Chapter 053 Chapter 53 Mutton Soup and Little Thoughts

The next morning, the aroma of meat filled the air again in Xiaotian Village. This time, the smell was particularly strong, and it could be smelled from a distance.

The stove in the new house had not been repaired yet, so Lin Yue and Zhang Yuandong cooked here after returning from the county.

Wang Xiuxiang and Liu Jianhua came to help early in the morning. Aunt Su did not come this time. When she heard Lin Yue say that mutton offal soup was going to be made today, she felt that there was nothing she could do to help, so she simply did not come. This way she could save one person's meal.

Lin Yue used to have mutton soup with scallion pancakes. But scallion pancakes use too much oil, so Lin Yue didn't dare to mention it, for fear that Wang Xiuxiang would scold her.

Wang Xiuxiang's parents live by the sea. When it rained heavily a few days ago, the wind there was much stronger than in Xiaotian Village. Not to mention the crops, it is said that all the trees were blown down and many roofs were blown off. The disaster was much more serious than in their village.

It happened to be the time when the double disaster hit, and Wang Xiuxiang had no time to go back to check. She was worried about this for a long time, until she heard the news about relief food, she felt a little relieved.

She finally went back to her parents' home yesterday. Maybe she saw that the situation there was good, so she started to smile today.

Liu Jianhua brought a griddle from home and placed it on the clay stove next to the stove to bake mixed-grain cakes.

The three of them had to prepare lunch for fourteen people, which was a big project. Although it was just mutton soup, it took a lot of time to cut the meat, cut the scallions and coriander. Wang Xiuxiang also stir-fried a dish with kelp, and was busy until almost noon before she finished preparing all the food.

Wang Xiuxiang and Liu Jianhua carried buckets to deliver meals to the helpers, while Lin Yue carried a basket full of mixed-grain cakes, and the three of them went out together.

As soon as they opened the door, the three saw a group of little kids gathered outside the door. They were lying on the doorstep, looking inside eagerly. Not far away, there were a few adults peeking in.

Lin Yue turned around and found that there were several figures hiding outside the collapsed courtyard wall. He didn't know how long they had been standing there.

The three of them were startled by the scene, but Wang Xiuxiang was the first to react. She pushed Lin Yue and asked her to guard the door at home, while she and Liu Jianhua carried the bucket on each side and left.

Lin Yue was also shocked just now. She had delivered water to the new house twice before, and she didn't see anyone at the door then. How come there were suddenly so many people?

Just as she was about to close the door, she saw a young man running over and shouting from a distance, "Sister Lin, wait a moment!"

The young man was skinny, with drooping shoulders and a hunched back. His jacket swayed on his body, and it felt like a gust of wind would blow the clothes away. He was another second-rate person in the village besides Wang Baodong, named Zhu Yongchang.

He is different from Wang Baodong. Wang Baodong was spoiled by his parents. He is lazy and has a lot of tricks, but at least he is not very timid. He won't dare to provoke you after a beating.

Zhu Yongchang was different. He was a man who was not loved by his parents. He grew up stealing and cheating. He had no interest in women, but loved gambling. He would gamble with any money he had. If he had no money, he would steal money and gamble with it.

Lin Yue had always kept his distance from this kind of person and had hardly ever spoken to him. At this moment, he didn't know why he suddenly called him.

Don’t be fooled by Zhu Yongchang’s thinness. He ran all the way to Lin Yue without even taking a breath: “Sister Lin, does your family still need help? Let me help you repair the house. I have nothing to do and can start work right now!”

Lin Yue...you came here just as my meal was served. Are you afraid that others don't know what you are planning?

She glanced at the adults outside the door who were waiting to see how she would respond, and uttered four words in a firm attitude: "No need, don't want it." Then she was about to close the door.

Zhu Yongchang quickly blocked the door and said anxiously, "Sister-in-law, I also want to help out with good intentions. We are from the same village, why are you so heartless?"

Lin Yue: "They say that rabbits don't eat grass near their nests. Don't you know what kind of person you are? We are all from the same village, so why are you so greedy for the whole village?"

In the spring, the dates and biscuits in Xiao Wanli and Lingling's pockets were robbed several times. She thought it was done by another child and secretly followed the two children for several days. Who knew it was actually done by this 20-year-old man who was so arrogant that he dared to rob at her doorstep.

Lin Yue was furious at the time and beat the man up in front of the children. After that, the man never dared to provoke the two children again, and would avoid Lin Yue as soon as he saw her. She thought the man had become obedient and would not provoke her family again, but she didn't expect that he still didn't learn his lesson and ran over to take advantage of her just because he smelled something.

Zhu Yongchang still wanted to mess around. This was a good thing that could get him some meat. Who wouldn't be tempted? What was there to be afraid of doing some work? There were so many people around, and he wouldn't be discovered if he was lazy. A while ago, Widow Liu's family built a brick and tile house, and the food was not as good as what she had here. If he missed such a good thing, he would really lose it.

