"Also, when I was eight years old and the eldest was eleven, there were a few fifteen or sixteen-year-old boys in the village who weren't with us and often bullied the children in the village. Once, they bullied our group of kids."
"When the boss found out, he took us and each of us carried a small bucket of pig manure. We stopped those two lads, smeared it directly on their faces, and gave them a good beating. He told them that if they ever dared to bully the village kids again, he would smear them with pig manure every time he saw them."
"After that, those two boys really behaved themselves. They didn't stay in the village anymore. I heard that their families found them jobs as waiters and sent them out to earn money. After that, she completely became the leader of the kids in our village, the local tyrant. We were all willing to listen to her."
"She often took us to the mountains near the village to dig up medicinal herbs to sell and supplement the family income, because we could earn money for the family by following her, and the adults all wanted us to play with her."
Zhou Lin sighed, "My sister-in-law is amazing!"
“That’s right. What the people in our village don’t understand the most right now is why Third Grandma would choose your family as the eldest son, and specifically your eldest brother, before she passed away,” Li Dong said, expressing his doubts.
Zhou Lin murmured, "Actually, we don't understand either. Maybe only my mother and the matchmaker know!"
...
The next day, as soon as it was light, the Zhou family members got up one after another.
Zhou Lin and Zhou Lei carried their older brother to the toilet first, then put him in the yard when they came back. After helping him wash up, they went to wash up themselves.
Everyone in my family is busy today.
As soon as Zhao got up, she went to the kitchen to cook porridge and make pancakes.
After washing up and getting ready, Li Mai went to talk to Zhou Lin for a while, mainly asking him how many days he would be working in Lijia Village. She said that after finishing there, she wanted him and his master to make a wheelchair for Zhou Quan.
"Sister-in-law, what is a wheelchair?" Zhou Lin asked curiously.
“A wheelchair is basically two big wheels with a chair attached, so someone can push the chair around. Do you have paper and pen at home? I can draw it for you.” Li Mai felt that it might be difficult to explain clearly, so it would be better to draw it.
Zhou Lin led him into his room, took out a piece of paper, an ink stick, an inkstone, and a writing brush from a cabinet.
"These things have been locked in the cabinet ever since we stopped going to school," Zhou Lin said with an embarrassed smile, and quickly ground ink for his sister-in-law.
Li Mai drew a picture of the wheelchair for him, showing the armrests, push handles, large wheels, small steering wheels, and a handbrake, all very clearly. She then explained it to him.
Li Mai explained the handbrake in great detail, and also emphasized its importance.
Zhou Lin nodded, "I think I understand, but I'm afraid I can't make this myself. I'll have to let my master see if he can."
“Yes, that’s fine. You can take him to see him today,” Li Mai agreed.
Zhou Lin waited for the ink to dry, then put it away. He had a feeling that the clerk might like this drawing.
He had the good fortune to meet the advisor once, and he found the old man to be very strange, as he liked to study some odd and unusual things.
He had been a carpenter for three years, and this was the first time he had ever seen his own wooden box that could walk around, and the wooden chicken and wooden toad that could run around, at the master craftsman's place.
He remained relatively calm, while his fellow apprentices were terrified.
After giving him the blueprints, Li Mai left the matter alone and focused on making preparations for the door.
Breakfast was served quickly. After breakfast, Li Mai and Zhou Tao headed to the village entrance to take the village's oxcart to town.
Zhou Lin took Li Dong to find his master to prepare for working in Li Family Village.
Zhou Lei and his father are preparing to make their fishing nets today.
The most unhappy ones were Zhuzhu and Zhou Quan.
Zhou Quan couldn't go with Li Mai, but Zhu Zhu wanted to. However, the adults wouldn't let her go, fearing it would cause trouble for her mother and aunt, since they had business to attend to in town today.
"Zhuzhu, let's go feed the rabbits!" Zhou Quan felt that she should take on the responsibility of looking after the child today!
"Great!" Zhuzhu was happy to hear that her father would be with her.
Old Man Zhou and Zhou Lei carried Zhou Quan to the rabbit hutch. Zhu Zhu brought over a handful of alfalfa that had been drying overnight and gave some to Zhou Quan. She also took some for herself and reached over the fence to feed the rabbits.
Three big rabbits and one little rabbit immediately hopped over and started eating.
"Dad, look, that gray rabbit is eating the fastest!" Zhuzhu exclaimed happily.
Zhou Quan chuckled at her call, hummed in agreement, and fed the gray rabbit another stick.
Two large gray rabbits, one large white rabbit, and one small white rabbit looked like a family for some reason. The gray rabbits had some white on their ears, and the two white rabbits had some gray on their ears.
"Oh, Zhou Quan, are you planning to raise rabbits?" Suddenly, a woman's smiling voice rang out from the front door.
This is Pan, Zhou Chun's wife in the village. Two months ago, she wanted to introduce her younger sister to Zhou Lin, but Zhao refused, saying that the eldest son was not yet married and the second son's marriage was not a priority.
This woman has a bad reputation. Rumors often circulate in the village that when she goes out, she always flirts with other men, especially the good-looking ones, whom she seems to want to cling to.
As a result, no woman in the village wanted to associate with her.
Zhao was even less willing to be related to such a person. Even if her sister was a good person, she was unwilling to take the risk of arranging for her sister to become Zhou Lin's wife.
Now, Zhou Lin is a craftsman, so he's not short of wives.
Zhou Quan looked up at her, nodded, but didn't say anything to her.
He didn't like the way that woman looked at him.
Her eyes were darting around, and what was the meaning behind her constantly glancing between her legs while she was talking?
Upon hearing her voice, Zhao quickly came out, not wanting her men to speak to her.
"Oh, it's Zhou Chun's wife. Is there something you need?" Zhao Shi walked over and stood between Pan Shi and Zhou Quan, asking with a smile.
"Auntie, I heard that your eldest son is already married. Now, is it time to start looking for a wife for your second son? My mother-in-law strongly recommends your Zhou Lin to me, saying that he is a good man and the best match for my sister."
"To tell you the truth, Auntie, my sister is a famous beauty in the surrounding area. She has such bright and sparkling eyes that even the young men in town admire her and want to marry her. Unfortunately, my father won't allow it."
“They said it wasn’t good for her to marry too far away, and they still wanted to find her a husband in our village. That’s why I helped my sister find someone like your Zhou Lin. To be honest, Auntie, your Zhou Lin is the only good young man I’ve found in our village.”
Pan didn't give Zhao a chance to speak, and praised her sister to the skies.
Madam Zhao smiled faintly, "As for Zhou Lin's marriage, it's no longer my place to comment. Hehe, thank you for thinking highly of Zhou Lin, but forget it, we're not meant to be."
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