Advertisement

The Green Lotus Peasant Girl

Chapters List

Chapter 43: Everyday

Mother Zhou held on to the deed and nagged, seemingly endless. Zhang Haiyao got up, "It's late, I'll go boil water for laundry first."

Then, she got up and went out. Mrs. Zhou's expression was ugly for a moment as she glanced at the third brother. While she did not say anything to him, she looked at Li Qinghe, "Qinghe, it seems that many things have happened since you entered the door. Please do not overthink it, and from now on, live a good life with the fourth child."

Just after they got married, the family was separated. If one didn't know the ins and outs of the matter, they would think it was because of Li Qinghe.

As Mrs. Zhou has already said so, Li Qinghe cannot cause any trouble. The most important thing was to live a good life. Besides, it was nice to be separated. In any case, she planned to build the house. It was inevitable that disputes would arise in this house with so many people living there. On the other hand, letting her cook for the family was quite difficult, as her work wasn't finished.

"It's okay," Li Qinghe even smiled, "As long as mother is happy."

Mrs. Zhou rambled and instructed for a long time, and by the time the people dispersed, it was already afternoon. Neither Li Qinghe nor Zhou Chengkang accomplished anything during the half-day, so they separated. It was time to feed the fish again at the pond.

The sky had already been hazy and was beginning to get dark after feeding back. While looking at the Zhou family's small courtyard, Zhou Chengkang whispered, "It is best to have people live here to watch the fish and chickens."

"Then you live ah." Li Qinghe smiled, "The shack is not built. Can't you let me live?"

Zhou Chengkang was dissatisfied and pretended to be angry, "We just got married yesterday, and you're willing to let me stay alone? Don't you think it would be warmer to have another person in this weather?"

Li Qinghe couldn't help but laugh. "I've lived here for more than ten years; why am I still afraid of sleeping alone? Besides, it's April now; the later it gets, the warmer it is, and there's still too much heat in the summer."

"I'm scared." Zhou Chengkang grabbed her hand and coaxed, "I'm afraid, all right."

They walked unhurriedly. "If you want me to say, we should not build the house here." As he analyzed one by one, "Look, now we have one room for one person, no extra room whatsoever. And when we have children, where shall we live?"

Li Qinghe laughed at the issue of building a house,"Child?"

Zhou Chengkang touched her lower abdomen and said, "Maybe we already have one." with a little smile.

Li Qinghe's face turned red and she asked, "Do you like children?"

"I like the children you give birth to." he said seriously.

They didn't speak anymore, but they held hands tighter together. Their figures, which were intertwined and nestled together, looked particularly peaceful.

When the two returned home, the eldest brother, sister-in-law and Old Lady Liu were already asleep. Li Qingmiao and the second brother Zhou had already gone home. The third brother's room was the only one still lit by candles. They went into the kitchen to boil water for washing. Mrs. Zhou peeked out of the window, "You are boiling the water, so remember to cut firewood back tomorrow. If you want to boil water and cook, one quart of firewood is needed every day."

In normal circumstances, two people would not be able to use the entire quart of firewood.

"The extra will be considered as filial piety to me." Zhou's mother added.

The two looked at each other, and Zhou Chengkang agreed.

Instead of saying this was for the two people, it would have been better to say it to everyone there. After they got married, they left for work before dawn every day, and they had to sleep well when they returned in the afternoon. As Zhang Haiyao did not leave the house, the third brother Zhou worked alone. How can he chop wood? It hadn't been too long since the Zhou family had finished a happy event, and the firewood was almost spent.

Mrs. Zhou's words made it clear that whether he was free or not, he had to pay for firewood to use the kitchen.

Zhou Chengkang carried the water bucket and whispered in a low voice. "Tomorrow, we'll go up the mountain. Recently, it's been a good time to hunt. We can make some money to build a house. And we'll get firewood by the way."

The next morning, the two got up before dawn. The eldest brother, sister-in-law and Old Lady Liu were still making tofu in the kitchen. Li Qinghe wanted to go in and make something but there was no pot, so she had no choice but to take some snacks from the wedding leftovers and pack them up.

First, they went to the pond to feed the fish, and then they went to the mountains.

Zhao Chengkang had a point. It was a good time to go hunting. Before they could enter the deeper parts of the forest, they caught three pheasants and two rabbits. As Li Qinghe watched him draw the bow, she couldn't help but ask, "What's wrong with your carriage at home? They won't accept it."

Zhou Chengkang silently shot an arrow at the pheasant, just hitting its belly, then ran over to pick it up.

As the two of them walked into the forest, he spoke in a low tone, "When I was four years old, my elder brother and third brother took me into the mountains to chop wood and pick mushrooms along the way. At that time, my mother was pregnant with my fifth sister and was about to give birth. My father got sick, my elder brother was only nine, and my third brother was only six years old. After we reached the mountain, we ran out of water. Elder brother told the third brother to wait there with me while he went and searched for the water."

He paused and lowered his voice,"It didn't take long for the third brother to tell me he had to urinate. He hurried off, leaving me in the woods, where I stayed for a long time, waiting for them to return."

"They lost you? "Li Qinghe frowned. A four-year-old child was left alone in such a deep forest. There were wolves in the depths of the forest. What would have happened if the wolf had taken him away?

"I don't know."Zhou Chengkang shook his head, "Both the elder brother and the third brother said that I was lost, and neither could find me, but they found their way home. So, they went back first and thought that after they would go back, they would ask the adults to look for me."

"What happened later?" Li Qinghe asked.

