Li Lao Er stood outside the back door, staring at the two people going up the mountain with wide eyes, "Why do those two people look like Qiu Xia and Gao Dalin?"
"It's them. I saw them passing by the front yard." Li Hongxing appeared from nowhere and leaned lazily against the door frame.
"Didn't you say that his leg couldn't be cured?" Li Lao Er pointed at Gao Dalin who was walking up the mountain with big strides. "Look at him, he's not lame at all, and he's walking pretty fast."
"It must be Li Qiuyue who paid for the treatment." Li Hongxing pointed down the mountain, "I saw Zhou Huaishan driving a big four-wheeler here."
"Have they come to collect the mushrooms?"
“Here I come.”
"Why are you still standing here? Hurry up and carry the mushrooms down the mountain to sell them for money."
"I'm too lazy to go because they don't give me the money from the sales." Li Hongxing turned around and went into the house.
Li Laoer was so angry that he spat at him, "You son of a bitch, you're so lazy, no wonder no woman wants to be with you." After that he closed the back door angrily, picked up the backpack on the eaves, and walked down the mountain.
Before going down the hill, I saw the imposing four-wheel tractor parked on the drying dam, with a walk-behind tractor parked next to it. I looked around but couldn't find Zhou Huaishan. I only saw Zhou Huaian busy weighing things, with Zhang's grandmother and grandchildren helping him.
He walked down the hill to the drying dam, stared at the four-wheel tractor for a few seconds, walked up to Zhou Huaian and said, "Zhou Laoyao, your third brother is not here?"
Zhou Huaian looked up and saw that it was him, "What do you want to see him for? Go to the back to queue up for selling mushrooms."
Damn it, what's there to be proud of? Li Lao Er cursed inwardly and smiled apologetically: "Nothing, I just want to ask if my youngest brother-in-law's leg is better?"
"What's wrong?" Zhou Huaishan came over, holding his stomach, and looked at him and said, "You want to lend him money to see a doctor if he's not well?"
"Where would I get the money?" Li Laoer pointed at the four-wheel tractor. "Your family makes so much money, you should help your youngest sister."
An old man who was queuing up to sell mushrooms sneered, "Li Laoer, didn't your mother and husband use all the money they earned from selling Qiuxia's body to give to you? I think you should be in charge."
"That's right. All of your sisters went to their husband's house with just a small bag. You got all the money from selling your bodies. Now that they are in trouble, it's time for you, as a brother, to step forward."
"...Where would I get the money?" Old Man Li was speechless for a long time after being confronted by several people before he responded.
"You don't have money? Where do you get the money to eat out in town every now and then?" The woman behind Li Laoer pulled him with disgust, "Don't stand in front of me. If you want to sell mushrooms, go to the back and queue up."
"..." Li Laoer looked at the old woman, thought of her five sons, didn't even dare to say a word, and went to the back.
Zhou Huaian smiled and gave the money to a villager, then turned to look at Zhou Huaishan who was squatting there listlessly, "What's wrong? Do you have a stomachache?"
"Hmm!" Zhou Huaishan said with a bitter face, "It was really unlucky. Not long after leaving Ning'an, my stomach started to hurt. I had diarrhea four times on the way. My legs and hands were weak from diarrhea."
Seeing that he was not in good spirits at all, Zhou Huaian thought that he had eaten the same thing last night and this morning. He was fine, but he had diarrhea. He asked worriedly, "Why did you have diarrhea? What did you eat?"
"I ate the same as you, and nothing else." Zhou Huaishan rubbed his cold stomach, "I think it might be because my stomach was frozen last night. I woke up this morning and felt uncomfortable with a cold stomach.
Zhou Huaian also thought that this might be the reason. "This is not a solution. Go find a barefoot doctor and get some anti-diarrhea medicine!"
Zhou Huaishan shook his head, "No one's home, they're all out picking mushrooms!"
After hearing this, Old Lady Zhang said, "Old Third, I still have some millet porridge that I cooked this morning. I'll add some brown sugar to it and you'll feel better when you eat it while it's hot."
Zhou Huaishan said gratefully: "Yes, thank you for your help."
Old Mrs. Zhang went home and heated up a bowl of millet porridge, added some chopped ginger and two tablespoons of brown sugar, and gave it to Zhou Huaishan at the purchasing point. "Eat it while it's hot, and your stomach will feel better."
"Thank you, Aunt Zhang." After Zhou Huaishan drank a bowl of spicy and sweet hot porridge, he sat for a while and felt that his stomach was indeed much better. He said happily, "Thank you, Aunt Zhang, I really feel much better!"
Old Mrs. Zhang took it cheerfully, "What's there to thank for just a bowl of porridge?"
Zhou Huaian glanced at him and pointed at the bamboo baskets that had been stacked several layers on the steps. "When you feel better, you can settle the bill. I'll carry the bamboo baskets and put them on the truck bed."
"Forget it!" Zhou Huaishan waved his hands quickly, "I'd rather move the bamboo baskets. You should do the detailed work of calculating the accounts!"
Seeing how he was avoiding her, Zhou Huaian laughed and said, "Really? As your brother, you don't even give me a chance to show some love to you."
"Forget it. I'm afraid my stomach won't hurt anymore, but my head will start to hurt again." Zhou Huaishan smiled, carried a basket of mushrooms, and stepped on the pedal to get on the car.
