Li's mother had already finished making porridge and medicine. After drinking the medicinal tea last night, she felt much better when she woke up this morning. She had been working all morning without feeling breathless or dizzy.
Seeing Tian Jing get up, she smiled and said, "Tian Tian is up. Use the hot water from the thermos to brush your teeth and wash your face. I used the earthenware pot to boil the medicine, so after breakfast, I'll wash the large pot and then boil water with it."
"Mother-in-law, how are you feeling?"
Tian Jing looked at Li's mother, seeing her good complexion, but still wanted to ask about her feelings.
"Very good. I woke up this morning feeling very comfortable. I don't feel tired even after making breakfast. That medicinal tea is good."
"Mmm," Tian Jing nodded. "But you should still take it easy, don't overwork yourself. Go slowly."
"I know, I'm just making breakfast, it's light work."
Li's mother's face was filled with relaxed and happy smiles. Li Zhengguo, who had just come out, also smiled when he saw her. His mother's health was visibly improving.
After washing up, they went to the east room for breakfast. Tian Jing gave Li's mother a bag of white sugar. "Mother-in-law, watch Li Min, don't let her eat pickles. Put some sugar in her plain porridge."
Li Min's eyes immediately welled up. Plain rice porridge with sugar was the standard breakfast for her and her elder brother when her father was still alive.
Li's mother took the white sugar and tried to tear open the plastic bag with her teeth. Seeing Tian Jing's sharp gaze, she turned and picked up the winnowing basket from the kang table, found a sewing needle, and poked the corner of the bag with the needle.
"Don't you have scissors at home?" Tian Jing asked Li Zhengguo.
"I don't know." Li Zhengguo looked bewildered; he hadn't paid attention.
"How do you cut your fingernails?"
Men might not care about household chores like mending clothes, but in daily life, there are always times when one needs to use scissors, right?
Uh, could he refuse to answer?
Li Min, holding her porridge bowl, took the white sugar poured by her mother. Hearing her sister-in-law's question, her lips curled up. "I bite them."
Bite them? Tian Jing raised an eyebrow. "What about your toenails? Do you pick them up and bite them?"
Hahahaha.
Li's mother and Li Min couldn't help but burst into laughter.
Li Zhengguo reached out and touched the top of Tian Jing's head. "Naughty."
Because she was laughing so hard, Li's mother spilled some white sugar on the kang table. Li Min, feeling distressed, was about to bend down to lick it up, but Tian Jing stopped her.
"Stop. From now on, the family must pay attention to hygiene. It's sad to spill sugar, but the table is so dirty. You wipe it with a rag and then wipe the table. If you lick it directly, how many germs will you ingest?" Su Dan Novel Network
Li Min's outstretched tongue froze. Uh, sister-in-law was right. She retracted her tongue and swept the white sugar on the kang table into a pile, covering it with the porridge bowl. If she couldn't see it, she wouldn't feel bad.
Tian Jing decided not to discuss topics that might cause people to spit out their food. "Li Zhengguo, next time you go to the county town, make sure to buy scissors and nail clippers."
"Mmm." Li Zhengguo tried hard to suppress his laughter. Although Tian Tian was teasing him, he couldn't help but want to laugh.
Li Min stirred the white porridge with her spoon and took a sip of the familiar taste. A sense of emotion rose in her heart, but then she suddenly thought of her sister-in-law's question and couldn't help but want to laugh. This breakfast made her mood fluctuate.
After the meal, Tian Jing first made medicinal paste for Li Min. Li Min had found the bandages uncomfortable last night and had taken them off, causing the medicinal paste to dry out. She had to add more water to cook it.
"Li Zhengguo, how should we return that alcohol? With money? With more alcohol? Or with eggs or grain?"
"Return what you borrowed. When we go to the county town again to buy New Year's goods, we'll buy it then."
"It's been too long, will they be willing?"
"Now, it's fine."
Tian Jing understood. In the past, they might not have been willing because the Li family at the end of the village was too poor. Now, because the Li family's life seemed to be improving.
