The husband's son-in-law

Li Zhouzhou woke up in the middle of the night, and looked at the window in the dark.

The wind was blowing, and the room was cold.He tucked the quilt up for the old man, wrapped his legs and feet around the old man, and warmed up the old man with a lot of anger.

Seeing that Xianggong was sleeping peacefully, Li Zhouzhou fell asleep again.But this sleep was short, before the rooster crowed, Li Zhouzhou woke up, the window in the room was glowing with white light, could it be that it was snowing?

Li Zhouzhou thought about the chickens and pigs in the backyard, got up quickly, put on his clothes, and left without combing his hair.As soon as the door bolt was pulled open, the father with gray shoulders came in from the main door, and the father and son faced each other.

"It's snowing, I've seen the chicken, it's fine, you go back and lie down." Li Da said while patting the snow on his body.

Li Zhouzhou looked outside, the snow had already fallen on the ground, and it was a vast expanse of whiteness.

"I said it was getting cold in the middle of the night."

Li Zhouzhou returned to the house, but he couldn't sleep anymore. He took off his clothes and got into the bed. He thought that he had just caught the air-conditioning and was hugging his husband when he got warmer. Looking at him with a full arms.

Fortunately, I went to town to buy things yesterday.Li Zhouzhou thought.

I can't fall asleep when I sleep, so I just hug my husband and think about things in my mind.

This year the snow fell early, and it began to fall before the new year. Next year, the field will surely have a good harvest. After paying the tax, I keep some of my own food, and sell the rest in the town.Waiting for the spring to hold another piglet, although it will be a little tiring, but by the end of the next year, it will also pay off, at least Xianggong has a pen and paper.

As long as he is diligent, money can always be saved.

Li Zhouzhou hugged his husband, thinking about the days to come, his heart was burning hot.

After lingering on the bed for less than half an hour, Li Zhouzhou got up to get dressed this time. As soon as he got together, Xianggong also got up.

"Did the husband wake you up?"

When Gu Zhaocai woke up, his voice was still vague, and he said, "No, I want to get up early and go for a run after exercising."

"Sister-in-law don't run away today, it's snowing outside." Li Zhouzhou handed clothes to him.

Gu Zhao took it and put it on, looked at the window, it was really white, and said obediently: "Then I'll wait for the snow to stop and exercise in the main room of the courtyard. Wife, is your waist sore? If you feel uncomfortable, lie down again, and I will make breakfast."

"It's not uncomfortable, it's fine." Li Zhouzhou said immediately, the job in the kitchen should be his, it's okay for Xianggong to do it occasionally, at most it's to help someone in an emergency, how can he let Xianggong cook all day.

When Gu Zhao heard this, his head drooped, "Is it because Zhou Zhou didn't like me because I didn't do well?"

Li Zhouzhou couldn't see that Mr. Xiang was wronged, so he hurriedly said: "No. Then Mr. Xiang will help me add firewood."

"Okay." Gu Zhaoyang smiled.

The couple dressed up, and as soon as they went out, the cold wind mixed with snowflakes hit their faces.

Gu Zhaohan's mind was refreshed, and he didn't feel dazed when he just woke up. He thought it was pretty good, "You can read books with a clear mind."

The current books are not like modern vernacular, they are very slow to read, and they are still in vertical format. Gu Zhao recognized it when he copied the book. There is only a period at the end of a sentence, and no other punctuation marks.

Li Zhouzhou first set the stove on fire, and a layer of ice formed on the remaining half of the water tank. He stabbed it twice with a rolling pin before scooping it up with a gourd ladle.

"Sir, look at the stove, I'll go to the backyard to have a look."

Li Zhouzhou told Xianggong that it was cold, so it would be warmer for Xianggong to sit in front of the stove and warm up.

Gu Zhao sat down obediently, stretched out his hands to warm himself by the fire, while thinking about the poems he had memorized yesterday.

There is a vegetable field next to the wall in the backyard, which is covered with snow at this time.Li Zhouzhou squatted down and pulled it away with his hands. Today, he had to pick up the cabbage in the field and pick it well, otherwise it would be frozen and spoiled in the field.The radishes are not in a hurry, a layer of frost will fall, and the radishes that come out will be sweeter and delicious.

The vegetable field is separated by a small path in the middle, and the pigsty and chicken coop are on the other side against the wall.

