Chapter 42: Encountering Lei Yao on the Road
Zhu Shun Yao stood to the side, pulling on a pair of high boots and tossing a pair of one-piece synthetic leather trousers into a large ball-shaped basket nearby. "Let's go. Dad will take you to harvest lotus roots."
"Yay! We're going to harvest lotus roots!" Zhu Yanli and Zhu Yanyi held hands, scampering ahead of Zhu Shun Yao. After closing the door, Zhu Shun Yao watched with a smile as her two daughters happily skipped and jumped in front of her.
Their fields weren't actually very far. It would take an adult about ten minutes to walk there, while children would take twice as long, so they'd arrive within twenty minutes.
"Shun Yao, heading to the fields?" Zhu Lei Yao, who was also patrolling the fields, spotted the father and his two daughters.
"We're going to harvest lotus roots. Brother Lei Yao, you're patrolling the fields again? Now that land has been contracted to individual households, there's really no need to come out every day like this," Zhu Shun Yao greeted him with a smile.
Zhu Lei Yao chuckled. "My own fields are here too, and I've gotten into the habit of taking a stroll every day. Life has improved, and everyone's enthusiasm for farming is high, so there's hardly any need for patrols. I'm just checking the water levels." Although Zhu Lei Yao was only six years older than Zhu Shun Yao, he had considerable experience in predicting next year's weather based on water levels.
"How will the weather be next year?" Zhu Shun Yao asked casually.
"It'll be fine. No major changes are expected. After such a massive disaster, things have finally been peaceful for these past few years," Zhu Lei Yao replied. "By the way, Uncle Enfu's eightieth birthday is in a few days. Are you going?"
Zhu Enfu was Zhu Guifu's elder paternal cousin. It was said that Zhu Guifu had nine brothers in total, including both paternal cousins and full brothers. Currently residing in Gan'en Village were Zhu Enfu, the eldest; Zhu Guifu, the fourth; Zhu Caifu, the fifth; Zhu Yanfu, the seventh; and Zhu Xiongfu, the ninth. The second brother, Zhu Jingfu, had been killed during the turbulent years, while the third brother, Zhu Shenfu, had gone missing. The sixth brother, Zhu Xiangfu, and the eighth brother, Zhu Tianfu, were both in Shanghai. No one knew exactly how they were doing, but managing to establish themselves in Shanghai was something to be envied by those living in the countryside.
As the eldest of the Zhu family still in the village, Zhu Enfu was undoubtedly the current head of the clan. Therefore, everyone would naturally attend his eightieth birthday celebration.
"We'll be there. I ran into Brother Chan the day before yesterday, and we already arranged it. We'll head over early in the morning to help out," Zhu Shun Yao said. Zhu Chanyao was Zhu Enfu's eldest son, making him a distant cousin of Zhu Shun Yao's.
"Good. In that case, we brothers will have a good drink together then," Zhu Lei Yao said.
"Sure, no problem. We brothers can catch up and chat properly then," Zhu Shun Yao replied.
"Alright, you go ahead and get busy with the girls. Look, if you don't hurry, An'an and Anni's mouths will be hanging open like wine gourds," Zhu Lei Yao laughed, teasing Zhu Yanli and Zhu Yanyi, who were waiting nearby.
Zhu Yanyi blinked her eyes. "Uncle Lei Yao just loves to tease us. She's so mean."
"Okay, okay, it's all Uncle's fault for being bad," Zhu Lei Yao laughed, urging Zhu Shun Yao to get on with his work.
Zhu Shun Yao didn't mention the matter of the discarded broken bricks from the kiln at that moment, planning to bring it up in a few days. Men needed time to discuss such matters; it wasn't something to be brought up casually.
Zhu Shun Yao led Zhu Yanli and Zhu Yanyi to their family's fields. The fields were currently planted with rapeseed, and the plants looked quite vigorous. Zhu Yanyi looked at the patch of rapeseed and noted that although they looked healthy, the leaves seemed a bit old. "Dad, the rapeseed leaves look so old."
"That's how it should be," Zhu Shun Yao said with a smile.