"Mom, have you eaten yet? Where is Lele? Where did he go so early in the morning?"
"Huan'er, Lele and I have all eaten. Lele and Xiaohua went to the back hills to collect firewood. She said that you have a baby and the house needs to be warm enough, otherwise the baby will be cold."
"When this child comes back, I will ask her to study hard with me. She must at least finish the third grade curriculum this winter."
"Third grade of elementary school, isn't that too fast?"
"No, elementary school is not difficult. It's just recognizing a few words and learning some addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. It's very easy. Li Huan is also reading junior high school textbooks now."
Li's mother was shocked. She knew that Cheng Qiao graduated from high school, which was a very high level of education. It would be no problem for her to teach a primary school graduate and a child who had not even attended primary school.
"Cheng Qiao, you taught Huan Er a lesson. In the future...what if..."
In Li's mother's opinion, most men who are too good at studying are Chen Shimei. She likes Cheng Qiao as her daughter-in-law very much and does not want them to be separated.
"Mom, don't worry. Books can give you a golden house. Our Li family will live in a golden house in the future. How can we do that without studying?"
Cheng Qiao drank the pregnancy-preserving medicine in the bowl in one breath, and touched her belly while talking to the baby: "Baby, in the future, mom will definitely raise you well, let you live in a high-rise building, and let you marry a beautiful bride."
Mother Li wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes behind Cheng Qiao's back. Ever since Cheng Qiao married into the Li family, the family's conditions have improved visibly. Even Li Le has grown a lot taller in a short period of time, and his pants have become shorter.
"It's a coincidence. I don't have anything to do today, so I'll make you a pair of pants. When your belly gets bigger, you won't be able to wear the pants you're wearing."
"Okay mom, I'll get the cloth."
"No need, mom has some here. Huan'er gave me several pieces last time."
"Mom, Sister Qiu Min's supply and marketing cooperative received a batch of defective cloth. No tickets are required and the price is very cheap. I bought a lot. Look, we have a family of four, maybe five, so let's make a few clothes for each of us."
The baby in Cheng Qiao's belly is also considered a person, so now she can start making some diapers and blankets, which can be used after the baby is born.
Mother Li took a look at Cheng Qiao's belly, smiled and nodded. When she saw Cheng Qiao take out a large pile of cotton cloth with blurry patterns but absolutely good quality, her eyes narrowed with joy.
"Coincidentally, this cloth is good. It can be used to make underwear and swaddle the baby. But it's a bit wasteful to make a diaper. Mommy will look for some old cotton cloth. Diapers made from old cloth will be more comfortable for the baby."
Cheng Qiao nodded and gave all the cotton cloth to Li's mother. She had never known how to make clothes, so she would leave this job to Li's mother from now on.
"Cheng Qiao, your letter and the remittance slip should be from your father."
Zhang Yuefang stood at the door and shouted Cheng Qiao's name loudly. Cheng Qiao hurried out and saw Zhang Yuefang's envious eyes looking at her house, and couldn't help laughing.
"Sister Yuefang, be envious, if you are envious then just marry me."
"You little bitch, you become so outspoken now that you're married."
"Hehe, how come you have time to come here today?"
"It was so noisy at the educated youth camp, and I just happened to have your letter, so I delivered it to you."
Cheng Qiao took the letter and remittance slip and took a closer look. They were both letters from her father. Calculating the time, it seemed that the reply was a little late. She wondered what went wrong in between.
"Cheng Qiao, you second-rate guy, no, Li Huan is not good to you, don't be stupid and spend all the money, otherwise you will have no good life in the future."
"Thank you, Sister Yuefang. I know that Li Huan treats me very well. I am very satisfied."
"Ah, girls love to be pretty, boys love to be coquettish, and you two are a match made in heaven in terms of appearance. I pray to God that you two, this pair of pretty brother and coquettish sister, can live a peaceful and stable life together."
"Sister Yuefang, thank you..."
Cheng Qiao grabbed Zhang Yuefang's hand, feeling extremely excited. This was the first time in her life that she heard someone bless her and Li Huan in this way.
"It's a coincidence. Let people come in and sit down. How can we let people stand at the door?"
Li's mother wanted to see who was coming, and happened to hear Zhang Yuefang's words. She was very satisfied and hurriedly and politely invited Zhang Yuefang in and poured her a cup of strong brown sugar water.
"Auntie, this..."
"Drink it. Qiao'er and Huan'er queued up to buy it in the county town. The weather is cold now, so it's good for girls to drink more brown sugar water."
"Oh, thank you, auntie. I won't be polite."
Zhang Yuefang drank the brown sugar water in one breath, and then told Cheng Qiao with some gloating that Chai Jianmin had returned with a broken leg and the village chief was angered and left.
"What do you mean?"
"Chai Jianmin said that his leg was broken because he participated in the construction of the river, so the village should compensate him for medical expenses, nutrition expenses, and if his leg becomes lame in the future, the rest of his life will be over, so he needs compensation."
"This is not a small amount of money, and the village chief may not agree."
"I think the village head will agree. After all, Chai Jianmin is an educated youth who came to build the countryside. Besides, he didn't ask for this injury. The village must take responsibility no matter what. Otherwise, who will dare to come to build the countryside in the future?"
Cheng Qiao rolled her eyes quietly. Zhang Yuefang was still too naive. Which rural people would want educated youth to come here? They were not here to build the countryside, but to divide up their food rations.
"Cheng Qiao, do you think the village chief will give him money?"
"We will give him some money. He won't lose any centimeters, and he won't have to bear the medical expenses. Giving him another ten or twenty yuan for nutrition is the maximum limit in the village."
Zhang Yuefang nodded. The village committee's slush fund was incredibly thin. In addition, Chai Jianmin's medical expenses were not cheap, so twenty yuan was the most they could come up with.
"Li Huan, Li Huan..."
Speak of the devil, and he will appear. Chen Weidang's voice was heard outside. Zhang Yuefang, Cheng Qiao and Li's mother looked at each other and felt that Chen Weidang's visit at this time was no good.
He quickly put on his shoes and walked out. As expected, Chen Weidang said a few words to Li Huan. Li Huan just shook his head. Chen Weidang was very angry. When he saw Li's mother coming out, he quickly walked up to her.
"Sister-in-law, please do me a favor. Get me a thick quilt from your family. I'll give you centimeters based on the price of the quilt. You can exchange it for food or money after the autumn harvest next year."
"Village chief, why do you need a thick quilt?"
Mother Li pretended to be dumb.
"Hey, it's that villain from the Youth League Center. His leg was broken by a rock, and now he's blackmailing our village."
"Village head, it's a huge joke that you are being blackmailed. I'm telling you the truth. Chai Jianmin has a grudge against my wife. I won't give him a quilt."
Li Huan suddenly remembered that he had thrown Chai Jianmin's quilt into the toilet. No wonder this guy wanted a quilt. The previous quilt was too smelly and could not be used to cover himself.
Chen Weidang was stunned for a moment. Didn't Cheng Qiao have a falling out with Xu Laidi? How come she is grudge against Chai Jianmin again? This youth cadre site looks very quiet on the surface, but in fact, there are undercurrents.