Around 5 p.m., Zhou Caixiang returned from school.
Not long after I entered the house, I saw Zhou Jiahong carrying buckets of water out of the kitchen, clearly going to fetch water.
However, Zhou Caixiang was only slightly surprised and didn't pay much attention to it, since she didn't have to fetch water anyway.
When Zhou Jiahong saw her return, he immediately sidled up to her with a cheeky grin and said, "Third Sister, you're finally back! Perfect timing, we can each carry two buckets of water. I've already made two trips, you can carry the rest."
As she was about to hand her the carrying pole and bucket, Zhou Caixiang quickly stepped back, saying, "If you want to carry water, then carry it. Don't ask me, I won't."
He then went into his room.
Zhou Jiahong pursed his lips. "Third sister, don't blame me for not reminding you. If you're not going to fetch water, at least tidy up the house. Or you could sweep the chicken coop in the backyard. If you don't do anything, you'll definitely get a scolding when Mom and eldest sister come back from the fields. You might even go hungry tonight!"
His response was the sound of Zhou Caixiang closing the door.
Zhou Jiahong scoffed and ignored her.
After filling the water tank, he went to the backyard and swept the chicken coop. There were more than a dozen chicks there. His mother said that he had to sweep it at least twice a day to keep the coop clean. At noon, his mother specifically told him to fill the water tank and sweep the chicken coop clean when he came back from school in the afternoon. He dared not disobey his mother now, otherwise he would not only be scolded, but also go hungry.
When Yu Qiuying and Zhou Cailian returned from the fields, it was already dark. Zhou Jiahong had already started a fire and was heating water for their bath.
As soon as Yu Qiuying and Zhou Cailian returned, he immediately ran out of the kitchen as if to take credit, "Mom, I filled the water tank and swept the chicken coop. I figured you would be back soon, so I started a fire to heat the bath water."
"Good, I'll reward you with a banana later." Yu Qiuying was quite satisfied with her youngest son's behavior these past two days and planned to reward him with a banana later. This banana was the one she had taken from the Zhong family the other day, and it had been in her spatial storage for two or three days without spoiling at all; it was still very fresh.
When Zhou Jiahong heard that there were bananas to eat, his eyes lit up. Bananas were a precious treat. He had only eaten them twice, when his eldest and second eldest sisters got married. They were much tastier than those sour green apples.
"Oh, right, Mom, Third Sister is back. She's inside."
If Zhou Jiahong hadn't mentioned it, Yu Qiuying would have completely forgotten that it was Friday. Her youngest daughter would come back every Friday afternoon.
She glanced at the light on in her youngest daughter's room, said nothing, went into the kitchen to wash her hands, and began preparing dinner.
Zhou Caixiang smelled the aroma of food and heard the noises coming from the next room, so she got up and went out.
"Mom." When she arrived in the living room, she saw her mother, eldest sister, and fifth brother eating. No one called her. Zhou Caixiang was a little unhappy, but she didn't dare to show her displeasure like before. She glanced at her mother and called out, but her mother seemed not to hear her and didn't even look at her.
Zhou Caixiang felt frustrated. It had been so long, why hadn't her mother calmed down yet?
She sat down next to Yu Qiuying at the dining table and called out again, "Mom."
Yu Qiuying swallowed the food in her mouth and looked at her expressionlessly. "If you have something to say, just say it. If you don't, go back to your room and read your book. Don't disturb our meal here."
Zhou Caixiang: "..."
Zhou Jiahong, standing to the side, glanced at her with schadenfreude and sneered inwardly, "Serves you right for not working; now you're starving."
Zhou Cailian silently ate her meal. Her younger sister had only called for "Mom," seemingly ignoring her, the older sister.
"Mom, what are you trying to do?! What did I do wrong? Why are you treating me like this?!" Zhou Caixiang cried again. She thought that after so many days, her mother would have calmed down by now, and she was even thinking that she would get her mother to coax her this weekend. But her mother still treated her like this. What did she do wrong?!
“How have I treated you? Didn’t I tell you last week that if you want to eat, you have to work? You’ve been home from school for so long, what have you been doing?” Yu Qiuying’s emotions remained completely unchanged.
Zhou Caixiang was taken aback. "I... I have exams coming up soon, and my study time is very tight. As soon as I get home, I stay in my room reading and doing homework. How can I have time to do chores!"
"So you'll have time to eat then?"
"Mom! How could you do this!" Just like last time, Zhou Caixiang was so angry that she ran back to her room crying.
Zhou Jiadong also heard the commotion in the main room.
He rubbed his rumbling stomach, then pulled the blanket over his head to block out the tantalizing aroma of food that kept wafting into his nose.
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