Making a Manhole Cover Just for Her

Sauerkraut Fish is tender, refreshing, and appetizing; Garlic Butterflied Shrimp carries a rich garlic aroma, sweet and delicious. Because they are butterflied, there's no need to peel them; you can bite right in and spit out the shells. The Small Red Squid is crisp and chewy, and even the Mudskipper Fish meat is more tender than usual.

In the end, the whole family was stuffed!

Zhou Chenglei and Father Zhou even mixed a bowl of rice with the Sauerkraut Fish broth.

It was so delicious that they couldn't bear to throw away the broth.

Zhou Zhou had never eaten so contentedly either. She could never beat her brothers when it came to grabbing food. When had she ever had so much shrimp and fish in one meal?

Her little belly was round, and she couldn't help but pat it. Then she met Little Aunt's smiling eyes, and she shrank back her hand, her little face flushed red.

Jiang Xia smiled.

Mother Zhou's cooking skills were average, mainly just cooking things until they were done, regardless of whether the fish was overcooked.

However, fresh seafood is naturally sweet, and it's hard to make it taste bad no matter how you steam or boil it. But not bad doesn't mean delicious.

The dishes Jiang Xia made were very delicious! Super delicious! They made people want to keep eating even when they were full, until they couldn't eat any more.

Mother Zhou also admired her younger daughter-in-law's cooking skills.

After Jiang Xia finished eating, Mother Zhou said with a smile, "Xiao Xia, you went out to sea for a day and then cooked, you must be tired. I'll wash the dishes, you go take a bath and rest."

Zhou Chenglei then said, "Go sit or walk around in the yard first, I'll help you carry water later."

It wasn't good to take a bath right after eating. It couldn't be helped before, because there were many people in the family, but now she didn't need to rush to take a bath.

Jiang Xia also didn't like washing dishes, so she pulled Zhou Zhou out to walk around in the yard. She was also stuffed.

After Mother Zhou finished cleaning the dishes and the kitchen, Jiang Xia went to wash her hair and take a shower. When she was done, she dried her hair in the yard.

Zhou Chenglei didn't know where he got a few old wooden boards and some iron supports, which he brought back with an iron trolley.

Jiang Xia saw him placing the wooden boards one by one on the well opening, using a pencil to trace the shape of the well opening.

Zhou Zhou squatted beside him, curiously asking, "Little Uncle, what are you doing?"

"Making a well cover," Zhou Chenglei answered his little niece's question.

Mother Zhou was washing the clothes that Father Zhou and Zhou Zhou had changed out of by the well in the patio. Hearing this, she said, "What are you doing with a well cover? Zhou Zhou is all grown up, she knew not to go near the well two years ago."

Zhou Zhou nodded and said, "Yeah, Little Uncle, I won't go near the well, I know it's dangerous."

Jiang Xia couldn't help but think: Zhou Chenglei is making this well cover to prevent her from falling into the well, right?

"I plan to install a Water Pump."

Mother Zhou: "What are you installing a water pump for? It's unnecessary! The terrain here isn't as high as the new houses, and the well is shallow. You can just use a bucket to draw water up, it's easier and faster."

Zhou Chenglei: "Installing a water pump will make it easier for Zhou Zhou and Jiang Xia to draw water."

"Oh, that's true, then install it!" Mother Zhou knew it was for Jiang Xia as soon as she heard it, and didn't say anything else. After washing the clothes, she called Zhou Zhou back to the house to sleep.

Jiang Xia watched Zhou Chenglei busily working in the yard with great interest.

After Zhou Chenglei drew the shape of the well opening, he took out a saw and sawed off the excess wood. Then he nailed the wooden boards piece by piece into a circle, and then nailed a circle of wooden boards around the edge of the circle, making a large round tray.

Then Jiang Xia saw him take out some iron supports, placing them crisscross inside the round tray, and tying them with iron wire.

Then he used the sand and cement left over from repairing the house, mixed them into concrete, poured it into the round tray, and smoothed it out with a small iron shovel, not letting the iron supports show.

In two days, when the concrete was dry and hard, a simple cement well cover would be made.

Jiang Xia glanced at the yard. Except for a patio near the well opening, the rest of the yard was dirt. When it didn't rain, it was dusty, and when it rained, you would step into a puddle of mud.

She said, "Tomorrow is when Big Brother goes out to sea, and we don't have to go out to sea. Why don't we go to the river to pick up some Pebbles and pave a path in the yard?"