The old woman who had driven Li Laoer away came forward and handed Zhou Huaian a basket of vegetables. "Boss Zhou, what do you think of these Gastrodia elata?"
"Let me take a look!" Zhou Huaian poured the Gastrodia elata in the basket onto the straw mat, checked it, and divided it into two piles. "This pile is priced at two yuan, and this pile is 1.8 yuan."
"Yes, yes!" The old woman happily brought forward several baskets and bamboo baskets beside her. "These are all my son's. Please weigh them separately!"
"Okay!" Zhou Huaian agreed readily and asked Old Lady Zhang and her grandchildren to check separately.
The two brothers were busy until noon before they sent away most of the villagers who were selling mushrooms. Just after lunch, villagers from Bailing Mountain and Baicaopo came again. Secretary Yang and Secretary Lin both stepped forward to help. They were busy until after four in the afternoon before they finally loaded all the mushrooms into the truck bed.
…
When it was almost dark, Li Qiuxia and her husband finally arrived at Huangcao Village where their eldest sister lived. After entering the village, they walked to a dilapidated courtyard and went in.
A little boy of about four or five years old, with snot hanging down his nose, sniffed hard when he saw the two people coming in, and asked, "Who are you looking for?"
"Erwa, you idiot, I'm your great aunt, don't you recognize me?" Li Qiuxia smiled and took out a few candies from her pocket and handed them to the confused Xia Erwa, "Where's your grandma?"
"Grandma~" Xia Erwa saw the candy in his hand, shouted at the kitchen, and ran over, "Grandma, my youngest aunt is here."
Li Qiulan, who was mixing pig food, ran out with her hands covered in straw without even washing them. When she saw the two people in the yard, she was stunned for a moment before she recognized them.
She wiped her patched waist with her hands and said excitedly, "Qiuxia, you guys have changed so much that I almost didn't recognize you. Where have you been? How's Dalin's leg? Qiuxiang and I have looked for you several times, and they all said that Lao San took you away."
"Big sister!" Li Qiuxia happily looked at the big sister who asked several questions in a row, "We went to the city with the third sister. Dalin's leg is also a relative of the third sister. Please help find a doctor to heal it."
"Really?" Li Qiulan looked at Gao Dalin who was standing there, "Dalin, please take a few steps and let me see."
"Oh!" Gao Dalin took two steps embarrassedly, "Sister, I'm really fine. The doctor said that as long as I take good care of myself for half a year, I will be able to do heavier work in the future."
"It's the same as before. You can't tell it was broken at all." Li Qiulan was also happy for them. "That's great. Qiuxiang and I went to look for you several times but couldn't find you. We were so worried. Now it's good. We don't have to worry anymore."
Then he added, "Look at me, I'm busy asking you these questions. Haven't you eaten yet? I'll get you something to eat."
"Big sister, we brought some food." Li Qiuxia and the other person put down their backpacks and pointed at the things inside and said, "Big sister, these are for you.
There are some pieces of fabric and some clothes given by others, as well as plaster, noodles, and sugar. You can put them away. Let's go to my second sister's house. I have something to tell you."
"Little sister!" Li Qiulan looked at the things, lifted her apron and wiped her eyes, "Don't be in a hurry, I'll make you something hot to eat before you go."
Li Qiuxia hurriedly pulled her back and took out two paper bags from her backpack. "Big sister, these are the steamed buns we brought when we came here. You can heat them up for the kids. Dalin and I can get some cornmeal and cook two bowls of porridge."
"There's nothing delicious at my eldest sister's house." Li Qiulan took the steamed buns with embarrassment, "You guys sit down for a while, I'll ask Erwa to call his second aunt over."
"I'll help you light the fire." Li Qiuxia followed her to the kitchen. "Where are my brother-in-law and Dazhu?"
"My family has finished tidying up the fields, and there are still two days before we can plant rice seedlings. The team leader came to ask for help, so I went to help dig furrows. After I finished the work, I ate at his house."
Li Qiulan scooped a bucket of water into the pot and said, "You haven't been home for a few months. The weeds in the field outside the door are taller than people. What are you going to do in the future?"
She felt that even if they were sisters, they couldn't live in Qiuyue's house for years. After a long time, conflicts and falling out would be ugly.
"Sister, we live in Ning'an City now..."
"I remember Qiuyue's in-laws' home was in Funiushan Mountain! What do you eat when you live in the city?"
"My third sister found a business for Dalin and me. We sell fried potatoes, jelly, cold noodles... When business is good, we can make a few dollars a day."
"I didn't expect Qiuyue to be so conscientious and find such a good way for you."
"Third sister is different now. This time, she found a doctor to treat Dalin's leg and lent us money to do business. It cost a lot of money to buy those things. The house we live in the city was also built by Third Sister..."
"What did you say?" Li Qiulan couldn't believe her ears. "You said Qiuyue was building a house in Ning'an City?"
"Yeah!" Li Qiuxia smiled and said, "It's a three-story building, two houses, with a total of 20 to 30 suites. The houses that have been rented out can collect more than 20 yuan in rent a month!"
"I've never seen a three-story building before!" Li Qiulan sighed after hearing this: "Among the four of us sisters, my third sister is lucky to have found such a capable brother-in-law. She won't have to worry about anything in the future." (End of this chapter)
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