"Hmm, bringing soybeans works too."
Qu Xiaoli isn’t a stingy person. Her eldest brother-in-law is good to them, the nephews and nieces are all good, it’s just the sisters-in-law aren’t great, but that doesn’t stop her from giving things.
When Chaoyang returned during lunch, he said, "Dad, I just helped Fourth Uncle to grind with Xiang Dong. His family sent cornal to Eldest Uncle."
"Hmm, this afternoon you help your mom select the beans, we’ll send soybeans."
"Okay, got it. Should I go with you?"
Li Yungui shook his head, "No need. You two stay at ho. We may not be back tomorrow, and if the day after is good weather and the road’s passable, you should go buy waterlon. If you’re unsure, ask your Master Wei."
"Understood. I think the day after won’t work; with all this rain, the road will definitely be muddy."
"Then pick the waterlons tomorrow; with so much rain, they’re not sweet and can’t be stored."
"Got it."
The family gathered to eat dumplings; Qu Xiaoli also made pancakes. Adolescents eat ravenously; the house is full of boys, so wrapping dumplings just isn’t feasible, which ans everyone gets two bowls of dumplings, and what’s not enough is supplented with pancakes.
But this is already a good al, and the children are eating with great relish.
In the afternoon, all four kids helped pick soybeans. Qu Xiaoli prepared ten pounds, which is about the capability; there are just too many mouths to feed in this family. By four in the afternoon, the rain stopped and the weather cleared, and Captain Li Cunshan ca over, "Yungui, let’s all go pick waterlons before they spoil."
"Alright, I was thinking of picking them tomorrow, but today works."
The entire village’s labor force was mobilized, and all the remaining waterlons were picked at once, moved to the team headquarters to be stored, waiting for the roads to improve so they can be sold.
Wei Kaiyun also pitched in, tasked with transporting them and placing them in the pushcart crate.
"Master Wei, how many days will it take before this road is passable?"
"Hmm, the rain was too heavy, don’t expect to go out for a week, or if a tractor gets stuck it will be troubleso."
"Certainly, the tractor definitely mustn’t be moved, I’d hate to lose it," Chaoyang said with a grin.
"Tomorrow Chaoyang and I will take a small cart to the county to deliver waterlons. Just a few dozen, and anyhow we two are idle with nothing else to do." Xiang Dong said from the side.
"Okay, but it’ll be quite tiring."
"No worries, we’re not afraid of hard work. Otherwise, we’d just be staying idle."
At night, the family made wontons, which made the three children quite happy; they hadn’t had wontons in a long ti.
Jiang Xinyu even prepared a bowl of chili oil for Wei Kaiyun. The family ate with great delight.
Early next morning at six, the Li Family Brothers left with their bags. They all carried shoes while wearing straw sandals, so even in mud they wouldn’t be hindered.
The won of both families prepared pancakes for them.
Chaoyang and Xiang Dong found Li Cunshan, "Eldest Uncle, we’re heading to the county supply and marketing cooperative to deliver waterlons."
"Alright, be careful, and if it’s not possible, co back."
"Understood." The two of them weren’t just delivering waterlons, but also bringing things back for friends they had a good rapport with.
The cart was covered with thick straw mats, loaded with forty waterlons, with one person pulling the rope in the front, and the other pushing the cart fra in the back.
The rest of the folks were resting at ho, and this is when trouble struck.
Wei Kaiyun was returning from pulling carrots in his private plot and happened to catch a family squabble.
He’s not one to enjoy the chaos, so he just ntioned it to Jiang Xinyu when he got back, and both of them shrugged it off.
Today’s lunch is carrot and bacon buns, with two kinds of filling including chive and egg.
Just after the buns ca out of the stear, soone ca running, "Teacher Jiang, do you have dicine at ho? Guiying got hit by her mother-in-law and it broke her head."
"No, but I do have Analgin here. You can crush so into powder and apply it to the wound."
"Great, quickly give two tablets, Guiying’s head is bleeding profusely."
Jiang Xinyu quickly went inside to find two Analgin tablets.
As the family sat down to eat, they heard the commotion outside.
Children always love excitent, so the three kids quickly finished their lunch and ran out in straw sandals.
Wei Kaiyun was worried they might get hurt, so he quickly followed them out.
Jiang Xinyu found it amusing, as with no entertainnt, watching a fight seems a rare pasti.
Jiang Xinyu knew Sister-in-law Liu enjoyed the hubbub too, "Sister-in-law Liu, I’ll tidy up here, you go ahead and check it out if you want."
"Alright, Xiao Jiang, you just set the table and wash the dishes, wait for to co back."
At ho, only Shang Zhenkun and Jiang Xinyu were left. They weren’t uninterested in the excitent, just a bit reserved.
After lunch, Shang Zhenkun went out for a stroll too.
A bit of surprise in a monotonous life can be nice.
Jiang Xinyu couldn’t go out since there were two little ones at ho. She stayed back, knowing they’d surely tell her all about it when they returned.
After tidying up the house, Jiang Xinyu imdiately attended to the two little ones.
Jiang Tingting was probably awake for a while, playing with her eyes wide open, while Shi Xian was still asleep, or else they’d already be crying aloud.
Quickly changing her diaper, she hurried to feed her, because once Shi Xian woke, he wouldn’t wait.
After Jiang Tingting finished eating, Shi Xian woke up. She hurriedly picked him up, pacified him for a while, then fed him.
Both little ones ate their fill and went back to sleep. At one month old, all they do is eat and sleep.
Jiang Xinyu lay on the couch with a book, keeping them company.
In a dazed sleep, not sure how long passed, the noise from outside woke her, and she saw it was already past two. These three kids hadn’t taken their nap today.
Jiang Xinyu went out and saw Wei Kaiyun preparing water for the three children.
"Mom, that auntie really got hurt, there was so much blood on her head, her face was all bruised, it was scary."
"Over what?" Jiang Xinyu asked the kids, to train their language skills.
"The daughter-in-law wanted to split the family, the mother-in-law didn’t agree, so then it turned into a fight."
"Shi Jing, you sumd it up well, but you need to consider the context while talking; gossip like this should be detailed."
"But we only know that much, we don’t know the details."
"Oh? You could imagine and add so flavor, describe how miserable the daughter-in-law getting beaten was."
Wei Kaiyun handed them sandals, instructing them to change while he cleaned the straw sandals beside.
Listening to his wife teach their son, found it quite amusing.
Once clean, the family returned indoors, where Jiang Xinyu had the three get on the couch, concerned they might catch a cold.
"Mom, with all the excitent outside, didn’t the little ones wake?"
"Nope, they’re sleeping soundly. Shi Xian hasn’t even cried today, the temperature’s perfect for sleeping."
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