Be busy for a while.
Seeing his account balance surpass 1,000 wen, Zhao Zheng wiped the sweat from his forehead. "I take back what I said. Woodcutting is still very lucrative, just as good as hunting!"
The total balance is 1,160 wen.
Zhao Zheng also indulged himself, spending 5 wen to buy a bottle of energy drink and another 20 wen to buy a bowl of braised chicken with rice.
He didn't care whether it was a pre-prepared meal or not, he just went wild and replenished the nutrients his body needed.
After eating and drinking, Zhao Zheng looked at the time, put away his "tools" and left Jinji Mountain.
When we returned to the village, it was getting dark again.
Before I even entered the door, I heard the sound of conversation coming from inside.
The stove was also burning brightly.
When I pushed the door open, I found that there was another person in the house!
Zheng Chunmei?
Why is she in her own house so late?
"Father-in-law is back!"
Yang Zhaodi, who was standing by the stove, stood up hurriedly and said, "Xiao E, go and pour some water for your father-in-law."
Xiao E reacted and hurried over to pour water.
"Father-in-law, why did you chop so much firewood again?"
Yang Zhaodi said with a little heartache.
Zhao Zheng sighed and said, "My leg is injured. It's only half as strong as usual. I don't know when it will heal."
As he spoke, he deliberately glanced at Zheng Chunmei, "Hey, Chunmei, why are you here too?"
Zheng Chunmei hurriedly stood up and said awkwardly, "Uncle Zhao, I'll give you a foot massage!"
"Your mother-in-law is willing to let you come out at this time of night?"
"Yes, she knows." Zheng Chunmei's face was burning. When she thought of what her mother-in-law said before she left, she felt resentful.
"Father, drink some water!"
Zhao Zheng took a sip of water and looked at the clay pot hanging above him, which exuded the aroma of corn rice.
He couldn't eat anything.
Yang Zhaodi said, "Father-in-law, the corn rice is ready, please enjoy."
"You two ate?"
"No." Yang Zhaodi deliberately said to Zheng Chunmei, "One meal a day is enough for us. You are the head of the family and you have to work, so you must eat twice a day, otherwise your body won't be able to bear it!"
Zheng Chunmei thought to herself, "Corn rice? That's too wasteful. Wouldn't it be better to cook porridge with rice bran paste so it lasts longer?"
If she knew that the two girls ate rice three times a day, she would probably be jealous to death.
"I'm tired and can't eat. You guys eat something." Then he sat down on the edge of the bed.
Zheng Chunmei swallowed her saliva. Her stomach was empty and she was anxious with hunger. "Uncle Zhao, it's getting late. Can I massage your feet first?"
"I didn't wash my feet, they stink."
"I, I will wash your feet!" Zheng Chunmei took the risk. Looking at Zhao Zheng's black feet, she really couldn't bring herself to do it.
"How embarrassing?" Zhao Zheng looked at her in surprise. He thought she was reluctant, but he didn't expect her to be so proactive. This was beyond his expectation.
"It was my Erdan's fault for what happened yesterday. I'm sorry for causing you trouble." Zheng Chunmei said as she asked Xiao'e for hot water.
Xiao E didn't say anything. She poured out the hot water that had been boiled in advance and scooped another bucket of water to test the temperature.
Zheng Chunmei then stepped forward and said, "Uncle Zhao, put your feet down."
Zhao Zheng was not polite and handed over his big feet that had not been washed for two days.
The smell almost made Zheng Chunmei spit out the leftover rice.
It's an eyesore.
Suppressing her reluctance and grievance, Zheng Chunmei began to wash Zhao Zheng's feet.
You know what, Zheng Chunmei is quite careful when washing feet.
Although she is a widow, she is one of the prettiest widows in the small mountain village.
She is quite pretty and gives people a virtuous feeling. Unlike other women, she works hard every day and looks very old.
