Splendid peasant girl busy farming

Chapter 11939

"Which sentence, Auntie?" Yang Ruoqing asked. On the way from Changping Village to Zhoujia Village, the two of them had talked a lot in the carriage. Which sentence was it?

"It's just... it's just that when I reminded your uncle to go home, let's just forget about it and let him stay with your aunt!" Wang Cuilian said.

"Oh..." Yang Ruoqing suddenly realized that she had already made this guess when she saw the older woman at the dinner table looking so moved that she was about to cry.

The old man's words, "A virtuous and considerate woman," instantly brightened the old woman's eyes...

"Auntie, have you thought this through? Even if we're going to talk to her, it'll be me who does it, you don't need to say a word," Yang Ruoqing asked again, to avoid the auntie starting to feel disappointed again after two or three days back home...

Wang Cuilian shook her head firmly: "I won't think nonsense. Your uncle only has your aunt as his sister, and your aunt is in this situation. I can't be selfish and let him spend more time with your aunt!"

Yang Ruoqing nodded: "Okay, I'll listen to Auntie."

Meanwhile, in Luo Da'e's room, Luo the blacksmith took out all the silver from his pocket and stuffed it under Luo Da'e's pillow.

"Sister, keep this money for yourself. If you want to buy something later, have Zhou Wang go to town and buy it for you."

"Brother, I have money. Zhou Wang and Xiao Huan are very filial; they give me pocket money every now and then!"

"They are what they gave me, and I am what I gave myself."

"Brother, is there anything else you want to tell me?"

"Well, what I meant was that after lunch, I'll go back with Tang Yazi and the others."

"Brother, why don't you stay at my house for a few more days? Until the 24th of the twelfth lunar month before going back?"

Luo the blacksmith smiled and shook his head, "How can that be? With the holidays approaching, there are many things to do at home, especially this year when Dazhi passed the imperial examination, my granddaughter got engaged, and we have more relatives from the Zuo family visiting. In a few days, Qing'er's two brothers from her maternal family will also be coming back. There are many things to do at home, and as the old man of the family, I can't just stay away from home forever."

Luo Da'e understood and nodded gently: "Brother, I'm sorry, because of me, you've been delayed in a lot of things."

"It's alright, it's alright, don't think like that. You're my sister, it's only right that I take care of you," Luo the blacksmith gently held Luo Da'e's hand. "After I get back, you must listen to Zhou Wang and Xiao Huan. Take your medicine when you're supposed to, eat when you're supposed to, and sleep when you're supposed to. Don't overthink things."

"I'll come see you again in a few days when I have some free time. If you want to see me, just send Zhou Wang to let me know. I'll definitely come and keep you company for a couple of days!"

"Brother, don't worry about me all the time. I'm fine. Look at me, I ate a big bowl of noodles earlier. I'll be completely better after the Lunar New Year. I'll come to your house to wish you a Happy New Year then!"

"well!"

"By the way, brother, last time Dazhi passed the imperial examination, you held a banquet and put on a grand opera, and my sick sister happened to be there."

"I'd like to ask, are there still opera performances during the first month of the lunar calendar?"

Seeing the longing in Luo Da'e's eyes for the opera, the blacksmith Luo said, "If you want to see one, just come over and I'll arrange a performance for you. It's no big deal!"

"No need, no need, I can watch it when I catch up!"

After enjoying a hearty lunch at the Zhou family's house, Yang Ruoqing and the others prepared to head back.

Xiao Huan had Zhou Wang fill a whole basket with the sweet potatoes that Yang Ruoqing had praised before, weighing at least thirty or forty pounds.

"Take it back and let the children try it. If they like it, we'll ask Zhou Wang to send some more later!" Xiao Huan said.

Zhou Wang nodded repeatedly.

Yang Ruoqing weighed the sweet potatoes in her hand, "You're too kind..."

Xiao Huan said, "This stuff is homegrown, it's worthless!"

Zhou Wang rubbed his hands together, a simple and honest smile on his face: "Compared to the gifts you brought to visit my mother today, this basket of sweet potatoes is nothing!"

"Since my cousin and his wife have said so, let's accept it!" Luo Fengtang walked over, helped take the sweet potato basket from Yang Ruoqing's hands, and patted her on the shoulder, gesturing for her to get on the carriage.

Yang Ruoqing nodded, said goodbye to them again, and turned to step into the carriage. Wang Cuilian was already sitting in the carriage.

Luo Da'e stood beside the carriage, saying goodbye to Wang Cuilian through the small window.

But Luo the blacksmith was nowhere to be seen. Yang Ruoqing was about to ask him about it. She should at least say hello to the old man when she got back. He was just standing right in front of her a moment ago. How could he have disappeared in the blink of an eye?
Just then, Luo the blacksmith hurried over from the backyard, presumably to the outhouse.

