Chapter 109 - 37: I’ve Even Figured Out Where to Bury Them

Chapter 109: Chapter 37: I’ve Even Figured Out Where to Bury Them

"Uh-huh, uh-huh."

Da Zai glanced at it one more time before carefully closing the notebook and placing it on the table.

"RUMBLE..." Er Zai’s stomach growled.

He looked down at his tummy and said, "Brother, there are worms fighting in my belly."

Da Zai comforted his little brother. "Don’t be scared. Mom said we ate deworming candy. Once the worms are dead, we’ll just poop them out tomorrow morning."

"I’m not scared! I even dare to fight snakes, so I’m not afraid of a few little worms," he said proudly.

Lin Zhao happened to overhear him.

"Hmm?" Without moving her lips, she let out a single, dangerous-sounding syllable. "You fight snakes?"

Lin Zhao’s brow furrowed.

’What am I supposed to do when I feel like spanking my child?’

Seeing the look on his mom’s face, Er Zai snapped to attention, standing perfectly straight. Even his short, bristly hair seemed to radiate obedience.

"No, Mom, you heard wrong! I said..." His mind raced, and he quickly invented an excuse. "I said I’d hit... *their tongues*."

He stuck out his tongue and pointed at it. "This kind of tongue."

"If anyone gossips about our family again, I’ll shoot their tongue with my slingshot!"

Lin Zhao was speechless. "..."

She gave Er Zai an exasperated look. "Just keep talking nonsense."

She flicked her son’s forehead lightly, her expression stern. "Some snakes are venomous. One bite and you could die. Stay far away from those things!"

"Da Zai, you keep an eye on your brother."

’Raising sons is just an endless stream of worries.’

"Okay."

That night, Lin Zhao woke up several times. Each time, she would feel Da Zai’s and Er Zai’s foreheads. She only relaxed after confirming they didn’t have a fever or any other issues.

「In the blink of an eye, it was dawn.」

Lin Zhao got up early to pack the things she was bringing to her uncle’s house.

A bag of dried noodles, twenty eggs, two jin of pork, two apples, and a link of cured sausage.

It was an extravagant gift.

But compared to what her uncle had done for her back then, it was nothing.

Lin Zhao packed everything into a mesh bag. Then she prepared the boys’ rations for the day: an apple, a jar of yellow peaches, a handful of crispy peanut candies, some white flour, and a small piece of pork.

This was more than enough for the boys to eat for two meals.

After all, some families couldn’t even get enough to eat, let alone have breakfast.

Once she finished her preparations, Lin Zhao left with her things, Dahuang trailing behind her.

"Watch the house, okay?"

Dahuang looked up and barked once at her.

Lin Zhao smiled, her steps light as she left and headed for the county town.

After arriving at the supply and marketing cooperative, she found the procurement officer and ordered a women’s bicycle. She was told it would arrive in a couple of days.

Then she bought a watch and put it on right there on the spot.

Seeing how decisively Lin Zhao paid with cash and ration tickets, Li Fen was filled with suspicion. ’Isn’t this girl from the countryside? How can she spend money without a second thought?’

She complimented her, "You have fair skin. The watch looks good on you."

Wang Ju nodded and said softly, "It does look good."

"Thank you." Lin Zhao thought it looked good too. She kept glancing at it, her heart soaring with delight.

Before long, a crowd of people flooded into the cooperative, and all the salesclerks got busy.

「Fengshou Team.」

When Da Zai and Er Zai woke up, the first thing they did was dash for the outhouse.

"Brother, let me go first! I’m about to poop my pants!" Er Zai said urgently, squeezing his legs together.

Seeing this, Da Zai quickly ran next door.

"Auntie, can I please use your outhouse?" Da Zai clutched a few sheets of grass paper in his hand, his face flushed red with urgency as he held his stomach.

Wang Chunhua quickly said, "Go on, go on! The outhouse is free."

Da Zai didn’t even have time to say thank you before bolting straight for the outhouse.

The Wang Family’s outhouse was crude. Shaped like a "T," it was just two planks laid over a pit filled with wriggling little things, and the stench was overwhelming.

The hair on Da Zai’s arms stood on end.

He was in too much of a hurry. He quickly pulled down his pants, squatted, and with a PLOP, it was out.

He glanced down and saw the worms mixed in. He was both disgusted and terrified.

Da Zai was screaming internally.

He didn’t dare look any longer and just kept going.

After his stomach was empty, he shook off the horror, used up all the grass paper in his hand, pulled up his pants, and left the outhouse.

Just then, Er Zai burst through the Wang Family’s gate and shouted, "Brother, I pooped out a ton of worms! Did you poop them out too?"

Da Zai’s face was wooden. "...I did."

"Mom was right!" Er Zai clapped his hands, his tone excited. "Pooping them out means we don’t have worms in our tummies anymore, right?"

"Right!" Da Zai nodded affirmatively and looked at Er Zai seriously. "Er Zai, from now on, we can’t drink unboiled water. We have to drink cooled boiled water."

"Uh-huh, uh-huh."

Wang Chunhua overheard a bit of the two little boys’ conversation.

"Da Zai, Er Zai, what are you talking about? What worms?"

Da Zai answered, "Yesterday, my mom gave me and Er Zai a sweet candy and said it could kill the worms in kids’ tummies. We both pooped out worms."

Wang Chunhua’s grandson, Wang Dazhuang, stared blankly. Cupping his face in his hands, he asked in horror, "Da Zai, Er Zai, you have worms in your tummies?"