The two are built together, long, with a wall of yellow mud in the middle. Half of the pigsty is open to the air and the other half is covered with thin wood. Lay another layer, and then lay hay on it, and change it three or two times a year.

A stone trough, half of which is a sink and one side is pig food.

The chicken pen is smaller, and the building method is the same as that of the pig pen, but there is an extra fence on the half of the roof.On weekdays, during the day, the pigs and the chickens roam around in the open air, and at night they sleep with their heads covered.

When it was cold a few days ago, Li Zhouzhou put a thick layer of hay on the main berth of the chicken coop.The pigs have grown strong, and their skin is rough and their meat is thick enough to withstand the cold. The brood of hens still needs to be more careful. Li Zhouzhou went over to see that his father had already hung up the fence and used hay to block the wind and snow.

Li Zhouzhou opened the fence and saw that there were eight chickens nestled together in a pile, but they were not too cold, so he touched the eggs casually.When it was cold, the chickens were too frozen to lay eggs.

Today there are only five eggs in total.

Li Zhouzhou took five eggs and put them in a basket to save two. They didn't sell them until Chinese New Year, so they ate them at home.

"Sister, how about eating sweet water eggs today?" All the children in the village like to eat this way. Yesterday I bought maltose and cooked it with this.

After reviewing what he had memorized yesterday, Gu Zhao nodded and said, "Do you want poached eggs in sweet water? Yes."

Xianggong really likes sweets, just like a child.

I didn't go to the main room for breakfast, and the heat was almost gone when I brought it over, so the family of three ate in the kitchen.It's still the same old three, hot steamed buns, multigrain porridge, and boiled eggs replaced with sweet water eggs.

Gu Zhao held the bowl and took a sip of the poached egg water, which tasted slightly sweet.This caramel is fermented from millet and wheat, and is light yellow in color.

The caramel made from this kind of grain is cheap, although the sweetness is less.Like cube sugar, which is boiled from sugarcane. It is red in color and has a strong sweet taste. It is expensive and rarely eaten on weekdays.

People in the village will buy caramel for the children to sweeten their mouths during festivals and New Years.

"There are still some in Xianggong's pot." Seeing that Xianggong likes it, Li Zhouzhou took another spoon for Xianggong.

Gu Zhao adhered to the principle of not wasting, anyway, the sweetness was not too strong and unacceptable, so he went over with a bowl.

"It's quite delicious." Gu Zhao took a sip and praised his wife.

Li Zhouzhou was also happy, because he knew that Xianggong would like it.

As soon as it snowed and it was winter, every household in the village started to cat and wash their clothes. The river water was too cold, so they mixed some hot water with water to wash their clothes.Naturally, I was too lazy. A while ago, I wandered around during the slack season and didn’t have much firewood. Now that it’s snowing and it’s too late, I can only go to the river to wash.

Li Zhouzhou is diligent, looking for a good day a while ago, the big bedding at home has been unpacked, washed and dried, and the single clothes that have been replaced are also washed in the air, folded and put in the suitcase, and now they are wearing quilted ones.

"I went to the entrance of the village to buy a piece of tofu, and I ate stewed tofu with cabbage for lunch," Li Zhouzhou said.

Seeing that the snow hadn't stopped outside, Gu Zhao said, "Why don't we go when the snow stops?"

"Uncle Wang cooks a lot every day. When it snows, every household eats cabbage. It can cook a big pot with stewed tofu. I'm afraid I won't have it if I go late."

Gu Zhao didn't stop him, just said: "Slow down on the slippery snowy road, do you have a bamboo hat at home? Put it on so you don't get cold."

"it is good."

In snowy days like this before, Li Zhouzhou went to the river to do laundry and buy tofu. He never wore a bamboo hat, and it disappeared when he came back to pat it. But now he listens to his husband and obediently puts it on.

Li's house is close to the entrance of the village, and the road is slippery in snowy weather. Li Zhouzhou walked slowly, and before he reached the gate of Uncle Wang's house, he heard the voices of villagers talking, everyone came to buy tofu.

Li Zhouzhou hurried over, and before he got there, he heard someone called Xianggong.

"...It's not true. I heard it with my own ears. Gu Shulang said 'it's called mother-in-law'. Li Zhouzhou, the elder brother in your village, is really called Li Guihua's mother-in-law."

