Chapter 72 Drinking

Chapter 72 Drinking

Chapter 72 Drinking
Li Changle hurriedly opened the door, and the wind and rain followed him into the house. "Why are you here in such heavy rain?"

"Brother, I heard from the people who came back that the tide was high and there was a strong wind. The waves on the sea were higher than the mountains. The traps and jars we put down must have been washed away." Chen Yongwei said anxiously.

"When we put the jar down, we had already taken reinforcement measures. If it really washes away, there is nothing we can do. We have to sacrifice our wealth to avoid disaster!"

Chen Yongwei said with a frustrated look: "It's all my fault. I was in a hurry to put down the traps and crab cages. If I had known, I would have waited for you to come back before putting them down."

Li Changle saw that his eyebrows were knitted together with distress, and smiled to comfort him: "Why think so much? It's already raining, and it's impossible to take the trap back now. If it really washes away, there's nothing we can do. We can just do it again when it's gone!"

"Awei, your brother is right. If the fish are washed away, we can just buy materials and start over. Besides, it's not like they will definitely be washed away. Maybe after the typhoon is over, the traps will be full of fish!" Zhou Ruonan also advised.

"Auntie is right. Bad things may turn into good things." Chen Yongwei put on his raincoat and said, "Go back and have a good sleep. Wait until the typhoon is over before collecting the traps."

Li Changle: "My family stewed a big pig's trotter tonight, and my eldest sister-in-law and second sister-in-law also made delicious food for us to eat together. We ate at my house before going back."

“No, my grandma has also cooked the stew. I’ll go back and eat with her.” Chen Yongwei opened the door and walked into the rain and fog.

At this moment, the lights in the room flickered a few times and it became completely dark!

"The power is out. I'll get the oil lamp."

People living by the sea are used to it. There will be typhoons every July and August, and the power will go out every time a typhoon comes.

The oil lamps in the house were always ready. When there was a power outage, Zhou Ruonan hurried to the kitchen to get the oil lamp.

At this time, Li Xiaozhou shouted, "Dad, it's raining at home too, and it's falling on my head."

"It's leaking, and it's on my head too." Li Xiaohai also shouted.

Li Changle quickly picked up the headlamp hanging on the wall, raised his head to glance above his head, and saw that there were still drops of water condensing on the rafters of the roof.

Upon closer inspection, he discovered that there were three or four places where the rain was leaking. He hurried over to carry him down and said, "Go sit somewhere else with your brother."

"Dad, I'll use a can to catch the rain." Li Xiaohai, who was used to helping Zhou Ruonan, picked up the can and placed it where the rain was leaking.

Zhou Ruonan came out with an oil lamp and saw that they had already connected the jars. He walked towards the room with the oil lamp and looked up at the roof. "Ah Le, quickly bring the remaining jars over. The room is leaking too."

"Here we come!" Li Changle hurriedly took the jars, and his two sons also helped to take two and followed him into the room.

Zhou Ruonan pointed to the places where water was seeping from the roof above the bunk bed and said, "Put the can underneath to catch it. You see, the mosquito net is soaked and has fallen onto the straw mat."

"It's okay, just wipe it with a dry towel and you can sleep."

Li Changle stood on the square stool and placed the jar on the leaking place. Zhou Ruonan was busy wiping the straw mat with a dry towel.

When he put the jars down, he saw that the room was not wide to begin with, and now only the area around his two sons' beds was not leaking. The desire to earn money to build a new house was more urgent than ever.

"Ale, Anan, come and have dinner." Mrs. Li shouted from outside.

We will eat together tonight. The sisters-in-law spent three afternoons cooking at their parents' house, including pig's trotters stewed with soybeans, dried salted fish, blanched shrimps, spicy snails, stir-fried octopus with celery, and jellyfish pickled by Mrs. Li.

"Oh, time to eat!" The two children liked to eat with their brother and sister. They thought it was fun to scramble to eat. When they heard their aunt calling them, they cheered and ran outside.

"Anan, stop wiping and go eat." Li Changle said, picking up the oil lamp.

"Hmm!" Zhou Ruonan touched the straw mat, thinking that it should be completely dry before going to bed, so she went out of the room with him, went to the kitchen to get a few sets of bowls and chopsticks, and then went out together to go to her parents' house.

A few boys were not afraid of the rain. They huddled together under the eaves and poked around with sticks.

Li Changle stepped forward and rubbed the heads of several boys, "Why are you crowding here instead of going in to eat?"

Li Xiaoyang took away the stick and pointed at the bugs on the ground, "Look, Uncle San, the bugs hiding in the soil have all been washed out by the water."

Li Xiaohai: "There was also an ant nest. We dug open the hole and dumped a lot of ants out."

Li Changle poked his head out to take a look, "Okay, let's go in and eat."

"It's time to eat. Do you want me to treat you with sticks?" Mrs. Li shouted again.

"Here they come!" Several children threw their sticks into the yard and turned around and ran into the house.

"Wow! So many pig's trotters." Li Xiaotao said happily, "I like to eat pig's trotters the most."

Mother Li moved the bowl towards the children and said, "If you like, eat more. Your uncle bought two big roots and stewed them all. There is still one pot that has not been served yet."

Father Li looked at his grandchildren lovingly and said, "If you like it, eat more. Stewed pig's trotters with soybeans will help you grow taller."

