Peasant woman

Chapter 49

Thinking that because Ru'er couldn't have a child and had to give a small one to Fugui, Chen's face changed a little.She looked up at Xu Cao, and snorted coldly: "No matter what, you have been married for a year and your belly doesn't look big, but you are useless! I have never heard that giving birth later is good for the body, I think it is You can't have a baby, no matter what, I will help Fugui find a marriage, you have to agree to this if you don't agree!"

Seeing Mrs. Chen like this, Xu Cao's expression turned a little cold. She was originally looking at her as an elder to give in. It seems that this person is completely relying on the old to sell the old.

Xu Cao sarcastically said: "Mom, I said you are not going to give your niece who can't bear children and was divorced to our family's wealth? You don't feel ashamed. And whether I can have children, find a doctor It's clear after reading it, don't pour dirty water on me that can't have children."

Being caught by Xu Cao's words, Chen's face became even more ugly.

Before Chen could get angry, Xu Cao sneered again: "Mother, you are really not afraid of the jokes of the villagers. If you force Chen Ru to the rich, our family will not have to stay in the village. Besides, I absolutely You won't allow the rich and the noble to accept the young, so stop thinking about it!"

Frustrated, Chen sat up from the stool, pointed at Xu Cao and said angrily, "Why don't you let me go? Who do you think you are? Fugui is the one who is in charge. I like Ruer very much when I see Fugui. Why, are you afraid of being compared by Ru'er?" Mrs. Chen snorted coldly, "I see it too, you look at yourself, you are looking at my Ru'er. Hmph, let's talk Yes, I like Ru'er very much when I see Fugui. I'll tell you, everyone, as long as Fugui agrees to this matter, what do you think you are?"

"What am I?" Xu Cao laughed, "Go and ask Fugui and I will know what I am. You can see if Fugui likes your niece. Mom, you must be self-aware. Don't be a treasure every day if you don't like your niece. And" Xu Cao's voice became cold at this point, "You said that rich people like Ruer? Mother, you can eat things but don't talk nonsense! You are corrupt like this Fugui's reputation, if Fugui gets angry and loses his temper, it will be your niece who will be ashamed!"

Seeing that the adults seemed to be arguing, the two little fellows on the kang fell silent and dared not speak.Brother Jun and Miao Miao opened their round eyes, looking at Xu Cao for a while, and Mrs. Chen for a while.Miao Miao seemed to be a little afraid of Mrs. Chen, she shrank herself and did not dare to move.

Chen was so angry that she pointed at Xu Cao and cursed, "You little bitch, what are you talking about!"

Mrs. Chen was talking, but the door of the house was kicked open with a bang. Everyone turned their heads to look over, but Fugui stood outside with a dark face.

Seeing Fugui's stern face, Mrs. Chen was taken aback, "Boss...boss, when did you come back?"

Fugui stepped in, came to Chen Shi, stared at Chen Shi for a long time, Chen Shi's face turned pale, and said coldly: "If I don't come back, I don't know if my mother is special Run to my house to bully my daughter-in-law."

Seeing Fugui came back, Xu Cao's face softened a lot. This Mrs. Chen is a troublemaker, and Fugui will just send her away.

"I... I didn't," Chen said anxiously, "It's... your daughter-in-law pissed me off, that's why I'm so unrestrained. Wealth, it's not that mother said you, you should marry a wife." Xian, look at what your mother-in-law looks like. She blatantly contradicted her and said that she is the head of the family. Doesn't that put you in the eyes? It's been a year since we got married, and my belly is still not big. Wealthy, such a daughter-in-law is not desirable. How about if you divorce her like this, mother is looking for a good marriage for you? The reason why you married her was because..."

Before she finished speaking, Fugui's face became even more ugly, "Mother, do you know what you're talking about? I just pretend I didn't hear this today, and you don't want to say it again in the future."

Mrs. Chen was in a hurry, "Fugui, what is Ru'er not as good as this girl? She looks better than her, has a better temper than her, and knows how to serve others. Look at your mother-in-law, you have said such outrageous things!"

"Mother, my daughter-in-law is right, she is the one who is in charge of our family." Fugui said, his face became more and more ugly, "Mother, just take a rest and find a little idea for me, I just want to have a good time with my wife. Live on, if you talk dirty again, don't blame me for being rude." He didn't expect his mother to have such thoughts, and she still gave him the divorced cousin.

