Morning daylight.
Sun Shuiqin stood under the shade of a tree, wearing a bright red dress.
She raised her chin slightly, there was a glint in her water eyes, her big eyes flickered, and her hands pinched the corners of her clothes anxiously.
Seeing her like this, Zhao Ergou inexplicably thought of the way his mother talked to him that night. She also had this look in her eyes and this posture, and then she said some nerve-wracking words...
Zhao Ergou took three steps back again.
"Brother Ergou, why did you break up with me?"
Sun Shuiqin spoke quietly, her voice full of sorrow.
Zhao Ergou had goosebumps all over his body.
He found that he could not look directly at Sun Shuiqin. As long as Sun Shuiqin spoke, his mother's image would appear in his mind.
He turned around and said, "I'll go talk to Shagen."
"Brother Ergou!" Sun Shuiqin chased after him, "Didn't you say you treat me as your sister? I have always treated you as my brother. I have something to ask you..."
Zhao Ergou's heart rang with alarm bells, and he glared and said, "You don't want to borrow food from me again, do you?"
Sun Shuiqin's face froze. How long ago had she borrowed food? How could this man still remember it? This was too fussy.
She took a deep breath and said: "Shagen, don't you also want to study, but our family is poor and we can't afford the repair fee. Brother Ergou, can you lend me some money... Your mother got pregnant yesterday. I won’t borrow more than the reward of one hundred taels of silver, one tael of silver is enough..."
Zhao Ergou looked at her in disbelief.
In the past, when Sun Shuiqin asked him to borrow food, he felt sorry for her, feeling sorry that she was hungry because she had nothing to eat.
But now, he only feels that Sun Shuiqin is more hateful than Mrs. Cheng.
Mrs. Cheng is somewhat related to them by blood, so she has a reason for shamelessly grabbing money.
But Sun Shuiqin, why would she want to borrow a tael of silver with just one mouth?
He didn't even touch the one hundred taels of silver yesterday before his mother put it away. Why should he lend it to Zhao Shagen's mother-in-law if he could save a few taels of silver for himself?
"A dozen copper coins are enough to repair the reading bundle. If you can't get a dozen copper coins, don't study anymore."
Zhao Ergou walked away without looking back.
He returned home and told Cheng Wanwan exactly what had happened.
Cheng Wanwan praised him: "It's good of you to do this, but in the future you should try not to talk to the older girl's new wife alone. If someone sees her, gossip will inevitably spread."
Zhao Ergou snorted: "It's because Sanniu ran too fast."
Zhao Sanniu touched his head: "I didn't know she wanted to borrow money. Next time I will block her. Second brother, you run away first."
Cheng Wanwan couldn't help but laugh.
She thought that Sun Shuiqin was definitely not the only one in the village who cared about the money in her hands, and she had to spend it as soon as possible.
Now that she has money, can she consider building a blue-tiled house?
Although the adobe house is warm in winter and cool in summer, it is not as strong and clean as a blue-tile house. As a person in modern society, she prefers to live in a brick house.
She finished what she was doing and went to Li Zheng's house.
After she told her the purpose of her visit, Li Zheng said: "Blue bricks are not cheap these days. A brick cost three cents. In previous years, it could buy a pound of corn."
Cheng Wanwan continued to ask: "If my family builds a house, it should have at least six rooms. How many green bricks will it cost?"
"A brick is so small. A square house has four walls, and one wall needs to be built with two layers. Just a rough calculation, one wall requires more than a thousand green bricks..." Li Zheng had never calculated this before. He could calculate casually and couldn't help but be speechless, "If you build six rooms in your house, there will be so many walls in front and back, which will add up to 20,000 to 30,000 blue bricks. I don't know if it will be enough. Anyway, it will cost almost a year to build so many rooms." For one hundred taels of silver, this house still needs to be built with beams and roof tiles. This thing is even more expensive. I think you need one hundred, thirty or forty taels of silver to build this house..."
Cheng Wanwan silently calculated in her mind that if she built a blue-tiled house, the courtyard walls would probably have to be made of bricks, and the ground should not be too muddy. She would have to use something to pave it, otherwise there would be mud everywhere on rainy days. After all, I'm afraid I have to prepare at least two hundred taels of silver.
Taking a step back, in fact, adobe houses are acceptable. The most important thing is the ground. It is better to spend money where it is needed most, and it will not be too eye-catching.
Cheng Wanwan said: "Then let's build an adobe house, but I want to pave stone bricks on the floor of the house. Uncle Li Zheng will help me ask where I can buy such stone bricks."
"Okay, I'll ask you after the autumn harvest."
Li Zheng took a puff of dry cigarette and looked at the rice fields in the distance with a smile on his lips.
"The rice can be harvested tomorrow."
"Boss and Second Brother, call the whole village for a meeting!"
At dusk, all the villagers in Dahe Village gathered around the big locust tree.
Li Zheng stood on the stone and looked at the villagers below with joy: "After drought and locust plague, we finally have a good harvest. Tomorrow we will officially harvest rice. Everyone must remember one thing, leave enough rice piles. , leave at least eight inches, otherwise the locust plague may happen again next year.”
Zhao Fugui was the first to object: "Uncle Li Zheng, I don't have any objections to burning the fields to kill insect eggs, but there is no need to leave rice piles. Leave eight inches of rice piles. There is no place to put your hands when cutting the rice. Originally I can harvest half an acre of land in one day, so it will probably take me a day and a half to do what I used to be able to do in one day.”
Zhang Laihai agreed: "It's enough to leave only three or four inches. It can still be burned and it won't delay things."
Anyway, Li Zheng felt that what Cheng Wanwan said made sense, and Cheng Wanwan also told the county magistrate about it. The county magistrate had already informed all other villages. In other words, this method was approved by the county magistrate. Adult approval is feasible.
Zhao Fugui and Zhang Laigui are really two troublemakers.
Li Zheng said angrily: "The insect eggs in the ground grow in your own fields. If you can't burn them clean, that's your own business. I can't control it. Leave as many rice piles as you like. I won't force you to do so." What to do! But if there are locusts in your fields next year, don’t expect everyone to help kill them, just call it a night!”
The villagers dispersed.
Zhao Fugui stood there angrily.
His mother-in-law, sons and daughters all went out to live alone. He would be exhausted from harvesting six or seven acres of rice by himself.
He didn't want to bow his head, but he couldn't just watch the rice rotting in the field. He didn't care. He first asked his mother-in-law and son to come back and collect the rice in the field.
He was about to go to Zhao Datou's home when a person walked towards him, it was Widow Zhang.
Since the incident between these two people was exposed, the two of them have never met in the blue sky and daylight, for fear of being drowned in saliva.
Widow Zhang secretly gave Zhao Fugui a look and motioned to go to the woods behind. Zhao Fugui didn't want to go, so Widow Zhang's face darkened and she strode towards him.
He had no choice but to compromise and walk into the woods.
Widow Zhang looked at him, caressed her belly and said, "Maybe I have it..."
