Kong Mengjie was somewhat touched and nodded heavily, "Uncle and Auntie, I understand. If there’s anything, I’ll ask for your help."
The villagers have a two-hour break at noon, which means they have to start work at 1:30.
The five children didn’t sleep; after all, it’s rare to have so many playmates at home. After the adults left with their hoes, Jiang Xinyu approached.
"Do you want to go and see Grandma and the others working?"
The three children of the Wang Family understood that farm work is hard, but Shi Jing and Feifei didn’t know.
Jiang Xinyu specifically asked about the work location today, so she wanted to take the two children to see it.
They put on straw hats, carried water bottles, and set out together.
"Mom, won’t working in such hot weather cause heat stroke?" Feifei felt it was too hot.
"But if you don’t work, there won’t be food to eat in the future."
They wandered to the edge of the field, "Mom, what kind of crop is this?"
"It’s a peanut field. Everyone is weeding."
"Mom, it’s cooler here than on the road," Shi Jing said with a smile.
"Shall we play here for a while?"
The children naturally had no objections, and Fuqing led them into the nearby cornfield.
"Don’t go too far, okay?"
Jiang Xinyu received a response from Shi Jing and Feifei.
She also wore a straw hat, really not wanting to work in such hot weather, so she sat at the edge of the field.
The women working in the field all knew her, seeing her come over with children, and with Tian Shulan’s big mouth, everyone knew Jiang Xinyu already had two kids.
"That Jiang Xinyu’s husband must be capable."
"The girls from the Jiang Family are all college students, and their jobs are so good. Would they marry an ordinary person?"
"That’s true, you’re right."
"It’s really the cycle of fortunes. You never know which cloud will bring rain. The Old Jiang Family couple aren’t capable, but they raised such a daughter?"
Everyone chatted away while working.
"Among girls this age, only Old Jiang Family’s daughter is capable. Mengjie is also good, and Ailing has a good job and married into a good family."
"Who would disagree with that?"
Jiang Xinyu knew her appearance would bring everyone a topic of conversation, so after staying a while, she called the kids to go back.
Noon is their nap time, if they don’t sleep now, they might fall asleep on the bicycle and that would be dangerous.
The five kids were unwilling, looking at the grasshoppers in their hands. Jiang Xinyu felt this time she failed to educate them; they probably didn’t experience the hardship of labor. But children have their own joys.
"Let’s go home, otherwise, you might fall asleep on the way. It’s very dangerous to sleep sitting on a bicycle; we’ll come back another time."
Though reluctant, they all went back together.
After getting home and waiting for half an hour, four of the children finally fell asleep; Fuqing didn’t sleep, he didn’t have this habit. He ran out to play again.
Jiang Xinyu and Wang Ailing lay on the kang. "Xinyu, have you seen Zhou Lihong?"
Jiang Xinyu shook her head, "I didn’t greet everyone at the field, it was too hot, I didn’t have the courage to go in."
"What’s wrong with Zhou Lihong?"
"Not so good, she’s already twenty-three and hasn’t married."
"Because of her dad’s situation?"
"It’s related, and also because she has younger siblings to support? At this time, who would want to support two more people? Plus, her parents’ situation, so nobody’s arranging for her."
Twenty-three isn’t that old, but in this era, she’s considered an old maid.
"Her siblings are around fourteen or fifteen, right?"
"They’re twins, already fifteen, they can mostly support themselves."
"Then what’s the problem? Aren’t there suitable people around? Zhou Lihong is quite pretty."
"It’s still because of her mom. You don’t know, her mom married into the neighboring village. She often comes over to the Zhou Family to steal food. Once, Zhou Lihong chased her two miles with a kitchen knife after catching her. Everyone saw, and her mom ran while cursing, my sister-in-law said it was very nasty.
Because of this, their reputation in the village became even worse. Who would want a daughter-in-law who chased her mom with a knife? Those gossips say even nastier things." For origınal chapters go to 𝓷𝓸𝓿𝓮𝓵⟡𝓯𝓲𝓻𝓮⟡𝓷𝓮𝓽
Jiang Xinyu sighed, "There’s really no way to discuss their affairs. The mother was heartless enough to take everything from home, leaving three kids and walking away, how can Zhou Lihong be blamed?
During the hardest times, they survived, that’s incredibly difficult.
Sister, I used to really dislike Zhou Lihong. But seeing how she maintains her dad, it changed my view of her."
"Xinyu, did you ever give them food?"
"Yes, gave them yams. Couldn’t just watch them starve, you don’t know, that winter when I came back, seeing her brother with that huge head and skinny neck, I really couldn’t bear it."
"I see, my brother said they often go to your house to help with chores, tidy the yard. Every time they help you with the roof, all three siblings would help."
Jiang Xinyu felt touched that they were expressing gratitude in their own way.
"Zhou Lihong is really a thoughtful person, such a pity," Wang Ailing sighed.
"There’s nothing to be done. By the way, what about Zhou Chunxiang?"
"Heard she got married after her dad’s incident, her dad had taken the bride price from them before."
"I have no memory of that. Zhou Chunxiang’s family doesn’t have other siblings?"
"No, Zhou Chunxiang’s mom died early. Outsiders say Zhou Lihong had two younger brothers, assumed to be Zhou Xiangxing’s, but they didn’t survive."
Such a mess. "Has Zhou Chunxiang ever returned?"
"I haven’t heard of it."
"By the way, Xinyu, Kong Mengjie has had her third child. She and Huang Hongwei are truly loving, having one child after another. Outsiders say the boy is Zhao Zhongshuo’s."
"People are really idle with nothing to do," Jiang Xinyu knew from investigations here, that child is indeed Zhao Zhongshuo’s. But isn’t it someone else’s business?"
"Xinyu. You don’t know, Zhao Zhongshuo too, some introduce matches to him, but he doesn’t meet them. Privately they say he’s waiting for Kong Mengjie."
"Still like that? He’s not young, is he?"
"Indeed, but I’ve seen that child, and he really doesn’t resemble Huang Hongwei."
"That’s their affair."
"Yes, I know if Kong Mengjie’s reputation gets too bad, it won’t be good for either of us. So I won’t say anything. Now the two of them are very honest, but their matter got brought up again."