Chapter 4 Labor Allocation

  While cooking, Qizhen's hands and mind didn't stop. The Liu family had brought disaster to their home, causing their family to be destroyed and leaving her and her brother as orphans who were bullied by them. Since they wanted to leave, this grudge couldn't be so easily let go of.

  Huzi saw Zhen'er's face change several times and reminded her: "Sister, what are you thinking about? The water is boiling."

  Qī Zhēn ér was suddenly awakened by Hǔ Zǐ's reminder, and when she looked into the pot, it was indeed boiling. She thought to herself that she had been too absorbed in her thoughts. She smiled at Hǔ Zǐ as a way of thanking him for his reminder.

  Hutu looked at her and smiled happily. His sister had always been the adult in his heart, but he never thought that she would also have moments when she was lost in thought and needed him to remind her.

  The meal was ready, and Qi Zhen'er had to go feed the pigs. Farming families usually only raised one or two pigs, which were enough for their own consumption and some to sell. Those with better conditions would raise a few more, but these were either wealthy households or those with ample labor. The Qi family, however, fell somewhere in between, raising five pigs and over a dozen chickens, making them one of the top households in the village.

  As for why it is said that her family is in between, it has to be calculated from the mouths of their family members. The Qi Zhen'er family had never been divided, but his second uncle belonged to half-in-law, and later they had to support his parents, so every year they only sent money home, but did not work. Grandpa and grandma, plus five people in the eldest brother's household, and Qi Zhen'er's sister could replace one labor force, which made a total of eight people. However, her elder brother Qi Fu was studying craftsmanship in the city and would not return, and Qi Qiang and Qi Feng were spoiled by Liu Shi, so they did not work either. In the end, there were only four adult laborers left with Qi Zhen'er's siblings. Nevertheless, Liu Shi still calculated their farmwork and household chores based on eight labor forces. She was reluctant to let her children do chores, but instead made Qi Zhen'er's siblings work extremely hard. Raising domestic animals was their task, and she would go out and tell others that she pitied them for being orphaned without parents, not even allowing them to take a break from working at home, which made people secretly sigh that this was a case of "Buddha's mouth and snake's heart".

  The five-headed pig's appetite should not be underestimated. Qi Zhen'er was malnourished and grew up to be petite, but she had a lot of strength when working hard. Every time, she had to run two or three trips to pour the pig feed into the pigpen.

  The task assigned to Hu Zi was to feed the chickens. The chicken feed had been mixed, and all he needed to do was sprinkle some of the wild vegetables they had dug up today, and that would be enough. It was a simple task, and Hu Zi always completed it very well.

  When Qifeng returned home, the Liu family had already come back from the fields and were busy washing up. The table was already set with a prepared meal, and she thought to herself that Qizhen and her family were really quick, having finished cooking so soon, which deprived her of an opportunity to tattle.

  She secretly adjusted her expression, not letting Liu see the joy on her face, and pulled at Liu's sleeve to coquettishly say: "Mother, Zhen'er and Hu'zi bullied me today."

  Liu's ears perked up, and she became spirited. As for these two idle good-for-nothings who ate without working, she had long since looked at them with disfavor. If it weren't for fear of others gossiping and affecting Feng'er's reputation, she would have driven them out long ago. Even if she couldn't drive them away, it was still good to often find fault with the siblings.

  Qifeng knew that her mother didn't like those two siblings, so she exaggerated and embellished the events of the afternoon. Mainly it was Qizhen and her brother bullying her, and her brother Qiqiang also chimed in, but as for the cause of the incident, she made it vague.

  Liu was furious upon hearing this and immediately prepared to summon Qi Zhen'er's siblings for a scolding, but was stopped by Qi Xingwen. "Let's talk about it after dinner, you've had a long day and must be hungry, her grandfather and grandmother are also starving."

  Liu looked at Qi Feng'er's grandfather and grandmother who were exhausted and had no choice but to let them eat first.

  Qifenger reluctantly pulled Liu's sleeve and made a scene. Liu comfortingly patted her hand, Qifenger knew that her mother was telling her to settle the account after dinner, and wouldn't let the siblings off so easily. Her mood immediately improved, and she happily started eating.

  Zhiqiang is a person who doesn't return home on time. In the past, he would come back home in time for meals, but as he grew older, he started coming back later and later. The Liu family used to wait for him, but over the past two years, after he became familiar with the son of the village head, sometimes he would go to the county town to have a good meal, and his family wouldn't wait for him anymore.

  Today he didn't go to eat well, but was found by Xing's widow's daughter, Lixiang. This Lixiang is really good-looking, a slender and elegant beauty, speaking with a trembling tone, making people's hearts feel numb. When he was young, Qi Qiang only thought she looked pretty, and the more he grew up, the more he liked to be around her. After following Wu Shaoyu to run twice in the county town's brothel, he vaguely understood something about men and women. He had already told Lixiang that when she turned 15, he would let his mother go to her house to propose. Every time Lixiang looked at him with a shy expression, but didn't give him an accurate message, making him feel itchy in his heart. This time Lixiang found him, how could he not be excited?

