Chapter 17: The Zhao family is the one who will bring good fortune; it has nothing to do with you.
Neither of the brothers answered; they both looked at Zhao Yunjing as if he were an idiot.
Chu Jiu said, "Brother, that's dog poop."
"It's sugar."
Chu Liu rolled his eyes: "If Big Brother says it's candy, then Big Brother will have a bite first."
"Exactly, we're not stupid, we can't tell the difference between candy and dog poop—Hey big brother, let go, Chu Jiu can't breathe!"
Zhao Yunjing hugged his two younger brothers for a long time before letting go.
Even the most cold-hearted person couldn't help but tear up at this moment: "When did things get better? How did they get better?"
Chu Jiu scratched his head: "I don't remember, it might have been yesterday, or it might have been this morning."
After thinking carefully for a moment, Chu Liu replied, "Yesterday morning, when Shi Ba was shouting that she had grown taller, it felt like someone suddenly punched me in the head, and then I came to my senses. Big brother, Chu Jiu and I aren't stupid anymore. You don't have to work so hard anymore. Chu Jiu and I can help you!"
"Okay! Big brother, go wash your face and rest for a bit. Chu Liu and I will move the things inside!"
The two children deftly carried things inside, their little faces serious and focused.
Zhao Yunjing glanced at them, then at Zhou Mujiao who was talking to Shiba and Xiao Wu, and then reviewed the events that had happened at home in the past few days, his handsome brows furrowing deeply.
Zhou Mujiao seemed to sense something and realized what was going on. She told Shiba and Xiaowu to play by themselves and then came out.
"Brother Zhao, what's wrong?"
Zhao Yunjing looked up at her, and after a long while, he said, "Come with me."
The two walked one after the other on the mountain path and stopped a dozen or so feet away from the Zhao family's house.
Zhao Yunjing turned around and said, "I prayed to Buddha for forty-nine days a while ago. Perhaps my sincerity moved Buddha, because it has now come true. My bad luck has disappeared, and the Zhao family is starting to turn its luck around."
"ah?"
"It's not that our family's luck started to improve after you came; it's that our family's fortunes changed before you and Xiao Wu came to our family. Remember that."
Zhou Mujiao blinked, feigning innocence: "I thought I was a lucky charm, but it turns out I'm not!"
"You are not."
"But--"
Without a second thought, Zhao Yunjing covered her mouth and said in a deep voice, "Remember what I just said. The Zhao family's fortune is at stake, it has nothing to do with you. Alright, go back and rest. I'll have Xiao Wu wake you up when dinner is ready."
Beneath his palm, the woman's breath was soft and shallow, her breath brushing against his hand. Zhao Yunjing felt his mind go blank, and he felt completely out of sorts. He quickly let go of her hand, and the strange feeling subsided. He stared blankly at Zhou Mujiao, a thousand thoughts tangled together.
Zhou Mujiao said "Oh," turned around, and smiled softly.
Zhao Yunjing is a man unlike any of the men she has dealt with before.
In the business world, men only care about profit and acquisition. There are no men or women in the business world. If you don't have a strong background but have great potential, you will be devoured by that group of people in no time.
When faced with self-interest, everything else is meaningless; only the benefits firmly in one's grasp will remain loyal forever.
This also shows that Zhao Yunjing's life was simple. If he had been born into a powerful family, would he still have the same thoughts now?
One of the weaknesses of human nature is greed, and hopefully Zhao Yunjing will not disappoint her.
That evening, the family sat around the table for dinner. Zhao Yunjing solemnly announced that he had prayed to Buddha for forty-nine days and finally moved Buddha, who then took away all the bad luck from their family.
The children didn't quite understand, but they knew they would never go hungry again, and they all nodded in agreement.
Aunt Zhao glanced at Zhou Mujiao and smiled at her: "Ajiao, Xiaowu, you can rest assured now. The Zhao family is no longer in trouble, and we won't let you siblings go hungry."
"Thank you, Auntie."
