Chapter 124 Two-in-One I listen to Ah Shu, she said when to get married, ...
When Lin Shu said this, she leaned close to Zhou Ye, and her breath was as sweet as orchid in his ear.
Zhou Ye didn't know what he was thinking about, and his eyes became blank for a moment.
He quickly hummed and replied, "I understand."
"Ah Shu, did you see the wild flowers I picked today? They're on the table. I replaced them with a fresh bunch."
Lin Shu smiled with her eyes curved. "Of course I saw it. These wild flowers aren't aquatic plants, so even if they were placed in water, they wouldn't survive more than three days. They were already a little wilted last night, but this bunch is in full bloom this morning, and the fragrance is so strong. I can tell they're new. But Ah Ye, are you going to give me a bunch every day from now on?"
Zhou Ye said, "I get up early, and even if I don't do anything on weekdays, I will go to the mountains to get spring water. I can easily pick these wild flowers. From now on, I will pick a bunch for you every day."
Lin Shu smiled sweetly upon hearing this, but she said, "Don't say that carelessly. If you forget one day, I'll be very angry."
Zhou Ye looked at her, his eyes calm and his tone serious, "I won't forget."
Lin Shu stared at him for a long moment, then averted her gaze and slapped her face with both hands. "I, I'm going to help Mom make breakfast!"
After saying that, he turned and ran away.
Zhou Ye didn't follow. He watched her trot over to the stove, where Xiao Pu's joking teasing made him so annoyed that he tickled her, causing her to burst into laughter. Aunt He, beside him, shook her head helplessly, as if to say: Here we go again, these two sisters do this every day.
Zhou Ye curled his lips slightly and continued to work on the bamboo.
Compared to the bamboo lounge chair, the steps for making a bamboo rocking chair are also very complicated, and there are even more places that need to be spliced and matched, especially the curved seat, which needs to be densely covered with bamboo strips.
Zhou Ye's bamboo craftsmanship wasn't as good as Grandpa Gao's, but he had good accuracy with his axe and kitchen knife, and his split bamboo strips were uniform in width. Then there was the rocking chair base; the curves on both sides needed to be exactly the same for it to rock properly. But that wasn't a difficult task for Zhou Ye. He would just put two bamboo tubes of the same thickness over the fire and then bend them both.
By the stove, He Guixiang had already started to make a fire and cook. After Lin Shu and Lin Xiaopu played around for a while, they carried a wooden barrel out of the kitchen and planned to go to the field to catch some loaches and snails.
Old man Liao had tasted Lin Shu's cooking yesterday, and after hearing Zhou Ye say that loach and snails were delicious, he had been thinking about them since yesterday.
Lin Shu also thought about not eating fish. After all, it was too troublesome to just go to the fish pond to catch fish. When Grandpa Gao left today, she mentioned that she wanted a fish basket. Grandpa Gao readily agreed, saying that fish baskets were easy to weave and that he would ask Uncle Gao to send it to her when he had time to weave it.
When we eat fish at home, we can use this fish basket to catch as many fish as we want.
Not long after the two sisters left the yard, they saw three people coming towards them from afar.
"Sister, the one leading the group seems to be the village head! Behind them...behind them are Uncle Zhao and Aunt Lin." After Lin Xiaopu recognized the wrong person, she wondered, "What are they doing here?"
Lin Shu paused and said, "Nine out of ten it's about the land."
Lin Xiaopu's mouth opened wide. "Are Uncle Zhao and Aunt Lin also going to come to the end of the village to build a house?"
Lin Shu asked her, "Why did Dad and Mom choose this place at the end of the village, near the back mountain? We live the farthest away in the whole village."
Lin Xiaopu said, "Didn't I tell my sister? Back then, Dad had a falling out with his eldest and third uncles, and the Lin family's old house was at the end of the village, so it was left to his eldest uncle. Dad was very angry, so he chose the farthest place to build his house."
As soon as Lin Xiaopu finished speaking, she realized, "Uncle Zhao and Aunt Lin are often gossiped about by the idle men and women in the village. They're tired of it, so they just live farther away to avoid having to deal with the villagers?"
For example, the area at the entrance of the village has a lot of flat land, and many families build their houses close to each other, so they often come and go on weekdays.
On the contrary, there are many hills and bumps at the end of the village, and few villagers build houses here, so the houses are sparsely populated.
For example, the family closest to them was about twenty or thirty feet away. Normally, A Niang didn't have much contact with the aunt in that family, and would only say hello when she met her passing by.
Most of the people who come to the end of the village to build houses don't like to interact with others.
