Chapter 51 - 51 Who Is the Jinx?
51 Who Is the Jinx?
The two little fellows shook their heads again.
Zhou Junjun held his little head with his hands and thought for a while. He stood up excitedly and said, “Sis, I understand. Working hard is to do work, bleed, and sweat.”
Zhou Xiaoli couldn’t help but smile. “Yes, that’s about it. Then let me ask you, why didn’t Father and Mother agree to let you go fishing?”
Zhou Xiaoyu was the first to raise her hand. “Sis, I know, I know.”
She looked so excited, as if she was afraid that Zhou Junjun would answer before she did.
Zhou Xiaoli could not help but laugh. “Alright, Little Fishy, go ahead.”
Zhou Xiaoyu stood up from the stool and placed her hands behind her back. She said in a childish voice, “Because we’re too young. Father and Mother are afraid that we’ll be in danger on the ship.”
Zhou Junjun continued, “Also, since we’re still too young, we can’t help on the ship. Instead, we would distract Father from fishing to take care of us.”
Zhou Xiaoli nodded. These two little fellows were actually very clear of what’s going on.
Now that the situation at home had improved, it was time to send them to school.
Zhou Xiaoli continued to guide them. “Not bad, not bad. So, what are you going to do?”
The two little fellows looked at each other. Zhou Junjun was the first to speak.
“I have to work hard to become stronger. If I can help Daddy pull the fish net, Daddy will let me tag along.”
Zhou Xiaoyu followed suit. “I want to tag along too, I want to tag along too. Brother Wei taught me many moves and I have been practicing them every day.”
Zhou Xiaoli pursed her lips and gestured for the two little fellows to sit down. “If you want to help Daddy pull the fishing net, you have to wait until you grow up.”
“You can train and become stronger, but you’re still young. You have to study hard. Learning well will be the greatest help to our parents.”
The two little fellows looked at each other. They do not understand what Zhou Xiaoli had said.
“Sis, what do you mean by learning?”
“Going to school to study. You should learn how to read, write and about manners.” Zhou Xiaoli replied.
When he heard this, Zhou Junjun stood up immediately and looked at Zhou Xiaoli with sparkling eyes. “Sis, can we go to school?”
“Of course you can.” Zhou Xiaoli nodded. “Then, are you willing to go to school and study with the teacher, so that you can learn manners?”
Zhou Junjun nodded immediately. “Yes, yes, yes, I’m willing!”
He was eight and a half years old this year. Zhou Anfu, who was the same age as him, started attending school at the age of five.
Even Second Uncle’s second son, Zhou Anle, was sent to school last year.
He was very envious as he watched them study and learn calligraphy every day.
However, he knew that he did not know how to speak and his grandma did not like him. She would not agree to let him go to school, that’s for sure.
Now that he heard Zhou Xiaoli say that he could go to school, he was overjoyed.
Zhou Xiaoyu was still a little confused, but seeing how excited her brother was, she followed suit. “Sis, I want to go to school too. I want to go to school too.”
“Alright, when you reach the appropriate age, I’ll let you go to school too.” Zhou Xiaoli smiled and rubbed the heads of the two little ones.
After receiving the news that they could go to school, the two little ones had long forgotten about going fishing.
At this moment, the two little ones had already run to the courtyard with wooden sticks and started drawing on the ground.
In the blink of an eye, it was the second day.
As soon as the chicken crowed, the family got up.
Zhou Xiaoyu and Zhou Junjun did not stay in bed either. They got up and ran to the courtyard to feed the chickens, ducks, wolf cub and donkey.
Zhang Lan wrapped the pancakes she baked last night in a muslim cloth and gave them to Zhou Yu. “These should be enough for you to eat.”
“Hey, wait a minute. Bring some water as well. There’s no water to drink at sea.”
With that, she ran to the kitchen and took out a water bag. She handed it to Zhou Yu. “There’s not much water in it. Be careful not to spill it.”
“Alright, I understand. Don’t worry.” Zhou Yu took the water bag and tied it around his waist.
