Village Flowers and Female Scholars

The next day, when the rain stopped, Mrs. Cao got up early in the morning and knocked on the door of the woodshed, intending to order Cao E, mother and daughter, to clean the grain field. Going to the grain field to dry, only more than half of the [-] mu of rice has been cut, and a small half has not been cut.

Mrs. Cao wants to do any farming work ahead of others, so Cao E's mother and daughter who live under the fence are often tormented by her.

Seeing Cao E in the firewood room, she was dressed neatly, but Xie Jinniang was nowhere to be seen. Only the thin and small Xie Yuangu was still lying on the straw bed, and it seemed that he was still recovering from a serious illness.

When she didn't see Xie Jinniang, Mrs. Cao became angry in an instant: "There was no one in the early morning. I knew that I was going to cut the rice today, but I was thinking about where to be lazy. If I was so lazy, I was afraid that I would be driven back to my mother's house." .”

After scolding, he gave Cao E a dark and unclear look, as if he meant something, but he was still bitter about the fact that Cao E was driven back by the Xie family, and blamed her for making them all lose face. After so many years, Cao E, mother and son are still not pleasing to the eye.

Cao E has heard this kind of talk a lot, and her daughter has made a special confession, and she didn't talk back to her. She still said with a low eyebrow and a pleasing expression: "Gu'er has a fever and is very weak, and there is no one at home. Give him the money to see a doctor, Jin Er found some herbal medicine yesterday, and he got better after drinking it, fearing that he will get sick again, so I have to go find some more today, it won't be long."

"I looked at the little bastard just wanting to be lazy and not to cut the rice. Since the medicine is effective, why didn't you find a few more trees yesterday, and insisted on going there day by day. It's not a trick or something. You are an idiot. If you don't Discipline your daughter, and I will discipline you for you."

Cao E hurriedly lowered her head and begged: "Mother, please, I only have this pair of children. I don't want Gu'er to look like this now. It won't be long before Jin'er goes digging herbs. At worst, I will work a little longer at night." , Resting a little later should be worth her share."

"Work at night and work at night, what do you do at night, it gets dark early after autumn, and I have to spend money to buy oil lamps when you do it at night. You mother and daughter have worked hard for the family, and everyone who can afford Our old Cao’s, you don’t want to let you remarry, you bring two oil bottles, this reputation is rotten, and now Bin’er and Shou’er can’t get a wife, Xiaotao and Xiaoliu are both sixteen or seventeen No one came to talk about marriage. When the matchmaker heard that it was our old Cao’s family, she said that there was a brother Ke’s father and daughter who were driven back by her husband’s family, and they were unwilling to marry our family. Get these!"

Cao E never expected that her mother would blame her brother and nephew for not being close relatives. She couldn't help shaking, her teeth chattered uncontrollably, and her eyes were red. The persecution has already made her forget how to resist, so she can only plead with her trembling voice: "Mother, it's my daughter who is unfilial. When Fang's family comes to propose marriage, and Jin'er is married, I will take Gu'er away. Please be merciful when the time comes, and let Jin'er pick some herbs in the morning."

"You took that little bastard away? Where else could you go, why don't you drag the old Cao's family to suck blood."

Mrs. Cao continued to curse a few times, but Cao E was too soft-tempered, as if she had hit cotton, and finally felt bored, and left cursing. Before leaving, she said: "Hurry up yourself!" Go to work, and if the little bitch doesn't come back in time, he'll be whipped at night."

Mrs. Cao turned around and left after speaking, leaving Cao E with eyes full of despair.

The rain stops in the middle of the night. Now that lights and candles are expensive, people in ancient times used to go to bed early and go to bed as soon as it gets dark. It is equivalent to going to bed at six o’clock every night and waking up at five o’clock in the morning. , Xie Yan got up early with the crowing of the rooster, and Cao E woke up when she woke up. Xie Yan went up the mountain after explaining to her mother what the Cao family had said.

Cao E was worried about her daughter, and wished she could go up the mountain for her, but she didn't know those fungi, and she didn't know herbal medicine. The most important thing was that her son was still sleeping beside her. To deal with this poor child, I had to listen to my daughter and stay at home to deal with these difficult people.

Xie Yantian went out when it was gray and gray. In modern times, she often travels through the mountains and forests, so these mountain roads are not difficult for her to walk, and with yesterday's experience, she will go straight to her destination this time, following the route she took yesterday. Looking for it, I quickly picked up a small basket, and didn't forget to dig herbs along the way.

I could have picked more, but I was afraid that Cao E would not be able to stop Mrs. Cao's attack at home, so I didn't dare to be greedy, and went directly to Yong□□ City with a basket on my back.

At any rate, I walked there yesterday, which is considered familiar, and the time it took was shortened by half compared to yesterday. When she came back to the woodshed, the sun had just come out.

Xie Yuangu stayed in the firewood room according to her instructions and continued to pretend to be sick. When Xie Yan came back, his eyes lit up instantly. Xie Yan quietly stuffed him with a bun and asked him to eat it while it was still warm. .

After Xie Yuangu finished eating the steamed stuffed buns, he relayed to her what Mrs. Cao had said when she came to the chaifang early in the morning. Xie Yan listened, and was a little angry at first, but slowly the anger began to subside. , It's not worthwhile to get angry with these people and hurt herself, she patted Xie Yuangu's head and said: "Don't worry, sister will take you and mother out of here."

