Yipin Farmer

Shi Jie's voice was trembling with excitement: "I have found the person we have been looking for."

"Really?" Mrs. Shi was surprised and delighted. "Aged seventeen or eighteen, good-looking, both parents dead, not the eldest son, poor family, never married or engaged?"

"Yes, it is more important to be kind and honest."

Shi Jie’s ancestors lived in Changping County for several generations and opened a weaving house. Now there are hundreds of looms. His family is quite rich. , Shi Jie is a model loving wife, he doesn't want to take concubines, and he doesn't want his property to fall into the hands of distant relatives.Therefore, the husband and wife planned to recruit a son-in-law to take care of them.

There are many conditions.

One is the age of seventeen or eighteen to twenty-seven, because his daughter is already nineteen, and it is not good for the son-in-law to be too old or too young.

The second is to have a good appearance. It is uncomfortable to look at the crooked melon and cracked dates at home, and my daughter doesn't like it either.

The third is the death of both parents. If there are parents in the church, who would be willing to let the son intrude the door.

Fourth, it cannot be the eldest son or the youngest son. The eldest son must inherit the clan priesthood, while the youngest son must keep the family business.

Fifth, the family is poor, because families with a little bit of money will not let their sons be their sons-in-law.

Sixth, if you are unmarried, you still can’t bear to have your baby’s only daughter fill in the house or be a stepmother to someone else’s child, let alone be a concubine.

seventh……

The most important thing is to be simple-minded, kind and honest, not to have crooked minds, not to be promiscuous outside, not to be greedy for money, otherwise they will neglect their family's property, and the only daughter will cry without tears, and they will have to count on their son-in-law to take care of them.

The matchmaker who came to kiss her looked at the Shijia couple counting the conditions on their fingers, and they were all scared off.To put it bluntly, with such a harsh condition, the girl might not be able to get married for the rest of her life.

Seeing that the years passed, the daughter was getting older, and the marriage was not settled at all, the couple was also impatient, considering whether to lower the conditions, and at this time, they met Ting Ke.

Ting Ke fully met the historian's requirements for recruiting a son-in-law.He is tall, handsome, and well educated.Both parents died, neither the eldest son nor the youngest son. His family was not well off and he had never been married.What's more important is that this young man is kind and honest, he is good at picking up money, he is not a person who loves money, he is pure-minded, and he still resists the temptation of money even in poverty.The only fly in the ointment is that Tingke is two years younger than his daughter, but most of the men who are older than the precious daughter have married before, so this can be ignored.

The old couple of historians narrowed their eyes into slits when they laughed.

The next day, Ting Shuang brought Ting Ke to visit. First, he met with Shi and his wife. Zhu looked at Ting Ke and liked it more and more.Thinking that he lost his parents, and that his elder brother would have to make decisions about future marriages, he turned a corner and asked Ting Shuang that they were willing to find a good marriage for Ting Ke, and wondered if he could accept his younger brother living in his father-in-law's family.

Ting Shuang did not have the idea that the ancients despised the son-in-law at all. In modern times, housing prices are getting more and more expensive, and it is difficult to buy a house. It is not the same for the young couple to live in after marriage. The most important thing is to be happy with each other.

Shi and his wife were even more happy when they learned of Tingshuang's opinion, and took them to visit the weaving room.

The historian has hundreds of looms and employs hundreds of people. There is a set of procedures from spinning, beating to looming. Ting Shuang was stunned when she saw it. The machine room of this house is nothing modern, but it is equivalent to a A medium-sized factory, historians are almost the capitalists of this era.Besides, his house doesn't dye the cloth, and there is no need to touch chemicals when working here.

Ting Shuang was relieved, told Ting Ke a few words, bought some things and went home alone.

On the way home, I saw a group of people surrounded by the roadside and didn't know what happened, so I hurried over to have a look.

I saw an old man with gray hair lying on the side of the road. The old man was dusty and torn, begging the people around him, "Please, please help me get the pillow."

