When Lu Xu got home and put down his things, he first went to Li Zheng to explain about the grain collection in the town.
After listening to this, Li Zheng said worriedly that he understood.
Collecting grain was a trivial matter, and he was afraid of another conscription.
Lu Xu went home, and La Yue and Yan Wenzhen were guarding the fish and eating sweets in his yard.
Their Lu Zhou picked up the fish with scissors, cut it open, cleaned it, and threw the entrails to the chickens.
Seeing that he was back, he said with great disapproval: "Brother, there is this fish in the river. I can catch it too. I don't have to spend money to buy it."
Yes, you are lucky if you can catch two in a day. Lu Xu was too lazy to talk to him and rubbed his head. "Do you know why you are the only one who doesn't have candy? Because you are annoying."
Lu Zhou: "..."
He pouted, "Brother Junqi gave it to me, but I didn't want it."
But his elder brother didn't listen to his explanation and had already taken La Yue and Wenzhen to catch snails.
Lu Zhou was depressed, hey.
Lu Xu and his two little ones were catching snails by the stream. After a while, Xiaoman from the fourth uncle's family and Xiaoyu from the third uncle's family came to play with Lu Fu by the stream. Xiaoyu was eight years old and seven years old, and Lu Fu was two months younger than the twelfth lunar month. , only five years old. The few little cubs are not yet old enough to work as laborers, so they play together carefree every day.
Now that a child laborer has arrived, Lu Xu sits by the stream and directs a few little beans to catch snails for him, and leisurely draws cakes for his younger brothers and sisters: "Whoever catches the most, I will buy candies for him tomorrow."
Lu Xu rubbed his aching shoulder. The skin on his right shoulder was scratched and it still hurt when he moved. He didn't know how Yan Junqi was doing.
La Yue held a handful of snails and put them into the basket at Lu Xu's feet. She raised her little face and asked curiously, "Brother, are your shoulders uncomfortable?"
Lu Xu rubbed her little nipples and said, "It's okay. Brother, just take a rest and you'll be fine."
Look at how cute his sister is and how she cares about whether he is comfortable. Look at Yan Wenzhen, a silly boy who doesn't know how to care about his own brother. He even caught a snail and stuffed the big one into the twelfth month of the twelfth lunar month.
Lu Xu watched with gusto.
As the sun began to set, Lu Xu carried half the basket of snails home, leaving Yan Wenzhen to play with the twelfth moon, and then sent the little beans home one by one.
The previous generations of the Lu family had four brothers with an auspicious name. There was also a daughter among them, who was married to a neighboring village.
The old house of the Lu family is located in the middle of the village to the east. The square adobe yard is spacious and sturdy. The eldest brother Lu Ji and the third child Lu You both got married in the old house. When the time came for the fourth child Lu Yu to get married, , the family could no longer live in each other, so the two brothers discussed dividing the house. The younger brother was young and had no savings, so he gave the house to his younger brother. The land was divided into six parts. The four brothers and their parents each had one share, and the second brother Lu Qing had one share. He left for military service at the age of fifteen. His share was given to his parents, and the three brothers farmed it together. After harvesting the grain and selling it, all the money was given to his parents.
The two brothers wanted nothing but land, so Lu Yu took the initiative to ask his parents to live with him and let him take care of them in their old age. Lu Xu’s grandparents still live in the old house.
All in all, the Lu family is quite harmonious.
Lu Ji died while working as a corvee. Old lady Lu fell ill when she heard the news. She lay in bed for more than a month without getting better. The family did not tell the old lady about Lu Xu's illness, for fear that she would not be able to bear it.
Lu Xu has also been reluctant to come. Mainly, he had better not worry about it. When he thinks of his grandma, she is still the one holding a stick to help him drive away dogs and geese, scolding his father for being a jerk, and comforting him that it's okay to not study well. They She is a lively old lady whose three generations in the family have not studied well.
Xiaoman called Grandpa when he entered the door, bringing Lu Xu back from his thoughts.
