After Zhou Huaian went home to eat, he told Yang Chunyan about Wan's father's affairs while taking a nap. He sighed and said, "Three sons are not as good as one son-in-law."
Yang Chunyan said: "That's enough money for the surgery. If he is like the Wan brothers who have to make a living by digging in the soil and have no money in their pockets, how can he afford to treat his father-in-law?"
Zhou Huaian thought about his family's past and felt that what she said was absolutely right, "Yes, you have to have money in your own pocket. If you can't even feed yourself, how can you have the energy to care about others."
In the afternoon, when they went to work, they saw the three brothers of the Wan family coming. Zhou Huaian saw them helping until dusk before they finished work together and returned to Zhou Yiding's house.
The next day, the three brothers helped to plant the rapeseed seedlings and watered them to establish their roots. In the afternoon, Zhou Ding came to borrow a tractor and told Zhou Huaian to take Wan's father to Ning'an for hospitalization tomorrow to prepare for surgery, and the expenses would be shared by the four families.
"Wang Zhen is going back to the provincial capital the day after tomorrow. Chunyan asked to send some of the morels and matsutake mushrooms from her home to him and ask him to take them to Boss Zheng and his old man. I'll get them out for you. Please help me take them over."
"Okay, I still have two kilograms of matsutake mushrooms, take them with you tomorrow."
"That's fine!" Zhou Huaian and Yang Chunyan went to the wine cellar and took out the morels and matsutake mushrooms and gave them to him.
…
The next morning, Zhou Huaian was scooping water from the ditch when he saw Zhou Yumei and Fang Dongming coming on their bicycles.
Zhou Huaian put down the dung scoop and looked at the two of them with a smile, "Sister, are you here to help with the work?"
Zhou Yumei got off her bicycle and asked, "Have you finished planting the rapeseed?"
Zhou Huaian took the cigarette from Fang Dongming and said, "There is still one acre of land that has not been planted. Chunyan and the others will plant it, and we will carry water to water the roots."
Zhou Yumei looked at Fang Dongming and pointed at the dung bucket, "It's your turn to show off."
"Okay, you guys talk." Fang Dongming picked up the dung bucket and left.
"Brother Fang, it's just below the high ridge. Just carry it down and walk along the edge of the field." Zhou Huaian said hurriedly.
Fang Dongming nodded and walked towards Gaokan.
"Mom said yesterday that after we finish planting rapeseed, we'll go to town and order some furniture for you. What style do you like? Let's go take a look together then."
"Don't worry about the furniture. I came here today to tell you something." Zhou Yumei said a little embarrassedly, "You know that Dongming's company is going to distribute houses.
He wanted to get the certificate with me first, and transfer Xiaoxi and I's household registration to his place, so that when we register the population there, we can get a bigger house."
"We all think that Brother Fang is a good person, and you should have your own standards in your mind." Zhou Huaian felt that since she brought Fang Dongming over to talk about this, he should have agreed in his heart.
"Yes! I understand. I will go with him to get the marriage certificate tomorrow." Zhou Yumei paused, "I wonder what He Jianjun is up to? These past few days, he kept asking Aunt Li to send gifts to Xiaoxi, which annoyed her."
"Throw away his things. Damn it, he said in front of the brigade secretary that he didn't want children. As long as we don't agree, no matter what he comes up with, it will be useless."
"Aunt Li didn't take his things and let him live a peaceful life with his current wife." This was also the reason why Zhou Yumei decided to get the marriage certificate.
"Who is his current wife? Is she the woman he dated before?"
"No, I heard that he was found in Pulin Town. He is tall and big, and he is also very aggressive. A few days ago, he had a quarrel with Mrs. He at the door. He Jianjun tried to pull him away, but she pushed him to the ground with one palm. Many people gathered around to watch."
Zhou Huaian gloated and said, "Evil will be punished by evil. I think he is probably bullied by his current wife. It's too late to think of your kindness!"
"I find his family disgusting. As long as they don't mess with Xiaoxi and me, that's fine."
"If he dares, I'll beat the shit out of him."
Before the siblings could finish their conversation, Zhou's mother came back. "Why are you and Dongming the only ones here? Why don't you bring Xiaoxi back?"
Zhou Yumei smiled and said, "I came back to tell you something, I'll leave in a moment."
Zhou's mother glared at her in reproach, "Haili is watching over there, why are you so panicked?"
"Haili can't handle it alone. When there are many people around, someone might steal her clothes if she's not careful." Zhou Yumei took her hand and told her about getting the marriage certificate. "Get the certificate first, and then we'll have the wedding in the spring of next year!"
Mother Zhou nodded happily, "It's better to get the certificate first. After getting the certificate, bring Dongming back and have a meal as a family."
Zhou Yumei: "Okay, the day after tomorrow is Saturday. I won't be studying in the afternoon. I'll close the shop for half a day and we'll all come back."
Zhou Huaian said hurriedly: "I will drive a tractor to pick you up the day after tomorrow."
"Yes!" Zhou Yumei nodded happily.
"I've got some pickled cabbage. Come with me and I'll pack some for you to take back." Zhou's mother pulled her back and said, "Dongming is a nice guy. Ask him to help see if there's anyone suitable in their company. Introduce him to Haili."
"Sister Hai Li didn't want to look for him at all. The day before yesterday, Qiao Ling came back from school and was stopped by Yan Yongxin. Fortunately, she met Aunt Li and Xiaoxi there, and they chased him away."
"Beast, why is he holding Qiaoling?" Zhou's mother was so anxious that she almost dropped the lid of the sauerkraut jar on the ground.
Zhou Yumei quickly reached out and took the lid. "Qiaoling said Yan Yongxin said he found a new mother for her and that he would take her to meet her. We asked Aunt Li and she also heard Yan Yongxin say that."
