Chapter 29 Chapter 29 If you can’t afford something, you have to make it yourself…

Qin Run's eyes fell on his hands. Due to years of hard work, the grooves of his nails were gray, and the calluses on his fingertips were light yellow, a color that could not be washed off no matter how hard he washed.

Although his hands were not as rough, cracked, calloused, or bony as those of other old men, he was used to doing farm work. Both the palms and the backs of his hands were covered with scars, one after another, some caused by sharp grass leaves, and some by knife cuts. The knife wounds on his left index finger were particularly eye-catching.

Xu Yunfan's hands felt soft, unlike his own, which were hard and rough.

Qin Run felt a sense of inferiority and shame at the huge difference in the two hands after just one look.

Qin Run pulled back his rough hands, put them behind his back, and stammered the same words as Qin An: "Peeling, peeling corn kernels."

Xu Yunfan took a breath and said, "You work with me in the fields to pick corn during the day, so where do you find the time to peel the kernels?"

Could it be possible that this person can also clone himself?

"In the morning."

"Morning?"

Qin Run goes out before dawn every day. Could it be that he gets up in the early morning when it’s dark?

Xu Yunfan thought, oil lamps are so expensive, how could Qin Run be willing to light an oil lamp to peel corn kernels?

"You peeled the corn kernels in the dark?" Xu Yunfan was convinced.

He had seen how Qin An peeled corn kernels, and he didn't know where they got an iron awl with a handle, about six inches long.

Qin An told him that the thing was called a corn file.

The head of the corn file is very pointed. When using it, hold the corn cob in one hand and the corn file in the other hand, and file from the small end of the corn cob downwards to create cuts that make it easier to peel the corn kernels by hand.

Xu Yunfan's breath got stuck in his throat. "The corn stalks are so sharp. What if I accidentally get my hands on them?"

"No, I'm very careful and won't hurt my hands." What would he do if his hands got hurt and there were so many corn fields left to harvest?

Xu Yunfan sighed. He knew that he had been too busy recently. They had a small family and could only squeeze out time to do these things.

If given a choice, wouldn’t Qin Run want to sleep until dawn?

If given a choice, who would want to live such a tiring life?

It's all about having no choice. Qin Run wanted to have a good life, to keep his brother well fed and clothed. There was only one way to go, and that was to work hard. Because there was no other way, there was naturally no other choice.

Xu Yunfan looked at the sun outside. Today in the grocery store, he saw candles were on sale, but Qin Run didn't let him buy them, saying that they were very expensive.

It's too busy during the day and too hot at night. If you peel corn kernels by the fire, you will be so hot that you will die.

Xu Yunfan thought about it and decided that since he couldn’t afford to buy something, he could only make it himself.

Isn't it just a candle?

This thing is simple.

He asked Qin Run, "Do we have any extra wicks at home? I need them."

Xu Yunfan's topic jumped too quickly, and Qin Run could hardly keep up. He was silent for a moment before saying yes.

Wicks are not worth much, and there are a few pieces in the woodshed.

Xu Yunfan remembered that when he was looking for a bamboo tube to fill with water, he saw a dusty pottery jar in the woodshed. Before that, he went up the mountain and saw many pine trees on the mountain.

So he picked up his backpack, took out the hatchet from home, and before turning around to leave, he reminded Qin Run, "I'm going out to return the fat meat to Aunt Qin's house. You hang it in the well, otherwise it will smell bad and it won't be good to give it away. I'll accompany you to deliver it in the evening."

Xu Yunfan gave the remaining money from lunch to Qin Run. Seeing that Xu Yunfan spent money lavishly, Qin Run took it.

When Xu Yunfan said this, Qin Run knew that he had other things to do at the Qin's house tonight.

"Okay." Qin Run followed Xu Yunfan a few steps uneasily and asked hesitantly, "Where are you going?"

In the town, Xu Yunfan said that he would not leave, but Qin Run was worried. Where could Xu Yunfan go at this time?

Xu Yunfan turned around and pinched Qin Run's face. "I'm going up the mountain. Don't worry. We made a promise before. Have you forgotten?"

Qin Run shook his head. "I haven't forgotten. Then come back soon."

He wanted to say that it was too hot at noon and they shouldn't go out, but he also knew that Xu Yunfan was not the kind of person who would treat himself badly. If he could go out in the hot sun, it must be something important.

When Xu Yunfan was running away that day, he saw some bamboo growing in the mountains, so he didn't ask Qin Run where the bamboo was in the village.

When he reached the middle of the mountain, Xu Yunfan saw several large pine trees and immediately went forward to check them out.

There are many pine trees on the mountain, and there is a lot of pine oil. Xu Yunfan used a hatchet to pick it up and put it into the backpack. He did not stop until the basket was full.

Then he went to a place where bamboo grew, picked out a bamboo with a diameter of about two centimeters, cut it down, and used it to make a candle mold.

After working for an hour on the mountain, when we came down, some villagers had already started going out to the fields.

On the way, Xu Yunfan met some unfamiliar villagers. Some of them looked at him and then turned away.

Some of them saw him and waved to him enthusiastically, "Xu kid, you're up the mountain? Why are you up the mountain in such hot weather?"

Xu Yunfan didn't know the person, but looking at the other person's age, it didn't matter whether he knew him or not. He just called him "big brother" and addressed him as a younger person.

This man is actually the same as the woman. He is obviously in his thirties, but is still called "big brother" by a teenage boy. Who wouldn't be happy?

