Chapter 125: Not in a good mood Zhou Ye: Your sister is not in a good mood, don’t worry...
When Old Man Liao heard what Zhou Ye said, he immediately looked disgusted.
Zhou Ye is such a big guy, but he listens to Lin Shu in everything. He is a henpecked girl and brings shame to the old man.
Forget it, forget it. They are just willing to fight and be beaten. Zhou Ye is enjoying it, so as an outsider, he won't say anything more.
Three miles isn't far, just a few steps longer than walking from the end of the village to the beginning. Originally, there was no road leading to the deep mountains, but the villagers walked a lot until they created a narrow path.
On weekdays, many villagers ventured deep into the mountains. After all, even if those living at the village's edge could take a shortcut to the back mountain via the ridges, carrying large bundles of firewood back home would be inconvenient. Therefore, many villagers at the village's edge would venture deep into the mountains to chop and gather firewood. The mountain was so vast that chopping wood on the outskirts was sufficient; no one ventured deeper.
The fir trees that Zhou Ye and Old Man Liao were looking for were found in a large area outside the deep mountains, and they were going there to cut the bark.
The bark of a fir tree cannot be peeled off completely, nor can it be cut in half. It must be peeled vertically, leaving half behind.
Although Old Man Liao usually only drove the oxcart and didn't work in the fields, driving a cart and pulling oxen required strength. He wasn't just some idler; he still had plenty of energy. The two of them cut bark together, stopping here and there for a rest. In just an hour, they had peeled three large bundles.
"Aye, I think it's almost done."
"Old Man Liao, sit down and take a rest. I'll do some more." Zhou Ye's hands kept moving. He didn't use the knife borrowed from Old Man Liao, but his own axe.
If Zhou Ye hadn't controlled the force properly, the axe would have chipped the tree trunk, especially since he was incredibly strong. But in Zhou Ye's hands, the axe seemed to have grown from his palm. He could strike with as much force as he wanted, or as lightly as a knife.
Old Man Liao was amazed. "I would believe you if you said you were a woodcutter before coming to Tianshui Village!"
Zhou Ye explained, "Our village is different from Tianshui Village. It gets very cold there in winter, so we need to prepare more firewood. Since there are so many people in our family, we use up the firewood very quickly. I'm the strongest, so I'm the one who prepares the firewood for the family. The more I use this axe, the more I'll get used to it."
When Old Man Liao heard this, he sighed in his heart: He said he was preparing firewood, but maybe all the heavy work at home was done by Zhou Ye.
He had a sharp eye and had long seen that Zhou Ye had suffered hardships since childhood.
Old man Liao couldn't help but recall the scene of fleeing famine. Zhou Ye led his group of tribesmen to escape famine and passed through Tianshui Village. The group was led by him, but it was Zhou Ye who stayed behind to exchange for food.
If someone wanted to trade their labor for a bag of food, there were plenty of candidates, so why did the leader stay? Zhou Ye was such a big guy, no one in the group could force him unless he volunteered. At the time, he thought, this kid is stupid.
Now, after more than two years, Old Man Liao still thinks Zhou Ye is stupid, but he is a fool with good fortune!
When Zhou Ye led his tribe to escape famine, they traveled a long way, leaving their homes and families behind. If they didn't have land to live on, they had to start as tenant farmers or forced laborers. If they met a kind and righteous person, they could work as tenant farmers and forced laborers for three to five years before receiving a share of land and settling down. If they met an unkind person, no one would care about their life or death, and they would be forced to remain tenant farmers and forced laborers to make ends meet, with no hope for the future.
But look at Zhou Ye again. He had sold himself voluntarily. If he had really become a slave, still working as a servant in a farmer's house, it would have been even worse than being a tenant farmer. But what did Lin Lao Er lack? He lacked a son who could take care of him in his old age!
Therefore, Lin Laoer had never asked Zhou Ye to sign any indentures. Without them, Zhou Ye was no longer a slave. Lin Laoer acted as a guarantor, and the village head reported Zhou Ye to the authorities. Zhou Ye's name was then included in the Tianshui Village register, and he became a Tianshui Villager from then on.
Zhou Ye's parents were deceased. Even if there were close relatives among the tribesmen who had fled, if they had watched him become a slave without stopping him, that relationship was doomed to be severed. This child had no parents, and Lin Laoer raised him as his own son. He was no different from Lin Laoer's own son in his family. If he married Ah Shu in the future, he would only respect Lin Laoer even more. Both parties were happy.
Compared with Zhou Ye's relatives who were struggling and didn't know whether they were reclaiming wasteland or doing hard labor, didn't Zhou Ye get a huge bargain?
Look, he has parents and a wife!