"It's not that I was late when I returned home, but you didn't see that Li Zhouzhou of your village was sitting in the house talking to Gu Si like the head of the family, but it was Gu Shulang who ran around and waited on him."

This is when people from Dongping Village also came to buy tofu.

The people in the village were surprised again and again, saying nothing.

"I didn't believe it when I heard it. I didn't expect Li Zhouzhou to be called mother-in-law and father-in-law."

"Is it really the same as the head of the family? It can give our brother a lot of skills."

"As a married man, take a look at Uncle Wang's life. When the farming is busy, he has to help with the field work. He is half a man. He can't rest for a few days when the farming is slack, and it doesn't get up every day. Grinding beans to make tofu, raising chickens, feeding pigs, and watching children is all his responsibility, being a brother is a hard life, Li Zhouzhou used to be a half-uncle king, tired of being a cow and a horse."

"You said it was the past, but life is getting better now, Li Da is still right in recruiting a son-in-law."

"The life of the Li family is getting better now, compared to before. Li Zhouzhou's brother-in-law can't do the crops, and he can't read well. In the future, we still have to rely on Zhou Zhou. If Li Da gets old, he won't be able to work. , Zhou Zhou is the next Uncle Wang."

"In my opinion, Brother Xing's fate is good. He married the Wang family. His family is well-off, and Wang Shitou is protecting him. His mother-in-law murmured when he just entered the door. Now that he has given birth to a big fat boy, he is safe and secure. This is called enjoying happiness." .”

Speaking of Brother Xing, no one in Xiping Village is talking about shortcomings, and everyone has to give a thumbs up and praise Brother Xing for his good life, and he will come and have a sweet mouth.They are all from the Li family, and the age difference is less than one year. The two brothers grew up together, and they are still cousins. Naturally, they were compared by outsiders since they were young.

However, after Li Zhouzhou's thirteen and four heads grew rapidly, these comparisons became less so.

The difference is too big to compare.

Li Zhouzhou didn't take it to heart at all when he heard it. He heard it since he was a child, so what is there to remember?Besides, the only person in the village who can talk to him is Brother Xing.

Brother Xing is doing well, he is happy for Brother Xing.

Li Zhouzhou doesn't envy others, now that he has a husband-in-law, it's okay to be tired now, he doesn't feel bitter, as long as he works hard, life will always get better and better.

He raised his voice at the gate of the courtyard and shouted whether there was still tofu.

There was a silence in the conversation, and soon they talked about other things, and they also said to him: "Come on, there are more."

Li Zhouzhou went in and greeted everyone with a nod. Uncle Wang came out carrying two boards of tofu, covered with a layer of sackcloth, because it was snowing and he couldn't buy it in the courtyard, and the stove house was too crowded, so he could only get it from a stone mill. under the shed.

"Don't squeeze, we can do a lot today." Uncle Wang said.

It's useless, the ones that should be crowded in front of them are still the same, "I'll come first, give me five cents first."

"My child is still waiting, and I want three Wen."

Uncle Wang was too busy to keep up, collecting money and cutting tofu all by himself.A seven-or-eight-year-old boy came out of the room inside. He was wearing a cotton padded jacket and looked thin. He said, "Daddy, I'm here to help."

"Go in quickly, it will be freezing in a while." Uncle Wang drove his son back to the house.The snow is so heavy, and the son is weak, so he is afraid of typhoid fever, and then he will have to see a doctor and take medicine, not to mention spending money, and suffering.

"Father."

"Go into the house." Uncle Wang kept a straight face, but he couldn't scare his son away.

There were a lot of people buying tofu, and it was cold, so they all rushed to buy tofu and went back early.Some took the money and stuffed it into Uncle Wang's hand, saying that the money was given.Uncle Wang can only take care of this end first, don't look at people in a village, some people will give less than one penny or two when they are busy.

"One penny less." Uncle Wang called to the one who had just given the money, and as soon as he spread his hand, it was four pennies.

The man laughed twice, "Yo, it's really missing a penny, I didn't notice it." He took out a penny from his waist and handed it over.

"Father, I'll collect the money."

Uncle Wang was so busy that he couldn't take care of it. He wanted to cut tofu, and he had to ask his son to collect the money.

"Father, Aunt Zhu Sanwen's."

"This five-literal one."