"You..." Mrs. Chen pointed at Fugui, annoyed.

Fugui is already very impatient, if not for the fact that she has been raising her for 20 years, he really wants to throw such a mother out, "Mom, you go back."

"You idiot, what's wrong with Ru'er?"

Fugui said coldly: "Mother, she has a bad reputation, and I don't like her. Mother, please stop talking, or she will be the one who will be humiliated!"

Mrs. Chen wanted to say something more, looking at Fugui's gloomy look, she didn't say anything after all, and glared at Xu Cao bitterly.

"Mother, go back!" Fugui spoke again.

Mrs. Chen finally left with Brother Jun in her arms, and glared at Xu Cao a few more times as she left.Xu Cao smiled bitterly, knowing that the relationship with this mother-in-law was completely over, and there was no need to maintain the superficial peace.But that's good too, save me having to say hello with a smile every time I see you.

After Mrs. Chen left, Fugui closed the courtyard door, turned around and saw Xu Cao leaning against the door of the house, looking at him with a half-smile.

Fugui's face turned red, and the cold expression just now returned to a simple and honest face. He walked quickly to Xu Cao's side, and said flatteringly: "Daughter-in-law, are you angry?"

"No, how can you be angry?" Xu Cao's tone was a bit unfriendly. Although this matter had nothing to do with wealth, but the fortress gave him a woman, maybe two, and she felt uncomfortable thinking about it.

"Daughter-in-law, I'm sorry, it's all my fault." Seeing that his daughter-in-law got angry, Fugui hastily apologized.No matter what, if the daughter-in-law is angry and unhappy, he just coaxes her.

Xu Cao straightened up, glared at him, and then said softly: "I can't blame you, isn't it because my mother saw that our life was getting better, and she got thinking and wanted to give you her divorced niece?" .”

Fugui snorted, "Our family is living a better life now, and we earned it by ourselves. Mother doesn't want to think that we are all separated, but now she still has to take care of such things. Isn't this just a gossip?"

Xu Cao lowered her head and said nothing.

Seeing that his daughter-in-law was still looking sullen, Fugui hurriedly said, "Daughter-in-law, don't be angry, I just want to live with you in this life, and I don't want anything else."

"Sir, I don't have your sign of looking like a cousin, you..."

Fugui stared at Xu Cao carefully for a few times before suddenly saying, "Daughter-in-law, you are much prettier than her." He just likes the delicate appearance of his daughter-in-law, her eyes are transparent and clean, not like that cousin's eyes. It's disgusting to see people light and fluffy.

Xu Cao was delighted, looked up at Fu Gui, and said with a smile: "Okay, let's not be angry this early in the morning. Let's go in and have a look at Miao Miao. I'm afraid that mother was too loud just now, and I will give her away." Scared."

When the two returned to their room, Miao Miao was sitting blankly on the top of the kang, when she saw Xu Cao and Fu Gui coming in, she smiled sweetly at them.

Xu Cao and Fugui took off their shoes and got on the kang. The two coaxed Miao Miao to talk, and they were relieved to find that she was fine.

It was a cold day and there was nothing to do, so the three of them nestled on the kang for a long time. At noon, Xu Cao steamed a pot of corn buns, made pickled radish and fried bacon, and fermented bean curd made a few days ago Picked out a few pieces.

Seeing fermented bean curd, it is quite rare to be rich, and said with a smile: "I have never seen this kind of food, and it smells like wine."

Xu Cao came over with a dustpan of corn buns, stuffed one for Miaomiao and Fugui, and said with a smile, "I made this with tofu, you can taste it."

Seeing him picking up a chopsticks of fermented bean curd, Xu Cao hurriedly said, "There is too much, too much, it's very salty."

Fugui put down a little more, and then took a bite of the steamed bun, "It's very fragrant, delicious." The taste is really good, and the most important thing is that he likes the smell of wine inside.

Miao Miao also seemed to like it very much, and ate two steamed buns with fermented bean curd.

In the afternoon, when Erya Sanya came to visit with Xiao Shan in her arms, Xu Cao made some fermented bean curd for them and took them back, and then told Er Ya Sanya not to bring Xiao Shan here because it was cold, and she just went to see them later. .

