Chapter 53 What to do if there are too many brothers
The period after spring plowing is a relatively free time for farmers. Once summer comes, they have to start busying themselves with weeding, fertilizing and watering the fields.
The Gu family has not been too busy recently, so Gu Weidong started thinking about doing business in the city. In the autumn, he started harvesting cotton, rolled the cotton into bags and sold them in the city. This would definitely make money.
But doing this requires capital, it is impossible to do it with nothing.
In order to save some money, he now goes up the mountain day and night to pick rattan and apricot branches. After coming back, he starts to weave baskets and sell them at the market.
Miao Xiujiu knew what her youngest son was planning. Although he didn't say it, she understood it in her heart as a mother.
While washing the locust flowers in the basin, Miao Xiuju glanced at her little son in the yard, who was working hard, working harder than anyone else.
She shook her head and sighed softly.
At this time, several children came home from school and rushed into the house excitedly: "Grandma, what are we eating today?"
When Miao Xiuju saw her grandchildren, her slight annoyance vanished instantly, and her face became as big as a date pit. "Today we're eating locust flower dumplings!"
When the children heard about the sophora japonica knots, their eyes suddenly lit up.
The locust flowers are in bloom this month. Pingxi Production Brigade is at the foot of the mountain. There are many locust trees around, and the whole village is filled with a faint sweet fragrance.
The clusters of locust flowers on the branches are as white as white jade slices. Children climb up the tree to pick a bunch and put it in their mouths. They are soft and cool, with a light locust flower fragrance and a sweet taste. Naturally, they taste good.
Life is tough these days, and now is the lean season, so who wouldn't want more food? With the arrival of spring, the mountains are full of wild vegetables, and children run all over the mountains after school, just to find something to eat.
Now that the locust flowers are in full bloom, the children go to pick them. They grab the branches and pick a handful of white locust flowers with their hands, which fall into the bamboo basket as lightly as snow.
After Miao Xiujiu washed the locust flowers, she mixed them with the leftover corn flour at home, spread a full layer of them on the cage cloth, and then started to light a fire to steam them.
When the water in the steaming pot is bubbling, the locust flower dumplings are almost done. The cornmeal has absorbed the fragrance of the locust flowers at this time. As soon as the pot is opened, the hot steam rushes over, and the aroma of the locust flower dumplings makes people drool.
Miao Xiujiu gave the garlic mortar and garlic cloves to a few children, asking them to peel and mash the garlic. She took some chili peppers, rubbed a little bit of meat oil on them and fried them. After they were fried, she added chopped green onions, vinegar, soy sauce, salt, and finally the mashed garlic made by the children.
As soon as the locust flower dumplings were served on the table, not only did the children clamor for them, but even the adults all looked at the condiments and couldn't help swallowing their saliva.
You should know that there are many ways to eat locust flowers. To save food, villagers often mix them with their regular household grains before steaming them. Rural residents only have about 30 to 60 kilograms of grain for the year. During this time of year, when the new grain hasn't arrived yet and the old grain is almost gone, everyone has to tighten their belts. Therefore, most people eat dried sweet potato noodles, which are harsh on the throat and difficult to swallow.
This kind of dried sweet potato noodles will naturally taste ordinary when used to steam locust flowers.
But now, Miao Xiujiu generously used corn flour to steam the locust flowers. Steaming the locust flowers with corn flour will not cover the original fragrance of the locust flowers, but can absorb the fragrance of the locust flowers very well. When steamed, the flowers will appear in three colors: golden, emerald green, and white. They look very beautiful and taste soft and delicious. This is considered a luxurious way of eating by rural people. It was a delicacy that only the wives of landlords could eat before liberation.
What surprised everyone even more was the seasoning made by Miao Xiuju.
