Chapter 50 Chapter 50 - Two-in-one Killing Chicken
After Lin Chuntao left with the chicken, Sun and Chen Dongniang went into the kitchen to cook. Chen Dongniang said, "Before, I just thought they were too thin, but I didn't expect them to be so weak. What a sin!"
Sun listened to Chen Dongniang's chatter and thought about the past days of her sisters, and sighed deeply.
"If the doctor says it can be cured, that's fine. Xiao Pei's salary should be able to cover the cost of the medicine. Otherwise, it would cost more than 30 wen a day, and he would have to take the medicine for several months. Where would he get so much money for the medicine?"
Chen Dongniang sighed along with her mother-in-law. "Li Honghua still wants Chuntao and the others to move back and take care of Lin Miaomiao and the others. Given the situation, that's impossible, even if she dies."
Sun fed two pieces of firewood into the stove and stood up before continuing what Chen Dongniang was saying.
"I saw it the day Qiao'er got married. Chuntao is resentful of your fifth uncle and his family. None of those sisters-in-law are good, calculating their own little piece of land. If Yang and Miao had just shown a little more concern, or even just said something, things wouldn't be like this today. It's a pity they only think their lives are better than these motherless children! Man proposes, God disposes."
“People are like crops in the field. You have to sow seeds in the spring so you can reap the harvest in the fall.”
Lin Chuntao didn't know what Sun and Chen Dongniang were sighing about, but she could guess that this was what she intended.
She also didn't tell Sun and Chen that this matter couldn't be told to anyone else. On the contrary, it would be better to talk to the people from other branches of the Lin family and let them know that it was a pipe dream to want to ask her to go back and take care of those six little brats.
When she returned home, the steamer on the fire was still steaming, and Lin Chunxing and the others were still squatting on the ground washing chicken mushrooms.
"Aren't you done washing yet?" Lin Chuntao asked.
"It's almost done." As she spoke, Lin Chunhe slowly turned her head and saw two big roosters. She immediately widened her eyes and rushed over with the chicken mushroom in her hand.
"Wow! Sister, why did you buy two?"
Lin Chuntao smiled and said, "Eat one first, and keep the other one to tell time."
Pei Ying pursed his lips and smiled when he heard this. He was more convinced that Lin Chuntao was being raised to be eaten in a few days.
"Give it to me and put it in the chicken coop first?"
Lin Chuntao nodded and handed one to Pei Ying. They walked over together and threw the two roosters into the hen cage. Soon after they entered, the chickens started fighting and clucking non-stop. If they were not about to be killed soon, Lin Chuntao would not be able to bear it for a moment. It was really noisy.
After lunch, Lin Chuntao brought the small clay pot she had just bought today to clean. She then told Pei Ying to go outside and find some stones to build two more fires. The four sisters drank the medicine together. Queuing the medicine together would be too slow, so they had to build several more fires and boil it together.
The sun was at its hottest at noon in June. The sisters lit a fire, boiled the medicine, and then hid in the house, sitting quietly at the door and watching.
Pei Ying had nothing to do, so she stood up and said to Lin Chuntao, "I'm going to go to Aunt Guizhi's house and buy a bigger backpack. I'll also bring back some clay later and build a stove in the yard. It will be more convenient to use fire."
"I'll go with you, okay?" Lin Chuntao said as she was about to get up. Pei Ying looked at the sun outside and said quickly, "No need. I'll be back soon. Are you sleepy? You can go get some sleep."
Before Lin Chuntao could speak, Lin Chunxing echoed: "Sister, you go to sleep, I'll watch the medicine on the fire."
It would have been fine if they hadn't said anything. When they did, she yawned and felt sleepy. Lin Chuntao nodded and said, "You have to be careful and remove the firewood before the water boils, otherwise it will overflow."
Lin Chunxing nodded and said, "Well, go to sleep. I'll take note of it."
After hearing what she heard, Lin Chuntao got up and lay down. It was a hot summer day, and the house was cool but outside was hot and windless. Lin Chuntao slowly fell asleep while listening to the cicadas' calls.
