"It's just two cow bones, how dare you say that?" Lu Cuilan raised her eyebrows and glared at Luo Taohua, saying, "You really can't tell right from wrong. I was worried that your whole family would be deceived by this vixen, and I was concerned for you. But you take my kindness for granted."
"Look at what she's saying, everyone! Is that reasonable?"
Luo Taohua looked at the villagers and said, "It's just two cow bones? These trees aren't even that old, and two cow bones with lots of meat on them can save the lives of two adults."
Our Lu family is a large family, and we don't have much food to spare. We saved our food for our aunt, and all we got in return was a cheap cow bone. If we gave you our foal, would you also say to others, "It's just a foal, what's so special about it?"
Many villagers looked at Lu Cuilan with disapproval, feeling that what she had just said was wrong.
Let alone two beef bones, even a sip of beef soup from the Lu family would be a blessing.
Instead of trying to please her family after getting two cow bones, she spends all her time badmouthing them. Now that she sees her family has horses, she's rushing to ask for them back. Does she think her family are all fools who can be manipulated at will?
Looking to the side, Fang Peiru was glaring hatefully at Jiang Tangtang. Those families who had originally intended to marry into the Fang family all gave up on their plans.
Shi Dali's mother, Chen, took the opportunity to scold her son, "I know you like that girl from the Fang family, but look at what that girl has done."
She used to admire the village chief's studious son, but after that son died, she turned around and started clinging to her cousin. She has absolutely no shame.
And her mother, she receives favors but doesn't know how to be grateful, instead spreading rumors and gossiping about others. What kind of good girl could be raised by a woman like that?
Shi Dali lowered his head and said, "Mother, I know. All I want now is to protect my family and get through this difficult time safely."
"It's good that you've thought it through," Chen said. "Once our family is settled, I'll talk to you about a good match."
"Mother, let's talk about marriage later. I'm going to the mountains first." Shi Dali carried his tools and walked quickly into the mountains.
Like Shi Dali, many others rushed into the mountains.
Everyone wanted to go for a stroll in the mountains and see if they could be as lucky as Lu Shiyan and encounter a wild horse.
The allure of horses is simply too great for people.
Besides being used for transportation, they could also be sold for money. If they found a horse, they wouldn't have to worry about their family going hungry.
Lu Cuilan not only failed to gain any advantage but also lost face. Seeing her elder brother pretending to be deaf the whole time and not saying a word in her defense, her resentment towards her family deepened.
She also urged her husband to go to the mountains to look for wild horses.
Fang Mulin was lazy and cowardly, so he was unwilling to go. "Do you think wild horses are so easy to find? You'd be better off resting and saving your energy for the afternoon's journey. Do you think everyone in the village will get away with rushing into the mountains? Don't get eaten by the big tigers in the mountains."
Unable to persuade her husband, Lu Cuilan could only secretly comfort herself, thinking that what her husband said made sense.
Looking at her family's two horses, she was so jealous her heart ached. If her family had such horses and a carriage, she wouldn't be in such dire straits.
Just then, Fang Mingming started crying and fussing, "Mommy, I want to ride a pony. Mommy, I don't want to walk. I want to ride in a carriage. Carry me to my uncle's house to ride a pony and ride in a carriage."
Instead of educating his son, Fang Mulin started to have his own schemes.
He looked at Lu Cuilan and said, "Why aren't you sending the child over there right away? The child's maternal uncle has a carriage; can't the child even ride in it?"
Then she complained to Lu Cuilan, "You too, you can't even get along with your own family, what use are you? You're always gossiping and spreading rumors outside, why don't you go and apologize to your niece-in-law?"
Lu Cuilan didn't think she had done anything wrong. It was just a few idle words, what was the big deal? Which woman in this village didn't gossip about other people's affairs?
Besides, she's an elder, and juniors should listen to what elders say. Asking her to apologize to a junior is out of the question.
On the other side, after scolding Lu Cuilan away, Luo Taohua approached Jiang Tangtang with a fawning expression and asked, "Third sister-in-law, what's in your pockets?"
Everyone's attention was focused on the two horses, and no one noticed the sack that Lu Shiyan brought back.
At this moment, Luo Taohua spoke, and the Lu family members, who were in shock, came to their senses and looked at Jiang Tangtang.
"Inside is a jelly fruit. Cut the fruit open, scoop out the seeds, dry them, and you can make jelly to eat."
Jiang Tangtang said, "Sister-in-law, quickly find a piece of white cloth so we can take out the seeds of this jelly fruit, dry them in the sun, and store them to make jelly later."
Luo Taohua didn't know anything about jelly, but she got excited as soon as she heard about food. She hurriedly rummaged through her bundle and took out a piece of white cloth that she had carefully kept. "Third sister-in-law, do you think this will do?"
Although the white cloth wasn't new, it was clear that it had been washed and carefully stored. Jiang Tangtang nodded, "Okay, but it would be best to put a winnowing basket or something underneath it so it'll be easier to dry later."
Although the Lu family had an oxcart, they couldn't take everything with them. So, apart from valuables like money, grain, and ironware, they left everything else behind.
Dustpans and other similar containers that take up space and are worthless should be brought as little as possible.
Naturally, they wouldn't be able to find something like a winnowing basket. However, Jiang Tangtang quickly came up with a solution.
She asked Luo Taohua to find some tree branches and make them into a circle. Then she put a white cloth over it, and soon a simple drying net was made.
Although Luo Taohua felt a little sorry for the white cloth she had contributed, she still said, "Third sister-in-law is really clever. What do we do now?"
Jiang Tangtang asked Luo Taohua to cut open the jelly fruit, scoop out the seeds, and pour them onto a net bag to dry.
Zhou Qiongniang also came over to help, and the two sisters-in-law worked together to process the jelly according to Jiang Tangtang's instructions.
The Lu brothers then consulted with Lu Shiyan about whether they should make some minor modifications to the oxcart and have it pulled by a Malay man in the afternoon.
Lu Shiwang, who knew some basic carpentry, suggested, "If we add a few boards to the back of the cart, it will be bigger, more comfortable to sit on, and we can carry a lot more things."
In the past, oxcarts were not made very large because farmers cherished their livestock and worried that if the cart was too big, the oxen would have too much trouble pulling it.
However, this horse looks plump and strong, so there's no need to worry at all if we slightly enlarge the cart.
He was worried that his younger brother would be reluctant to part with such a fine horse just to pull the carriage. But Lu Shiyan agreed without hesitation.
However, since there was no plank, the widening of the oxcart had to be put on hold for a while. First, the reins were put on the horses, and the oxcart was harnessed to the horses.
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