When Li Mai and the others returned, there was no one left on the road.
Li Mai found the road much more pleasing to the eye instantly. When Zhu Zhu saw that no one was around, she refused to let her mother carry her and said she wanted to get down and walk by herself.
Li Mai let her go, put down the pearl, and took the basket from Zhou Lei's hand, saying, "I'll carry the basket."
She carried a basket in one hand and held Zhuzhu's hand in the other, while Zhou Lei held Zhuzhu's other hand on the other side. The three of them happily went home.
After they passed by, some people peeked out from their front doors, shook their heads, and muttered under their breath, "So the Zhou family has brought home a troublemaker. We can't afford to mess with them. We'd better stay away from troublemakers like this in the future."
When Li Mai returned home, Zhao Shi and Zhou Tao were already awake.
When Zhao saw that Li Mai had bought tofu, she shook her head helplessly. "Wait a minute, I'll give you the money. The family should have paid for the tofu you bought."
Li Mai shook her head. "No need, Mother. I have money. I dug up herbs and sold them before, and I saved some. I also have the ten taels you gave me. If the family needs money, you can tell me."
Zhao quickly waved her hand, "Your money is yours, don't take it out for the family. That's your money, young couple's money. We'll work hard to earn money for the family." As she spoke, Zhao opened her wardrobe, took out ten copper coins, and handed them to Li Mai, "Xiao Lei said you bought ten coins?"
Li Mai waved her hand, refusing, but Zhao placed it in her hand. "Take it. If the family ever runs out of money, and I know you have some, I can borrow from you. Is that alright?"
Li Mai thought it was acceptable, so she accepted it.
Zhou Quan wasn't in the courtyard or the main house; he seemed to have gone back inside. Li Mai washed her hands in the basin of water in the courtyard and then went back inside as well.
Zhu Zhu and Zhou Lei happily surrounded Zhao Shi and Zhou Tao's father, telling them about what they had encountered on their trip.
When they heard Li Mai say that the "tongue-pulling hell" was a place to curse those who spoke ill of Zhou Quan and her, the three of them couldn't help but burst into laughter.
"Oh my, our daughter-in-law is amazing! She's so capable, so wonderful!" Zhao was the happiest.
She had never approved of them appearing too kind in public, especially since people had talked about Zhuzhu like that. But Old Man Zhou wouldn't let her get into arguments with people, saying he was afraid it would ruin the family's reputation and make it harder for Zhou Tao to get married in the future.
Now that her daughter-in-law has brought her honor, Zhao is truly happy.
Zhou Tao also said with a smile, "My sister-in-law did a good job. Those people really have a sharp tongue. If we don't scold them, they'll think our family is easy to bully."
Old Zhou had a smile in his eyes, but he didn't say anything. However, he agreed with Li Mai's approach.
"Hey, let's go, Zhuzhu, let's go feed the reeds with your aunt." Zhou Tao said happily, taking Zhuzhu's hand and going to feed the chickens.
The chicken coop was located in the triangular northwest corner between the main house and the west house, surrounded by a fence to keep people out. Inside, the chickens could be fed.
When Zhao heard that Xiao Tao had taken Zhu Zhu to feed the chickens, she glanced back silently and quickly pulled Old Man Zhou back into the house to hide.
Will Zhuzhu cry when she finds that two cattails are missing?
When Li Mai returned to the room, she saw Zhou Quan sitting by the window on the kang (a heated brick bed), holding a book and reading.
Seeing her come in, he looked up and smiled. "You're back? Did anything happen when you went out?"
Hearing her voice as she returned, the weight that had been weighing on his heart suddenly lifted, and he felt inexplicably relieved.
"Yes, nothing happened. Aunt Da Niu and Aunt Wang Cai both spoke well of you to me, saying that you used to help people in the village often and that you are a good person." Li Mai said with a smile as she sat on the edge of the kang.
Zhou Quan smiled shyly, "Well, before I went out to work, I would help anyone in the village who needed help. I am the eldest son in my family. Being friendly to others is how I earn their kindness towards my family and prevent them from bullying my younger siblings."
Li Mai thought about it and agreed; that's how an older brother should act.
This guy is really nice!
"Let me take your pulse. Did you feel any discomfort in your stomach this morning?" She took off her shoes, climbed onto the kang (a heated brick bed), sat down next to him, and placed her hand on his pulse point.
Zhou Quan quietly looked down at her slender fingers resting on her wrist, and he suddenly found the scene very beautiful.
"Hmm, that's good. I'll go to town tomorrow and buy a set of silver needles. I'll start giving you acupuncture to improve blood circulation. Tonight, I'll start soaking your feet in hot water and massaging the muscles in your legs."
"Chicken?" Zhou Quan asked curiously.
"No, the flesh in these areas of your legs is called muscle, the muscle of the skin. It's just that only when these muscles are healthy can they support you to walk normally. You couldn't walk for two years because these muscles had fallen into a dormant state. Now we need to massage them to wake them up."
As Li Mai spoke, she pointed to the muscles on his leg and looked at him, wondering if he understood this time.
"I understand, okay, I'll definitely cooperate with you." Zhou Quan met her expectant, watery eyes and answered her firmly.
"Okay!" Li Mai smiled happily.
"Then let Xiaotao and Xiaolin accompany you tomorrow." Zhou Quan was worried about her going out alone.
"Xiao Tao is fine. Isn't Xiao Lin supposed to go to work?" Li Mai waved her hand and looked at the book in his hand. "You can even read?"
“Yes, I had some early education, but later I went to school in town. I didn’t have enough money, so I didn’t continue after a year,” Zhou Quan said softly.
"This is a book that my teacher gave me when I dropped out of school. I take it out and read it whenever I'm bored these past two years."
Li Mai took it and looked at it, surprised. "The Analects? Why would your teacher give you the Analects?"
This time it was Zhou Quan's turn to be surprised. "Xiaomai can read too?"
Li Mai nodded. "My grandma taught me. My grandma can read."
"Oh, I see. Actually, I still don't understand why the Master gave me the Analects. Perhaps he just happened to have an extra copy of the Analects and gave it to me?"
“This book looks like it was copied by someone, isn’t it? Is it your teacher’s handwriting?” Li Mai asked.
"It seems so!" Zhou Quan nodded.
“Then maybe your teacher really likes you and wanted to leave you a keepsake!” Li Mai interpreted it this way.
Zhou Quan nodded, "Then that's the only way."
"Oh, right, husband, when I went to Uncle Da Niu's house to buy tofu just now, I suddenly had an idea." Li Mai also sat down by the windowsill next to him, wanting to share some of her thoughts with him.
He is the eldest son in the family. If he wants to use his knowledge to change the family's current impoverished situation, he must get his support.
This was also the question she had been thinking about on her way back.
Zhou Daniu's family improved their lives by making tofu and raising pigs. Seeing the envious looks from the villagers, she knew that most people also wanted to get rich and live a good life by doing something, but they didn't have the skills to make money.
But she had her own skills. She came from the apocalypse and had seen a lot of survival skills and money-making ideas. She believed that with her knowledge, she could definitely help the Zhou family change their current life.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
