The mother and sons had filling breakfast. Zhou Da Wa wanted to go out to play but had been restrained back by Lin Qing He: "Mother is going to do the laundry, you take care of your younger brothers at home. Wait for me to come back."
Zhou Da Wa did not refute her, as he was satisfied with the meal from yesterday to this morning.
Lin Qing He departed to do the laundry.
There was a river on the tail of the village, which everyone goes there to wash.
"Shenzi, the autumn harvest will be over in a few days. Do you still need firewood at home?"
Lin Qing He beat the clothes with a wooden board, especially with Zhou Da Wa's clothes. It was really dirty. In her mind, she deeply yearned for the era of the washing machine, when a little girl came over and asked.
As soon as Lin Qing He looked back, it then emerged from her memory: "Little Xi ah! I do, ah. We're almost out of firewood at home. When you go back and tell your elder brother that once the autumn harvest is over, send it over. How much he can get is how much I'll take. The price will be according to the amount."
This little girl was called Zhou Xi, only about ten years old. And her brother was Zhou Dong, fifteen this year.
The ancestors of the brother and sister were also relatives of the old Zhou family, but now they were distant.
Their parents were gone early, and it wasn't easy for the siblings to survive. But her brother Zhou Dong was very capable, even if he was young. He followed the adults to work and could earn two work points.
This wasn't a lot of food. In the end, the team pitied the brother and sister, so on the premise of obtaining everyone's consent, they gave a little more during food distribution and there were some neighbors occasionally reduce their intake. That's how the brothers and sisters survived.
Initially, the brother and sister had nothing to do with the original owner, but the original owner was lazy.
Her own son was still unreliable, so she asked her brother from her maternal family to send her firewood and occasionally gave him a little fee for the effort.
However, her younger brother got married later on and was strictly managed by her younger sister-in-law, so he never came back.
At that time, the original owner had to get the firewood by herself. How could the original owner willingly let her well-maintained hands do the rough work? If the conditions didn't allow it, she wouldn't wash the dishes, chopsticks, and clothes!
But in desperation, she can only collect firewood once. In the original owner's impression, there was no work more insulting than this in the world...
So, she set her eyes on Zhou Dong, who just turned 12 years old that year.
She made him go get firewood for her to use and they'll treat it as she bought it from him. How could Zhou Dong not be happy? He kept at it 'til now.
To others, the original owner said that this was not capitalism. She felt that the brother and sister don't have it easy and didn't want them to feel like they owe her, so they did this.
It wasn't like nobody in the village didn't know her temperament, but at least every time the original owner paid an adequate amount to Zhou Dong.
When he brought less, it was a dime. When it was more, it was two dimes. Don't look down on these one and two dimes. To the siblings, Zhou Dong and Zhou Xi, who have no other income except for fieldwork, this money allowed them to eat three full meals on days when they can't earn much work points in winter.
So even when the villagers knew that the original owner was hiring child labor, they said nothing.
Zhou Dong was now fifteen years old. The original owner gave him two dimes every time he sent firewood because he had grown up and gained a lot of manpower, so every time he sent a lot of firewood.
This was an important income for the brother and sister.
Hearing her words, Zhou Xi was really delighted and said, "OK, I will go back and tell my elder brother to collect a lot of firewood after the autumn harvest is over." Then she continued: "Shenzi, there's no one at the moment, let me wash your clothes!"
The original owner had already asked her elder brother to get firewood. Although she wished Zhou Xi could wash her clothes, she still wanted face, so she refused.
But if there was no one, then the original owner will let her wash.
There was really no one in this moment. Downstream had some, but not here.
If it was the original owner, she wouldn't be polite (i.e accept). The original owner thought she took care of them, brother and sister, so what if she called her to wash her clothes?
But Lin Qing He was not the original owner, and her lower limit did not stoop to that level.
"No need, it's just a few clothes. Once the autumn harvest is over, you go with your brother. Shenzi will have to store more firewood for the winter, so I need a lot." Lin Qing He replied.
"Shenzi, rest assured. We will definitely send it to Shenzi." Zhou Xi nodded.
Lin Qing He nodded and said, "You can return, I'm nearly finished."
Zhou Xi saw that she really didn't plan to let her wash, so she went back first, and then reported to her brother who was going to work.
"I'll go after the autumn harvest!" Zhou Dong uttered.
Now that he can earn six points, his life should have been better, but in the end, he was at the age of puberty and ate a lot.
Now Zhou Xi also followed to work, but she can only earn two work points.
Lin Qing He sneaked some soap out and washed. With the soap, it was much faster. She quickly washed her clothes and returned. As for Second Sister-in-law, who was washing clothes at the downstream, she did not go to say hello when she saw her.
Because the relationship between the original owner and this Second Sister-in-law wasn't really good.
Second Sister-in-law brought Eldest Sister-in-law's eldest daughter Zhou Da Ni (T/N: means first/big girl) and several women to wash a family of clothes at the downstream. Naturally, she saw Lin Qing He go back and she also did not have any intention to say hello.
Few other women sourly commented: "This Sister-in-law of yours live a life more relaxed than the old landlord of the past."
"Don't talk nonsense like this ah! What an old landlord, our ancestors were three generations of poor peasants. Poor as a pauper." Second Sister-in-law immediately interjected. Lin Qing He was not very pleasing to the eye, but still, she can't let people put 'the old landlord' hat on old Zhou Family's head.
"I don't mean anything else. Just want to say, her life is going too well. She has three sons, and look at her face and figure. If someone says that she is unmarried and it is believable." Another older Saozi said.
"I heard that she put vanishing cream and clam oil on her face and hand every day!" Said the former one.
"What a family-wealth-destroyer. No wonder she looks so tender that one can pinch out the water!" Another bitterly responded.
Which families weren't living on a tight budget? But Old Zhou Family's fourth daughter-in-law was not at the same level as them. She always made herself beautiful. That face and that figure were like a siren.
Of course, they didn't dare to scold her outright, otherwise, they would just look for trouble. Lin Qing He wasn't one to suffer in silence, so they whispered behind her back.
Second Sister-in-law brought Zhou Da Ni to wash her clothes and went home. She didn't take the incident of seeing Lin Qing He seriously, it was a usual occurrence.
As for Lin Qing He, toward what was said about the original owner behind her, of course, it was no different to talking about her, she didn't treat it seriously as well.
Actually, she was really satisfied with the original owner's maintenance of her figure and face. She can't deny this, nor can she get cheap and sell innocence.
So they can say what they want, just don't mention it in front of her.
When she was drying the clothes, Lin Qing He recalled what she thought just now when talking to Zhou Xi about accumulating firewood for the winter.
According to the development of the plot, it seems that the villains' dad was injured at this time?
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Saozi: related - sister-in-law,
unrelated - a way to call a married woman.