Chapter 136: Chapter 136: Skip a Good Beating
So he nodded and said, “Alright, then let’s fry more and sell more tomorrow.”
Su Wanyu hesitated for a moment before volunteering, “Brother Hai, I’d like to go with you to sell seeds tomorrow. One more person means one more share of the earnings.”
Jiang Mianmian saw her mother actually volunteering for work and couldn’t help feeling emotional: Indeed, no matter the era, money is the driving force of human progress.
The girls from the second wife’s room had not yet fallen asleep; the sisters were whispering to each other in their beds.
“Third Sister’s hat and scarf are so pretty, and they keep the ears from freezing,” a voice murmured with envy, while reaching to scratch at the chilblains on the ears.
Every winter, her hands and ears would develop chilblains because she couldn’t stop scratching them until they bled from being so itchy.
Noticing her action, Da Ya quickly admonished, “Zhaodi, stop scratching; I’m worried you’ll make them bleed again.”
“But it’s so itchy!” Zhaodi struggled to resist, “If only we had hats too.”
The younger Laidi also whined childishly, “Big Sister, my hands are itchy too.”
Though she didn’t have to wash clothes in the river during winter like her three older sisters, she had played in the snow recently and developed chilblains on her fingers.
Da Ya said with sympathy, “Let me rub them for you; that will ease the itchiness.”
Er Ya had stayed quiet, but her mind too contemplated Jiang Mianmian’s new scarf and hat, which looked not only beautiful but also very warm.
But the sisters could only wear worn cotton-padded jackets, shivering with cold every day. How could she be content with that?!
Someday, she was determined to live that way too!
Zhao Xiaojuan half-asleep heard her daughters’ conversation, and it drove away all her drowsiness, filling her heart with discomfort.
It was the fault of them as parents who were useless, not as smart and bold as their big brother at making money, causing their daughters to suffer the cold and hardship.
Meanwhile, Zhang Guihua was blissfully feeling the Clam Oil her eldest son had bought for her.
She carefully scooped out a small piece and spread it on her hands, rubbing them together.
As she spread it, she put on airs and murmured, “Old man, can you believe how reckless Changhai is? He even dares to take risks with his quick schemes. What if he gets caught and sent to a farm for re-education? What then?”
After finishing with her hands, she brought them to her nose to smell.
Jiang Dashan, listening to her obviously happy tone, said helplessly, “It’s all because you spoil him. He’s done so many mischievous things since he was small, and every time he manages to make you laugh and avoids a good scolding.”
Hearing this, Zhang Guihua gave him a sideways glance, “Who can blame him when the Eldest has always been clever and obedient? Look at him, earning five dollars and still remembering to buy me Clam Oil. He must know my hands crack in winter; he keeps these little things in mind.”
“Alright, let’s get some sleep. There’s work to do tomorrow,” said Jiang Dashan, too tired to argue further, as he’d never won an argument with her before.
“Hey, don’t sleep yet. Let me rub some Clam Oil on you, your hands are cracked too, aren’t they?”
“I don’t want it, don’t smear it on me. It’s greasy and gets everywhere; let’s just turn off the light and go to bed.”
Zhang Guihua pouted at him, muttering, “As if I wanted to use it on you. This was a gift from my son.”
She put away the Clam Oil, extinguished the kerosene lamp, and went to bed.
The next morning at breakfast, Zhang Guihua showed off the hand she had rubbed with Clam Oil to the rest of the Jiang Family, “This Clam Oil is really something. Every winter my hands develop chilblains, but after using the Clam Oil the Eldest bought me yesterday, today my hand is much better.”