Uncle Wang's son is called Xiaotian, and there is a reason for this name.It was August in the 31st year of Kangjing. Uncle Wang was harvesting peanuts in the field with a big belly. Originally, Mrs. Wen said she would give birth in half a month.

If Li Zhouzhou, who was harvesting peanuts in the field at the time, hadn't seen it and hurried back with Uncle Wang in his arms, Xiao Tian would have been born in the field.Later, when it was named, it was chosen between Peanut and Oda. The mother-in-law said it would be better to call it Oda, so she decided on Oda.

Xiaotian helped to collect the money, this way, it was much faster, and those who hadn’t left after shopping would praise Xiaotian for being so smart and helping your father.

It's just a pity in my eyes, this child is well-behaved and filial, but he is weak and sick.

Soon I finished shopping, said hello and left. If the weather is good on weekdays, I can buy a piece of tofu and chat with the big guys in the yard for a while. Now it’s snowing and cold, so I’m not in the mood to chat.

After the bustling people left, only Li Zhouzhou was left.

Seeing Li Zhouzhou, Xiao Tian called out obediently: "Brother Zhou Zhou."

"What I told you, I have to change my name to Uncle Uncle." Uncle Wang said about his son, but his tone was not serious, obviously he loved his son very much.

Xiaotian changed his words obediently: "Uncle Li."

"Hello, Xiaotian." Li Zhouzhou gave Xiaotian three Wen, "I want three Wen."

Wooden molds, one board of rectangular tofu sold out, and less than half of the second board was left. Uncle Wang cut off a large piece for Li Zhouzhou.

Li Zhouzhou hurriedly said: "My family is small, and three coins are enough. Really, I won't dare to buy it next time."

"My family sells tofu in the two villages. If you eat tofu, why don't you go to the town to buy it?" Uncle Wang said so, and put the big piece in Li Zhouzhou's bowl, and said, "here You paid a small change, which is less than five yuan, so hurry up and take it, someone will come later."

Li Zhouzhou had no choice but took out another penny from his waist and put it on the stone mill, and ran away with the tofu bowl in his hand.

"Father, I'll send it to brother Zhou Zhou." Xiao Tian said.

It was a cold day, Uncle Wang was so busy that he sweated, wiped off his sweat, and said, "If you send it over, he won't come to buy it next time." When he touched his son's hand, it was cold and his face was pale, " Go back to the house and sit on the kang, I'll make it if there's not much left."

Oda was obedient this time and went back to the house.

Li Zhouzhou went back with the tofu, first put the tofu bowl on the window sill, took off the bamboo hat outside under the eaves, dusted off the snow, hung up the bamboo hat, and then carried the tofu bowl into the stove and put it on the table.

In a hurry to enter the house, he forgot to burn the kang for Xianggong.

As a result, as soon as I entered the house, it was hot.

Gu Zhao was sitting at the table reading a book, and when he heard the movement, he turned his head and stretched out his hand. Li Zhouzhou said, "My hands are cold."

"I'll keep Zhou Zhou warm." Gu Zhao covered his wife's hand, knowing what Zhou Zhou was worried about, and said, "As soon as you went out, Dad said I was cold while writing and sitting at the desk, so he helped me burn the kang in the house, you Go up and sit down for a while."

Li Zhouzhou: "I won't go, I have to cook later."

"How did it take so long to buy tofu? I thought you'd be back soon."

"People from both villages went to buy tofu, so there were so many people that the meeting was delayed."

The couple had a conversation, and Li Zhouzhou couldn't stay idle, so he went out to cook soon after he warmed up.Of the three big green brick and tile houses, only their house is also heated during the day.

Gu Zhao knew it was for him to read and keep warm, but he couldn't keep burning the kang during the day, it was too useless, and his father couldn't keep warm during the day.

The stewed noodles with cabbage and tofu stewed at noon, the noodles are miscellaneous grain noodles, hand-rolled by Li Zhouzhou, cut into triangular slices, fried with lard, the stewed tofu soaked up the juice, and the holes came out. One bite, very fresh and tender.

"This tofu is really delicious." Gu Zhao nodded.

He especially likes the tofu here, which is better than the tender tofu bought in modern supermarkets.The bean flavor is strong, and the beany smell is a little bit, which disappears after stewing.

