Xiao Qiao enters the farm gate

Qiao Mo and Lin Zheng didn't go to watch the excitement, but when Li Xue and the others came over, they talked a lot, so they also knew what the clan meant, and it was as expected.If there is anyone in the village who doesn't know about this, only Apa Lin is the only one, and the two of them have a tacit understanding and haven't mentioned it to Apa Lin.

The watermelons in the field were already ripe, and Lin Zheng drove the cart to pick them and bring them back by himself.Although the yield is not as good as that of the first crop, this batch of melons was fertilized when they bloomed and bear fruit, so they grow well.There are still some small green melon eggs that have not grown up, which can be fed to the horses when they are brought home, and those melon seedlings are given to Aunt Li's house to feed the pigs.

These things were done in two days, and then the wages were calculated for Uncle Lin Cang, and the shed for watching melons was also demolished.

Qiao Mo originally planned to go to the cellar to order watermelons, but there were still orders in the county town.But Lin Zheng wouldn't let him go down, so he went down to order watermelons, and moved the selected ones to the warehouse above, waiting to be loaded and transported to the city in the morning tomorrow.

Lin Zheng invited old man Yu to go to the county town to deliver melons. The two carts contained more than 400 melons, of which [-] were from Jixiang Restaurant and Song Family Manager Zhang, and the rest were given to the teahouse. Shopkeeper Shaw.This time, the other party didn't even ask for the late melon, but the taste of the melon is good, maybe the other party will have to ask for it after tasting it.

There are not many late crop melons, around six hundred, even if shopkeeper Xiao doesn't want them, he can still find buyers.It's just that the other party is a regular customer after all, if the other party forgets and sees his watermelons from other places, it's always not good.

Sure enough, after sending off the auspicious restaurant, he went to the tea house. After tasting the watermelon, shopkeeper Xiao asked Lin Zheng to send a hundred of them tomorrow.

Lin Zheng agreed, but didn't stay any longer, and rushed to Song's house.

This time it was Zhang Guanshi who came forward to collect the melons. The other party first cut open a melon and tasted it. He was very satisfied with the taste, and then bought a hundred melons at the price of twelve cents a catty.The homemade watermelon tastes sweet and tastes good, and because it is a late crop, there are very few fresh watermelons at this time, and it is normal to be a penny or two more expensive than the melons on the market.

Lin Zheng received ten taels of silver and was about to leave, but Guanshi suddenly asked, "Are you from Shanglin Village?"

"Yes." Lin was on the front as usual, but suddenly remembered that Mrs. Lin had come to the Song family to look for Lin Gui, and it was normal for Manager Zhang to ask him.I just don't know if the other party knows about his relationship with Lin Gui.

"Then there is a man named Lin Gui in your village, do you know?" Manager Zhang asked again.

"Lin Gui is my eldest brother." Now that the other party asked this point, Lin Zheng couldn't help but answer.

Guanshi Zhang raised his eyebrows, looking very surprised: "It's your younger brother? I really didn't expect it. Your grandma is still at our house. She said that she had something important to look for and wanted to find Lin Gui, but it happened that Lin Gui went to the city with our young master. Wai Zhuangzi went to a poetry meeting, so he won't be back for a while."

Lin Zheng could hear the inquiry in the other party's words, but nodded: "It is indeed an important matter. In the past, Lin Gui was made to focus on his studies, and it was rare to go home once a year, but this time he can't, this time it's Dad Something happened and he had to come back."

"Your father..."

Lin Zheng didn't answer this time.

Steward Zhang was curious and asked a lot, and quickly changed the subject: "Since you are here, should I notify you?"

"No need. He won't go back until he waits for Lin Gui." Lin Zheng said goodbye to Zhang Guanshi, and drove away in the car.

Guanshi Zhang looked at the background of his departure, frowning and saying nothing.

The young man at the side scratched his head, puzzled and said: "Guan Zhang, why do I think this person is so weird? It seems that this whole family is weird."

"Don't talk nonsense!" Steward Zhang reprimanded, ignoring the watermelons, and hurried to his master's study.

After Lin Zheng came back, he handed over the 27 taels of silver for selling melons to Qiao Mo, and Qiao Mo took it as usual.There are two ingots and ten taels in this bag of silver, and the rest are scattered silver and copper coins. Keep the silver ingots in the space, and put the broken silver and copper coins in a small mother-of-pearl box in the bedroom wardrobe, which is convenient for daily use. .

After lunch, Lin Zheng sent the watermelon that the teahouse asked for, and sold it for another ten taels.