He remained patient even as his wife nagged.
At this moment, Zhou Xiaoli ran out of the room wearing a straw hat. “Father, I’m done. Let’s go!”
As she spoke, she was about to leave the house.
However, Zhang Lan stopped her. “What’s the hurry? Have the egg soup first.”
With that, she ran to the kitchen and brought out the egg soup.
Knowing Zhang Lan’s personality, she would definitely not let her go if she did not drink it. Hence Zhou Xiaoli could only take the bowl of egg soup from her, hold her breath, and finish the soup in one go.
Zhang Lan: “Aiyo, slow down. Your father hasn’t left yet. What’s with this child, seriously.”
Zhou Xiaoli chuckled. “Alright, I’m done drinking.”
She put down the empty bowl, picked up her veil, and ran to find Zhou Yu.
“Be careful.”
“I understand, Mother. Don’t worry, I’ll take good care of Father!”
…
It was just the beginning of their trip. Liu Liangcai had also just left his house.
“Aiyo, Little Li is going too? Aren’t you afraid of getting tanned?”
Liu Liangcai smiled as he joked.
Zhou Xiaoli waved her veil. “It’s alright. I’ve wrapped myself tightly. I won’t be exposed to the sun for sure.”
The three of them met and chatted as they headed towards the river.
Their village was still some distance away from the sea and so, they would usually enter the sea from the Little Clear River.
At this moment, many boats were parked by the river. There were also many villagers who were preparing to go out to sea.
Seeing the three of them coming over, someone greeted them.
Zhou Yu also greeted everyone in a friendly manner. After that, the three of them boarded the ship.
Even after the boat left, those people were still looking in their direction.
This was the first time Zhou Yu had shown his face in front of everyone since he recovered.
“Heh, Zhou Yu is no longer a fool!”
“That’s right. The Eldest Zhou’s family has been unlucky for so many years. Is there finally a happy occasion for them?”
“Not only that. His son also knows how to speak now.”
“That’s right. Also, I saw him and his family pulling home several carts of bricks and tiles the day before. From the looks of it, they’re going to build a big house!”
“Oh my god. Was it to build a brick house? Didn’t the Zhou family spend all their money on treatment for Zhou Yu?”
“The bricks and tiles were ordered a month ago. That was when Zhou Yu hadn’t fallen off the roof yet. However, they probably don’t have much money now. The bricks and tiles have been received, but I don’t know if they can still build the house.”
“A few days ago, I saw the village chief helping the Zhou family to urge the Lu family to vacate the land. He said that the Zhou family is about to build a house. I think that they will be able to build it.”
“Besides, Zhou Yu is muscular. He’s not stupid anymore so he can earn money easily.”
“That’s true. However, I find it strange. Tell me, why is it that after Zhou Yu and his family broke away from Old Zhou’s family, their lives seemed to get better and better. I wonder who’s the real jinx.”
“Hahaha.”
…
Just as everyone was laughing, a voice suddenly rang out.
“Isn’t it obvious who the jinx is? A few days ago, Zhou Fugui’s medicinal herb shop in the county city was almost sealed by the county office. How can you blame Miss Zhou for this?”
When they saw who it was, the few people who were laughing immediately shut their mouths and smiled in embarrassment.
“Of course not. Everyone knows that the Zhou family has already cut ties with Zhou Yu.”
“That’s right, that’s right. You can’t blame Zhou Yu’s daughter for this.”
Wei Chiyu was a person who would risk his life just because of a disagreement.
As such, there were few in the village who were willing to provoke him and fall foul of him.
Wei Chiyu pursed his lips and turned to walk up the mountain.
It wasn’t until Wei Chiyu’s figure disappeared that those people began to discuss among themselves again.
“Hey, what’s going on? What happened to the Zhou family’s medicinal herb shop?”
“I’m not too sure.”
“Sigh, I heard a little about this. I think he sold fake medicine and was discovered by the county office. I think Zhou Fugui would have been imprisoned if not for his son-in-law.”