Chronicle of the 70s
Chapter 67 - 065 Live-in Son-in-law, add more - s with 60 monthly tickets

Chapter 67: 065 Live-in Son-in-law, add more Chapters with 60 monthly tickets

The sun hung high in the sky, and in mid-August, it was the hottest time of the year, causing the women of the brigade to hurriedly return from the fields to cook at home.

Smoke from cooking fires began to rise from several ridges around; those women who got home early had already started making meals.

Li Xianglu had just returned from her family’s private plot, carrying a basket full of fresh long beans, tomatoes, cucumbers, and round eggplants, all ripe. She planned to pickle some vegetables and then store the rest in the Storage Ring to eat gradually.

Climbing up to Third Ridge, she saw a dirty-looking teenager standing there, glaring fiercely at her.

Li Xianglu was startled, wondering who this was and why he was staring at her like that.

Li Xianglu sidestepped to walk away but was suddenly blocked by someone who leaped in front of her. Approaching closer, the unpleasant smell became more obvious. Li Xianglu took a step back in disgust and asked sharply, "Who are you, blocking people’s way like this!"

Seeing Li Xianglu’s disdainful look, the teenager became extremely annoyed, his fists clenched tightly, looking like he was about to hit someone.

Li Xianglu tensed and cautiously took a step back, saying sternly, "Who are you, and why are you blocking the way here? Move aside quickly, or I’ll call for help!"

Hearing her threat to call for help, the teenager finally stepped back, spat towards Li Xianglu, and turned to leave.

Li Xianglu was briefly stunned. Which family’s naughty kid was this, being so hateful?

She looked around briefly before heading back.

Recently, the two from the Qin Family had been eating at their home, as per Grandpa Li’s instructions. Qin Xi worked in the fields every day, and Qin Zhen, a teenage boy, even if he returned early, did not cook well; the smell of burnt food and sounds of Qin Xi hitting him could be heard all day long.

When she got home at noon, Li Xianglu took out half of the long beans, sliced them neatly into halves with a knife, and hung them on a clothesline before starting to cook.

The Li Family had plenty of food staples, mostly maize flour. Qin Xi had ground the maize twice with a small stone mill upon Li Xianglu’s complaints about the coarse texture.

Now the steamed maize bread tasted much better, especially when hot. Xuanxuan enjoyed the softness, and adding some sugar made it deliciously sweet. Qin Zhen’s appetite significantly increased, leaving Li Xianglu frustrated for a long time as now there was nothing left of their food supply.

Today, early in the morning, all the able-bodied workers in the team had gone to the riverbank to clear the mud.

Both members of the Qin Family had gone too.

Li Xianglu planned to make some vegetarian buns with two-mixed flour at noon and cook a big pot of mung bean soup to relieve the heat. Now in mid-August, the weather was exceptionally hot, and sweat would flow as soon as it was wiped away.

The dough had been prepared early and had risen into a large basin by now. Li Xianglu added quite a bit of white flour from her Storage Ring, putting extra baking soda each time to avoid suspicion as the resulting buns appeared yellowish and looked normal from the outside.

And for her own family, no one questioned even after tasting them.

After blanching the long beans, she chopped them up, added a large spoonful of lard, then green onions, and vigorously mixed everything.

After kneading the dough briefly, she began to form it into lumps and set them aside; soon, she had prepared two large tiers of buns.

By then, the mung bean soup had started boiling vigorously. Li Xianglu added a few handfuls of glutinous rice and then some cold water to shock it, facilitating the beans to blossom.

It wasn’t until past noon that she saw two dirty figures returning.

Mr. Li quickly stood up to pour water for the two, incessantly asking, "What happened, did you fall into the mud?"

Qin Zhen stubbornly pouted but remained silent while washing.

Qin Xi frowned tightly and after a while finally said: "It’s rumored outside that Xiang is to marry the youngest son of the Sanhe Family and become your grandson-in-law."

What! Li Xianglu’s grip on the hot water pail loosened and it fell to the ground, and before she could jump away, a figure quickly pulled her aside.

Li Xianglu wasn’t scalded, but Qin Xi who blocked her got his foot burned.

Mr. Li urgently fetched some burn medicine, while Li Xianglu, completely dazed, frantically helped Qin Xi to sit on a nearby stump, and hurriedly poured a basin of cold water over it.

Then she hurriedly scooped more water from the yard’s water tank, found it not cool enough, and was about to fetch water from the water cellar when she was abruptly stopped by Qin Xi: "It’s alright, don’t panic, it’s just a minor burn."

Only then did Li Xianglu recover, fetched water, and helped wash Qin Xi’s feet. Qin Xi initially wanted to stop her, but seeing her delicate, pale hands, he inexplicably didn’t refuse.

After Li Xianglu helped wash his feet, she noticed a red patch on his instep.

The burn ointment from Grandpa Li was top-grade bulk badger oil, feeling icy cool to the touch, which promptly soothed the burn quite a bit.

Only then did Mr. Li shake his head and reproached: "You girl, it was not a big deal, how could you panic like this."

Li Xianglu bashfully said to Qin Xi: "Brother Qin, I’m sorry, thankfully, you were quick, otherwise my feet would have been wrecked too."

Qin Xi shook his head indicating it was alright.

Beside them, Qin Zhen pouted and said: "Humph, that Tu Gou said you were going to marry him and that he was going to be Grandpa Li’s grandson-in-law."

Li Xianglu frowned: "That Tu Gou?"

Qin Zhen: "That dirty kid from Li Sanhe’s house, as filthy as the village dogs."

Li Xianglu paused, then suddenly her eyes widened as she asked, "Is it the one who’s always dirty and has a long runny nose?"

Qin Xi frowned and asked, "How did you know?"

Li Xianglu said with some disgust: "At noon when I was coming back, I encountered him at Third Ridge. He blocked my way and wouldn’t let me pass. I threatened to call for help, and only then did he leave, but he spit at me!"

Upon hearing that someone had blocked his granddaughter, Mr. Li immediately grew unhappy, stood up, and wanted to take his granddaughter to talk to the village chief.

However, Li Xianglu gently patted Mr. Li’s arm and said: "Don’t worry, Grandpa, I think there’s more to this situation."

Grandpa Li and Qin Xi had recently set up a cool shelter in front of the kitchen, cleverly shading the stone table, so that dining outside in summer wouldn’t be uncomfortable.

A large basin of buns and a pot of porridge were served, instantly lightening the mood of the somewhat displeased Qin Zhen.

After eating a bun, Qin Xi spoke: "We were just doing some work, and that kid from Li Sanhe’s house suddenly started quarreling with Qin Zhen, then blurted out the matter about becoming Grandpa Li’s grandson-in-law."

Qin Xi originally wanted to mention that Li Xianglu was to marry someone else, but when the words reached his lips, he couldn’t bring himself to say them, so he switched to talking about becoming Grandpa Li’s grandson-in-law, as if that would be easier to accept.

Author’s note: Thanks to Gun Without God for the reward!

Thanks to Qi Xi Beauty for the reward!

Thanks to Miracle Life 123 for the rewards over the last few days! Thanks to Little Su Zi 5238 for the reward!

Thanks to Miss Ming for the reward!