  Arriving at Lixiang's house in the woods, Lixiang hadn't arrived yet. Qi Qiang was very patient and waited, he was one of the few people who had patience for Lixiang.

  Soon Lixiang came out from the back door, she carefully looked around to see if there was anyone, and then walked through her own backyard garden to this small forest where Qiqiang was waiting for her.

  Qizhong saw her walking over and hastily grabbed her hand: "My good Lixiang, why did you come so late."

  Lixiang glared at him, her fingers brushing against his palm before she pulled her hand back, scolding: "You lecherous devil, what's the hurry? We're here now, be careful not to let others see us." Although Lixiang said this with her mouth, in her heart she was actually quite pleased. Having someone cherish you like this would make anyone feel proud.

  Zi Qiang knew she was just saying that, but didn't really blame him. Just the numbness of her fingers rubbing against his palm made him excited. But he also knew not to take liberties, Lixiang had clearly said that their relationship was not defined, and she wouldn't let him take advantage of her casually. He understood what she meant, and the more noble she was, the more he cherished her.

  Lixiang leaned in close to her, her eyes blazing with anger as she stared at her for a long time before speaking: "I heard that your mother beat your cousin Zhen'er half to death because she lost two eggs, is it true?"

  Qizhong thought she was in a hurry to find him for something, and said casually: "Is it true? Ma Pozi has gone, can the village still be kept secret?"

  Lixiang's heart skipped a beat, and she nervously asked, "Will your mother find out about you?" The other day, she had called out to him with no response, and her mother had taken all the eggs away to sell them. She couldn't even get an egg to eat. But then she told Qi Qiang about it, and he patted his chest and said he would bring her some eggs. Two days later, he really brought her two eggs, and at that time, she was delighted for a long time - this was something her admirer had given her.

  The result was that within two days, the village spread the news that Liu's family had beaten Qi Zhen to half death because she stole two eggs. Even Ma Pozi said it was uncertain whether she could be saved or not. After hearing this, her heart was racing for a long time, but fortunately, Qi Zhen finally survived. However, she was worried that the incident of Qi Qiang stealing eggs for her would be exposed, and then she would lose all her good reputation. As the saying goes, "A widow's door is prone to gossip," and for so many years, her mother had been careful not to bring any bad reputation that would affect her future marriage prospects. Now it was all over; if the news got out, she might as well be dead, and her mother would surely beat her to death.

  Qī Qiáng saw the worried look on her face and thought she was concerned about him, afraid that his mother would also scold him severely if she found out. He felt warm inside and comforted her, "Don't worry, even if my mom finds out, she won't do anything to me, at most she'll just scold me a couple of times."

  Lixiang felt even more anxious when she heard him say that. She wasn't worried about him, she just wanted to remind him not to drag her into it later on.

  Ziqiang didn't notice Lixiang's hesitant expression and continued to say: "Lixiang, don't worry, I know your feelings towards me. In the future, I will treat you well. When you grow up, I'll let my mother come propose a marriage for us, just wait."

  Lixiang heard his determination and didn't dwell on the issue anymore. Qiqiang's mother spoiled him, so she wouldn't ask too much later. Besides, with Qiqiang's feelings for her, he wouldn't betray her either.

  After parting with Lixiang, Qi Qiang felt warm in his heart. The feeling of being cared for by this future daughter-in-law was really great. No wonder so many people liked the hot and beautiful daughter-in-law. It's just that Lixiang was still a bit young, if he waited another year until she grew up, he could take her home to warm the bed.

  Qizhong felt happy in his heart, and even when he was splashed with dirty water by Hu Zi at the door, he didn't get angry. He just smiled and said it's okay to Hu Zi, which made Hu Zi confused.

  Qizhen'er cleaned up the bowls and chopsticks in the main room, but was caught by Liu Shi and scolded severely. However, this time she didn't dare to lay a hand on her, as Qizhen'er's back injury had not yet healed. If anything else happened, outsiders would definitely talk about it. Moreover, she was still lying in bed and needed them to take care of her, without even doing any chores.

  Back in the kitchen, I saw Tuzi holding a basin with a dazed expression, and asked him what was going on.

  Hutu thought this question was very profound, so it's better to ask his clever and sensible sister. He told her what had just happened, "I splashed water on Qiangzi, but he didn't get angry with me, instead he smiled at me. When he walked past me, I smelled a strong fragrance, which I had smelled somewhere before, but couldn't remember where."

  Qī Zhēnér heard a snort of laughter, what else can't be understood? He must have just returned from his old lover Xíng Lìxiāng's place. This is the expression of taking advantage of the situation. If it were usual, Hǔzǐ wouldn't say that even if he didn't get splashed with water, he would still beat him up to vent his anger.

  "If you can't figure it out, then don't think about it. Just pretend that Qiang Ge found a gold nugget today and be happy." Qi Zhen'er coaxed. This kind of thing really couldn't be let Tiger know, he's still too young and doesn't understand right from wrong yet. If he thought Qiang's method was correct, he would imitate it.

  Huzi also thought that his sister was right, and only when Qiangzi got benefits from Wu Shaoyu of the Guan family would he be nice to him.