Whether the Sophora japonica knot is delicious or not depends on the seasoning. Rural people are poor and usually don’t cook for meals. They just take a piece of pickled cabbage from the pickle jar at the door and cut it up to eat as a dish. The seasoning for Sophora japonica knot is at best vinegar and salt with some wild garlic paste picked from the mountains. But now, the seasoning actually uses fried chili peppers. The spiciness of the chili peppers is fried out in the oil, and the spicy aroma is poured with garlic paste and vinegar, which makes people drool at the smell.
Today's meal is quite sumptuous.
Miao Xiuju looked at her sons and daughters-in-law who were all secretly looking at her, and then she smiled: "Why, don't you like it?"
Niu Sanni nodded first: "I love it, I love it, I love it! This is a great thing, our mother is so generous today."
Miao Xiuju distributed the chopped locust flower knots to everyone and said calmly, "Since Fubao came into our family, everything has been going smoothly. We have a little savings at home. I calculated that there will be enough food to last until the new harvest comes in. I might as well give everyone something delicious. Otherwise, we will have nothing to look forward to all year round."
Everyone laughed when they heard this: "That's great! Mother really loves and cares about us!"
After the nice words, the meal began. Everyone used chopsticks to pick up the locust flower dumplings and dip them in the condiments. The soft, glutinous and fragrant locust flower dumplings dipped in the hot and sour condiments were so satisfying in the mouth that they couldn't wait to eat more and more. No matter how much they ate, they could never get enough!
Everyone was sweating while eating, and even Liu Zhaodi no longer thought about her miserable life. As long as there was food to eat, who would think so much? Just eat to your heart's content!
But there was only one person, Shen Hongying, who felt even more uncomfortable after thinking about what Miao Xiuju said.
Fubao, is she really a lucky star? After she came to my house, my life has been getting better and better?
If this is true, then when I forced the word "Fu" on Liu Guizhi, wasn't I actually pushing the good fortune away?
Shen Hongying felt upset and uncomfortable just thinking about it, and she wanted to slap herself twice.
She kept thinking that maybe Fubao was not a lucky star, and everything was just a coincidence. Besides, it seemed that although the fourth family had Fubao, he was just like everyone else, and there were not many benefits.
Ah... that time when we drew lots in the city, the fourth family got the advantage!
Is Fubao really a lucky star?
If Fubao is a lucky star, I really want to die.
But apart from that lottery incident, no other good things have happened to her fourth wife?
Shen Hongying kept thinking and thinking. Sometimes she felt that Fubao was a lucky star and she regretted it so much. Then she thought that how could Fubao be a lucky star and she was right to give him to Liu Guizhi.
Just when she was thinking about it for a long time, she suddenly heard Miao Xiuju say, "Big Boss, why don't you eat?"
Shen Hongying suddenly raised her head and looked over, only to see that everyone was looking at her.
She looked down and saw that the locust flower lumps in the big comb were gone, with only a few locust flower lumps left on the white cage cloth.
I only ate a few bites of the only locust flower in my room!
Oh, this is a huge loss!!
………………
After eating their fill of locust flower dumplings, the older children helped the family weave baskets for a while. When they saw that it was time, they carried their schoolbags and went to school.
Fubao, Gu Shengtian and Xiuni continued to carry the small bamboo baskets up the mountain. They smacked their lips, thinking that today's locust flower dumplings were really delicious. They wanted to pick some more.
When the children reached the mountain, Gu Shengtian climbed up the willow tree nearby and picked some willow branches. He then made a circle with the branches and leaves to make a willow leaf hat. Each child wore one on their head to protect themselves from the sun. He also took the tenderest part of the tip of the willow branch, removed the middle branch, and left the outer layer of willow bark to make a willow whistle.
"Let's go separate ways to cut grass for the pigs. If anyone calls the other, they should blow the willow whistle as a signal."
This is a method Gu Shengtian learned from the sketchbook at home. He was very proud of coming up with this idea, which felt a bit like the underground work in the sketchbook.
