Before, when she came to the vegetable field, she would just go through the motions, but Ji Ying worked at an incredibly fast pace, and without much effort on her part, the large family plot was almost completely tilled.
Ji Ying could finish fertilizing and watering the vegetables in just one evening.
But after the family division, Ji Ying no longer cared about the vegetables in their garden.
"Mom, my back hurts, and my hands are blistered."
Zhao Juxiang spread her hands, revealing blisters from hoeing the ground every day, which hurt at the slightest touch.
Liu Sanmei, seeing her delicate posture, was furious and said, "Juxiang, I’m older than you and do more work than you do, yet I never complain of pain."
"Mom, I’m getting it done too, it’s just a bit slower," Zhao Juxiang said with a smile, then bowed her head and continued to till the land. She had finished planting the edamame and was now turning the soil to plant cabbage and radishes, which they would have to eat in winter.
Especially the cabbage, once the packed cabbage seedlings were ready to be transplanted, the extras could be eaten as seedling greens, which tasted pretty good.
Liu Sanmei kept nagging, but no matter how much she did, Zhao Juxiang kept doing the same thing as before: when tired, she would sit on the mud next to her and take a sip of water.
"Why are you sitting down again?" Liu Sanmei’s eyes looked as if they might pop out of her head.
Zhao Juxiang replied lazily, "Mom, I’m tired. If I keep going, I’ll be exhausted to death. If I die of exhaustion, there’ll be no one to cook dinner."
If she had known it would be , they might as well not have split up the household; she wouldn’t have to work so hard on the housework, and she wouldn’t even have to bother with the vegetable garden!
The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law returned home with darkened faces.
Liu Sanmei grabbed a handful of melon seeds and, after reminding Zhao Juxiang to cook, strolled out leisurely, planning to go outside and munch on the seeds.
Looking at the cold stove, Zhao Juxiang, already tired from a day’s work and now having to cook, felt a surge of anger. At that moment, Xu Qingjiang came in, and Zhao Juxiang began to complain of pain, saying, "Xu Qingjiang, I’m nearly worked to death, and mom still wants me to cook."
"What will we eat if you don’t cook? I’m starving," said Xu Qingjiang, who had been busy all day at school. He said, "Hurry up and cook."
"Look at the blisters on my hands!" Zhao Juxiang showed her palms again, saying, "Ah, if Zhihao knew his mom had gotten a hand full of blisters, he would be heartbroken."
Xu Qingjiang glanced at her hands and thought, they’re just a few blisters, aren’t they? Didn’t they often get blisters when working on the mountain?
However, seeing Zhao Juxiang looking so pitifully tired, Xu Qingjiang said, "I can’t cook either. If my mom isn’t home and you don’t cook, what is our family supposed to eat?"
Outside, Liu Sanmei, who was gossiping, heard that everyone was selling peppers to Ji Ying, and she almost thought she’d heard wrong. She spat out a mouthful of melon seed shells in disdain, saying, "Does Ji Ying have more money than she knows what to do with? Why is she buying so many peppers?"
Liu Sanmei thought of Ji Ying’s capability and now regretted their division; if they had not split the household, she wouldn’t have to exhaust herself .
"Don’t you know? Ji Ying is collecting peppers for Dr. Du’s grandson. Wet red peppers are three mao each, and dry ones can sell for two yuan a pound," someone said.
Old Lady Hu sighed and said, "Alas, it’s a pity that my family only grows enough peppers for our own consumption each year, and we can only sell a few pounds of dry red peppers even if we wanted to sell."
She regretted it, thinking that if only she had known Ji Ying would be collecting peppers, she would have planted more this year.