They've all separated, so what does it matter to me if they get poorer and poorer?

Chapter 147 If we don't treat ourselves well, who else can we rely on?

Zeng Xiaojuan was dizzy from listening, and she only had one feeling: her third sister's husband's family was so numerous.
In the past, she definitely wouldn't have wanted to bring her child to their house, as it would be too much trouble for them, and her third sister would also be complained about by her husband's family.

But looking at her daughter in her arms, who had just recovered from a fever and was still so fragile that she didn't dare to speak loudly to her, Zeng Xiaojuan couldn't bring herself to refuse. Something churned in her chest a thousand times, and she stared blankly at Zeng Xiaoyan.

Xu Zhichun: "Why don't you come and stay at our house, Sister Xiaojuan?"

Zeng Xiaoyan was taken aback.

Zeng Xiaojuan shook her head without hesitation: "No, no, that's too much trouble—"

“It’s no trouble at all. It’s just me at home. Chunfen is a girl from another family in our village who’s coming with me. You and Qiao’er are going too, so it’ll be even more lively.”

Aunt Zhu'er also hurriedly said with a smile, "I think this is a good idea. Zhichun's family originally consisted of her and her ten-year-old brother-in-law. Her brother-in-law studies at the county school and doesn't usually come back. Their house is spacious, so you two can stay comfortably."

Zeng Xiaoyan jokingly added, "Yes, yes, Second Sister, you should take Qiao'er with you. Anyway, I've troubled Sister-in-law Zhichun with more than one or two things, so one more won't make a difference. I'll repay Sister-in-law Zhichun's favor later, so don't think too much about it, Second Sister."

Everyone who said that laughed.

Zeng Xiaojuan felt a pang of sadness in her heart and nodded: "I will follow your arrangements, Zhichun, thank you."

"Don't mention it, let's go back now."

"Ah."

Xu Zhichun breathed a sigh of relief. Qiao'er's condition was bound to relapse. If she didn't stay at her house, she wouldn't be able to give her the medication.

Zeng Xiaoyan spent three days getting medicine, and then bought three or four catties of meat, three or four catties of ribs, four live fat chickens, and twenty eggs from the market, "to be taken back by Sister Zhichun in a little while."

It was meant to be the food for her sister and niece.

Xu Zhichun's family has more eggs than they can eat. The chickens are fed a combination of corn kernels, fish bone meal, and chicken feed. They can collect about ten eggs every day, so much so that she regularly sells eggs to Manager Tang.

An egg costs one coin, and if you take some more from the warehouse, you can earn more than five hundred coins a month just from selling eggs.

The Lotus Restaurant needs a huge number of eggs. Besides her, the eggs from Xiao Yan's family, Aunt Zhu'er, Chunfen's mother, and several other families are now being collected and sold to the restaurant.

Of course, other people's chickens don't lay as many eggs as Xu Zhichun's, and they can't sell many in a month.

Her family had no shortage of eggs, but Zeng Xiaoyan was calculating the share for Zeng Xiaojuan and her son. Xu Zhichun didn't refuse and nodded in agreement.

The group rode in an oxcart out of town and back to their village.

When we got back to the village, we looked at the sky and it was almost four o'clock in the afternoon.

This was Zeng Xiaojuan's first time visiting her sister's husband's village, and she absolutely had to greet her sister's family.

She was suddenly faced with another dilemma: what should she do if she came empty-handed on her first visit? It would be too embarrassing, and people would look down on her sister.

Even Zeng Xiaoyan was a little dumbfounded—she hadn't expected this.

Fortunately, Xu Zhichun's family had everything they needed. He took two pounds of brown sugar and a bag of dried apricots and candied fruit, saying, "Take these first, I think that's enough."

These days, brown sugar is a precious commodity; even at its cheapest, it costs at least thirty cents a pound.

Zeng Xiaoyan beamed, "Luckily, I have Sister Zhichun! This money will be deducted from my share."

"Row."

Zeng Xiaojuan felt a warm glow in her heart, so grateful that she didn't know what to say.