Now if Uncle Zhao and Aunt Lin also come to the end of the village to build a house, it won’t be too far away from them, and it will be convenient for the two families to visit each other.
"Sister, should we go and take a look?" Lin Xiaopu asked.
"Of course. From now on, our two families will be close neighbors. We should have a harmonious relationship and help each other out if anything happens. For example, if Ah Ye wants to replace the roof these days, there's no need to go all the way to ask Old Man Liao for help. Isn't it better to find Uncle Zhao nearby?"
Lin Xiaopu: "That's just an excuse that Aye-san made. According to what I said, the closest one is our father. Replacing the roof is not a big deal. It only takes Aye-san and father."
Lin Shu pinched her nose and said, "I was just making an analogy. You're the smart one."
Lin Xiaopu's eyes suddenly widened. "Sister, Aunt Lin seemed to have seen us. I made eye contact with her!"
Lin Shule said, "Why are you looking at me? Just call someone. Ping'er, you're always making so much noise at home. You don't look shy at all. This is right in front of your own house. How dare you call someone?"
Lin Xiaopu pouted when she heard this, "Who said I don't dare? I, I'll scream for you right now!"
Lin Shu stood still, arms folded across her chest, looking at her calmly, smiling and urging her, "Come on, shout! Why don't you shout? Why don't you shout?"
Seeing that she didn't believe him at all, Lin Xiaopu was so angry that his cheeks puffed up. He immediately shouted to the people in the distance: "Grandpa Village Head - Uncle Zhao - Aunt Lin -"
Three extremely loud shouts attracted the attention of the three people in the distance.
After Lin Xiaopu finished shouting, he met the gaze of his elders and his face turned red with embarrassment.
Just when she was feeling uncomfortable, her elder sister followed her and shouted.
Lin Xiaopu immediately breathed a sigh of relief. Her elder sister was shouting even louder than her, but she didn't think it was a big deal and even waved at them.
Lin Shu took Lin Xiaopu's hand and quickened their pace, heading straight towards the few people.
Villagers who want to build houses or enclose land must get the approval of the village head before they can do so. Otherwise, if the base is located next to someone else's field or the location of the foundation is inappropriate, the village head will be held responsible if any accidents occur in the future.
On this side, Zhao San and Lin Zhaodi have not yet found a good place. Either the place is flat but too dry or too wet to lay the foundation, or the area on the slope is small, only enough to barely build a house, and there is no way to enclose a courtyard.
Although it was still early, the village head was sweating from walking. Zhao Laosan and his wife said they had picked out a spot, so he followed them to take a look. It turned out the land was unsuitable for foundations. He then led them to search the area at the end of the village, but couldn't find a suitable spot.
"There's no such thing as an overnight grudge between a father and a son. I'm telling you two, why did you have to cause such a scene and even build a house at the end of the village?"
When Lin Shu greeted them, the village head was persuading the two to move to another location to build a house.
Seeing the eldest daughter of Lin Laoer coming, the head of the village couldn't help but stop.
This girl is a lucky girl. She has been a marquis' daughter in the capital for so long. Even though she has fallen on hard times in Tianshui Village, the village head dare not neglect her. As the head of this village, he naturally thinks much more than many people.
Lin Shu was also looking at the village head inconspicuously.
The village chief was a very spirited old man. Lin Shu had rarely seen him, except on the day she returned to Tianshui Village, when she saw him speaking to Shi Qing with his back bent. Even though he didn't know the identity of Shi Qing, the driver, the village chief was respectful to him.
In Lin Shu's opinion, Li Zheng is a person with sharp intuition and great wisdom in life.
In Tianshui Village, the elders of the village are all called Grandpa, but everyone calls the head of the village "Grandpa", which is also a unique title for the head of the village.
Lin Shu approached and called out to a few more people, then asked with a smile, "I saw you from afar and guessed that Uncle Zhao and Aunt Lin wanted to build a house nearby. I wonder if you've chosen a good spot yet. If not, I happen to have a good spot right here."
Lin Zhaodi sighed, "Ah Shu, we've looked around here and there's no suitable place. Your Uncle Zhao and I are planning to go to the back mountain."
The place Lin Dashan chose is already the farthest. If he goes further to the other side of the mountain, it would be like living alone in another world.
"How come there is nothing there? Aunt Lin, how about taking a look over there?" Lin Shu pointed to a low slope in front.
The low slope was just across from their courtyard, only about ten feet away, and in front of it was a large flat area. Uncle Zhao and Aunt Lin were just the two of them, so even if they had more children in the future, there was enough space to build a small three-bedroom house.
