jdhmnovel Chapter 19 Sharing Joy
Chapter 19 Sharing Joy
"Zhaoyuan, we have guests at home."
I met Zhao San at the village entrance.
"Yes, that's me, Brother Zhou."
Zhao Yuan continued walking forward, carrying his belongings.
"I bought such a big piece of meat today, shall I invite Li Dawen to your house for drinks?"
Zhao San said.
"Maybe next time. My brother Zhou and I have something important to discuss today, so it's not convenient."
Zhao Yuan continued walking forward, carrying his belongings.
We arrived at our doorstep.
"Fangfang, I'm back. This guy is from Kyoto. He's a sent-down youth in Chijiaopen Village. I ran into him on the road and invited him to our house for dinner before he went back."
As Zhao Yuan spoke, he put the things into the main room.
“Brother Zhou, this is my child’s mother, Lin Fangfang, and this is my youngest daughter, Zhao Nana.”
Zhao Yuan put down his things, took the meat into the kitchen, and went to check on his little daughter in the cradle, giving her a quick kiss on the cheek.
"Hello, sister-in-law, my name is Zhou Jiefang. I'm here to trouble you and Brother Zhao."
Zhou Jiefang said.
"No trouble at all, please make yourself at home. There's nothing special to offer you."
Lin Fangfang stood up and walked to the main room. She took a cup from the table inside, poured a glass of water, and handed it to Zhou Jiefang.
"Thank you, sister-in-law."
Zhou Jiefang took the cup and drank it all in one gulp. He was indeed thirsty. He ate a few candies, and his energy returned. After drinking the water, Zhou Jiefang felt completely alive again, and he seemed to have stopped coughing.
Zhao Yuan opened the back door of the main room, went into the back garden, and picked a cabbage, a few carrots, garlic sprouts, and scallions.
Back home, Zhaoyuan started washing, chopping, and cooking vegetables.
Zhou Jiefang wasn't idle either; he sat in front of the stove and helped Zhaoyuan tend the fire.
Just then, Zhao Zhaodi and Zhao Laidi returned.
"Mom, we're back."
"Hey."
Lin Fangfang looked up and responded, then continued tidying up the main room, where they would be eating later. Normally, when there were no guests, they ate at the rickety square table outside the kitchen, but now that there were guests, they would eat at the large square table in the main room.
The two sisters put down their schoolbags and looked at Zhao Nana sleeping in the cradle. Zhao Zhaodi then went to the kitchen.
"Dad, you're back."
Zhao Zhaodi walked to the kitchen door and saw Zhao Yuan chopping vegetables.
"Yes, this is Uncle Zhou. You and Zhao Laidi, come and greet Uncle Zhou. This is my eldest daughter and second daughter."
Zhao Yuan said while chopping vegetables.
"Hello, Uncle Zhou."
Zhao Zhaodi exclaimed.
"Dad, hello Uncle Zhou."
Zhao Laidi heard the sound and came over.
"Hey, hey."
Zhou Jiefang responded.
"Zhaodi, take your sister and hurry up and do your homework. Uncle Zhou and I will cook."
Zhao Yuan said.
"Okay, let's go do our homework."
As they were talking, Zhao Zhaodi and Zhao Laidi moved a table to the courtyard to do their homework.
"Zhou Jiefang, are you married?"
Zhao Yuan asked.
"Not yet. I can barely support myself, how am I supposed to find a wife?"
Zhou Jiefang said as he tended the fire.
"Your village has been doing alright these past few years, hasn't it? Why are you having such a hard time?"
Zhao Yuan said.
“Others don’t have such difficulties, but it’s my body that’s the problem. When I first came here, I didn’t know how to do farm work at all. In the first few years, I earned few work points, so I received less grain, which was not enough to eat. Later, I was often hungry, and my body couldn’t work anymore, which is why I am like this now.”
Zhou Jiefang said.
"How many siblings do you have? Can't you help each other out?"
Zhao Yuan said.
“I also have an older brother who is a sent-down youth in a place hundreds of miles away from here. Our parents were also sent down to the countryside. We haven’t been in contact for the past few years and have no idea how they are doing.”
As he spoke, Zhou Jiefang's voice choked with emotion.
It's not surprising; communication wasn't advanced back then, and people mainly relied on letters. Every penny spent on a stamp was a huge expense. Quite a few educated youth hadn't been home for years.
"Brother Zhou, are you free tomorrow?"
Zhao Yuan said.
"I'm free tomorrow."
Zhou Jiefang said.
"Come to my house tomorrow morning and help me deliver goods to the xxx factory. I can't do it alone."
Zhao Yuan said.
"Okay. I'll come over tomorrow morning. Thank you, Brother Zhao."
As Zhou Jiefang spoke, he stirred the firewood in the hearth.
Zhao Yuan quickly cooked the dishes: one stir-fried carrot with meat, and another hand-torn cabbage, filling two large bowls. He also left two small bowls without chili peppers.
Serve the dishes on the table and prepare bowls and chopsticks.
"Zhaodi and Laidi, have you finished your homework? It's time to eat. Uncle Zhou has to go home after dinner."
