On the way, Zhu Youliang inquired about the submersible pump's condition. It turned out that it wasn't producing any water, and even if it did, it was intermittent. He had a rough idea, but he hesitated to jump to conclusions, planning to inspect the pump first. Soon, the four of them arrived at the village. Liang Guoqing's family lived at the entrance, with a large pond in front of their yard. It was workday, and aside from the children, there were few adults to be seen.
After arriving, Zhu Youliang asked Liang Dayou to put the submersible pump under the big tree in front of the yard to avoid dirtying the yard. Liang Guoqing saw that Liang Dayou had opened the tool box before entering the house, and thought he was a capable person. He quickly asked his eldest grandson to pour sugar water for Zhu Youliang.
Liang Dayou sauntered over to Zhu Youliang, muttering to himself as he dismantled the submersible pump. Zhu Youliang occasionally replied, reciting basic repair tips.
After Liang Guoqing took out the power strip, Zhu Youliang plugged it in and tested it, finding the situation similar to what Liang Dayou had described. He first checked the motor and found that it would start and not reverse. He then checked the pipes and found no leaks. Finally, he discovered that the pump coupling connected to the motor was constantly moving around, suspecting it was loose. After he fixed the coupling, water flowed again. Liang Dayou was excited and asked how he knew there was a problem. Zhu Youliang explained it in detail and answered some of his questions before standing up.
Liang Guoqing was very happy and quickly brought over the bowl of sugar water next to him. "Mr. Zhu, have some sugar water. It's hot."
Zhu Youliang didn't refuse, he took it and started drinking it.
When Liang Guoqing saw that he had finished drinking, he immediately called out to his eldest grandson, "Jian, go call your grandma back to cook."
Zhu Youliang looked up and saw that it was still early. He also felt that since he was now paid, it didn't matter whether he ate or not. He immediately said, "Uncle Liang, don't bother. It's still early. You can just go to my house to eat."
Liang Guoqing said, "How can I not eat after such a long journey? If I tell others about it, they will laugh at me for being stingy."
Zhu Youliang was helpless, and suddenly remembered the peach tree he had seen when he entered the village, so he said, "Uncle, you don't have to be so polite. If you really feel bad, just pick a few peaches for me to take back. My two children love them."
Liang Guoqing thought about it and immediately called out to Chen Dayou, "Dayou, the peach tree on the hill behind your house has sweet fruits. Go pick some, pick the big ones."
Chen Dayou responded and ran out. When he came back, he was carrying a small snakeskin bag filled with half a bag of peaches. He also held a washed peach in his hand and handed it to Zhu Youliang. Zhu Youliang rarely ate fruit before. He had only seen peaches online and had only eaten wild fruits here. He took the peach and took a bite. It was indeed very sweet. He hurriedly thanked Chen Dayou.
Chen Dayou waved his hand and said, "This is nothing. These are early peaches. There will be sweeter ones later. I will send some to you then."
Zhu Youliang thanked him, and Liang Jian also harnessed the ox cart. He said goodbye to Liang Guoqing and got on the cart with the peaches in his hand.
Liang Guoqing felt embarrassed for not inviting him to dinner, so he talked to him for a while before letting them go.
Houmiao Village was just one village away from Zhujiaba. As they reached the village entrance, Zhu Youliang let Liang Jian go, and he went home carrying a small, half-filled bag of peaches. Zhujia Brigade was still a bit further from the village entrance, and by the time he reached the bay, every household had already started cooking. Someone saw him coming back so early and thought he'd been sent back by the agricultural machinery station. They popped their heads out of the kitchen to ask him, and when they heard he was out on a business trip, they asked why he hadn't eaten. He explained everything and they let him go. Before he even reached his home, he saw Zhu Chunhua and quickly stopped her. He picked four peaches from his bag and gave them to her, making her smile. He then went to his eldest brother's house and gave him some peaches as well, before returning home with the remaining peaches. They also grew peaches here, but they were a different variety and ripened later.
"Dad, what are you holding in your hand?" Tongtong was the first to notice that he was back.
"Where is my sister?" Zhu Youliang picked him up and asked.
"In the backyard." Tongtong said and looked at the snakeskin bag again.
Zhu Youliang had no choice but to put him down and gave him a peach, "Go to the kitchen and wash it before eating."
"Yeah." Tongtong ran to the kitchen holding Taozi.
Liang Yuan stood in front of the stove and asked, "Why are you back at this time? If you're any later, you won't have anything to eat."
"I went to Houmiao Village to repair a submersible pump today. Because it's too far, the stationmaster told me to go home straight after I finished." Zhu Youliang had just finished explaining when he saw Tongtong rolling a peach in water and about to bite into it. He hurriedly stopped him, "This is a hairy peach. If you don't wash it clean, it will be covered in hair and won't taste good."
After washing it carefully, he handed the peach to Tongtong, who immediately put it in his mouth.
Liang Yuan saw it and said hurriedly: "Wash one for me too."
Zhu Youliang washed two, gave one to Liang Yuan, and took the other one to the backyard.
Zhu Xingtong was taking care of a nest of rabbits. As soon as she raised her head, her father stuffed a peach into her mouth.
"You go play, I'll do it." Zhu Youliang took the small shovel from her hand and continued to clean the rabbit cage. This rabbit cage was made by old Zhu, and it had to be cleaned every day to prevent the rabbits from getting sick.
Zhu Xingtong did not fight with her father for the peach. She stepped aside and started eating the peach with relish, without even asking why Zhu Youliang came back so early.
In the afternoon, Zhu Youliang was about to go to work, but Liang Yuan asked him to stay home and read, hoping he could rest. After being busy for more than half a month, Zhu Youliang was even thinner than when he first came here, and she felt sorry for him.
As the busy farming season drew to a close, fewer people were on the construction site each day. Liang Yuan only worked half a day in the afternoon before returning home. She had been planning to read, but the wife of the neighbor, Big Dog, came to chat with her. She seemed to have improved her temper recently, and since Zhu Youliang had gone to the agricultural machinery station, everyone was more welcoming to her.
Although Liang Yuan disliked her, he didn't show it. After all, they were neighbors and not that bad people.
As soon as Big Dog's wife entered the yard, she said to Liang Yuan, "Yuanyuan, have you heard? They say Chen Lao Da's wife went home to visit relatives. I don't think she'll be back. She's really arrogant."
Liang Yuan asked in surprise: "When did it happen?"
Big Dog's wife glanced at the lower courtyard gate and then whispered, "This morning, she said she only brought two sets of clothes. Aunt Wang didn't allow her to bring more."
Seeing Liang Yuan remained silent, Big Dog's wife gloated again, "I told you long ago that these educated youth can't be retained. Those stinky men just go for the fair and tender girls. Now that's good." After saying that, she remembered that Liang Yuan was also an educated youth, and hurriedly said, "Yuanyuan, I'm not talking about you. You're different from other educated youth. You look very down-to-earth."
Liang Yuan was amused. These people had called her lazy before, right in front of her. But she didn't mind. This was the way it was in this place. No one had a sense of boundaries. If something happened in one family, the whole village would know about it within half an hour.
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