Chapter 167: Intimate She could sense that Aye liked Dashan...
After getting up the next day, Lin Shu went to check the ice cubes she had stored.
Every household has rice husks and bran. Crush the husks and bran and mix them with the rice husks to feed pigs and chickens. In times of famine, these can also help alleviate hunger, so villagers keep some on hand just in case.
Lin Shu asked He Guixiang for a bag of rice husks, buried the bamboo tube containing ice in the rice husks, and covered it with several layers of straw. Sure enough, the ice melted very slowly.
Lin Shu parted the straw, fished out the bamboo cup buried in the rice husks, and removed the cloth stopper to peer inside. The ice had long since melted into water, but when she reached out and touched it, she could still feel a lingering icy sensation. Considering how much the ice had melted in the bamboo cup before bed the previous night, Lin Shu deduced that if stored properly, it would easily last at least three hours!
As for the saltpeter solution used to make ice yesterday, she put it in an old ceramic pot and heated it up. Saltpeter crystals then precipitated out of it. After drying and storing, it can be used repeatedly.
"Sister, sister!" Lin Xiaopu shouted, "Uncle Zhao and Aunt Lin have moved in! Mother has already gone over to help. Should we go and take a look too?"
"Of course I have to go." Lin Shu replied, and went to Uncle Zhao's house diagonally across the street with Lin Xiaopu.
Last night, Lin Zhaodi and Zhao San asked Old Man Liao to order an ox cart in advance, and then early this morning they went to the old carpenter's house in the next village and brought back a wooden bed board, a wooden table, and four benches.
The items were ordered long ago, and you can get them back once you pay the money.
Originally, only two benches were needed, but later Lin Zhaodi added two more, planning to take them to the town when she sold ice jelly in the future.
Then there were the clay pots, clay jars, buckets, water jars, as well as daily necessities such as oil, salt, sauce and vinegar. After discussing it with Old Man Liao in advance, he also helped bring them back from the town.
After buying all the things, the couple had only a few coins left.
Because there were not many things at home, Zhao Laosan did not ask others for help, but after Old Man Liao unloaded the things, he lent a hand and worked with him to move the wooden bed and table into the house.
Not long after, He Guixiang from the house across the street also came to help and did some washing chores with Lin Zhaodi.
He Guixiang brought a bucket of water when she went there.
"Zhao Di, you know I have spring water coming down from the back mountain. It's very convenient. If you need water in the future, you can just go to my yard and get it. You don't have to ask Brother Zhao Sandi to go to the river and get some. It's very troublesome."
Lin Zhaodi hurriedly said, "Thank you for your kindness, Sister He. But it's only for today, not in the future."
He Guixiang explained, "Now that you've separated from the family, Zhao San is the only laborer in the family. He has to do all the rough work. If you don't feel sorry for him, who else will? If you're embarrassed to knock on my door so early in the morning, then come over after dinner every day and get two buckets of water."
Lin Zhaodi thought about it and felt that this was the truth. She replied shyly, "Sister-in-law, you are right. Then I will boldly agree to it."
He Guixiang glanced around and saw the empty firewood shed. She said, "Go to my firewood shed later and get a bundle of firewood. You can return it later."
When the thatched house was built, the stove and firewood shed were also built. However, now that Lin Zhaodi and her husband have just moved into their new home, the firewood shed is still empty.
Lin Zhaodi agreed and was very grateful.
"Sister-in-law He, breakfast is so rushed, so I won't invite you over. I'll make something sumptuous for dinner, and you and your whole family can come over, and we can sit together and have a good meal!"
He Guixiang smiled and replied, "Okay, I'll come over to help you prepare dinner."
When Lin Shu and Lin Xiaopu arrived, Aunt Lin had already packed up most of the things in the yard. However, the two sisters did not come empty-handed. Instead, they brought bamboo tubes, bamboo spoons, and chopsticks.
"Xiao Pu and I thought you'd need some bottles and jars, so we brought some bamboo tubes. They were sawed off by Aye a few days ago. The bamboo spoons and chopsticks are also new."
Lin Zhaodi accepted it and thanked him happily.
Although they are just some bamboo tubes, one has to go to the mountain to cut down bamboos and saw them down one by one. It is not so easy to get them. But for her and Zhao San now, these little gadgets are very useful.
After helping to clean up, He Guixiang's mother and her three children finally said goodbye and left. Lin Zhaodi reminded them again and again, "You must come to my house for dinner. And Brother Liao, you should come too!"
Old man Liao agreed without much hesitation. Now he was eating comfortably at Lin Dashan's house, smiling more often, and no longer dwelling on trivial matters. He didn't have many years to live anyway, so why bother thinking so much?
"Dad Liao, if you don't go to town today, come to my house for breakfast later." Lin Shu said.
Old man Liao waved his hand and said, "I just came here today because Zhao Laosan and his wife are moving and need a bullock cart. I have to go to town soon."
Lin Shu then gave up.
After returning to their own courtyard, Lin Xiaopu asked, "Sister, why didn't you tell Aunt Lin about selling ice jelly?"
"Why rush? They've just finished their work, so they'll definitely have a lot to talk about. When we go to Auntie Lin's for dinner, we can just mention this. Old Man Liao is here too, so we can talk to him about it."
Unexpectedly, before dinner, when Lin Shu got up from her nap, an uninvited guest came to her house.
As soon as she saw the person coming, she guessed his purpose.
"Ashu, go wash your face and come here. Your Aunt Li has something to tell you." He Guixiang said and exchanged glances with Lin Shu.
