By Jia Xiuzhen

The snow was so severe and the cold was so severe that even the saints in the palace decreed that hundreds of officials would be exempted from the imperial court. The porridge factories in various cities had been opened, but people who lacked clothing and food could not survive the cold and could not leave their houses and starved to death every day.No matter how desolate and tearful each pile is, when it is written in the history books, it will be nothing more than a sentence "the people die and the people".

Fortunately, Caotian Village has repaired everything that can be repaired before the winter. Although some houses collapsed, no one was hurt.Living in a sojourn in the village, even though they lived in a house with a floor kang and glazed windows, no one would really miss them.After the snow stopped, several families invited people to repair the house and moved back home. Mrs. Qiao looked at it and her heart felt fried.

Her house had completely collapsed, and she could only rebuild one room.At this time, where can I find materials for building a house, where can I find such labor, so I can only live in the village, there is no other way.On the contrary, more people came to work in the workshop. At first, some people felt jealous when they saw her family earning a lot in the younger years, but now they saw her house collapsed and homeless, and they felt a little sympathy.There are also those who gloated, and inevitably said a few words: "This is great, there is no place to put those things!" Qiao Niangzi ignored all of them, and just worked silently.

This day, Grandma Xu asked Mrs. Qiao to talk, and Mrs. Qiao was worried, so Grandma Xu asked the little girl to pour tea, and said with a smile: "It is said that good things take a long time. It is hard to get through this day, and this happens again. thing."

Qiao Niangzi sighed and said: "This year, I thought I would not be able to survive. Who would have thought that such a good fortune would exist, and she was so happy that she was finally slapped by God. It's been a good year, huh." Nanny Xu patted her hand and said: "This year is not over yet, don't worry. You said that at this time, it will be difficult for you to find another way. I have two methods here, listen to them. Or You live in that workshop, and we have to do some other things there in the twelfth lunar month anyway, so it doesn’t matter if you live in another room. Or..."

Mother Xu paused for a sip of tea before continuing, "There are still some abandoned yards in this village, or should I sell you one?" Mrs. Qiao looked at Mother Xu with her mouth half open. Mama smiled and said, "Stupid? Hey, I'm not buying and selling by force. You can discuss it with your family. There is only one. Don't talk about this matter. There are not so many yards in the village. to give."

Mrs. Qiao nodded repeatedly, thought for a while and said: "Master, we...we don't have so many... I'm afraid we can't afford a ready-made house." Madam Xu sighed and said, "Okay, I'll find the house directly for this matter. You just don't want to pass other people's hands. The yard at the back, you and I will go over and have a look later, and we can talk about it later. "

Lady Qiao and Nanny Xu came back from looking at the yard, still dizzy, and just wanted to find a place to have a good laugh and cry again.In a few days, Mother Xu had entrusted Ji Liang to help complete the paperwork and house deed. Sun Dabao and Mrs. Qiao took out all the property of the house and were busy cleaning and tidying up for a few days. Before the twelfth lunar month, they happily moved into their new house .

This courtyard is on the northwest corner of the Zhuangtou courtyard. It was originally built for those traveling merchants who came to buy rice grains. It shares the south courtyard wall with the Zhuangtou courtyard. The gate opens to the west.Because it was built for traveling merchants, it can't be said that there is no standard, and there are some shacks in the middle of the yard in a mess.

Mother Xu got what Li Wan wanted, and saw that Mrs. Qiao's family was acting upright, but encountered such difficulties, so she decided to choose this yard and sell it to them inappropriately.Qiao Niangzi's family worked hard to clean up for a few days, dismantled all the shacks in the yard, and piled up the materials in the backyard, waiting for the spring to build a chicken coop.

The courtyard is surrounded by a row of four inverted rooms against the south wall. The three rooms on the east side all have their own doors. The west side has only two rooms because the door is open. room, two single rooms on the left and right.Behind the south house is the kitchen and the backyard. There is also a sweet water well in the backyard, which was originally dug for the convenience of traveling traders to drink horses and donkeys.Because merchants usually come in late autumn or early summer, only the three rooms in the south of the courtyard are connected to the kitchen in the back, and there is a kang, and the other rooms are not open to fire.

