After the family ate breakfast, Zhang Shengtian and his two sons prepared to go to work, and Song Lili also got ready to go.
"Lili, you don't need to go. Just stay home and keep busy." But Zhang Qinghua stopped her.
"I...I'm not going?" Song Lili looked at Zhang Qinghua in surprise.
“That’s right, Lili, you don’t need to go to work. We have three strong men in our family. You and Ai’ai can stay at home. You don’t need to work hard in the fields,” Zhang Shengtian added.
"This...isn't that necessary? I used to work in the same industry, I'm used to it, please let me go." Song Lili said hesitantly.
Not going to the fields? Song Lili's mind went blank for a moment; she couldn't process what she was thinking.
If she doesn't go to the fields, what is she going to do?
“Yes, sister-in-law, none of the girls in our family go to the fields. You can just stay home and cook,” Zhang Qingguo added.
"But……"
“Big Brother, you go first, I’ll catch up with you.” Zhang Qinghua stopped Song Lili from saying what she was about to say and said to Zhang Shengtian.
"Okay, don't be late." Zhang Shengtian left with Zhang Qingguo.
“Qinghua…” Song Lili looked at Zhang Qinghua, her expression a mixture of emotions.
She felt a little uncomfortable with this sudden attention from others, but she was also incredibly happy.
Zhang Qinghua pulled Song Lili into their room and then looked at her seriously.
“Lili, when you were at home before, I couldn’t make any decisions, so I could only watch you go to the fields with a heavy heart.”
"But now that you've married me and become my wife, I feel sorry for you, and I can make that decision."
"So, please don't go to the fields, okay? Just stay home and cook and clean. Leave the heavy work to me, okay?"
In the past, Zhang Qinghua always felt sorry for Song Lili, who worked hard in the fields from dawn till dusk with everyone else. However, at that time, he could only feel sorry for her and could do nothing about it.
Now that Song Lili is his wife, he naturally wants to cherish her and make sure she doesn't have to work so hard at home.
Song Lili was deeply moved, and her eyes welled up with tears.
"But I'm used to it. If you leave me at home, I... I have no idea what to do."
"Then go out and talk to Yangmei, or you can go to sleep. I just feel sorry for you working so hard."
Zhang Qinghua touched Song Lili's face, his eyes filled with heartache. "Okay? You're not going? Hmm?"
In the end, Song Lili didn't even know how she had gotten herself into agreeing to stay at home.
After Zhang Qinghua left, Song Lili finally realized, "I... how could I have agreed?" She angrily punched herself.
"Hehe, sister-in-law, come in." Zhang Aiai, who had been watching from the courtyard, finally smiled.
"That's how it is at home. They say girls should be pampered, so I've never worked in the fields and have always done light chores at home."
"You can stay with me, cook, and go for a walk." Zhang Aiai was already used to this kind of life; this was her daily routine.
"But don't you think this is boring? Isn't it uncomfortable?" Song Lili couldn't even imagine what it would be like to have nothing to do all day.
"No, I'll just go for a walk if I'm bored," Zhang Aiai said.
Song Lili was speechless.
But letting her wander around all day would drive her crazy.
So, after Zhang Qinghua and the others left, Song Lili put on her work clothes and started cleaning the house.
I cleaned the entire house thoroughly, leaving no spot untouched, before going out into the yard to sweep, pull weeds, and tidy up.
After finishing all that, it was only noon. Song Lili dusted herself off and went into the kitchen to cook lunch for the two of them.
"Sister-in-law, I... I'll do it. You've been busy all morning and must be tired. Take a rest." Zhang Aiai said shyly.
She used to just loiter around at home, but today her sister-in-law was there, so she didn't go out either. However, seeing Song Lili busy while she was idle, she felt uneasy.
Seeing that Song Lili was still cooking, he quickly followed her into the kitchen.
"It's alright, I'm used to making these. Just wait a moment, we'll be ready to eat soon," Song Lili said, already having quickly washed the vegetables.
She made a batter and then made a cucumber salad; that was enough for the two of them.
After finishing her meal, Song Lili decided to rest for a while. She hadn't felt well since waking up that morning, so she figured she should take a break.
After a good night's sleep, Song Lili felt much better. When she went outside, she saw Zhang Aiai sitting in the yard washing bok choy.
"Ai'ai, did you go to your private plot?"
"Yes, I had nothing to do, so I thought I'd pick the vegetables we'd need for dinner and get them ready."
Actually, it was because Song Lili hadn't had a moment's rest all morning that Zhang Aiai felt embarrassed and went to pick the bok choy.
"That's fine too." Song Lili nodded. It's good to be prepared now, so we don't have to rush around tonight.
She washed vegetables with Zhang Aiai, and then chatted casually, "Aiai, are all the vegetables you grow in your family's private plot bok choy?"
Song Lili helped when the family built the greenhouse, but we haven't heard from her since.
"No, there are other vegetables too, but those are usually taken to the purchasing station. These bok choy are for our own consumption."
"Well... can we go to our private plot in a bit?" Song Lili wanted to see what else was there.
“Okay.” Zhang Aiai readily agreed, since she had nothing else to do anyway.
When Song Lili and Zhang Aiai arrived at their private plot, they saw rows of vegetables growing there.
It might be because no one in the family manages things, or perhaps Zhang Aiai doesn't know how; there are only a few men, and they might be careless and not handle things properly.
So what Song Lili saw was a total of four rows of vegetables, covered with plastic sheeting, with a large area of land left open next to them.
Inside the plastic sheeting, cucumbers, eggplants, celery, and lettuce are planted, one type of vegetable per row.
The land outside was divided in two; one half was planted with bok choy, and the other half with cabbage.
"Is this how you've always planted them?" Song Lili asked Zhang Aiai, looking speechlessly at the vegetable patch.
Zhang Aiai nodded blankly, "Yes, Da Da said that's how other people plant them."
Song Lili "..."
Other people plant like that because they have little land.
Your family's private plot of land is twice the size of other people's because of its remote location. This is simply unacceptable!
If we plant so many, we probably won't be able to eat them all and it will all go to waste.
Song Lili ignored the ones in the greenhouse, guessing they were going to be taken to the purchasing station. As for the ones outside, she glanced at them and figured the cabbages weren't ripe yet, but the bok choy was just right for eating.
Looking at the large head of bok choy, Song Lili thought for a moment and said, "Aiai, let's go home and get a basket. Let's pull up half of the bok choy, blanch it today, and make it into dried bok choy."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