Although there is not much snow outside, the weather is too cold.

Xu Cao has been nesting at home for several days, and the snow outside is getting heavier and heavier, and her ankles are high.The carbon bought at home was also used.

Since Mrs. Chen left last time, she hasn't been here again.

That day Xu Cao was lying on the kang watching the snowflakes fluttering outside, when the gate of the courtyard slammed.Fugui didn't let him get up, so he opened the courtyard door by himself, and when someone came into the room, he saw Yang Xiaoan and his second younger sibling, Shen Shi, who was still hugging Brother Jun.

Xu Cao hurriedly got up, and said with a smile, "Xiao'an, second sibling, why are you here in this cold weather?"

Xiao An and Shen patted the snowflakes off their bodies at the door, and then entered the house, and Brother Jun also climbed onto the kang to play with Miao Miao.

Seeing Xu Cao's appearance, Shen said with a smile: "It's cold, and it's inconvenient to go out. I haven't come to see you for a few days, so I came here with Xiaoan."

Xiao An also smiled and said, "Yes, sister-in-law, we just came to see you."

"Very good, how are you at home? By the way, how are the third siblings? How is Little Osmanthus?"

Shen smiled and said: "It's all good, all is good, although mother doesn't like sweet-scented osmanthus, but father cares about it, and with three younger siblings protecting her, mother doesn't dare to do anything."

"That's good."

Xiaoan and Shen looked at each other, then at Fugui who was sitting silently, not knowing how to speak.On the contrary, Xu Cao saw that they were hesitant to speak, and said with a smile: "Second brother and sister, fourth sister, we are all one family, if you have anything to say, just say it."

Mrs. Shen sighed, looked at Fugui, and then said: "Sister-in-law, mother and father had a fight today, and we only know that mother came to look for you a few days ago, and she wanted to give cousin Chen Ru to elder brother." Hey, what are you doing, mother!"

Xu Cao smiled and said, "So you all know it, and it's really embarrassing. Mother doesn't know what to think."

Xiao An interjected: "That's not true, Mother is really confused. Today, Mother revealed something to Dad, and almost made Dad mad. Dad couldn't hold back and slapped Mother."

Xu Cao couldn't help thinking maliciously in her heart that if she fought well, people like Mrs. Chen were undisciplined.

Several people chatted for a while, and they were relieved to see that Xu Cao and Fugui didn't care about this matter at all.In fact, what Niang did was quite unkind. If Chen Ru was really given to Fu Gui to be a young man, then the entire Yang family would be ashamed. I don't know if Niang's brains were caught by the door.

Several people chatted for a while, and then Xu Cao heard from Shen that Xiao An had made an appointment a few days ago.

Xu Cao smiled and said, "Really? Which family's son is it?" She was worried that she would not find a good family because of Xiaoan's marriage with the Kong family, but now it seems that she was worried for nothing.Furthermore, the Kong family was wrong about that matter, isn't it just that they were selected as a scholar, so they thought about three wives and four concubines.

Xiao An blushed with embarrassment, lowered her head and whispered, "It's the Mao family from the next village."

Xu Cao had some impressions of the Mao family. The family seemed to be quite poor.Xu Cao didn't expect Chen to be willing to let Xiao An marry the Mao family.But the unmarried second boy of the Mao family is pretty good, presumably Mrs. Chen also knew this reason before agreeing to the marriage.

Xiao An is going to marry the second son of the Mao family, Mao Dafa. Although his name is not very good, he is quite handsome and hardworking. Xiao An will not suffer hardship when married.

This Mrs. Chen really has nothing to say to her own child, but she doesn't know how to think more about others.Xu Cao couldn't understand it.

"When is that date?"

Shen said with a smile: "When the spring begins and the date is selected, Xiao An will be buying a dowry at home during this time."

Xu Cao congratulated Xiao An with a smile, went into the back room and took two taels of silver, wrapped it in a cloth and stuffed it into Xiao An's hand, and said with a smile: "Xiao An is getting married too, this is the money my sister-in-law bought for your dowry. You can put it away."

