Wang Lianhua and Xifeng arrived a bit late, after Shen ng and Xie Jinghao had already finished eating with the kids. They had hesitated to leave ho, feeling sowhat embarrassed.
If they were coming to help with the chores, they would have surely left early. But going to soone’s house for a al, for so reason, they just couldn’t pick up their feet to head over. They initially didn’t want to bring the kids with them, especially since Shen ng had ntioned ahead of ti about making pork trotter soup in the evening. Going by themselves was fine, but bringing the kids along just wasn’t appropriate.
Last night, Yaoyao and Gao Gao clung to their mother and wouldn’t let go, asking to be held, while Daqing and Erqing ran out after dinner to play with Mingyang’s kids. Today was the first day of the new term. Daqing was the only one who had entered the third grade, which made him look more important among all the children. Even Mingyang was more polite to him, as his mother had said that schooling costs a lot of money.
They gathered together, taking branches to write and draw on the ground in the yard, with Ming Liang even putting on the airs of a little teacher, and Shen ng following along in the learning.
The original host had attended literacy classes and recognized a few characters but not many. Shen ng thought of having Mingyang and the others teach her what they learned every evening. Over ti, she could go to the county to buy a couple of books to keep up appearances, so when it was ti to show her abilities, no one would be suspicious.
"They’re all playing!" Xifeng said joyfully while holding Gao Gao, giving Wang Lianhua a tug on the way.
The latter held Yaoyao without speaking, her expression sowhat unnatural.
Shen ng quickly stood up and moved chairs for the two of them, "Sit down, we’ve been waiting for you for a long ti, how co you only arrived now?"
"Kids being troubleso, hehe," Wang Lianhua said sheepishly, with Xifeng next to her wanting to laugh but receiving a glare instead.
Seeing the way both of them were acting, Shen ng guessed they probably felt embarrassed at the last mont. She chuckled lightly and went to the kitchen to bring out the pork trotter soup that had been kept warm.
"Co drink, I’ve been keeping it warm for you, added so soybeans and kelp in there. It’s really good for won. I’ve also made a sauce for it, but it’s a bit spicy. Can you handle the heat?"
"We can, we can. I love spicy food. Oh my, you can’t sll it from outside, but it slls amazing up close."
Shen ng served a bowl for each of them, and Gao Gao and Yaoyao got so too. She also gave each of them a small piece of vegetable pancake.
"This pig trotter has plenty of at, let the kids gnaw on it. The vegetable pancake is made with cabbage and vermicelli, elder sister-in-law and Xifeng, you should have one too." Before, she had asked Daqing; they had stuffed themselves with cornbread pancakes and thin soup for dinner.
"We’ve already eaten. Didn’t you just say to co over for a couple of sips of soup? If you hadn’t ntioned it during the day, we wouldn’t have co over tonight."
"Exactly, and look at your pork trotter soup – there’s kelp and soybeans, and all this at, how co there’s so much? Xiao ng, this isn’t right. If you keep this up, next ti, we really won’t co."
Shen ng giggled twice and said, "Yes, yes, yes, it’s just that I have sothing I wanted to ask elder sister-in-law and Xifeng for help with, hehehe. I’ve cleared up the private plot. Right now happens to be the pri ti for planting. I’ve gotten so vegetable seedlings and fruit trees, thinking of planting them now. I can take my ti with these things, but I was thinking about building a fence around the private plot and would like to ask Yong Jun to lend a hand."
Xifeng took a sip of the at soup, her expression one of contentnt, as if there was a little person dancing in her heart. Hearing Shen ng’s words, she imdiately put down her bowl.
"Hey, never mind the fence. My elder sister-in-law and I will help you plant vegetables after we get off work tomorrow. You should take it easy with your build; let’s do it together later."
Shen ng nodded imdiately, agreeing very promptly.
Xie Jinghao couldn’t help but smile as she watched from the side. It seed that her elder sister-in-law had been planning this all along. Just now, when Daqing ntioned what they had for dinner at ho, the expression on her sister-in-law’s face wasn’t quite right. It was clear she felt bad for the other two sister-in-laws and was afraid they wouldn’t accept the benefits, so she ca up with this idea. Now she really saw what her elder sister-in-law was like.
The next day.
After the family had breakfast, Shen ng sent Lu Mingkai to Xie Jinghao’s place, asking her to help look after the child because she needed to make a trip to the county. She had planned to buy a bicycle before, and it was ti to put it on the schedule, so as not to be inconvenienced by everything.
She rode in Uncle Guai’s bullock cart all the way to the county. Finding a secluded spot, she took a Flying Pigeon brand bicycle out of her space and rode it to the brick and tile factory on the edge of the county.
The brick and tile factory was bustling with activity. Even though it was already autumn, the laboring n were still topless, huffing and puffing as they moved bricks and pulled clay. When Shen ng arrived on her bicycle, several unruly n whistled at her.
"Did you see that? There’s a woman over there, and she’s quite fetching."
"Keep it down, didn’t you see what she’s wearing? That red checkered fabric isn’t cheap. My wife’s been wanting it for a long ti, and I haven’t even bought it for her. Don’t ss with her; she could be a relative of so leader. If you provoke her and end up getting punished, that’s on you."
"What’s the big deal if I just said a few words? It’s not like it’ll make her lose a pound of flesh. Besides, what’s a woman doing not staying at ho and coming to a place like this where there’s so many n? She probably ain’t a good woman."
Kong Wenxiang was passing by several cart-pulling workers with a ledger for accounting, and upon hearing their gossip, he put his hands behind his back.
"Do you still want to work here? Badmouthing a female comrade like that. What kind of place do you think this is? This is a brick and tile factory, a proper place. What else could she be here for if not for the bricks and tiles in your hands? Surely not to sll your sweaty odors."
Those who had been discussing were caught red-handed by the factory director, and they quickly shut their mouths.
Kong Wenxiang stared at the man who said "she isn’t a good woman" for a good while before he turned and walked away.
The profitability of the brick and tile factory was incredibly high. Typically, only those with connections could get bricks and tiles, and even then, they were scheduled for after the New Year. He worried about this every day, and so workers weren’t helping, just slacking off. They received high wages every month and even got a al provided by the factory. He was truly infuriated by this and powerless to fire them—if he could, he would have chased them away long ago.
After dealing with the workers, it was ti to check on the female comrade who had caused such a stir at the brick and tile factory.
When he arrived, he saw the gatekeeper talking to a female comrade. From a distance, he could tell she was quite attractive. For a woman to co to such a place from so far away, it must be that the n in her family couldn’t support it, otherwise, they wouldn’t let their daughter-in-law work so hard.
"What’s going on?"
"Good morning, Factory Director. This comrade was inquiring about the price of black bricks and tiles, so I gave her a quote. She ca from the Lu Family Village production team, which is quite a distance away. After making such a long trip, we can’t just send her away!"
The gatekeeper spoke cautiously, worried that his actions might displease the factory director.
Shen ng looked at Kong Wenxiang, her eyes flickered slightly, and then she flashed him a smile.
Reviews
All reviews (0)