Chapter 9 - Continuing to flirt with the benefactor
Chapter 9 - Continuing to flirt with the benefactor
Chapter 9 – Continuing to flirt with the benefactor
Jiang Zhen’s ability to survive in the wild was strong enough to handle a chicken. After a while, he cleaned up the chicken feathers and removed all the internal organs from the chicken’s belly.
Rural people don’t want to waste chicken intestines, even chicken blood. But Jiang Zhen didn’t have the heart to deal with chicken intestines. He simply threw them aside. If old lady Jiang wanted them, let her handle them by herself.
However, Jiang Zhen would not deal with chicken intestines, but for the first time, he washed the chicken liver and threw it into the pot with the porridge.
In modern times, because of high cholesterol, a lot of people don’t eat chicken liver, but now . . .
Jiang Zhen was sure that consuming animal internal organs would be good for his body.
Animal internal organs are high in calories and fat, rich in vitamins and trace elements, many of which he currently lacked.
After throwing the chicken liver into the pot and boiling it, Jiang Zhen dug out two pieces of chicken breasts, cut them into shreds and boiled them with the porridge. Then he put the remaining pieces of chicken in a shallow earthen pot and steamed them on the steamer.
Jiang Zhen cooked the porridge for a long time then boiled and drank it. Finally, he found another earthen pot and put it in Jiang third son’s house for tomorrow. As for the chicken . . . he took both legs and wings and left a chicken skeleton in the kitchen.
When old lady Jiang would see the chicken skeleton the next day, she would probably be angry again. But overall, all these years, when had she not reluctantly given only a bite of chicken bones to Eldest Jiang? He was now rewarding his grievances with virtue.
Jiang Zhen went to sleep again.
Jiang Zhen slept all the time until he woke up. He woke up and chewed a chicken wing and the cold chicken porridge.
He cooked a lot of porridge last night. After eating some for himself, he still had a lot of porridge left. Two chicken legs and the remaining chicken wings were put into the earthen jar filled with porridge. Jiang Zhen took the earthen jar in one hand and the knife in the other and left Jiang house again.
This time, instead of going to Jiang’s broken hut, Jiang Zheng kept going south.
There was a big river on the south side of Hexi Village. There were many boats coming and going on this river. It is said that water transport was from this river. There was a pier in He Cheng County, where the people came and went and was very lively.
But there was no wharf here, but there were a lot of trees by the river.
This forest did not belong to anyone, and the vast fields north of the forest belong to the richest man in Hexi Village, Zhao Dahu.
Zhao Dahu and Zhao Jinge are both surnamed Zhao. They were also family members, but their connection was very distant. At least, Zhao Jinge did not receive any preferential treatment.
Zhao Jinge used to follow Zhao Fugui to do short-term work for Zhao Dahu’s family. But now, he had become a long-term worker of Zhao family.
Short-term workers earned more per day and had more work to do. They were often stared at by their owners from dawn to dusk. Long-term workers got lower wages but had a more stable and relaxed work environment.
Of course, that was only relatively. From the memory of Eldest Jiang, Jiang Zhen learned that the long-term workers here had to not only work in the field but also do the housework for the main family. Eldest Jiang once saw Zhao Jinge washing clothes for Zhao Dahu.
Moreover, the family of Zhao Dahu was somewhat stingy; the masters of long-term workers should give something to eat, but they couldn’t bear to give Zhao Jinge a little grain so that Zhao Jinge has to go home for dinner every day.
This master’s home was really not good, but for Zhao Jinge, it was the best choice. At least, while he worked for Zhao family, he could take care of his family’s house.
Jiang Zhen came to the woods at the edge of the canal, picked up some dead branches, and dug a hole in the ground. Then he put the pot on the fire and boiled it.
After cooking for a while, Jiang Zhen saw Zhao Jinge coming this way.
The family of Zhao Dahu eats three meals a day, and when they eat at noon, they send Zhao Jinge out every time or let him work in the field, let him chop wood or carry water.
That day, Zhao Jinge held a small axe. It looked like he came to chop up firewood.
“Eldest Jiang?” Zhao Jinge was surprised to see Jiang Zhen, and his eyes were attracted by the delicious porridge in front of Jiang Zhen.
“Come on. Have porridge,” Jiang Zhen called.
“No, I have to work.” Zhao Jinge slightly frowned. “Eldest Jiang, I heard that you beat up the Jiang family elders yesterday.”
“Yes.” Jiang Zheng admitted it directly, but his heart was tight. If Zhao Jinge was old-fashioned, he would have to think he had done something wrong. He was afraid that he and Zhao Jinge might not have a future.
“You . . . Be careful,” Zhao Jinge said. Offending the elders of the clan was not a good thing for the eldest Jiang.
“I’ll be careful.” Jiang Zhen smiled at Zhao Jinge and relaxed. He was worthy of his attention and concern for him.
“That’s good.” Zhao Jinge nodded and went elsewhere.
“Wait a minute.” Jiang Zhen suddenly stood up and pulled at Zhao Jinge. “I can’t finish my porridge. You stay and eat with me.”