"Then I met Uncle Tiger, and he took me back to his place. After two days, he sent me home. My mother cried a lot when she heard that I was lost. My fifth sister was born the day before I was lost." Zhou Chengkang's tone was as usual, and his eyes seemed to be searching for prey in the forest.

Li Qinghe reached out and gently grasped his hand,"Were you afraid when you were alone?"

In a daze, Zhou Chengkang said, "At that time, I was scared. I felt that the trees were tall and the forest was deep, that animals were all over...Then I met Uncle Tiger and was not afraid. Even when I went home, I often went into the mountains to look for him. I learned a lot from him."

He said with a smile on his face,"He taught me how to hunt and gave me silver to buy the carriage before he died."

"He didn't have a child and he was all alone. I watched him die and buried him personally." Zhou Chengkang said with a smile in a low voice, "So, people must always endure hardships before they can achieve anything."

Until now, it was unknown whether the older brother and the third brother deliberately left their younger brother in the woods. Therefore, none of them desired the carriage.

"When you are free, take me to pay respects to him. I want to thank him!" Li Qinghe said.

"Okay, I'd like him to see you as well." Zhou Chengkang's eyes were gentle as he spoke.

The two had a successful hunt in the afternoon before returning home. Li Qinghe carried a few pheasants and rabbits, and Zhou Chengkang was carrying a bundle of firewood. They even fed the fish and chickens when they passed the pond, before returning home under the moonlight.

When they arrived home, the eldest couple and Old Lady Liu were already asleep, and a pot of boiling water was in the kitchen. After hearing them returning, Fifth Sister Zhou opened the door and smiled,"Fourth Brother, I boiled the water. You can use that."

In the end, she said, "Go to bed early."

After washing up, the two cooked their meal together. After half an hour later, the two have taken their meal to their own house.

Zhou Chengkang handed her the buns and asked, "Are you tired? I will go tomorrow by myself. You stay at home to feed fish and cook for me. You can also go to town to sell rabbits and pheasants. The restaurant should be interested in buying it, right?"

The restaurant does accept wild animals, and today two rabbits were killed. Since the days are becoming hotter and hotter, releasing them outside is not possible.

Li Qinghe nodded and said, "Then you go by yourself and come back early."

The next morning, they arose at the same time. While Zhou Chengkang went to the mountain with the dry food that they had prepared last night, Li Qinghe took the prey and went to town with his elder brother's family.

Seeing the four or five pheasants in her hand, the elder sister-in-law looked envious, and said, "Fourth sister, fourth brother's craftsmanship is so impressive. You don't have to buy meat, and you don't have to worry about meat."

Li Qinghe glanced at the silent elder brother Zhou and smiled, "He was fortunate to find a good teacher who taught him."

The elder brother Zhou didn't hear her words and the elder sister-in-law, who didn't know the story, nodded in agreement, "Fourth sister, how much are you planning on selling it for? If it is cheaper, I will buy one to prepare my mother-in-law's soup."

Li Qinghe raised an eyebrow, "The meat is sold for fifteen coins. These kinds of good ones cost twenty-five coins. This weighs three pounds. Based on our relationship, you give seventy coins."

The elder sister-in-law's face stiffened when she heard this. The amount of money Li Qinghe just mentioned would be enough to buy a large piece of meat and then eat it for a half month.

The old lady Liu had already said,"What is there to eat with the pheasant? Tofu is considered vegetarian meat, and it is just as healthy as meat."

Their implied meaning was that they no longer wanted it.

Li Qinghe didn't offer to sell it either. In the town, they separated. Li Qinghe did not accompany the couple to sell tofu to each family. Those few coins were not worth it.

When she arrived in the town, she separated and went straight to the restaurant. The restaurant offered a fair price. The rabbit and the pheasant cost 30 coins each pound, and there was a total of 30 pounds of meat. The chef calculated and gave her 900 coins.

When Li Qinghe had the money in hand, she bought a piece of meat instead of going to see her brother-in-law and his wife. After they sell tofu, it would be afternoon before they would go home.

When she arrived home, it was time for dinner. From the kitchen, Zhang Haiyao poked her head out. "Sister, I heard you shot several rabbits and pheasants yesterday. The auntie from the next door saw them. Why didn't you keep them?"

Li Qinghe looked calm as she said, "I took them to sell."

"Why don't you leave some for Mother?" Zhang Haiyao said, raising her voice deliberately so that Mrs. Zhou, who was planting vegetables in the backyard, could clearly hear her.

Li Qinghe didn't care and raised her hand to show meat, "Mother's share is naturally there. I bought some meat, it's the same."

Upon seeing this, Zhang Haiyao was dumbfounded and couldn't help whispering, "Fake generosity !"

Why am I fake generosity? This meat is not fake.

Despite hearing her, Li Qinghe decided to let it go as she didn't want to get into a fight with her. After Mrs. Zhou came in, she handed her a piece of meat.

Mrs. Zhou waved her hand, "You eat by yourself, I have something to say."

Zhang Haiyao was setting the tableware when she heard Mrs. Zhou's words. She frowned and said to herself in a low voice, "Something is wrong again!"

"She's my mother." Zhou Chengcai said emphatically.

As soon as everyone in the family arrived, Mrs. Zhou took them to the backyard, where they discovered that the vegetable plot was divided into four sections.

"There is one section for each of you. From now on, you can no longer eat vegetables indiscriminately and you must grow your own food. If you are lazy and don't wish to grow, then don't eat!" While speaking that last sentence, she stared at Zhang Haiyao.


Note: This novel has been rescheduled to Wednesday.

Previous Next