In the past, when we had no money, we had to break one penny into two.
I now have a balance of over 6,000 Wen, which I can use as I please.
First, he fixed the dry toilet to solve the butt problem, and then solved the washing problem. He was tired of brushing his teeth with willow sticks dipped in carbon powder.
In the small mountain village, 90% of the people do not brush their teeth, especially the men. When they grin, their teeth are covered with yellow spots.
It was also thanks to the fact that his ancestors were wealthy, otherwise, he would definitely have a mouth full of rotten teeth.
After marking the location, Zhao Zheng was not idle either. He dug up a lot of loess and prepared to mix it with mud to form the soil.
After Zheng Chunmei finished chopping the firewood, her hands and feet felt weak from exhaustion. "Zhao Di, I've chopped all the firewood!"
To be honest, she really envied the Zhao family for having so much firewood that they could burn the kang at will.
"This is for you." Zhang Xiao'e handed over a small bowl of black rice crust and brought a bowl of steaming hot 'chicken soup' with a shiny surface.
Zheng Chunmei was shocked and immediately became more energetic. "Thank you, Xiao'e."
She happily took the rice with rice crust and chicken soup, walked to the side, and took a mouthful of the rice with rice crust first.
Then she held the chicken soup in both hands with an extremely pious expression, looking at the oily grease on the soup, which was the last meat she had tasted for months.
It was the oil her body desperately craved.
Slurp!
She took a cautious sip.
His eyes narrowed immediately.
"It's so delicious!"
Although the soup tastes a little bland, it still has the flavor of salt, meat, and oil.
But in this year, how many families can afford to eat meat and drink meat soup?
"The third girl is in for a treat today. With this bowl of soup from me, she will definitely be full!" Zheng Chunmei was very happy and secretly thanked herself for admitting her mistake. Otherwise, how could she have the chance to enjoy such delicious broth?
"Tsk, a bowl of soup is 90% water. Look how happy she is." Zhang Xiao'e curled her lips.
Yang Zhaodi nodded her head and said, "You, don't you think about it? If it weren't for my father-in-law, would we be able to eat meat and drink soup?"
"I just don't like her. Even if she admits her mistake, I still don't like her." Zhang Xiao'e said with a pout.
"Even if you don't like it, you should learn from what your father-in-law does. He is very smart," said Yang Zhaodi.
After Zheng Chunmei finished her rice and chicken soup, she finally felt full again. She felt alive again and full of energy. She immediately rushed to Zhao Zheng and said, "Uncle, let me help you build the adobe bricks!"
Even she didn't notice that her tone was full of flattery.
They worked until almost noon. Zheng Chunmei felt her clothes were wet and blushed as she said, "Uncle, I'll go back and feed the third girl first. I'll come over to help you after I'm done."
She didn't expect chicken soup to be so nutritious. Her clothes were wet in a short while.
Zhao Zheng didn't keep her. He wiped the sweat off his face and prepared to eat.
...
On the other side, Zhao Erbao ran home in a panic, "Grandma, the doctor in the village said that my father is useless. Even if we go to the county to find a famous doctor, it will be useless. My father will have to spend the rest of his life lying in bed."
"What did you say?" The old lady stood up suddenly, feeling dizzy. If Zhao Erbao hadn't supported her, she would have fallen to the ground.
After a while, she recovered and cried, "My poor son, why are you so pitiful..."
She was extremely upset. She had always regarded her eldest son as her pride and placed all her hopes for her retirement on him.
Now he can't move, let alone provide for himself in his old age, he can't even support himself.
As for Zhao Yi, his hand is now broken and life at home is not easy. His wife is not easy to get along with and is a complete shrew.
"How is your stepmother?" asked the old lady.
"She, she said if it can't be cured, then don't treat it and save some money!" Zhao Erbao said with a wry smile.
"This stupid woman." The old lady was furious. "By the way, who holds your father's money?"
"It's in my eldest brother's hands."
"That's good." The old lady breathed a sigh of relief and said immediately, "Since it can't be cured, then send your father back."
"But grandma, all the money was spent on my father's treatment this time. I came back this time to ask for money. If you don't give me money, they won't let me go!" Zhao Erbao said with a bitter face.
"Didn't your father have more than ten taels of silver on him? How come it's gone?" The old lady knew how much money her eldest son had.
"Grandma, you know how much money my father spent on marrying my stepmother. Besides, my father likes drinking and gambling, so how much money can he save? The money my brother has is not enough."
Zhao Erbao said with red eyes: "I have no choice but to come back to ask for money, grandma, you can't just stand by and watch me die!"
"Go, go, go, that's my son, how can I not save him?"
The old lady still had a few taels of silver in her hand for emergencies, but she definitely couldn't give this money away. Once she gave it away, she would have no more income.
She thought for a moment and said, "Go call your fourth aunt and come with me to the third brother's house to ask for money. His brother is injured, so he must pay!"
"good!"
Zhao Erbao nodded and quickly went to invite Fourth Aunt.
Soon, Zhao Yi's wife, Qian Xiulan, came over with their son Sanbao, "Mom, let's go to the third brother's house."
The group arrived at Zhao Zheng's house in a rage.
Zhao Zheng had just finished his meal and was lying on the bed digesting it when he heard a voice from the yard, "Third brother, come out quickly!"
Zhao Zheng stood up and took a look, frowning, "Why are you here?"
Yang Zhaodi and Zhang Xiaoe also couldn't help but get nervous and hurriedly greeted, "Grandma, Fourth Aunt!"
But the two of them just glanced at them and ignored them.
"Why, I can't come?" said the old lady.
"Yes, of course. It would be even better if you could stay here with me." Zhao Zheng laughed, but he had no intention of letting them in and closed the door.
"Then what do you mean by closing the door?" The old lady's face turned ugly.
"Oh, there's a fire at home, and the heat will escape if you open the door." Zhao Zheng laughed and then asked, "Mom, what's the matter with you and your sister-in-law?"
"Your two brothers are injured like this, and you don't even pay a penny?" The old lady angrily asked, "Do you think you are decent?"
Qian Xiulan also said, "Third brother, Liu Tieniu was kicked and crippled by Wang Dazhi, and you were willing to pay for it. Your own brother was injured like this, and you just ignored him. You are too cruel."
Zhao Erbao also said: "Uncle San, do you know what outsiders call you? They all call you Zhao Laokou."
Zhao Zheng said calmly, "What others say to me is none of my business. I'm not losing a piece of meat. You all know the situation of my family. We have no pension money and no pension food. If Zhaodi hadn't gone to her parents' home to borrow food, the three of us, father-in-law and daughter-in-law, would have starved to death long ago."
"The fifteen cents I gave to the Liu family is my last bit of money. Even if you sell me out, it's useless. You say I'm cruel, but why don't you think about who cheated me out of my money?"
"Mom, it's not that I don't want to give you money, nor that I don't care about our brotherhood, but I can't just steal or rob you, right?"