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The Green Lotus Peasant Girl

Chapters List

Chapter 49: Autumn Harvest

Li Qinghe clenched her teeth and began to descend the mountain. After two rounds, she felt her calves begin to tremble, but the person on her back didn't say a word for so long as she lay in pain and breathed heavily.

Li Qinghe was feeling a little scared in her heart. There were so many emergencies, such as appendicitis, which caused acute stomach pain. It can be fatal if the pain is severe. When they were young, Li Qingmiao and she were good friends, and they are sisters-in-laws now. Among all her sisters-in-laws, Li Qinghe had the best relationship with Li Qingmiao. Li Qinghe could not help but whisper, "Qingmiao, you are much heavier than the bundle of firewood I just carried."

It took a long time before Li Qinghe heard her say, "I told you to address me as a second sister-in-law...You compare me to firewood."

Li Qinghe smiled and listened to the person behind her from time to time as she walked quickly and steadily.

It took them a quarter of an hour before they reached the foot of the mountain. Li Qinghe's feet were already trembling. As she was pondering where to put Li Qingmiao down, she saw Zhou Chengkang and Second Brother Zhou coming over. After noticing the two of them in this condition, they rushed over and asked, "What's wrong?"

The moment Second Brother Zhou lifted the person from her back, Li Qinghe took a deep breath. After seeing that Li Qingmiao had closed her eyes, she said hurriedly, "She fell, and said her stomach hurts."

As soon as the four people returned to Zhou's house, they boarded the carriage, and within two-quarters of an hour, they were at the hospital.

"She is suffering from miscarriage symptoms" After the doctor had checked Li Qingmiao's pulse, she said in an angry tone, "How can she do heavy work and fell on top of that...Let's check if she can keep the baby."

The three of them were stunned. In the past two days, Li Qingmiao was almost catching up with the two brothers carrying firewood, energetically walking around. Who could have guessed that she was pregnant?

"I beg the doctor to hurry up and prescribe medicine for us." The Second Brother looked at the pale-faced Li Qingmiao and said, "Please dispense the medicine, I have silver!"

After the medicine was prescribed, Li Qinghe carried it. After a long ride, the carriage slowed down considerably, and Li Qingmiao leaned her head against Second Brother Zhou's body, never waking up. She seemed to be asleep.

Li Qingmiao's mother and father were already waiting outside the village entrance. Their posture suggested that if they hadn't returned, they would have run to the town. "What's wrong?" They asked anxiously when they saw their daughter unconscious, "Where has she fallen?"

Li Qinghe turned sideways to let them get into the carriage and said, "She is suffering from miscarriage symptoms. The doctor prescribed medicine, told her to rest and eat something to nourish her body. I have a chicken over there, so I'll catch one and make her soup."

Hearing this, Mrs. Li looked surprised, " Is she pregnant?" After reacting, she said gratefully, "Qinghe, thank you."

In fact, Li Qinghe was a little nervous in her heart. They had been chopping wood together for a few days. Although all of them were working, Li Qingmiao accompanied her more. Because something had happened, she was afraid her parents would blame her for it. Of course, the sensible ones wouldn't. However, if she encountered unreasonable people, she could be blamed.

Soon, they reached Li Qingmiao's house. Having seen Second Brother Zhou bring the person in, the two of them returned to Zhou's house and went to the new house to pick up a rooster to deliver.

Li Qingmiao was already awake when she went to deliver the rooster. With a pale face, she held Li Qinghe's hand and said, "I didn't expect this to happen, did I scare you?"

"It's fine if you're alright!" She saw that Li Qingmiao was pale but in good spirits. "Does your stomach hurt? Do you want me to call for a doctor?" Li Qinghe asked.

"It hurts a little bit." Li Qingmiao looked bitter, "They won't let me get out of bed."

"Your body is important." Li Qinghe smiled, "Lie down for a few more days; plus, you have a child inside you, you have to be careful. Don't chop the wood."

When they talked about chopping wood, they looked at each other and laughed.

Soon, Mrs. Zhou, who got the news, arrived, and she brought an old hen she caught. The Li family grew lively and saw Li Qingmiao was in good health and had a few more happy moments.

By the time they returned home, it was already late. As Li Qinghe had been running around and worrying for half a day today, she was more tired than usual. Mrs. Zhou even asked them to eat together.

They did not refuse. They went to dinner with Mrs. Zhou and Fifth Sister Zhou. While they were eating, Zhang Haiyao entered.

With a smile, she sat down and took the bun for herself, asking, "Second sister-in-law's pregnant?"

Mrs. Zhou gave her a look and hummed.

Zhang Haiyao took a bite, "Mother, I just saw that you took the old hen to them. Where is mine?"

Li Qinghe and Zhou Chengkang glanced at each other. That was really rude.

Mrs. Zhou put the bowl down. The porcelain knocked against the wooden table and made a slight "bang" in the quiet room. Fifth Sister Zhou was so scared she didn't even dare to chew. Mr. Zhou said, "The hens are raised by me and my fifth child. We will give them to whoever we wish to give and if we wish, we will cut them and give them to dogs. That's my business."

Maybe Mrs. Zhou was suddenly so sharp that Zhang Haiyao was stunned, and she was unable to chew the steamed bun, but Mrs. Zhou did not give up and continued, "It's like the bun you eat. When I don't say anything, it doesn’t mean I am willing to provide it. People need self-awareness. Don't make people disgusted with you and still think you’re so great."

"Isn't this just a coarse grain bun?" Zhang Haiyao said, standing up "I will just not eat it. Anyhow, the child in my belly is not as good as the one born to another family."

After she finished speaking, she lifted the curtain and left.

