farmhouse ditty

Chapter 139 Hold Liu's Mouth First

"Cuckoo... come and eat..."

Xiu Niang came to the edge of the fence with a basket. She looked inside and called a few times. She picked up the leaves of rice bran and vegetables in the basket with her small hands, grabbed them and hugged them to the front, calling all the chickens to come to eat.

Seeing that the dozen or so chickens were all around, she put down the basket and went in with a basket. She went to the straw pile, picked up the eggs one by one and put them in the basket.

Xiu Niang counted, and after this time, she reckoned that she would be able to fill up three baskets, and in time for the next two days, she asked Chu Ge to take them to the town for pocket money.

Although she and Chu Ge are not short of money now, they are not rich either. The Erbao vine did not bloom in the two months at the end of the year, and Chu Ge couldn't find anything when he went up the mountain, so she had to find other income. .

Fortunately, she talked to Chu Ge earlier, and added a few more chickens to the yard. She fed them enough all day long, and the chickens laid eggs hard, and within a few days, they were full of two or three chickens. basket.

Anyway, during the Chinese New Year period, every household used a lot of eggs, and they had to use them for frying things and noodles. Chu Ge took the eggs from home to the town for a walk, asking for a cheaper price and walking faster. It’s okay to look at , Enough pocket money.

Xiu Niang cleaned the circle, and after checking that there were no eggs left, she came out with the basket and went into the stove.

Chu Ge carried the hoe into the yard. He had just dug some potatoes and taro from the ground, "Xiu Niang, I'm back."

Xiuniang found a shady place to put the eggs away. She came out of the stove when she heard the sound, looked at Chu Ge and smiled, scooped up some water in a basin, soaked a piece of sackcloth, and scrubbed the two sides. Wring it dry and hand it to him, so that Chugo can wipe his face.

"Chuge, I'm drying the water in the main room, so I can keep my mouth warm."

Chu Ge took the sackcloth and spread it out, wiped his face, "Oh, I see."

Xiu Niang smiled, and went over to get two potato heads. At this time, nothing tastes better than this, so I steamed two potato heads at noon to satisfy my cravings.

She walked towards the kitchen, and suddenly thought of something, and turned back to the main room halfway, she looked at Chu Ge and said, "Chu Ge, I just saw that the eggs in the house are full, you can find some free time tomorrow." Let's go to town."

After washing his face, Chu Ge was drinking water in the main room. He listened to what Xiu Niang said, finished drinking the water in the bowl, wiped his mouth and said, "Xiu Niang, why don't we wait for two more days, when the time comes Call Sixth Brother and Sixth Sister-in-law, let's go together."

Xiu Niang felt strange, it was not a big business to drive eggs around town, why did she call a gang, she was thinking about asking, but suddenly she thought of something.

She looked at Chu Ge, smiled and said, "Chu Ge, today is the twelfth day of the first lunar month, right?"

Chu Ge looked at Xiu Niang and smiled, "I'm thirteen today, but I was twelve yesterday."

Listening to what Chu Ge said, Xiu Niang understood, just Chu Ge decided to think about it, put down the two baskets of eggs stored at home first, and wait for the fifteenth day to take them to the town. What else can I buy? Stuff home for the holidays.

No, as soon as the market on the eighth day of the first lunar month is over, all the shops in the town are open for business. They have to take advantage of their free time to tidy up the shops and prepare everything they need to eat.

By the fifteenth day, it was the Lantern Festival, and the town was bustling again. At that time, it was no less lively than the New Year's Eve.

This Lantern Festival is over, eating and drinking is over, and everyone is really celebrating the New Year.

Xiu Niang thought about it, smiled at Chu Ge, and said, "Hey, I'm so busy and confused, I even forgot what time it is today, so did you tell Sixth Brother?"

Chu Ge said he wanted to call Shang Ji Lao Liu and others to go to the town. On the one hand, it was more lively with a few people, and there were too many things to buy and sell, so it was easy to negotiate prices.

He shook his head and said to Xiu Niang, "Not yet, I just thought about it when you mentioned it."

Xiu Niang nodded, she thought for a while, put the potato heads on the table, and smiled at Chu Ge, "Chu Ge, hurry up today, I'll go to Xiaoxier to wash my two clothes first."

Chu Ge suddenly said, "Xiu Niang, are you going to do the laundry by yourself?"

Xiu Niang said, "No, I called Sixth Sister-in-law to go together, what's wrong?"

Chu Ge looked at her and smiled, "It's nothing, it's nothing."

Xiu Niang gave him a strange look, went back to the house, took two pieces of clothes, said something to Chu Ge, and went out, "Chu Ge, when the time comes, you can steam two potato heads, and we will eat at noon."

Chu Ge responded, and finished drinking the pot of water that Xiu Niang warmed for himself, took the potato heads and went to the stove. Soak the soil on the potato head to soften it.

He watched as he folded the firewood on the other side first, and thought in his heart that he would go to the mountain to pick up some dead branches and come back later, or else he would prepare more, and when it rained, he would not be able to set up a fire for cooking.

Chu Ge prepared the firewood and put it in the stove, and then he came out to wash the potato heads and put them on the basket.

He glanced at the stove, shook his hands, and was thinking about going up the mountain, but he saw a wooden board standing by the door in a blink of an eye.

"Huh? Isn't this the washboard that Xiuniang often uses? Why didn't she take it with her?"

Chu Ge watched and grabbed the washboard, thinking about sending it to Xiu Niang...

