Tian Lin's eyes suddenly lit up. "Sister Chen, does everyone get a share?"
Chen Lishu smiled and nodded. "Yes, everyone gets a share."
As soon as she finished speaking, Tian Lin joyfully exclaimed, "Oh, that's great!"
After leaving the store, Chen Lishu went to the department store to buy some things for her younger sisters at home. In addition to study supplies, she bought a pair of leather shoes with rubber soles for each of them.
She hadn't been able to go back during the summer vacation due to her pregnancy and childbirth, and it had been a year since she last saw them. Chen Lishu truly missed them.
After finishing all her shopping, she took a bus home.
"Why did you buy so many things?" Gu Xingdong got up to help her when he saw her enter. "You should have told me, and I could have gone with you."
"I didn't know you'd be back so early," Chen Lishu said after changing her shoes and entering the house. "It's been a year since I last visited home, so I thought I'd buy some things for the family."
Gu Xingdong placed the items by the sofa. "Buying things is such a hassle. Isn't it better to just give money?"
Chen Lishu swung her sore arm and looked at him teasingly. "Tsk, why does that sound so boastful?"
Gu Xingdong chuckled. "You're only realizing that now? Not too slow, are you."
Glancing at the children, who were not on the first floor, Chen Lishu went directly to the second floor.
As soon as she reached the door, she saw Rui Rui standing by the crib of the two little ones, patiently repeating, "Brother, Xiaobai is calling Brother. You say Bro~ther~"
Zhao Qiuyue was amused by his earnestness. "Rui Rui, they're too young to talk yet."
The two little ones were only four months old. Although they couldn't speak, they could already turn over nimbly.
They required constant supervision. If they weren't in the crib, they could easily fall to the ground.
"Little Aunt Yue, my little brother and sister are so smart. If I teach them a few more times, they'll definitely remember."
As if responding to their older brother, the two little ones babbled incessantly.
Xiao Chengzi was the first to spot Chen Lishu. He immediately flapped his little hands and shouted "Ah ah!"
"What's your name? I won't hold you if you just call me that," Chen Lishu said naughtily, watching his eager little face.
Xiaobai also saw Chen Lishu. Compared to his overly excited brother, this child appeared much calmer. He skillfully rolled over towards Chen Lishu, then tilted his head back and revealed a row of pink gums to her. Unfortunately, as soon as he opened his mouth, a stream of drool ran down the corner of his lips.
Before Chen Lishu could do anything, Li Xiulan, who was beside them, quickly took a handkerchief to wipe his drool.
"These two children have been drooling a lot lately. I think they're starting to get their teeth."
Chen Lishu picked up Xiaobai and played with him for a bit. Xiaobai grinned again. As she opened her mouth, Chen Lishu indeed saw two small white dots emerging on his upper gums.
"He's getting his teeth. In a couple of months, we'll be able to give them solid food."
As children grow, they eat more. Her milk supply was barely enough for now, but she expected they would have to switch to formula once they started eating solids.
...
"Damn it, this hand is so bad today. I haven't gotten a good hand in several rounds."
After losing again, Chen Baozhu angrily threw his cards back onto the table.
"I'm not playing anymore. I've lost all the money I had. We'll talk about it next time." He then stood up.
Liu Xiaobao also got up dejectedly. He wasn't much better off than Chen Baozhu; all the money he had gotten from Widow Liu was gone.
"Don't leave. If you're out of money, I have some. I'll lend you two more rounds, and maybe you can win it back." One of the other players incited them.
The two of them were immediately tempted.
They had indeed lost quite a lot today, and neither Chen Baozhu nor Liu Xiaobao were willing to leave just like that. As the other person said, perhaps playing a couple more rounds could get it all back.
And so, the two of them sat down again.
This time, when they sat down and looked up again, it was already dark outside. Looking at the stacks of IOUs in the other person's hand, the two who had sobered up felt a rush of dizziness, and their faces turned a little pale.
"Chen Baozhu, six hundred. Liu Xiaobao, five hundred. Your houses are already mortgaged, and your handprints are on these documents. You must repay the money within three days, or we will take the houses."
Chen Baozhu stammered, "Didn't you say when we borrowed the money that we could repay it whenever?"
Liu Xiaobao immediately chimed in, "Yeah, why did you suddenly change your mind and say three days? Where are we supposed to get hundreds of yuan?"
The other party sneered, "I don't care where you get it. In short, you have three days. If you don't pay by then, you're responsible for the consequences."
They had heard before that there were two fools in Qingshan Village who gambled recklessly, even losing their land. It seemed this trip was not in vain.
Chen Baozhu's neck veins bulged as he said, "You're not keeping your word. We don't admit this debt."
"These IOUs have your signatures and handprints on them. I won't waste any more time with you. Hurry back and raise the money. I'll bring people to collect it in three days." The other party dropped a sentence and left with a stack of IOUs.
Chen Baozhu and Liu Xiaobao were left stunned.
"Brother Zhu, what do we do? A full five hundred yuan. Don't even mention my mom; if my wife finds out, she'll definitely divorce me."
On the way back, Liu Xiaobao began to regret it.
Wang Qiao'e had been arguing with him about a divorce recently, otherwise, he wouldn't have been in a bad mood and come out to play cards with Chen Baozhu.
"Sigh," Chen Baozhu also sighed.
His wife wasn't at home, but he didn't know how to fill the six hundred yuan deficit.
"Hey, Brother Zhu, I have an idea," Liu Xiaobao's eyes rolled as a plan formed in his mind.
Chen Baozhu eagerly asked, "What idea? Tell me."
"The mountain land that your second uncle's family, Chen Lishu, has contracted. There are quite a few valuable things there. Since you're family, why don't we 'borrow' something to exchange for money? I heard there's a big gambling game in Xiao Xiguan Tun. We can't always have bad luck, can we? Once we win the money back, we can repay Zhu Lao Liu, right?"
Chen Baozhu's spirits immediately lifted upon hearing his words...
By the time Chen Mantun and Chen Laifei received the news that the piglets were missing, it was already the next day.
Early in the morning, when Hu Si'er and another staff member went to feed the pigs, they discovered that only four of the eleven piglets remained.
Seven were missing at once, and they had already been raised to twenty to thirty jin. These were the strongest ones selected to be raised as meat pigs. The loss was at least one hundred and forty to one hundred and fifty yuan, instantly wiping out any sleepiness.
They couldn't possibly conceal it, so they immediately sent someone down the mountain to inform Chen Mantun and Chen Laifei.
"You seven people in total, and not a single one of you noticed such a major incident? What do I have you living on the mountain for? For retirement?"
If only one or two piglets were missing, Chen Laifei wouldn't have been so angry. With seven missing at once, it was impossible for the other party not to have made a sound, yet not a single person heard anything. How could she not be angry?