Lu Wuzhu was chopping firewood in the yard. He had injured his leg a few years ago and was lame. He couldn't walk fast. He didn't want to go out and make people laugh, so he wove baskets at home and chopped firewood. He was thin and not tall, but he was very energetic. He is also very strong. He weaves rattan baskets out of old vines. The baskets are large, strong and square. They can carry grains, build houses and transport rocks without being crushed. He also chops firewood neatly, as if the lengths have been measured. , stomping neatly against the wall.
Seeing them coming, he put down his ax and told them to play by themselves. He limped towards Lu Xu with a tight mouth. He grabbed Lu Xu's shoulders and wanted to say something, but said nothing. He muttered a few times and patted his shoulders. , "Okay, ah, be okay."
Lu Xu thought of his grandfather.
His grandfather didn't like to talk either. He was busy cooking all day long. He made noodles for banquets. If others gave him meat, he would take it home and simmer it in a pot. When they came back from school, he would share it with his cousin. Later he stayed while his cousin went to college. When he came home on weekends, his grandfather strolled to the entrance of the village to pick him up. He took his schoolbag and took him to the small supermarket in the village.
If you look closely, you can see that his two grandfathers look nothing alike, but their eyes are similar.
Lu Xu's already bruised shoulder was so painful from being slapped that it made him shed some tears, but he quietly endured it, his heart sore and blocked, and he pursed his lips and nodded muffledly.
Lu Wuzhu patted his back again. This time he was able to control his strength and patted him softly on his back. "Go in and see your grandma."
Lu Xun said, opened the curtain and entered the room.
The old lady was lying on the bed, sleeping heavily. When she heard the noise, she opened her eyes and saw him. She vaguely called him "Xu Wazi" and sat up on the edge of the bed. Lu Xu sat over and the old lady held his hand and shed tears. , shouting "My miserable baby" in his mouth.
Lu Xu didn't know whether she was talking about him or his father.
When I think about the old lady losing a daughter when she was young, her second son dying in a war, and her eldest son dying outside, I feel that it is the old lady who is really suffering.
Three of the children she had worked so hard to raise were less than sixty years old.
Even the eldest grandson has changed his stuffing...
Lu Xu lowered his head and looked at the two hands holding his. They were thin and wrinkled. They had been doing farm work for many years, and their hands were covered with calluses or tiny cuts, even the hand lines were scratched.
Lu Xu rubbed her hands, cleared her throat, and comforted her, "It's over, grandma. I'm old enough to make money and support the family. You take good care of yourself and take good care of yourself."
The fourth aunt came in with water and also advised her, "Yes, mother, you have to take good care of your health and don't worry about the children."
The old lady wiped away her tears with sadness on her face.
Lu Xu couldn't see it, so he had to change the subject, "Fourth Aunt, you still have a lot of food. There are people at the dock in the town who collect food. One stone of food costs five thousand coins, and they also collect old grain, beans, and millet."
Fourth Aunt Lu was surprised, "Yes, yes, I have a lot saved at home."
Grain prices have been rising every year in the past few years, and every household is stocking up on grains to wait for the price increase, but giving so much at once is far from the supermarket price!
Lu Xu said: "Then you save the rations until the summer harvest, pack them up, and ask Lu Xuan to pack them and sell them at the dock tomorrow."
Fourth Aunt Lu responded and hurriedly went to see the grain store.
Lu Xu didn't stay long and asked Xiao Yu and Lu Fu to go to his third uncle's house.
Third uncle's house is a little far away.
The third aunt is more active than the fourth aunt. She wants to buy cattle.
The third uncle and the third aunt are diligent, and the eldest son Lu Hui is also older. Fifteen-sixteen is already more capable than many adults. He spends all day in the fields either weeding or topdressing. The third aunt wants to build a house for him and find a wife, so she opens a five-acre farm near the village. Huang, if there was a cow, Lu Hui wouldn't have to work so hard.
Her family originally had an old cow, but later it died of old age. She wanted to buy another one, but there was a war, and the price of cattle soared. Most of them were drafted to transport grain and grass. She saved for several years, and every time she saw she could buy one. It's a calf, but it's always missed. When Lu Xu's father was buried, there was not enough money, so the third uncle's family borrowed the most money.