"Brother, go down to the fields now! I picked up some pine oil on the mountain."

The man took a look at Xu Yunfan's backpack and realized, "This thing is called pine oil? Are you going to use it as fire starter? It's really good for making fire."

"Well, there isn't much firewood left at home." Xu Yunfan didn't say much. He chatted with the uncle for a while before leaving.

He knew that those who disliked him could only be members of the Li family.

A few days ago, he insulted Aunt Li, and the Li family members felt that he was slapping them in the face.

He was a man picked up by his brother. It would have been fine if he didn't know how to make friends with them, but he actually dared to say something bad about the mother of a boy in their village. He was really ungrateful.

Because of Li Yunfei, the Li family members are quite respected in the village.

Xu Yunfan doesn't care about them. Face is not something given by others, it has to be earned by oneself.

She is just a boy's mother, not the emperor's mother, so what is he afraid of?

On the way back, Xu Yunfan greeted some villagers with whom he had met once or twice.

These people are all from the Qin or Sun family.

Xu Yunfan originally thought that the people of these two tribes were quite nice, until he met Qin's eldest daughter-in-law who was carrying a basin of clothes to the river, he realized that it was not entirely true.

The forest is big and there are all kinds of birds.

Last night, because of Qin Run, Qin's eldest daughter-in-law was scolded by the Qin family. Even her younger brother's wife and the husband of the third brother dared to stand up and urinate on her head.

She couldn't vent her anger and could only hold it in. It would be strange if Qin's eldest daughter-in-law had a good face towards Xu Yunfan when she saw him now.

Who said Xu Yunfan is Qin Run’s husband? That’s how it is.

Qin's eldest daughter-in-law rolled her eyes at Xu Yunfan and muttered "debt collector" in a voice that was neither loud nor soft, just loud enough for Xu Yunfan and Qin Sen who was standing beside her to hear.

Qin Sen is a cousin of the two brothers Qin Mu and Qin Lin, and Qin's eldest daughter-in-law is his nephew's wife.

Qin Sen was so embarrassed when he suddenly heard the eldest daughter-in-law of Qin scolding him. Just when he was about to say something, Xu Yunfan said on the spot, "Stingy woman, I didn't borrow your money. When did my little Qin family borrow things from your Qin family and never return them?"

From Qin Run, Xu Yunfan learned that Qin Run had repaid all the money he had borrowed from Aunt Qin and others before.

It's just that recently, because of him, the family really couldn't make ends meet, and he couldn't eat coarse rice, so Qin Run shamelessly went to borrow refined rice and oil.

Mrs. Qin had deliberately let Xu Yunfan hear what she said. She didn't even go to the riverside, but just stood there. "Repay? How long has it been borrowed? Go back and ask Run'er when he can return the five kilograms of fine rice he borrowed."

"My eldest mother-in-law only lent us the rice and oil because of the relationship between our two families. She was willing to lend out anything precious at home. But your family is so good at making carts and hiding things. We helped you, and this is how you repay us? I didn't say you were ungrateful, but you are so lucky."

Qin Sen was stunned. He didn't expect Qin's eldest daughter-in-law to say such words.

Looking at Xu Yunfan's gloomy face again, he remembered what his wife-in-law said about Xu Yunfan arguing with Li's wife, and couldn't help but feel bad.

But Xu Yunfan glanced at Qin's wife, and that glance was so meaningful that it made Qin's wife feel a chill down her spine.

Xu Yunfan said nothing and turned away.

Qin's eldest daughter-in-law was just scolded by the Qin family last night, and she dared to yell in front of him today. I guess the lesson given by the Qin family yesterday was not enough.

It is never too late for a gentleman to take revenge.

Xu Yunfan is easy to talk to and always smiles when meeting people, but that doesn't mean he doesn't have a temper.

When I got home and just entered the yard, a rich aroma of meat wafted out.

Xu Yunfan's nose twitched and his saliva began to water unconsciously. After putting down the backpack under the eaves, he rushed into the kitchen.

"Yunfan, you're back." Qin Run was frying meat. Seeing Xu Yunfan coming back, his eyes lit up. He picked up a piece of meat with a spatula and then picked it up with chopsticks and brought it to Xu Yunfan's mouth. "Try it. Is it delicious?"

Xu Yunfan doesn't like fatty meat. Qin Run probably didn't fry it long enough, so the meat is still very fatty. "Qin Run, I don't like fatty meat. I like lean meat."

Qin Run knew that the people in the village liked to eat fatty meat because it was rich in oil and water, but that was not the case for those young masters.

He picked out a piece of lean meat and handed it to Xu Yunfan. Xu Yunfan put it in his mouth in one bite and squinted his eyes in satisfaction.

Qin An put down the fire tongs, swallowed his saliva, and looked at Xu Yunfan eagerly, "Brother, does the meat smell good?"

Xu Yunfan joked, "It's not fragrant. The meat is smelly."

Qin An was no longer a three-year-old child. Xu Yunfan ate so deliciously, how could it possibly be smelly? He held back his mouth and said, "Brother, you are lying. The fried meat smells so delicious, how could it possibly be smelly?"

"Look, you already know everything, and you're still asking me?" Xu Yunfan looked at Qin Run and said with a smile, "Go grab a piece for your brother, look how greedy he is."

Qin Run laughed and picked up a piece of fat and lean meat for Qin An.

Qin An put the meat into his mouth in one bite, feeling extremely satisfied.