Although it’s not a lot, it’s still a life.

　　The Wang family raised the child. The next year, Wang Ergou’s mother became pregnant and gave birth to a boy safely. His nickname was Wang Ergou, a cheap name because they were afraid that he would die like the first child who was not kept.

　　People in the village said that Wang Ergou was saved because of an adopted child. The Wang family believed this and never treated Uncle Wang harshly.

　　”But now Uncle Wang has to pay it back, and he has to pay it back for the rest of his life.” Li Zhouzhou’s mouth was dry. Seeing his husband handing his a tea bowl, he wanted to take it, but he didn’t expect his husband to feed him. He leaned over and drank a sip. “A few years after Wang Ergou’s grandfather passed away, Wang Ergou’s father learned how to play dice.”

　　Gu Zhao: “Gambling? Then there must be a reason why my life is so miserable.”

　　This era is not like the modern era, where prices change a lot. Ten years ago, rice cost ten cents per liter, and ten years later, it is still the same. The harvest in the fields has not changed much. The profit from selling is small, but if the villagers are frugal and hardworking, their lives will get better.

　　If your parents leave you a solid foundation and you follow the rules, your life won’t be much different unless there is a natural or man-made disaster.

　　”It was just for fun. I don’t understand. Anyway, Wang Ergou’s father sold the family’s ten acres of paddy fields, and then went to the town to play. His hand was broken and he couldn’t do any hard work. The family relied on Uncle Wang and Wang Ergou’s mother to do everything.”

　　”Wang Ergou is as bad as his father, they both like to play with money, but the Wang family doesn’t have much land now, so they can only play around in the village. Everyone in the family, big or small, whether working in the fields or at home, depends on Uncle Wang for support. Sometimes Wang Ergou wants to rob Uncle Wang of the money he earns from selling tofu, and he always says, ‘Your life belongs to the Wang family. If it weren’t for my mother, you would have died outside. How dare you hide money secretly?’ He also beats Uncle Wang.” Li Zhouzhou was very angry when he said this.

　　Gu Zhao’s face also turned serious, but he just tried to calm his wife down first.

　　Before Xiaotian was born, Uncle Wang had a hard time. Whenever Wang Ergou ran out of money, he would rob him of it, cursing and making a mess. Uncle Wang’s parents-in-law didn’t dare to confront their son because Wang Ergou was a scoundrel who would beat anyone.

　　He even pushed his mother.

　　As soon as Wang Ergou left, Uncle Wang’s parents-in-law came out and said that Ergou was still young and ignorant, so you just have to be patient with him, because you are raised by the Wang family. Or they said that Uncle Wang should give birth to a child, so that Wang Ergou can be tied down with the child and learn to take care of the family.

　　However, Uncle Wang was in poor health and had a difficult pregnancy, so he was not expecting much. When he got pregnant with Xiaotian, Uncle Wang’s parents-in-law thought that their son would be sensible, but the result was naturally that they did not want the baby.

　　”…Maybe she felt she owed Uncle Wang, Wang Ergou’s mother taught Uncle Wang how to make tofu.”

　　”But what’s the use? Uncle Wang has to do more work. Ergou’s mother is old and in poor health and needs to take medicine. Now the family depends on Uncle Wang to support it. And Xiaotian is weak and can’t stand the cold.” Li Zhouzhou felt worried whenever he mentioned it.

　　No matter how hard Uncle Wang works, he will never have an easy life as there are so many people in the house asking for money.

　　”Fortunately, Xiaotian is sensible and well-behaved, and knows how to feel sorry for his father. I just hope that when Xiaotian grows up, he can give Uncle Wang a few more good days.” Li Zhouzhou said hopefully.

　　Gu Zhao did not pour cold water on Zhou Zhou. Uncle Wang has endured all these years, and as long as Wang Ergou is around, he will continue to gamble. Uncle Wang, who is exhausted, will only have no peace. Even if Xiaotian gets married and has children, Uncle Wang will still be busy for the children.

　　In short, it’s tiring.

　　The two talked about the Wang family’s affairs. It was getting late outside, so Li Zhouzhou said he had to cook and go ask Uncle Wang tomorrow. He had a good relationship with Uncle Wang, so he decided to try asking in private.

　　Gu Zhao continued to think about fertilizers. He summarized a lot of things on the paper, such as ferrous sulfate fertilizer, which can also kill insects, but it requires boiling water with iron filings and then adding sulfuric acid – this is troublesome.

　　Besides, in this era, ironware is strictly controlled. The two iron pots on the farmer’s stove are evidence that the country was peaceful and the people lived and worked in peace during the reign of Emperor Kang Jing. It is difficult to let the iron pot rust and cook for you.

　　I wrote and drew for a while.

　　Li Da from the courtyard came back and said in the main room, “Gu Zhao, didn’t Zhou Zhou cook?”

　　”Dad, isn’t Zhou Zhou in the kitchen?” Gu Zhao came out of the house.

　　Li Da shook his head. The kitchen was empty, but there was firewood in the stove.

　　Gu Zhao thought about it and knew where Zhou Zhou went. He said to his father, “Dad, I know where Zhou Zhou is. Don’t worry. I’ll go find him and be back soon.”

　　”Okay.” Li Da didn’t stay in the main room and went to the kitchen.