Holding the child, Li Xiulan wore a longing expression. She smiled and said, "Little Sister, Eldest Sister-in-law thinks your idea is pretty good too. Honestly, watching so many ten-thousand-yuan households pop up in the city over the years has made me quite envious. We've been cooped up in the countryside our whole lives, our faces to the yellow earth and backs to the sky—there really is no future in it. If we can truly make some money by setting up a stall to sell vegetables, Xiao Tiedan can have better conditions when he goes to school later on."
Seeing that everyone agreed, Liu Guihua's furrowed brow smoothed out quite a bit. She smiled and said to Old Man Zhou, "Old man, look at how motivated the kids are. Why don't we let them give it a try?"
Old Man Zhou looked at the eager eyes around the room, and a smile finally spread across his face.
"All right! Since you all want to do it, then let's do it! Dazhu, Erzhu, tomorrow go to the backyard and sort out the best-looking vegetables. We'll go to the county seat first to test the waters!"
"You got it, Dad!" Zhou Dazhu and Zhou Erzhu responded in unison, their faces full of excitement and anticipation.
Just as the Zhou family, young and old, were joyfully discussing their plans to set up a vegetable stall in the county seat, a sudden noise came from the courtyard gate.
A muffled creak sounded as the wooden picket gate was pushed open with force. Immediately after, a hurried set of footsteps approached.
The Zhou family turned in unison to look out into the courtyard.
Walking in was a young woman in her early twenties. Her hair was tied into two braided pigtails, and she wore a blue floral short-sleeved blouse that had faded from washing but was laundered neatly and starched stiff, paired with a pair of plastic sandals on her feet.
This woman was Zhou Erzhu's wife, Zhang Fangfang.
Two days ago, Zhang Fangfang had bickered with Zhou Erzhu and, in a fit of anger, packed her bags and stormed off to her parents' home. Zhou Erzhu had spent the past two days agonizing over how to bring his wife back, never expecting that she would return on her own today.
Zhang Fangfang carried a string mesh bag in her hand, packed with two boxes of pastries and a few changes of clothes. Stepping into the courtyard and seeing the whole family sitting in the main room, an unnatural flicker crossed her face, but she managed to force a smile.
"Dad, Mom, I'm back," Zhang Fangfang said, placing the mesh bag onto the table with a grumble. "The muddy roads these past two days were awful to walk on. My soles are completely covered in blisters."
Seeing her second daughter-in-law return, Liu Guihua immediately said, "Fangfang's back! Quick, sit down and rest a bit. Erzhu, you blockhead, what are you standing there for? Hurry up and pour your wife a bowl of water!" Liu Guihua slapped Zhou Erzhu on the shoulder, hastily prodding him.
Zhou Erzhu chuckled foolishly and quickly stood up. He grabbed the aluminum kettle from the table, poured a full bowl of water, and handed it to Zhang Fangfang.
"Wife, you're finally back. How were things at your mother's these past couple of days? Drink some water quickly—this water is real sweet." Zhou Erzhu looked at Zhang Fangfang with a fawning expression.
Zhang Fangfang shot Zhou Erzhu a sideways glare, though her anger had already subsided.
She took the bowl and took a large gulp.
The moment the water hit her tongue, Zhang Fangfang froze completely.
Blinking, she looked down at the water in the bowl and asked, incredulous, "Erzhu, did you put sugar in this water? Why is it so sweet? Since when did our family become so generous that we can afford to toss handfuls of white sugar into water?"
Zhou Erzhu scratched his head and said with a smile, "How could that be, Wife? You know our family's situation. This water was drawn straight from the well, no sugar added. I don't know what it is today, but the water just tastes sweet. Drinking it makes your whole body feel refreshed."
Skeptical, Zhang Fangfang took a few more big gulps. A cool sweetness trickled down her throat and into her stomach, instantly washing away much of the fatigue from her long walk. Puzzled, she didn't dwell on it and set the empty bowl on the table, turning her gaze toward the others.
"Dad, Mom, what were you all whispering about in here just now? I heard lively chatter the moment I walked in," Zhang Fangfang asked curiously.
Old Man Zhou said, "Fangfang, you've returned at just the right time. We were just discussing something. Xing'er suggested it—she said we can't keep guarding these few measly plots of land every day. We're planning to gather the vegetables in the backyard and take them to the county seat to sell at a stall. Selling them ourselves will earn us a few more coins to help with household expenses."