She was the happiest when she heard that food prices were high. The summer harvest is coming soon. If you save a little and get some wild beans, you can survive the summer harvest.
"I'll ask Xiaohui to pull the cart tomorrow morning and go to your fourth uncle's house to call Xiaoxuan."
"OK."
The third uncle's family has an old cart that can transport grain.
Lu Xu left from his third aunt's house, and his cousin Lu Hui had not returned from the fields yet. Lu Xu secretly shook his head, he had better sell his fried snails.
When she got home, Yuan Manniang had already picked a basket of wild vegetables and was hanging them on the clothesline.
Lu Rui was lying next to the basket, pulling a wild vegetable and stuffing it into his mouth.
"You can eat it if you can?" Lu Xu took him aside, wiped the dirt around his mouth, and took the wild vegetable leaves in his hand. He was still not happy and shouted.
Yuan Manniang heard the noise and saw that he was back. She patted the dirt on her body and prepared to cook, "Xu'er, the fish and meat are not fresh anymore. Should we steam or boil them?"
Lu Xu: "No, I'll do it."
Yuan Manniang asked: "But it's for sale?"
Lu Xu shook his head, "If we don't sell it, we will eat it ourselves."
Yuan Manniang nodded, "Hey."
Seeing Lu Xu enter the kitchen, she followed a few steps, stopped again, scratched her head, but still didn't find a chance to ask Lu Xu whether the snails were sold or not.
She pinched her fingers tangledly and hung up the wild vegetables. Seeing Lu Xu busy in the kitchen, she took the basket and took Lu Rui to the river to wash the basket and the baby.
When dinner was approaching, the housewives of each family were washing rice and washing vegetables by the stream. When they saw Yuan Manniang bringing her children over, they all asked, "Manniang, what did your family do yesterday, spicy and spicy?"
Yuan Manniang said kindly: "My Xu'er cooked snails."
Aunt Su asked: "Cooking snails?"
"You don't know, Xuwazi wants to sell snails. Yesterday, he brought a group of little dolls for him to touch. Our second baby also touched them. But now we can't see how they are cooked." Erwa's mother was washing. Wild vegetables said in a sharp tone.
The third grandmother next door asked: "I saw Xu Wazi going out with a basket on her back this morning, but she went to sell snails?"
Yuan Manniang was quite proud, but she was used to keeping a low profile, so she said reservedly: "Yes, I went to the market to sell it early in the morning."
Erwa Niang is very disdainful. They feed the snails here to ducks, so who pays for them? "Can it be sold?"
Yuan Manniang was a little unhappy, "Why can't I sell it? It tastes delicious to me, better than meat."
A few people laughed.
"You see, she is still annoyed!" Erwa Niang laughed: "We haven't eaten many meals of meat, so I don't know, but Xu Wazi is a filial child, and meat will be indispensable in the future. Man Niang's luck lies ahead."
Everyone's expressions were a little subtle for a moment.
They have been neighbors for many years and who still doesn’t know about whose family? Lu Xu was filial, and he was filial to his biological father and mother, but there was nothing wrong with Yuan Manniang, the stepmother. Who didn't know that Lu Xu had never called her mother in so many years.
Yuan Manniang would have been angry before, but Lu Xu had become a lot closer to her in the past two days. Erwa Niang deliberately stabbed her, but she didn't realize it. Although her words still didn't sound very nice, it made sense after thinking about it. , "It's not about meat. If the children have no problems or diseases, they will be able to start a family and start a business smoothly in the future, I will be worthy of their father."
The corner of Erwa Niang's mouth twitched, she shook the water off the vegetable leaves and stood up, thinking to herself, if Lu Da is dead, who else is she going to act for? Her family can’t even eat the food, so she has to give back the meat...
Erwa Niang wrinkled her nose and suddenly smelled a scent, "What smells so good?"
The third grandma asked: "Man Niang, is your Xuwazi cooking snails again?"
Yuan Manniang shook her head, "No, Xu'er is cooking fish at home."
Erwa Niang: "..."
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