Ma Dazhu was a rough man, not good at speaking, his family was poor, and he had many brothers.
His family had no money to marry him off.
Look, he is already thirty years old and still a bachelor.
He likes Zheng Chunmei very much.
Even though she was a widow, he was willing to support her and her children.
But the child's father had just died, and he was quite reluctant to become his stepfather.
Now when I heard Zheng Chunmei's words, my heart was filled with joy.
Once you acknowledge him as your godfather, how far is it from him becoming your real father?
He smiled foolishly.
Zheng Chunmei didn't know why he was so silly, "I'm going back first."
"I'll take you there."
"Are you stupid? If other people saw this, would I be dead?"
Ma Dazhu also scratched his head and said, "Then go slowly."
After separating from Ma Dazhu, Zheng Chunmei couldn't wait to take out the wild vegetable pancakes and start eating them.
It's so hard that it hurts my teeth.
Bitter, astringent, sour with a hint of saltiness and the smell of Ma Dazhu's sweat.
She almost vomited.
"It can't compare to the corn rice and egg pancakes at Zhao Laosan's house." Zheng Chunmei sighed inwardly, suppressing her nausea and eating half a pancake.
When I got home in the dark, the children were all asleep.
Just as I was about to go to bed, I heard the old woman's voice, "Why are you back so late?"
"Mom, aren't you asking this even though you already know the answer?"
"Have you eaten the food from Zhao Laosan's family?"
"That Zhao Laosan is very stingy. He hides at home late at night and eats corn rice and egg pancakes with his daughter-in-law, and won't give me a single bite."
Zheng Chunmei gets angry when talking about this matter.
"Corn rice, egg pancake?" Grandma Li was stunned. "You didn't even get a bite?"
"No."
"You're useless," Granny Li scolded. "I'm telling you, there's no food left at home. Erdan and I can't lose our share. You, Huniu, and Sanya have to find yourselves some food."
Zheng Chunmei was angry and said, "Mom, I'm still in confinement after giving birth."
"Who hasn't experienced confinement after childbirth? I used to go to the fields and plant rice even though I was confined. You're the only one being so pretentious. If you weren't so lazy and greedy, would my son be exhausted to death?"
Mother-in-law Li began to sob.
Zheng Chunmei's head was about to explode, and she was secretly worried. "I'll go tomorrow. Don't wake the child!"
"If it really doesn't work, you can take some time to go back to your parents' home to borrow some food. After a while, when we have more money, we can return it to your parents' home."
Zheng Chunmei said angrily, "My family is already poor, how can they lend us food? A few days ago, my cousin from my family said she wanted to come and live with me."
When Granny Li heard this, she immediately became anxious and said, "No way!"
Soon, she started to chatter non-stop. Zheng Chunmei simply turned her back to her and cried secretly. She didn't know how long this kind of life would last. She felt that she could not hold on any longer.
...
The next day, Zhao Zheng was woken up by the cold.
Listening to the whistling sound of the wind, Zhao Zheng made up his mind, "We must get a kang. I don't want to sleep on this broken bed for a whole day!"
The utilization rate of the floor stove is too low, and the house is drafty on all sides, so the heat is not concentrated, and my feet are cold after waking up from a night's sleep.
Repairing the house is not possible for the time being.
Being too high-profile can easily attract attention.
"Father-in-law, the meal is ready." Yang Zhaodi said.
Zhang Xiao'e peeled the eggs and handed them to Zhao Zheng. She buried the eggshells in the soil to prevent them from being discovered and to increase soil fertility.
Zhao Zheng swallowed the egg in one gulp, and then ate a bowl of rice. Then he said contentedly, "The weather is getting colder. I need to build a kang. I won't go out to chop firewood today."
Yang Zhaodi asked, "Father-in-law, what is a fire bed (Kang)?"
"The bed connected to the stove is hollow in the middle, so you can boil water and cook while warming the bed. With this thing, you won't be afraid of the cold even if it snows," said Zhao Zheng.
Zhang Xiao'e had never left the village. The farthest place she had been to was the village market. She knew about stoves, which were only affordable for rich families. But what was the bed connected to the stove?
She frowned, "Wouldn't that roast yourself?"
Zhao Zheng laughed and said, "No, you two go to the back mountain and dig some yellow mud, and I'll go pick up some stones. You'll know when I'm done."
As a modern young man who has been influenced by the explosion of the Internet, even if he hasn't eaten pork, has he never seen a pig run?
He first dug a hole in the earth wall to serve as the opening for the flue.
Yang Zhaodi and her sister-in-law are not rich ladies, and they work very efficiently.
After going out, Zhao Zheng carried the basket and walked out, but he still limped.
Before dawn, some villagers made an appointment to go to the barren mountains to chop firewood, and when they saw Zhao Zheng, they greeted him.
Zhao Zheng also responded with a smile.
But Zhao Zheng could still hear them talking about him.
"Why has Zhao Laosan suddenly become so diligent?"
"If you don't work hard, you'll freeze to death this winter!"
"Before, when his son was around, he had people to take care of him. Now that his son is gone, his brothers despise him, and no one stands up for him when he's bullied. If he continues to be the same as before, he won't even be able to keep his daughter-in-law!"
Zhao Zheng sneered and didn't take it seriously.
Instead, he went to the back mountain to pick up some stones.
After two trips back and forth, he was exhausted and out of breath.
"My previous life was too useless. I drank and gambled, and never did any serious work. I'm already exhausted after just two trips."
"However, I've been hungry for too long and am seriously lacking in nutrition. I need to take it slow, replenish my nutrition first, and then slowly exercise."
Zhao Zheng's idea was simple: work hard to make money, stock up on supplies for the winter, and live a good life.
At this moment, Liu Tieniu came over and asked, "Uncle Zhao, what are you busy with?"
"Playing."
Liu Tieniu's mouth twitched. Why does Zhao Laosan always contradict others when he speaks?
"Uncle Zhao, do you need help?"
If someone shows you kindness without any reason, he is either a traitor or a thief.
Zhao Zheng rolled his eyes and said, "Okay, young people should respect the elderly."
Liu Tieniu just said it casually, but he didn't expect Zhao Zheng to actually agree. He felt unhappy for a while, but when he thought about his own plan, he just needed an excuse to get closer to Zhao Zheng.
He didn't waste any time and just picked up the shoulder pole and carried the basket.
After pressing the shoulder pole with a weight of over 100 pounds, Liu Tieniu bared his teeth and asked, "Uncle Zhao, what are you doing with all these stones?"
"Can't you lift it?"
"Who said that? It's such a small weight, it's like a piece of cake." He couldn't complain about the weight, he had to act bravely.
Zhao Zheng smiled and praised him: "Young people are so fierce."
Hearing this, Liu Tieniu became even more excited and walked briskly.
Zhao Zheng limped after him, "Slow down...wait for me."
After a while, Liu Tieniu put down the shoulder pole, panting heavily, and said, "Uncle, we're here."
Just at this time, Yang Zhaodi and Zhang Xiaoe came over carrying loess.
Seeing the two women, his eyes lit up, "Sister-in-law Zhaodi, Sister-in-law Xiaoe!"
The two of them just nodded and ignored him. When they were in the village, they often heard Liu Laosi and his wife talking about the Zhao family behind their backs.
They felt very disgusted.
Liu Tieniu was about to go forward to help when Zhao Zheng said, "Tieniu, come with me to the back mountain to pick up a few more baskets of stones!"