Chapter 178: Prolonged Drought Continues

Chapter 178: Prolonged Drought Continues

Qin Xiaoyao reined in his smile, shifting his gaze from his sister-in-law to Li Danni and Liu Xiaomei.

"Go back yourselves. Also, in the future, Eldest Sister-in-law will come to help, so you won't need to come over in the mornings anymore."

Danni was also pregnant, and Liu Xiaomei hadn't paid her either.

Having someone work for nothing isn't quite right.

Mainly, with her eldest sister-in-law here, there's no shortage of help for now.

Liu Xiaomei looked at Li Danni.

Seeing Li Danni nod at her, she responded affirmatively.

然后跟Li Danni一起走了。

When the two of them left, Qin Xiaoyao took more than half a basket of bean sprouts and went to find Liu Shi and Song Que.

"娘——"隔得老远，Qin Xiaoyao便冲Liu Shi喊道。

Liu Shi turned around and saw his daughter-in-law bringing their young son over, her face full of smiles.

"咋了？"问道。

"This half basket of bean sprouts is here for you. If anyone else comes to buy some, you can just weigh it out for them!" With that, Qin Xiaoyao brought over the bean sprouts and the scale.

"Got it!" Liu Shi quickly responded.

"A moment ago, several people said they would come over to sell eggs and buy bean sprouts later!"

"That’s great. If we have enough eggs, you won’t need to go to the market to collect them anymore." Qin Xiaoyao responded with a smile.

"This isn't enough. How much can neighbors really provide? I'll have to go to the market later and collect some more!"

"Alright then! Let's have breakfast first!" Qin Xiaoyao said.

Xiaomei and Yun'er had already prepared breakfast. After eating, everyone had to get busy with their own affairs once more.

"Great! Then I'll serve it and eat!" Liu Shi immediately said.

From time to time, people still come to the door, so she must keep an eye on it.

Qin Xiaoyao's eyes flickered.

"How about we bring breakfast here to eat? It's still quite cool in the yard."

Liu Shi thought about it and decided that this made sense.

Agreed.

So the family had their breakfast in the courtyard.

During this time, people came to buy water, bean sprouts, and sell eggs, and these activities didn't get in the way.

After the meal, Liu Daniu, Li Danni, and Liu Xiaomei, followed by Qin Dahu, arrived one after another.

Qin Xiaoyao distributed the goods and settled the accounts with Liu Daniu, then began today's busy schedule.

Wang Xiaomei followed, also pushing the cart out the door.

After Liu Shi and Song Yun tidied up the kitchen, she also went out into the street carrying a wicker basket on her back.

The Song family finally quieted down.

As a result, after Liu Shi left, more neighbors came to buy bean sprouts and sell eggs.

Song Que came forward to receive them.

After trading the goods, he returned to his room and wrote a new notice, instructing Song Ye to post it on the door.

以后家里卖豆芽菜和收鸡蛋，都只在卖水的四个时辰内进行，其他时间，不做生意。

When Liu Shi returned and learned of the news, she expressed her approval.

Otherwise, people would drop by now and then throughout the day, which would indeed be rather headache-inducing.

In no time, Qin Dazhuang arrived with Qin Erhu.

After greeting Liu Shi and Song Que, the two got busy in the courtyard.

On the other side, after Qin Xiaoyao delivered the goods to the tavern and the restaurant, he went to the woodworking shop.

He bought a load of materials and hauled them back home.

Then he helped Qin Dazhuang and Qin Erhu with their tasks.

By noon, most of the framework for the shelter was completed.

"Alright, let's call it a morning. This afternoon, I'll bring your elder brother along, and we should be able to finish the job before dark!" Qin Dazhuang wiped the sweat from his forehead and said to Qin Xiaoyao.

"我们这就走了，外头日头大，你赶紧进屋去！"

"急啥？我去打些热水，你俩洗洗，歇会儿再走！”Qin Xiaoyao赶紧道。

留吃饭就算了，她都没空下厨。

厨房的活儿，现在是Xiaomei带着Yun'er在做。

Two little girls can manage some simple meals, but they can't handle the more complex dishes.

"No need! It's the same whether we wash here or at home!" Qin Dazhuang refused outright.

"Exactly! Even if we wash now, we'll just sweat again walking back," Qin Erhu added.

"By now, your eldest sister-in-law and second sister-in-law should have finished cooking. We should head back for dinner."

Qin Xiaoyao didn't insist further and let the father and son leave.

After they were gone, Qin Xiaoyao fetched hot water from the kitchen.

He washed his face and arms to cool down.

After resting for a while, he went to help bring the food to the dining room.

Once the meal was set up, Qin Xiaoyao braved the scorching sun and went under the tree to call Liu Shi and Song Que for dinner.

"I'll stay here. Mother, you and my husband go eat first. Come back to relieve me after you're done," Qin Xiaoyao said.

It was almost noon, and only three people remained in line, so one person watching was enough.

Liu Shi was about to refuse, but Song Que spoke first.

"I'll stay here. You two go eat."

"How can that be?" Qin Xiaoyao objected immediately.

"The sun is so strong; you can't bear it. Go back with Mother and eat. Then return to your room." He added.

Hearing this, Liu Shi was surprised, and Song Que felt awkward.

This... the daughter-in-law truly cares for her eldest son... but why does it sound a bit strange?

Caught by Liu Shi's odd look, Song Que felt embarrassed.

"Cough, I said go eat, so go," he said sternly.

Seeing Song Que's serious expression, Qin Xiaoyao finally dared not argue further.

"Alright, husband. I'll come relieve you after eating." She quickly replied.

With that, she reluctantly followed Liu Shi away.

When everyone had left, Song Que looked at the spot where Qin Xiaoyao had disappeared.

A smile crept onto his lips.

Happy days passed quickly, and soon it was late August.

In the past month, there had still been no rain.

The crops in the fields had long withered, and the autumn harvest would yield almost nothing.

The water in the paddy fields had evaporated, leaving cracks like turtle shell patterns.

The nearest river to Lingquan Town, the Huanshui River, was nearly dry.

At this time, the price of grain in Lingquan Town had risen again.

The prices of coarse rice and coarse flour had already reached seven copper coins per catty.

According to Qin Dazhuang, these prices were the same as during the drought twenty years ago.

High grain prices led to an increase in the cost of other essential goods in the town, causing widespread anxiety among the people.

At this moment, in Xiashui Village, at the Wang family's house.

"Wah, husband, I was wrong about what happened before! Please keep me!"

"It's not that I don't want to get the money back; they won't give it to me!"

"Now, the water source in Qian Village is almost dry. The village chief is organizing for families to prepare to migrate and leave Qian Village. But my brother and sister-in-law won't take me with them."

"I have no choice but to come to you!"

"Please, for the sake of our twenty years of marriage and the children I bore for you—Dashi and Xiaomei—keep me, please! Wah..." Qian Shi sat on the ground, clinging to Wang Laoshuan's legs, crying pitifully.

Looking at her now, she was far from the woman who had left Xiashui Village.