Just as dawn was breaking, Zhou Mujiao woke up. She heard a noise coming from the courtyard, and when she opened the door, she saw Zhao Yunjing.
It was early summer, and the morning air was still a bit chilly, so Zhou Mujiao put on an extra coat, while Zhao Yunjing was shirtless.
In the dim morning light, he was covered in sweat. Hearing a sound, he looked up and realized that his clothes were disheveled. His face flushed, and he hurriedly grabbed his clothes and put them on, stammering, "Why didn't you sleep a little longer? It's not even dawn yet."
"I slept soundly last night and now I want to get some exercise before the sun comes up."
A pair of buckets lay on the ground, still damp with water. Zhou Mujiao, seemingly oblivious to Zhao Yunjing's embarrassment, walked over and asked, "Brother Zhao, did you fetch this water from down the mountain? Is the well far from your home?"
"It's not far, just a few steps away."
"Then I'll go with you. I'm too weak, I need to move around more, otherwise I won't be able to lift heavy things in the future."
"I'll carry it." Zhao Yunjing picked up the empty bucket and said in a deep voice, "Your responsibility is to take good care of your health and Xiao Wu."
The few steps Zhao Yunjing mentioned actually took nearly ten minutes to walk. It took two minutes to descend the mountain, and then you had to walk along a small path at the foot of the mountain to the right for a while before you could see a well. Even this well wasn't full; you had to draw water several times to fill a bucket.
It would take even longer to get back. Zhou Mujiao didn't have a watch, so she only roughly estimated that it would take about half an hour to go back and forth.
The most valuable thing in the Zhao family's house was probably that water vat, which could hold ten buckets of water. It would take half an hour to go back and forth, and it would take at least five hours, or two and a half hours, to fill it up.
So Zhao Yunjing gets up at three or four in the morning every day to fetch water?
Zhou Mujiao felt overwhelmed after going there empty-handed, while Zhao Yunjing had been living like this for at least ten years.
Zhou Mujiao pursed her lips. Zhao Yunjing was a poor, unlucky, and miserable man who had grown up in misery. If it were anyone else, they would definitely be full of sorrow and give up. Although he didn't talk much, every time he frowned, it wasn't because life was too hard, and despite carrying such a heavy burden, he never gave up.
His perseverance, forbearance, and strong sense of responsibility earned Zhou Mujiao's sincere admiration and respect.
Seeing that her face was pale, Zhao Yunjing made her a cup of brown sugar water: "Drink this and then go to sleep for a while."
After he took the empty buckets out, Zhou Mujiao finished her brown sugar water in one gulp, found a hoe in the storeroom, walked around inside and outside the house, and finally swung the hoe in a corner of the yard.
When Zhao Yunjing returned, he saw her digging a hole with great effort. He quickly went over and took the hoe from her, saying, "Didn't I tell you to go and rest?"
"The well is too far away. It's tiring and a waste of time. It's better to dig a well at home so we can use it anytime."
Just as Zhao Yunjing was about to say that the wells dug on the mountain had no water, he saw the water in the puddles. He silently took the hoe and started digging, while Zhou Mujiao helped him carry the soil out.
By the time it was fully light, they had dug out a water pit that was half a person high.
"Brother Zhao, get up and rest for a while," Zhou Mujiao called out.
Zhao Yunjing was covered in mud. He drank two bowls of water in one go, then looked back at the 'well'. The well water was very clear. He drew a bucket and tasted it.
Zhou Mujiao quickly asked, "How is it? Can I drink it?"
"It's very sweet and refreshing, and I can drink it."
Zhou Mujiao breathed a sigh of relief. Feeling Zhao Yunjing looking at her, she touched her face and asked, "Is there something on my face?"
"Besides digging wells, what else do you want to do? Tell me, and I'll do it."
Just as Zhou Mujiao was about to speak, Zhao Dashen's exclamation came from the west wing. Zhao Yunjing's expression changed, and he rushed towards the west wing.
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