Lin Zhaodi hesitated and said, "Actually, I had my eye on this place at first, but not only does the low slope block the sunlight, but it also makes it hard to define a courtyard. There are only small slopes all around."
Another thing she didn't say was that this place was too close to Lin Laoer's house. Some people don't like others to be too close to them. She didn't know whether Ah Shu minded or not, but now she knew that Ah Shu didn't mind at all.
Lin Shu asked, "If there wasn't that low slope in front, do you think this courtyard could be enclosed, Aunt Lin?"
Lin Zhaodi glanced at the area again and nodded. "If it weren't for the low slope ahead, it would be possible. We could find more people to flatten and compact the surrounding area."
Lin Shu smiled and said, "That's fine. If other places can be leveled, then the low slope in front can be leveled as well. I've already checked, and it's all dirt. It's not difficult to level, but it will take a little longer."
Lin Zhaodi thought to herself that she just didn't want to waste any more time.
When building a house, you definitely need to ask the villagers for help, and this help will include two meals a day. The longer you work, the more meals they will provide. This is all money!
It would be enough to just find someone to flatten the small slopes around. It would only take an extra day or two, but if the low slope in front also needs to be flattened, it would take more than just one or two days.
Lin Shu knew what she was worried about, and then added, "Build the house, level the land, and enclose the low slope in the courtyard. Then, after you move in, we can slowly shovel it. I'll ask Ah Ye to come and help. He can do the work of five people. If he can't finish it in three days, then we can finish it in half a month or a month. It's hot now, and this low slope will provide you with shade. As for Ah Ye, I'll owe him a few meals. If Aunt Lin really chooses this place, it will be convenient for us to move around in the future, so there's no need to worry about not being able to come back for a few meals."
When Lin Zhaodi heard this, her eyes lit up slightly and she immediately looked at Zhao San.
Zhao San nodded without thinking, "Lin Shu's idea is feasible, let's do it this way." Mainly, his wife likes it too.
When the village head heard they had finally made up their minds, he finally relaxed and pointed out the approximate area for them. "The yard can only extend to this side at most. If you defecate any further, you'll end up on the road."
Zhao Laosan nodded and said, "I know, I know. I'll trouble you to go with me today."
The village head waved his hand and said, "Don't be polite. Live a peaceful life with your wife in the future. By the way, have you found enough people here? If not, I'll go and make a fuss."
There was a situation in the village where a family with a bad reputation was building a house, but few villagers were willing to help, for fear that they would not even have enough to eat two meals a day. However, if the village head personally came forward to make the connection, the other party would not be able to deny it even if they wanted to, and naturally more people would be willing to help.
Zhao Laosan declined the headman's kindness, but he could still find a few people.
"Okay, then you'll live here from now on. Since the weather is good these few days, you can start laying the foundation tomorrow."
The village headman resolved the matter and left. Before leaving, he said a few polite words to Lin Shu, asking her whether she was used to living there and whether she could go to his eldest daughter-in-law if she encountered any problems, as his eldest daughter-in-law was in charge of the affairs of the women in the village.
Lin Shu agreed obediently and thanked him for his kindness. As expected of a village head, whether he could do it or not was one thing, but he really said it in a nice way.
"Ashu, let's go back first." Lin Zhaodi said.
Lin Shu hurriedly pulled her back and tried to persuade her to stay, saying, "Aunt Lin and Uncle Zhao are already at my door. Why don't you go in and have a drink? Come on, let's go inside and have a drink!"
Lin Zhaodi felt relieved to hear this, but she couldn't really stay. "Once the house is built, I'll come to see you every day. I really can't do that today. And since I saw you guys were carrying the barrels, I guess you have something else to do."
It was breakfast time now, and if they went, He would definitely ask her to stay and have dinner with Zhao San. She definitely couldn't go.
"I'm going to the fields with Xiao Pu to catch loaches. But Aunt Lin, why don't you come to my house and visit us?"
Lin Zhaodi hurriedly said to do it another day.
"Okay, then let's talk about it after Aunt Lin and Uncle Zhao move in!"
"By the way, Aunt Lin, I heard from my mother that they were very short of money when they just separated. They borrowed money from several families and just managed to get through the first two months. I recently did a business in town and made a lot of money. I can't use this money yet, so you and Uncle Zhao can use it first!" Lin Shu said.
Lin Zhaodi was stunned.
Asking for a loan was a difficult thing to do. Zhao San had borrowed some money from a few families, but the small sums she'd received totaled less than a hundred yuan. She didn't have many friends in Tianshui Village, except for Li Chunmiao, and she hadn't figured out how to approach him.