As Zhao Yuan carried the rice cooker out of the kitchen, he spoke.
Zhou Jiefang followed behind, carrying a bowl and chopsticks.
"Okay, we'll be done soon."
Zhao Zhaodi answered.
After the food was served, everyone sat down at the table to eat.
"Brother Zhou, it's not convenient for you to drink alcohol right now, so let's just have a simple meal today. Please don't take offense."
Zhao Yuan said.
"Brother Zhao, thank you so much. Don't laugh at me, but you can see my condition. I haven't eaten meat in a long time. You don't mind and even invited me to your house for dinner. I can't possibly be offended."
Zhou Jiefang looked at the meat in front of him with great anticipation.
"Then don't be shy."
Zhao Yuan said.
As they talked, everyone got busy eating, and soon the rice and dishes were all gone.
After finishing the meal, Zhou Jiefang helped clean up the dishes and then said goodbye to Zhaoyuan.
"Brother Zhao, sister-in-law, thank you so much for troubling me today. I'll come over tomorrow morning. I'll head back now. Thank you, Brother Zhao, thank you, sister-in-law."
With that, Zhou Jiefang waved goodbye to Zhao Yuan and walked out of the village.
After seeing Zhou Jiefang off, Zhaoyuan returned home and saw Zhaodi and Laidi preparing pig feed as soon as he entered the door.
"Zhaodi, Laidi, bring your homework over first, I'll check it."
"Okay, I'll bring it over."
Zhao Lai Di wiped her hands on her clothes, then went to the table by the courtyard to get the homework and handed it to Zhao Yuan. Then she joined in preparing pig feed.
Zhao Yuan looked at Zhao Zhaodi's homework. Apart from one spelling mistake, there were no problems with her Chinese, and her handwriting was neater than before. Her math was also all correct. After putting down Zhaodi's homework, Zhao Yuan picked up Zhaodi's homework. Zhaodi's homework was a bit more careless. There were two mistakes in her Chinese, which Zhaodi had already pointed out and corrected. Her math was all correct.
Zhao Yuan put down the two sisters' homework.
"Zhaodi and Laidi, after you finish feeding the pigs, copy the wrong words 10 times. I bought you some delicious food and fun toys."
Zhao Yuan walked into the room as he spoke.
"Fangfang, come in, I have something for you."
Zhao Yuan said.
"what's up."
Lin Fangfang entered the room upon hearing Zhao Yuan's call.
"Here, this is 135 yuan, please keep it safe. I've earned a total of 200 yuan in the past two days. I spent 15 yuan on shopping today, and I've kept 50 yuan. I'm going to Huacheng the day after tomorrow."
As he spoke, Zhao Yuan handed the money to Lin Fangfang.
"How did you make so much money all of a sudden? Where did it come from?"
Lin Fangfang dared not accept the money.
"Don't worry, I earned it with my intelligence, it's legal income. I'll have a job soon, and if I do well, we'll be rich right away."
Zhao Yuan pulled Lin Fangfang's hand and stuffed the money into it, a sudden flutter in his heart. Zhao Yuan's eyes met Lin Fangfang's eyes, and the woman before him was so attractive that he found himself reacting.
“It’s really legitimate income, I wouldn’t dare do anything illegal or criminal outside. I support you in everything else, as long as you’re happy.”
Lin Fangfang took the money, put 35 yuan into a box under the bed, and then stuffed 10 ten-yuan bills into Zhaoyuan's hand.
"Here you go. Take plenty of money with you on your long journey. Money makes things easier when you're out and about. Remember to wear these blue shorts the day after tomorrow. I sewed a pocket into the front of the shorts for you. Put the money in your underwear pocket so no one will be able to reach it."
As she spoke, Lin Fangfang took out a pair of blue underwear from the cabinet. There was a large, sturdy, and deep bag in the front.
Zhao Yuan thought that it was indeed safe to put money in these pants, but the key question was whether having so many ten-yuan notes in front of him would affect his walking.
He put the money in his bag and checked; too much definitely made it harder to walk.
“100 yuan is enough for me. I’m going with Director Zheng this time. The factory will cover the travel and meal expenses, so I don’t need to spend any money myself.”
As he spoke, Zhao Yuan handed five more large unison bills to Lin Fangfang.
Lin Fangfang took the money, put it in a box, and tucked it under the bed.
"Fangfang, these are the paper-wrapped candies I bought today. I ran into Zhou Jiefang today and saw that he looked like he was about to die, so I grabbed a handful and gave them to him. The rest are all here for you and the children."
As he spoke, Zhao Yuan handed Lin Fangfang another bag of candy.
Lin Fangfang took the sugar and put it into a large porcelain jar by the bedside. This was a jar specifically for storing food in the countryside, usually with some lime placed at the bottom to prevent moisture and spoilage.
Lin Fangfang looked at Zhaoyuan with eyes full of admiration.
She felt that the Zhaoyuan she loved had returned; no, she loved this man even more than before. She was determined to have a child with him.
Seeing the adoring look in Lin Fangfang's eyes, Zhao Yuan felt a pang of panic and quickly left the room.