During this season, villagers who go to the fields go to work early or late. During the hottest period in the afternoon, everyone rests at home after lunch.
Lin Miaomiao and her sisters didn't meet anyone on the way to Yangjiazhuang.
It was not until they entered the village that they met several village women who were carrying wooden basins of clothes and seemed to be going to the river to wash clothes.
Yangjiazhuang and Shuangzizhai are not far from each other. Yang would often bring her children back to her parents' home, and many people in Yangjiazhuang also knew Lin Miaomiao and the others.
A few days ago, the police officers went around with gongs and drums, and everyone knew that someone from the Lin family in Shuangzi Village was caught by the government for digging up graves and stealing money, and the whole family was demoted to slaves.
They were surprised to see Lin Miaomiao and the others suddenly.
"Miaomiao, why are you here? Have your parents been released as well?"
Lin Miaomiao saw the person asking the question blushing, she turned her head away, pretending not to hear and walked away.
The person asking the question muttered from behind, "What's going on? Has he been released again? This kid is ignoring us."
The person next to him laughed.
"You didn't listen carefully to what the officer said, did you? People over seventy and under fifteen can go home. It seems that Lin Miaomiao is not even fifteen yet, so she escaped."
"She seems to be fourteen?"
"That should be the case. I remember Cuizhi and I were the same grade."
After the woman finished speaking, the man next to her said, "You are really lucky. You only missed the disaster by one year."
"My sisters are fine, and I haven't heard from Uncle Yang's family about it."
"What are you talking about? It's too late to hide from such a big thing. It's not like you didn't hear that all the dozens of people from the Lin family were taken to the government office."
The woman laughed awkwardly at the words and said, "Yes, if the police catch us, even if we have done nothing wrong, we will definitely go to jail."
As they walked and talked, their voices gradually faded away with the wind.
Lin Miaomiao and her friends had been to their grandmother's house many times, and every time they came, they jumped and held their heads high. But this time, they kept their heads down all the way, for fear of meeting acquaintances again.
Fortunately, they made it all the way to their grandmother's house and didn't meet any acquaintances.
The gate of the Yang family's courtyard was open, and the whole family was now enjoying the cool air under the red fruit tree in the courtyard.
Old lady Wu went into the house to get needle and thread, thinking that she could make some shoes while she had some free time.
The person just stood up and walked to the door when she suddenly felt someone at the gate. She turned around and saw Lin Miaomiao and her two siblings leaning against the door and looking inside.
"Miaomiao? Why are you here?"
"Kid, if you're here, just come in. What are you looking at at the door?"
As the old lady spoke, she walked towards the gate of the yard, and the adults and children in the yard all turned their heads to look at her.
Lin Miaomiao was also pulled into the courtyard by the old lady. Looking at the adults in the courtyard, she felt familiar, yet somewhat strange. They were obviously the same people, but a sense of strangeness arose in her heart.
Lin Miaomiao tried hard to put on a smile and called them uncle and aunt in a sweet voice.
The aunt-in-law looked at them and waved: "Come and sit down. Have you eaten yet?"
Lin Miaomiao smiled and replied, "I've eaten."
After hearing what they said, the old lady did not go to cook. Looking at the three siblings with blushing faces, she went into the house, poured three bowls of water and brought them out to them.
"Why don't you come earlier or later? The sun is scorching at this hour. Drink some water to cool down."
Lin Miaomiao took the bowl. She was indeed very thirsty after walking all the way. She drank it all in a gulp and was about to get up to take the bowl back to the house. The old lady standing by took the bowl and said, "Sit down. I'll put it away."
The old lady went into the house and washed the dishes before coming out. When she came out, she said, "Your uncle and I were planning to visit you in a few days, but we didn't expect you to come. How is it? Have you settled in?"
After the old lady asked this, Lin Miaomiao fell silent.
The uncles and aunts in the yard also looked at them quietly. Their eyes didn't look particularly hateful, but they didn't seem very welcoming either.