Two persimmons and two jujube trees are planted in the square yard, and there is also a pepper tree in the backyard.To the north of this courtyard is a piece of wasteland, which was used for some purpose in the past, but now there are still some scattered stones and some vines and grasses growing randomly.Nanny Xu made the decision and sold the wasteland of more than an acre from the backyard to the edge of the grove to his family, without paying any money. The left and right are deserted, and someone can tidy up and tidy up, or there may be something to be done. .

Qiao Niangzi and Sun Dabao seem to have received a gift from God, and they are not afraid of the cold. They hurriedly pulled out everything that could be pulled out from the collapsed old house, and borrowed the car from Zhuangzi to drag them back to the new house. .Mother Xu went to see it again, the yard was tidied up neatly, and it was still in dilapidated condition, so she smiled and said, "If it was like this early in the morning, I would have asked for more money!"

The yard was originally deserted, even the dates and persimmons were ripe, and they couldn't attract people, only the birds and squirrels were cheaper.Seeing that the house was empty, I decided to let the good people do it to the end, and asked people to pull a few carts of useless tables, chairs, benches, cabinets and cabinets from the Zhuangzi. They were all made of miscellaneous wood. Said it was timely help.

The house was tidied up, and just in time for the farmer to distribute the new year, the rice, flour, grain, and meat obtained by Mrs. Qiao's family were set up in the yard.It just so happens that there are a lot of pots and jars in this yard, big vats and small urns. The family is busy marinating bacon and chicken, and looking for big vats to store rice. They are so tired that they can't stand upright every day, but they have never been so busy. .

Paste new window paper, and sweep the top of the kang again, and Mrs. Qiao sits on the edge of the kang, lost in thought.The past half a month has been dizzy, the large courtyard of sixteen or seven rooms, and more than an acre of land, it would cost one or two hundred taels of silver, and the owner sold it at a discount of 200 taels.Although the price is so low, there is still a lot of money left, but the chief manager said that it is enough to pay it off in a year or two.Just like that, a family of nine lived in such a yard.A few months ago there were still three thatched huts, and a heavy snowfall destroyed even the three thatched huts, but now they have replaced more than a dozen tile-roofed huts to live in.

I brought things from the old house, and the three main rooms were not full, so I was satisfied.However, there are such good people and good deeds, and good furniture made of miscellaneous wood is really brought home for free.Excited and didn't know how to thank him, the chief manager just smiled and said: "There are a bunch of these useless guys in Zhuangzi, it's best if you can use them here, it's not worth thanking."

What kind of luck did I go to meet such a master.Take a look at these examples of the next year's share, usually there are some things to be happy with the next year's share, how can there be so many!He was obviously poor enough to be a tenant for eight lifetimes, but this year he looks like a landlord and wealthy gentry. Thinking of this, he laughed muffledly at the transparent window paper.

When Sun Dabao entered the room, he saw his mother-in-law sitting on the edge of the Kang and having fun, patted the dirt off her body, and sat down on the bench beside the table, and asked her, "Why are you enjoying yourself alone?" Qiao Niangzi said what she just thought, and Sun Dabao was also happy: "You can't say that, we still owe money."

Qiao Niangzi nodded and said: "I remember it in my heart, but I just wanted to have a good time. You are back? Nothing else? I will go to the Zhuangzi in the afternoon to help Aunt Chen and the others make pickled meat. I just gave it to you in the morning. Prepare the ingredients." Sun Dabao scratched his head and said, "Okay, you can go, there is nothing to do at home anyway. There is no one working in your workshop, we occupy the work there, and I have to go there after dinner. I'm panicking too, so it would be nice if I could help a little bit."

Mrs. Qiao looked out, and said: "Where are the children? It's time to eat, where are you going to play around!" Sun Dabao shouted outside: "It's time to eat!" Zhuangtou called away, and Da Niu also ate at the village, what about Xiaosan and Xiaosi?" Mrs. Qiao said: "Aunt Chen and Xiao Wu and Xiao Liu were left in the kitchen to eat, and said that they would bring more pork today. , I originally stayed there to eat, but I came back because I thought you hadn’t settled for lunch yet. Xiao Qi was picked up by sister-in-law Qiu early in the morning to play with her tiger, and I will pick him up when he sleeps at night " Sun Dabao said with a smile: "It's just the two of us, it's okay, it's rare to be quiet for a while."