Zhao Jinge was caught by Jiang Zhen and subconsciously struggled but could not break free.
“Won’t you give me a chance to pay a debt of gratitude?” Jiang Zhen asked again.
“You’ve already given the eggs.” Zhao Jinge looked awkwardly at Jiang Zhen, who was pulling at his hand.
“Is my life worth two eggs?” Jiang Zhen insisted and said, “If you don’t sit down and eat, I’ll follow you all the time, follow you back to the village, and follow you to your home.”
“You . . .” Zhao Jinge was shocked by the words of such a scoundrel like Jiang Zhen. He was impatient and anxious. He sat down after thinking.
“I made this porridge. It tastes good. Eat more.” Jiang Zhen saw that Zhao Jinge stayed behind, smiled and gave Zhao Jinge a ceramic spoon from Jiang house.
“Where did you get the chicken?” Zhao Jinge looked at a pot of chicken porridge in front of him and subconsciously swallowed his drool. When he was a child, his family still had a good life. They would kill a chicken for the holidays, but later, his family became poorer and poorer, so he couldn’t eat chicken. He only bought a chicken for the Lunar New Year and counted the number of pieces to give to his guests.
“Caught it inside the chicken coop.” Jiang Zhen laughed and saw Zhao Jinge looking at him with a puzzled expression. He added, “After all these years, you know what those people in my family have done to me. This time, I almost died. Isn’t it right for me to eat chicken to improve my body’s health?”
Zhao Jinge thought about it. No one else knew about it, but he knew. Eldest Jiang was almost starved to death before. Moreover, the Jiang family was rich, and that day, Jiang Chengxiang was full of good food. This time, it’s really proper to give Jiang Zhenwei a chicken.
“Eat it.” Jiang Zhen took a spoon in one hand and chopsticks in one hand. He scooped a spoonful of porridge with a spoon and half-chopped chicken liver with chopsticks and stuffed it into Zhao Jinge’s mouth.
Zhao Jinge was suddenly fed. His whole body froze. He didn’t dare to chew the chicken liver and his hands trembled.
If it hadn’t been for the sun and rain that made his skin dark every day, he would have showed a big red face that instant.
Jiang Zhen saw his shock and quickly changed the topic. “Can you see anything at night?” In rural areas, many people suffered from night blindness due to lack of vitamin A, and Eldest Jiang was lucky enough to have it.
“Yes . . . It’s a little blurred.” Zhao Jinge slowed down because there was something in his mouth, and his voice became a little muffled. He liked chicken liver, or as long as it’s all meat, but right at the moment, he can’t taste the chicken liver in his mouth.
“Eat more chicken liver and pig liver, and you’ll be able to see clearly in the future . . . I’ll try to get it for you in a few days” said Jiang Zhen.
Zhao Jinge looked at Jiang Zhen in surprise. What else did the eldest Jiang plan to give him to eat?
Jiang Zhen smiled and said, “You are my benefactor, and I should repay you.” It was best to make a promise.
Naturally, Jiang Zhen let Zhao Jinge feel that he was thinking about something more but also finally calmed down. “You really don’t need to—”
“And I have something else to ask you about” Jiang Zhen interrupted Zhao Jinge’s words.
“What can I do for you?” Zhao Jinge asked.
“I want to live separately. If there are no accidents, I’m going to live in that shabby hut next to your house. I’ll be alone then. You must help me a little” said Jiang Zhen.
He will certainly leave the Jiang family in the future. At first, he thought about whether to pack up his things and live with the Zhao family immediately after he left the Jiang family, but later, he felt that that would be a little shameless.
He didn’t even have the ability to support his family, so he was ashamed to go straight to his wife’s house. What’s more, when he was there, it would tear up his face with the Jiang family. If he ran to Zhao at that time, he would certainly make Zhao Jinge family staying in the village difficult.
He can do whatever he wants. But he can’t involve his wife’s family. So first talk about love and take care of his health, and then he can think of something else.
His body was too shabby at the moment. It would be a shame if he couldn’t hold out for half an hour.
In modern times, Jiang Zhen has never been able to get a wife to warm his bed. He could not help but glance at Zhao Jinge now and then countless times. The more he saw, the more satisfied he was, and liked him more.
“You want to live separately?” Zhao Jinge saw the haunted look of Jiang Zhen’s and felt uncomfortable.
“Well, I want to leave the family and not be their workhorse,” Jiang Zhen said. As soon as his voice fell, he felt a joy coming from his chest . . . Again, these emotions left by Eldest Jiang came out. As a matter of fact, this old Jiang still has a little emotion left in his body, which was one of the reasons why Jiang Zhen cannot immediately introduce himself to Zhao Jinge as a pillow. But he didn’t care too much about it. He had a hunch that when he messed around for a while, Eldest Jiang would probably be able to leave with peace of mind.
Although Zhao Jinge’s family was poor, his parents had been very good to him, and he had never been accustomed to Jiang family’s bad treatment of Eldest Jiang. He did not feel that Eldest Jiang wanting to live separately was doing something wrong. ”That’s good. Don’t worry. I’ll help you then.”