The Zhou family's rice jar was almost empty, and they probably didn't have much extra money. They were just waiting to sell some of the crops they had grown in the fields after the autumn harvest, hoping that the harvested grain would feed the whole family.
But what if a natural disaster strikes when it's time to harvest the grain? What if the harvested grain isn't enough to feed the whole family until next autumn?
These are all potential problems this family will soon face.
Li Mai sighed inwardly. They were so warm and caring towards her, treating her, the newlywed, like an outsider. Naturally, she would also treat them as family and protect them.
The moment Li Mai saw Zhou Quan sitting quietly reading, she suddenly decided to lead the Zhou family to work hard to get rich and live a comfortable life, and to build the Zhou family's houses like Zhou Daniu's.
Zhou Quan turned to look at her rosy cheeks, tightened his grip on the book, and asked softly, "What are your thoughts?"
“We can also try to make money and change our family’s current situation. This morning when I went to the grain shed to dig rice, I found that our rice jar and flour urn were almost empty. I estimate that the remaining grain will not last more than ten days.”
"But what if we don't have any income before the autumn harvest? I don't know if Mother will have enough money in her savings to buy rice and flour next time?"
“Besides, Xiao Lin is getting old, shouldn’t he be looking for a wife? If a suitable wife comes along, where will he go to marry her? What will he use to marry her?” After saying this, Li Mai looked at Zhou Quan seriously, waiting for his answer.
Zhou Quan stared at her blankly, "Are we almost out of food?"
"Hmm, not much left. Every jar and pot is almost empty. Besides, they killed some chickens at the wedding banquet last night. Zhuzhu said we have three speckled chickens. I estimate that at least two of them were killed for the food last night."
After Li Mai finished speaking, Zhou Quan's hands, which were tightly gripping the book, turned white. His lips trembled, but he couldn't say anything, and his eyes gradually dimmed.
Li Mai looked down at him, observing the expression on his face. "What's wrong? Are you sad? Feeling guilty?"
Zhou Quan lowered her head silently, but unexpectedly her hand was suddenly grasped, and she heard a soft voice in her ear.
"Husband, what are you thinking? It's not your fault. This is just how things are in the world now. No one is having an easy time. People like Uncle Niu's family are only doing well because they have the skill of making tofu. The leftover tofu residue can be used to feed pigs. They seized these two opportunities and their lives improved. They were able to rebuild their house."
“If his family can do that, so can ours. We don’t know how to make tofu, but we can make other things. I know a lot of things. Mom can also buy more speckled chickens, feed them more, and make them lay more eggs. Then we can sell the eggs, or use them to make some rare delicacies to sell.”
"Anyway, you don't need to worry. As long as you think it's feasible, I'll discuss with Mom what we can do to change our lives. I'm not asking you to come up with solutions, but I want your approval. If you feel I can go for it, I'll give it my all. Maybe we can improve our lives?"
Zhou Quan felt a surge of warmth in his heart at Li Mai's words. He slowly raised his hand and placed it on her face, whispering, "Okay, whatever you want to do, I agree. I know you're doing this for the good of our family, how could I not support you?"
He recalled what his parents had told him that morning: this wife was a good one, and he should treat her well. He couldn't do much else, but he could at least be gentle with her.
Moreover, at this moment, Li Mai's words truly warmed his heart. He wanted to hold her in his arms and hug her, but he didn't dare. So he gently touched her face instead.
Li Mai was taken aback when he attacked her directly. She froze for a moment, speechless, staring blankly at him.
"Ah, yes, I'm sorry, Xiaomai, I..." Zhou Quan felt her stiffness and instantly came to his senses. He subconsciously withdrew his hand and stammered an explanation and apology, feeling extremely embarrassed.
When Li Mai came to her senses, she saw him looking like he wanted to disappear into a crack in the ground, his face flushed, and she chuckled.
This guy is such an innocent and pure-hearted young man.
Does what he just did mean he likes me?
Li Mai smiled, making Zhou Quan even more embarrassed. He quickly put his hands on the kang (a heated brick bed) and tried to move to the side, but unexpectedly, Li Mai turned around, squatted down in front of him, and looked him up and down curiously.
Meeting her curious gaze, he quickly and flusteredly turned his head away, his lips moved, but he didn't dare to say anything more about apologizing.
Li Mai suddenly reached out and pinched his cheek, chuckling, "Husband, you're so cute, I love you!"
After saying that, she turned around, got out of bed, put on her shoes, and went out humming a little tune.
She was afraid that if she stayed in the same room with him again, his face would turn so red it would bleed.
As soon as Li Mai went out, she saw Zhu Zhu running out from the northwest corner with red eyes.
Upon seeing her, Zhuzhu pouted, as if she was about to cry.
Li Mai walked over, hugged her, and looked towards that corner. Oh, Zhou Tao was there too, feeding the chickens.
She understood; the child must have noticed that two speckled chickens were missing.
"Zhuzhu, what's wrong?" Li Mai asked softly, patting her head.
"Mom, I only have one cattail left. Auntie said a weasel came to our house last night and stole two cattails. I hate weasels," Zhuzhu said softly, leaning against Limai's chest and sobbing.
Li Mai looked up at Zhou Tao, and when she saw Zhou Tao wink at her, she smiled and said, "If Zhuzhu isn't sad, it's probably because the weasel was just too hungry. Let's forgive it this time!"
"But from now on, we'll only have one cattail to lay eggs," Zhuzhu said sadly.
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