| TBBOTOF | 298
Recently, many people have been coming and going at home. Tang Xu usually stayed farther away, usually staying near the yard.
Tang Erhu came home saying he was here to escape the summer heat, but every day he is working hard. His ten acres of land have been rented out, so he’s been busy working.
As August approaches, the weather gets hotter. It's not ideal for working outdoors because people might get heatstroke, and the men who are working also have their own fields to tend to.
So, they decided to postpone it.
The new house has already had its foundation completed, and they’re waiting for people to return so that they can continue working before the snow falls. By then, they expect the basic structure to be completed.
The courtyard is a mess, with stone slabs and wood piled up in the main yard. The lotus pond Tang Xu wanted has already been dug, but there’s no water yet, just a huge empty pit.
Wei Dong had planned to lead a trade caravan, but since Liu Yao and Tang Li's wedding is set for October, he can’t return in time. So, he decided not to go this time.
Wu Hong knew he wasn’t going, but he wasn’t as anxious as before, since he had already traveled with Wei Dong several times. This time, he only needed to lead the team to deliver goods, which wasn’t difficult.
The caravan is scheduled to leave in mid-September, and right now, Wu Hong is at home helping his mother prepare wind-dried marinated duck and chicken.
Recently, Wei Zhonghong has been more indifferent to family matters due to her husband Wu Qiang's health issues. She ignores the daily fuss of her two daughters-in-law, as long as her own money is well-controlled.
She doesn’t care how they handle things.
Wu Qiang’s health has been recovering well, but Old Wu has said that he must avoid heavy labor and should focus on recuperating, as the condition could easily relapse if overstrained.
Wei Zhonghong returned and told her sons and daughters-in-law the news. She directly divided the few acres of land that Wu Qiang usually farmed between her two sons.
It wasn’t an entirely free arrangement—they had to give 40% of the harvested grain to the family, with the remainder for themselves. The money from selling the grain wouldn't need to be handed over to the family’s general fund.
Wu Shouxin and Wu Shouye, the two brothers, were quite happy. They looked forward to selling more grain during the autumn harvest and exchanging it for money, which was something they certainly welcomed.
Their wives were also pleased. The next day, the elder son’s wife even killed a chicken and cooked it, then sent a bowl to Wei Zhonghong and Wu Qiang, saying it was for their father to nourish his health.
Wei Zhonghong had long understood the personalities of these two daughters-in-law. After they left, she turned to Wu Qiang, puckering her lips and said, “What did I tell you? They’ve been eyeing our little plot of land for a while. Now they’ve gotten what they wanted, they bring us a whole bowl of meat to show respect.”
Wu Qiang chuckled softly, picking up a piece of chicken and putting it in her bowl, saying, “There’s no need to bicker with them.”
Wei Zhonghong snorted, took the chicken out of her bowl, and said, “You eat it. I don’t like the way she cooks. Tomorrow at noon, I’ll kill a chicken too. Let’s call our fourth son over to eat together.”
“Alright.” Wu Qiang smiled and nodded.
For the next few days, Wei Zhonghong didn’t end up killing the chicken. This was mainly because both daughters-in-law kept sending food to her and Wu Qiang every day—whether the food tasted good or not wasn’t the point, it was all meat.
The excessive attentiveness from her daughters-in-law was becoming overwhelming. When her elder daughter-in-law came in holding a bowl of cabbage and braised pork, Wei Zhonghong waved her hand and said, “Take it away, take it away! No need to bring dishes every day. I have legs and can cook for myself. Just focus on your own life.”
The elder daughter-in-law’s smile froze on her face after hearing those three sentences. She didn’t dare to retort and could only awkwardly take the bowl of food back.
Finally, it became quieter. Wei Zhonghong now had the time to visit Tang Xu.
Although the weather was hot, placing ice basins around the yard could solve the problem.
Since Tang Xu’s family had plenty of ice for both eating and using, he never hesitated to use it. Ice basins were placed in the front yard, and even large ice blocks were put in the animal pens.
As soon as Wei Zhonghong stepped through the door, a refreshing coolness hit her. The heat she had felt on the way here faded, and now she felt much cooler.
“Auntie~~~~~” Xiao Bao, biting on the pear juice soft candy that Tang Xu had made, immediately ran to her and hugged her. “Auntie~ Hug~”
Wei Zhonghong quickly picked him up, smiling as she rubbed her face against his. “What are you eating? It smells so good.”
“Candy~~” Xiao Bao opened his mouth to show her the soft candy he had chewed up, then handed her a piece, trying to put it in her mouth. “You eat.”
Wei Zhonghong laughed and opened her mouth, eating the soft candy.
“It’s so delicious!”
Xiao Bao smiled broadly, holding onto her neck and pointing ahead. “Daddy is frying meat!”
Wei Zhonghong, holding him, walked through the corridor and said, “Your daddy really has skills, frying meat in this heat. He’s feeding you all plump and chubby.”
Xiao Bao grinned, not fully understanding what she meant, but he was happy.
Tang Xu turned around and looked at the two of them, smiling as he asked, “Auntie, when you leave later, take some with you. Steam a bowl tonight and eat it fresh with Uncle.”
Tang Li closed the door and walked over to Wei Zhonghong, saying, “Auntie, have you eaten yet? Brother made cold noodles for lunch, and there’s more. Do you want some?”
“Give me half a bowl. My appetite hasn’t been great recently. In this heat, I can’t eat much.” Wei Zhonghong put Xiao Bao down and walked over to watch Tang Xu fry the meat.
“How did you even think of frying meat in this heat?” she asked.
“I’ve got nothing to do,” Tang Xu replied with a sigh. “I was going through the meat in the freezer with Ah Li and the others. Some of it had been at the bottom for almost a month. If we left it any longer, it would spoil, so I decided to fry it all. Ah Dong always buys so much meat, but he never listens to me.”
Wei Zhonghong patted his shoulder, teasing him. “Dongzi is just afraid that you won’t get enough to eat.”
Tang Xu raised an eyebrow, lifting the fried meat from the pot and placing it in a bowl. He continued to drop battered meat chunks into the hot oil to fry.
"Is Uncle’s health better?" Tang Xu asked. "Old Wu was still mentioning it recently, saying that Uncle’s medicine is almost finished. You both should come by so he can check his pulse again and see how things are."
Wei Zhonghong smiled and nodded. "He's much better now, and hasn't been coughing at all lately. I came to ask when Old Wu has time, so your uncle can go see him."
"He's got plenty of time recently," Tang Xu sighed, his face filled with helplessness. "The three old men are arguing every day. Do you think it’s the heat making everyone irritable? They can’t say three sentences without getting into a quarrel, and no one can calm them down."
Wei Zhonghong chuckled softly. "That's how it is when you get old. Being able to argue means they still have energy. There's nothing to persuade them about. You younger ones just have to bear with it."
Tang Xu rolled his eyes. "Exactly, we just have to keep appeasing them."
After chatting for a while, Wei Zhonghong remembered that she still had things to do at home, so she didn’t stay long.
Tang Li brought out a large bowl and filled it with plenty of fried meat chunks, sending her off.
Once the meat was all fried, Tang Xu stretched his back, cracking his sore back and grumbling, "This really is a laborious task."
The large basin of fried meat chunks smelled delicious and looked very appetizing.
He waved his hand. "Tonight, we’re having steamed crispy meat!"
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