Xiao An hurriedly waved her hand, "Sister-in-law, no need." When sister-in-laws from other people's families get married, sister-in-laws basically just give them anything, and the better ones are just a little jewelry. Generally, they don't give money.Unless it's the kind of evil mother-in-law who forces the daughter-in-law to pay the sister-in-law a dowry.

Fu Gui took a look at Xiao An and said, "You can take what your sister-in-law gave you, and you can buy some jewelry when the time comes."

Only then did Xiao An accept the money, and thanked Xu Cao.

Xiao An sat with Shen Shi in the room for a while, and then went back with Brother Jun in his arms.

The snow stopped within a few days, and the snow began to melt outside.Xu Cao counted the days, and the Chinese New Year was only a month away. Now it was the twelfth lunar month. Xu Cao planned to kill one of the pigs in the family, and leave the sow to raise a few years of good piglets.

When Mrs. Li heard that Xu Cao was going to kill the pig, she also killed the pig that had been raised for almost half a year.

Xu Cao’s pigs were bred more than a month earlier than Li’s pigs, so they were naturally fatter.

This job of killing pigs was done by Fu Gui, Xu Cao and Li Shi got busy after killing the pigs.Li Shi sold more than half of his pork, and kept a small half for himself.Xu Cao sold half of the pigs he killed and kept the other half.

Counting the money in his hands, Li Shi smiled and narrowed his eyes. Not only did the money for buying the piglet come back, but he also made a tael of silver.

"Big ya, it's quite profitable to raise pigs, and it doesn't cost much. Even eating some wild vegetables and corncobs can make them grow so big. I'll buy two more next year, and the family can earn some income after the Chinese New Year."

Xu Cao smiled and said, "Mom, let's make bacon as soon as the weather is nice."

Mrs. Li said with a smile, "Success, let's start in the afternoon."

No one wants the offal and fat intestines of the slaughtered pigs, and they keep them for themselves.Xu Cao and Li Shi kept about ten catties of fresh meat, and the rest were made into bacon.

Mrs. Li put salt on the meat and sealed it for a few days, then hung it outside to dry.What Xu Cao made was smoked bacon, which tasted much better than dried ones.

Mrs. Li looked at Xu Cao, who was busy lighting a fire to smoke the meat, and said, "You don't think it's troublesome. If you smoke it, you don't talk about it every day, and it will take at least a month."

"It's delicious."

There is still dried game at home, and with these bacon, Xu Cao can eat it at least until next summer.

After finishing the work, Xu Cao processed the fat sausage and offal again. She didn't plan to make sausage enema this year. There was so much bacon and game for them to eat, and all the fat sausages were fried. All eaten.

Within two days, Feng Shitou sent several big fish to Xu Cao, "Sister-in-law, this is the fish my father caught in the lake, and he said he was sending some to you." Shitou smiled shyly.

Xu Cao was very happy, there is no fish sold in this cold town, this fish is very delicious when made into cured fish.Not being polite to Shi Shi, Xu Cao took all the big fish over, and took out the ten catties of pork belly that had been smeared with salt at home and handed it to Shi Shi, "Take these catties of meat back to Shi Shi and eat it."

Shi Shi hurriedly waved his hand, "Sister-in-law, there's no need, this fish was caught by my father himself, it's worthless."

How could Xu Cao not know the price of fish in the town? Although the price of fish is not expensive, it is winter and it is difficult to catch fish. The price of these big fish in the town is almost ten cents a catty. Twenty or thirty catties.

After pushing for a long time, the stone was still not wanted, and finally ran away.

Xu Cao didn't know whether to laugh or cry, and asked Fu Gui to deliver the ten catties of pork belly to Feng Shitou's family at night.

The fish, Xu Cao, first cleaned out the belly, then rubbed salt and thirteen incense on the fish, and finally hung it outside to dry.

The fish intestines, swim bladder and fish roe in the fish belly are stewed with sauerkraut.

The fish had been dried in the sun for a full month, and Xu Caobai chopped them into pieces again, spread oil on them and put them in the jar, and fried a few pieces when he wanted to eat them.After the fish is fried, it is very fragrant and chewy.

There was also a light snowfall this month, which stopped within a few days.

The days passed by in a leisurely manner, and the New Year will be in a few days, and every family is busy going to the town to prepare for the New Year.Unexpectedly, when the end of the year was approaching, it began to snow again.

(End of this chapter)