini should have a younger brother!"
Errui said "Oh," and then said, "Then let Xiaoman hurry up and get married. She can find someone as soon as she goes down the mountain to pay New Year's visits tomorrow, have an engagement and a banquet, and she can get pregnant in two months!"
He made it sound easier than buying a dog. Xiaoman glared at him angrily: "I haven't agreed to get married yet, what's the rush? I'm still so young, even Uncle Li isn't in a hurry."
Fortunately, Master Xiaoman got drunk and left. If he had heard this, he would definitely have said that Li Laoshi had corrupted the child and that he must get married immediately.
Seeing that the matter had been pushed onto Xiaoman, Chunfeng chuckled and quickly changed the subject: "Auntie, are you really going to make medicine next year? Where is the workshop planned?"
Jiang Zhi had mentioned this before: temporarily purifying mosquito repellent and making mosquito coils on the mountain.
If sales are high, people will need to be hired to work at the foot of the mountain; however, the specific circumstances can change at any time.
In addition, since talking with Miss Huo Er in the winter month, the production of various powders has been officially put on the agenda.
Jiang Zhi didn't get her house repaired while the village was being renovated, partly due to the tight schedule before the Lunar New Year, but also because of this reason.
Pharmaceutical manufacturing generates wastewater pollution, especially chemical preparations. Jiang Zhi has been considering where to build the workshop.
The building is located on a mountain, making it inconvenient to travel, and transporting large quantities of medicinal herbs up and down is very troublesome.
Building it in the village would cause problems with the smell, wastewater, and dust, making it unsuitable to be placed together with residential areas. Jiang Zhi wanted to build it separately on land near the mountain.
Besides a pharmacy in the city, the Huo family mainly processed medicinal herbs on a farm outside the city.
There were not only medicine workshops there, but also medicinal fields and hired workers, all of whom were from the family's estate.
However, after observing for more than half a year and seeing the collective house repair activities, Jiang Zhi also selected people she trusted in Xujia Village who could be used as confidants in the future.
She also made a new discovery about the workshop's location.
At the dinner table, Jiang Zhi and Chun Feng were planning for the new year, while Qiao Yun listened attentively.
She knew that she needed to understand everything her mother was going to do from now on.
Because my mother said that being able to relax is the greatest filial piety. For example, she is in charge of making mosquito repellent and mosquito coils, and she will need to do even more next year.
Xu Dazhu listened silently from the side. He was unable to move around easily and, no matter how willing he was, he was too weak to do anything more.
Xiaoman is impatient, and the family mainly relies on Chunfeng.
Nearby, Errui and Xiaoman were playing rock-paper-scissors while drinking water.
After a year of hard work, it was a rare moment to relax, and the two boys were laughing happily.
Only Peiqi was unhappy; she's grown up now and can't just come into the room anymore.
Even though they had already eaten, they were still eagerly waiting for another meal.
In Xujia Village at the foot of the mountain, families were also having their reunion dinner.
Qin stared wide-eyed at the earthenware basin placed in front of her, which contained white chicken and white radish.
The chicken soup was very fragrant and oily; she could already imagine how delicious it would taste even before she had tasted it.
"Mother, this chicken is for you!" Xu Genqing kept his word and really killed a chicken for Qin Shi to eat.
Besides the chicken, there was also braised pork, which Lotus liked, and a plate of green vegetables, all of which he cooked himself.
Since the money has already been borrowed, we can borrow more when we run out, and pay it back by working. We can't let ourselves die from holding in our pee.
Aunt Jiang once said that women are most tired and vulnerable when they are pregnant. Small grievances they suffer normally will become ten times bigger at this time, and they will remember them for a lifetime.
Xu Genqing neither understood nor appreciated this statement.
The baby is fine in my belly, it doesn't affect my eating or moving. Lianhua can walk and sleep as usual, it seems like nothing has changed, so why do I need to take special care of her?
Having not been pregnant, Xu Genqing couldn't truly understand the situation. Although he didn't understand the problem, Qin Shi kept talking about how hard and difficult it was to be pregnant and during her postpartum period, and how she was suffering but dared not say it.
Xu Genqing wondered if Lianhua was also pregnant and experiencing similar discomfort, just like her mother, without saying a word.
If Mother suffers hardship, it's Father and Grandma's fault; if Lotus also suffers hardship, it's her fault.
I can't wait twenty years until my son grows up and is like me, only to hear his mother, Lianhua, crying and scolding me for not even being able to bear eating meat.
Now, if Mom wants to eat chicken, she'll stew a chicken for her; if Lianhua wants to eat meat, she'll eat meat; and she'll just eat vegetables.
Besides, if Mother and Lotus were to share some with me, it would be enough to eat.
Xu Genqing was still trying to coax the child when the two women were already overjoyed.
Before Lianhua had even eaten herself, she picked up a piece of fatty braised pork and placed it in Xu Genqing's bowl, smiling happily: "Brother Qing, have a piece too!"
Look, sure enough, the lotus flower was eaten by him, and Xu Genqing was very happy.
Beside her, Qin Shi didn't say anything. She picked up the earthenware pot and brought it to herself, put down her chopsticks, grabbed a chicken leg and tore it apart. She immediately stuffed a big chicken leg into her mouth and wolfed it down.
Lianhua and Xu Genqing exchanged a glance before turning away, pretending not to see each other, and continued eating their braised pork and rice, but her eyes still darted towards her mother-in-law out of the corner of her eye.
Lianhua knew from her sister-in-law's arguments with her mother-in-law that her mother-in-law was greedy and bought food, and had almost been beaten to death for stealing money from the house.
My sister-in-law brings this up every time we argue, and it always makes my mother-in-law cry for a whole day. I also heard that my husband's older sister, who is already married, has been cursing her like this all along.
Lianhua felt some sympathy for her mother-in-law. It would be unbearable for anyone to keep repeating the same thing for twenty years.
This time, her mother-in-law snatched money again to buy things. Right in front of her, she found the money bag and forcibly took one hundred coins.
As a result, she lost the money and dared not come back. In the end, she was worried that if she had something good to eat in the future, she wouldn't get to eat it.
Is my mother-in-law just being greedy?
At this moment, Qin Shi didn't care that her son and daughter-in-law were secretly watching her; she just kept eating.
As a result, he ate too quickly and got a fishbone stuck in his throat after only a few bites of chicken. He couldn't breathe and his eyes rolled back in his head.
Lianhua quickly put down her chopsticks and massaged her back. Xu Genqing said irritably, "Mom, eat slowly. There are only three of us at home, no one is going to take it from you!"
Fortunately, with a gentle rubbing of her chest and back by Lotus, Qin spat out a mouthful of chicken that she hadn't chewed properly.
When she caught her breath, tears welled up in her eyes, and she muttered to herself, "Finally, I can breathe a sigh of relief! I almost suffocated!"
She sniffled twice, not bothering to wipe her tears, and reached out to put another chicken leg into Lotus's bowl: "Lotus, you eat too!"
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