"I'm here! I'm here!" From a distance, Luo the blacksmith waved and called out, as if afraid that Yang Ruoqing and Luo Fengtang would drive the carriage away.

On and off the vehicle, everyone except Luo Da'e, who knew the truth, looked toward Luo the blacksmith.

"Uncle, you've come at the right time. Aunt and the others are about to go back. Is there anything you need to tell them?" Zhou Wang quickly asked Luo the blacksmith.

Luo the blacksmith glanced at Zhou Wang and waved his hand: "Nothing to explain, I'm going home with them!"

"Huh? Uncle, you're leaving?" Zhou Wang looked at Xiao Huan beside him with a surprised expression.

Xiao Huan shook her head blankly, she hadn't heard her uncle mention it!

Yang Ruoqing and Luo Fengtang were both surprised and delighted, especially Yang Ruoqing, who was truly impressed by her uncle's repeated changes of attitude today.

Yang Ruoqing had initially thought the old man was a rough and straightforward man who was fiercely protective of his sister. However, his words defending Wang Cuilian at the dinner table and his initiative to return to the village with everyone today surprised and delighted her.

"Old man, I've brought you all the clothes, why don't you stay here and keep Da'e company?" After her initial surprise, Wang Cuilian still peeked out and asked Luo the blacksmith very seriously.

Luo the blacksmith shook his head and remained silent.

“Auntie is right, Uncle. What’s going on? Won’t you stay at my house for a few more days?” Zhou Wang quickly asked. “Or is there something I’ve done wrong in my hospitality? Please tell me and I’ll make amends!”

Upon hearing this, Luo the blacksmith realized that Zhou Wang had misunderstood him, so he stopped, walked up to Zhou Wang, and patted him on the shoulder.

"Don't talk nonsense. You're great in every way. Your uncle was planning to go home anyway. I've already talked to your mother about it."

"Huh? My mother knows?"

Zhou Wang turned to look at Luo Da'e, who smiled and nodded at him, saying, "That's right, your uncle has already spoken to me and told him to go back. In the twelfth lunar month, every household has a lot to do."

Indeed, in the twelfth lunar month, every household was so busy preparing for the New Year that sparks flew everywhere.

Isn't Zhou Wang's own business the same? Orders from the chicken farm keep coming in one after another. In addition, there's a thick stack of ledgers. After the 24th of the twelfth lunar month, Zhou Wang will have to take the ledgers and run around the surrounding villages to collect payments!

"Alright then, Uncle, you should go home. Whenever you have some free time, just let me know, and I'll come pick you up." "Okay, no problem! You also need to take care of your mother. The chicken farm is busy enough, but that's enough for now. The main thing is your mother, you know what I mean?"

"Uncle, I understand, don't worry!"

Only then did the blacksmith Luo turn around and go towards the carriage. He got on the carriage, leaned out of the window, and said to Luo Da'e, "Go back quickly, don't be reluctant to leave. I will come to see you again before the New Year."

Luo Da'e swallowed her tears and forced a smile at Luo the blacksmith, "Okay, brother and sister-in-law, I wish you a Happy New Year in advance. I'll come to Changping Village to wish you a Happy New Year during the Lunar New Year!"

“Okay, we’ll be waiting for you!” Wang Cuilian also extended her hand and shook hands with Luo Da’e again.

The blacksmith Luo was touched by Luo Da'e's words and turned his face away, afraid that Luo Da'e would see the moisture in his eyes.

She had only been back from the clinic for two days, and the toxins in the large bag had just been expelled. There were still about 20 days until the Lunar New Year. Who knew what Da'e's condition would be like then? I hope God will protect her!

"Tang Yazi, let's go too!" Yang Ruoqing was too reluctant to part with the elders, fearing that they would break their guard.

Luo Fengtang nodded, greeted Zhou Wang, turned around and got into the carriage. Ping An drove the carriage slowly out of the Zhou family courtyard.

The carriage had traveled quite a distance when Yang Ruoqing quietly turned her head and saw that at the end of the road behind her, at the entrance of the Zhou family's courtyard, Zhou Wang and Xiao Huan were supporting Luo Da'e on either side. The three of them were still standing at the intersection watching the Luo family's carriage go.

Yang Ruoqing felt inexplicably heavy-hearted after seeing this scene. She quietly lowered the car window curtain, turned around, and sat down obediently.

The carriage was spacious. She and Luo Fengtang sat on the left and right sides respectively, facing each other, while Wang Cuilian and Luo the blacksmith sat side by side in the middle.

The blacksmith Luo sighed and said, "When I came to Zhoujia Village, my younger sister was standing at the crossroads watching me leave. I wonder if I'll still see her when I come back in a while. Sigh!"