Lin Shu smiled shyly, "I didn't get up until now, and Aunt Li laughed at me."
Li Chunmiao said hurriedly: "What a joke, Ah Shu's brain works a lot every day, so it's normal for her to be more tired than the average person!"
Lin Xiaopu, who was practicing calligraphy at the table, smiled secretly. Aunt Li wanted to ask something of her elder sister, so she actually lied with her eyes open.
After Lin Shu finished washing and sat down, Li Chunmiao spoke again, "Shu, auntie has an unreasonable request. You see...Alas, my son Yin Gen has been playing with Xiao Pu recently, and he has become a lot more sensible. Yesterday, he even made a few bowls of ice sweet water for me and asked his grandparents to drink it! This kid used to cause trouble for me every few days, and I had to clean up his mess all day long, but last night he actually learned to be filial..." As Li Chunmiao spoke, she actually wiped away her tears.
"The Wang family has only one child. His father, grandparents, and I all hope for the best for him. We don't expect him to be particularly successful. We just hope he can learn a few characters and understand some principles like little Pu. Auntie knows this is a bit unreasonable, but I still want to ask you, Ah Shu, when you teach little Pu every day, can you also ask my son Yin Gen to sit by and listen? You don't have to pay special attention to him. Just listen as much as he can, okay?"
Lin Shu was slightly stunned. She really didn't expect that Aunt Li, who usually looked smart and bold, was particularly cautious in this matter, as if she was afraid of angering her.
"Aunt Li, I thought it was no big deal. Of course there's no problem with that!" Lin Shu responded readily.
Li Chunmiao didn't expect Lin Shu to agree. Not only did she agree, but she also agreed so readily. So why had she been so worried these days?
She immediately slapped her thigh and said, "Ah Shu, I really don't know how to thank you!"
Lin Shu smiled slightly, "Aunt, I have no problem with this, but this matter depends on whether Wang Yingen is willing or not. If he is unwilling, he will not be able to sit still if you forcibly detain his people here."
Li Chunmiao immediately said, "Don't worry, Ah Shu, I will make sure he sits down and listens to you!"
Lin Shu nodded, "Okay then, he can come over whenever he wants."
Li Chunmiao got what he wanted and his face was full of smiles.
After everyone left, Lin Xiaopu shook his head pretentiously, "Even if Aunt Li tried her best to persuade Wang Yingen to agree, within three days Wang Yingen would be restless. Don't I know him well? Mother and sister, just wait and see if this is what I said."
He Guixiang hit her and said, "You, just say this in private, but don't say it in front of your Aunt Li."
Lin Xiaopu grinned, "Mother, do you think I'm stupid? I only say things like this in front of my family."
Lin Shu also understood what Lin Xiaopu said, but she had her own thoughts on the matter.
After finishing teaching Lin Xiaopu in the main hall, Lin Shu stared blankly outside the yard.
Lin Xiaopu was practicing the characters she'd learned today on a bamboo slip. Seeing her absent-minded, she rolled her eyes and asked with a chuckle, "Are you thinking about Brother Aye? Except for the last time he came back late after hunting the wild boar, Brother Aye usually comes back around this time, so I figured he'd be back soon today too."
Lin Shu glared at her. "Who said I missed him? I just wanted him to hunt some game. I couldn't bear to eat the pheasant I hunted last time. I was planning to stew it with taro stems, but then he hunted wild duck and stewed that first. This time, when Ah Ye comes back with a few more pheasants, we'll kill and eat the ones we raised earlier."
Lin Xiaopu smiled and did not refute.
She was also greedy. Although Brother Aye hunted these to exchange for money in town, if Sister asked for some, Brother Aye would definitely keep them for the family.
The two sisters thought Zhou Ye would definitely come back today, but unexpectedly, Zhou Ye was nowhere to be seen until their mother went to Aunt Lin's house to help prepare dinner.
He Guixiang looked a little worried, but she tried to comfort them, saying, "Your father told me that Ah Ye had informed him before he left. I'm afraid we'll have to spend two nights in the mountains this time."
When she found out, she complained to Lin Dashan that he hadn't stopped her. It was so dangerous in the mountains. She could have stayed there for one night, but she had to stay there for two. But Lin Dashan said that it was A Ye's own insistence and he couldn't stop her. He could only let her go.
Hearing this, Lin Shu comforted He Guixiang, "Mother, don't you know Ah Ye's abilities? He must want to hunt more pheasants and rabbits this time, so he wants to stay another day."
But she felt quite regretful in her heart, regretting that her body was too weak in this life.
Without the tremendous strength she awakened in her previous life, her hearing and sense of smell were not as sharp as in her previous life. In this life, she was just an ordinary person. Even if she could still use the tricks she accumulated in actual combat, it would be useless if she could not keep up the strength and speed.
If she were herself in her previous life, she would go to the mountains to look for Aye without hesitation, and she could also go hunting in the mountains with Aye.
But now she can only wait outside like her parents, hoping and praying that everything goes well for him.
Logically, Lin Shu should have told Ah Ye to go to the mountains less often, just like her parents did, but...
Not to mention that A Ye went to the mountains this time to save money for his wife, even if he had no other reason and just wanted to go into the mountains, Lin Shu would not stop him.
Because she could feel that Aye liked the mountains.
The last time A Ye took her to the mountains, this rough guy was obviously more relaxed than usual. He looked so at ease and contented, as if he was the king of the mountains.
Lin Shu likes A Ye like this.
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