After lunch, Li Zhouzhou went to the kitchen to clean up, and Gu Zhao accompanied him to help. Li Zhouzhou refused, but Gu Zhao said that he had been sitting and copying all morning and needed to move around. Li Zhouzhou thought it made sense, so he took out a jar from the cupboard, grabbed a handful of melon seeds and stuffed them into his husband’s hands.

　　Said: “Then my husband can just rest in the yard and eat some melon seeds.”

　　Gu Zhao, holding a handful of melon seeds: …

　　In the end, he didn’t go to the yard. He relied on his small face and stayed in the kitchen, saying that he would never help to make trouble. Li Zhouzhou nodded, but he didn’t understand why his husband always liked to follow him to do the work that only people in the house could do.

　　It’s not that Li Zhouzhou doesn’t like his husband’s company, but there are no men in the village who like to do this.

　　Little did we know that in Gu Zhao’s eyes, cooking, washing dishes and doing laundry were all tasks that could be done by both men and women.

　　Li Zhouzhou began to clean up, occasionally taking a peek at his husband standing beside him, obediently peeling melon seeds and peanuts, and then he began to work with peace of mind. He had to work fast by himself, but if his husband helped, he would inevitably accidentally touch his hand with the bowl, and he would work slower.

　　Clean the pots and bowls, and boil hot water in the pot again.

　　Li Zhouzhou forgot about his husband when he was busy. He went to the backyard to chop pig food, mixed it with wheat bran, waited for the water to boil, added two or three scoops of hot water, mixed the pig food, and went to the backyard pigpen to feed the pigs with the pig food bucket in one hand.

　　After feeding the pigs, there are also chickens.

　　Li Zhouzhou likes cleanliness and is diligent in cleaning the chicken and pig pens, so there is little smell even in the summer. Now that the weather is cold, the chickens huddle together and lay fewer eggs than before. On the day of the wedding, four chickens and a pig were killed, and now the pigsty is filled with piglets that were brought home not long ago.

　　The Li family was small, and they had to focus on the fields during the busy farming season, so Li Zhouzhou didn’t dare raise too many chickens. Usually, he would raise a dozen chicks, and about nine or ten would survive. He would save enough eggs to fill a basket and sell them in town. During the busy farming season, he would kill chickens for his father to supplement his body and have some meat.

　　Li Zhouzhou is used to raising pigs in August. After two or three months, the piglets will be a little stronger. The weather is cold, so it is also suitable for his father to slaughter the pigs. The pigs that have been slaughtered, grow fast and the meat is not fishy. When it is October next year, the pigs are fat and strong, so they can be slaughtered. Some are sold and some are kept for their own consumption.

　　The Li family was able to make a good living and become one of the best in the village, thanks to Li Zhouzhou’s ability to manage daily life and his ability to make everything go smoothly.

　　I also cleaned up the pig manure and chicken droppings, and the pig feeding bucket also had to be cleaned, otherwise the pig food left inside would become residue in the cold weather, which was smelly and difficult to clean. After cleaning, the water was directly poured into the pig trough.

　　By the way, the clothes haven’t been washed this morning.

　　Thinking about this, Li Zhouzhou went to the front yard. He felt as if he had forgotten something. He entered the kitchen and saw that the pot was still boiling. His husband was sitting on a small stool and adding firewood. When he saw him, he smiled on his fair face and said, “I’ve boiled some hot water. Zhouzhou, wash your hands. I’ve peeled the melon seeds and peanuts. I’ll wait for you to come back and eat together.”

　　Li Zhouzhou just remembered what he had just forgotten, he forgot his husband in the kitchen.

　　He looked and saw a coarse porcelain bowl on the chopping board, filled with shelled melon seeds and peanut kernels at the bottom. They were all peeled by his husband and waiting for him without being eaten.

　　Li Zhouzhou couldn’t suppress the heat in his eyes and his throat was dry. He wanted to say no, it was okay, he didn’t want to eat it and didn’t like it, so he didn’t need to peel it for him. But these words were all lies. He said that because he knew that even if he said he wanted to eat it, grandma wouldn’t give it to him.

　　”Zhou Zhou, let me get some water. Wash your hands first. I’ve boiled more hot water. Let’s make some fruit tea. I noticed there are some preserved fruits. They should be able to make tea with them…right?”

　　The young husband’s eyes were bright, and he couldn’t quite understand what he was saying, but he could tell he was in his words.

　　Li Zhouzhou’s previous assertiveness and toughness in front of outsiders, even in front of his father, has become weak.

　　”Yeah, okay.”

　　Gu Zhao prepared the hot water. Farmers use soap berry to wash their faces, bodies and clothes, which is pure natural and pollution-free. He prepared it for his wife and happily put out the fire in the stove. He tore the apricot preserves into pieces, removed the cores, scalded them with boiling water, threw them into the big teapot, and poured in the remaining boiling water.

　　He carried the teapot and the bowl of nuts to the main room, and said to his wife who was washing his hands on the millstone in the yard, “Zhou Zhou, I’ll wait for you.”

　　The choice of words is so lovely.