HBWnovel Chapter 26 Friends from the Past 3
Chapter 26 Friends from the Past 3
Zhou Donggua and his group usually choose to take the mountain path during the day, as it is less dangerous and closer.
As the two of them rested silently by a tree and ate their dry rations, Chen Fubao, the sister's neighbor, passed by in the bushes on the other side of the tree, muttering to himself. They only heard something about ginseng, and Chen Fubao didn't even notice them.
After the person walked away, Zhou Donggua became a little curious. He went in the direction she came from and soon found a patch of soil that had been disturbed, with small wild ginseng and ginseng seedlings next to it.
It seems that Chen Fubao only dug up the large ginseng. After discussing it, Zhou Donggua and Zhou Dongxue carefully dug up five small ginseng, planning to give one to each of their parents, siblings and children.
After hearing this, Zhou Dongping felt that it was quite a coincidence that there was still something to be gained behind Fu Bao. The Zhou family was quite lucky.
When the elderly in Gaoshan Village mention the Zhou family's house, they always say it's not a proper place.
It was only because Zhou's parents had divided the family property long ago, and after arranging the weddings of their children, they sent everyone away and built small mud-brick houses for them.
The elderly couple were in excellent health and worked hard to earn full work points, feeling that it was not yet time for them to be waited on.
Now I only receive a small amount of money as a gift each month, occasionally help take care of the kids, and don't interfere with their family's life.
As for those who say they won't enjoy the blessings of their children, Mr. and Mrs. Zhou should just pretend they didn't hear them. Don't those people know in their hearts whether living together is a blessing or not? Isn't it tiring enough to take care of such a large family?
However, because of this, the original owner left behind his married children and returned to live in the village by himself, so no one was too surprised.
The younger sister, Zhou Dongxue, didn't marry out of the village. Her husband was from another village and married into the family. His family favored the other children and didn't have the money to help him get married, so he married himself off to a mountain village. Their relationship was quite good after marriage.
No one in the family had any objections to the younger sister's marriage.
Furthermore, after the original owner went to work in the city, the Zhou siblings would take the opportunity to visit her and exchange the eggs and dried goods they had saved for other things in the county. Their lives were much more comfortable than other families, and there were fewer conflicts.
*
She casually picked out a small ginseng root from there, feeling quite touched, and then instructed her younger sister on how to store it at home.
After glancing in the direction of Chen Fubao's house, Zhou Dongping thought for a moment and then spoke.
"Donggua, Dongmei, since you both benefited from Fubao's affair, don't reveal it to anyone."
"Sis, you still don't trust me? I wish I didn't have a mouth!"
Ok……
"From now on, you're not allowed to follow or stare at anyone, understand?"
……
Zhou Dongping was also worried that if they followed too closely, they might get hurt by the female lead's halo one day, which would be a huge loss.
Zhou Dongxue and Zhou Donggua, both with families of their own, just kept nodding at their older sister.
After saying that, he quickly fetched water, chopped firewood, and tidied up Zhou Dongping's private plot. By the time he was ready to return to the village, it was almost dark, and the villagers under the big tree at the village entrance had already gone home.
Zhou Dongping took out several bars of unscented soap from her spatial storage, unwrapped them, put them in oil paper, pretended that she had bought them at the pigeon market, and put them into a basket along with five smoked fish and a dozen tomatoes, asking them to carry them home and share them.
Watching the two figures disappear into the distance, carrying the original owner's flashlight, Zhou Dongping felt hungry again. She closed the door and devoured two large pig trotters before finally stopping.
*
In the days that followed, while Bai Zhenzhen and Chen He were not in the village, Zhou Dongping took leave and went fishing several times, using her fishing rod that never missed a catch.
Actually, the original owner was quite good at fishing; no one was surprised when she took out a few small fish.
It wasn't until the end of May that the son-in-law, Bai Lu, brought the two little ones to Dazao Village by bicycle.
He also brought a change of clothes, a few comic books, a basket of food rations, money for filial piety, a bowl of braised pork from a state-run restaurant, and two bottles of clam oil.
The original owner only had two children and didn't plan to remarry, so she treated Chen Jing and Chen He equally. After they grew up, they were also filial, giving their mother seven yuan a month without fail, with other things paid separately.
Zhou Dongping invited Bai Lu to take the children inside to rest, while she pretended to go to the kitchen to start a fire and cook, but in reality, she just messed around with things.
They boiled a few eggs, heated up some brown sugar steamed buns and porridge, made a cold tofu salad, smashed some cucumber, and then put out the bowl of braised pork they had brought from the county.
This actually moved Bai Lu, who thought to himself that his mother-in-law was really good to him, even better than his own mother.
"Mom, you're so kind. Jingjing will definitely envy me."
Zhou Dongping thought to herself, "I don't believe you for a second," but she still kept being polite.
"Look at you, eat more. You're a big boy, you must eat your fill."
Bai Lu wasn't exaggerating. His family had a cook and plenty of oil and fat, but with several older brothers and sons, there was always a fight over food.
He and Jingjing usually eat at work, and then he secretly cooks special meals for Zhenzhen when they get home at night.
My mother-in-law cooks such generous portions, yet she's worried she won't have enough to eat. I'm so touched.
Zhou Dongping had no idea that her son-in-law had a rich inner world. She leisurely ate her porridge and chatted with Bai Zhenzhen and Chen He.
After washing their hands in line, Bai Zhenzhen and Chen He slowly climbed onto the chairs, each holding their assigned eggs. They chatted away with Zhou Dongping as they peeled the eggs, one adding to the other's comments.
Only Bai Lu was eating heartily, which became the background music and mukbang for the others.
After everyone finished eating, he took the initiative to wipe the table and wash the dishes.
Without anyone telling him, he would finish all that, then tidy up the yard and pull out the weeds from the vegetable garden before he was satisfied.
Tie Zhou Dongping's basket next to the bicycle securely.
"Mom, I'm going back now."
"Okay, be careful on the road. You two can split the stuff equally."
After saying that, Zhou Dongping went into the kitchen, took out the unfinished eggs and stuffed them all into his pocket, telling him to remember to eat when he was hungry.
Bai Lu was secretly pleased, thinking that Jingjing's family was just as good as Jingjing herself.
Completely forgetting to say goodbye to Bai Zhenzhen and the others, he simply rode off on his bike.
*
Time quickly moved into mid-June.
Bai Zhenzhen and Chen He are both outgoing and have already become close friends with the children of Zhou Dongping's family.
When Zhou Dongping was at work, the two of them would either wait under the shade of a tree or go with Xiaozhu and the others to gather pig feed, and they ended up looking like two little dark-skinned kids.
It's too hot in the afternoon, so she usually doesn't go to work. Anyway, that's what the original owner did. With the "passerby aura" activated, no one will notice.
People only speak of Zhou Dongping with a hint of bitterness, afraid of offending anyone by saying too much, since her daughter, son-in-law, son, and daughter-in-law are all permanent employees.
……
That afternoon, Zhou Dongping was about to ride her bicycle with her two young children to visit relatives in Gaoshan Village. Now that she had made some progress in her cultivation, she was no longer worried about hurting her bottom.
Bai Zhenzhen sat on the bicycle crossbar, which was covered with cotton, while Chen He squatted in the basket, both of them gazing into the wind. A large sack was strapped to the back seat, making the bike look like it was about to be overloaded.
Halfway there, I saw Wang Fangfang, the young wife of Chen Laizi, talking with a child. It was a bit strange, to be honest.
Zhou Dongping sensed a familiar scent. After a quick scan of the other party's information, the system confirmed that the host was not mistaken; it was indeed a human trafficker.