Fubao and Xiuni also found it fun, so they put on willow hats, took willow whistles, and each carried a bamboo basket to cut grass for the pigs.
Fubao waved the small sickle and jumped happily as she walked. The Gu family had been living a good life recently. Everyone loved her, and even Liu Zhaodi kept saying hello to Fubao. The way Shen Hongying looked at her was different from before. She felt like she was finally a complete part of this family.
As I was walking, I saw a tree hidden in the bushes nearby, with a few small red fruits hanging on the tree. The small red fruits were bright red and looked plump and juicy.
Fubao knew that it was called Elaeagnus purpurea, and it tasted sour and sweet when ripe, and was delicious.
She swallowed and began to think about how to climb up the tree and pick the wild fruits to eat.
She took off her willow hat, unloaded her small bamboo basket, rolled up her trouser legs, and began to climb up the tree. Climbing a tree is not easy, you need to hold on to the trunk tightly, endure the slight pain of the rough bark rubbing against it, and step hard with your feet to avoid sliding down.
Fubao climbed and climbed, and finally climbed up with a grunt. The red fruits were right in front of her. She quickly stretched out her little arms and tried her best to reach the red fruits.
When the spring breeze blew, the red fruits with a sweet and sour fragrance swayed in front of Fubao's nose. He used all his strength to reach the red fruits.
However, the little arm was too short, and the red fruit was swaying in the wind and could not reach Fubao's hands.
Fubao's face turned red from holding it in, and he kept muttering to himself, "Hong Guoguo, come here, I want to eat..."
As soon as she finished speaking, a gust of wind blew and the red fruit fell into her palm.
She was overjoyed and quickly grabbed and pulled it.
"Fubao!" At this time, a boy's voice came.
"Ah?" Fubao was startled and didn't step well. He slipped and fell down.
Fubao was so frightened that he fell from the tree.
I thought he would fall and get a broken butt, but who knew there was a cushion of flesh underneath, and Fubao sat right on it.
She touched her head and looked down. The person below her was Nie Dashan, and she happened to be sitting on Nie Dashan.
It turns out that the meat pad is Nie Dashan.
She quickly stood up and let go of Nie Dashan: "Brother Dashan, are you okay?"
Nie Dashan also saw Fubao falling and rushed over to catch him, but he was too young to catch him. Instead, he was knocked backward by Fubao.
Fortunately, Fubao fell on him and was not hurt.
Fubao didn't get hurt from the fall, so he felt a little better. With a gloomy face, he endured the pain from being hit and slowly sat up.
Fu Bao looked at Nie Dashan, whose hair was covered with dogtail grass hair, in confusion and asked, "Brother Dashan, why are you here?"
Nie Dashan said in a muffled voice: "Nothing, I just happened to see you and called you, but I didn't expect to cause you to fall."
As he spoke, he looked up at her: "Are you okay? Are you hurt?"
Fubao quickly shook his head: "I'm fine, I'm fine. How about you? Brother Dashan, I hit you..."
Speaking of this, she felt a little guilty. He must have been in great pain from that blow just now.
Nie Dashan said with a stern face: "It's okay, I don't feel any pain. I'm a man, I'm not afraid of this little pain at all!"
Fubao believed it. She looked around and didn't see Gu Shengtian and Xiuni. She went over and raised her hand to help Nie Dashan remove the fuzz from his head. "Brother Dashan, I haven't dared to talk to you for a long time. How have you been lately?"
Ever since Fubao came to the Gu family, first Nie Dashan and Gu Shengtian had a conflict, and then Nie Laosan's family and the Gu family had a big conflict. Fubao didn't dare to talk to Nie Dashan.
She knew that if she talked to Nie Dashan, the Gu family would be unhappy, and Brother Shengtian would also be unhappy.
The Nie family no longer wanted her, and she became the Gu family's child. If she went to play with the Nie family's children at this time, the Gu family might dislike her.
