After Li Mai and Zhou Quan left, Old Man Zhou and Zhao Shi entered the west room and were momentarily stunned by the sight of the mess scattered all over the floor.
After a long while, Old Man Zhou wiped his face and said, "Tell me, did Xiaoquan and Xiaomai go out and make money again? Why did they buy so much stuff?"
"Shouldn't it be that fisherwoman who gave the money?" Zhao asked uncertainly.
Old Zhou nodded. "That's possible. She really liked the jewelry designs Xiaomai drew, so they probably sold well in the shop, and she got more for Xiaomai."
"Oh, I suddenly feel that Xiaomai is really our family's lucky star, a prosperous daughter-in-law. Look at what we ate every day before Xiaomai came back, and look at what we are eating now since Xiaomai came back."
The elderly couple chatted as they locked the door, went back inside, blew out the lamp, and went back to sleep.
Just as Old Man Zhou was about to fall asleep, Zhao suddenly slapped his arm, followed by Zhao's excited voice as she sat up, "Dad, I've discovered something very coincidental."
Old Zhou was startled, his drowsiness vanished, and he could only turn around and ask helplessly, "What did you find?"
“Look, our wheat is called Limai, wheat, and our Xiaoquan is called Zhouquan, spring water.”
"Won't the wheat grow even better when it's watered by the spring?"
"Old man, have you noticed that they've been getting better and better ever since they got married?"
"Look at the life Xiaomai's family lived before, wasn't it a poor life? And look at our family, wasn't it a poor life before?"
“But look, ever since our wheat was irrigated with our spring water, our lives have become much better.”
"Oh my, I never thought it was true! That's why our ancestors always said that when choosing a wife, you have to check if the horoscopes are compatible. It really does matter!"
After Zhao slapped Old Man Zhou awake, she sat down excitedly beside him and began to analyze the situation. Old Man Zhou was completely bewildered and just listened.
Thinking about it, it seems that's really the case.
However, Old Man Zhou always felt that something was off about what his wife was saying.
"Zhao Zhaodi, what our ancestors meant by 'compatible birth charts' is not 'compatible names,' right?"
"Furthermore, you are the mother-in-law, how can you say that your son and daughter-in-law are nurtured by their son?"
After saying that, Old Man Zhou felt his face burning.
Although the wheat could indeed be irrigated with spring water, Old Man Zhou still felt it was strange to use it to describe his son and daughter-in-law.
"Hey, it's just the two of us, who's going to go around spreading rumors? You're overthinking it. I was just giving an example. Look at how well our son and his wife are getting along, aren't they?" Zhao waved her hand after hearing what Old Man Zhou said, and then lay down again.
"Besides, aren't those names all given by scholars based on birth date and time? Don't they all have different meanings?" Zhao added.
After thinking about it carefully, Old Man Zhou realized that it made sense. At least Zhou Quan's name was chosen by the village's fortune teller based on Zhou Quan's birth date and time.
Suddenly, an idea struck him, and he moved closer to Zhao, slipping his hand under her blanket.
"What are you doing?" Zhao was startled by the large hand that suddenly reached out.
"Zhao Zhaodi, what did you say about watering? Did you miss it? Is that why you reminded me of your son and daughter-in-law's names in the middle of the night?" Old Man Zhou was so frightened by her that he couldn't sleep, so he decided to hug his wife.
Zhao blushed, knowing what he was thinking. "You're overthinking it. I don't want to. What if I get pregnant with the sixth child? Maybe one day my daughter-in-law will be pregnant. Do you expect me to be pregnant and take care of her, or do you expect her to be pregnant and take care of me?"
"Besides, after the New Year, we still need to find a wife for the second son. How can I be pregnant? I don't want to, I don't want to!" Zhao grabbed his hand, preventing him from touching her.
Old Man Zhou remained silent and slowly moved into Zhao's bed.
Zhao: ......
The old man actually pretended not to hear!
"You haven't had your period for half a year, you probably won't be able to have a child!" Old Man Zhou's voice came softly into Zhao's ears in the darkness.
Zhao asked in confusion, "Has it been this long?"
She encountered many things in the second half of the year and was so busy that she forgot to pay attention to her menstrual cycle.
......
When Li Mai and Zhou Quan woke up the next day, the sun was already high in the sky.
Li Mai stretched and said, "It's so comfortable to sleep at home. I can sleep as long as I want."
Zhou Quan chuckled, kissed her, and said, "If you don't want to get up, just go to sleep. I'll get up and add some fuel to the fire. Let's go to our parents' place at noon!"
"Okay!" Li Mai really didn't get up. She rolled around on the kang (a heated brick bed) wrapped in a quilt. After watching him get dressed, she went to add firewood to the stove and water to the pot.
“Last night, when we were moving things, Dad gave me a general overview of what would happen in the village after we left.” Zhou Quan added fuel to the fire, then came over and lay down next to her, playing with her hair and chatting with her.
"Oh, Mother just told me about the situation at home!" Li Mai smiled.
"After we left, by the end of October, the villagers had gradually moved in. After settling the wages with the foremen, the clan chief and the others didn't have much money left!"
"After everyone moved in, the clan chief distributed all the rice and grain that the government had sent. However, it was far from enough for the villagers to get through the winter, let alone have any money to buy charcoal. They were originally hoping to sell the autumn harvest to buy charcoal and other necessities for the New Year!"
"After that, Brother Shifan organized the villagers to go into the dry trees in the mountains and let everyone burn firewood to cook and keep warm. Uncle Clan Chief also organized the families of us who received that money to donate some money, which raised a thousand taels of silver to buy charcoal for everyone. Two cartloads of charcoal were distributed every day."
"The remaining money was distributed to each family as five taels of silver, so that each family could buy some food and grain for the New Year and the spring. There used to be more than forty households, but after the village was rebuilt, it was divided into sixty-eight households. Our family and my parents lived separately, which was considered as two households. Our courtyard also received two carts of charcoal."
Li Mai then realized that the charcoal they used for fuel was bought by the whole village; she had thought her father-in-law and his family had bought it on their own.
However, considering that her family had also donated two hundred taels of silver, Li Mai nodded. The Zhou family was the only one to receive a share, so it was normal for them to contribute more.
"Did your parents say they were reluctant to part with those two hundred taels of silver?" Li Mai asked Zhou Quan.
Zhou Quan shook his head. "Father said he doesn't feel bad. It was an unexpected windfall that we received thanks to the blessings of our ancestors. Spending some of it like this will make him feel at ease."
Li Mai smiled and nodded, "Yes, if your parents bring this up again, just tell them that we'll figure out how to make money for the family in the future, and they can just focus on living a good life, enjoying their old age, and finding suitable marriages for their younger siblings."
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