Xie Yuangu nodded, his eyes were full of trust in her: "Sister, I believe in you, and then don't be angry with them anymore. When I grow up and have strength, I will support you .”

The little child also knows the meaning of the word "support", Xie Yan nodded and said: "Sister also believes in you, these few days you are lying in the firewood room first, Sister knows that you are afraid of boredom, so I brought you A little thing."

Xie Yuangu was still a boy of four or five years old, how could a child at this age sit still, but this younger brother was well-behaved and sensible, he would do whatever Xie Yan asked him to do, so on the way back he gave him leaves from plants It looks like a few small animals.

Sure enough, when Xie Yuangu saw these small animal models, he was so happy that he hid quietly in the woodshed and went to play by himself.

Xie Yan didn't dare to waste time, so she rushed to the valley farm, lest Mrs. Cao go crazy like a mad dog and can't be stopped. It's not time to tear her face, so she will bear it for a while.

When I arrived at the grain drying field, I saw Cao E was busy dividing the rice harvested the day before yesterday into small bundles, and hanging them on bamboo poles to dry. There were only the old man Cao and the old lady Cao looking eastward in the grain field. I looked around, but I didn't see anyone coming up to help.

No one else was seen, either because they were loafing around in the house before getting up.

Xie Yan was not surprised at all, and went to help her mother without saying a word.

The sharp-eyed old lady Cao saw Xie Yan arrive at the valley field, and when she caught her, she scolded: "It takes so long to pull some herbs early in the morning, and the sun is shining on my buttocks before I come back. I'm afraid I will meet some wild man when I go up the mountain." Let's run up the mountain before dawn."

Xie Yan didn't expect that this dead old woman's mouth would be so poisonous, so that she could just say things that would ruin her granddaughter's name, which is simply a moral depravity.

I couldn't help but said: "Grandmother, I don't want to go to the mountain to dig herbs before dawn. If you are willing to pay one or two taels of silver to see Xiaogu's doctor, I won't waste so much time."

As soon as Mrs. Cao heard about her asking for money, she exploded at one point, and her voice became sharp all of a sudden: "As for your child Jingui, if it rains and the wind blows, the lion will open his mouth and ask for two taels of silver. If I have a Two taels of silver and I can’t cure my back pain, and my family’s Yue’er is too poor to have no money to go to school.”

Xie Yan looked at the people around, knew that the opportunity was coming, and immediately changed his face secretly, and said aggrievedly: "Grandma, you really wronged me, Gu'er's fever hasn't recovered for two days, I don't mean to ask The family wanted money to treat him, so I thought that I could get up earlier and go to the mountains to dig some herbs and boil it for him, so that I could cure the disease without spending money, wouldn’t that work?”

There was an old lady Qin from the same village who had always been at odds with the Cao family, so she took the opportunity to say: "It's fine if you don't have money for medical treatment, and you don't give me any medicine when you go to the mountains to dig herbs. My children sleep until the sun is up, and my granddaughter has to get up before dawn. Work, tsk tsk, only your Cao family can do this kind of thing."

The sister-in-law who was traveling with her also echoed: "Isn't that right, digging herbs in the morning doesn't delay things, you can stop it, I said Cao Po, you are too harsh on your granddaughter."

The surrounding villagers followed suit, and the old lady Cao got annoyed when she heard it, and cursed at them, "I can do whatever I like with the water that my married daughter poured out. What are you doing, I will allow you to come here to tell me what to do."

Aunt Hu, who was hard of hearing in the village, passed by, and she said something wrong: "Tiger poison does not eat its offspring."

Old lady Cao was so angry that she put her hips on her hips and cursed with the crowd for a long time, causing the whole village to be filled with her voice.

There happened to be Lizheng's wife, Mrs. Gao, among the villagers. When she saw Mrs. Cao, she scolded her indiscriminately, and even herself was scolded inside. He quickly understood what was going on, and blamed him with his hands behind his back, "You don't want to go out and dig up herbs in the morning. They are all your grandchildren, why is there such a big difference."

Mrs. Cao usually dared to provoke anyone, but she was really afraid of Li Zheng. The old man Cao, who was smoking dry tobacco by the side of the road, saw the trouble and hurried over. The old woman was scolded and walked away.

He smiled at Lizheng and said: "Women's family has a knife mouth and a bean curd heart. How can my granddaughter treat one more than another? Girl Jin should care about her brother. Life at home is difficult. We can dig some herbs to cure Gu'er. We wish for it Well, from now on, girl Jin will get up in the morning to dig medicine first, not only our old couple will be involved in the family affairs, but there are still a few people in the house to help."

No one in the whole village knew about Cao’s harsh treatment of married women. It’s hard for an upright official to decide on housework. Lizheng is not a serious official, so it’s not easy to ask other people’s family’s specific affairs. He didn't bother with him any more, but he still couldn't help but said one more sentence: "Your girl Jin has reached Jiji's age now, and the Fang family will come to propose marriage in the near future. Make a name for yourself."

Old Man Cao nodded hurriedly and said, "Brother Lizheng said, I will teach my wife a lesson when I go back. This reputation is a big deal, I know it."

Xie Yan couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief when he saw that he was able to buy himself half a day by mistake.