They only told everyone that they had invited Zeng Xiaojuan to stay for a few days and help out. Liang Lizheng and Aunt Liang were very welcoming to Zeng Xiaoyan's sister. Aunt Liang even invited her to stay at their home, but Zeng Xiaoyan laughed and said it would be fine for her to keep Zhichun company. Aunt Liang was speechless; what did she mean by "it would be fine for her to stay there"? The third son's family really didn't treat her like an outsider at all.

Fortunately, Chichun didn't mind these things.

Aunt Liang insisted that she eat at home, saying, "Why don't we just invite Zhichun over too? It's too much trouble for her to cook and clean by herself."

How can I refuse?

Zeng Xiaojuan couldn't handle it and looked to the girl for help.

Zeng Xiaoyan was at a loss for words. Her mother-in-law's words made perfect sense. If Qiao'er hadn't been sick and unable to come, she would have wholeheartedly agreed.

Zeng Xiaoyan had no choice but to firmly decline: "Sister-in-law Zhichun has already started cooking. How about next time? I'll tell her in advance next time."

Fearing her mother-in-law would say something else, Zeng Xiaoyan quickly took her second sister and ran away. She thought to herself that she should tell her mother-in-law the truth that evening; she really should.

Qiao'er was sick and didn't go over, so Xu Zhichun carried her into the house to rest.

Qiao'er woke up on the way home. She wasn't shy and obediently stayed at home with Xu Zhichun.

The house has three rooms. In the middle is the main room, and on the left is a small reception room where Xu Zhichun usually chats with her girlfriends. A couch was specially made in the small room and placed against the wall. Xu Zhichun took a pillow and a thin quilt made of several layers of cotton cloth and sewed together, and covered Qiao'er up to her chest, so that she could lie down and rest.

When Zeng Xiaojuan arrived at Xu Zhichun's house, she was surprised. "Your house is so nice, so clean and bright. It makes people happy just looking at it."

The Zeng family is wealthy, but it has nothing to do with the two sisters.

From childhood, the two sisters lived in a dilapidated courtyard, with only a lazy maid who would slack off and do the cleaning. They were not allowed to easily set foot in the Zeng family's glamorous places or beautiful gardens.

Seeing Xu Zhichun's courtyard and house, Zeng Xiaojuan truly thought it was excellent.

Xu Zhichun laughed and said, "It's a house that was just built a while ago. It's where I live, so of course I should do it the way I want. If we don't treat ourselves well, who else can we rely on?"

Zeng Xiaojuan's heart stirred, and she smiled softly, "Yes."

Who else can she rely on? She can't rely on anyone either.

They'll be setting up their stall again tomorrow. There's still plenty of konjac left, though it's a little lacking. Xu Zhichun and Aunt Zhu'er can just go to the nearby konjac field and dig some up.

Liang Mingliang and Zeng Xiaoyan were busy at home.

Zeng Xiaojuan knew this was their business, so she wisely refrained from approaching them directly. She simply told Zeng Xiaoyan to call her if she needed any help.

They couldn't finish today's work before dark, so Zeng Xiaoyan and the others planned to come back after dinner.

After they all left, Xu Zhichun started making dinner.

The small stove and medicine pot for decocting medicine were also found, and Zeng Xiaojuan decocted medicine for Qiao'er.

Once the rice was steaming, Xu Zhichun went to feed the chickens and pigs. Zeng Xiaojuan offered to help, but she politely declined, saying she would just help with the cooking later.

Feeding chickens and pigs cannot be left to others.

For dinner, Xu Zhichun steamed meat patties for Qiao'er, adding some goji berries and lily bulbs. There was also a piece of yam left over from Liang Lizheng's family, which was perfect for stewing pork ribs. He also stir-fried eggplant with minced meat and stir-fried green beans with chili peppers and pork.

There's some meat and ribs left; boil them in plain water with a little salt tonight, and they won't spoil tomorrow. The four chickens will be kept separately in a chicken coop and slaughtered the day after tomorrow.

(End of this chapter)