happy old days

Chapter 40

During the Mid-Autumn Festival, several families came to have dinner together, but it was a pity that Yang Laosi had just finished the provincial examination and did not come back in time.

The brothers of the Yang family have a good relationship, but the sisters-in-law are wearing fake masks. Yang Zhenhai hunted a pheasant from the mountains, and Jin Niang stewed it with dried mushrooms. It tasted very delicious. Okay so good, Jinniang just smiled and asked her to eat more, but she didn't tell her to take it back. It rained a few times in the beginning of autumn, and you don't need to go into the mountains, you can find a lot of mushrooms on the edge , At that time, every household had nothing to do, and hard-working women would show up.

The third daughter-in-law is not very talkative, but her eyes are always looking at the kitchen, and jealousy flashes from time to time. Jinniang is only superficial to her. The second daughter-in-law is pretty good with her now, but I guess she is thinking about the future in her heart If I build such a big house myself, I must overwhelm the elders.Apart from this, Jinniang's relationship with the second child's family is already much better.No matter what, it was a festival and everyone was very happy on the face, and did not cause any unpleasantness.

Obviously, this matter of a woman can't affect a man. Yang Zhenhai drank a little wine with his two younger brothers that night and talked more, and his relationship became better.

After the Mid-Autumn Festival, the grain in the field began to be harvested. Yang Zhenhai followed Jin Niang to harvest the potatoes, sweet potatoes, and mustard in the vegetable field.

After the potatoes are harvested, they should be stored in a ventilated and cool place for five to seven days, and then placed in the cellar. The sweet potatoes are dug in the morning and then placed in the cellar in the afternoon.Jinniang didn't know why, anyway, that's what grandpa used to do.

After the potatoes and sweet potatoes were harvested, Father Yang and Yang Zhenhai were a little crazy with joy, because there were not many seeds, and Jin Niang planted them scatteredly, each of which was only one acre, but the potatoes harvested weighed [-] catties, and the sweet potatoes weighed three One thousand nine hundred catties, this is because Jinniang didn't plant it at the right time. If she planted it earlier, the yield would definitely be higher.Jin Niang felt that even if she planted it earlier, it would only increase by four or five hundred catties at most, and it would be impossible. In order to make sweet potatoes grow well, she used the mother of water dilution every three to five days, otherwise she would not be able to catch up now Received.But it's not bad, and even if she doesn't care about planting it again next year, it can increase a lot of harvest. These two things are high-quality products in themselves.

Harvesting sweet potatoes and cabbage, there are not many cabbage and radishes at home, just enough for the family to eat.

Then there is Baogu, the family is busy going around, and when the frost comes, all the crops in the field are harvested, and only the radish is the last to be harvested.Then there was no rest, drying the radishes, harvesting the vegetables and putting them in the cellar, shelling the grains, making moldy dried vegetables, and drying mustard, there was almost no time to rest.

The corn has been dried, Yang Zhenhai and Father Yang still have work in the field, Jinniang can only sit in the yard by herself, basking in the warm sun, rubbing the corn to remove all the particles on it.When Yang Zhenhai came back at night, he saw Jinniang's hands were red and swollen like small steamed buns, and his heart ached.

Jinniang herself doesn't care. In fact, the farm is busy with spring plowing and autumn harvesting twice a year. During spring plowing, she is not needed for the field work. The vegetable garden was plowed by Yang Zhenhai, so she didn't feel too tired. It was just the autumn harvest. There is no need for her to pull back and forth, Yang Zhenhai has done the heavy work, all she has to do is handle the dishes.Not all peasant women come here like this, or she did this way in her previous life without machines in her family, so she doesn't feel bitter, she feels that she can persevere.

But Yang Zhenhai was really distressed, "Why don't we buy someone too? Find someone to help you with housework like the old four." In fact, he had this idea long ago. From the first time he met his daughter-in-law, he felt that Jin The mother was brought up tenderly, and she probably couldn't do farm work, so she planned to buy her a maid to help her do things when the house was divided, but she didn't expect her to be orderly and orderly. His wife is much stronger, and he looked at Jin Niang as she seemed to be very energetic when she worked. She really wanted to live a good life, otherwise the daughter-in-law was as troubled as she was, and she could always find something to do almost all the year round. Do.

Jin Niang sat up when she heard this, "No, we are living a good life by ourselves, what is it if an outsider comes to the house? I am not tired, so what if I only get busy once a year, how can I be so delicate." What are the extra people.And she is really not used to human trafficking in this era.

Yang Zhenhai smiled after hearing this, "Okay, we won't buy it if you don't like it."

Seeing him like that, Jinniang was afraid that he would quietly buy someone for the family, so she didn't go to sleep at the moment, so she pulled him up too, "I told you that you can't just bring someone home, if you do that, I will I'll just—" Jinniang thought for a while, but couldn't think of any threatening words, and finally could only say, "I'll, I'll go back to my mother's house."

Yang Zhenhai was overjoyed, as if he hadn't seen her angry face for a long time, and he was annoyed at first glance, "Okay, I promise you, I will never buy someone from home." He put his arms around Jinniang and lay down again, "You It’s been a while since I went back to my mother’s house, and I’ll go back and live with you for two days when I’m done with work.” If you don’t buy it, don’t buy it, he feels that the current life is good, seeing Jinniang’s lively and lively appearance every day, he feels the same in his heart. It is as sweet as honey when applied, which makes him full of expectations for the future and gives him strength to work.

Jinniang's eyes lit up when she heard this, "Really?" She hasn't been back for a long time, she hasn't seen her two sister-in-laws who are pregnant, and Cheng Hai is doing very well in private school, so she hasn't seen her for a long time.