There used to be dozens of first-cut melons in the family, but this time there are about a hundred of late-cut melons left, which counts to nearly two hundred melons.If you only eat it at home, you may not be able to eat all the melons if they are spoiled, but these melons can be used to make watermelon-flavored candies.In addition, people who are close to each other send a few, which also means that there is a coming and going.

In the past two days, other families in the village have started harvesting peanuts one after another. After delivering the melons, Lin Zheng didn't pick peanuts anymore, but went to help Grandma Li's house.

Grandma Li was naturally happy to see him come to help, but she had to say something: "Ah Zheng, you come to my field, what about your father's house? Now your father can't move, and there is no one else at home, so many If the land is not harvested, if it rots in the field, it will be a waste of hard work this year. Besides, if you come here now and ignore your father’s house, someone in the village should gossip. .”

"Grandma Li don't have to worry, I've already told the clan about this, and I just asked a few people from the clan to help collect the things in the field, and the wages will be paid with crops. I asked Dad, and Dad agreed. "Lin Zheng didn't think of it earlier, but seeing that the crops were about to be harvested, and there was no one at home, he had to think of a way.

"This is a good idea." Grandma Li understood his concerns as soon as she heard it, and agreed.If it's someone else, it's good to help, but people like Mrs. Lin are so good that they get cheap, even if they pay for them, what good can they get?

While pulling out peanuts, Grandma Li asked again: "Why hasn't your step-grandmother come back yet? Then Lin Gui is so busy studying? I'm afraid he doesn't know about Lin Fu yet. If he knew, he would have come back a long time ago." gone."

Grandma Li didn't mention Li Shuilian, no matter how dull she was, she could tell from the attitudes of the two families that something was wrong.

Lin Zheng reckoned that Lin Gui would be back soon.

At this time, a carriage stopped in front of the gate of the Song family in the county seat. Song Bo, the eldest son of the Song family, got down first, followed by three others.They are all students of Luming Academy, two of them are friends of Song Bo, both of them are good in literature and character, and the other is Lin Gui.

"The eldest son is back." Steward Zhang greeted him with a smile.

Song Bo nodded, feeling a little strange.Manager Zhang is usually in charge of the purchases inside and outside the mansion, but he doesn't take care of the guests at the door. Why is it different today?

Guanshi Zhang seemed to see his doubts, and replied: "The master knows that the eldest son is coming back today, so he ordered me to wait, and ask the eldest son to go to the study."

Song Bo felt more and more strange when he heard the words, but he didn't ask any more questions. He asked the three people he brought back to settle down first, and then he went to see his father.

Guanshi Zhang didn't follow, he stopped Lin Gui who was about to leave, and said with a smile: "Second Master Lin, there is someone waiting for you to meet."

"I don't know who it is?" Lin Gui didn't know if it was an illusion, but Lin Gui always felt that the other party's expression was a little strange.

"Is it Second Master Lin's? I have been here for two or three days, saying that there is something important at home, but Second Master Lin is not here."

Lin Gui's heart skipped a beat, not because of anything else, firstly, he didn't expect Mrs. Lin to find the Song family, and secondly, she was worried whether Mrs. Lin said something she shouldn't have said during the few days here.Immediately, he didn't have the thought to deal with it, and asked where Madam Lin was, and rushed over immediately.

Guanshi Zhang kept the sudden change in his expression in mind, while thinking about how long it would take for the people he sent out to return, while planning to deal with the matter at hand.Unexpectedly, before he had walked a few steps, a person came in front of him. When Guanshi Zhang saw it, he smiled wryly in his heart.

"Guard Zhang, the young master has something to say to you." The person who came was Song Han's personal servant, A Le, the young master of the Song family.

Guanshi Zhang didn't know what the young master wanted to ask, although he didn't want to go, but he couldn't avoid it, so he could only bite the bullet and go.

On the other side, Lin Gui hurried to a small courtyard where the Song family lived, and immediately saw his grandmother talking with an old nanny who was sweeping the floor.Although she was far away and couldn't hear what she was saying, the smug flamboyance on her grandma's face and the irritability and disdain hidden in the old mother's eyes were clearly reflected in her eyes.

"Ah." Lin Gui's gentle and surprised appearance, suppressing the anxiety in his heart, everyone who saw him would praise the scholar for his politeness.

"Agui!" Seeing him, Lao Mo almost jumped up for joy, rushed over to grab his hand, and hurriedly said, "I've been waiting for a few days, but you're back, and you're here! I'm so anxious. You don't know our family..."

"Ah!" Although Lin Gui had a smile on his face, he used all his strength to stop Old Mama Lin from chattering.

