Chapter 202: Busy While the other villagers were still sighing in confusion, Lin...
After hearing what her father-in-law said, Mrs. Wu turned around and left without saying a word.
Lin Datian's eyes widened, and he hurriedly called out to her, "Stop right there! Boss, why don't you grab your wife!"
"Oh oh." Lin Duocang held Wu, not daring to use much force with his hands.
Wu pretended to be pulled back, stopped, and yelled, "Why are you pulling me? Are you going to watch your parents starve me to death?"
Lin Datian's face turned pale. "You stinky bitch! Look at what kind of daughter-in-law you found for the boss. If she goes around saying something, will we still be able to survive in the village?"
Still resentful of the slap he'd given her earlier, the bitch Zhang Lamei sarcastically said, "I didn't choose this eldest daughter-in-law on my own. It was you who said her family was barely a farming and scholarly family that allowed the eldest son to marry her."
Lin Datian was speechless. After a while, he suppressed his anger and said, "Give them two bowls of rice to stop them from making trouble!"
Seeing her father-in-law so angry, Wu decided to stop and soften her attitude, crying, "Father-in-law, I didn't mean to contradict you and mother-in-law. I was just starving, and your grandchildren are crying for food! I was wrong about what happened yesterday. I shouldn't have left without waiting for your and mother-in-law's approval. I was just afraid that if I left too late, I would be a burden to you and mother-in-law." Lin Datian hated to see women cry. It sounded anxious, as if he, the old man, was bullying a woman. "Talk to me, why are you crying? Didn't I say I was leaving yesterday, and you and the eldest brother listened to me? You left without caring about anything and just left first."
Mrs. Wu sniffed, feeling even more aggrieved. "Although you persuaded your mother-in-law to go with you, you didn't hear what she said before. She didn't want to store food, and she even said that if there was a flood, she would go to the manure pit and eat feces. At this point, I think your mother-in-law would refuse to leave just to keep her breath, and you usually listen to her in everything..."
Mrs. Wu hadn't slept well last night. She had something on her mind, so how could she sleep peacefully?
Dividing the family in anger did give you some relief, but what happens after the division?
It is inconvenient for her to do anything now that she is pregnant. There are a lot of things waiting for her after the separation, and now is a special period, so I am afraid she will be even more tired.
After thinking about it this way, Wu gradually calmed down. She actually knew how to handle her mother-in-law and father-in-law, but she used to be too concerned about her reputation to do many things. But now she has come to terms with it.
Face and skin are not as important as one's own body. As long as she risks her face, she can have food and clothes.
She would never divide this family right now.
After hearing what his daughter-in-law said and seeing her surrender, Lin Datian's anger suddenly turned away and he said to Zhang Lamei, "I was wondering why you refused to leave yesterday. It turns out you were just trying to gamble. Eat shit, eat shit. Do you prefer to eat shit or die? Why are you swearing such a vicious oath for no reason? Aren't you ashamed?!"
Zhang Lamei felt guilty and said nothing.
Fortunately, few people heard her say she wanted to eat feces, otherwise she would have been really embarrassed.
Mrs. Wu is such a big mouth, she says all sorts of things!
She quickly took out two bowls of rice porridge and handed them out, trying to shut up Wu's bad mouth.
"Mom and Dad, it smells so good, hurry up and smell it!" Lin Duoliang said suddenly. He sniffed and stretched his neck to look at the aroma. "It's the grilled fish from my second uncle and second aunt's house. How is this grilled fish made? It smells so good!"
Zhang Lamei and Lin Datian also smelled the smell and swallowed their saliva one after another.
Everyone in the village said that Lin Shu was a good cook and the food she cooked was very delicious. It was said that the menu for the wedding banquet was drawn up by her, and most of the dishes on it were taught to He Guixiang by her. The villagers had a lot of aftertaste after eating them.
I didn’t expect that this girl could make the fish so delicious even if she just grilled it.