When Nie Dashan heard her say that, his eyes immediately turned red. He stared at her and asked, "I thought you were ignoring me. You call someone else brother, but you don't want me as your brother anymore."
After hearing this, Fubao suddenly didn't know what to say.
She lowered her head, bit her lip, and whispered, "I'm sorry, Brother Dashan, I—"
Nie Dashan: "What's wrong with you? You're ignoring me, right?"
Fubao didn't know what to say.
In front of Brother Shengtian, she couldn't talk to Nie Dashan. She was afraid that Brother Shengtian would be unhappy because Nie Dashan had bullied Brother Shengtian before.
Seeing this, Nie Dashan stood up and left: "If you don't want to talk to me, then don't talk to me. Are you embarrassed about me talking to you now, afraid that the Gu family will see you and get angry?"
Fubao watched him go, his eyes suddenly reddened. After thinking for a while, he still said nothing. He just lowered his head and whispered, "I'm sorry..."
Unless Nie Dashan and Gu Shengtian were playing together, it was impossible for her to play with both Gu Shengtian and Nie Dashan at the same time. She also didn't want to talk to Nie Dashan in private without telling Gu Shengtian.
Nie Dashan suddenly became annoyed and stood up to leave.
Fubao watched him leave without saying a word.
Nie Dashan took three steps and turned to look at Fubao. He saw Fubao standing there with his head down and red eyes, looking helpless, like an abandoned child.
He felt distressed all of a sudden, and all his annoyance disappeared.
Why should he blame Fubao? The Nie family doesn't want Fubao anymore, but the Gu family does.
The Nie family and the Gu family were in conflict, always bickering. How could Fubao possibly eat the Gu family's food while playing with the Nie family's children? How would the Gu family view her?
Nie Dashan softened his heart. He walked back to Fubao and whispered, "I'm not angry with you anymore, and you don't have to be angry with me either, okay?"
Fubao still lowered his head: "Brother Dashan, I'm not angry with you. I don't understand why she can't stop causing trouble for the Gu family and let the two families get along well. That way I can play with the brothers and sisters of the Gu family, and I can also play with you. Isn't that great?"
Looking at her soft and confused face, Nie Dashan remembered that he had beaten Gu Shengtian and felt a little regretful.
If he hadn't hit Gu Shengtian, Fubao wouldn't have been caught in such a difficult situation.
Nie Dashan: "Then, I won't bother Gu Shengtian anymore. I'll also tell my mother that Third Aunt's beef with the Gu family is her business. I'll ask her to stop it, okay?"
Fubao nodded: "Thank you, Brother Dashan."
As she spoke, she suddenly saw the red fruit in her hand.
It turned out that she had just grabbed the red fruit, and even though she fell down, she was still holding it subconsciously. She had been holding it while talking to Nie Dashan, and her palms were red from holding it.
She opened her hands and handed the red fruit to Nie Dashan: "Brother Dashan, can you eat this?"
Nie Dashan looked at the red marks on her snow-white hands from clenching the red fruit and shook his head: "I'm not hungry, Fubao, you eat it."
Fubao refused, and she insisted, "Today we had Sophora japonica dumplings with cornmeal and fried chili sauce and vinegar. I ate quite a bit and am very full now. Brother Dashan, you can have this."
Nie Dashan hesitated for a moment, then took them and gave them two each: "We'll each eat half."
Fubao nodded: "Okay."
The brother and sister sat on the old tree roots nearby, shared the red fruits, and talked for a while. Nie Dashan gave Fubao a lot of instructions, and finally, seeing that it was getting late, he went back.
Before leaving, he once again told Fubao: "Don't ignore me. I'll come to the mountains to pick wild vegetables and talk to you next time."
Fubao nodded repeatedly.
Fubao watched Nie Dashan walk away, picked up his willow hat and bamboo basket, and was about to go find some pig grass to cut again.
