Li Zhouzhou took the opportunity to clean the chicken coop and pig pen in the backyard, and dumped the manure into the pit for dry fertilizer. Gu Zhao also woke up, washed up, mixed pig food and wheat bran with boiling water, and carried a bucket to the backyard to feed the pigs.

　　There is a big one and a small one in the family. The father said he would kill it if he waited any longer.

　　After finishing the work and washing their hands, the family sat in the main room to eat. The white rice porridge was cooked with rice oil, and there was no trace of yellow rice. The wild vegetables were blanched with water, salt, vinegar, and hot lard were poured on top, which was refreshing and delicious.

　　”tasty.”

　　Gu Zhao said happily while holding the bowl of porridge.

　　Li Zhouzhou said with a smile, “We have enough rice this year. Let’s cook some dry rice tomorrow. I won’t put in the yellow rice. We can eat the new grain.”

　　”Stew half a chicken.” Li Da said.

　　Li Zhouzhou agreed.

　　After dinner, they cleaned up. Li Da said he was going to cut grass for the pigs and collect firewood, and asked the two to do their own things. Li Zhouzhou took the bamboo winnowing basket with needles, thread, scissors and cloth in it and went to Xing Ge’er’s house to ask Wang Niang^[1]wang’s mother to make a short jacket for him. Gu Zhao stayed at home to watch the door and read books.

　　Li Zhouzhou arrived at Xingger’s house. The courtyard door was open and the people inside had just finished breakfast. They greeted Li Zhouzhou with a friendly face. Xingger’s mother-in-law saw Li Zhouzhou coming with something and said, “Wait a minute. I’ll go get my coat and show it to you.”

　　While they were cooking, the Wang family man even moved the big table from the main room to the yard.

　　Xing Ge’er, his mother-in-law, and Li Zhouzhou made clothes together, while the eldest sister-in-law Xu watched from the side and occasionally did some work. Xu lived a frugal life. With two children at home, her clothes were tight. She patched up the clothes that could be patched, and took down the clothes that were too short or too small, and added some cloth taken down from other places. Anyway, the two children had rarely seen new clothes.

　　In the past, Xing’er’s mother-in-law praised Xu for her good way of living. But now, seeing the clothes worn by her eldest grandson and granddaughter, although clean, were patched up and inevitably shabby, she said, “Eldest daughter-in-law, the harvest is good this year. I gave you one and a half taels of silver, and you have half a string of silver left. While you have time, go to the town and buy some cloth to make new clothes for the two children.”

　　”No need, mother. They have enough clothes to wear.” Xu didn’t want to spend the money.

　　Xing’er’s mother-in-law doesn’t like it, but Li Zhouzhou is still here so she can’t say much. She’ll talk to the eldest brother later. Can she still be biased towards Wang Shitou like the old couple of the Li family? Will she be mean to the eldest brother when the family is divided in the future?

　　So Xu is now living a timid life, is it because she is on guard against her?

　　The women in the village and the girls waiting to be married all wear short jackets on top and skirts on the bottom. Because they have to work, the skirts are usually made shorter to reveal the shoe surface. The short jackets are mostly slanted-necked, and rarely have double-breasted ones.

　　Li Zhouzhou saw an old lady in the town wearing a double-breasted gown, which looked very nice.

　　”This cloth is good.” Xing’er’s mother-in-law knew it was a good thing as soon as she touched it.

　　Xing Ge’er said, “It’s three cents more expensive than the one I bought for Yuan Yuan. Zhou Zhou is really good to his husband and grandmother.”

　　”That’s because Zhou Zhou is very filial. He is a filial child.” said Xing’er’s mother-in-law.

　　Li Zhouzhou is a boy who has never made a short jacket for women. He got instructions from Aunt Wang on how to cut and make samples. Aunt Wang also said that people don’t like to wear clothes with nipped waists when they get older. That’s ridiculous. If they wear it outside, people will laugh at them and say that people like to be coquettish when they are old and should wear loose clothes.

　　It’s quick to make and I can finish cutting it in just one morning.

　　Li Zhouzhou said that he would not take the things back after leaving them at Xing Ge’er’s place, and would come back in the afternoon after lunch. Xing Ge’er’s mother-in-law agreed immediately, “Just leave it here, don’t worry, your aunt will watch over it for you, and you won’t lose a single needle.”

　　”Thank you, Auntie. I believe you.”

　　Li Zhouzhou went home to cook. The water tank was full and his father had not come back yet, so his husband must have gone to fetch water.

　　”Husband, did you go to fetch water this morning?”

　　Gu Zhao heard some noise at the door and came out to see what was going on. Seeing his wife coming back, he boasted, “Am I a good boy?” He also leaned forward and asked his wife to touch him.

　　Li Zhouzhou smiled and touched his husband’s head, praising him for being a good boy.

　　”I beat half of it, and the uncles and aunts in the village helped me take it back. I said I couldn’t use it.”

　　”My husband is great, everyone likes him very much.” Li Zhouzhou said naturally.