Lin Shu actually didn't do anything. She just sprinkled some salt and stuffed a few perilla leaves and a handful of green peppercorns into the fish's belly. She didn't have time to take away the perilla and green peppercorns planted in the vegetable patch, but she had some dried perilla leaves and peppercorns at home, so she took them with her when she left.
When grilling, brush a layer of oil on the fish, and the outer layer will be grilled to a golden brown. The fat on the fish belly will also be grilled out, sizzling with oil.
Zhou Ye took the oil jars at home, along with the several bags of wild boar lard that his mother had hung on the beams, to the cave along with the food. He was supposed to have no oil today, but several families had just traded their oil for fish. So, he had oil now.
Of course, the oil she got in return was not much, so she only dared to apply a light layer and had to eat it sparingly.
The fish cooked quickly, and the four big fish were all grilled while the rice porridge was still warm.
Lin Shu split two of the grilled fish in half, giving Lin Xiaopu and Liao Dunzi half a fish each, and A Niang and she half a fish each. The remaining two whole ones were given one each to Lin Dashan and Zhou Ye.
Lin Dashan thought his daughter's appetite had grown, so he switched with her, "Ah Shu, you eat the whole one, and Dad only needs half. Alas, Dad doesn't have to work in the fields today, so he won't get hungry that quickly."
When Lin Shu heard this, she also sighed.
The fields in the village are all canalized and lead directly to the river, but now the water level in the river has risen sharply and the water in the river cannot be drained out, so how can the water in the fields be drained?
This requires the government to be effective and to dredge the river and build embankments in a timely manner. After a flood, the poor drainage of the river is often due to silt and other debris. The most direct way to solve this problem is for the government to organize people to dredge the river and widen and deepen the river.
This flood is quite serious. The higher-ups have to rescue people and provide disaster relief, while also controlling the floods in a timely manner. I don’t know how capable the higher-ups are and whether they can handle it.
Thinking that Zhou Ye was different from other men in the village and liked to study everything, Lin Shu immediately asked him, "Aye, what is the background of our county magistrate? Is he reliable?"
Zhou Ye was surprised, but he quickly understood what Lin Shu meant. "The county above Jingxi Town is Taiping County. Our county magistrate has been in office for three years and has done nothing wrong. He's not a corrupt official, but he hasn't done much either."
Lin Shu: Okay, I understand. I’m just a lazy person, I’ll just live in seclusion if I can.
But she didn't believe that the salted fish was a salted fish from the beginning.
The appointment of local officials is based on a system of floating officials. They are not allowed to serve as officials in their native place, nor can they serve in one place for a long time. Their term is three years. After the term expires, they will be evaluated and transferred to another place. Whether they are promoted, demoted, or transferred horizontally depends on their performance in the three years.
Now that there is a flood, if the local officials fail to handle the situation properly, they may lose their official hats. However, if they perform well, they may take this opportunity to rise to a higher position.
Lin Shu only hopes that this official is not a useless person who only knows how to eat and wait for death. At least he can stand up after encountering problems, so that the losses caused by this flood can be minimized.
Zhou Ye looked at her and lowered his voice, "Ah Shu, the southwest is far away from the emperor. In my opinion, as long as the local officials are not greedy, they are better than many people."
Lin Shu agreed with this. Tianshui Village was already poor enough. If they really encountered a corrupt official who plundered the people's wealth, the people's lives would never be as good as they are now.
Zhou Ye continued, "In a small place like Tianshui Village, the county magistrate isn't the most important. What's important are the powerful, century-old clans in the town. Several of the wealthy families in Jingxi Town have decent family traditions. With these wealthy families in charge, there are fewer thugs and ruffians on the streets. Idlers and thieves are inevitable, and they happen everywhere. It's said that in some places, entire villages or even towns are plagued by thieves. If outsiders pass through, they will inevitably have their valuables stolen by the locals. If they're walking at night, the more extreme ones will even have their clothes stripped."
Lin Shu was shocked when she heard this. Suddenly, she thought of something and asked him, "Aye, did you encounter this kind of situation when you were fleeing the famine with your people?"
