farmhouse ditty

Chapter 163
"Hey, hey, here we are, here it is..."

Xiu Niang got off a pair of mule carts, pointed to her shop and talked to the coachman, this old man Li was in the backyard, so she didn't close the door, but left the shop open.

The coachman looked at him and agreed, pulled the mule aside, and beckoned the two mules behind him to follow him to the side, don't get in the way of others.

"Sister of the Chu family, can you unload the cabinet outside?" the coachman mumbled, wiping the sweat with the sackcloth around his neck.

Xiu Niang glanced at it, then opened her mouth after thinking about it, and asked him to put the two wooden cabinets on his car in the shop, and arrange them side by side against the wall, leaving the counters and wooden cabinets on the two cars, Just put it in front of the shop. According to her intention, these three wooden cabinets and the counter should be used to surround the shop, leaving some space in the middle for people to stand inside.

The two carts that have been following the coachman are pulling a wooden cabinet, but there are more people coming along, counting the coachman, there are a dozen people in total, and they all came with the cart to unload the goods , after all, this cabinet is so big and heavy that one person can't move it at all, let alone unload it from the car.

When the dozen or so people heard what Xiuniang said, they were dissatisfied and muttered. They were here to deliver the goods, and they were not porters. of.

Xiu Niang looked at him like that, and knew in her heart how could these people be so kind. She pondered and took out three ingots of silver from her sleeve, "Brother, let's wait before moving. Here you... a little bit."

The coachman looked down, his eyes flickered, hey, he got the money this time, he will call his brothers in a while, unload the cabinet on the car to the side of the road, and walk away.

He took the silver, counted it, and touched his body, "Oh, big sister, you should give me some broken silver. I can't find it for your 15 taels of silver. I can't find it."

Xiu Niang smiled and said, "Hey, what are you looking for, the remaining coins, brother, you can use them to buy two big watermelons, you guys can eat to quench your thirst."

Hearing what Xiuniang said, the coachman put Yinzi in his arms after a few words of evasion, and laughed with his mouth parted, "Oh, big sister, our brothers and Chu Ge know each other, he often Go to our garden wood shop to collect waste wood, we know each other very well, look at you, you are so polite..."

Xiuniang smiled, "Brother Chengli, it's a big day, it's tiring for you to drive back and forth and help me move in and out. Besides, this is what my Chu Ge told me in the morning. He originally called I boiled a pot of water, so that you guys can come and quench your thirst, but my new stove is not dry enough to hold the pot, no, I was just thinking about being lazy and treating everyone to a watermelon or something what?"

The coachman laughed when he heard it, "Oh, it's a good feeling." The coachman glanced at it, and he knew roughly how to carry the cabinet in, so he walked back, "Hey, brothers, Can't we ask Chu Ge's sister-in-law to get the wooden cabinet in by herself, come here and help..."

The dozen or so guys at the back of the car also heard what Xiuniang said, and they would have something to eat after the busy work, so of course they readily agreed. The four of them lifted a cabinet and walked slowly into the shop. Go, almost half an hour passed, and those wooden cabinets were finally placed in the positions designated by Xiu Niang.

The coachman saw that the job was over, so he walked over to Xiu Niang and said, "Big sister, take a look, can you do it this way?"

Xiu Niang looked around and nodded in satisfaction, "Well, Cheng Li, thank you, big brother."

The coachman touched the silver on his body with a smile, said something, and called those guys to leave.

Xiu Niang stood at the door and looked around for a while, wondering why Chu Ge hadn't come back yet, they went out together this morning, logically they should be back by now.

The old man Li coughed twice, and came out from behind, "Hey, you girl, you ran to buy a wooden cabinet early in the morning. If you say that, I will get it out, you Uncle Li!" I don't care if it's a big or small piece, as long as it has something to do with a lump of wood, we can make it!"

Xiu Niang smiled, she knew that old man Li could make it, but didn't she have to buy the wood for those big boards, if she really asked old man Li to build a wooden cabinet, she didn't know how many days it would take to get it out.

"Uncle, I know that your carpentry job is fixed, but you already have enough things to build, don't be too busy and tired, let's give up two money and give it to someone else."

Old man Li didn't appreciate it, took the cigarette stick to his mouth, and turned his head to look at the wooden cabinets.

"Hmph, your daughter is very generous, just these few wooden cabinets, they can earn you six or seven taels at least... When you get to (liao), you still don't let people give you change..."

"Oh, Uncle Li, there are only ten or twenty coppers left in the back. If I don't do this, will they help me move these big wooden cabinets in for nothing..."

"Hey, you girl, why didn't your baby call me out, as soon as I came out they..."

Xiuniang didn't want to spend any more time with Old Man Li, so she interrupted him, "Go ahead, Uncle, if I don't ask them to move in, then you and Chu Ge will be the ones who will struggle."

Old man Li paused, biting his cigarette holder, glanced at her and went in, "Why don't you move it by yourself!"

