If someone had said to Zhou Jiao before that there was a spring drought in Northeast China.
She must despise the other person's IQ.
The vast snow in Northeast China in spring, and the rivers everywhere. Are these just decorations?
Now she was ashamed of her ignorance.
Zhou Jiao imagined that Northeast China would be prone to flooding, avalanches, and mudslides, but droughts were not uncommon. But reality taught her a lesson.
Time flies after the Lunar New Year. As the weather warms and the snow decreases, spring plowing becomes everyone's dream. No matter how tiring the work, shoveling the earth becomes nothing if the thought of the joy of harvest comes.
After two autumn rains last year, there had been no rain. The old captain was so worried that he kept smoking his long pipe. Especially after hearing that the drought had continued inside the Great Wall, he walked back and forth along the riverbank every day.
Zhou Jiao's heart tightened whenever she saw a newspaper report about a lack of rain. Her only consolation was that the water level in her well was only low, and it was still clear and sweet, drinkable.
No one in the county town paid special attention to the farmers' harvest, nor did anyone notice that the surrounding villages had planned to significantly reduce the area of rice cultivation this year.
Zhou Jiao, holding her son's hand, stood in line at the intersection. The small squares of tofu brought smiles to everyone's faces. Huang Juan, sitting in front of her, sighed softly, finally getting to enjoy fish head tofu soup tonight.
Zhou Jiao understood her excitement. Since the beginning of the first month of the lunar year, soybeans hadn't appeared in the grain registers, and no one had eaten a single bite of tofu in the past few months. How could she not be happy?
She squatted down and picked up her son, looking at his smile. She had to admit that she was really blessed. She couldn't imagine how her family would survive without space.
Carrying the small piece of tofu she bought, Zhou Jiao followed Huang Juan and walked slowly home.
"Jiaojiao, when will your parents-in-law come back this time?"
"They're worried about Xizi and the others, so they should be back in a couple of days. Does Aunt Juan want to talk to them about something?"
Huang Juan smiled and shook her head. "Nothing. I just want to know where there are more wild vegetables. I plan to go dig some after work. Your mother-in-law has experience in this, but you don't."
Zhou Jiao laughed in silence. She really couldn't do that. A few days ago, when she returned to the village, she didn't see a single wild vegetable anywhere. She knew there were plenty in the mountains, but without Zhang Guoqing by her side, she didn't dare go.
"When she comes over, I'll tell her. The wild vegetables will grow fast in a while, so there's no need to worry about not being able to dig them up."
Huang Juan nodded, feeling amused. This kid thought the wild vegetables were just there, quietly waiting to grow and be picked. If they went there later, they would have disappeared.
Huang Juan turned around and left before entering the door when Zhao Yuanyuan came running over on her bike.
Zhou Jiao looked at her curiously.
"Let's go in first. I'm so thirsty." After saying that, Zhao Yuanyuan pushed the cart into the yard.
In the living room, Zhou Jiao put Ping An down and let him play by himself. She waited until Zhao Yuanyuan drank two bowls of water before she spoke.
"Taozi and the others are organizing a field trip and asked me to come and inform you."
Zhou Jiao shook her head. "Xiao Wu still has to go to work. I won't go."
Zhao Yuanyuan stamped her feet and pointed at her anxiously, "You're not going before I even ask where we're going. Aren't you showing any sincerity? What kind of work does Xiaowu have this weekend? You have to go this time even if you don't want to!"
Ping An, unwilling to be left out, interjected, "I want to go too."
"Well done, baby! Auntie will take you to see the world."
Zhou Jiao smiled and shook her head. "It's not suitable for an outing now. Let's wait until summer."
"Don't come here. I guess your family will go back to the capital in the summer. Honey, do you want to go?"
Ping An looked at her and said, "I'll listen to Mom. Auntie, you haven't told me where you're going yet?"
Zhou Jiao laughed heartily upon hearing this. Indeed, he had said a lot of nonsense.
Zhao Yuanyuan stretched out her hand to pinch Ping An, but he interrupted her. She wasn't angry, but said cheerfully, "Let's go to the reservoir. There's some fish there. How about grilling some for you?"
