farm daughter-in-law

Chapter 38

Second Uncle He and He Sheng had agreed a long time ago that Uncle He would keep watch tonight. After He Sheng and He Fu arrived tomorrow, Uncle He would return to the village.

On the return trip, apart from herbs, Zhang Xihua had five dried mountain mice and a hare in Zhang Xihua's back basket, all of which were caught by Second Uncle He in a sleight of hand these days.

The mice in the deep mountains are much bigger than the voles. Most of them eat bamboo roots and other food. Farmers don’t even shy away from eating house mice and voles. It is also a delicacy, and it can be regarded as a common meat meal in the lives of poor people.

He Sheng carried the charcoal and let Zhang Xihua walk in front. When the two arrived home, it was completely dark and the whole village was even more silent.In this calm and waveless scene, one's body and mind are also at peace.

The father-in-law and sister-in-law were already sound asleep, and He Zengshi was awake to guard the door. When she heard the knock on the door, she quickly opened the wooden door and said, "The porridge is hot in the stove. You two should go to bed early after washing up."

Zhang Xihua nodded and said: "Mother, we understand, you should go to bed first."

It was so dark that even if the oil lamp was lit, the quality of the charcoal could not be seen clearly. Let's see it tomorrow. Mrs. He Zeng yawned and entered the room, letting his son and daughter-in-law arrange it.

After working hard all day, Zhang Xihua and He Sheng gradually felt tired, and they took a rest early after finishing their work.

The next day, Zhang Xihua was woken up by He Sheng. After getting up, she hurriedly made some rough pancakes. In order for him to eat well, she cut a handful of leeks in the corner, washed them, chopped them, and put them in the middle of the pancakes. After he ate a few mouthfuls, He Fu came over, He Sheng put away the pancakes, and the two hurried to the mountains with baskets.

"It's from everyone." He Zeng called out from the yard.

"Hey..." Zhang Xihua responded.

He Zeng said: "I don't have time right now, you take the mountain rats that my second uncle dried to his house, and ask her for some black rags for me."

Second Aunt He is very good at tailoring clothes. To save trouble, some people who have spare money bought a ruler in Daliang Town and asked her to help sew a few dollars. The good thing is the remaining rags. Over the years, the second uncle's house naturally has a lot of rags.The two families are walking as brothers, and the relationship is very good, these needles and brains don't care about it.

When Zhang Xihua came to the door with a basket, Aunt He and He Fu's daughter-in-law Li Shi were doing needlework in the yard.Second Aunt He smiled and said, "Ah Sheng's wife?"

She looks much younger than He Zeng's, about fifty, with gentle eyebrows,

Zhang Xihua pursed her lips and said with a smile: "Second Aunt, Second Uncle caught some mountain rats and rabbits on the mountain, and didn't send them home for you last night when it was dark. My mother-in-law urged me to take them home not so long ago."

Mrs. Li immediately threw away her needle and thread, stood up and quickly took the basket from Zhang Xihua's hand, and said with a smile, "It's my sister-in-law who worked hard to bring it back."

"It's nothing, it's just a matter of convenience." This is Zhang Xihua's second visit to Second Uncle He's house. The layout of their house is similar to their own, with four rooms and a hall, and a row of thatched huts built next to each other for stoves, The difference is that the second uncle’s house does not have a well, and the daily drinking water needs to be picked from the old well in the center of the village.

In contrast, there is a well in the yard of He Sheng's house, which is more than a little bit more convenient in life, so the whole family washes more frequently than other houses.

He Fu is two years younger than He Sheng. He is 17 years old this year, and he got married two years earlier than He Sheng. Last year, Mrs. Li gave birth to a daughter, but Zhang Xihua knew that Mrs. Li was younger than her, only [-] years old this year.

After Mrs. Li collected the basket, Second Aunt He said: "Xiu Niang, you leave two mountain rats for A Sheng's daughter-in-law and ask her to take them home to eat."

Li's boudoir name is Xiu Niang.She was a little displeased, but her mother-in-law dared not disobey the order, so she picked the two youngest in the basket and handed it to Zhang Xihua, saying: "Sister-in-law, here you are."

Second Aunt He has never been used to seeing the petty behavior of the second daughter-in-law, but what can the daughter-in-law do now?He could only stare at her quietly, then turned to Zhang Xihua and said, "Don't refuse, Ah Sheng has to pick charcoal these days, and the housework is also heavy, take it back and add some food to your man and father-in-law."

Zhang Xihua smiled and said: "Yesterday I dug up some heat-clearing herbs, I will bring you some later, make soup for the whole family to relieve the heat."

Zhang Xihua accepted the other party's kindness, and reciprocated.

Second Aunt He was very happy when she heard that, and said happily: "There is someone in the family who knows some medicine. That is really a good thing that fell from the sky. In the future, if someone has a headache, he can ask you for emergency."

Since Zhang Xihua helped treat Yanniang's body and stabilized her condition, the villagers of Xiaxi Village have a certain trust in Zhang Xihua's medical skills.

The reason why I don't fully trust her is that I haven't seen Yanniang so completely?Besides, there are few women who know medicine after all, and the whole Daliang Town is respected by male doctors.Even Zhang Xihua is very skilled in medicine, so I guess he can't make a lot of money, he only sees the doctor for his family members.

Zhang Xihua didn't use that ambition either. At the beginning, Langzhong Zhao learned how to identify herbs, and it was only to get money from the medicine shop. Later, Langzhong Zhao saw that she was a transparent person, and he would give her advice when he was free.

(End of this chapter)