The old grandma who sweeps the floor has been in the family all her life, and she dare not say anything else, but she knows how to look at people.Seeing this, I didn't know what it meant, so I found an excuse and left.

Lin Gui saw that there was no one around, so he pulled Old Madam Lin into the house, and asked in a low voice: "Ah, why are you here? Didn't I say, don't come to me if you have nothing to do, I just entered the Song Dynasty with great difficulty." The eyes of the eldest son of the family, do you want me to lose my credit?"

Although Madam Lin didn't understand what was meant by "failure to fail", she could almost guess it.

"Ah Gui, I came to you because I had no other choice. Something happened to our family!" Old Mama Lin had a bitter face and didn't know where to start.

At this time, Lin Gui felt something strange: "Ah, how did you end up at Song's house?"

Lin Gui knew very well that everyone in the village, including his aunt, knew that he was studying in the county academy, but they couldn't tell exactly what the academy was called or where it was located.My grandma is just an ignorant old lady in the country, I'm afraid her eyes will be smeared when she enters the city, even if she finds a college, the most likely thing is to take advantage of being his son and forcefully break the lock of her own door to live in.

Mrs. Lin didn't think there was anything unusual, so when she saw him asking, she said, "I was looking for you in a hurry, but I couldn't tell you which academy you were in. I asked many people, but fortunately, there was someone from your academy who knew you. People said that you often go to Song's house recently, maybe you are in Song's house, and you even showed me the way, so I came here."

Lin Gui felt normal when he heard it, so he didn't bother about it, and asked what happened to his family.

Madam Lin hurriedly said, "Your father fell and broke his leg."

Lin Gui was startled at first, but then felt something was wrong.If something happens to Dad, Ah should take care of it at home, why rush to the city to find him?

"What else happened?"

"Also... Ah Fu and his wife have also come to the county, I can't find them." Lin Laomo hesitated and felt guilty when she said this.

Lin Gui frowned when he heard this: "What are they here for? Why did you agree? You are not at home, who will take care of Dad?"

"Isn't there Lin Zheng, that's his father too!" Madam Lin curled her lips, seeing Lin Gui frowning, she didn't dare to say more.

Lin Gui was not taken off topic, but continued to ask: "Ah, tell me honestly, why did you go to the city? If you don't tell me, I don't know anything. What if I go back to the village? I don't know the people in the village right now. How can you poke our family's spine?"

Old Mama Lin's eyes flickered and avoided, and she remained silent for a long time.

Lin Gui couldn't get the answer, so he thought for a while, and suddenly guessed: "Ah, are you envious of the big brother's house?"

"In such a big house, how many rooms do they live in? The rest are empty. Although he is not my own, I have raised him for so many years. What happened to living in a separate room? Besides, there is his father Well." Lin Laomo was indignant, and regretted that she had made such a family separation agreement, otherwise she would have moved into the new house by now, saving a lot of trouble.

Lin Guideng really didn't know what to say, no matter how unwilling to admit it, he had to say, my aunt's thoughts are really stupid!

"Did Brother Lian come up with the idea of ​​coming to the county?" Knowing the reason, Lin Gui soon had such a guess.

Old Mama Lin didn't hide anymore, and told the whole thing neatly: "Your father accidentally fell while sweeping the beam, and Li Shuilian came up with such an idea. Said it was him Go with Ah Fu first, and I will leave after two days. They all find an excuse to leave the village and go to the county seat. Your father stays at home, so only Lin Zheng will take care of him. His wife is still pregnant, so you must not take your father Take it home. When I go back, I can live in directly."

"Didn't you two not deal with each other? Why did you believe him as soon as he said it?" Lin Gui looked down on Li Shuilian very much, and also felt that the other party was inconvenient. Originally, he was not optimistic about his marriage with his younger brother, especially after marriage. Consider living in the city.After all Lin Gui had stayed in the county for a few years, he had an intuition that Li Shuilian had other plans for this move, after thinking about it carefully, he also became suspicious of Lin's father's injury.

So, Lin Gui asked: "It's not a year or a festival, why did Dad think of sweeping the beams? Besides, in the past, didn't there be long poles in the house, and they could be swept while standing on the ground. Why did they fall?"

"It's not Li Shuilian!" Old Mama Lin spat, and said bitterly: "In the past two days, he always said that there were a lot of cobwebs in the house, and that the dust fell into the rice bowl, and he asked Ah Fu to clean it. Where did Ah Fu do this? But Ah Fu refused, so he started arguing. The two of them got louder and louder, and there was no end to it. Your father couldn’t see it, so he had to clean it by himself. Unfortunately, the long pole at home broke, and Li Shuilian went out. The idea is to stand on the table and set up a chair, and something will happen to your father." Madam Lin just didn't expect that she was idle at Song's house for the past two days, and when she thought of not finding Lin Fu and Li Shuilian at the agreed place, she felt something was wrong. , and felt more and more that there was something wrong with Father Lin's injury. "Ah Gui, I was wondering if Li Shuilian had resorted to your dad's injury? If it wasn't for your dad, I wouldn't have allowed them to enter the county."

