Zhao Zheng didn't laugh at her. People who have been hungry for a long time will have their stomachs shrunk. This is what happens when they suddenly overeat.
How many people in the village can eat all-you-can-eat corn rice these days?
It's just my own home.
Looking at the lunch box that had been licked cleaner than his face, Zhao Zheng put it away and threw it into the bamboo basket. "Do you have the strength left?"
"Weak legs!"
Zheng Chunmei snorted.
"Then go back after you have a good rest." Zhao Zheng began to clean up, but the cloth at the bottom was a mess. Who would have thought that Widow Zheng was actually a water beauty?
He didn't want to wash, nor did he want Zhaodi and Xiao'e to wash.
"I'm giving you this piece of cloth. Go back and wash it, and bring it with you when you come to see me. Do you understand?" Zhao Zheng put the clean thin mattress into the bamboo basket.
Zheng Chunmei was overjoyed. Such a big piece of cloth was given to her?
But when she heard the following words, she was embarrassed, "Who carries a piece of cloth with them?"
Zhao Zheng didn't want to expose her. She was hugging him so tightly just now that he wanted to rub himself into her body. Was he shy now?
No wonder Widow Zheng could charm Ma Dazhu so much.
"Rest well and go back. Also, don't let your old woman know that this cloth was given by me."
Zheng Chunmei nodded and then asked, "Do you still want to chop wood?"
Zhao Zheng looked up at the sky and said, "It's still early. I have nothing to do anyway."
"Then I'll go with you." Zheng Chunmei folded the cloth with a large map drawn on it, put it in the bamboo basket, and climbed up from the ground with gritted teeth.
"Aren't your legs weak?"
"I told my old lady that I was out chopping firewood. How am I going to explain if I go back empty-handed?" Zheng Chunmei rolled her eyes at Zhao Zheng. Although her legs were weak, her stomach was full, and her depressed mood had improved a lot. She felt clear-headed.
"I won't help you carry firewood!"
"You are so cold-hearted. You don't even recognize me after you pull up your pants." Zheng Chunmei looked at him with a hint of resentment.
For Zhao Zheng, this was a very satisfying transaction.
She's not your own woman, there's no need to feel sorry for her.
Moreover, this woman is very smart and easily takes advantage of others.
"Oh, if you don't want to recite it, then don't. Why are you so angry?" Zheng Chunmei smiled bitterly in her heart, thinking that Zhao Laosan was simply a piece of shit. He wanted to kill her just now, and now he is just ignoring her.
She suddenly felt unbalanced.
But she still had to follow closely behind.
"Uncle, since you have no problems, why don't you get a wife?"
"Uncle Zhao, you are so strong, have you ever thought about finding a woman to live with?"
"Uncle, can I introduce you to a woman?"
Zheng Chunmei kept chattering, but Zhao Zheng was too lazy to pay attention to her.
When they arrived at Jinji Mountain, Zhao Zheng said, "You just chop some firewood outside while I go take a look inside the mountain."
Zheng Chunmei was a little scared, "There are blind bears here, I'll go in with you..."
"These past few days, one or two hundred people have been hunting in the mountains. Not to mention bears, even tigers don't dare to show their heads. Do you really think these beasts are not afraid of death?"
Zhao Zheng didn't want his secret to be discovered. "Either be obedient or don't follow me anymore."
Seeing Zhao Zheng's stern face, Zheng Chunmei said, "Be obedient!"
She had just eaten her fill once, so she didn't dare to offend Zhao Zheng.
After Zhao Zheng entered the mountain, she took an axe and chopped the young trees. "Damn Zhao Laosan, stinky Zhao Laosan, too ruthless..."
As she spoke, her unwillingness to admit defeat began to grow. "If one time doesn't work, then two times. If two times don't work, then ten times. Once he knows how good I am, he'll definitely treat me well. Not only do I want to eat my fill, I also want to eat rice and meat in big mouthfuls!"
She knew that it was impossible for her to be openly with Zhao Zheng, and she never thought that as long as she could get through these few years, life would be better when Erdan grew up.
On the other side, Zhao Zheng went into the mountains to cut trees.
[Ding, felled Chinese toon trees, one jin for one cent, worth fifty cents, store, sell?]
[Ding, chop down the diamond tree...]
If Zheng Chunmei hadn't been nearby, Zhao Zheng would have even considered buying a chainsaw and spending two days collecting enough wood for the entire winter.
Including those high-value big trees, they are all sold by the meter and can definitely be sold at a high price.
After storing another 300 kilograms of wood in the warehouse, Zhao Zheng slowly walked down the mountain carrying 50 kilograms of wood.
Zheng Chunmei had a full meal and worked very efficiently, and her bamboo basket was full.
"Chunmei, it's time to go home." Zhao Zheng said, "We should not leave together. It's better to leave at different times to avoid being discovered by your old lady."
Zheng Chunmei struggled to carry the bamboo basket on her back and nodded, "Then I'll follow you!"
Soon, Zhao Zheng left Zheng Chunmei behind for a distance, then put the firewood in the bamboo basket into the warehouse. Without the burden, he walked faster.
He returned to the village in the evening.
Zheng Chunmei returned home about a quarter of an hour late.
After putting the bamboo basket on the ground, before she could even catch her breath, Mrs. Li hugged San Ya and angrily asked, "Why are you back so late?"
"Mom, it takes three or four hours to go to Jinji Mountain and back. I'm back early enough." Zheng Chunmei said.
"Why did we only chop so little firewood and it was all burned in two days?" said the old lady of the Li family with disdain.
Zheng Chunmei was furious. "How much firewood can a woman like me carry? I only ate half a vegetable cake this morning. I'm lucky I didn't die on the road."
She was in great pain. If Zhao Laosan had not given her a full meal, she would never have been able to reach Jinji Mountain.
"Mom, do you have to work me to death to be happy? I'm so tired, let's see how you get by!" As she said this, she took San Ya over with red eyes and sat aside to feed the child.
San Ya was extremely hungry and choked on milk several times before she slowed down.
You can tell at a glance that her milk didn't feed her much.
Looking at her daughter who was so hungry that her head was big and her body was small, Zheng Chunmei was filled with grief and tears fell from her eyes.
Mrs. Li knew she had gone too far, so she walked over and said, "Chunmei, I'm saying this because I treat you like my own daughter. I'm a woman too, and I know life is hard without a man. I went through the same thing myself."
"We can't rely on either of us, mother or me. We have to rely on ourselves. Otherwise, how can we raise these three children?"
As she spoke, the old lady of the Li family also started to cry, "Why do you say that my life is so miserable..."
Zheng Chunmei couldn't bear it when she saw this. "Mom, please don't cry. I will definitely find a way to raise the three children. I won't let the Li family die out. I will definitely not let Brother Bang down."
"Oh, my good daughter, you are really my good daughter..." The old lady of the Li family hugged Zheng Chunmei and nodded repeatedly.
When Zhao Zheng returned home, he was stunned to see Wu Yueying covered in bruises.
"Father-in-law, this is what is happening. Can you please let Sister Yueying stay in our house for one night?" Zhang Xiao'e pleaded.
Yang Zhaodi wanted to ask Zhao Zheng for help, but considering the possible trouble she might cause, she remained silent.
Zhao Zheng sighed, "Go get some hot water and treat her wound!"