Mrs. Zhou was so angry that her chest was heaving, and Li Qinghe was a little worried. She told her, "Mother, don't be angry. You could just ignore her as if she were farting if you don't like to hear her. Who takes farts seriously? It is not necessary to feel bad about this."

Fifth Sister Zhou also quietly poured a glass of water and placed it beside her. Mrs. Zhou sighed and drank a sip of water, "I feel uncomfortable when I think that the child will have a different surname, but, whatever it is, she should have a child first. For now...it's fine."

Taking this into consideration, it was both inexplicable and reasonable. Without parental influence, a few of the brothers in this family would not have been able to be bachelors. She will figure it out anyway.

"Eat, don't let her ruin your good mood." Mrs. Zhou looked at the two of them, "Don't be too busy all day, you should also have a child."

Li Qinghe was in no rush to have children. She was still young. Plus, she knows that having children even after a year or two will not make a difference. In the future, they would be settled in their new home and not as busy as now, so it would be better to have children then.

Zhou Chengkang took over the conversation and said with a smile, "Mother, don't worry about us, we know it in our hearts."

Mrs. Zhou put down the table and chopsticks, "You two are the least worrying. Even though the oldest child's wife is modest, her craftsmanship is still excellent. Despite the second child's bad reputation, an old couple of the Li family treats him well. I don't worry about him, just..."

She looked in the direction of Third Brother Zhou's house, hating iron and steel, "That bastard! This old lady was flabbergasted when he took so much money and called her a girl from the town. He also said that her family is rich and pampered her, but she is too shallow!"

She shook her head, "I just hope the children won't follow her. She doesn't earn anything but wants to split everything. Luckily, I can't exchange my flesh and blood for silver, or she would have to tear it all down."

Zhou Chengkang comforted her in a low voice. Li Qinghe remained silent. She agreed with the words of Mrs. Zhou, but there was no way for her to express it. People would think she was talking too much and sowing discord if she spoke out with Mrs. Zhou.

Over the next few days, the two of them went up the mountain to chop wood, and they chopped for a month, filling up the wood storage room and backyard of the new house with wood. Eventually, they had to stop cutting wood, and the fall harvest had begun.

Besides the wasteland, Zhou Chengkang also received a small piece of land and paddy field in the autumn harvest this year. There was likely no harvest this year. The grain tax has to be paid first, and after that, the 100 catties of grain they owe will be paid. There probably wouldn't be much leftover.

During the autumn harvest, the villagers worked day and night. During the day, it was too hot, so people took advantage of the moonlight to harvest wheat at night.

They didn't have much land, so they went every morning and evening. They would rest when the sun was the hottest. Once the heat had subsided, they would start working again. Considering, there were so many brothers in Zhou's family, the land divided among them was very small, and drying wheat on it was inconvenient. Zhou Chengkang and Li Qinghe simply moved the wheat stacks straight to the new house. The yard was large enough for the wheat stacks to dry.

There were still a few acres of wheat on the wasteland after it was harvested. Despite being described as a few acres, the area was not very large. However, these kinds of lands were likely to produce more and more harvests every year.

As two people collected the grain into the door, many people in the village were just beginning the harvest, such as Li Fu.

As usual, Mrs. Qian did not participate in the fieldwork this year, only letting Li Fu go alone. That was an extremely condemning approach on her part. It was the harvest period, and if she refused to help, in case there was heavy rain, there would be no harvest, and they would have to wait for another time in hungry stomachs.

Following his affairs, Zhou Chengkang went to help Mrs. Zhou for a day. After all of the wheat stacks had been cut and moved home, he went to Li's house.

Li Qinghe went to help as well. Mrs. Qian only cooked at home. Because the two of them went to help, Li Fu also took the money and asked her to go to the store to buy some meat.

The only person who was actually helping a lot was Zhou Chengkang, who was there in the morning and evening. As for Li Qinghe, she had to feed her fish and chickens, and she had to travel back to the new house to turn and dry the wheat. Even though there was little time left, she brought the tea to the field.

On this day, she went early, thinking that the tea brought to the field should not be finished yet, so she didn't take it. As a result, the tea quickly ran out. Water fetching was her responsibility, and neither of them would take it from her.

She couldn't make tea in the new house because there was no water. She simply carried the teapot and went to Li's house.

As Mrs. Qian was tidying up at home, the tea should still be prepared.

She noticed a person coming out of the house as soon as she entered the yard. This was still an acquaintance.

——Zhao Tianfu.

He was so courageous, he went right into the house.

The last time Li Qinghe saw the two of them coming and going, was when Zhao Wanwan and Hu's family were discussing marriage. However, she had not expected that he would go straight into the house this time.

When Mrs. Qian saw her come back with the teapot, she stood under the eaves and was stunned. With the conscience of heaven and earth, Zhao Tianfu just came and was about to leave. Who knew that something like this could happen in such a short time?

"Is this Qinghe?" Zhao Tianfu greeted her first. He was a little chubby, with a red nose and a dark red face. Clearly, he’s like this because of long-term alcohol addiction, "I heard you took care of her, Uncle Zhao remembered everything." He patted his chest, "I will help you if I can."

Mrs. Qian was in a hurry and urged, "Hurry up and go, so much talk."

Zhao Tianfu smiled and left. Mrs. Qian came forward to take Li Qinghe's teapot, "No tea left, right? I've got it all ready, I've just boiled some tea to quench my thirst."

In the yard, Li Qinghe stood under a big tree watched Mrs. Qian enter the kitchen quickly. Once the tea was filled, she reached out to take it and turned to go.

"Qinghe," Mrs. Qian called her, "There is nothing between me and Wanwan's father. Can you pretend you didn't see it?"

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