The next day after Zeng Ruixiang returned, he went to the old house to deliver watermelon. Shen Shi asked him to take the opportunity to rent a granary. Who knew that when he came back, his face looked a bit unpleasant? It turned out that Tian Shi said Chunyu was about to give birth and wanted Zeng Ruixiang to go early to send a gift for the baby's belly (which means to hurry up). He also helped his sister-in-law collect the wheat. Zhou Shi kept asking where Ruixiang's watermelon came from, and when she heard it was grown by herself, she asked how much was grown and how much silver was sold. Ruixiang replied vaguely that there wasn't much.

  "It was this matter, after we finished harvesting, I went on a trip. This kind of thing is usually done by women, what man would go to deliver it? When I got back, I discussed it with my sister-in-law, we can't bypass her, otherwise she'll pick another fight. I said you're busy at home. Although our family only has one mu of land, but you rarely work, others can finish in a day, while we need two or even three days to slowly get it done, don't exhaust yourself."

  The next day, Zeng Rui Xiang and Shen brought their two sons to cut the rice. When they returned at noon, Zi Qing heard that cutting the rice was not tiring, but threshing it was exhausting. Zi Qing quickly asked, "How do you thresh the rice?" It turned out that this rice was different from rape and wheat. First, a large wooden bucket in the shape of a trapezoid, similar to a tub, with a wide top and narrow bottom, was used in the field. People grasped a small bundle of rice straw and pounded it hard in the bucket, knocking the grains loose. This was truly labor-intensive work.

  Zi Qing had seen the thresher in her previous life, which actually used a foot pedal to drive a belt that turned gears. It shouldn't be difficult to study and replicate, but the problem was how to bring it up. Fortunately, they only had one mu of land at home, so even if it was tiring, it could still be managed. Later, when they bought paddy fields, she would persuade her parents to rent them out.

  Finally finished harvesting the rice, Shen let everyone rest for two days. She went to discuss with Zhou about visiting Chunyu. Zhou said she would bring Ziping along, and Shen said she also wanted to bring Ziqing. Ziqing had never been to her eldest aunt's house before. Zifeng smiled and said, "You'll go this time, but next time you won't want to." Ziqing didn't know what he meant.

  On this day, early in the morning, Shen collected twenty eggs and a small piece of white fine gauze fabric, which was newly bought to make undergarments for family members at fifteen cents per foot. Shen measured it with her palm and tore off about two feet, enough to make two baby clothes. Shen and Ziying both wore their new summer clothes made of silk fabrics, one each made by Shen for the family members. Ziying's was light pink, while Shen's was light blue. The two went to the butcher shop and bought a pig stomach, then headed to the old house, where Qiuyue also went. Tian looked at the things in Shen's basket and seemed not very satisfied. "Didn't you ask Rui Xiang to go? Why didn't he go?" Tian asked.

  "Mother, I'm going to the market with my sister-in-law. Besides, it's not like men go into labor, the child's father is at home repairing farm tools, he's been exhausted from harvesting rice these past few days. You know he doesn't usually do this kind of farm work, so I told him to take a rest today and plow the fields tomorrow. If he gets tired out, you'll worry too, won't you?" Shen's words were soft and gentle, but they also left Tian speechless.

  "You've fed so many chickens and only got a few eggs. What's the point? Not even enough for the chicken keeper to grab one." Tian was clearly dissatisfied.

  "Mother, take whatever you want and however much you want. I've already discussed it with my sister-in-law, and I couldn't possibly go over her head. If we did things that way, she would be unhappy, and the relatives on your side of the family would laugh at us. Sister-in-law, don't you think this is reasonable? Besides, I still have a piece of high-quality fine cotton cloth that's enough to make two sets of baby clothes. And during my month of confinement after giving birth, I didn't even eat one whole chicken, and only had about twenty eggs - not to mention that her aunt hasn't sent me anything either?" Shen Shi continued to speak in a soft and measured tone, suppressing her anger.

  Ziying felt helpless, every time she came here, it always ended in unpleasantness. The Tian family was just a bunch of troublemakers. Today the old man wasn't even around, and Ziying thought that her grandfather was relatively more reasonable.