The people around shook their heads: "You old man is confused, your pillow is oily and torn, no one wants to give it away, you still need someone to fish it for you."

Ting Shuang stretched her neck to look over, and sure enough, there was a broken pillow floating in the river beside the road, which was indeed worthless. I don't know why the old man was in such a hurry.

The weather was clear and neither too hot nor too cold, but the river was still cold.There were quite a few onlookers, some making fun of the old man, and some consoling him, but no one went down to the river to fetch that broken pillow for him.

Seeing that the pillow was about to float away, the old man became more anxious and cried.

Someone in the onlookers said, "How much will you pay to fish it out for you?"

The old man cried: "I have no money."

Ting Shuang watched the excitement for a while, and couldn't understand why the old man valued this worthless and tattered pillow so much. Could it be that this pillow was a souvenir related to his relatives?If so, the old man is also very pitiful.

Seeing that the people around him were unwilling to go down the river to fetch a pillow for him, and seeing the pillow drifting farther and farther away, the old man became more and more anxious. He was so anxious that he was about to jump into the river. ? Jumping into the river at your age, this old life is about to be confessed."

Seeing that the old man was about to jump into the river in a hurry, Ting Shuang couldn't bear it even more, thinking that it would be impossible for him to honor his parents, so it would be better to transfer this affection to the old man, which would be regarded as a merit.

So he took off his clothes, jumped into the river, swam a few steps and picked up the pillow.

The old man took the pillow and held it tightly in his arms, as if holding his lost baby.

Seeing this scene, Ting Shuang quickly figured it out. This old man must have lost his child. He was so sad that he went crazy. He regarded the pillow that the child had used as a child, which is really pitiful.

Seeing that there was no excitement, the onlookers gradually dispersed.Ting Shuang also put on her clothes and carried her basket to go home.

Unexpectedly, the old man followed him all the way with the package in his arms.

Ting Shuang was puzzled, and looked back at him: "What are you following me for?"

The old man was haggard, with a dull expression, his gray hair was disheveled by the cold wind, his lips were chapped, and his face was blue and yellow, as if he had been hungry for a long time.

Ting Shuang was more sympathetic and said, "If you have nowhere to go, just come home with me."

The old man seemed to understand, nodded, and followed him with the package in his arms.

Back home, Ting Hui was very dissatisfied when he saw that Ting Shuang brought back an old beggar: "Oh brother, now we are so poor, and you still bring beggars to our house, how can we have one more person to eat in our family."

"Where is one more person eating? The third child is not eating at home. Aren't the people eating in our family still the same as before?" Ting Shuang said, leading the old man into the kitchen, fearing that his stomach will be weak if he is hungry for a long time, first use the only white flour Stir him some pimple soup.The old man held the noodle soup in his trembling hands and began to drink it, as if he hadn't eaten for a few days.

Ting Hui was a little unhappy at first, but when he saw that his hands were shaking with hunger, he sighed and didn't say anything else, and filled another bowl for him and set it aside to dry.

After he finished eating, Ting Shuang scooped up another basin of water for him to wash his face. After he washed his face of dust, he found that the old man looked quite dignified and graceful. Although he had been hungry for a long time, he The appearance when eating is still very elegant, not like ordinary beggars at all.

Ting Shuang became curious again, and asked, "May I ask where the old man lives? Do you have any relatives?"

The old man looked embarrassed, hesitated for a moment, and said: "My surname is Chu, and I have no other comments. If you don't want to take me in, I'll leave now."

Ting Shuang and Ting Hui looked at each other, the old man's voice was very strange, he looked like an old woman, and he never thought that he would be so arrogant in this situation.Seeing that the old man was about to leave with the package in his arms, Ting Shuang stopped him: "Since you have something to hide, we don't have to ask you to understand. You are very weak now, so you should stay here for a while. Although my family is poor, I can still let you Let's eat."

Old man Chu didn't show any gratitude, but nodded slightly: "Thank you very much."

