They took a detour from the north, concealing themselves all the way, while Zhang Guoqing carried a sack of medicinal herbs to the team's clinic. When he entered, he found that there was no one there.
He simply opened the sack and spread the bundles of herbs out in the yard to dry. He would wait until someone came back to clean up the rest.
"Ping'an is already asleep. You should go take a shower and have a rest." When Zhou Jiao saw him come in, she quickly pointed to the buckets of water drying in the yard and urged him to go to bed.
Even a body of iron couldn't stand such an endurance. Zhou Jiao had made up her mind that she would stay at home in the afternoon and no one would disturb her rest.
Zhang Guoqing nodded, walked to the well, and took off his clothes. "Have you given all the things to mother?"
Zhou Jiao rolled her eyes at him. The courtyard gate was wide open. What if a young wife came? "Yeah. She asked why you didn't ask her to go up the mountain with Dad."
"Outside, lie down first. I'll be fine soon."
Zhou Jiao nodded and went to the gate to close it. This afternoon, her mother-in-law was with the three little girls, cleaning and drying things, while her father-in-law was with the boys in the county town selling wild fruits, so no one should be coming.
"daughter in law……"
Zhou Jiao turned her head in surprise and looked at him with doubtful eyes.
Zhang Guoqing pointed at his back and said, "Itchy."
Zhou Jiao quickly ran behind him, but before he could get close, a bucket of water splashed on him. Looking at his soaked shirt, Zhou Jiao didn't know whether to laugh or cry, "I just changed my clothes."
"Wash again. Come, I'll help you carry water in."
Zhou Jiao quickly slipped out of his arms and ran to the bedroom. He hugged her tightly, blinking his eyes, "Brother, you have to remember to take things slow and steady."
Zhang Guoqing laughed and jokingly said, "Are you overthinking this? I'm so tired I can fall asleep as soon as I close my eyes."
Facing his teasing look, Zhou Jiao glanced at him.
"Look, look, you're looking at me like that again. Forget it, I'd better work harder to serve you before you go back to sleep."
"Nonsense! Stop making excuses."
"Speak louder, my son is awake."
Zhou Jiao touched his dark eye sockets distressedly, "Go to sleep first. I'm sleepy too."
"Then you have to promise me..." Zhang Guoqing rolled his eyes and whispered the rest of the words in her ear.
No one knew what he said, but from Zhou Jiao's red face and the fact that she hesitated for a long time before nodding shyly, it was clear that it was probably not something nice.
The couple hugged each other tightly and whispered to each other. After changing their wet clothes, they found two adults and one child lying on the big kang, fast asleep.
Meanwhile, among the crowd of people getting off a train in the provincial capital, a haggard-looking Li Qinglin emerged, carrying his luggage. After exiting the station, he glanced in the direction of Zhang Yuntao's school, hesitated for a moment, then turned and hopped on a bus to the county seat. This time, he'd better hurry up and see Zhang Guoqing before reuniting with his brother.
Exhausted, Zhang Guoqing slept until he woke naturally. When he awoke, the room was dark, even the moonlight blocked by the thick curtains. Lying there, he listened intently, and could faintly hear Zhou Jiao humming a cheerful tune outside, and the sound of a knife cutting on wooden boards.
A smile gradually appeared on Zhang Guoqing's face. He quickly jumped up from the kang, grabbed his clothes and left the room. When he saw a light in the kitchen, he felt warm in his heart.
He put on his clothes as he walked, and when he reached the kitchen door, he leaned against it and put on his pants, smiling, "Why didn't you call me? Do you need help? Where's my son?"
"Are you feeling better after sleeping? Sit down for a while. I'll be ready to eat soon. Ping'an and Xizi ran out and haven't come back yet. Dad went to the village entrance to enjoy the cool air, and Mom went to watch the fun."
Zhang Guoqing filled a plate with water, wiped his face hastily, and asked curiously, "What's all the fuss?"
"That evening, that big-necked guy hit my wife, saying she ate something. My aunt and the others told my mother about it, but I didn't listen carefully."
Zhang Guoqing didn't take it seriously. As far as he could remember, his father and his two brothers were the only ones who didn't hit their wives. Even someone as kind as the old captain had been physically assaulted, so it wasn't surprising.
"By the way, after dinner, Qinglin came running over to look for you. He looked like he had something urgent to do. I was about to call you, but he said there was no rush. He and Ping'an went out and haven't come back yet."
Zhang Guoqing raised his eyebrows, "The condom wasn't with him?"
Zhou Jiao nodded, scooped the noodles from the cold boiled water into a large bowl, poured the beef and potato sauce on the side, stirred it vigorously, and sprinkled the chopped meat and sesame seeds on it.
"It's done. Try it first to see if it suits your taste. I've tasted this sauce quite well when I've tried it abroad."
Zhang Guoqing laughed and said, "With so many seasonings, it must be delicious. If that big-necked woman saw this, she would definitely jump into the river. What did you and your son have for dinner?"
"Sorghum rice. Ping'an shot a wild rabbit and asked Mom to roast it. He ate a bowlful of it last night, which really scared me. The kids had such good appetites tonight that they even ate your dinner."
"It's okay. Running up and down is exhausting. Ping An didn't even have a midnight snack last night, so let him go home and sleep tonight."
Seeing Zhang Guoqing feeding her several mouthfuls in a row, Zhou Jiao smiled and shook her head and said, "He said he would come back to sleep tonight. I've eaten, you should eat quickly."
"Okay, I'll go find the woods later. Do you want to go for a walk outside?"
"Yes, they just asked me to come over. I said I'd go in a bit."
Zhang Guoqing smiled and shook his head. "If you don't want to socialize with them, then don't go. There's no need to put yourself in a difficult position. Is your sister-in-law still not in the village this afternoon?"
"I heard from Mai Miao that her mother took some manual labor on the street and has been busy making money these past two days. Yaya told me that this weekend is Mom's birthday and her two sisters will be coming over. Mai Miao is really smart. When she heard that, she immediately said that her mother was working so hard to avoid delaying Mom's birthday. I think she will probably ask Xizi to notify her mother as soon as possible tonight."
"A nine-year-old girl should understand everything. Look at Yaya and Mai Sui, who are two years younger than her, and they worked so efficiently in the mountains today. Children in the country grow up early."
Zhou Jiao nodded in agreement. These three girls are even better than the boys. As soon as they finished their work in the mountains today, they took her to learn how to identify herbs, even saving a sample of each. They're a promising prospect.
"Have you noticed that these three girls take after their eldest sister? They're good at talking and they're good at work. They cooked all the dinner tonight. Mom told me that it was a waste of money for an outsider. I told her not to arrange any marriages for the children. These three girls are good-looking. If they go to school for a few more years, they'll find a partner of any standard."
Zhang Guoqing knew his mother wouldn't take it seriously if someone else said that. After all, these were granddaughters, and given her personality, she wouldn't interfere too much, leaving it up to their parents to make the final decision. But Zhou Jiao actually said that, and it was as if the three girls were set in stone, absolutely not getting engaged so soon.
This is a good thing. He is not worried about the other two girls because they have his second brother and brother-in-law. He is just worried that Mai Miao will be "sold" by her foolish mother.
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