It’s rare to have such a lavish meal, and coincidentally, there were two bottles of white liquor among the return gifts Lianshan and his crew brought.
Usually quite fond of a drink himself, Shouyi wasted no time in opening a bottle: "Hey, kids’ mom, hurry and bring the wine glasses. It’s rare to have such a great atmosphere and delicious food. Let’s get some glasses and have a good drink, just the three of us brothers! It’s my brother-in-law’s first visit since the wedding. As his brother-in-law, I ought to give him a warm welcome, shouldn’t I?"
"Enough of that, with your drinking habits—not a drinker when you should be, yet easily knocked over by a single sip. You’re talking about having a few glasses, but make sure you don’t end up under the table after two sips from the tiny cups. That won’t showcase hospitality, only give everyone a chance to laugh at you!
Look at this table full of food; everyone would be better off eating more chicken, fish, meat, and eggs rather than drinking that strong stuff." To be honest, Su Hongying is satisfied with Shouyi in almost every way, except for his fondness for a drink, despite having hardly any alcohol tolerance.
Not wanting her husband to drink excessively and suffer, or lose face, naturally made her resist his suggestion for a drink.
Suddenly exposed by his own wife, while noticing his elder brother and younger sister grinning and his brother-in-law trying to suppress his laughter, Shouyi felt somewhat embarrassed: "Hey, stop babbling! Just get the wine glasses quickly!"
"Really, am I just focused on drinking?
The way someone drinks reflects their character; I’m just helping test my sister’s husband’s alcohol tolerance and manners!"
Even without support, one must build their way out gracefully, for us men always need to maintain our dignity.
Shouyi felt that he ought to commend himself for his cleverness right now.
He elevated the reason for indulging his craving to testing the brother-in-law’s drinking manners on behalf of his sister, convincing even Su Hongying was impressed by his intent to drink whenever he could.
Fortunately, he knew his own tolerance; apart from at home or at his mother-in-law’s, he’d rather starve his craving than touch liquor elsewhere.
Today, since he’s home, with good food and drink, he figured he’d have a couple of sips to satisfy his craving.
Thinking this way, Su Hongying no longer opposed, turned just to enter the kitchen to search for some glassware.
Yet, considering her husband’s health, Su Hongying didn’t fetch the wine glasses as he asked. Instead, she found three small cups that hold merely three coins’ worth of alcohol, thinking that using these would let him have just enough to enjoy without overdoing it.
Shouyi naturally opposed this, while Lianshan expressed quite the approval.
Su Hongying fetched the cup and served the wine, and the brother-in-law obediently took the bottle to pour wine for the two elder brothers-in-law. After filling the cups, he even took the lead to drink up first, expressing both respect and apologies.
Since he was cycling with his wife here, fearing he might knock the whole family into the ditch, he knew he couldn’t drink heartily with the brothers today. Yet he promised another day, another day he’d personally cook up a feast to invite the brothers over for improvement.
Today, he carried the responsibility of getting his wife and child home safely, while planning to help Shuzhen with the worm beds back home.
Shuzhen said that once that’s done, they can raise plump, egg-laying hens without wasting a grain of food. In order to conveniently have eggs to cook chicken soup for the family down the line, Lianshan was genuinely invested.
In matters concerning his younger sister’s safety, even if Shouyi was eager to drink with his brother-in-law, he willingly renounced his insistence. Instead, he helped serve Shuzhen and Lianshan with fish, chicken, mushrooms, piling their bowls high, lest Lianshan feel reluctant or have difficulty reaching for the food. Although Shuzhen wouldn’t feel shy, her brother liked the idea of looking after his little sister.
Meanwhile, Shouren was pleased with his brother-in-law for prioritizing his sister’s safety over pleasing the elder brothers-in-law. He was also intrigued by what was said about the worm beds.
Although his younger sister mentioned raising worms (earthworms) to feed chickens the night before, everyone was too shocked by her audacity to think it through.
Now hearing Lianshan bring it up again, he immediately asked about the specific methods and details.
The more he listened to the little couple talk, the more he felt the suggestion was very plausible and feasible, deciding on the spot to build one in his backyard.
With the sisters-in-law hearing of someone having done it, and since it seemed feasible to him, Su Hongying hastened nudging her husband to follow suit, suggesting they tinker with one as well.
His sister-in-law had plenty of ideas, and the brother-in-law was knowledgeable. Following in the footsteps of smart people is bound to lead to success!
Yes, let’s try it out for ten days or so. If it’s really as good as the sister-in-law says, she can make some arrangements back at her home and teach her brothers and sisters.
Though guessing that these brothers might have stashed some good stuff over the years, enough to enjoy a lifetime without worry once the situation is stable.
But who would complain about too much money?
If there’s a chance to earn a little, it would surely make the days ahead easier!
The brothers were quick to agree on following the example without persuasion, filling Shuzhen with delight.
Not only did she continuously agree, but suggested seizing the opportunity while it’s hot.
After all, she only needed to return home before sunset, there’s no rush. So, she urged the brothers to rest, take a nap, and start work once the hot spell passed in the afternoon.
Tasks like digging, turning soil, building shelters, and gathering worms were mere child’s play for the three brothers when they worked together!
They started in the afternoon, around two, and by five, a three-meter wide and meter-long worm bed for each brother was already done.
Since the community managed livestock, human waste was taken care of, they couldn’t use those but instead settled for collecting humus soil from the forest, cutting green grass for compost, etc., to meet the worms’ feed needs. After the harvest, stalks, straw, and wheat straw were excellent feeds for the worms.
On the sister’s special return-home day, having her husband help build two worm beds was quite enough. No way was there a reason to have him tagging along to gather things from the mountain.
After all, having explained everything clearly, the brothers knew the steps for what’s next.
Now’s the time to wash hands, go inside to eat while it’s still daylight, and let the little couple get home.
Tomorrow, if there’s nothing much to do, the brothers can gather some humus soil from the mountain. Borrowing a cart from the community, with a couple of trips they could spotlessly complete the task.
After laying the humus, soaking with water, tossing in some worms, feeding regularly, the cost-free yet satisfying feed was ready!
Once one household raised ten or twenty chickens a day, there would be enough eggs for not just kids, but adults, ensuring every day they’d get enough eggs to brim with excitement!