"real."

Although Yang Zhenhai gave up his intention to buy people, he still brought two women in their 30s the next day, "I hired two people from the village to help rub the corn. You can do other things. You have a lot of work these days." You are too busy."

Jinniang had seen these two women before. They were both in their 30s, with foreign surnames in the village. Their lives were not particularly good. Their families didn't have much land, and they were both honest and responsible.

This kind of employment relationship is acceptable to Jin Niang, and she is also relieved, her hands have returned to their tender whiteness after one night, and they will still swell up at night if they do it again today, and they will not grow calluses, so rub the corn It was a very painful thing for her.This will free her hands up for other things.It's like the radishes at home haven't dried yet.

There was half an acre of green radishes planted at home. Jinniang saw that the uncle’s house in the east of the village also planted half an acre of white radishes, so she exchanged millet seeds for a hundred. The white radishes were made into spicy radishes. Jinniang thought about making some in a few days’ time Pickle.I also want to make sauerkraut, oh why are there so many things.

Part of the green radish is cut into thin strips, and part of it is cut into small fan-shaped pieces. Dried green radish stew is also delicious. Pick fifty white radishes, wash them and cut them into four long strips with a knife. They are connected at the bottom. Jinniang asked Yang Zhenhai to build a shelf for her in the vegetable garden, and there was still space to hang the white radishes on it. Now it's autumn and the sun is shining, and it will dry in a few days.It's okay to put the whole tree one by one.Relatively speaking, Jinniang prefers to eat pickles made from dried white radish.

Don't look at the many things Jinniang posted, all kinds of things, but these are all prepared to eat for the past year. The family is used to eating porridge and pasta with a little pickle, and there are few dishes in winter, so Jinniang can only change. How to do it.

It was already noon when the radishes were dried, and the speed of those two people was much faster than her. It is estimated that in two days, all the corn at home will be threshed.

There is not much work in Datian today. Father Yang went to the market to see how much money he can buy for grain this year. This year is a bumper harvest year, and it is also the first year after the sons of the Yang family split up. It is estimated that the income will be quite a lot. .Yang Zhenhai brought people over early in the morning, pushed the wheelbarrow and left without saying what to do, Jinniang thought that she might have gone to the mountains.

Jin Niang is not at a loss for her help with the work. At noon, she prepares pancakes, burns eggplant, stir-fries shredded pork with pickled mustard, and old cucumber soup.In fact, this is their usual food, which is much better than other families in the village. Jinniang never spends money on food, and grows it at home. She eats fish or meat every other day or two. It depends on Yang. Can the old man catch it, otherwise it would not be fresh to buy. Both Yang Zhenhai and Yang’s old man can eat meat, so Jinniang made it for them in a different way. But it's not the same as before, his fat face is a bit round, and he's always in a good mood, so he feels like a rich man.

Yang Zhenhai, who was baking cakes, came back, pushing a cart with two large baskets on it.

"Where did you get it?" Jinniang was a little surprised that it was two baskets of apples.It is not easy to eat fruit now, and apples are rare.

"I bought them from Zhang Village. Some people in my brother-in-law's village planted some apple trees. It's a pity that I went late, so I just bought some. I will go up to the mountain in a few days to have a look, and the wild fruits on the mountain are also ripe. I have been busy this year so I didn’t go to the mountain to see it, I’m afraid it’s all rotten.” I’m too busy to spare time.

When Jinniang heard it, "Why don't I go with you, I remember you said that there are persimmon trees on the mountain, and it's just harvesting now." They transplanted several walnuts, hazelnuts, and persimmon trees next to their house, but this year there are many persimmon trees. nothing long.

"No, I can go by myself. I will make a pole later, and I will go tomorrow."

"No, no, we can just stand here and eat." After the meal was done, Jin Niang wanted to invite the two of them to the dining room, but they stopped going in after entering the kitchen.

She didn't force her, she found two stools for them to eat on the big table in the kitchen, and then went out with the food, so the two of them might be more comfortable, Yang Zhenhai still has a good eye for people, both of them are Be honest and do your duty, and let them help you if there is something at home in the future.

She and Yang Zhenhai didn't go to the dining table and ate directly on the kang. At noon, they lit the fire and heated up the kang. This kang table was brought over by her as a dowry, and the newly made ones were used in the main house.

"Hey, this sour, did you make the oldest cucumber in our field?" Yang Zhenhai took a sip of the soup first, unexpectedly it was sour, and it was quite refreshing.

"It's that one. I made a lot of it today. It grows the biggest. One is enough. Drink more sour appetizers."

"The eggplant won't be eaten for a few days, it's a bit old."

"Well, that's not bad. I haven't eaten what I grew at home last year."

"By the way, do you have anything to do later? If you have nothing to do, help me move the winter melon to that house."

"Okay, it's just right where to put it. When it's cold, the fireplace is separated by a wall, and the room is not cold. It can be kept for a longer period of time."

The next day, the sky was very clear, so Jinniang took out all the quilts and hung them on the shelf in the vegetable garden. While she was doing it, she heard a woman at the door calling, "Is Jinniang there?"

Jinniang walked out quickly. Father Yang and Yang Zhenhai went out early in the morning. Jinniang plugged the door from the inside. There was a pull rope at the door. When she pulled the big bell on the door, it rang, just like a doorbell. The yard was so big that I couldn't hear the knock on the door.

But obviously everyone is not used to this thing, the first time to come or rely on shouting.

"Who is it?" Jinniang asked when she came to the door.

"I, I am Cai Niang of the village west."

(End of this chapter)