Ting Hui raised his eyebrows, gave Ting Shuang a wink, and whispered behind the old man's back: "Who is this man? He can talk like a Beijing movie. Judging by his demeanor and conversation, he doesn't look like a beggar at all, but he seems to have seen him before." Like the world."

Ting Shuang blinked, expressing that she couldn't figure it out.

In the evening, Ting Zhi came back from school, Ting Ke also came back from the city, and the family prepared to have dinner.

Ting Hui hurriedly asked him: "How are you doing today? Are you tired from work?"

"Not tired." Ting Ke said happily, "The boss's family is very kind to me, and even let his daughter come out to see me, and arranged for me to receive guests in the front hall, send and receive goods, keep accounts and so on."

"Are you not a small worker?" Ting Shuang was surprised. This is equivalent to a white-collar worker in a modern enterprise. This job is not bad.

Ting Hui was so excited that he jumped onto the stool and said, "So what you're doing is not physical labor, you're just working as a cashier. You're just lucky."

"It's not a matter of good luck or bad luck. It's because of good morals. It's because the third child earns money and has won the trust of Mr. Shi, so he let him touch the accounts." Ting Shuang smiled happily, and said, "You don't know how much the proprietress likes it." The third child looks at him like a mother-in-law looks at her son-in-law, gentle and kind."

"Ha..." Ting Hui laughed, "How does elder brother know what the mother-in-law looks at her son-in-law?"

"Of course I know."

While the brothers were talking, old man Chu brought in the food and put it on the kang table.

"Who is he?" Ting Ke asked strangely seeing that there was another person in the family.

Ting Shuang briefly explained what happened and planned to take him in.Ting Hui curled his lips when he heard this, looking very displeased. Seeing that the others had no objections, and it was hard to say anything, he picked up a chopstick and stuffed it into his mouth.

"Oh, who fried these shredded potatoes?" Ting Hui exclaimed in surprise, and stuffed another chopstick into his mouth, praising him again and again.

Others also picked up a chopstick and ate it.Ting Shuang asked suspiciously, "Master Chu, did you cook this dish?"

"Yes." Mr. Chu agreed.

Ting Shuang couldn't believe it, and asked again: "You cut the potatoes into shreds, soaked them in water, put them in the oil pan, sautéed peppercorns, dried red peppers and green onions before frying?"

"Yes."

"And some vinegar?"

"Yes."

Woo... It hurts my self-esteem too much. The same potatoes, the same process, why does old man Chu make better food than his own?It doesn't make sense.

Ting Shuang was wondering while stuffing vegetables into her mouth.

Pian Tinghui kept talking non-stop: "Brother, this is more delicious than yours. Every time you stir-fry potatoes in the pot, you can't control the heat, the peppercorns are burnt, the green onions are also black, and sometimes they are raw. .The spinach salad is either overcooked and overcooked, or undercooked."

Ting Shuang stopped her chopsticks and glared at him: "Stinky boy, you still hate my cooking."

"I don't think you're not good at cooking. It's just that after eating the same dishes made by Mr. Chu today, I realized that my elder brother's craftsmanship has been inferior." Ting Hui muttered.

"Oh, the vegetable dregs are spraying out again, you won't be able to suffocate you if you don't talk while chewing."

Seeing these brothers eating deliciously, old man Chu still stumbled, and said with a smile: "I will cook for you in the future, and I will make sure that you are satisfied."

Ting Hui was very happy and said, "But my family has no money to buy any good things."

Old man Chu said: "It's not that expensive things must be delicious. Generally, poor and lowly things are not inferior to those chickens, ducks and fish."

When it was time to go to bed at night, Ting Shuang wanted to arrange a bed for old man Chu, but was firmly refused.Old man Chu insisted on going to the firewood house in the backyard, saying that he was used to sleeping alone.

Ting Shuang was puzzled, feeling that the old man was weird everywhere, but modern people respect other people's privacy, so he didn't say anything more.Fortunately, the weather is getting warmer, so we only need to spread a mattress on the wheat straw and take a thin quilt.