"Mom, I didn't mean to not pick up my sister-in-law. I just went back to school to register yesterday, and today is the placement test. How could I possibly miss it? Didn't I ask Zhang Lan to tell my sister-in-law?"
Ji Xia glanced at Zhang Lan with displeasure, and Zhang Lan quickly waved her hand, "I already told my sister."
Zhang Hong quickly smiled and said, "Mother, my sister-in-law is busy. It's fine if you pick her up. There's no need for her to take leave."
Ji's mother was just giving Zhang Hong a message; she certainly didn't blame her. Upon hearing this, she chuckled.
Looking at the baby, and thinking of the little clothes, she said helplessly, "Did you make these clothes?"
"Yes, how is it? Does it fit?"
Mother Ji shook her head: "It's just right now, but babies grow very fast, and they'll be smaller in less than half a month."
Zhang Hong quickly replied, "Mother, my sister-in-law has never had a child either, so it's not surprising that she doesn't know."
Ji Xia put down her backpack, reached for a monk's robe and showed it off: "These sleeves and trousers are folded in two layers inside. If the robe is too short, just take off the hem and let it hang down. It will be at least four centimeters longer. Take it off twice in a row. It shouldn't be difficult to wear it for two months, right?"
"In two months, it'll be time to switch to thicker ones. We can just replace them with a new batch then, right?"
Zhang Hong and Ji's mother looked at it and couldn't help but be pleasantly surprised: "This is convenient. You've thought of everything."
Actually, folding the edges makes it easier to enlarge the garment, and people in the countryside understand this principle. However, most people make them extra large, so clothes prepared for four or five-year-olds can still be worn by seven or eight-year-olds.
This year is the Year of the Horse, and Ji Xia sewed a cute little horse pattern on the folded edge, making it very pretty. They didn't even realize that it was a pre-reserved edge.
After Ji Zhijun finished loading the stroller, he turned around and smiled at his mother and daughter-in-law, saying, "My younger sister is always meticulous; she doesn't need your guidance in doing things."
"I misunderstood."
Zhang Hong smiled apologetically at her and asked, "If you go to school now, what will happen to the supply and marketing cooperative? Are you quitting?"
Ji Xia promised to give her the position at the supply and marketing cooperative, but she was worried that someone might take it.
Ji Xia comforted her, "It's okay. I took a week off. Next week, I'll discuss it with two colleagues, and I'll work the afternoon shift for the next fifty days and go to school in the morning."
After tidying up the room, Zhang Lan hurriedly went to the kitchen to make lunch.
Ji Xia sat down next to Zhang Hong: "Brother, sister-in-law, where are you planning to spend your postpartum confinement? Have you decided yet?"
Upon hearing this, Zhang Hong subconsciously glanced at her husband. She actually wanted to stay in the city to recover after childbirth. After all, she was worried about what the villagers would say if she took her younger sister back to the brigade and had her sister take care of her during her postpartum period.
Ji Zhijun hesitated and said, "I don't mind, but I'm worried that it will be inconvenient in the city and I'll trouble you."
“What trouble do I have? I’m just a girl named Lan who takes care of my sister-in-law and the children.”
Ji Xia reached out and picked up Kang Kang, teasing him and chuckling nonchalantly, "But, my sister-in-law needs to recover quickly, so we need to get her some good food. Mom, could you trade some chickens with someone at home and send over a few more? That should at least guarantee her one chicken every three or four days, right?"
“A colleague of mine has a relative who works at a slaughterhouse. Tonight I’ll take Lan Meizi there and ask them to give me a pork hock every three days so my sister-in-law can eat better.”
"A pork hock every three days? How much would that cost?"
Ji's mother couldn't help but show a look of heartache. Other women don't even get two eggs during their entire postpartum period. If they only eat one every three days, that's ten eggs a month, let alone after two months.
A pig's trotter, or pig's foot, weighs three or four pounds. A single pig's foot costs at least two or three pieces. How much would it cost to eat it over two months?
Even Zhang Hong felt that her sister-in-law was too generous and she was embarrassed to accept it. The three brothers of the Ji family all had their postpartum confinement like this. If they had several more children, how much wealth would they have to live on?
He quickly laughed and said, "One a day every three days is too much. One a day every five days is enough."
Ji Xia glanced at her upon hearing this: "Alright, one every five days is fine. We can also stew some pork ribs and lean meat on the side, no problem."
"However, I plan to work for another two months. Will my sister-in-law be able to take over after two months? If not, I plan to sell the job."
"Two months? Of course."
Upon hearing about the job, Zhang Hong immediately agreed. After thinking for a moment, she turned to Ji Zhijun and said, "I think I'll stay in the city for my postpartum confinement. A month later, I'll try to fill in for my sister-in-law and get used to it."
Ji Xia hesitated for a moment, glancing at her face. "Is a month enough? The supply and marketing cooperative is a quiet place, but you're always standing and rarely get to sit."
"I'm eating well and recovering well, so I think it's possible. Anyway, it's the middle shift, and my third sister can take care of the child. I want to give it a try."
Ji Xia agreed, but then suddenly asked, "By the way, do you still have those hair ornaments made from scraps of cloth? Are there any scraps of cloth left?"
Upon hearing this, Ji Zhijun quickly brought over a bag from the corner: "There's still plenty left. If you can't finish, you can find someone else to do it!"
Just as Ji Xia was about to agree, Zhang Hong quickly said, "No need to find someone. I'll have my third sister do some when she has time. I'll teach her and let her earn some pocket money."
Ji Xia agreed and rummaged through the scraps of cloth. There were finished hair accessories and hair ties on them. Just then, Liu Hongju's voice rang out from outside the door.
Zhang Lan quickly opened the courtyard gate, and Liu Hongju walked in with a smile.
"Oh my, so many people! Is this your sister-in-law being discharged from the hospital? Are they twins...?"
Liu Hongju was very good at speaking; she greeted everyone in just a few words and won their favor.
After praising the two children, she pulled Ji Xia aside and asked, "Those dozens of hair ties are sold out. Do you have any left?"
"Yes, there are still dozens left. I'll have someone make more."
Ji Xia took out seventy items from the bag and counted them for Liu Hongju. She accepted fourteen yuan and then said, "I have something I'd like to discuss with you."
Liu Hongju put the counted hair accessories into her backpack and asked suspiciously, "What's wrong? You asked Director Liu for a week off, didn't you?"
"Yes, I'm going back to work on Sunday, and I'd like to discuss the scheduling with you."
The three of them usually work the middle shift every three days, taking turns, but Ji Xia wants to work the middle shift long-term and go to school in the morning.
Zhang Lan was somewhat reluctant, but when she heard that the commission for hair accessories would be waived for the next two months and would be split between her and He Qiuying, she was immediately satisfied.
A dozen or twenty hair accessories can be sold a day. If two people split the cost, each person can earn two or three yuan a day. On a good day, that's almost the same as selling clothes.
Liu Hongju smiled with satisfaction: "Alright, I'll discuss this with Qiuying. It shouldn't be a big problem. But, are you planning to continue until next year?"
"No, just two months."
Ji Xia pointed at Zhang Hong: "Two months from now, I will give my position to my sister-in-law. She will take turns working with you, and she will share the commission with you."
"You're really generous."
Liu Hongju disagreed and lowered her voice to advise, "You could easily give this job away for at least seven or eight hundred yuan. What benefit would you get from giving it to your sister-in-law? Besides, she just had twins. Does she even have time to work?"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
