Chapter 49: Li Xiucai 2/3

But the meals were for Jin Xiaoye and the children, so it was better to be more meticulous.

Fortunately, Li Laogen, although grumbling and speaking harshly, still followed instructions when asked to do something. Under Li Qingzhi’s supervision, he managed to get the job done passably.

Li Qingzhi now basically wrote until mid-afternoon, took a walk around the neighborhood, then came back to cook. After he finished cooking and Jin Xiaoye returned, he would help her sell things and chat.

After they finished selling, and Jin Xiaoye and the others finished eating, he would finish off the leftovers.

After eating, a quick wash, and they could go to bed.

Every day of Li Qingzhi’s was fulfilling.

Jin Xiaoye didn’t stop Li Qingzhi from selling things.

At first, she thought it wasn’t good for Li Qingzhi to sell things while they ate inside, but later she found out that Li Qingzhi actually enjoyed selling things.

For him, selling things while chatting with people was relaxing and fun!

Since that was the case… let Li Qingzhi go ahead and do it.

Li Qingzhi indeed enjoyed selling things.

As the weather got colder, people in the village stopped going to the riverside to cool off.

During this season, if it was windy, it would already be chilly, and no one would go to the riverbank after eating their fill to enjoy the breeze.

He couldn’t go to the riverside to experience the pleasure of being surrounded by living people. It was quite nice to experience it at home.

Li Qingzhi happily sold various items and chatted with people as he sold.

When everyone had left and Jin Xiaoye and the others had finished eating, he could enjoy the remaining rice and vegetables that Jin Xiaoye had left for him.

Jin Xiaoye always saved the best dishes for him!

“Brother, I’m going back.” Zhao Xiaodou greeted Li Qingzhi.

“Go ahead; be careful on the way,” Li Qingzhi replied with a smile.

“Yeah.” Zhao Xiaodou responded and dashed out.

When it rained, Zhao Xiaodou would stay at the Li family’s house and sleep with Li Damao and Li Ermao, but on sunny days, he would usually go back home.

Home sweet home, no matter how good the Li family was, Zhao Xiaodou still wanted to go home.

It wasn’t completely dark yet when Zhao Xiaodou left. He ran quickly toward his house.

The village where Zhao’s family lived was adjacent to the one in Miaoqian Village. Everything along the way was familiar to Zhao Xiaodou, and people on the road also knew him. Occasionally, someone would greet him, “Xiaodou, going home?”

“Yeah, I’m going home!” Zhao Xiaodou replied, bouncing forward without stopping.

When Zhao Xiaodou got near his home, he saw his father standing under a tree waiting for him. He ran over with a smile and plunged into his father’s arms. “Dad!”

Zhao Xiaodou wouldn’t have dared to do this before, but recently, Zhao Laosan has been very good to him. Seeing Li Damao, Li Ermao, and Li Qingzhi being close, he learned to do the same.

Li Damao and Li Ermao were so likable; following their lead couldn’t be wrong!

Zhao Laosan was actually a little uncomfortable with Zhao Xiaodou’s closeness, but amidst the discomfort, he was very happy.

Overjoyed, Zhao Laosan hugged Zhao Xiaodou tightly.

“Xiaodou, no, Tingju, what did you learn today?” Zhao Laosan asked Zhao Xiaodou.

“Dad, today I learned a poem! ‘The grass on the field withers year by year…'” Zhao Xiaodou recited the poem. “I recognize all the words in this poem, but I still need to write it a few more times to learn how to write it.”

“Tingju is really amazing!” Zhao Laosan couldn’t contain his joy.

Zhao Laosan really liked the name Li Qingzhi gave to Zhao Xiaodou. Having such a name made him feel that his son was different!

On their way back home, the two encountered Zhao Mancang’s father.

After learning that the Hong family had compensated Zhao Mancang with ten taels of silver, Zhao Mancang’s father specifically went to find him, only to be told by Zhao Mancang that the money had been spent on medical treatment…

These days, Zhao Mancang’s father has been grumbling and complaining about Zhao Mancang at home every day.

Now, seeing Zhao Laosan hugging Zhao Xiaodou, he snorted and said, “Such a big child and still being carried. Zhao Laosan, aren’t you afraid of raising a lazy bum?”

Zhao Laosan’s face turned red, and after a while, he replied, “It’s better than not having a son to hug like you!”

If someone had said this to him before, Zhao Laosan would definitely have put Zhao Xiaodou down. But thinking that Li Qingzhi had been doing this all along… Li Qingzhi was so much more capable than the person in front of him!

It was better to listen to Li Qingzhi.

Zhao Xiaodou, who had been a bit nervous, couldn’t help but laugh when he heard his father say so.

When they arrived at Zhao’s house, Zhao Xiaodou’s mother also began asking what Zhao Xiaodou had learned.

Zhao Xiaodou’s siblings also surrounded him, asking what he had eaten today.

Zhao Laosan actually treated his stepchildren differently, and it was quite obvious. But he didn’t mistreat them; in the years he had been busy working to pay off debts… compared to those fathers who beat their children, he wasn’t too bad. His stepchildren didn’t dislike him either.

Learning that the Li family had meat again today, Zhao Xiaodou’s siblings couldn’t help but salivate, regretting that they weren’t Zhao Laosan’s biological children.

Zhao Xiaodou had eaten meat today, and so had Zhao Mancang. He even had some snacks.

After Zhao Mancang’s injuries, instead of immediately letting him work alongside his own son, Zhu Qian had him recuperate first.

During these ten days, Zhao Mancang had been eating just like the steward at the Zhu family’s, and he had also received clothes made by the servants of the Zhu family.

Additionally, Zhao Mancang could see Zhu Qian’s little son, Zhu Xunxin, every day—Zhu Xunxin came to see him every day.

The autobiography written by Zhu Qian was the first long story Zhu Xunxin had heard since he was little, and it was written by his own father!

Young Zhu Xunxin loved this story so much that he wanted to emulate it and become a servant to someone else!

Of course, that was impossible, as Zhu Qian and the others did not agree.

Feeling depressed, Zhu Xunxin encountered Zhao Mancang.

Because he wasn’t well and couldn’t go outside much, Zhu Xunxin felt that Zhao Mancang was like his father. Therefore, he especially liked Zhao Mancang and would go to see him every day, bringing him snacks.

Having taken care of Hong Zhao, who couldn’t speak and would inexplicably go mad, and then encountering Zhu Xunxin, who was fair-skinned, somewhat weak, slow-speaking, and innocent… Zhao Mancang felt that Zhu Xunxin was the best young master in Chongcheng County!

Zhao Mancang genuinely liked Zhu Xunxin, and as Zhu Xunxin lacked playmates, their relationship grew closer and closer.

At the Li family’s home…

Now that the Li Qingzhi family had money and didn’t lack firewood, Jin Xiaoye boiled a pot of water in the evening.

The two children wouldn’t bathe today; washing their faces and feet with Li Qingzhi would suffice. After washing, Li Qingzhi would take them to bed and tell them stories.

As for Jin Xiaoye, after a busy day outside and sweating, she cleaned her body a bit.

After washing up, she returned to her room and started doing bookkeeping under the oil lamp.

When Li Qingzhi came over, Jin Xiaoye was using a brush to write Arabic numerals on a piece of paper.

Daqi didn’t have Arabic numerals, but there were some simplified writing methods. However, even though those methods were simplified, they were not as convenient as Arabic numerals.