The second time the medicine was boiled, the medicinal properties were weaker. My father died because of this. Li Zhouzhou was too young to remember it clearly. He bravely told his second aunt, but of course she scolded him.

　　”What your father drank were the residues of medicine that had been boiled four or five times. How could this one boiled a second time be the same?

　　Go away and don’t delay me from feeding Guangzong medicine.

　　We have separated the family business, and you, a little kid, still want to meddle in my family affairs?”

　　Li Zhouzhou was only thirteen years old at that time. He didn’t have much money from raising chickens and earning eggs, so he used all the money to buy medicine for Xing Ge’er, just two sets. He secretly cooked it in a big stove. He knew that his father didn’t love the second wife and ignored the second wife’s family. He was afraid that his father would be angry if he wasted money to cook medicine for Xing Ge’er.

　　Xing Ge’er came to Li Zhouzhou’s house to take medicine, and he did it secretly.

　　I only took two doses of medicine, and they were gone after I finished them. I don’t know if it was the effect of these two doses of medicine, or if Xing Ge’er was young and had a good foundation so he could handle it.

　　After Xing’er recovered, she seemed like a different person. He treated his younger brothers and sisters well, but not as heartfelt as before. After that, he married into the Wang family. Xing’er’s belly didn’t move for more than a year, and her mother-in-law secretly complained about it. The villagers also gossiped about it, saying that he might have been neglected at that time.

　　Li Zhouzhou didn’t understand at the time, he didn’t understand these things before he got married. Now that his husband mentioned the women in the prefecture and county, Li Zhouzhou just remembered whether it had something to do with Xingge’er falling into the water?

　　”Bone dates are cheap, but they’re waste of fuel. My mother-in-law won’t like me stewing them for the whole afternoon. She’ll definitely scold me for being a spendthrift and a lazy glutton.” After saying this, Xing Ge’er sighed inwardly. Forget it, life has to be like this anyway. He already has a child, so there’s no rush for the future.

　　Having said that, Xing Ge’er still wanted to get well and have another child in the future. Who in the village has one child? Having more brothers is a great help.

　　Zhou Zhou’s stove looks good. It only takes a few pieces of firewood to cook a small pot. Why not ask his family to go to the mountains to pick up some firewood?

　　Xing’er was thinking all the way, and when he got to the yard, his mother-in-law looked at him and asked him where he had gone to play again. Xing’er didn’t like what she said, what did she mean by playing? It sounded like he was having an affair with a man, so he immediately said, “I go to Zhou Zhou’s house and talk.”

　　My mother-in-law didn’t say anything, saying that it was getting dark and I should cook quickly.

　　Xing Ge’er and his sister-in-law went to the kitchen to help with the cooking. While they were cooking, they couldn’t help but mention the stove in Li Zhouzhou’s house, “… it’s so high, put it in the living room, it will keep you warm all afternoon, and it’s also convenient for boiling water and cooking something.”

　　”Waste all that trouble. The big stove isn’t even enough for you to cook.” Xing’er’s mother-in-law was not happy at first and had a sullen look on her face. Xing’er was always thinking of something big and could spend all of his second son’s money.

　　Xu came out and said, “That sounds good.”

　　But there was nothing to say after the compliment. When Xing Ge’er was cooking, he knew that his sister-in-law was just trying to smooth things over. If his sister-in-law asked more questions after she finished speaking, he could continue talking.

　　Seeing that Xing’er didn’t say anything, Xu thought about the candy that Xing’er gave her and still asked if the stove was expensive.

　　”It’s not expensive. I heard from Zhou Zhou that sixty cents can make two stoves and two pots. It doesn’t take much firewood, and it can be placed in the house for heating. In cold weather, there is no need to heat the kang during the day. Isn’t this saving money…”

　　Xing Ge’er praised the stove highly and wanted to buy two with his sister-in-law.

　　When Xu heard that sixty cents was too expensive, she thought that even if they were two of each kind, it would still cost thirty cents. Thirty cents could buy three pounds of meat and a piece of candy, which was enough for the family’s daily meals. They wouldn’t have to spend a cent on the big kitchen.

　　This is a waste of money.

　　Xing Ge’er spoke quickly and said that the medicine furnace was too big. After he said it, he knew it was not good. Xu finally found a reason to refuse, “It’s a medicine furnace. It’s not good to put it at home. Your Yuanyuan is still young, so you have to pay more attention to it.”

　　”Just keep talking, Yuanyuan is still so young, there’s no harm in bringing this up, you’re still the real father.”

　　Xing Ge’er was full of grievances and anger. He was Yuan Yuan’s biological father, how could he harm Yuan Yuan?

　　The mother-in-law just wanted to scold him under the pretext of not wanting him to buy the stove.

　　I gave my sister-in-law four pieces of maltose for free. I should have returned one piece earlier.

　　He is so mad!

　　At dinner that day, Xing Ge’er only drank half a bowl and didn’t want to eat anymore, pushing it all to his husband. Wang Shitou saw that A Niang was unhappy at the table, so he smiled and said nothing, and ate Xing Ge’er’s leftovers, and finally went back to the house to talk with Xing Ge’er.

　　”Why are you angry? Did your sister-in-law provoke you?”

　　”Wang Shitou, don’t talk nonsense to me. My sister-in-law has a bad temper. If I get angry with her, it will seem that I am cunning and mean. Am I that kind of person?” Xing Ge’er said to the man angrily.

　　Wang Shitou hugged the man and said, “Yes, yes, yes, I said something wrong, so what?”

　　”I want a stove…” Xing Ge’er lowered his voice, talking about the bone soup for nourishment, feeling more and more aggrieved, “…My mother said that to me, it’s so unfair to me, I’m Yuanyuan’s biological father, how can I don’t want Yuanyuan, okay? He is my son.”

　　When Wang Shitou was a boy, he secretly loved Xingger and couldn’t bear to see him being wronged or miserable. His mother always said that Xingger spent money lavishly, but Wang Shitou knew that Xingger was very careful.

　　”Buy it. I’ll go up the mountain to pick up firewood. Tomorrow I’ll go to Li’s house to ask my uncle. Then I’ll go to Shili Village with him to order a stove and pot. I’ll carry it back later.”

　　After all, it’s some free time, there’s no work to do in the fields, so what’s the harm in running around a bit?