He held the door with his hands and refused to leave: "Sister Lin, you can't do this. Brother Xiaohui and I grew up together. I came here with good intentions to help my brother. How can you turn me away? When Brother Xiaohui comes back and finds out how ruthless you are, he will definitely not let you off!"

Lin Yue was delighted when he heard this. He picked up the bolt from the door and waved to his hand that was holding the door: "You have such a good relationship with Yuandong. When he comes back tonight, you can go talk to him. Why are you talking to me here!" While Zhu Yongchang was dodging, he slammed the door shut.

She really didn't want to say a word to such a person.

As expected, Zhu Yongchang did not continue to pester her. He knew that there must be many people nearby who were secretly watching him laugh. Although he was thick-skinned, he did not want to be treated like a monkey. After knowing that Lin Yue would not pay attention to him, he turned around and walked along the wall.

Lin Yue sent Zhu Yongchang away, went into the house, found a large basin, put half of the pickled radish strips and tiger-skin peppers he made into the basin, added some seasonings, put a winnowing basket on top, and walked out of the house with the basin in hand.

When she went out, she took a special look. She found that those who were watching the excitement were still watching from a distance, but Zhu Yongchang was nowhere to be seen. Lin Yue didn't care and went to the new house with the food.

When she arrived, Liu Jianhua and Wang Xiuxiang had already started to distribute the rice. Everyone brought their own bowls and chopsticks, so Liu Jianhua and Wang Xiuxiang only had to put meat and soup into their bowls. They were doing physical work, and they couldn't let everyone just drink soup, so Lin Yue distributed a thick stack of pancakes to each of them.

Liu Jianhua was a man of nimble hands and feet, and he baked a lot of them in the morning. Even though Lin Yue divided them so much, there were still a lot left.

Lin Yue placed the pickled vegetables on the table and smiled as he asked everyone to help themselves.

Among those who came to help today, there were quite a few neighbors. Three brothers came from Aunt Zhang's family, and two from Zhang Zhixi's family to the east. For a big event like building a house, it's not that neighbors are embarrassed. Unless the two families are having a big fight, the neighbors will definitely come to help.

Sister Jin's husband Liu Dezhi also came. He was the oldest and had experience in building houses, so he was considered the leader among the group.

Zhang Shouren and Zhang Shouyi also came. Zhang Yuandong had informed them before and asked them to come and help with the work in the next few days. The two brothers were only thirteen or fourteen years old, but Zhang Yuandong thought they should learn more, so he specially asked them to come so that they could take the opportunity to learn.

The two brothers did a good job, and they didn't slack off just because they were young. They went wherever they were needed in the morning, and they didn't slack off even when it came to hard work like carrying rocks up the mountain. They were two very qualified workers.

Lin Yue dropped the two little ones off at Aunt Zhang's house in the morning. Wang Xiuxiang had already taken them over. When she saw Lin Yue coming, she hurriedly invited them to go into the inner room to eat together.

Lin Yue asked: "Why didn't you call your two boys over? They are so close, I should go and call them."

Wang Xiuxiang quickly stopped her and whispered, "Their uncle sent them the shrimps early this morning. They should have eaten them at home by now. We don't need to worry about them. I just went to the west room to pick up the two children and brought them a bowl of mutton soup."

Lin Yue nodded: "As it should be, thanks to your thoughtful consideration."

She secretly took out the canned yellow croaker that Zhang Yuandong had sent back and shared it with her two good sisters. But as soon as she opened the can, Liu Jianhua covered her chest and vomited.

Lin Yue was stunned. She and Wang Xiuxiang rushed over to help him, pouring water and patting his back. After the man finally caught his breath, she picked up the can of fish and smelled it again in confusion: "This is yellow croaker, it doesn't smell bad. Are you having a stomachache?"

Wang Xiuxiang glared at her and asked Liu Jianyun: "Calculate the date, are you pregnant?"

Liu Jianyun was also dumbfounded when she heard this. She did a quick calculation and nodded, her emotions becoming visibly excited.

Wang Xiuxiang and Lin Yue quickly held him down: "Don't get excited now! Sit down quickly, calm down first, I'll take you home later, and let Xiaoyue find Doctor Liu to check you out."

Lin Yue nodded and said, "My dear sister-in-law, you have to be quiet now. You cooked for me all morning today. If you get tired, I will be guilty. Have a good rest now!"

Liu Jianhua's pregnancy was not easy to come by, and Lin Yue felt a little scared at the moment.

Liu Jianhua couldn't sit still at this time: "Oh, I'd better go home first. I'm not tired at all, really."

Lin Yue and Wang Xiuxiang laughed, they also understood, Liu Jianhua got married two years earlier than Lin Yue, and still didn't have any children. The family had been waiting for so many years, and finally they were pregnant, how could they not be excited.

They stopped teasing her and quickly went to the village clinic to ask for help, one person supporting the other.