In the evening, Xiao Wu and Xiao Liu came back after Xiao San and Xiao Si, and all four of them had empty hands. Xiao San and Xiao Si carried a big bamboo basket, and Xiao Wu and Xiao Liu carried a smaller one.Qiao Niangzi had just finished cooking, when she went out and saw the situation, she smiled and said, "What is this moving home?"

Xiao Wu hurriedly said: "This is something that I shared with Xiao Liu." Xiao Liu whispered behind him: "Given it to my mother-in-law, it was given to me by the chief steward's mother-in-law and Chen's mother-in-law." Qiao Niangzi forgot about it long ago He went to the back of his head, and after hearing this, he hurried forward to pick up the things. Xiaosan and Xiaosi carried two big pig heads, and Xiaowu and Xiaoliu carried a bowl of white ointment, but it was a bowl of fat. lard.

Sun Dabao came in from the outside, picked up a basket in one hand, and reprimanded: "Didn't you just say that you'll wait for me to come back together? It's such a heavy thing, it's fine if you stumble and fall to the ground." Qiao Niangzi stopped his words and said with a smile : "Hey, our primary five and primary six have also got the quota for the next year, so we will be fatter this year."

After hearing this, Xiao Liu was very happy with everyone.Sun Dabao also looked at things, walked into the house at one end, and said to Mrs. Qiao: "This is really what you are looking forward to. The landlord's house only offers pig heads during the Chinese New Year. How about we, we can get two at once!" Put it away Shi Shi said again, "I've given it to me a while ago, I'm afraid it's just a dream at night, I wake up and sleep."

Qiao Niangzi laughed out loud, but she was afraid that he would be embarrassed, so she said, "Me too, I thought you gentlemen were calm and didn't say a word, so it's the same in my heart." Sun Dabao smiled silly for a while With a voice, he said doubtfully: "The things given are too much. Little five and little six, two beans, what kind of work can they do? Why are there so many things in the next year! Let people know that they have to talk again."

Qiao Niangzi said: "I'm afraid I didn't want to give so much at first. I only listened to it as a joke at first. This time I caught up. Because of the bad weather, many princes and lords' families are doing good deeds. This time I don’t know which prince’s mansion sacrificed to the heavens to pray for blessings, and killed an unknown number of pigs, cattle, sheep, and chickens. After the sacrifices to the heavens, they half sold and half gave away to people nearby. Some businesses in our village had dealings with them, and they took some money. Here it is for us. I’m going to work on this in the afternoon, and I have to work for a few more days. According to the chief steward, it seems that there are twenty or thirty animals. God, I don’t know how many animals the prince killed to sacrifice to heaven.”

Sun Dabao was stunned when he heard this, and finally he could only say: "I hope this God will be happier after eating all these offerings, but don't let it snow again, I really don't dare to come here again." Mrs. Qiao knew his heart Afraid of the collapse of the house, he hurriedly changed the subject and said, "Fortunately, it's cold now, otherwise what would we do with the meat. We've been making bacon this afternoon, and the salt is like snowflakes. "

Sun Dabao said: "Oh, as I said, it's still too much to get two big pig heads, so I'm sorry." Mrs. Qiao said with a smile: "No, let's help with more work, it's a favor It’s not clear how to calculate it.” After thinking for a while, he said, “Let’s not talk about the chief executive, Qiu’s sister-in-law, Mo Yu’s sister-in-law, and the others are also very arrogant. How should I put it, we usually deal with people. If you want to say The former Zhuangtou was naturally a good person, but he wasn't like this...so...I can't say it."

Sun Dabao continued: "They don't take money and things seriously." Mrs. Qiao clapped her hands and said, "That's right, that's it. You're talking."

