Chapter 492 Chapter 493: Praising each other
Zhou's mother weighed some mung beans and red beans, and bought some more raw melon seeds from someone selling them. She kept buying as she went along, and when she saw someone selling tangerines, she bought two more. Her backpack was already filled to the brim.
Qigan is the name here, and some places call it Xueyou or Wendan. This fruit has a thick skin and is durable. Most of them taste bitter and sour, but they have great medicinal value. They have the effects of ventilating and removing internal heat, relieving cough and expectoration, and can also promote digestion.
"Jialiang and Xiaolin have been feeling a little irritated these past two days. Buy two pieces and bring them back for the kids to eat."
Zhou Yumei put the oranges in her backpack and said, "It's sour, I don't like it."
“It’s good for clearing fire!”
At this time, Zhou Xiaoxi twisted and whimpered on Zhou Yumei's back, and she patted her butt with her backhand, "Mom, Xiaoxi may have peed, let's go back and change her diaper.
Mother Zhou lifted a corner of her scarf and saw Zhou Xiaoxi looking at her with eyes open. "Wake up, Xiaoyao! You feel uncomfortable after peeing! Our Xiaoxi really likes to be clean..."
The mother and daughter turned right and walked towards the house in the town. When they got there, Zhou Yumei saw that the originally dilapidated courtyard had been completely renovated.
A shop was built next to the wing on the south side of the school. The brand new wooden door was painted with maroon earth paint, which looked very festive. The original double-leaf courtyard door was replaced with a single-leaf one, which was also painted with maroon earth paint.
The mother and daughter were watching happily, not noticing that Mrs. He was standing at the gate of the courtyard across the street, looking at them with a gloomy face.
Zhou Yumei suddenly felt like a thorn in her back. She turned around and saw Mother He. She snorted coldly and said to Zhou's mother, "Mom, open the door and go in."
Mother Zhou also saw Mrs. He and spat, then took out the key and tried to open the door.
"Bah~" Mother He also spat at Zhou Yumei and her daughter, and cursed loudly, "You are just a slut who was driven away by your in-laws. What is there to be proud of!"
Mother Zhou rolled up her sleeves, pointed at Granny He and cursed, "You vicious old woman, make it clear to me that I don't want your son!"
"Mom, why bother with her!" Zhou Yumei grabbed her, took the key from her hand, opened the door, and dragged the ferocious mother into the yard.
All the broken glass windows were replaced with new ones, the doors, windows, doors and pillars were painted with earthy paint, and even the eaves gutters were replaced.
Zhou's mother smiled and said, "Your old man is here every day, just in case something is not repaired. This house is just like a person, it will be better if you spend money on it!"
Zhou Yumei came to see the house when she just bought it. She looked at the brand new house and said happily, "Well! Thanks to Chunyan and Laoyao, otherwise I would not have been able to get such a nice house."
"They are more thoughtful than we thought!" Zhou's mother opened the door to the main room, inside which were the tables and chairs that Zhou Yumei had brought back from the He family. "A house is like a person. It will look much better after being decorated."
As she spoke, she brought out a bamboo chair and asked Zhou Yumei to sit on it. When she took off her diaper, it was indeed wet. "This little kid still knows how to be clean."
Zhou Yumei kissed the child on the cheek and said, "It's like this every time. When it pees or poops, it whines!"
"Hey~ Yumei is back!" The old woman next door to the He family said as she stood at the gate of the yard.
Zhou Yumei smiled politely and said, "Aunt Li, come in and sit for a while!"
"I came to see you." Aunt Li said with a smile, "This house has changed a lot after the renovation! When are you planning to move in?"
Zhou Yumei smiled and said, "We'll move in after the New Year!"
Mother Zhou welcomed her into the yard with a smile, brought a chair and asked her to sit down, "I'll have to ask the elder sister to help take care of it from now on."
Aunt Li said cheerfully, "Don't worry. We are watching over her. The old hag from the He family won't dare to act weird!" Then she looked at Zhou Xiaoxi again, "They say nephews resemble their uncles. The little girl looks a lot like her uncle."
Zhou Yumei also felt that her daughter and Zhou Huaian had similar features. "Everyone who has seen it says so!"
Aunt Li glanced at the gate and said, "You better be careful. That family might want to compete with you for the little girl!"
Zhou Yumei and her mother were stunned after hearing this. "Where did Aunt Li hear that? I wrote it clearly in front of the brigade secretary that day. I will raise my daughter by myself. From then on, Xiaoxi has nothing to do with the He family. I have already registered her as a hukou."
"That's good!" Aunt Li started gossiping. "After your family looked at the house and left, the two old guys probably regretted it and quarreled at home, saying that they shouldn't have agreed to Yumei so readily and transferred the account out. They also mentioned your little girl. We are still worried that they will come to you to ask for the child!"
Zhou's mother: "We knew that the He family was not a good person, so we had been on guard against their family for a long time. We established Yumei's household registration that day, and sent someone to register Xiaoxi's household registration the next day."
Aunt Li: "Fortunately, you took the little girl's account before you bought the house, otherwise, Mr. He would have used the little girl to strangle you."
Zhou Yumei said gratefully: "Thank you Aunt Li for your concern!"
She was glad that she had not thought about asking the He family for child support or anything like that, otherwise, they would not have given the child to her so easily.
"Why are you being so polite to me!" Aunt Li said gloatingly, "You don't know yet, do you? A few days ago, He Jianjun had a big fight with two old guys for some unknown reason. He made Granny He so angry that she wanted to commit suicide. This is the first time in all these years!"