I heard that her dead husband doted on her a lot and never allowed her to do any dirty or tiring work.
The maintenance is pretty good.
Look, she just gave birth to a baby and there is still a faint smell of milk on her body.
The body is also quite strong.
However, everyone's life is hard these days, and she is no exception, suffering from severe malnutrition.
His face was sallow.
After washing Zhao Zheng's feet carefully and wiping them clean, he started to massage Zhao Zheng.
Zhao Zhengzhi hummed in comfort, "Didn't you say you don't know how to press it?"
Zheng Chunmei said, "When my father-in-law was still alive, he taught my husband the techniques of bone-setting and massage. I watched him a few times and learned it blindly."
She was so angry. There was nothing wrong with Zhao Zheng's left foot. He was just trying to blackmail her family.
If she hadn't been afraid that Zhao Zheng would act like a rogue, she would have wanted to just leave.
"It's working well. Keep it up." Zhao Zheng smiled and said to his two daughters-in-law, "Zhao Di, Xiao E, you two should eat. I'm really not hungry."
"Okay, father-in-law."
Yang Zhaodi nodded and served a bowl to Xiao E. The two girls ate it with pickled vegetables and enjoyed it with relish.
Zheng Chunmei was almost drooling.
Isn't it said that Zhao Laosan either beats or scolds his daughter-in-law?
This is not right either.
She couldn't help but think of her mother-in-law.
All the delicious food and drinks are for myself.
She had just given birth and was so hungry she felt dizzy and couldn't even drink more corn soup to stimulate lactation.
Seeing Yang Zhaodi and Zhang Xiaoe eating so well, she suddenly felt unbalanced.
These two new daughters-in-law don't understand the ways of the world at all.
I don't even know whether to ask myself whether I want to eat.
That's terrible!
Thinking of this, she said, "Uncle Zhao is so good to his daughter-in-law."
"Of course. They are my daughters-in-law, they are my own daughters. If there is anything delicious to eat or drink, I must keep it close to them."
"I haven't eaten cornmeal for a long time. I drink rice bran porridge every day. I have no strength at all and no food. My children are crying with hunger!"
How could Zhao Zheng not understand what she meant?
He sighed, "Just talk to your mother-in-law. You just gave birth and need nutrition, and the child needs food too. You can put yourself in a difficult position, but you can't put the child in a difficult position."
"You're right." Zheng Chunmei was delighted and continued, "My mother-in-law is in poor health, Erdan is still growing, and the half-grown boy is eating me out of money. I still have to breastfeed him, so it's really tight..."
"Your mother-in-law doesn't do much, so it's no big deal if she goes hungry for a couple of days. She can just give you her share."
Zheng Chunmei was stunned. This damn Zhao Laosan, she had made it so obvious, but he was still pretending to be stupid.
If she really dared to snatch the old woman's food rations, she would scold herself for being unfilial in the village the next day.
She can't bear the reputation of being unfilial.
Just as she was pondering whether to shamelessly ask for a bowl of rice, Zhao Zheng fished out two eggs he had just bought from the mall. "Xiao'e, these are the eggs I exchanged with other villagers for firewood today. You two can cook them and eat them. Eating only pickled vegetables is not nutritious."
Zhang Xiao'e was stunned for a moment, then said with a bitter face: "Father-in-law, forget it. My sister-in-law and I both have diarrhea today..."
Zhao Zheng was stunned. "Why did you get an upset stomach?"
Yang Zhaodi quickly covered Zhang Xiaoe's mouth and said, "It's nothing. It's probably because you caught a cold. You should save it for tomorrow."
Zhao Zheng reacted and realized that he also had diarrhea today.
It may be that you have been hungry for too long and ate too much meat at once, which caused diarrhea due to gastrointestinal discomfort.
Zheng Chunmei looked at the egg in Zhao Zheng's hand and drooled wildly.
Isn't this old man Zhao too nice to his daughter-in-law?