Chapter 39

He family

Shazhu sat in the room drinking gloomy wine, eating deep-fried peanuts that had been sitting for over ten days.

Listening to the children's cries coming from the Jia family, Shazhu's hatred for Cao Weiguo grew even stronger.

It was all because Cao Weiguo didn't follow the rules that he was reported by fellow workers and punished by the factory leaders!

Now Cao Weiguo had caused him to go to the workshop for reform, unable to bring leftovers from the kitchen, and unable to help the Qin family.

Shazhu was filled with resentment toward Cao Weiguo, but he didn't reflect on his own behavior of harming others to benefit himself.

His behavior of bringing leftovers from the kitchen was actually wool-gathering from the state.

If this behavior were to be investigated thoroughly, it would be a jail sentence.

"Knock, knock, knock!"

Just as Shazhu was drinking in annoyance, the door was suddenly knocked.

"Zhuzi, are you asleep?"

"Qin Jie, I'm not asleep yet. Is something the matter?"

Qin Huairu pushed the door open and walked in, looking at Shazhu with heartache:

"Zhuzi, don't be discouraged. If you perform well, with your culinary skills, you will definitely be able to return to the kitchen."

Qin Huairu's comfort made Shazhu want to cry with emotion.

He thought to himself: Qin Jie is the person who cares about me the most!

Shazhu stood up, his face flushed, and walked toward Qin Huairu: "Qin Jie, you are so good."

Grabbing Qin Huairu's hand, Shazhu felt as if his heart was on fire.

"Ah!"

"Zhuzi, what are you doing?"

Qin Huairu was startled and pushed Shazhu away: "Zhuzi, I am your sister."

Shazhu stumbled backward, and his brain cleared up a bit.

"Qin Jie, I'm sorry, I drank too much; I didn't mean it."

Shazhu apologized in a panic, and Qin Huairu comforted him with gentle eyes:

"Zhuzi, sister doesn't blame you; sister knows you are bitter in your heart, but sister hopes you can be strong."

With a gentle concern and comfort, Shazhu's heart was filled with emotion and warmth.

"Qin Jie, don't worry, I will pull myself together; this little thing can't knock me down."

Qin Huairu nodded happily: "Zhuzi, sister believes in you; you are He Yuzhu, who fears nothing."

After comforting and encouraging Shazhu, Qin Huairu took the peanuts and half a bottle of wine home.

Shazhu lay on the bed, thinking of Qin Huairu's concern for him, his heart feeling warm as if soaking in a bath.

Yan family

The Third Aunt looked at the meatball soup, frozen tofu, radishes... poured into the basin as if they were treasures.

"There are even meatballs!"

"These are good things!"

"Cao Weiguo is really generous; this person is worth associating with."

The Third Uncle picked up three heads of sugar-garlic: "There are even better things here; three heads of sugar-garlic, our family can eat for several meals."

The Third Aunt swallowed her saliva looking at the sugar-garlic: "Master of the house, peel a clove and let me taste it; I haven't eaten sugar-garlic for over two years."

The Third Uncle quickly hid it behind his back: "Eating sugar-garlic late at night isn't good; it causes heartburn. Let's eat it tomorrow."

Having lived together for decades, the Third Aunt naturally knew her husband's nature.

If she weren't really too greedy, she wouldn't have made this request.

The Third Aunt sighed: "This Cao Weiguo is doing better and better; we must have a good relationship with him."

The Third Uncle nodded in agreement, pondering: "I plan to invite him to our house for a meal tomorrow, using these leftovers, and we'll add some cabbage leaves, vermicelli, and have a hotpot."

The Third Aunt was somewhat reluctant: "With so little stuff, it's not even enough for our own family; let's not invite him."

The Third Uncle calculated: "You, your vision is too short-sighted. What kind of person is Cao Weiguo? If we invite him to dinner, would he be embarrassed to come empty-handed? We are throwing a brick to attract jade. Besides, inviting him to a meal will bring us closer, and won't he have to give us some good things later?"

Cao family

Cao Weiguo locked the door and quietly entered his portable farm.

He cleared a piece of open land and planted chili and tomatoes.

Then he went to the granary and took out a pile of wheat grains, filling sacks and woven bags.

Filling all the large bags, he filled twenty-three bags in total.

He planned to find a mill in the countryside on the weekend to process these wheat grains into flour.

Although he can do "whatever he wants" in the farm, it is also limited and cannot reach the point of getting whatever he wishes.

He can do some rough and simple things: harvesting, sowing, plowing, catching, slaughtering, logging...

But fine work like milling flour, cooking, pressing oil, and making tools still relies on manpower and machinery.

After packing the wheat grains, Cao Weiguo began to organize the storage space.

He stored the check-in reward items separately.

There were too many things and the space was too small; it wouldn't fit without reasonable allocation.

Food and items prone to spoilage and mold were left in the storage space.

Fishing rods, toothpaste, soap, flashlights, kitchen knives, and other tools that don't spoil easily were put into the portable farm to free up more space for storing ingredients.

Some pigs and sheep were ready for slaughter; continuing to raise them would not only not gain weight but would also affect the meat quality and compete for food with the young ones. ===== CHAPTER 41 =====