"You deserve it!" Zhou's mother sneered, "The old one is not a good person, and the young one is the same. I was blind at the beginning..."
"Mom, hold Xiaoxi. My stomach feels a little uncomfortable." Zhou Yumei didn't want to hear about the He family, so she found an excuse to walk around the backyard.
The backyard wall was raised a lot, the well was cleaned, and Zhou's father also built a washing table next to it. He also thoughtfully hardened the road from the well to the kitchen with cement.
When she came back from her walk, Qian Chunhua also came over. They looked around the yard again before carrying the children and New Year's goods back home.
Qian Chunhua pulled Zhou's mother and whispered, "When I came to your house, I saw your ex-son-in-law standing diagonally opposite and looking at Yumei's house."
"You bastard, it's useless to look at it!" Zhou's mother looked at Zhou Yumei who was walking in front of her and changed the subject, "What good things did you buy? Your backpack is full."
Qian Chunhua said cheerfully: "I came out of the supply and marketing cooperative and saw someone making rice candy. I weighed a few pounds, cut a rib, bought a few pig's trotters, and stewed them for the Red Soldiers."
Zhou's mother smiled and said, "He has suffered so much in the mountains for so long, it's time to give him some good nourishment."
"Thanks to your youngest for helping!"
"That's because your Red Soldiers are willing to endure hardships and work hard!"
"How can he compare to your youngest child..."
The two old ladies began to flatter each other.
…
The three of them returned to the Funiu Brigade and separated at the Shaiba. The three generations of the Zhou family walked towards Zhou Huaian's home. Before they reached the grove, they met Qu Qiulin and others with a mule team. After Zhou's mother greeted him politely, they walked back.
When I entered the yard, I saw the chicken bus parked in the courtyard, "Chunyan, have your uncle Daqing and the others come down the mountain?"
"Just arrived a while ago, picking truffles in the backyard."
"How many truffles did Village Chief Qu send?" Zhou's mother put down her backpack and helped Zhou Yumei take the child. She went to the main room to feed the child!
Yang Chunyan picked up the water cup and took a sip. "It's only a little over a thousand kilograms less than last time. Uncle Daqing and his men only brought down a few hundred kilograms."
"There will be even less later." Zhou's mother took out the oranges and took out the things one by one. "We have finished eating the dried cowpeas at home, so I bought some, as well as dried sweet potatoes. I will put these raw melon seeds in the oven and roast them later."
"Hmm!" Yang Chunyan looked at Zhou Yumei, "How is the yard being repaired?"
"Okay!" Zhou Yumei said happily, "It's just that the shop looks a bit big. I'm worried that it won't be full in the future."
Yang Chunyan thought back to her shop in her previous life. "Put a few counters in the front, a few tall cabinets, and two or three low square tables. It shouldn't be very big."
After hearing this, Zhou's mother said, "If we want to put a few more tables, it won't be big enough at all!"
"Chunyan, can you help me think about what the cabinet should look like?"
"The counter for selling general merchandise at Dr. Wang's store is very nice, but we need to find someone to buy thick glass. We will ask for you next time we go."
Zhou Yumei picked up Zhou Xiaoxi and said, "Thank you, aunt-in-law!"
Yang Chunyan touched her little face and said, "You will be able to speak next year."
At this time, Zhao Xiuna came out from the kitchen, "Aunt Yang, all the truffles have been picked, Grandpa wants you to keep the accounts." Seeing Zhou's mother, she greeted politely, "Hello, Grandma Zhou!"
"Be good!" Seeing that her face was chapped from the cold, Zhou's mother said, "Ask your Aunt Yang to get you some clam oil to rub it on."
Zhao Xiu Na touched her face and said embarrassedly, "I applied it. Grandpa Zhou gave me clam oil. I get this every winter. My face becomes chapped when the wind blows."
Zhou's mother said sympathetically, "It's cold and windy on the mountain. You'll be fine after a few days of rest."
Yang Chunyan took out the account book, asked Zhou Yumei to watch the front yard, and walked towards the backyard together.
After exchanging a few pleasantries with Zhou Daqing, Zhou's mother said to Xu Hongbing, "Your mother went to the street to buy some meat and pig's trotters. She is planning to give you some nourishment!"
"Stewed pig's trotters are delicious!" Xu Hongbing said, looking at Zhao Meina and her two siblings, "Let's go home with Uncle Xu later and eat stewed pig's trotters."
Zhao Meina smiled and said, "Thank you, Uncle Xu. We haven't been home for so long. Let's go home first."
"You are quite polite, little girl. Come and play with Fu Niu when you have time!" Xu Hongbing rubbed Zhao Xiaochuan's head. "It's New Year's Day. Go get your hair shaved."
Zhao Xiaochuan looked up at him and said with a smile: "It's cold, it's warmer if your hair grows longer!"
Zhou's mother smiled and said, "We have to keep everything clean and tidy for the New Year, so that God will look after us next year."
Zhao Xiaochuan nodded after hearing this, "Grandma Chen, I'll go get a haircut tomorrow!"
Zhou Daqing looked at him and said, "Mina, go back and buy some more steamed egg truffles for Xiaochuan. They are probably quite nutritious. Look, Xiaochuan's hair isn't as yellow anymore."
Zhao Xiu Na came forward to take a look, "It's really darker now. It used to look like dried straw."
"There aren't many other things, but there are plenty of truffles. We pick them out every day and chop them up and steam them with eggs." Mother Zhou said as she put the truffles she picked out into her basket. "Mina, go get a basket and pick up a few pounds to take back."
"Thank you, Grandma Zhou!" Zhao Meina brought over the vegetable basket and picked some out of it.
(End of this chapter)
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