Mother Zhou shook her head. "It's not much better here. There are people like this everywhere, unless you live in seclusion. My daughter has been deeply wronged this time. Because of this rumor, she was asked to clarify it, and after clarifying it, they found the culprit. Those gossipers don't understand where they are wrong?"
The next day, Ling Ran came to see Zhou Xiang early. Zhou Xiang looked at him expressionlessly, "Are you free?"
"I'm afraid you'll be sad, right? I'm here to keep you company."
"I'm fine. If this little thing could bring me down, I wouldn't deserve to live."
Ling Ran naturally stayed to have breakfast. After the meal, Chen Shi came again, carrying a light bag. Zhou Xiang took out a new beam scale.
It was two pounds in total. Chen Shi took the four dollars, left the bag and ran away.
Ling Ran was confused. What was going on?
Seeing Ling Ran was puzzled, Zhou Xiang simply took out a clean mask and handed it to him, "Put it on."
Then he put on a mask and dragged out the bag from last time.
I dragged out the big basin, collected the soap ends that my mother was reluctant to throw away, put them in a washbasin, scooped hot water from the stove, and dissolved the soap.
When you see that the soapy water is almost dissolved, pour it into a large basin, add hot water and cold water to make the hot water at 60 to 70 degrees, and then add some alkali.
Start sorting through the feathers in the bag, "Pick out all the impurities and those that are not down, and then put them in this hot water."
Ling Ran finally realized she was going for down. "Don't we already have down jackets for sale? Why bother with this?"
"Will my mother be willing to spend a lot of money to make down jackets for everyone in the family?"
Ling Ran thought of Zhou's mother's stingy character, uh, he should help the little girl seriously!
The two of them selected very quickly, and Chen Shi did it very cleanly.
After soaking for a while, start scrubbing gently to remove the grease and dirt, then rinse the soapy ingredients in the feathers with clean water.
Ling Ran followed suit by drawing water, pouring it, and washing it many times. Finally, the water became as clear as freshly drawn water, and Zhou Xiang said it was okay.
I found two torn sheets (my mother didn't want to throw them away and kept them for making cloth shells) and spread one on the kang. I gently squeezed out the moisture from the washed feathers and sprinkled them on the torn sheet on the kang.
After beating evenly, cover with another sheet and press down the four sides with heavy objects.
Pick out some of the broken honeycomb coal in the stove to raise the temperature on the kang.
"Oh, it's so tiring. I even made an appointment with my classmates! They have to bring it to me when school starts, and I have to wash it again. I'm so tired." Zhou Xiang wailed while sitting on the bench.
Ling Ran rubbed her head and said, "I'll help you when the time comes."
Zhou Xiang slapped away the hand that was rubbing his head, "Humph! School has already started for you."
"I'm back to help you during the holidays. If you choose to do this job on Sunday, then I'll be back, right?"
Zhou Xiang thought this was a good idea. "Okay, after school starts, everyone can choose Sundays to work. It's free labor, so there's nothing to worry about."
Ling Ran nodded and was about to take the mask away, but Zhou Xiang stopped him and said, "Put the mask down. I'll wash it and dry it later so I can use it next time I need it."
Ling Ran put down the mask in his hand and felt happy. The little girl started washing the mask for him, which was almost like washing his clothes. It was great.
Looking at Ling Ran who left happily, Zhou wondered what was wrong with him. He didn't care about him. The more important thing was to look through his down jacket.
When Zhou's mother came back and smelled the smell in the house, she asked, "Did you get the down?"
"Well, a classmate of mine makes braised food. He sent me three and a half kilograms twice. I'll try it first and see how much I can get."
Mother Zhou nodded, "Well, I'll make it for your dad first. Lately, your dad has been coaxed by you and has stopped finding faults. Life is much smoother now. This is what life is like. Mom has lived for more than 40 years, and she hasn't had such a smooth life in the past month.
Also! The cigarettes, alcohol, and tea I bought for your dad yesterday were too good and too expensive. Be careful not to spoil him. I’ll give him better and more in the future.”
"It's okay, I can make money, as long as he doesn't make a fuss! You still have to make a pair of down pants."
As the mother and daughter were talking, they heard Zhou's father shouting from outside: "Come out and get the things, I can't carry them anymore."
The mother and daughter came out and saw Zhou's father buying some big fish.
"Why buy so much fish at once?"
"Today, someone in Xiaoxie Village released water from their pond and sold fish for the New Year. I bought the biggest ones. I love eating fish and I don't spit out bones, so big fish have fewer and larger bones, so they're easier to pick. I'll marinate them again to make the fish more firm and easier to pick out the bones."
The mother and daughter looked at each other and smiled.
Zhou's father started to kill the fish while Zhou Xiang and her mother cooked.
After dinner, Zhou Xiang moved a small stool and sat next to his father. He watched his father pickling fish and asked him where he got the money to buy the fish.
Father Zhou said awkwardly, "I bought it on credit."
Zhou Xiang went into his room, took out fifty yuan, and handed it to his father. "Is that enough?"
"Twenty-five is enough."
"If you take all of it, what if you see another suitable New Year's item and you don't know the seller, who will buy it on credit?"
After saying that, he stuffed the money into his father's pocket and said, "Tomorrow is the market again, let's go to the market to buy New Year's goods!"
Father Zhou nodded and continued to marinate the fish.
Zhou Xiang spent the whole afternoon turning over the down. The kang was burning hot, and when he felt it was almost done, he sealed the stove and let it dry out slowly.
On market days, Zhou's father always got up at around three o'clock. When Zhou remembered, he asked his mother to make breakfast and went to the slaughterhouse to find his father.
Father Zhou, wearing rain boots and a black leather apron, walked up to his daughter and said, "Think about what you're doing here? It's so dirty!"
"Dad, go buy some of the things we need for the pig today! Buy more at the next market. Chinese New Year is only a week away, so we can braise it after we finish our shopping at the next market."
Father Zhou nodded and said, "Okay, I'll buy all the ones that haven't been reserved in a while."
Zhou wanted to stuff fifty yuan into his father's apron pocket and said, "Whatever part of the meat you like, buy it. When you're done, come home and eat."
Watching his daughter running away, Zhou's father's eyes turned red. He also had to work hard because his daughter was better at making money than him.
Zhou wanted to come back to wash up and help his mother light the fire. After a while, Zhou's father came back carrying pig liver, pig tail and pig stomach.
"Dad is back, put these things in the basin quickly, wash your hands and eat."
Father Zhou happily washed his hands and prepared hot water. His daughter was thoughtful.
After finishing breakfast, Zhou's father was about to pack up these things, but Zhou Xiang stopped him and said, "Dad, let's go buy New Year's goods and come back to do these."
After hearing this, Zhou's mother asked, "Haven't you bought almost everything? What else do you want to buy?"
"I haven't bought the firecrackers yet! And I haven't bought new dishes, chickens, ducks, or geese yet!"
"If you buy the chickens, ducks and geese so early, they will become thin and hungry." Zhou's mother objected.
"I'll feed them, don't worry, I'll buy some more wheat bran."
"Alright, never mind, let you two do whatever you want!"
Zhou's mother looked at her watch and realized she was going to be late.
Zhou's father took out three snakeskin bags. Zhou Xiang locked the door. Seeing Ling Ran at the door, Zhou Xiang was convinced.
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