"Then, should we sell something during the New Year?"
Tian Jing mumbled as she stirred the medicinal paste, "I also need to sort out my private plot. Can you help me split some bamboo strips to build a shed? We can grow some vegetables and send them to the supply and marketing cooperative, right? Or give them to Ouyang Lei?"
"Okay," Li Zhengguo agreed quickly.
Tian Jing looked up at him. "Aren't you afraid I won't be able to make it work?"
"No, you have to try everything to know if it works or not," Li Zhengguo said, bending down to remove the firewood from under the pot.
Tian Jing scooped out the medicinal paste. "With your words, I'm reassured to give it a try. When we get back, we'll ask Sister-in-law Niu for some seeds."
"I saw the pumpkins in the wooden box sprouting. Should we continue making wooden boxes?"
Li Zhengguo had been moving wooden boxes in and out every day. Those pumpkin vines had already grown their fourth leaves, and it had only been a few days?
"Yes, tomorrow, make me a four or five-tiered shelf against the wall. It will save ground space and utilize vertical space," Tian Jing said as she walked out.
"Okay," Li Zhengguo replied from behind her. He didn't need Tian Jing to explain in detail; he knew what she meant. He had seen methods for saving space in high-rise buildings.
High-rise buildings? It seemed that the part of Tian Tian he didn't know was that her family's conditions were good, or rather, the social environment she was in was good.
After bandaging Li Min, Tian Jing came out of the east room and saw that Li Zhengguo had already prepared.
What he had prepared was eggs and boiling water in bamboo tubes. The eggs were naturally the red eggs from yesterday, which Li Zhengguo had peeled and re-boiled.
There were over forty eggs. They ate ten last night, and Li Zhengguo heated up another ten. There were still more than twenty left. Tian Jing handed the key to the west room to Li's mother.
"Mother-in-law, you watch over cooking at noon. That stewed meat should be eaten, so it doesn't go bad. The red eggs can also be fried. Eat whatever you like, don't be stingy. Money isn't saved by being stingy, and you'll ruin your health."
"Don't worry," Li's mother took the key. "We'll have rice for lunch, and pork stewed with vermicelli. Min Min said she wanted to eat it again today, right? By the way, where's the vermicelli? Did you sun it?"
Tian Jing looked at Li Zhengguo. He nodded. "We sunned it with the starch in Chen Suozhu's yard. We were worried Tian Lifu might follow us."
"Then I'll go get some back at noon."
"Mmm, then we're leaving."
"Okay."
Li's mother watched her son and daughter-in-law leave before returning to the east room. "I hope your elder brother and sister-in-law can have a smooth journey."
By this time, the sun had already risen, and it was probably past eight o'clock.
Many people were moving about in the village. Seeing Li Zhengguo and his wife going towards the village entrance, they knew they were going to inform Li Min's in-laws. However, they didn't know if the Tian family was giving away or taking a bride.
In this Kushan village, everyone except the young children knew that Li Min and Tian Jing were exchanging brides. Tian Jing was a capable and formidable young woman. Why the Tian family asked Tian Jing to enter the Li family first, no one knew.
In the past, Li Min was considered a capable girl in Kushan village, taking care of her sickly mother and lame elder brother without any complaints.
Although their home was poor, it was kept neat and tidy. However, compared to Tian Jing, she was on a completely different level.
Now that Li Min was in this state, if the Tian family didn't marry her, would they compensate with a person or money? If it was money, how much should they compensate the Tian family?
Li Min's 120 yuan had been spent by her elder brother and sister-in-law in the county town. The money had just been received and spent when Li Min had an accident. Was Li Min fortunate or unfortunate?
Some people sympathized, some were indifferent, and some watched for amusement.
None of this concerned Tian Jing and Li Zhengguo. At this moment, the two of them entered the team office to get a household registration acceptance certificate from the captain. This trip to Zhangshan would also include transferring Tian Jing's household registration.