Ping An didn't even wait for Zhou Jiao to answer. He said, "No." Then he turned around and ran to play with his toys.
Seeing that she was about to pester the child, Zhou Jiao quickly pulled her back and said, "We really don't plan to go. My godmother and her family are coming over this weekend, and I have to wait for them at home."
Zhao Yuanyuan glared at her fiercely, and after a few moments, she said quietly, "Then I won't go either. Why would I, the only girl, go when there are so many boys?"
After saying that, Xiang Xiang sighed, "I originally thought I could go out and relax."
Zhou Jiao frowned slightly when she heard this, "What happened?"
Zhao Yuanyuan feigned ignorance, not daring to look at her. "What do you mean by trouble? I'm fine. What's the matter? I just wanted to go for a walk since the weather is warm."
Seeing she didn't want to talk, Zhou Jiao stopped asking. Everyone has privacy, and she didn't like to pry into it. Besides, Zhao Yuanyuan didn't have anything else to worry about besides her girlish thoughts.
After a few idle chats, it was almost time for lunch, and Zhou Jiao couldn't stop her, as Zhao Yuanyuan hurried off again. She came and went like a gust of wind, and even Ping An followed Zhou Jiao in shaking his head.
At noon, Zhang Guoqing went home for lunch and mentioned some information.
Zhao Dashan's hometown urged him to send food.
With that said and Zhao Yuanyuan involved, what else is unclear? It seems that Zhao Dashan and his wife are not on the same page and there is a conflict within the family.
Zhang Guoqing looked at Zhou Jiao worriedly. He was really afraid that his wife would feel that she owed Zhao Dashan a favor and that she had enough money, so she would foolishly go to help Zhao Dashan's family.
Zhou Jiao looked at him speechlessly. Was such an obvious statement necessary? She wasn't crazy. Since Zhao Dashan had enough, then he could send it. If his hometown didn't have enough food, what did it have to do with her?
"You think I'm the Virgin Mary?"
Zhang Guoqing laughed out loud when he heard this - it's good to have this awareness.
The couple was joking around with their son, but unexpectedly the Virgin Mary actually came.
"Jiaojiao, try these wild vegetables first and see how they taste. If you like them, I'll dig some for you in a few days. Don't go out into the wild with others. Ping'an is still young, and it's not safe in the wild. Remember that?"
Zhou Jiao looked at the basket of wild vegetables sent by Zhang Meili and looked at Zhang Guoqing with a headache. Come on, go and see your saintly sister.
Zhang Guoqing looked at the neatly packed fresh wild vegetables in the basket and couldn't help but laugh, "Sister, you're not going to leave any old ones for yourself and give me all the good ones, are you?"
Zhang Meili shook her head proudly. "We found a good place this time. Your second sister and I dug up quite a bit, enough for the three of us to have a meal together. I'll look for it again when I'm not working."
Zhang Guoqing felt ashamed after hearing this.
"Sister, don't look for it. Wait until the weekend and I'll go to the mountains. You can have as much as you want, and you can even order whatever dishes you want. You've lost weight every day because you have to dig wild vegetables for work."
Zhou Jiao followed closely behind and said, "That's right. Sister, if you're not working, you should rest well. Don't neglect taking care of yourself. If you lose too much energy when you're young, you won't be able to regain it when you're old."
Zhang Meili didn't want to talk to the children anymore. If they kept talking, she wouldn't have to work anymore. If you don't work when you're young, you won't be able to move when you're old. She wanted to work a few more years to save money for her children.
"I'm leaving. Don't go up the mountain unless necessary. It's very dangerous there. Tell me what wild vegetables you want to eat, and you just take care of the children. Don't go up the mountain unless necessary, okay?"
Ping An saw her about to leave, took a step forward, pulled her along, and blinked his big eyes, "Aunt, lower your head."
Zhang Meili was about to pick him up when she heard him squat down. Unexpectedly, the child stuffed a candy into her mouth. Excited, she picked up the child and laughed happily.
Zhang Guoqing and Zhou Jiao smiled at each other. No wonder they say children's hearts are the brightest and purest.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