Lin Gui did think so, but there was no proof.Besides, even if it's true, you can't say it, and the family ugliness should not be publicized.

Lin Gui speculated about the current situation in the village, and felt that there could be no further delay, so he immediately went to Song Bo to say goodbye.

Song Bo just came out of Master Song's study, and he was still surprised by what Master Song said. Now seeing Lin Gui coming to say goodbye, he asked tentatively, "What happened at home? Is it urgent?"

Lin Gui looked worried and anxious: "To tell the truth, Brother Song, my father accidentally broke his leg due to an accident. Ah Mo has never had any ideas, and in addition to my age, my health is not in good condition. As a son of man, I have to go home and take care of it."

"Could it be that there are no other brothers in Brother Lin's family?" His father had an accident and as a son of man, he should go home to visit and take care of him. Song Bo said this, but it was just a test.

"There is an elder brother and a younger brother in the family, but the elder brother has already separated from the family and has little contact with each other every year. The younger brother just got married not long ago, so it is not easy to let him take care of this alone." Lin Gui said this very level, Not only explained the population of the family, but also secretly revealed more in-depth information.Anyone with a heart can hear the voice-over, it's just that the elder brother is unreliable and the younger brother has a rouge tiger.

"In that case, brother Lin should leave the city and return home as soon as possible. I'll speak for brother Lin at the academy." Song Bo naturally heard the other party's voice-over, frowned secretly, and didn't say any more.

After Lin Gui left, a person stepped out from under the dense shade of a tree. It was Song Han, the young son of the Song family.

"I didn't expect Big Brother Lin's family to be so complicated, and so is his big brother. Why don't we keep in touch once the family is separated? It's obviously impossible to expect him to take care of Father Lin, but Brother Lin has worked hard." Song Han said with a sympathetic expression.

"How much do you know to conclude like this?" Song Bosi and his father said, thinking that he might also be deceived, he couldn't help but feel a little angry.

"Brother?" Song Han realized that he was not in the right mood.

"Don't worry too much about other people's affairs, and don't run out recently, just stay at home and accompany you." The matter has not yet been settled, so Song Bo didn't say much to him.

However, Song Han has been loved by his family since he was a child, and he is always self-contained. The previous two-point doubts turned into five points, and he couldn't help but secretly plan in his heart.

Lin Gui simply packed his things, hired a carriage, and rushed back to Shanglin Village with Madam Lin at the fastest speed.

As soon as he returned to the village, Lin Gui felt that the villagers were looking at him in the wrong way, and they were still talking in a low voice. Although they couldn't hear clearly, it was obviously not a good thing.He had also expected this situation, and it was useless to argue with the villagers, so the first thing he did after he got home was to go to Lin Zheng's house and pick up Father Lin back home.

Qiao Mo raised his eyebrows slightly when he saw Lin Gui coming to the door, but he didn't show any cold face, but said in a flat tone: "Big brother is back, come to pick up daddy?"

Lin Gui looked apologetic: "Brother and sister-in-law have been working hard these days. Ah has no idea when something happens, even if Ah Fu's daughter-in-law is important, she has to take care of father first. After all, it's not good for elder brother and sister-in-law to split up. It’s all up to my eldest brother and sister-in-law. When Ah Mo arrived in the city, he didn’t remember which hospital Ah Fu and the others went to see a doctor. It happened that I was not in the city at the poetry meeting with the people from the academy. I didn’t get the letter until I returned to the city today. I asked for leave from the academy, and I will take care of my father at home from today, so I came here to pick my father back."

As he spoke, he handed over some things: "I don't have time to buy things in a hurry. These snacks and drinks are just a little thank you to my younger brother, and please accept them."

How about a scholar, the words are beautiful and pleasant to hear, even if you know that there is another thing in your heart, it is much more comfortable to hear.

With an explanation, gifts, and active reception, the villagers who followed immediately changed the subject, and began to praise Lin Gui for his courtesy and filial piety one sentence after another.

But at this time someone squeezed in from the crowd, it was Aunt Jin: "Lin Gui, my Brother Lian was sold by you Lin Fu, you are a scholar, you have to give me justice! Otherwise, I will sue you at the county government go!"