Who knew that as soon as I bent down, I saw a pair of shoes appear in front of me.
Most of the country people wear straw shoes, and some of the better-off families wear homemade cloth shoes with old cloth uppers and thousand-layer soles. The pair of shoes in front of me are thousand-layer cloth shoes with square mouths. Liu Guizhi made them herself using the skills she learned when she was a girl.
These are Gu Shengtian's shoes.
When I looked up, I saw Gu Shengtian looking away, humming a little.
Although he didn't say anything, his face showed that he was unhappy.
Fubao was surprised: "Brother Shengtian, didn't you go over there to cut grass for the pigs just now?"
Gu Shengtian continued to hum desperately.
Fubao was puzzled. "Brother Shengtian, what's wrong with you? Is your throat uncomfortable? How about we go to the stream and get some water to drink?"
Gu Shengtian looked up at the sky and continued to hum.
Fubao was even more confused: "Brother Shengtian, what's wrong with you today?"
Gu Shengtian couldn't stand it anymore.
He is unhappy, unhappy!
Sister Fubao was just sitting side by side with Nie Dashan, holding hands and eating fruit. It made me angry just seeing it!
Gu Shengtian snorted loudly, and finally couldn't help it: "What did you do just now? Your braid is messed up."
Speaking of this, Fubao felt a little ashamed: "I, I just climbed a tree."
Gu Shengtian deliberately asked: "Really? Climbing a tree? What are you climbing a tree for?"
Fubao hesitated for a moment, but finally admitted honestly: "There were elaeagnus seeds on the tree, and I climbed the tree to pick them."
Finally getting to the point, Gu Shengtian quickly asked, "What about the elaeagnus berries you picked? I want some too!"
As he said this, he stretched out his hand to ask for it with confidence.
Fubao opened his mouth slightly in surprise: "Huh?"
I've already eaten the eucalyptus globulus, and I've shared it with Brother Dashan...
Fubao touched his belly in shame and said, "Brother Shengtian, you want to eat elaeagnus seeds, so let's look for some more."
Gu Shengtian suddenly got angry and said proudly, "I don't want to eat the ones I find elsewhere. I want to eat the ones you just picked."
Fubao: "I've already eaten that..."
Gu Shengtian: "You actually ate it all!"
Humph, I didn’t eat it by myself at all, I ate it with Nie Dashan!
Gu Shengtian couldn't stand Nie Dashan anymore.
Fubao lowered his head in shame and said awkwardly, "Brother Dashan from the Nie family was here just now, and I shared the meal with him."
Gu Shengtian finally caught the opportunity and said sadly, "You don't think of me when you have something good?"
Fubao: "...but you were not here just now..."
Gu Shengtian: "Huh, how do you know I'm not here!"
He suddenly remembered that the pig grass over there was not growing well, so he wanted to come over and cut it with Fubao. But when he saw Nie Dashan coming, he thought Nie Dashan was going to bully his sister, so he hid aside with a stick in his hand, thinking that if Nie Dashan dared to bully Fubao, he would hit him with the stick.
Who would have thought that not only did they not bully each other, but the two of them held hands and talked, and finally sat in a row together to eat fruit.
And he ate all the fruit, leaving no room for him...
Gu Shengtian complained aggrievedly, "You only think about your brother Dashan and not me!"
Fubao: “…”
So that afternoon, Fubao followed Gu Shengtian to cut grass for the pigs while trying his best to make promises.
"Brother Dashan is good, but Brother Shengtian is even better..."
"Next time I have fruit, I will definitely give it to Brother Shengtian!"
Gu Shengtian's pettiness only lasted for a moment and then it quickly passed. When he thought about it, he felt that he couldn't blame Fubao.
It’s all Nie Dashan’s fault. He’s obviously not Fubao’s brother anymore, yet he still has the nerve to come looking for Fubao!
So Fubao is still a good sister, it’s all Nie Dashan’s fault!
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