Xiu Niang shook her head with a smile, she was about to walk in, she was thinking of going to the backyard to get some water and come out to scrub the wooden cabinet, but just as soon as she turned her head, she saw Chu Ge come back.

Chu Ge didn't sit in the car, but pulled the carriage. The street behind is relatively narrow, so he had to walk forward slowly.

Xiu Niang stood at the door waiting for him, saw him coming, and then said, "Chu Ge, why are you here now?"

Chu Ge said that he wanted to pull the carriage along and go in through the shop, but when he got closer, he saw that there were more wooden cabinets in the shop, occupying half of the space, and this carriage couldn't get in.

"Oh, I went to a few wood stores earlier, but they...haven't started work yet. I couldn't find any wood, so I went to the back alley to look around. I found a good wood board. .”

"Hey, no wonder, I didn't see you in the back street earlier," Xiu Niang said, pointing to the inside of the shop, "Chu Ge, look, how do these wooden cabinets I found look like."

Chu Ge led the horse by the head, took a few glances, "Well, it's good." It would be even better if he moved the cabinet in after he came back.

Xiu Niang looked at him and smiled, but suddenly remembered something, "Oh, Chu Ge, why is our carriage coming in now?"

Chu Ge nodded awkwardly, "Well, that's it."

Xiu Niang thought about it and said, "Chu Ge, you go around from the front, go to the back door of our yard, park your horses and cars outside, it's a dead end anyway, it's not good for people, and then you come in, I'll give you Say something."

Chu Ge responded, pulled the hemp rope and walked forward. The bay red horse blinked its black eyes, exhaled from its nostrils, shook its head in dissatisfaction, and followed Chu Ge , this afternoon, it doesn't want to be outside in the sun!
Xiu Niang watched Chu Ge come to the front and turn the corner, she closed the shop and went back to the backyard, where Old Man Li was sitting under the shade of a tree in the west room, enjoying the coolness and drinking tea.

She looked at the washboard piled high in the east room, walked over to old man Li thoughtfully, and said, "Uncle Li, I see that the sun is not long today, let's make all the remaining wood materials in a while." .”

Old man Li took a sip of tea, thought about it, and responded, "Well, hurry up while I'm free. I'll be busy after I finish smoking this bag of cigarettes."

This time there was a knock on the back door, Xiu Niang said that Chu Ge had come back, she went to open the door, Chu Ge tied the bay red horse to the stone pier outside the courtyard, and came in.

Xiu Niang asked Chu Ge to sit down and rest, and brought him a cup of tea, "Chu Ge, drink some water first."

Old man Li just took advantage of the time when the back door was opened, and looked at a thick piece of wood on the back of Chuge's car, "Hey, Chu Wazi, what are you doing with that piece of wood?"

Chu Ge said, "Uncle Li, this is what Xiuniang wants to use as a door plaque."

Old man Li frowned, "Do you want to make a plaque?"

Xiu Niang responded, "Well, I'm thinking about naming our shop and hanging a plaque on it."

Old man Li pursed his old lips and nodded, "Well, it's time to give me a name, why don't people call our shop... Hey, girl, have you come up with a name?"

"Of course I figured it out," Xiu Niang smiled, turned her head to look at Chu Ge, and blinked her watery eyes, "Our shop is called Chu's Wooden Workshop, how about it?"

Chu Ge was stunned for a moment, looking at Xiu Niang's delicate smiling face, with two dimples drawn out of her rosy mouth, but it looked so good, his face was slightly red, and he lowered his head to drink water, and he responded in a numb manner. With a sound.

Old man Li listened, looked at the young couple, suddenly laughed, and pointed at Xiu Niang, "You girl, you really dare to name me, just because people don't know you are a couple."

Xiu Niang didn't shy away from it, she smiled, "That's what it is."

Chu Ge couldn't hear what he was saying, so he just replied stupidly again, which of course made old man Li laugh again.

Xiu Niang ignored old man Li, she took out a money bag and handed it to Chu Ge, "Chu Ge, there is a note I wrote in it, you can take this with you in a while, and pull the wooden board to the house on the back street to make a plaque Go to the shop and tell them that the words on the plaque should be engraved according to the one on my note.”

Chu Ge looked up at Xiu Niang, and took the money bag, "Xiu Niang, how much money did you give me, it doesn't take so much to engrave a plaque this time."

Xiu Niang said, "Chu Ge, you can take it with you. I already made an agreement with them yesterday. I will pull the board over at noon and let them drive it out for us at night."

Chu Ge was taken aback, "Come out at night?"

Old man Li also asked, "Hey, girl, what are you doing in such a hurry, we don't want to open the door for business tomorrow."

Xiu Niang looked at them and smiled, "Uncle, you are right, we are going to open for business tomorrow."

Chu Ge thought about it and said, "Xiu, Xiu Niang, why don't you come to our washboard tomorrow to get dressed?"

Xiu Niang smiled, "That's right, tomorrow is because Guixi is coming, so we are going to open the door for business."

(End of this chapter)