Jiang Xia also said that such a large yard was a waste to leave empty. Why not plant some fruit trees and flowers? Zhou Chenglei replied, "I'll go to the market in town tomorrow morning to buy a water pump, and go pick them up in the afternoon."

The reason why nothing was planted in the yard was because it was necessary to dry fish often, and Mother Zhou was too lazy to plant anything, but Zhou Chenglei didn't tell her.

Go to the market? As soon as Jiang Xia heard this, she immediately said, "I'll go to the market with you."

Zhou Chenglei sized her up. The second day after she had just married into the family, he had asked her if she wanted to go to the market, and she had refused with a look of disgust.

"There are many stalls selling fish, chickens, geese, and ducks at the market, it will be smelly."

The rural market was chaotic and dirty, and he had to remind her, afraid she wouldn't be able to bear it.

"I'm not afraid."

Zhou Chenglei didn't say anything more, "It's getting late, you should sleep! If you want to go to the market, you have to get up at six tomorrow."

Father Zhou, Mother Zhou, and Zhou Zhou had all taken showers and gone back to their rooms to sleep.

Jiang Xia then returned to her room.

Zhou Chenglei washed his hands and came in as well. He took out a large stack of Da Tuanjie and gave them to Jiang Xia.

Jiang Xia looked at him in surprise.

"Here's your share of the money from going out to sea today, one thousand yuan."

There was such a good thing? After all, she had only hitched a ride on the boat.

Jiang Xia: "I didn't contribute much, and I still get so much money?"

Zhou Chenglei: "If you hadn't heard the croaking and seen the Red Seabream, we wouldn't have earned so much today. This is what you deserve, remember to keep it safe."

Zhou Chenglei put the money in the drawer of the dressing table, and he also put his share in an iron box in the closet in front of Jiang Xia.

Then he casually grabbed a set of clothes to take a shower, without turning off the lights, afraid she would be scared alone.

Jiang Xia counted the stack of money, exactly one thousand yuan, and she accepted the money without being polite.

Jiang Xia had a decision in her heart, planning to wait for Zhou Chenglei to finish his shower and come back to tell him.

She put the money away, went out to wash her hands again, and then went back to bed to lie down.

She originally wanted to wait for Zhou Chenglei to come back to talk about things, but she was too tired, and she had gotten up early today. She fell asleep as soon as she lay down on the bed, completely forgetting about snakes.

When Zhou Chenglei came back after his shower, Jiang Xia was already asleep, her sleeping face serene, shining with beauty.

Seeing that there was a little fine sweat on her forehead, Zhou Chenglei took a clean cloth, returned to the bed, helped her wipe off the sweat, applied medicine to her hand, then turned off the light, returned to the bed and lay down, gently waving the Large Palm Leaf Fan until he gradually felt sleepy.

The next day, Zhou Chenglei woke up at five o'clock, Jiang Xia's hands and feet were on him again.

He took his pillow and put it under her limbs, then carefully got up and went out for a run.

On days when he didn't have to go out to sea, he would insist on running for an hour every day.

Zhou Chenglei came back from his run at six o'clock, Jiang Xia was still not awake.

The hall of the house was empty, with only a dining table. Zhou Chenglei wanted to go to the market to buy some bamboo beds and bamboo stools.

The vendors at the market who sell bamboo beds usually only bring one, after all, the volume is too large and difficult to transport. If he went late, they might be gone.

He had no choice but to wake Jiang Xia.

Jiang Xia woke up as soon as she was called, and quickly got up to wash.

Mother Zhou had already made breakfast, Sweet Potato Porridge with pickles, and two boiled eggs.

Mother Zhou gave one to Zhou Zhou, and another to Jiang Xia.

On days when they didn't have to go out to sea, Father Zhou and Zhou Chenglei didn't have eggs to eat! There weren't many eggs in the house. Except for occasionally giving one to her grandson and Zhou Zhou, they were usually reluctant to eat them, and kept them for Father Zhou and his son to take on the boat when they went out to sea. Mother Zhou thought that she had misunderstood Jiang Xia yesterday, so she cooked an extra one.

After the couple had breakfast, Zhou Chenglei and Jiang Xia went to the village committee to borrow a tractor.

Then the two drove the tractor to the town to go to the market.

It was still the same road as last time, and they met the female lead in a white dress at the same intersection.

However, this time Wen Wan was not herding sheep, but pushing an iron cart with a large wooden board on it, and a slaughtered sheep was placed on the wooden board.

Wen Wan reached out and stopped Zhou Chenglei's tractor.