Hearing this, Zhang Fangfang's brow furrowed at once. She turned and looked suspiciously at Zhou Xing'er, who was sitting beside her.
In Zhang Fangfang's eyes, this sister-in-law of hers, Zhou Xing'er, had always been delicate and selfish. Normally, she wouldn't even bother picking up a broom if it fell over in front of her. How had her nature suddenly changed today? She was actually thinking of helping the family earn money?
"Go to the county seat to sell vegetables at a stall?" Zhang Fangfang said disapprovingly. "Dad, Mom, it's so far to the county seat. Besides, there are plenty of people selling vegetables there. Will ours even sell? If we can't sell them and end up neglecting the work in the fields for nothing, aren't we just making trouble for ourselves?"
Holding Xiao Tiedan, the eldest daughter-in-law, Li Xiulan, gently persuaded her from the side. "Second Sister-in-law, Little Sister has a point. If we sell the vegetables in the fields to the wholesale peddlers for cheap, it's only a few cents a pound. But if we carry them to the county seat and sell them ourselves, we can make several cents more per pound. And everyone has already agreed. Dazhu and Erzhu are strong; they'll handle carrying the shoulder poles, and we can just help out on the side."
Zhou Erzhu chimed in, "That's right, Wife. Big Brother and I already talked it over. Tomorrow, the two of us will go to the backyard and sort out the vegetables, and early the day after tomorrow, we'll head to the county seat to test the waters. We don't need any capital for it anyway. If we really can make some money, won't our family's days get easier?"
Listening to everyone's words, Zhang Fangfang weighed the matter in her mind.
She was a shrewd woman. Hearing that setting up a stall required no upfront money, and that the heavy lifting and shoulder-pole work would all fall to Dazhu and Erzhu without requiring any hard labor from her, she figured that if money was made, she, as a daughter-in-law, would certainly get a share. Thinking of it this way, what little reluctance she had melted away.
"All right then. Since Dad, Mom, Big Brother, and Eldest Sister-in-law have all agreed, then I certainly have no objections." A smile surfaced on Zhang Fangfang's face as she looked at Zhou Xing'er. "Little Sister, you've truly become sensible this time, knowing to look out for the family. As long as this business makes money, I'll definitely join in."
Zhou Xing'er knew the personality of the original host's second sister-in-law—she had her petty calculations, but she wasn't a bad person.
Curving her beautiful peach-blossom eyes, Zhou Xing'er smiled and said, "Second Sister-in-law, don't worry. The vegetables in our family grow well. As long as we're willing to bear hardship, we'll definitely make money. When the time comes, everyone in our family can get a cut and celebrate a prosperous New Year."
"Oh, that'd be wonderful!" Hearing that money would be shared, Zhang Fangfang was so delighted that she couldn't close her mouth from smiling.
That night, Zhou Xing'er lay in her modest little room.
The room was slightly stifling, and from outside the window came the occasional crisp chirping of insects. Lying on the rock-hard wooden plank bed, Zhou Xing'er felt groggy all over, her head heavy as if filled with lead.
She had intended to plan out the route for setting up their stall in the county seat, but her eyelids were terribly heavy, refusing to stay open. Before long, she lost consciousness completely and drifted into dreamland.
After an unknown amount of time, Zhou Xing'er felt the darkness before her eyes gradually dissipate, replaced by a vast expanse of white mist.
Somewhat bewildered, she walked through the mist. As she walked, the babbling sound of flowing water suddenly reached her ears.
Following the sound, Zhou Xing'er found that the mist before her parted.
Before her lay a broad, clear river. The water was as emerald-green as a massive piece of jade, shimmering with a soft golden radiance under the sunlight. The riverbanks were blanketed with all kinds of colorful little flowers, exuding a faint fragrance.
Zhou Xing'er stood by the river, filled with curiosity.
Just then, she spotted a small object upstream, slowly drifting down with the current.
Squinting to look closely, she realized it was actually a plump, round wooden tub.
The little wooden tub drifted at an unhurried pace along the gentle river, heading in her direction. Zhou Xing'er felt deeply mystified—how could there be a wooden tub in a river out in the middle of nowhere?
Unable to resist, she took a few steps forward onto the shallows where the water barely covered the tops of her feet.
As if endowed with a spirit of its own, the little wooden tub wobbled directly toward her, finally bumping gently against her ankle and coming to a stop.
Zhou Xing'er looked down into the tub, and her entire being froze in shock.
Lined with a soft, snow-white blanket, the wooden tub actually held a fair, chubby little baby!