"Old man, don't say that, Da'e, it will be alright!" Wang Cuilian gently comforted him.

Luo the blacksmith smiled wryly and nodded. For the rest of the journey, the carriage remained silent.

As is customary, if such a silence occurs, Yang Ruoqing will inevitably have to act as the atmosphere-maker, finding topics to break the silence and liven up the atmosphere so that the carriage is no longer awkward.

But this time, Yang Ruoqing's atmosphere-building team was also useless, because some things can't be solved by simply creating a lively atmosphere.

Since that's the case, let nature take its course. Having just finished lunch, and feeling dizzy from the charcoal, Yang Ruoqing crossed her arms, squinted, and began to doze off.

Just then, a soft blanket was stuffed into his hand. He opened his eyes and saw that the other end of the blanket was in Luo Fengtang's hand.

"Cover yourself up, don't catch a cold," Luo Fengtang said in a low voice.

"Okay, thank you." Yang Ruoqing covered herself with the blanket and continued to close her eyes and doze off.

The distance from Zhoujia Village to Changping Village is about ten miles, and you have to pass through Qingshui Town in between.

When passing through Qingshui Town, Wang Cuilian asked Luo the blacksmith, "Old man, is there anything you want to buy?"

Luo the blacksmith shook his head, his eyes losing interest in those things. "I don't have anything I want to buy."

Wang Cuilian then asked Yang Ruoqing and Luo Fengtang, and they both shook their heads.

Wang Cuilian then instructed Ping An, "Ping An, let's not stop here, let's go straight back!"

Although she was supposed to be working non-stop, Wang Cuilian saw a man selling sugarcane by the roadside near the south gate of the town.

"Hey, purple sugarcane? That looks so rare. Let's take some back for Tuan Tuan and Yuan Yuan to enjoy."

"I'll go buy it." Yang Ruoqing opened her eyes and was about to get out of the car, but Luo Fengtang stopped her.

"It's windy outside, I'll go."

After saying that, he climbed out of the carriage. When he returned, he had brought a large bundle, probably twenty or thirty pieces, which he placed directly in front of the carriage.

It wasn't laid horizontally, it was laid vertically. The sugarcane was too long; even when laid vertically, about a third of it still stretched out.

Luo Fengtang then reminded Ping An, "Be careful when you're rushing to catch the train."

Ping An nodded: "Okay, don't worry!"

"There are still quite a few people on the streets and roads in this twelfth lunar month!" Wang Cuilian said with emotion as she looked out the car window at the people carrying loads on their shoulders and in their hands.

Yang Ruoqing had dozed off for a moment, but when she heard Wang Cuilian's words, she glanced out of the car a few times.

Sure enough.

"After a busy year, as the year draws to a close, I thought I'd come to town to exchange some of my belongings for cash," Yang Ruoqing said.

“Yes, the majority of them sell firewood and mountain products,” Wang Cuilian added.

Luo the blacksmith was drawn in by their conversation and remarked with feeling, "Our Changping Village is still the best place. The gentry, landlords, and wealthy people are all quite gentle and treat the villagers well."

“When our fellow villagers, who live near Mianniu Mountain, can’t make a living, they go into the mountains to chop firewood or hunt. They can always find a way to survive.”

“I’ve often heard people say that in many places, many people can’t survive the winter!”

"Why? Why can't you get through this?" Wang Cuilian asked.

Luo the blacksmith said, "Some starved to death, but many more, it is said, froze to death. Every winter, a number of people freeze to death!"

"Huh? You can freeze to death?" Wang Cuilian's eyes widened in shock.

"If you're diligent enough, you can bring back a few cartloads of firewood and branches from the back mountain. How could a family freeze to death while warming themselves by the fire?" Wang Cuilian asked again.

Luo the blacksmith shook his head. "You've been living in comfort for too long and don't know how treacherous people can be outside."

"Then tell me!"

“Let me put it this way: in many places outside, the rivers, forests, and even entire mountain ranges around a village do not belong to the village, but to a wealthy family nearby. And that wealthy family is definitely not an ordinary wealthy family; they must be powerful and influential in the local area.”

"The villagers are not allowed to fish or shrimp in the river, nor are they allowed to gather firewood in the mountains. The wealthy families all keep many servants and thugs. Once caught, they are labeled as thieves and given a good beating."

“If the villagers are not satisfied, they can take it to the yamen. But the officials there have all eaten and drunk at the same table with those people, and they will not side with us common folk at all!”

"How can this be? Rivers, ponds, forests, hilltops, all occupied? How can this be?" Wang Cuilian had never left the village in her entire life and had almost never encountered anything like this, so her understanding was very limited.