The husband's son-in-law

According to the folk wedding customs of the Dali Dynasty, the three dynasties return to the door, and the day of marriage is not counted. When the woman enters the man's house, the first morning after the bridal chamber, the in-laws and daughter-in-law will be served tea, and the third day will be counted from this day.

It happened to be today.

"Zhou Zhou, you haven't finished washing yet."

Brother Xing wondered why he called to stop him, why he ran back after washing halfway.Li Zhouzhou held the wooden basin and said without turning his head, "I'll come back after noon." He walked quickly on his two long legs.

"What's the rush, it's still early..." Brother Xing saw that everyone was gone, so he had no choice but to keep his voice down, remembering what Zhou Zhou mentioned about returning home in three courts when he first came.

It's not because of this, is it?

He thought that Zhou Zhou didn't take it to heart. After he finished speaking, Zhou Zhou was still washing clothes, but he ran away halfway through washing.

Li Zhouzhou returned to the house with the clothes basin. He walked and ran back. When he reached the door, he slowed down, pushed the door softly and entered the yard. Take out the jar, spread out the oiled paper, and there are some fried melon seeds and preserved fruits in it. After wrapping it, wrap the jar and put it back.

This is left over from getting married.

Li Zhouzhou took dry goods, knowing that Xianggong was reading in the house, without saying a word, he went out of the courtyard to Aunt Wang's house next door.

There are over a hundred households in Xiping Village, among which Li, Wang, and Zhang are the most.Aunt Wang is not bad. When Li Zhouzhou was young and had no strength, she also helped a few times, such as some labor-intensive jobs, and taught Li Zhouzhou to sew quilts and make shoes.

At that time, Li Zhouzhou and Li Da father and son lived in a thatched cottage with a dilapidated roof, and there was no kitchen, so they cooked on a stove in the yard.Later, General Li replaced one thatched hut with two mud huts, and the two became the current three green brick and tile houses.

I don't know when it started, Aunt Wang moved away from Li's house.

The Wang family has no courtyard walls, except for the wall built by the Li family, other places in time and space naturally have no courtyard gates.Looking past, vegetables are planted in the yard, and the three main houses in the back are rammed yellow mud. The roofs are covered with tiles mixed with hay, and the side kitchen is directly thatched.

Aunt Wang gave birth to three children. The eldest son got married the year before last, the second son was 12 years old, and the daughter was four years old.The whole family sleeps in the three main rooms, and Aunt Wang is also tight on weekdays. There is no way, the child will grow up when the wind blows, and in two or three years, he will not be able to marry the second child. Houses cost money.

"Mother, brother Zhou Zhou is here."

Aunt Wang came out from the stove and said to her daughter, "Lingling is going to call her uncle now."

Brothers are married, and the youngest baby should be called Uncle.

Li Zhouzhou said hello to Aunt Wang, handed over the oiled paper bag in his hand, and asked, "Aunt Wang, I came to ask what to bring when I return home?"

"Go back to the door?" Aunt Wang was stunned by the question, and then she remembered, she didn't pick up anything, she patted her forehead and said, "Hey, look at my brain, your family is recruiting a son-in-law, and today is the third time since getting married." It's homecoming day."

Li Zhouzhou stuffed the oiled paper bag into Lingling's hand, and without waiting for Aunt Wang to refuse, said: "It's melon seeds and peanuts from when we got married, and it's not worth a lot of money."

"Just a few words and bring some things." Aunt Wang said so, but she smiled on her face, and she didn't refuse. She asked her daughter to take it back and put it in the house, and said, "My boss married a daughter-in-law, and he brought meat back home. , sugar, and wine, these three things are essential.”

"But it's too late for you to go now, you have to go back early in the morning." Aunt Wang saw Li Zhouzhou's expression was not very good-looking, and she just put away the things, so she couldn't help but say a few words of relief, "You don't understand, the family should also worry about it, If it’s already like this, get ready and go in the morning, not after noon.”