"Uncle Wang has been making tofu for more than ten years, and there is nothing to say about his craftsmanship." Li Zhouzhou thought that his husband would like to eat it, so he would buy it again tomorrow, but he couldn't let Uncle Wang beat him too much.

Uncle Wang's life is not easy, but business is better when it is cold in winter.

Gu Zhao was holding the bowl, eating so hot that he could warm his hands, and said, "Don't just burn the kang for me during the day, I don't sit on the kang, wasting firewood."

"How can I do that, Mr. Xiang, you are sitting by the window, writing with cold hands."

The light in winter is poor, and the cold air comes in through the window with the windows closed, but if you are far away from the window, you need to light an oil lamp to read books.

It's always a waste of money anyway.

Gu Zhao wanted to carry it over, but Zhou Zhou of his family loved him dearly. He pretended to be obedient and sold tea art too much before, causing Zhou Zhou of his family to always treat him like a child, and his eyes and heart were filled with distress.

... very happy.

"Why don't you get a stove for the main room? On weekdays, the main room's stove will stew bones and burn hot water, and you can keep warm by the way." Gu Zhao gave a suggestion.

Li Da had been eating without speaking, but when he heard the movement here, he said, "You mean making a clay brazier?"

Li Da and Li Zhouzhou were the only two people in the Li family before, and Li Da has been here for ten years without feeling cold.Li Zhouzhou was brought up by his father, and he carried them with him. Now that a "Jiaojiao" brother-in-law came to the family, Li Da remembered how other people in the village kept warm in winter.

If there are children and wives at home, order a clay pot in the main room, add firewood, and roast sweet potatoes and sweet potatoes, but I have never heard that it can boil water——

"If you want to put an iron pot on the brazier, you have to make a shelf, and you need iron to make it. It has to be made in the town." Li Da said.

Burning the kang all day during the day and burning it at night is useless firewood.

When the brother-in-law said this, Li's brain started to move, and he probably had a look, thinking it was okay.This brazier is small, and he doesn't need it, it can be placed in Zhou Zhou's room, and it can also be placed under Gu Zhao's table.

Gu Zhao put down his meal and said, "Father, I'm not talking about a small brazier, or a clay stove? I don't know if there is one." In fact, in modern times, briquette stoves are very good, but stoves are easy to make, and coal is scarce.

It can be improved.

It is a small clay stove for eating shabu-shabu, an enlarged version.

"The stove you are talking about, is it the stove for cooking in the kitchen? Get something smaller?" Li Da realized that this is easy to make, and he can build it himself. Big, smokey.

Gu Zhao said the same meaning, it should be smaller and easier to carry.

"Father, Xianggong, let's eat first. After eating, Xianggong is talking slowly." Li Zhouzhou said.

Gu Zhao thought about heating the stove, listened to his wife, finished his meal in twos and twos, quickly went to the house, took out the paper that had been written on one side, and drew a rough outline on the back.

"It looks like a medicine stove for decocting medicine. It's enlarged." Li Zhouzhou recognized it at a glance. It didn't look like it, but it was almost the same.

Uncle Wang used this to decoct medicine for Oda.

The decoction is particular about boiling over low heat, so the stove is small, but Xianggong’s painting is so big that the matching medicine pot can’t fit in it, so a bigger one has to be fired.

"Zhou Zhou, you are really smart." Gu Zhao sincerely praised.

The non-difficult ones like stoves have all been figured out by folk craftsmen.People in the village are also particular about it. It is a medicine stove for decocting medicine. It is unlucky to have such a thing at home. I didn’t see Grandma Oda put a medicine stove when she started taking medicine at home.

Avoid these.

Coupled with the large number of people in each household in the village, the big stove is fast for cooking, and the fire of the small stove can kill people. When it comes to heating, the clay pots are not the same, and they are convenient and cheap.

So no one thought about it, it's not that Gu Zhaosu came out.

People already have.

"Sir, if you want this, I'll ask when the snow stops tomorrow. There seems to be a mason in Shili Village." Li Zhouzhou said.

He was scolded as a broom since he was a child, unlucky, and killed his father. He originally avoided these bad things, but it seemed that the husband really wanted it, especially that he wanted both him and his father to keep warm. This was the heart of the husband.

Li Zhouzhou thought of nothing else.

"Let me go, the snowy road is not easy to walk, I know people, so it's easy to talk to." Li Da said with a final word.