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Mrs. Liu hugged a wooden basin with some annoyance, and walked towards the stream while looking for a way. She changed the side of the wooden basin and pressed down the clothes inside.

Xiu Niang was walking beside her, when she saw Mrs. Liu, she pondered and said, "Sister-in-law Liu, why don't you seem happy, maybe it's not the right time for me to call you out."

Mrs. Liu listened for a while, and quickly waved her hands, "Hey, no, no, how could it be, sister, I don't know how happy it is for you to come and call me."

Xiu Niang looked at her and smiled, she knew what Mrs. Liu said was true, not just polite words, because Xiu Niang hadn't stayed in the house since the night of the eighth day, in fact, she was mainly busy with the house work, so I have no time to go to the house.

And Mrs. Liu has also come over in the past few days, but every time she just stands outside the yard and is embarrassed to come inside, unlike before, she came in with a loud laugh.

Whenever Xiu Niang was watching her in the room, she would see Mrs. Liu greet her outside, and then leave, as if she was afraid that she would not want to see her.

Xiuniang thought, Mrs. Liu must think she is still angry about that incident, angry at her (Ms. Liu) for buying Shi Laodao's forest land and transferring it to her brother, but she really doesn't care, Just now when she called Mrs. Liu to do the laundry together, she was telling Mrs. Liu that she didn't take that matter to heart. Of course Mrs. Liu was very happy watching it.

Going on, if she didn't express anything, Chu Ge probably would have spoken, asking what was going on between her and Mrs. Liu these two days, what happened, and why she didn't move around.

Hey, everyone, don't look at Chu Ge who is usually in a daze, but he is actually careful, if not when she went out just now, he wouldn't ask that question.

"Oh, I'm really mad at me, sister, you don't know, at home, I don't have to worry about the clothes of the four girls, you two, you really want to beat me down!"

Liu Shi and Xiu Niang talked while walking, just now Xiu Niang came to ask her to wash clothes by the creek, she answered and went to the back room, but found nothing, which is a bit strange, Liu Shi After thinking about it for a while, with the idea of ​​giving it a try, I finally found some dirty clothes in the big wardrobe.

Xiu Niang smiled, "Sister-in-law Six, don't be angry, no one ever gets the wrong hand, when Chu An and Xiao Xiang were still there, I often took the clothes they changed and put them away. Put it in a big wooden box, you have so many family members..."

Mrs. Liu gave a "tsk" and said, "What, sister, it's not the first time that the two of you hid those things!"

This time, according to what Mrs. Liu said, those dirty clothes belonged to Ji Laoliu and Heiwazi. I guess the two men put them away after changing their clothes, and they didn't tell Mrs. Liu that they were waiting to store up too much. There was no change of clothes, so they hurriedly searched for them, but the father and father looked at so many clothes left behind, and were afraid that Mrs. Liu would be punished if they found out, so they stuffed them into the big wardrobe. .

But it’s not over yet, Ji Lao Liu and Hei Wazi changed those clothes and put them away for an unknown amount of time, they were sticky as soon as they were grasped, and they were neatly folded and put in the big closet in a corner.

Mrs. Liu could tell this at a glance. The two of them folded their dirty clothes and always put them in the same place.

Listening to Mrs. Liu's explanation, Xiu Niang held back her laughter all the way, and she praised in her heart, Brother Six, Hei Wazi, you are really there.

The two of them smiled and chattered to the edge of the creek, Xiuniang and Liu looked for a place, put down the basin and prepared to wash clothes.

Mrs. Liu looked back at Xiuniang, and suddenly asked, "Hey, sister, why didn't you bring a washing board with you today?"

Xiu Niang smiled slowly, "Oh, I broke that board a few days ago, and there was a big crack in the middle, so it's not easy to wash it."

Mrs. Liu pursed her lips while listening, "Hey, sister, why are you so careless, this is such a good board, it's a pity."

Xiu Niang nodded, agreed, dipped her clothes in the water, took them out and put them on the stones to scrub.

She moved her hands, turned her head slightly, and saw that Mrs. Liu was using a washing stick to pat a piece of autumn clothes, "Sister-in-law Liu, didn't you say that you wanted to buy a washing board a while ago? Shall I talk to someone else again?"

Listening to what she said, Mrs. Liu pondered for a while, "Um... no, hey, I was just thinking about telling old lady Gao..."

"Sister-in-law Six, you can't say that."

"What, what's the matter, girl?"

"Sister-in-law Liu, if you talk about this washing board with others, then we will become blackmailers."

"What? How did we become a blackmailer?"

"Sister-in-law Six, think about it. It's good for you to look at my washboard, and it's also good for others to look at it. Then they will ask us to bring it, but the people who buy and sell the washboard are not ours. I heard from Chu Ge that that person runs around all the year round, and it is rare to meet him, if we promise him, it won't be a problem if we keep procrastinating."

Mrs. Liu felt that what Xiuniang said was right, and she nodded after thinking, "Hey, sister, your thinking makes sense, we live in this village, and everyone will take some things from the town to the town, but if I agreed, but I haven't taken it out after holding it for a long time, then people will think we are trying to get some benefits."

Xiu Niang looked at Liu Shi and smiled, thinking in her heart that she had to hold Liu Shi's mouth first.

"Sister-in-law Liu, the next one is the 15th Lantern Festival. Chu Ge said that our family will go to town together. I wonder if I can meet the guy who sells and sells laundry boards. If I can, let's ask him when he will meet When we come to town, if someone asks us to bring a washing board, won't it be a nuisance?"

"Hey, sister, it's a good relationship, then let's go together later..."

(End of this chapter)