Zhou Huaishan was standing in front of a pile of stone slabs at this moment. He pointed at He Jianjun with a smile on his face and said to Uncle Zhao, the helper: "My brother-in-law He Jianjun came to give us a festival gift today. He heard that we were short of manpower here, and he came to help us carry the stone slabs without even drinking a sip of water."
Uncle Zhao smiled and said, "I heard that Yumei's mother-in-law lives in town. This is the first time we see the new son-in-law!"
He Jianjun twitched his lips twice and politely took out a cigarette: "Thank you for bothering Uncle Zhao."
"Why bother after I've paid you?" Uncle Zhao took the cigarette with a smile, "My eldest brother-in-law is renovating his new house, so I should come and help. Look at how well your brothers-in-law's houses are built. They are the first of their kind in the village."
The carpenter working nearby said, "My brother-in-law even bought a tractor. It's the first one in Funiusha Brigade."
He Jianjun looked at the row of brick houses and smiled a little deeper. "Yes! Yumei was very happy when she found out. She said she never dreamed that the youngest child would buy a tractor."
Zhou Huaishan tied the slabs with thick hemp ropes and put them through wooden sticks. "Jianjun, come and carry them in quickly. The backyard is waiting for the slabs to be laid!"
He Jianjun didn't expect Zhou Huaishan to actually ask him to carry the stone slab. After a moment of hesitation, he stepped forward, lifted the stone slab and walked towards the backyard together.
The stone slab used to pave the pigpen is more than one or two inches thick, more than one meter wide and two meters long, and weighs about two or three hundred kilograms.
The two men lifted it up with great effort, and Zhou Huaishan shouted "Hey, Hey" as they carried it to the backyard and put it down. Then they immediately turned around and went out to tie another one and continued to carry it to the backyard.
He Jianjun followed him and ran several times non-stop. Sweat ran down his neck and his underwear was soaked. He almost stuck out his tongue and gasped like Wangcai.
When Zhou Huaian arrived at the construction site, he saw Zhou Huaishan and the sweaty He Jianjun. He smiled and walked over to He Jianjun, took out a cigarette and handed it to him, "Brother-in-law, what a rare guest, what a rare guest!"
"The youngest one has changed." He Jianjun almost didn't recognize Zhou Huaian. The last time he saw him, he was sloppy and listless. After not seeing him for more than half a year, his mental outlook was completely different.
"That's right. I'm already a married man. If I don't change, how will I support my wife and children in the future?"
He Jianjun smiled and thought it would be better if he didn't say anything. But once he opened his mouth, his tone was still that of a fool.
Zhou Huaishan was a little tired after running several times in a row, so he quickly handed over the wooden stick, "Youngest, my stomach is a little uncomfortable. You and Jianjun carry me for a while. I'll go to the bathroom and come back."
Zhou Huaian nodded and put on the noose, then pulled the noose a little closer to He Jianjun, and said to He Jianjun with a smile: "Brother-in-law, you know I don't do much heavy work, thank you for your hard work!"
When lifting a heavy object, the center of gravity is closer to whichever direction the object leans.
"Haha!" He Jianjun took a look at the noose that was almost entirely towards him. He had no choice but to resign himself to his fate and lifted it up with all his strength, then walked towards the backyard with a "hei-zo" sound.
The two men ran back and forth several times. Zhou Huaian had to pee so Zhou Huaishan took over. Then the two brothers took over again and finally carried all the stone slabs to the backyard.
Zhou Huaian pointed to the steps leading up the mountain and said, "Brother-in-law, let's go sit there and cool off."
He Jianjun felt that he didn't even have the strength to respond. He thought that this time they were not here to give gifts but to do hard labor.
After the two sat down, Zhou Huaian stretched out his legs and leaned against the steps, "My sister is going to give birth next month!"
"Yeah! My mom was worried about the slippery roads this time, so she didn't let her come."
Zhou Huaian sat up straight and looked at him, "Does my brother-in-law like sons or daughters?"
He Jianjun hesitated for a moment, "It's the same for both sons and daughters."
Hypocrisy and lies!
Zhou Huaian cursed inwardly and moved closer, looking at him and lowering his voice, "If my sister gave birth to a daughter this time, would your family still plan to have more children?"
He Jianjun smiled bitterly and said, "You know the situation in my family..."
"I understand." Zhou Huaian interrupted him, "What if? What if?"
He Jianjun frowned, "My mother asked a fortune teller to tell her the fertility and he said it will definitely be a boy."
"Of course it would be best if it's a son." Zhou Huaian looked at him seriously, "If my sister gives birth to a daughter, my family means that if you want to have an additional child, you must wait two more years. Wait until she gets better, and then we can find a safe place and let her go out to hide."
Seeing that he was serious, He Jianjun also said truthfully: "I really haven't thought about this."
"We have considered it. I went to Ning'an to deliver the goods today and asked the doctor about it. The doctor said that a child born from a strong mother will also be strong. It is best to wait two years after the first child is born. This is good for both adults and children."
He Jianjun hesitated for a long time after hearing this, and then he said, "I'll go back and talk to my mom."
Zhou Huaian's expression turned cold after hearing this, "Brother-in-law, my sister is the only girl in my family. When our family was poor, we didn't deduct anything from her. When she married into your family, her dowry would not be less than that of girls of the same age."
He said with a stronger tone, "If you don't treat my sister as a human being, and use her as a tool to continue the family line, don't blame me, Zhou Laoyao, for being unreasonable."
He Jianjun was a little unhappy after hearing this, and his face darkened, "Youngest, look at what you said, your sister is a member of our He family after she married into our family, she is my wife, how can we not treat her as a human being.
Besides, my family's situation is different from yours. If I don't have a son, the He family will be extinct."
Zhou Huaian said angrily, "This is not the old society. My sister is your wife, but she is my biological sister. To put it bluntly, you can find another wife, but I only have one sister.
If you want to have a second child, we have no objection, but you have to wait until she recovers."
Seeing his firm attitude, He Jianjun was silent for a while, then nodded and said, "Okay, I promise you. If your sister gives birth to a daughter this time, we will raise her for two years before having a second child."
"Thank you, brother-in-law."
“It should be so!”
He Jianjun responded, but he felt unhappy. He felt that the Zhou family had changed their attitude after they made some money. Not only were they not as polite to him as before, but they also seemed to be deliberately making trouble for him.
Zhou Huaian felt that this guy was unreliable and didn't want to talk to him anymore. "It's past eleven o'clock. Let's go call grandpa and the old man back for dinner."
He Jianjun was eager to eat and go home, so he quickly got up and followed him forward.
As soon as the two men walked out, Zhou Huairong and his three brothers also came over. The three of them exchanged a few more words and walked towards the earthen kiln together.
When I arrived, I saw Zhou's father and Liu the potter and his son were still sweating profusely.
Today, Wednesday's sisters also came back, and the old man was also called by the eldest wife to celebrate the festival.
After Zhou's father and He Jianjun exchanged greetings, everyone packed up their stuff and left Lai Fu and Wangcai to watch them finish work and go home.
Zhou Huairong and his brothers deliberately slowed down their pace and asked Zhou Huaian in a low voice, "What did you say to him?"
Zhou Huaian said softly: "I just said what we agreed to say yesterday, and he agreed verbally."
"Your eldest sister-in-law said that the He family has an only son and they prefer boys to girls. If Yumei gives birth to a son, it's fine. But if she gives birth to a girl, she will definitely be asked to leave and avoid having more children until she gives birth to a son."
"Yumei hasn't given birth yet. It's too early to say anything now. We can still make plans after she gives birth." (End of this chapter)
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