Li Zhouzhou pretended to be full of annoyance, and returned from Wang's house.In the Wang's kitchen, the eldest daughter-in-law just heard it, and now the mother-in-law sighed and said: "You talk about it as a separation, and you really don't care about it. The eldest son and brother are recruiting a son-in-law, and the old couple of Li's family come back to have a drink Nothing at all, it’s really broken.”

"The second daughter-in-law Li and the second daughter-in-law didn't even mention a word, and she was also the second aunt. You looked at the posture that day, came to the table to eat, wiped your mouth after eating, and didn't help. This is because everyone has no way out. , and the one in Panfu County."

The eldest daughter-in-law just got married and didn't know what was going on, so she asked, "Mother, why is it so clean?"

The tree has big branches, and when there are too many people, the family will naturally separate.There are also separate families in the village, but I have never seen anyone like the Li family. The old lady and the old man don't even care about their own sons. Although Zhou Zhou is the elder brother, he is also the blood of the Li family.

"It's a long story." Aunt Wang was chopping vegetables, and said, "Zhou Zhou is also a poor child. His father and brother were dragged to death by the Li family."

The eldest daughter-in-law was taken aback. This, why did this get involved in a life lawsuit?

"What are you thinking about? He died of illness, but he didn't pay for the medicine." Aunt Wang paused, glanced at her daughter-in-law, and said, "I'll tell you this, if you learn it—"

"Mom, I'm not talking nonsense."

In fact, all the older people in the village knew about it, after all, it was ugly at the beginning.Aunt Wang just didn't want the eldest daughter-in-law to talk about it, if Li Da heard it, it would be a bad mess.

"There are three boys in the Li family, Li Da and Li Er, do you know the name of the third one? Li Zhengren. Take a look, the names of the three brothers, why are the names of the three brothers different, and they still cost three pennies to ask a scholar to start him? Listen It’s not the same as the mud-legged people in our country, people are precious, and later on, people will have great promises..."

It's a long story.

Li Zhengren was born when Mrs. Li was in her 30s. At that time, she had two sons who had already married.Let the people in the village see that Li Da is the most honest and responsible one. The Li family was poor and couldn't afford a wife, so the old lady Li groped for the eldest son.

Brother's gift money is cheap.

When it was the turn of the second child, the family situation improved and he married a girl.At that time, the Li family had not yet separated, and the whole family lived together. Li Da was tall and strong, and he was also good at tending the crops.

Li Er is lazy, only Li Daqin is diligent.

By the time we got to this small one, the situation of Li's family had already risen in the village.During the full moon wine, someone drank a few glasses of wine and made a joke about Lao Mu Sheng Zhu, saying that Li San was not as white as our mud legs.

Mrs. Li remembered it in her heart, and she really felt that her younger son was different.It cost three Wen to hire the old scholar to name it, and then the Li family sent Li Zhengren to study with the old scholar.

"Mother, could it be that Li Zhengren has been admitted as a scholar?" the eldest daughter-in-law asked curiously.I haven't heard of it either.

Aunt Wang: "Ms. Li had this idea in mind, but before Li Zhengren got a pass in the exam, something happened first. Mrs. Li's daughter-in-law is gone, and Mrs. Li wants to separate the family."

Finally got to the point.The eldest daughter-in-law wondered why the family was separated until they died without seeing this person.

"Li Da is stubborn and doesn't hide his secrets. All the money he earns from odd jobs throughout the year is handed over to the public. When his daughter-in-law has a miscarriage to make up for it, she can't pay for it. Old lady Li is tight and spends money on her youngest son. Without blinking."

"Father Zhou Zhou hurt his body, and he had a cold in winter. He took medicine to make up for it, but Mrs. Li was so picky. After taking the medicine, the taste of the medicine was gone, and the soup was watery. What disease?"

"...After a whole winter, the people who started the spring will be gone."

