No one in the room knew what the couple was talking about except the two of them. When Yu Chunxiao came in the afternoon with half a watermelon, Du Jiang stuffed the money he had prepared into his hand.
"No, Sister Jiang, you look down on me," Yu Chunxiao resisted and immediately started pushing Du Jiang.
"No, Chunxiao, it's not easy for you either. Just take it. Besides, I'm not asking you to take it for free." Seeing Yu Chunxiao's displeasure, Du Jiang quickly explained, "You know I have a big family. So, can you buy me two more? I'll make some watermelon candies for you later."
"Watermelon candy?" Yu Chunxiao was distracted by Du Jiang's words. "Watermelon can be made into candy."
"Watermelon rind candy is a little more labor-intensive, but it tastes great," Du Jiang stuffed the money into Yu Chunxiao's pocket again and held down his restless hand. "I'm not being polite. You know I don't keep in touch with Sister Yingying much, so it's probably inappropriate for me to come over so suddenly. Could you please buy me a couple more watermelons? I can use the rinds to pickle vegetables later."
"Okay, I'll go ask." Yu Chunxiao no longer refused and nodded immediately. "Sister Jiang, wait for me for a moment."
After saying that, he immediately walked out, but stopped at the door, scratched his head hesitantly, and said, "Why don't you come with me?"
"Is that okay?" Du Jiang stepped forward. "Why don't you go ask first? If it's okay, I'll go over there."
"Okay, wait for me," Yu Chunxiao said and ran out immediately.
In the yard, Mrs. Huo and Old Man Huo looked at each other. Mrs. Huo said uncertainly, "Jiang Jiang, Yingying can't possibly have so many watermelons, and she and Aunt Cui can't possibly transport so many watermelons here at once."
"Yes," Old Man Huo continued, "even though I have a bicycle, my strength is limited after all." He pointed to the watermelon next to the well in the yard and said, "This half looks like it weighs four or five kilograms. The whole one would probably weigh eight or nine kilograms."
"Grandpa, I'm just asking. If there isn't any, forget it." Du Jiang smiled and didn't explain. Immediately, Mrs. Huo and Old Man Huo stopped talking.
Seeing this, Huo Yang stepped forward to divert their attention, "Grandpa, Grandma, I'm going to the pig house to help carry fertilizer. You guys can rest at home."
"No, no," Old Man Huo said, waving his hands hastily. "Yangyang, you'd better not go. I've discussed with your grandma that we won't go to work anymore to save you any trouble. Besides, your grandma is already busy with the vegetables in the yard."
"Yes, I also turned down the village doctor's position. I'm too old to keep up, so it's better to give it to the young people."
"Ah, I pushed it. Grandma, don't you want to be a village doctor?" Du Jiang turned around and looked in confusion, and Huo Yang did the same.
Seeing the identical expressions on the young couple's faces, Mrs. Huo smiled with relief. "I'm old now, so I should let the opportunities go to the younger ones. The village chief has already decided to select someone in the village and send them to the town for training. Besides, there haven't been many sick people in the village in recent years, and they can basically be cured with our own folk medicine. Besides, that position is not worth much, so it's useless for me to occupy it."
Uh, Du Jiang and Huo Yang looked at each other. They were a little surprised but more relieved at the transformation of their two family members after they sprained their ankles.
Du Jiang immediately stepped forward and took Old Lady Huo's hand, comforting her, "Grandma, Huo Yang and I have wanted to tell you about this for a long time. After all, you are old enough and have subsidies, so there is no need to work so hard. Besides, we can hunt and grow vegetables at home, so there is no need."
"Yes," Huo Yang continued, "Jiang Jiang is right. It's good that you've come to your senses now. This way, Grandpa can stay at home longer to take care of me. My salary has also increased a lot, so you can rest assured."
"Don't worry, I'm most confident in you two," Old Mrs. Huo nodded, her eyes sweeping across the vegetable patch in the yard. "I was wrong before, but now that I have time, I'll take good care of the vegetable patch. You don't have to worry about the people in the house. Your grandfather and I will take care of it for you. You two just need to do your own things."
"Grandma, thank you for your help," Du Jiang said, following Mrs. Huo's gaze towards the vegetable patch, her eyes curved with a smile. "From now on, you and Grandpa can just sit at the helm at home."
"Yes, grandma."
"Jiang Jiang is still good at talking," old man Huo curled his lips in disgust as he looked at Huo Yang who squeezed out a sentence after a long time.
Just as they were chatting and laughing, Yu Chunxiao came back and said, "Sister Jiang, Sister Yingying said it's okay. You can go directly to her next time if you want something. But the watermelon this time will have to wait until tomorrow. She and Aunt Cui have already processed the ones they brought back."
Hearing this, Du Jiang nodded and said, "Thank you for your help, Chunxiao. I'll go with you then."
Three years later, Du Jiang once again walked into Xu Zhizhou's house. Compared to the simple decoration at the wedding, the house now had some new furniture and even the bedding on the bed was replaced with new ones. Looking at the silk quilt embroidered with mandarin ducks, Du Jiang quickly looked away and greeted Du Yingying with a smile, "Sister Yingying."
"Du Jiang is here, come and sit down," Du Yingying was very happy about Du Jiang's arrival, moving stools and pouring water. "You haven't been here for a long time. How is your family? I heard that the old man sprained his ankle. Is it serious?"
Reaching out to take the water handed over by Du Yingying, Du Jiang hurriedly thanked her, "Sister Yingying, don't be polite. The old man is fine. He just looks red and swollen, but there are no broken bones. He will be fine after a few days of rest."
"You're so polite," Du Yingying said, taking out a bag of melon seeds from the chest of drawers at the end of the bed and placing it in front of Du Jiang. "I don't have anything special here, but I still have some melon seeds, so don't be disgusted. By the way, I heard Chunxiao say you wanted to buy two watermelons."
"Yes, I want to buy a few. I can make some candies or pickles with the watermelon rinds, which can be considered as a new dish or snack for the winter," Du Jiang said his plan. "If it's not convenient, forget it."
"It's okay," Du Yingying waved her hand indifferently, "It's not a big deal. I do have a watermelon, but it's not very convenient for me to carry it by myself. After all, it's heavy. See if your Huo Yang is free tomorrow. If he is, come to find me on Beitan Street." Du Yingying gave an address and said, "My parents bought a house there and put their things there. After all, it's not convenient for me to be here." After saying that, she looked around and shrugged helplessly.
Looking at the room that was completely exposed, Du Jiang understood. "Okay, I'll go back and tell Huo Yang later." Then Du Jiang took out five yuan from his pocket and handed it to Du Yingying. "Sister Yingying, this is the deposit. The final amount will be calculated by weight."
Du Yingying didn't bother to exchange pleasantries with Du Jiang and immediately reached out to take it. "Okay, then just have Huo Yang come to see me tomorrow. By the way, Du Jiang, do you want to be a teacher?"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