Zhou Ye paused, not expecting her to be so perceptive. He curled the corner of his lip slightly, "Ashu found us, but not while we were fleeing from the famine. Instead, it was when one of our clan members was going to the provincial capital to take the imperial examination. The clan selected a few strong and healthy members to escort him along the way, and I was one of them. That year, when we were traveling at night, a group of people suddenly rushed out from the grass by the roadside and tried to snatch our bags. Of course, I was there, so they didn't succeed. Later, we found out that in that area, passers-by were often robbed of their bags by nearby villagers and then fled. The victims didn't even see what the other party looked like, and with nowhere to turn, they had to accept the consequences. Those who were dressed in rags were fine, but those who were dressed a little more respectably might have their clothes and hairpins taken away."
Although it was a bit inappropriate, Lin Shu found it funny just thinking about the scene.
I don’t know how old A Ye was at that time, but seeing how excited he looked when he mentioned that incident, I think it must have been a very interesting thing in his life.
While the two were talking, they had almost finished the grilled fish in their hands. They took a sip of the fresh and delicious bamboo fungus porridge, and then took a bite of the crispy and tender fish meat that was grilled on the outside. Finally, after eating the whole big grilled fish and two full bamboo tubes of rice porridge, Lin Shu felt extremely comfortable.
Since she eats a lot, she won't eat it in vain. Although she can't do much in the fields right now, there are still many other things she can do.
Now that the sun was out, wet clothes, wet blankets, and other items that couldn't get damp were taken out to dry in the sun. The straw in the hut was also taken out to dry, so that when it dried, they would have a place to sleep at night.
The forest is densely covered with vegetation, so you need to find a place that can get enough sunlight. If you can't find one or the site is not big enough, you have to cut down some branches and leaves that block the sunlight.
The water outside had receded a lot, but the bamboo raft was still usable. She could use it to go around the village and take anything she could find useful, regardless of whose property it belonged to.
Find some more dry firewood and keep it there, the more the better.
Oh, and there are bamboo fungi. If no other villagers want to pick the bamboo fungi that emerge from the bamboo forest, she will keep a few to reproduce and pick all the rest, dry them, and store them. This thing is different from other mushrooms. If you don't pick it in time, it will dissolve on its own. Don't waste it.
There are plenty of chicken mushroom paste and blue-headed mushrooms, so you can pick them as you like and eat them, so there is no rush.
You can also pick more wild vegetables that can be dried. It’s always good to dry them and store them...
Lin Shu's mind was full of things to do. After having breakfast and taking a short rest, she started to take action.
While other villagers were still sighing in confusion, Lin Laoer and his family had already started to get busy.
Lin Shu found three big trees that were not far apart. She cut off some of the branches on the sides so that the space between the two trees could receive sufficient sunlight.
Zhou Ye quickly chopped off the extra branches with an axe, and then tied a rope between the three big trees. After tying two by two, it became three clotheslines.
Once the clothesline was in place, He Guixiang immediately spread out the bedding and clothing that needed to be dried, including three bamboo mats. With so many items spread out to dry, it was surprisingly more than enough.
Zhou Ye then found a few flat stones that could be used to place things, placed them one by one, and placed all the spice jars in the house and Lin Shu's tea jars with herbal tea on them to dry. These things cannot be exposed to moisture.
There were a lot of things at home, and most of the jars and cans could not be taken away. After all, they were heavy and took up space. However, Zhou Ye did not leave behind any of Lin Shu's small bottles and jars.
While the adults were busy, the two children, Lin Xiaopu and Liao Dunzi, were also busy. After receiving a new task, they emptied their backpacks and went to the bamboo forest to pick bamboo fungus. After returning with half a basket of bamboo fungus, they spread it out on a stone platform to dry, intending to prepare it as a dried food.
Lin Laoer's family looked so busy that people who didn't know them might think that they were not coming to the mountain to seek refuge, but were going to live there from then on.
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