Zhao Chunhua froze for a moment and quickly looked away.
"What's wrong? Can't I even look at you?"
Xie Lanqin was left speechless.
The third family's resting place was closest to Zhao Chunhua and the others, just a short distance behind them. When the wind blew, the fragrance drifted straight to their noses.
Zhu Fangfang's eyes lit up with greed as she whispered to her husband, "Old Third, look at the Second House's food. Isn't it far better than ours? Why don't i cook something good for us too?"
Zhang Laosan responded, he was hungry as well.
After hearing his words, Zhu Fangfang quickly cooked a pot of mixed noodle soup.
Unwilling to add more noodles, she made it so thin it was almost watery.
They both ate with great relish.
"Old Third said, did you notice how capable Second Sister-in-law has become? She can even hold a conversation with Village Chief Old Man Gu now and the elders"
Zhu Fangfang licked the rim of her bowl with an unsatisfied look and looked at Zhao Chunhua, who was talking with the village chief.
"I think the village chief and his men treat her very well. Should we also…?"
As she spoke, she nudged Zhang Laosan's arm and shot him a meaningful look.
"I think there are many good things hidden in Second Sister-in-law's house."
Zhang Laosan turned around and said,
"If you want to go, then go. I won't."
He felt ashamed. At home, the second family wife always acted according to his mood. Now, being asked to curry favor with Zhao Chunhua, he simply could not agree.
"Don't you want to try some jerky? Last night I saw everyone having a piece, even that black boy got one!"
Zhu Fangfang rolled her eyes and whispered, " Am telling you, she must have hidden a lot of good stuff."
The couple exchanged a glance, their eyes gleaming with greed.
"I need a chance to test the waters," Zhu Fangfang murmured.
Zhang Laosan said nothing in response.
By the next day, the rain had finally ceased.
But many people in the village had caught colds. Early in the morning, Zhao Chunhua could hear bursts of coughing, which made her scalp tingle.
She quickly found some cotton cloth, cut it into small pieces, and fashioned a makeshift cotton mask.
As soon as Xie Lanqin woke up, she saw Zhao Chunhua busying herself with something, cutting pieces of cloth.
Seeing the cloth in small pieces, Xie Lanqin's face flushed with anxiety, and she instinctively grabbed Wang Tianbao's arm.
"Look! What is your mother doing? That's the cloth meant for the child's clothes. If it's cut like this, what will the child wear later?"
Zhang Tianbao frowned and stepped toward Zhao Chunhua.
"Mom, what are you doing? These pieces of fabric is meant for the child's clothes. Why did you cut it like this?"
Zhao Chunhua paused and looked at the cloth in her hand, a flicker of embarrassment crossing her eyes. No wonder this cloth seemed so familiar.
This was indeed the cloth Tianbao and his wife had bought before the New Year to make clothes for their unborn child.
It hadn't been used at the time, so it had remained with the original owner.
After searching for a long while, Zhao Chunhua had only found these two pieces, they were the cleanest and most suitable for making masks.
The cotton fabric was also breathable, making it ideal for the purpose.
Seeing the distressed expressions on Tianbao and his wife's faces, Zhao Chunhua quickly said, "This is for emergency use. I'll pay for it later."
Xie Lanqin pouted in dissatisfaction, never expecting that Zhao Chunhua would actually make it up to her.
This mother-in-law had always been strong-willed; once something came into her hands, it was never returned.
All the money her husband earned was under Zhao Chunhua's control. If the couple wanted to buy anything, they had to plead with her.
The more Xie Lanqin thought about it, the more aggrieved she felt, and she quietly wiped away her tears.
Why are you crying? I wont cheat you out of this little bit of fabrics from you,Zhao Chunhua said, frowning at Xie Lanqin's expression.
Xie Lanqin pouted but said nothing.
Zhao Chunhua glanced at her, too lazy to argue further. She quickly made the masks and handed one to each person.
"Wear these at all times. Only take them off when eating or drinking."
"Mom, what is this?"
Her children looked at the strange item with confusion.
"Face mask," Zhao Chunhua explained. "You can also call it a veil."
Hearing this, Zhang Tianbao and the others immediately felt annoyed.
"I'm not wearing it! That's for women. I won't wear it." Zhang Tianfu reluctantly stuffed the mask back into Zhao Chunhua's hands, his face full of displeasure.
"I… I won't wear it either, Mother. You keep it for yourself or let Baozhu wear it," Zhang Tianbao said, quickly returning the mask.
Even Zhang Dajun's face showed a hint of hesitation.
He wasn't fond of these delicate, girlish things. Yet they had been made by his mother, and he had always been a dutiful son. He couldn't bear the thought of disappointing her.
Meanwhile, Zhang Heizi simply donned the mask quietly, without a single complaint. Most of his small face was hidden behind the masks, leaving only a pair of bright, black eyes visible.
"Put them all on! No one can be left out!"
Zhao Chunhua ignored their protests and simply raised her hand, tossing the masks back into their hands.
"I heard so many people coughing this morning. We have a pregnant woman at home, so we must take precautions."
Several people were scolded by her, and under her stern gaze, they reluctantly put on their masks. To save face, the two grown men, Zhang Tianbao and Zhang Tianfu, kept their heads lowered the entire time, afraid that anyone would notice them wearing the masks.
Erxi spotted them and burst out laughing, pointing with glee. "Hahaha! Look at this big fool wearing a veil like a little girl! I can't stop laughing!"
His words drew everyone's attention to the masks, and soon mocking voices filled the air.
Zhang Tianbao and the others turned crimson with embarrassment, wishing desperately for a hole to swallow them up.
But under Zhao Chunhua's stern gaze, they didn't dare remove the embarrassing masks.
"This is so annoying! We can't even take it off if we want to," one complained.
Zhao Chunhua looked at the fussing group, hands on her hips, and said helplessly,
"We don't care!"
When Bai Xiaowei heard this, she let out a "pooh" of disgust and scowled. The people around couldn't help laughing at the scene. After all, it was a rare sight.
Especially when they saw Zhang Tianbao and the others wearing floral masks, looking like little girls, everyone couldn't help laughing.
It wasn't until the village chief arrived that the laughter died down. People picked up their luggage and left with the team.
When the village chief saw the Zhang family members' faces covered in floral cloth, he was speechless.
"What… are you doing?" he asked.
Zhao Chunhua quickly explained, "I heard so many people coughing this morning, so I made these to prevent colds."
As she spoke, she took out a few masks and handed them to the village chief.
"These are the ones left—let your family members wear them too."
The village chief's face froze, but he couldn't refuse Zhao Chunhua's kindness and reluctantly accepted them.
Meanwhile, he felt uneasy and somewhat regretted asking more questions.
Zhang Youcai noticed the strange veil-like item that Zhang Ruoan had brought back and asked curiously, "Dad, what is this?"
Hearing this, Zhang Ruoan sighed.
"Zhao Chunhua gave it to me. She said it's a mask and can prevent colds."
Even after saying that, he didn't really believe the thing was useful.
With that, he tossed the troublesome item directly to Zhang Youcai.."Here, take it."
Zhang Youcai stared at it in confusion, then curled his lips when he saw Zhang Ruoan hurrying away. It seemed clear—his father had passed it to him because he didn't want it.