Unexpectedly, it was Lin Shu who brought up the matter first.
How could there be people in this world who could talk about something like borrowing money in such a way that makes people feel comfortable, without feeling embarrassed at all, as if borrowing money is not a big deal?
The most important thing is that the money Lin Shu wanted to borrow was earned by herself, so she can make the decision on her own.
Although Lin Zhaodi was curious about the deal Lin Shu was talking about, now was not the time to talk about it. She immediately squeezed Lin Shu's hand and said, "Ah Shu, I won't be polite with you. Your Uncle Zhao and I still have some money. If it's really not enough, I will come to ask you for a loan."
"Okay, it's settled then."
After sending Uncle Zhao and Aunt Lin away, Lin Shu went to her own fields with Lin Xiaopu.
"Sister, I don't quite understand. Didn't you say that the business of selling chicken mushroom sauce should be kept secret? Although you didn't say what business you were doing, you talked to Aunt Lin about making money and specifically said that you made a lot. But you didn't even tell Aunt San in detail." Lin Xiaopu said.
"I didn't go into detail with Aunt Lin. I just said I'd made a lot. She's short on cash now, and I'm willing to lend her what I've earned. She's definitely hoping I can earn more. And Aunt Lin is a very measured person. Did she ask me what kind of business I was doing?"
Lin Xiaopu seemed to be lost in thought, and suddenly asked, "Sister, are you saying different things to different people?"
After saying this, Lin Xiaopu, who had already predicted Lin Shu's next move, immediately ran away, so that the hand that Lin Shu had just stretched out was stuck in mid-air.
Lin Xiaopu burst into laughter.
Lin Shu: ...
Childish ghost.
~
When Old Man Liao slowly arrived at Old Man Lin's house, the aroma of rice was already wafting out of the courtyard. The overbearing fragrance made Old Man Liao walk a little faster.
Today's breakfast was not much different from yesterday's, except that the stewed fish was replaced with braised loach, and the fried noodle cakes were replaced with a full plate of stir-fried snails.
Yesterday, Lin Shu saw that Old Man Liao not only liked sweet food but also spicy food, so she braised the loach and stir-fried the snails with peppercorns and dogwood fruit. She also made two plates of it, one with a stronger flavor.
Old man Liao was very satisfied with the meal. He even liked the braised loach better than the stewed grass carp with many bones.
I never thought that the dirt in the fields could be made to taste so good!
Seeing that he was satisfied with the meal, He Guixiang and others were also very happy. After all, Old Man Liao had made a great contribution to doing business with Grandpa Gao's family this time.
Even though he was just a middleman, he actually played a big role. Everyone in Tianshui Village knew that Old Man Liao never lied and meant what he said. With him passing the word, the deal immediately became much more reliable.
After eating and drinking, Old Man Liao did not delay. He did not even lie on Lin Laoer's bamboo lounge chair for a while. He called Zhou Ye and left.
Seeing Zhou Ye with his axe on his waist, Old Man Liao said happily: "Why do you need an axe to cut the bark? Look, when I passed by Old Man Gao's house, I borrowed two cleavers from him. These cleavers are very useful for cutting and scraping the bark."
Zhou Ye took the cleaver but did not draw the axe from his waist. He was used to using this axe and could easily cut the bark with it.
"Aye, wait a moment." Lin Shu called out to the two of them, "You and Old Man Liao each carry a bamboo tube of water, drink it if you're thirsty on the way."
She handed out two bamboo cups, which were already filled with spring water. The bamboo cups were tightly plugged with corks to ensure that the water would not overflow even if the water was shaken.
"Be careful on the road, okay?" Lin Shu reminded.
Zhou Ye and Old Man Liao were heading to the deep mountains three miles away, where fir trees were most abundant, and the bark of these trees was used to build thatched houses. Although they weren't going deep into the mountains, they still had to be wary of insects and snakes.
Zhou Ye had no idea how many times he had been to the mountains, so he didn't need Lin Shu to remind him of this. However, he still sighed and replied seriously, "Don't worry, I know."
After the two of them walked out of the courtyard gate and got further and further away, Old Man Liao couldn't help but click his tongue several times.
"We haven't even gotten married yet, and you're already acting like a daughter-in-law, taking care of everything. I say, Aye boy, what are you two waiting for? Get things done soon. Even if you're not anxious, I'm anxious for you!"
Zhou Ye didn't know what he was thinking about, and his eyes softened for a moment, "I'll listen to Ah Shu. I'll get married whenever she says to."
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