  "Who said that Chunyu didn't bring anything? Isn't it because we haven't divided the family property yet? All the things are here with me. Normally, you don't even greet me when you see me, but today I say one sentence and you have eight sentences waiting, is this how you behave as a daughter-in-law?" This scolding made Shen Shi unable to say anything more.

  "Are you still not leaving? What time is it already?" asked Qiu Yu.

  Then, Shen grabbed Zi Qing's hand and walked to the street corner. She said it would be better to hire a donkey cart to walk. They all didn't say a word. Shen herself negotiated with the car owner how many copper plates were needed to go to Yanzhuang Village. The car owner said that going to Yanzhuang Village was about the same as going to Anzhou, also ten copper plates. It seems that Shen rarely goes to her children's eldest sister's house either. In the past, before they separated, even sending gifts and things like that didn't require Shen to take charge. During Chinese New Year, their family could stay here until after the Lantern Festival, clearly not wanting others to go to their home.

  A few people got on the donkey cart, and they didn't have to suffer from the sun. Although the ox cart was cheaper, it basically had no canopy. Along the way, there was almost no conversation. Zǐ Píng stared at Zǐ Qíng's new clothes, full of envy. Zǐ Qíng looked at her old skirt, but it wasn't torn, and wondered if she still remembered what she said during the New Year that she wouldn't give Zǐ Qíng old clothes again. Of course, Zǐ Qíng wouldn't provoke her.

  Half an hour later, five people stood in front of Chunyu's house. Chunyu's house was not small, but she lived with her brother, although they had been separated for many years. Chunyu was pregnant with a big belly, but it didn't seem too heavy. Yan Renda took the children to the field to cut rice, and there was also a two-year-old cousin named Guihua at home, and even three-year-old Sanmao went to pick up the rice ears.

  Ziying always felt that her uncle's name didn't sound like a typical villager's name, so she secretly asked her mother about it. Her mother told her that their family used the "Ren" character for naming, and Da was chosen by an educated elder in the village. Ziying thought it was a pity to waste such a good name.

  Spring Jade let Autumn Jade go to the fields to call her sister's husband back, and led the two sisters-in-law to the kitchen to prepare lunch. On the way, they met their mother-in-law, greeted her, and the old lady's eyes kept glancing at Shen Shi and Zhou Shi's baskets with a fake smile. She took over Zi Ping's basket and was about to carry it away when Spring Jade quickly took it back, saying: "Mother, you go ahead."

  The face of the mother-in-law was embarrassed, Zhiping's basket belonged to Qiuyue, inside except for eggs, there was also a cloth package, estimated to be Qiuyue's needlework. Ziqing also took a look at Zhou Shi's basket, which was also eggs and a pig stomach.

  Yan Renda soon returned with the children, and he wanted to cook lunch. Zhou Shi and Shen Shi originally wanted to help, but he refused, saying: "How can I let two sisters-in-law work? It's better for me to do it myself. If you want to help sincerely, just stay here for a few days and help me harvest the rice. You see, Chunyu is only ten or so days old, and the rice hasn't been harvested yet, she's not at peace either."

  Shen looked at Zhou, and Zhou said she had to go home as there was still a lot of work to do. Shen said that the fields in her own home hadn't been plowed yet, and besides, there was also a child who was still breastfeeding at home, so how could she leave?

  Yan Renda was somewhat unhappy upon hearing this, and his enthusiasm waned. He hastily cooked a simple lunch, adding only a few slices of fatty meat to the stir-fry, leaving behind a bowl of celery and a bowl of bok choy. The only dish with meat was immediately divided among several melons, and Zi Qing had witnessed their incredible speed before. Chun Yu cooked an omelette for herself. No wonder Zifu said he didn't want to come again after the first time; Zi Qing was afraid they would dirty her clothes, so she tried not to take any dishes and kept a distance from them.

  After dinner, Shen went home and said that the child was still at home waiting to be fed milk. Autumn Jade stayed behind and said she would help Spring Jade cook for a few days.