Rebirth Counterattack with Space

"Having more people means greater strength, right? No matter how capable you two are, it’s not as fast as the four of us working together, is it?"

Xia Na naturally assumed Lu Aiguo was just being polite. It was common sense for men to do the work while women helped out. Ever since the founding of the country, the slogan that women could hold up half the sky was more than just words—it was practiced everywhere now.

"Sis, we really don’t need your help, Shitou and I can handle it."

"Don’t be so courteous. We’re all family here; if you keep this up, I’ll really get mad!"

It was already a hot day, and Lu Aiguo and Shitou had barely begun to sweat, but now they were truly sweating buckets. They didn’t dare to physically pull anyone away but instead stood in front of the handcart, looking utterly helpless, trying to make Xia Na back off on her own.

Seeing that the situation was not good, Lu Yun hurriedly went over to hold onto Xia Na’s clothes tightly, also using a soft voice to persuade, "Auntie, Dad said this is man’s work—it’s not for women to get involved in."

"What men’s work and women’s work? Don’t you know that men and women are equal now?" Xia Na lectured Lu Yun.

Xia Yuan hurried over with a laugh, took Xia Na by the hand, and forcefully dragged her into the house.

What a joke. If her sister didn’t help, Lu Aiguo and Shitou might have an easier time. Wouldn’t her joining just make things more chaotic?

"Sis, this has nothing to do with gender equality. Let’s just go inside. Even at home, Lu Aiguo and the others don’t let me get involved in this kind of physical labor, and he doesn’t even let me go to the fields. Because of this, some people in the village look down on us," Xia Yuan said as she coaxed her sister.

"What is there for them to look down on? People poking their noses into other families’ affairs—are they not just busybodies?" Xia Na was being dragged along by Xia Yuan but continued to be indignant on her behalf.

"Yuanyuan, are we really okay not helping? Won’t Lu Aiguo hold it against you afterward?" Having entered the house with Xia Yuan, Xia Na was still not quite at ease and asked in a lowered voice.

A warm feeling flooded Xia Yuan’s heart, and her eyes reddened slightly as she responded confidently in a quiet voice, "Sis, don’t worry, Lu Aiguo isn’t that kind of man. And, all of his assets are firmly in my hands."

"That’s good." Xia Na finally breathed a sigh of relief. "A woman has to hold the economic power firmly. No matter man or woman, money is courage."

Relieved were not only Lu Aiguo and Shitou but also Lu Yun, who had been silently following the two men.

"Well, it seems like Lu Aiguo is really good to you," Xia Na said, returning to her teasing demeanor now that her worries had passed. She wasn’t one of those strong-willed women who had to compete with men to prove who could work harder. It was all just a gesture moments ago.

Of course, it wasn’t entirely a fake gesture on her part. It would be more accurate to say that it was a habit. Seeing family members working, it was natural and habitual to walk over and lend a hand.

"As if your husband isn’t good to you? Even I benefit from the love he showers on you." When it came to banter, neither sister would give in; they had grown up sparring with words. Now reminiscing about those feelings, not just Xia Yuan but Xia Na as well felt a warm nostalgia.

"You, you never like to be at a disadvantage with your words. Tell me, do you act like this only in front of me or also in front of Lu Aiguo?" Xia Na asked with a teasing sidelong glance.

"Oh, sis..." Xia Yuan’s eyes darted to the side and noticed her daughter was following them, causing her to blush and lower her voice, "What are you saying? Xiaoyun is right behind us."

Turning around to glance at Lu Yun, Xia Na gave Xia Yuan a let’s-drop-it-for-now look, instantly changing her manner, and crouched down smilingly to Lu Yun, "Xiaoyun, tell your auntie, was it fun going to the train station with your dad to get things? Are your little feet tired? "

"Not tired at all. I rode on Daddy’s head on the way there. On the way back, Daddy pulled the cart, and Shitou carried me on his back. Auntie, it’s so interesting outside. This afternoon, I’m going out with Daddy and the others to sell things again."

Lu Yun shook her head. In the half-hour walk earlier, she had barely taken a few steps before being complained about for having short legs and was directly carried on her father’s shoulders.

"Your father is really nice. Men who care about their wives and children are good men." Xia Na patted Lu Yun’s head and stood up, speaking to Xia Yuan, "Since we don’t need our help moving stuff, let’s hurry up and make more dumplings. We’ll feed them well at noon so they’ll have the energy to go out in the afternoon, right?"

Xia Yuan nodded.

The two sat back down at the round table and continued making dumplings.

Their conversation also continued, "Why do they have to go out this afternoon? Can they familiarize themselves with the area? Why not wait for Gu Tianming to have a day off tomorrow and let him show them around before they go out?"

"Don’t worry about them; they can’t sit still. They’re just going to look around nearby; two grown men aren’t afraid of being kidnapped, and with them around, we don’t have to worry about Xiaoyun."

"I see..."

Seeing that both women were busy talking and working without time to pay her attention, Lu Yun felt very wise to have decided to go out with her father and Shitou.

She stood on tiptoe and peered over the table. She saw there were two kinds of dumpling fillings on the round table: one was wood ear and pork, and the other was sauerkraut and pork. The finished dumplings were neatly arranged in bamboo baskets lined with clean gauze. Besides the empty space on the table, even the other two chairs were covered with baskets.

"Lu Aiguo has really skillful hands; he can even weave such baskets. They are really handy." Xia Na didn’t stop her hands or her mouth.

"I find them very handy too. They’re woven from a kind of wild grass called cattail, which isn’t valuable. We have a lot of it at home. You can take a few with you when you go back. When you have spare time, ask Lu Aiguo to weave some grass mats for your family. They are especially comfortable to sleep on during summer, and they have a fresh grass scent." Xia Yuan didn’t hesitate to pile more work on Lu Aiguo.

"That’s great, I’ll look forward to it. But there’s no need to rush; I won’t need them this year. As long as they’re ready for next summer, that’s fine," Xia Na wasn’t shy at all, "Since that’s the case, why doesn’t Lu Aiguo weave more and sell them outside?"

"These take too much work and might not sell for much. I don’t understand the business side of things; he and Shitou are the ones figuring that out. I don’t know, and I don’t manage it. They can do as they please."

Xia Yuan shook her head, finding it hard to clearly explain certain things to her own sister in the moment.

Xia Na nodded and changed the subject, "Yesterday, when we got home and opened the basket, we were startled..."

Lu Yun looked around; besides the beds, there were no spare chairs to sit on, so she quietly slipped away.

She entered another room and saw her father and Shitou already starting to bring things in bit by bit. It looked like they were planning to pile everything in the room she shared with Shitou.

Without a dedicated storage room, they had no choice but to stack things inside the living space. They could have used another room, but the incident from earlier made Lu Aiguo and Shitou decide it was better not to appear before Xia Na for the time being. Seeing too much could prompt her to come over and help out of kindness... Lu Aiguo and Shitou both felt that sometimes dealing with overly enthusiastic people could be quite distressing.

Since the room Lu Yun and Shitou stayed in was small and already contained two beds, the remaining space clearly wasn’t enough to fit everything. Thus, they shoved the bags they had brought in earlier directly under the beds.

After all, these items were just to deceive others, so it didn’t matter where they were placed. Most of the bags contained dried cattail that was already dried at home.

Since she had nothing else to do, Lu Yun also started running around, helping out.

With her joining in, Shitou decided to stay at the cart, watching the door to prevent more unwelcome visitors. Lu Aiguo, with two or three empty bags in one hand, quickly cleared the cart.