So, people, it doesn't matter if you suffer a little at first. After suffering for a while, you may be blessed by God and your life will get better and better.
It’s not like some people, who experience sweetness at first but bitterness at the end. After tasting the sweetness, they then taste the bitterness, and it really becomes more and more bitter.
Zhou Ye worked hard for a while, tied another bundle of fir bark, and then gave up.
By the time they got back, the sun was already high. The two men were walking, each carrying two bundles of fir bark. The men working in the fields and the village women chatting by the roadside knew what they were up to as soon as they saw them.
Those families whose thatch Zhou Ye had borrowed knew that Lin Laoer's family was going to replace the roof. When they saw it, they couldn't help but murmur, it wouldn't take so much fir bark to lay the roof. How many layers does Zhou Ye plan to lay?
The villagers knew Zhou Ye could handle a joke, so one village woman jokingly said, "Aye boy, why didn't you change the roof before? Why did you have to do it these past two days? Is it because of Miss Lin Shu? I heard that Miss Lin Shu had a high fever at night because of this heavy rain."
Zhou Ye nodded calmly, "That's the reason Auntie mentioned, but there are indeed many places where the rain leaks. This time, I'll just pave it thicker so it can last longer."
Zhou Ye responded a little here and a little there, and although he didn't say much, the villagers who asked him questions all smiled in the end.
Sometimes, a person doesn't need to be too talkative, just like Zhou Ye. Who wouldn't like a simple-minded man who never gets angry at you no matter how you joke or joke? Especially Zhou Ye's appearance with thick eyebrows and big eyes and his sturdy and strong physique are still liked by the village women.
Young girls may like fair-skinned scholars, but married women prefer men like Zhou Ye, not to mention that he has a good temper.
Old man Liao, carrying two bundles of bark, walked with Zhou Ye and joked, "Good boy, I knew you were likable, but today I've finally seen it with my own eyes. I'm walking with you, but why do people always ask you questions instead of asking me?"
Zhou Ye lowered his eyebrows slightly and explained, "It's not that they are likable, but my aunt and uncles are simple and honest. If others are willing to listen to them carefully and even say a few words to them, they will think they are very good people."
Old man Liao thought back to how Zhou Ye had patiently responded to the villagers. No matter what they asked, some of them sounded like completely unnecessary nonsense, and some sounded like jokes gone too far, but Zhou Ye responded to every one of them well. Even if he only said a few words sometimes, it didn't give people a perfunctory feeling.
Who wouldn’t like a guy like this?
"No wonder a smart girl like Ah Shu fell in love with you. A smart girl should be paired with an honest girl, and a talkative girl should be paired with a quiet girl."
Zhou Ye glanced at him.
Old Man Liao:? ?
"Father Liao, Ah Shu is not a genius, she is extremely smart."
Old Man Liao: ...
"Ashu isn't a secretive person. She's like that with people she likes, and she doesn't care about people she doesn't like."
Old Man Liao: ...
He was really fed up with that brat Zhou Ye, who kept talking about Lin Shu.
As soon as the roof of Lin Laoer's house was replaced, he left immediately. He was annoyed when he saw this kid!
But at the same time, Old Man Liao was a little reluctant.
The food cooked by Lin Shu was so delicious. He hadn't had such a comfortable meal for a long time since his wife and children passed away.
But Old Man Liao still said, "I'll leave after I put my things down. The sun has been strong these past two days, and the thatch in the yard will be completely dry in another day. I'll come back the day after tomorrow."
Zhou Ye didn't respond, but just said: "Go back to the courtyard and put your things down first. Ah Shu should have something to tell you."
Old man Liao looked at him suspiciously, not knowing what he was up to.
When the two of them were going back, Lin Shu and Lin Xiaopu had just returned from teaching at their third aunt's house. However, they had not done any work and were very dry, unlike Zhou Ye and Old Man Liao, who were sweating all over after carrying large bundles of bark all the way back.
"Aye, you and Old Man Liao, come sit down and take a break." Lin Shu said, glancing at his dry lips, frowning slightly and asking, "Didn't you drink the water I prepared for you?"
"Ashu, I've finished drinking it all. If you don't believe me, look." Zhou Ye handed her the empty bamboo cup hanging on his waist and asked her to check it.
Lin Shu shook it and found it was indeed empty. She couldn't help but mutter, "That's because I didn't prepare enough. You sweat a lot and you're short of water. Next time I'll prepare two large bamboo tubes."
Seeing this, the old man Liao on the side had a subtle expression, but said nothing.
He remembered that Zhou Ye had been working hard before, and only remembered the bamboo tube of water prepared by Lin Shu when he was about to leave, so he drank it all in one breath.
At that time, he thought that Zhou Ye was very thirsty. When he saw him take the initiative to hand over the bamboo tube to Lin Shu for inspection, he realized what he tasted belatedly.
