Thinking that even her parents were not able to eat these precious things throughout the summer, Qiao Xuan could not help but feel glad.
She was going to sell the watermelons at a high price to some rich people, someone like her parents.
Ding Erzhu and Ms. Zhou were not living a good life. The water and field had been opened by someone else and Ding Erzhu was left with barren land.
He had no money to buy a field. He could earn a little bit by opening a few mu, and when he had more money, he could sign a contract. But no one would expect to give the money in advance.
At this rate, they would definitely starve.
Opening fields was not easy, especially when the weed was growing so crazily.
Their son was only three years old and he could not be away from his parents, but Ms. Zhou did not want her husband to work alone. She was anxious too. Two of them were very slow, but one person alone could not finish the work!
Half of the year had already passed. Now, they needed to hurry up to open up wasteland, plant some taro, soybeans. They hoped to rush into harvest before winter came. If it was delayed, there would be no harvest in autumn and winter. Then, what would they do?
They had already made the plan. In autumn and winter, they would go up into the mountain to dig yam and in autumn, there were wild chestnuts, date in the mountains too.
They could dig mushrooms too. They would probably ask the first section of the Shao Family to see what they could eat.
Also, Ding Erzhu would chop some wood and sell it in the town. In this way, they might be able to buy some thick clothes and food for winter.
It was so difficult to live through these days.
But they would not regret this life which they had chosen. They were going to continue to persevere no matter what.
The couple had to bring their son along for the wasteland opening.
They put the son under the tree and started to work.
The three-year-old was so naughty that he kept playing with mud, stones, weeds and when he was fed up with it, he ran around.
Ms. Zhou had no choice but throw away the shovel to catch her son.
Ms. Zhou felt so tired that she had to carry the son on her back all the time.
In this way, she could catch him whenever he tried to run away.
But the sun was too strong for the son so he got sunstroke, and developed a fever during the night.
The couple got so frightened that Ms. Zhou almost passed out.
Ding Erzhu tried to borrow some money from his parents to visit a cheap doctor, but Fifth Grandma Ding and Fifth Grandpa Ding refused to give him money.
Fifth Grandpa Ding told him that he should apologize first before being given the money, and make the promise that he would never rebel against them again.
Otherwise, he would get no money at all because he was not part of the family and could not get anything from him.
Ding Erzhu's heart was broken.
He had respected his parents for more than 30 years and that was what he got.
His parents threatened him with his sick son's life.
If he returned to the family, he would be humiliated to death!
His wife and his son would suffer even more!
Ding Erzhu turned away without looking back.
He had his teeth clenched and knocked at the door of the first section of the Shao Family.