Leisurely Farmer's Family: A Strong Man and His Broken Leg Son-in-law

In the early morning, Zhuyuan Village is quiet and peaceful. Bamboo forests and gardens can be seen everywhere, and small dirt roads are hidden under the lush green bamboos. At the end of each small dirt road is an adobe house.

The courtyard walls are mostly surrounded by bamboo fences, with occasional adobe mud walls mixed in. Smoke rises from the chimneys of every household, and chickens and ducks cackle in search of food.

The pigs grunted in the pig pen waiting to be fed, the little yellow dog and the little black dog ran up and down the village road, and the children who got up early had already started to play together.

The sun shines through the clouds, casting a warm radiance. The cold gradually dissipates, and the village wakes up little by little.

Within a moment, the women and husbands of each household asked the older children to put out the fire, walked out of the courtyard, and shouted to the younger girls and boys at home to go home for dinner.

In the only large blue brick house in the village, food was already placed on the big stone table in the courtyard.

A few bowls of rotten and gritty sweet potato slices soup, a basket of multigrain steamed buns, and two or three plates of small pickles.

This is what a family of ten or so eats in the morning.

The village chief was holding a bowl of sweet potato slice soup, his brows furrowed and anger hidden in his eyes.

When Luo Shi placed his chopsticks, his heart skipped a beat, and he hurriedly said, "Dad, please calm down. It's his fault that A Qing refused the marriage proposal from Lijiazhuang. As the saying goes, you can't choose a matchmaker when choosing a bride. How can I get along with my sister and my husband?"

Wan Lianfeng waved his hand, put down the soup bowl, looked at the eldest daughter-in-law in front of him, and sighed: "This is confusing. Your sister and brother-in-law have good intentions when they say they are married, and the matchmaker is the matchmaker. Why can't you choose a bride? This is also nonsense. It’s so unreasonable, your sister and husband will be angry when they hear it, they also hope that A Qing will be well.”

When Luo heard what her father-in-law said, she felt relieved. It would have been because she was angry with her family's A Qing, so she turned to wonder: "Why is dad angry?"

Wan Lianfeng saw that everyone was looking at him, and the old wife also put down her chopsticks and looked at him, so she could only calm down and said: "It's okay, have you heard anything from the rich lady in the past two days?"

"Yes. Yesterday when I was at the entrance of the village, I said that I was going to sell the three and a half acres of her family's land in Sanjiedi and Linzipo. Including the crops on the ground, it only costs 7 taels per acre. ."

Luo Shi was a little moved, but the family had not been separated, and she could not decide on such a major matter as buying a land. After saying this, she looked at her father-in-law and mother-in-law, waiting for their reaction.

Wan Lianfeng breathed a sigh of relief, as he could fulfill his promise to the younger brother of the He family.

After finishing the sweet potato slice soup in one breath, the village chief's daughter-in-law said: "After breakfast, go to Tian Fugui's house and call Shui Sanmei and his wife."

"Hey!" Mr. Luo beamed. If his family bought a few more acres of land, they would be able to get an extra one-third of an acre if they split up in the future. Moreover, they would use the company's money, and they wouldn't have to use their own private houses.

. . . . . . .

After breakfast, every household was discussing and arranging household chores and working in the fields when they suddenly heard the sound of gongs and drums. Whether they were close or far away, they could not tell the direction from which the gongs and drums were coming.

They all put down what they were doing, walked out of the courtyard, and walked to the entrance of the village.

Nian hurriedly carried the pig food out, poured it into the pig trough, and said to Chang Sheng, who was in the yard preparing to engrave some money: "The village chief wants to invite everyone to discuss things. You are at home, so you just want to engrave some money." It's just a small fee, and I'll do the rest of the work when I get back."

Without waiting for Changsheng to respond, he took off his apron and turned around and walked out the door.

"Village chief, what's the matter? Don't ask the county or town to send corvee labor." The older man frowned. In this cold winter, it would be better if we could build bridges and roads, but if we dredge the river, it would be fine. It's killing me.

