Ever since Mingyue and Zhou Ma had talked it out, all the candidates introduced by villagers, relatives and matchmakers were rejected by Zhou Ma and Dad, and Mingyue's life returned to its previous peace.
As the sun rises and sets, day and night are reversed, time passes quickly, and in the blink of an eye it is the hottest month of July.
High temperatures frequently occur during the dog days of summer, and the weather recently has been so hot that people sweat even when they don't move. Every villager holds a palm-leaf fan in their hands and waves it wherever they go.
At this time, the Zhou family was also busy. Except for the two daughters-in-law who were pregnant, everyone else was climbing up and down, so tired that sweat on their foreheads flowed down like a stream.
All this happened just because Liu Hui went to the village chief's house and received a call from Zhou Laosan on the landline. She learned that the weather had been too hot recently and many employees in Zhou Laosan and Zhou Laosi's factory had suffered from heatstroke. Their factory leaders decided to give them a full seven-day high-temperature holiday. Zhou Laosan planned to take his wife and son home to see his parents, and Zhou Laosi also planned to come back to avoid the heat.
But the Zhou family only has four rooms in total. Now all the brothers except the fourth brother have started their own families, so they can no longer squeeze in as they did before. There is definitely not enough space for them to live in.
It's not very convenient to stay at someone else's house, after all, I'll be staying there for several days.
So the family is now making a last-minute effort to build a thatched roof in the yard. The three Zhou brothers will then sleep with their wives, Mingyue will sleep next to Liu Hui, and the fourth brother and old man Zhou will sleep on the floor in the yard.
Anyway, it's hot these days, and it's cooler to sleep outside at night than indoors.
The whole family worked together, and with strength in numbers, they built a simple thatched roof in just a day and a half. They then laid bamboo mats underneath and could rest there.
Zhou Laosan and Zhou Laosi, who had their families with them, finally returned.
"Dad, big brother and second brother, come out and help." Before Zhou Laosan even reached the door of his house, he shouted loudly from a distance.
The villagers who were hiding from the sun in the house heard the noise and stuck their heads out from the cracks in the door. At a glance, they saw the third and fourth sons of the Zhou family, whose hands were full of things. Especially the fourth son, who was carrying a box on his shoulder. It looked like a big thing!
Immediately, an old man came out, fanning himself with a palm-leaf fan, and asked cheerfully, "Sanming, Siming, why are you back? Did the factory give you a holiday?"
Zhou Laosan smiled and said, "Yes, the weather is too hot. My boss gave me a few days off, so I thought about going home for a few days."
Zhou Laosi nodded innocently and said, "The dormitory in the factory is crowded and cramped, with a bunch of guys squeezed together. It's hot and smelly. I still think it's better to go home."
The old man laughed: "That's right, a nest of gold or silver is not as good as your own doghouse, and outside is nothing like the comfort of your own home."
Hearing the noise, other uncles and grandpas came out from their rooms and said, "Third and fourth sons are really promising. They came back just in time, and brought back so many bags. Your parents have finally enjoyed the blessing of giving birth to you two!"
"That's right. In our Zhoujia Village, the third and fourth sons of the Tieshu family are the most promising. By the way, third son, does your factory need more people? What do you think of your brother Facai?"
"That's right, Lao San, if your factory still needs people, don't forget our own people in the village!"
"That's for sure. If the higher-ups give me the news, I will definitely pass the news back to the village first." Zhou Laosan smiled with a row of white teeth, and without saying anything unlucky, he agreed right away.
Anyway, he didn't make any specific promises, he just passed on a message!
This is also the reason why the villagers like Zhou Laosan so much, because he is smart, sweet and good at talking. He has been the most popular among the elders and villagers since he was a child. The New Year's money he gets during festivals is a few cents more than other brothers. Zhou Laosi knows that he is not good at talking, so he just lets his third brother do the talking.
Some aunties also saw the baby in the arms of the third son's wife and immediately came over and said curiously: "Oh, is this the third son's baby? Look at the eyes and eyebrows, they look just like your father when he was a child."
Meng Zhen hugged Baoer and smiled awkwardly, then looked at her husband helplessly. She didn't know how to address the aunt in front of her.
Zhou Laosan had been paying attention to his wife and son. When he noticed the movement here, he immediately introduced them to his wife: "This is Aunt Feng," and then introduced the uncles and aunts who had gathered around: "This one you call Third Uncle, and this one is Third Aunt Qi..."
By the time Meng Zhen had greeted everyone, Mingyue and Liu Hui had already approached.
The others were also tactful. Seeing that someone had come to the other family's house, they decided not to continue chatting with Zhou Laosan and went back to their own rooms. Of course, they couldn't help but say a few words when they returned, saying that the third and fourth sons of the Tieshu family were really promising.
Zhou Laosan saw that it was his mother and younger sister who came out, and was stunned for a moment: "Mom, younger sister, why are you two here? Didn't I call Dad and Big Brother and Second Brother?"
"My third grandmother called me yesterday and said that my third grandfather was old (passed away), so my father and my eldest and second brothers went over to help early in the morning." Mingyue said, reaching out to take the things in his hand.
Zhou Laosan was not polite and gave two bags to the younger sister to carry. He sighed and said, "I remember that the third grandfather is 86 years old this year. He has suffered a lot in his life."
"That's right." Mingyue sighed, nodded to Meng Zhen in a friendly manner, and greeted her, "Sister-in-law."
Meng Zhen agreed and asked Baoer in her arms to call her aunt, but Baoer just stared at Mingyue without saying a word.
Zhou Laosi was still waiting for his mother to come and help him take the big thing off his shoulders, but after waiting for a long time, when he looked up, he found that his mother's eyes were motionless and she just kept staring at her nephew.
"Be good, baby. Call me grandma." Meng Zhen patted her son's arm and coaxed him.
Baoer blinked his big eyes and looked around, but found that he didn't recognize this or that, so he buried his head in Meng Zhen's chest again and shook his head vigorously.
Meng Zhen was a little embarrassed: "Mom, little sister, Bao'er is a little shy."
Liu Hui waved her hand nonchalantly: "It's okay, it's okay. In a couple of days, our Baoer and I will be familiar with each other."
Mingyue reminded everyone: "It's too sunny outside, let's go inside first!"
Liu Hui finally realized what was happening and hurried to help Lao Si move his things. Seeing the huge cardboard box, she asked curiously, "Lao Si, what is this?"
Zhou Laosi smiled but said nothing. This was a treasure that he had bought at a great price, and he couldn't reveal its true value so quickly.
(End of this chapter)