Zhou Ye is more than just a henpecked guy. He has fallen headfirst into the hands of Lin Shu, and it's a pretty bad fall!
After a short rest, Old Man Liao took the initiative to ask, "Girl, I heard from Zhou Ye that you and your mother have something to tell me. What happened with the bamboo lounge chair business? Do you want me to pass on a message to Old Man Gao?"
Apart from this, he didn't know what else Lin Shu could ask him for.
Lin Shu couldn't help but glance at Zhou Ye and said with a smile, "I was planning to wait until the roof was replaced before talking about it. Now that Ah Ye has already mentioned it to Old Man Liao, it makes no difference what I say now..."
After hearing what Lin Shu said, Old Man Liao remained silent for a long time.
"Why did you react like that, Old Man Liao? Didn't you say you really liked the food that my mother and I cooked? If you come to my house for dinner one day, you can eat it every day."
Old Man Liao's throat was dry. "Whose idea was this? Did your parents agree?"
Lin Shu said, "It was my mother's idea, and my father thought it was a good idea too."
Old Man Liao didn't really like to smile, but he had been enjoying himself at the Lin family's house for the past two days, which had led to him smiling more. But now, not even a hint of a smile was left on his face. His stubborn temper suddenly flared up, and he looked extremely serious with a stern face.
"Do you feel sorry for me, an old man?" he asked.
"Old man Liao, look at what you're saying! What's the point of being pitiful? You have to be given rice when you come to my house for dinner. We just think it's inconvenient for you to be alone at home. You're not lazy, it's just that it's hard to cook for one person, right? In hot weather, you can't leave leftovers, or you'll get upset easily. That's why we thought of having you come to my house to eat together. When the weather cools down, you don't have to worry about having a hard time cooking a meal, or having leftovers and wasting them. If you want to come over and eat for free, I won't be happy to help you."
After hearing this, Old Man Liao was both angry and amused, but he was not as annoyed as before.
Listen, listen, he is the elder, and this little girl dares to talk to him like this. It can be seen that Ping'er has been spoiled by Lin Laoer and his wife.
And Zhou Ye! Zhou Ye also spoiled her.
Lin Shu spread her hands after she finished speaking and concluded, "That's what I mean. If you're craving the food I make, come and make sure you bring a month's worth of food. If not, forget it. Just pretend I never said anything today."
Old Man Liao: ...
Are you inviting someone in or kicking them out? The little girl has a bad temper.
Old man Liao hesitated for a moment, but still didn't agree immediately. "I have to go back and think about this matter. I'll give you a definite answer in a couple of days after the roof is replaced."
Lin Shu said, "Don't worry, take your time to think about it. It doesn't matter if it takes ten days or half a month. In fact, I also think it's troublesome. Look, you live at the end of the village. It takes a long time to walk here every day. If you drive a bullock cart, it will be very conspicuous. Then everyone in the village will know that you come to my house for free meals."
Old Man Liao: ...
Old man Liao couldn't help but argue with her, "If I came to your house for dinner, you would definitely give me my share of rice. How can this be considered as freeloading? It sounds like begging."
Lin Shu said confidently, "No one else knows."
The two argued for a long time, and the topic gradually deviated. In the end, Old Man Liao, who had originally said that he would go back and think about it carefully, agreed in a daze.
After the others left, Lin Xiaopu, who had witnessed the old man Liao's emotional ups and downs throughout the whole process, showed an expression of extreme admiration.
Awesome, sister is really awesome!
This morning she saw her father and mother worrying about how to bring up this matter, but when her father and mother were not around, her sister had already solved the matter on her own. Although Old Man Liao agreed to it reluctantly, he was very happy when he left!
Zhou Ye also looked at Lin Shu, his expression thoughtful.
Lin Shu glanced at the two of them, and asked with a raised lip, "Are you stunned? One or two of them usually learn from each other."
"What are you learning? Are you learning how to speak different things to different people?" Lin Xiaopu laughed and ran away immediately.
Lin Shu didn't chase him, she couldn't outrun Lin Xiaopu, but she put her hands on her hips and looked at Zhou Ye, "Aye, hurry up, help me catch Xiaopu, there will be a reward if you catch him!"
Lin Xiaopu was amused when he heard this. "Brother Aye is a big man, so he won't get involved in our playful fights."
As soon as she finished speaking, Zhou Ye moved and actually walked towards her obediently.
Zhou Ye took big steps, and when Lin Xiaopu was still stunned, he caught her and brought her directly to Lin Shu. At the end, Zhou Ye did not forget to teach Lin Xiaopu a lesson, "Your sister is not easy to get angry, don't get angry with her."
Lin Xiaopu: ...
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