Wan Lianfeng looked at the uneasy villagers below and quickly raised his hand: "Don't talk nonsense. When did you see the weather at the end of October before the corvee was issued? Is it possible that the corvée was issued at will? The corvee was just issued last year. The next corvee will be It’s next year.”

The villagers immediately breathed a sigh of relief and hurriedly asked, "Then why did the village chief greet us?"

Wan Lianfeng glanced at Tian Fugui and his wife next to him and snorted coldly.

"It's like this. We asked the village chief to help greet everyone. Our family doesn't have the money to get Chang Xi married, so we want to sell him a few acres of land to collect the dowry gift."

Shui Sanmei forced a smile on her face, feeling secretly resentful in her heart. Originally, she thought that if she let the news of the land sale go out first, the village chief would definitely forgive him for a few days. If she delays it again, there may not be room for change. After the five taels of silver given to He Xian were swallowed up and delayed, it could not be said that it was a bad debt.

As for the redemption of longevity, she originally planned to go back to her parents' house after breakfast, mortgage the land deed to her sister-in-law, and get the money to redeem longevity. As for the land, it would be much easier to get it back from her sister-in-law.

Just after breakfast, before the bowl was put down, Luo Shi, the eldest daughter-in-law of the village chief's family, came to the door and said that the village chief had something to do with them.

Looking at the interested eyes of the villagers below, Shui Sanmei felt her scalp numb. She was afraid that she really couldn't keep these three acres of land, and her heart felt like a knife.

The villagers who were well-informed knew yesterday that Sanmei Shui was planning to sell their land. Seeing that someone was unaware, they quickly opened their mouths to explain.

After a while, everyone knew it. Those who were interested raised their voices and asked: "Ms. Rich, where is your house going to be sold and for what price?"

Shui Sanmei's scalp was numb, and she laughed dryly and said: "Sanjie Di and Lin Zipo are two places worth seventy-two cents per acre."

"It's a bit expensive. The terrain there is not good. I vaguely remember that it was opened up a few years ago."

Shui Sanmei was overjoyed and her eyes widened: "That's right. Changsheng was bloomed a few years ago, and it hasn't been cultivated for a few years. If you want to buy it, you have to put in more effort."

"If it weren't for Chang Xi waiting to get married, I wouldn't be willing to sell it. Even the crops on the ground only cost seven taels. Hey, raising a child is a debt. I have no choice but to do it all because of these debt collectors."

I heard that the crops on the ground cost seventy-two cents, and those who had originally been reluctant to give up came back to life, and this woman mentioned that it was Chang Sheng who created the wasteland.

People in the village also remembered that in the past few years, Changsheng went out early and came back late, making his face dirty every day. He picked up these acres of fields every day. There was a thick layer of rotten leaves and river mud in the fields. The back is also fertile.

Seeing the agitated look of the people below, Shui Sanmei was a little anxious. She opened her mouth to say something, but Wan Lianfeng looked at her with a knife-like look and didn't dare to say anything.

At the corner of the house not far away, Tian Xiuxiu was lying on the wall, whispering to Chang Xi who was in the same posture: "I'm right, my mother sold the land to pay off the gambling debts for the third brother, but she turned around and said she wanted to marry you. , the original betrothal gift for your marriage has already been used by my mother to pay off the gambling debts of my third brother."

"Second brother, he is also my mother's son. When third brother finishes arranging the fields at home, I'm afraid you won't even be able to eat, let alone get married."

"If I can't eat it, you can eat it."

"I don't care. I'm sixteen this year. My mother said she would choose a good match for me, buy me a dowry, and let me marry in style. Naturally, my husband's family will not blame me for my stuttering." Tian Xiuxiu stared at me. At the entrance of the village, they retorted.

"Then, what else can I do?" Chang Xi was a little frustrated, and his thin shoulders slumped down, looking a bit pitiful.

Tian Xiuxiu didn't look at it and continued: "Follow what I taught you yesterday."

"Second brother, don't be afraid of working. Working is better than starving to death. I will help you."