Zhou Ruonan and her two sisters-in-law brought the dishes to the table. Li Changle took a jar of old wine and said to Zhou Ruonan and the others, "We have nothing to do tonight, why don't you have a drink too?" The locals usually drink rice wine. He knew that the women in the family all drank it, but they were reluctant to do so on weekdays. They also rarely came to the table when there were guests at home. They only drank a few glasses when the family got together.

Mother Li smiled and nodded, "Your father can't drink, pour some for your eldest sister-in-law, second sister-in-law, and An Nan."

Mrs. Li smiled, wiped her hands on her apron, and said, "Two cups is fine, but if you drink more, you'll be drunk and won't even know if the Jinshan Mountain is flooded in the middle of the night."

Mrs. Li also nodded and handed the chopsticks to the children, and everyone sat down around the table.

When they were in the kitchen, Li's mother told the two elders that Li Changle had given fifty yuan to the two elders after they left that day. The two sisters-in-law also had a better impression of him.

Mrs. Li no longer ignored him.

"Have a drink too, mother!" Li Changle smiled and poured the wine into her bowl, causing her to quickly cover it with her hands. "It's too much. No one will serve your father if he gets drunk."

"It's okay, I'll get up with the help of a cane." Father Li said cheerfully, "Give her more medicine, she didn't get a good sleep in the hospital."

"As the old saying goes, women have a natural tolerance for alcohol. Even if we drink this whole can of rice wine, we won't get drunk." Li Changle smiled and poured wine for the two sisters-in-law, then looked at Zhou Ruonan, "Teacher Zhou, you're welcome!"

Zhou Ruonan pushed the bowl forward cheerfully, "Okay, you don't care about those pots and pans when you're drunk."

"Leave it to me." Li Changle poured her half a bowl.

"Ah Le is really different now than before. In the past, when the family had a meal together, he would just eat quietly, wipe his mouth and leave. Now, he even pours wine for us."

"I didn't want to do that either. Every time I ate, my parents would criticize me first, and then my eldest brother and second brother would criticize me. Later, I learned my lesson and would just finish my meal and run away!"

Father Li rolled his eyes at him and said, "How dare you say that? It's because you didn't work hard before. Every time you worked, you had to put a bridle on it like tying a bridle on a cow, and then you would work honestly for a long time."

Li Xiaohai raised his greasy face and said, "Grandpa, my dad doesn't need to wear a bridle anymore. He works very hard now."

Father Li nodded and said, "Grandpa understands. You guys should be good and eat well."

"Grandpa, Uncle San also bought us fire-baked cakes and ginger candies."

Li Xiaotao looked at Li Changle with a smile, "Uncle San, when the typhoon is gone, we will go to the Lord's Temple to pray and ask the Lord to bless you to buy good goods every day and buy big pig's trotters for us to eat every day, okay?"

"Okay, Uncle San will make good food every day and buy big pig's trotters for you to eat every day."

"Ignore him. He's the greediest one in the family."

Li Changle felt that this meal was much more comfortable than the one he had with his family in his previous life. His father no longer started lecturing as soon as he sat down at the table. Instead, he watched them drink with a smile on his face and even pulled him aside to tell him which deserted island had the most fish.

The mother and her three daughters-in-law were also talking and laughing. In the end, the four of them drank up the whole jar of rice wine. They thought that this was just the right way to drink it and agreed to drink it the same way next time.

After dinner, Zhou Ruonan and her sister-in-law cleaned up the dishes and went to the kitchen to wash them. Li Changle chatted with her parents while waiting for Zhou Ruonan to finish washing. Then they took their children home and prepared to go to bed.

When she went out, she found that the rain outside had gotten heavier again. Zhou Ruonan was worried that the water in the jar on the top of the tent would overflow and overflow onto the bed, so she quickly returned home, opened the door, and ran towards the room.

Li Changle stood on the square stool and checked. He had already filled half a jar of water. He simply brought in the basin outside and placed it on the top of the tent to avoid having to change the jar every two hours.

Zhou Ruonan scooped some water and let her two sons wash up and go to bed. The two children looked at the basin on the top of the tent and listened to the tinkling sound of water dripping into the porcelain basin. They thought it was quite interesting and clamored to let them sleep in the small bed while they slept in the big bed.

"Hurry up and go to sleep! If you do that, the porcelain basin on the top of the tent will fall over and all the water will spill onto the bed."

"Let's be careful, we won't fall over." Li Xiaozhou said and jumped twice, "Look, it didn't fall over!"

"Xiao Hai, Xiao Zhou," Zhou Ruonan looked at her two sons sternly, "If you don't listen, mother will be angry."

"Oh!" Seeing that she was really angry, the two brothers got out of bed obediently and lay down on their own beds.

Li Changle poured out the water jar outside, went to the kitchen to clean up, and came back to see that the two children had already fallen asleep.

"Just sleep peacefully. I'll get up and pour some water tonight."

"After the typhoon passes, you will go to Haimen Port to find someone to repair the fishing boat?"

"The boat is parked at Zhangjia Pier." Li Changle thought of what his father said about the cost of renovation and repairs, and went to sit next to her. "After giving the money to Dad, how much money will we have left?"

Zhou Ruonan did some calculations. "After deducting the money for buying fishing ropes, steel wire for the nets, the deposit, and the money for buying the boat, there is still 256 yuan left in the family, and 31 yuan is my wages for weaving the nets."

"Your money must be counted separately and cannot be combined with ours."

"I know. I have kept separate accounts."

(End of this chapter)