"Li Da wants to separate from there, even if he has a reputation of being unfilial. But the people in the village are not blind, and they all see what Mrs. Li has done. If it weren't for Li Da's support, the Li family's old house could be built like that? Li Da divided the family, who will do the field work, and who will provide for the younger son to study?"

"But Mrs. Li scolded and scolded. Li Da was determined to divide it. Finally, he invited the village chief to give it away. Li Da divided five acres of paddy fields. It was still the village chief who couldn't stand it, so old man Li let go. Give Li Da the panic base next door to our house."

The eldest daughter-in-law was stunned, everyone was partial, but it was so rare that she dared to take the life of the eldest daughter-in-law, and the eldest son was like a cow in the field, only eager to work on the plowing land, and would not give any good.

"Li Da is living a good life now, so does Mrs. Li have no regrets?" asked the eldest daughter-in-law.

Just like people who hear about books, people love to hear that good will be rewarded with good, and evil will be rewarded with evil.In the eyes of the eldest daughter-in-law, this old lady Li killed her daughter-in-law by trying to torture her, and there must be retribution.

"Does he regret it? He went to the prefecture to be an old lady to enjoy the blessings." Aunt Wang sighed sincerely, and said, "Maybe it's fate, Li Da and his son are not in good luck."

"The family was separated, and Li University was gone. Within two years, Li's family was struggling to provide for Li Zhengren. Li Zhengren failed to pass the exam twice, and then he simply went to the county restaurant as an apprentice. I don't know how he got the favor of the accountant. Married my daughter to Li Zhengren, and now Li Zhengren has taken over the position of the accountant, bought a yard in the prefecture and county, how can I use the coolies to work, I heard that if you do the abacus every day, you can get more than 20 taels of silver a year."

When Aunt Wang said this, she was really envious. Li Zhengren has developed a lot, and he has brought all the old people in the fields to the prefectures and counties to enjoy their blessings. How can we still look at the three big tile-roofed houses in Shangli University?

They are all mud legs.

The eldest daughter-in-law was envious and depressed when she heard this, "That's really amazing, no wonder you don't like it, even Zhou Zhou's son-in-law didn't come back for the banquet."

When Mrs. Li lived in that thatched house back then, Aunt Wang really sympathized with her and even offered a hand or two. A few bottles of vinegar are like, sour.

But now that I have learned the words from the past and compared them, Aunt Wang is not so sour anymore.

It's really sour, Li Da and his little brother can't compare.

"People also hate Li University in their hearts. If it wasn't for the separation of Li University, Li Zhengren could continue to study, maybe he would be a scholar or something. You didn't see, the family of Erfang, when Li Zhengren was an apprentice, Mrs. Li is still in the village, and she still has contacts with Li Da, and since Li Zhengren has developed, the second room doesn't look at the boss either."

"Hey, Li Zhengren is rich enough to take care of his children and mothers, but he has never heard of raising a brother. Li Er thought that he would hug his thigh and give food to people every year when the season came. What good would he do?"

After listening to her mother-in-law scolding, the eldest daughter-in-law is spineless, but if her man has such a well-developed brother, she is willing to please her. She doesn't want to eat more for herself. She only hopes that her children will be good and learn a word , to an errand in the prefecture or county.

You can get more than 20 taels of silver a year by pulling an abacus, isn't it better than being a mud leg in the countryside?It's no wonder that the second bedroom of Li's family has become a real reality. It's a real loss if it annoys people in the prefecture and county if it's close to Li University.

Li's yard.

Li Zhouzhou pulled the rope in the yard, and put the clothes on the air one by one, and some of them were not finished washing.I was late for a trip in the morning, and it was time for lunch.

Villagers in the countryside usually eat two meals during the slack season, and the morning meal is skipped.If you eat early at noon, if you have thin soup and little water, you can make do with it at night.Only when they are busy, men have to go to the field and work hard, and the rice must keep up. Usually, there are pancakes and noodles at noon, and some meaty and boring rice with mixed grains at night.

