In the morning, the sky cleared up again. Zi Qing went out to take a look at the melon seedlings and they were still leaning all over the place. It took several days to prop them up properly, but that's a story for later.

  The weather cleared up, and Shen came out to hurry up drying the rape, then went out again to take a look at Zhou's place, and bought some meat and vegetables on the way. After coming back, Shen said that the big trees by the roadside were all pulled up by the roots, and there were broken branches everywhere, it was really scary. However, she did pick up quite a few branches as firewood, and had Zi Qing come to help her pick them up several times, piling them up like a small mountain.

  Shen said that Zǐ Píng's father was back and wanted to take Zhōu Shì to the city to live for a while, and also wanted to find a doctor in the city to take a look at Zhōu Shì. Zi Qíng thought, Shen must hope more than anyone else that Zhōu Shì can be cured.

  According to Shen's meaning, the old man and Tian were somewhat unwilling, possibly because the eldest son had to rent a house in the city. Besides, rice, flour, vegetables, and other necessities were not as convenient as at home. However, Zeng Ruiqing couldn't return home every day, and Zhou was bedridden with no one to take care of her, which was also inconvenient. Zi Ping naturally went along to serve them. Shen returned home and picked up a basket of eggs to send over, saying that everything cost money in the city.

  The weather afterwards didn't seem to be any different from previous years, just that there seemed to be more rain. Zeng Ruyu reluctantly transplanted the seedlings into the paddy fields. Every day was misty with fine rain, and the distant mountains and nearby villages were shrouded in a haze of rain and fog. The rain was fine and slanting, this Jiangnan plum rain was like an indistinct water-ink painting, and after a long time it became very annoying.

  Who would have thought that since entering April, the weather started to heat up, with big suns every day, changing the plum rain days of last month, and it has been clear for a whole month. The rice fields began to dry up, and every household started to carry water to irrigate the fields. They barely harvested the wheat, and a reduced yield was inevitable. The expected four stones were only two and a half stones, and one stone was still sent to the old master. The rest was all kept, and Shen's family also bought a lot of rice for storage.

  The watermelon in the yard was not greatly affected, and being close by was good. All the wastewater from washing faces, bathing, and washing vegetables was used to irrigate the land, without any waste. Although the water level of the well had dropped somewhat, it had not dried up. What surprised Ziqing was that she found that last year's orange seeds had all sprouted, with some already a foot high. This further solidified her determination to buy the mountain, and also, Zeng Ruixiang had agreed. Ziqing set aside a separate area for a nursery, started cultivating seedlings, and had already asked her third uncle to take time off to make mud bricks and buy large stones.

  That day, Shen went to the city, saying she wanted to visit Zhou and also give two baskets of eggs to Zhou's shopkeeper. This time, He helped take care of the children at home, so only Zi Qing followed her out.

  From Zhou Zhanggui, Shen bought some dried fruit and pastries. The two inquired and arrived at a small courtyard rented by Zeng Ruiqing, where three families lived. Although the conditions were not great, when they saw Shen, Zhou was still very happy. She said that her husband had coincidentally found a good doctor who had returned from Beijing to retire in his hometown, and he had given her a prescription. He said that with proper care, she could still have children. Now, she had already taken over ten doses of medicine.

  "Ah, Amitabha Buddha, thank you, Bodhisattva! It's really true that your hardships have come to an end. You can now put your mind at ease." As she spoke, Zhou Shi also began to shed tears. The two sisters-in-law had the same goal in mind this time, so they became more and more affectionate as they talked, and their conversation grew more heated. They went on to discuss the unpleasant incident that had occurred on New Year's Eve.

  "Little brother and sister, I wasn't targeting you at the time. When I heard what the old man said, I was also confused and spoke nonsense. Later, I thought about it and realized it couldn't be your idea. What mother would be willing to give away her own child? Especially since Zifu is so excellent. Only someone like Yan Renda, who has a bunch of kids but can't afford to raise them, would covet other people's things."

  "It can't be, I thought to myself. My sister-in-law is still so young, what illness can't be cured? And isn't it true that adopted children are not as good as biological ones? In the past, we didn't have the conditions, but this time we should take advantage of the opportunity to raise one well. How could we not even raise a child when in the past we had given birth before?"

  It's been half a day since they saw Zi Ping, so Shen Shi asked, and Zhou Shi said that there was a young couple next door. The man often worked outside, and the woman did embroidery at home. "I think the child is not small anymore, she's already 12 years old, if it's suitable, we should talk about marriage, let her learn some needlework skills. In the past, where would they have this leisure time? Not yet back home. Unless, Zi Qing, you go call out, just next door."

  Ziying agreed and went, knocking on the door to call Ziping out. Who knew that when she turned around, she bumped into a big man staring at Ziping and greeting her? It was the male owner of this house who had returned. Ziping asked with a bright face: "Brother Hu is back so early today, Sister Hu hasn't started cooking yet."

  "Hmm, why are you back home so early today? Who is this little girl?"

  "My cousin and aunt have come from the countryside to visit my mother, and my mother asked me to go home early." The familiar expression between the two startled Zi Qing.

  Zi Qing saw that his gaze at her elder sister was not quite right, and felt that he was somewhat frivolous and also somewhat unscrupulous. At a glance, he didn't seem like a decent person. Zi Qing took an instant dislike to this kind of person and found it strange that Zi Ping, being so old, still had no discernment and such low vigilance.

  Zi Qing took a glance at Zi Ping, although she wasn't a stunning beauty, her development was quite good and the characteristics of a young girl were already somewhat prominent. Zi Qing had a bad premonition, men are always fond of new things and tired of old ones, but this must not be said out loud.

  "Sister, how old is the master of this house? Are you familiar with them?"

  "They're really enthusiastic, our family just moved in and Mrs. Hu came over to help a lot, also chatted with my mom. Later, my mom saw her doing embroidery alone at home and wanted me to go learn from her. I don't know how old they are, but there's only one girl in their household, who is only three years old."

  Ziying thought for a moment, then said: "Sister, you have time to accompany your mother more, after all, your mother can't walk now and it's very inconvenient. Besides, if you want to do needlework, you can also do it at home."

  "What's the point of staying at home, my mother won't even teach me. Hu's wife is not only enthusiastic towards people, but her embroidery skills are also great. Hu's brother never gets tired of it and says that with me accompanying his wife, he can't ask for more. This way, his wife won't be bored either. Hu's brother really loves his wife."

  Zi Qing listened and became even more worried, advising: "But the old lady is at home alone and it's very boring for her. Moreover, the old lady can't move around, she wants to drink some water or something, but it's not convenient for her, she needs you more."

  Arrived home, Ziqing could only say so much. Looking at Ziping's expression, she definitely didn't listen. After bidding farewell to Zhou Shi and returning home, Ziqing felt a bit stifled. In this ancient era where reputation was highly valued, if her cousin did something wrong, Ziqing would also be implicated. After thinking about it repeatedly, she found an opportunity when no one was around and told her mother about her concerns.

  "Daughter, you're still young and don't understand anything. Don't go spreading this nonsense outside, got it?" She then asked again about the details of what happened at the time, and Zi Qing carefully answered one by one. After that, Shen Shi never mentioned this matter again, and Zi Qing didn't know how to deal with it either. Next, there really was a happy event on the old house's side.