"A woman would have to be blind to marry a bastard like him."
"Sister Hai Li also said so. She was worried that Yan Yongxin wanted to coax the child into selling it to pay off his gambling debts. When he was in the Red Star Brigade, every time Yan Yongxin came back after losing money, he threatened her that he would sell the child."
"He dares. Qiaoling's household registration is with Haili." Mother Zhou thought about it and warned, "You should teach your children well and never follow that kind of beast."
"Yes! We have taught her to run away when she sees him, and to shout if anyone comes to pull her." Zhou Yumei closed the lid of the sauerkraut jar. "These are enough. Come back the day after tomorrow to get more."
Mother Zhou washed her hands and took a dozen eggs to put in the basket. "Go pick some lettuce, radish, spinach and other vegetables to take away. They are fresh and grown at home."
"Okay!" Zhou Yumei knew that her objection was useless, so she had to follow her to the vegetable field with the basket in hand, picked some as well, and carried them to the ditch.
The mother and daughter talked for a while by the ditch, and when Fang Dongming and Zhou Huaian came back with the dung buckets, they rode away on their bicycles.
Fang Dongming looked at her worriedly, "Did Auntie agree?"
Zhou Yumei smiled and said, "It's agreed. We've got the certificate and will come back the day after tomorrow to have a meal with my family."
Fang Dongming breathed a sigh of relief. "I was so worried, I thought she didn't agree. Just now in the rapeseed field, your grandfather, the old man, and my eldest brother interrogated me. I was so scared that I dared not even breathe."
Zhou Yumei glanced at him and said, "You are afraid too. When I saw you chasing those three hands, weren't you very powerful?"
Fang Dongming smiled innocently, "I don't know why, but I get nervous when I see your brother and the others."
Zhou's mother stood by the ditch and watched the two people walk away before she happily walked towards the rapeseed field.
The old woman who was planting rapeseed saw her coming and asked curiously, "Gui Lan, that young man just now seemed to be from Fang Tian, right? Is he Zhou Yumei's boyfriend?"
The woman in the field nearby took over and said, "Auntie Chen, Yumei is good-looking, it's no problem for her to find someone better, why do all of them have scars on their faces?"
"The scar on Dongming's face is not natural. It was left when he was a soldier and beat up bad guys." Zhou's mother paused, "Men rely on their abilities to make a living. As long as they are good people, that's enough."
The woman smiled and said, "Auntie Chen, your youngest daughter-in-law is lucky. She is beautiful and capable."
When Zhou's mother heard her praise her son, she smiled so much that the fine lines at the corners of her eyes were like flowers. "When my daughter Chunyan first married the youngest, no one said that. They were all worried that she wouldn't have a good life with him."
"Chunyan is still good at training. Who wouldn't praise your youngest child now?"
"Chunyan is a good-tempered child, unlike me who curses when I get angry."
After a few jokes between the ladies, Zhou's mother happily went to the rapeseed field to discuss with Yang Chunyan and her sisters-in-law what dishes to buy to entertain the new son-in-law the day after tomorrow.
Zhao Huifang smiled and said, "We have chickens, ducks, and fish at home, but we lack fresh pork. I see that everyone likes to eat braised beef and stewed beef, so we can just buy these two on that day."
Yang Chunyan: "I bought some spare ribs and steamed them with flour, and soaked some rice in wine and steamed some sweet and sour pork. The children like to eat them."
"I like them all. I'll eat whatever you cook!" Li Qiuyue said with a smile.
The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law agreed to finish planting the rapeseed in the last field and then help water it.
The old man was helping there, while Xiao Jiuer and Xiao Long were lying on the edge of the field, rolling around in the mud. They dug up a bunch of mud dogs from somewhere and lined them up on the edge of the field.
Li Qiuyue slapped the dog out of Xiaolong's hand and said with a smile, "Chunyan, these dogs should be about one or two catties after drying them."
"There should be!" Yang Chunyan was helpless with her son. She thought that his hobbies of digging insects and picking flowers might be brought from his previous life.
Xiao Jiuer held one in her hand and said, "My brother caught it."
Xiaolong nodded, "Grasshopper catch!"
"Oh! Grandma's darling grandson, he started digging medicinal herbs to make money when he was just a little boy." Mother Zhou happily put the earthenware taro into her basket.
Zhou Huaian picked up his son who was covered in mud and said, "Mom, this thing stinks more than a stink bug. Are you really going to take it back to dry in the sun?"
Zhou's mother gave him a sidelong glance and said, "Why don't you dry them in the sun? One tael today, one tael tomorrow. In a few days, you can collect half a pound, and you can sell it for two or three yuan."
Li Qiuyue nodded repeatedly, "Yes, two or three yuan can buy a pack of matches!"
Zhou Huaian: "Tomorrow I will let Jiuer take Xiaolong to plow this rapeseed field and let the two little ones help the family earn money."
The old man pointed at the rapeseed that had been replanted on the opposite side of the field and said, "The diggers just now trampled and killed several of your third aunt's rapeseed seedlings. If we let them dig up the rapeseed field again, there won't be enough rapeseed seedlings left for the replanting."
"I won't bring them tomorrow." Zhou's mother took the basket and went back to prepare lunch.
Others continued to work in the fields, and they had to quickly water the fields to allow the rapeseed seedlings to take root and turn green as soon as possible.
When it was almost time to finish work, Zhou Yiding drove a tractor back to Funiu and told Zhou Huaian that Wan's father had been admitted to the hospital and was waiting for a doctor from the city to perform surgery on Wan's father.
Several people left Wan's mother in the county town to take care of him and went to the hospital for surgery three days later. (End of this chapter)
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