Everyone in Li is in good condition. They eat three meals a day, but they don't have meaty food every meal.

At noon, there were only two of them. Li Zhouzhou finished drying his clothes, rolled up his sleeves, washed his hands, and hurriedly kneaded the dough. When the dough woke up, the people didn’t stop. He went to the backyard to pick a cabbage, cut it in half, and washed it clean. The meat is gone, Li Zhouzhou thought about it and fried it with lard.

If he usually eats it by himself, he must order it with noodles and boil it in plain water.

Roll out the noodles and cut the noodles, open the pot for the noodles, take them out, and put the fried cabbage on top.When the meal was ready, Li Zhouzhou carried it to the main room and put it on the table. From the side of his head, he could see the window of the back room. The husband was holding a brush and writing with his head down. His side profile was pretty, quiet and beautiful.

Li Zhouzhou was thinking about whether to call, but his face turned pale after a while, when Xianggong put down the pen in his hand, stretched his waist, turned his head sideways, and looked over.The two looked at each other, and Xianggong smiled at him. Li Zhouzhou didn't dare to look at Xianggong again, and hurriedly lowered his head, pretending to be playing with the bowl on the table.

He touched his chest, and his palms felt a little hot.

"Writing and writing, I am fascinated, and the food is ready."

Gu Zhao got up, rubbed his wrists, stepped out of the room, saw Zhou Zhou touching his chest, and asked, "What's wrong? Are you feeling uncomfortable?"

"It's nothing uncomfortable." Li Zhouzhou couldn't explain clearly, just as Xianggong smiled at him, his chest thumped, and he's fine now.Wanting to divert the conversation, I went to wring out a clean towel and hand it to my husband to wipe his hands.

Gu Zhao wiped his hands, and the two sat down to eat.

Li Zhouzhou saw that Xianggong was pretty, and he ate differently from him. Slowly, he looked different, and couldn't help but think about returning home. Although Aunt Wang didn't say it clearly, returning home for three dynasties represented the importance of Yue's family. He didn't know it was delayed.

This made Xianggong lose face in Yue's family.

Li Zhouzhou blamed himself so much that his face was smug.

Gu Zhao stopped his chopsticks and asked, "What's wrong? Is something wrong?"

"No--"

"Zhou Zhou~"

Obviously Gu Zhao's tone was soft, without reproach, and seemed to be coquettish, but Li Zhouzhou was helpless against such a gentleman, just couldn't stand it, so he couldn't help explaining about returning home in three dynasties.

Gu Zhao finished listening: ...

That's it?

Isn't he a married man, splashed water?

Seeing that his wife really blamed himself and felt guilty, Gu Zhao immediately took his wife's hand and started to show off his tea art. He opened his eyes wide on purpose, and said sincerely and cutely: "Don't blame Zhou Zhou. Before I went out, my father said that it's okay. You don't need to go back, I didn't remind Zhou Zhou to go back because I thought I had lost their face."

Find the fault by yourself, don't blame your wife.

When Li Zhou heard it on Monday, he immediately forgot the guilt of going back to the house three times, but asked: "Your father still scolded you?"

"I didn't beat or scold much. It's because I didn't live up to it. I couldn't read well. I was thin and small and didn't have the strength to work in the fields. I couldn't do anything well." Gu Zhao hugged his wife's waist, buried his head in his wife's chest, and raised his arms. With a small face, she said pitifully, "Zhou Zhou, I only have you, and now the Li family is my home."

This broke Li Zhouzhou's heart.

How come it means that Xianggong was beaten in Gu's house?

Not much beating and scolding, that is, beating and scolding.

Li Zhouzhou stroked the little Xianggong's hair, he only cared about etiquette when facing Yue's family, he completely lost the self-blame of missing the door when he first heard it in the morning, and just said: "Xianggong, don't be sad."

"Okay~ I listen to Zhou Zhou, I'm not sad."

As Gu Zhao said, pretending to be strong, he buried his face in his wife's chest.

It's not sad.