Sun Dabao said with a smile: "You don't know, Er Zhuzi was helping Manager Xu to drive the car that day. On the day it just snowed, Manager Xu was worried about the village and wanted to drive back from the south in the snow. It was so cold that day, then The snow was falling gloomyly. Erzhuzi couldn't stand the cold, so he talked to the chief steward. The chief steward was good at exploring the cold outside, and immediately put his cloak on Erzhuzi, and took the big steward himself. Wear a cloak. Er Zhuzi said, that cloak is amazing. When you put it on your body, the snow can’t even fall, and your whole body is as warm as a stove. Tell me, this is such a rare dress.

When it comes to Zhuangzi, if you say it, you have to come back that day, or you may not be able to come back today.When they arrived at Zhuangzi, Er Zhuzi returned the clothes to Manager Xu, and the Manager asked Qiu Guanshi to reward Er Zhuzi with a large sheepskin coat.The owner of the material shop in the town looked at it and said that the sheepskin was made of bamboo tube sheepskin with nine bends of radish shreds.Erzhuzi just made a trip, and got such a dress, and now he is wearing it for his mother. "

Qiao Niangzi smiled and said: "It's rare that you talk so much in one pass, more than you usually talk in half a year." Sun Dabao said embarrassedly: "Now that I hang out with them all day, I have become poor."

Qiao Niangzi asked him: "I didn't say what kind of work to do before, but did you have an idea?" Sun Dabao said: "It's about raising livestock. Let's see if I, Da Niu and Xiao Er can do it. I know a little bit about raising pigs and chickens, I can’t raise cattle and sheep, and I can’t raise ducks either, I have to drive them into the water.”

The family ate brown rice dry rice, with shredded pickles and stewed pork slices.After the meal, Mrs. Qiao discussed with Sun Dabao that one pig's head should be marinated, and the other should be frozen in a snow jar for ancestor worship in the next year.When the kids heard that whole pig heads were eaten during the Chinese New Year, they all happily winked at each other.

Grandma Xu in the village was chatting with Yun Qiu, Yun Qiu said with a smile: "Mama, your business is doing really well, you must be here to help Qiao Niangzi, otherwise the cook really has no idea. Today The marinated meat sauce she made, my grandma will definitely like it when I see it."

Mother Xu smiled and said: "I don't dare to take credit for this. Who would have thought that she could do something like this." Mo Yu said: "The people in this village are all refugees who were recruited during the previous catastrophe, and it has only been two years since then. Three generations. Mrs. Qiao's natal family used to be a boat runner. She lived here for a few years. After all, she was not used to farming, so she married and took root here. The two brothers went to the south to run a boat. At that time, I sold the whole house, leaving only a pair of stone mills for this girl to think about."

Mother Xu nodded and said: "It's not easy, she has a strong temper." Mo Yu said: "The Sun family was not bad when I got married, only Sun Dabao is the only son, and he has a little family background. Who would have thought that the old man would be ill later on?" , This disease almost ruined the family." Yun Qiu said with a smile: "Okay, now it's all over, this time when he worshiped the ancestors, his old man was very happy to see it, tsk tsk, seven grandsons, all of them are very sensible " Xu Momo smiled and said: "Now that you have raised a kid, you know what is good and what is bad."

Yun Qiu smiled and said: "That's right, my eyes are hot when I look at those children. When I was young, I didn't have anything, and I used to compare with others all day long, but now I realize that the success of the children and grandchildren is the real blessing." Slightly."

Mo Yu said: "That's not the case! Grandma knows how to give money and things, but how could she think that she can also give disasters! The unfilial son of the Zeng family used to be safe when the family was so poor that they could only eat porridge for a few meters, but now As soon as his mother and I saved some money by doing some work, he gambled on it. Can it be good? There is also the Bai family, the daughter-in-law has a vicious mouth and a crooked heart. It's not uncommon in the mansion, the most important thing is to match such a man! It's really kind to go out whoring with the money earned by the mother-in-law!"

Mother Xu clicked her tongue again and again: "Oh, oh, I said, I said, after all, you are also big girls who came out of grandma's side, so you are somewhat decent, why are you talking like this now?! Thanks to grandma The house is still thinking about you, and you asked me to bring clothes out for fear of freezing. Tsk tsk, grandma still thinks you are the cute flowers back then, and she should let her see, now you are all like Peng Qiao's taro It's time!" Several people laughed out loud when they heard this.