Lin Miaomiao pursed her lips and sat quietly aside. Before she could even ask for help, it seemed as if the result was about to come. But she could only hope that the old lady would be kind enough to help them.
Seeing them like this, the Yang family members all started to wonder, "Could it be that the elders of the Lin family didn't take care of them?" Several people frowned in unison, and the eldest aunt sitting nearby was the first to ask, "Why? Is there no one in the Lin family taking care of you?"
Lin Miaomiao looked up at the old lady and her eyes instantly turned red.
"Grandma, my great-grandfather asked a few other families and wanted to divide the food among the six of us, but the others didn't want to intervene and just let us live like this for now. But our homes were emptied by the officials, leaving only a little buckwheat noodles. The land was also taken away by the government. After we ate the little food we had, we had nothing left."
Everyone in the Yang family frowned. The eldest uncle said indignantly, "If you don't want to care, then just leave it alone? Your grandfather is their brother after all. You are also members of the Lin family. How can you just ignore it?"
Lin Miaomiao looked at these indignant words and didn't know how to respond for a moment.
If they don't care about them, can they still stay at someone else's house?
The old lady also said somewhat unhappy: "This Lin Cunzheng, is he just going to leave you alone like this?"
Lin Miaomiao nodded: "Grandma, they definitely don't want to take care of us anymore! Do you have any ideas? Give us some advice."
The old lady looked at her, thinking of her daughter who had been demoted to a slave, and asked with some concern: "Do you know where your mother and the others went?"
Lin Miaomiao shook her head. "My mother was taken away with my father and the others. We were stopped by the police."
The old lady sighed deeply when she had no news from her daughter.
"Are there only you three siblings and the three from your fifth uncle's family left in your family?"
Lin Miaomiao wanted to nod, but then she thought of Lin Chuntao and the others.
"There are only six of us who came back, but the four of Lin Chuntao from my third uncle's family were separated before. They lived alone and were not demoted."
The old lady pondered for a moment and asked, "I think the eldest son of your third uncle's family is almost twenty. Is he married?"
"Married, to a stranger."
The old lady asked again: "Don't they care about you?"
Lin Miaomiao pursed her lips and said, "We had a quarrel with them..."
The old lady said, "It's not a big deal if children quarrel or argue. It's not difficult for you to go and apologize, girl."
Lin Miaomiao shook her head slightly. "My fifth uncle, Jia Jialang, came to apologize the next day after he came back, but they wouldn't even let him in."
The Yang family frowned upon hearing this, "Is that girl so cruel?"
Lin Miaomiao echoed, "She's so cruel. Jiacai fell in front of their yard and broke his leg, but Lin Chuntao just came out to take a look and left Jiacai lying there crying in pain."
"Is there such a thing?"
"Yeah, so she definitely won't care about us."
The people in the yard were silent for a moment. The Lin family didn't care about Lin Miaomiao and the others. Did they have to take care of them?
If these were girls, about the same age as Lin Miaomiao, it would be okay to take care of them and marry them off after a year or two. But Lin Jiacai and Lin Jialiang are only in their teens. Not only do they have to be raised for several years, but they also have to pay money to marry them off. They can't afford it.
A breeze blew by, and Lin Miaomiao felt a little cold.
Although the old lady felt sorry for them, she was also powerless.
She thought about what Lin Miaomiao had just said, and also about Lin Chuntao and the others living alone. She asked Lin Miaomiao, "When your third uncle's Lin Chuntao moved out, did he give them any land?"
"No."
"No?" Yang's aunt was a little puzzled. "Then what were they given? Just a room? Then they don't have any land?"
Lin Miaomiao still shook her head and said, "They don't have a house either. They live in my great-grandfather's old house. It seems that because her husband is from another place, my great-grandfather has a plot of land for them."
At this point, the old lady suddenly remembered that there was land involved in marrying a stranger.
"I almost forgot, if you marry a stranger you can get twelve acres of land."
The eldest aunt of the Yang family looked at Lin Miaomiao and the others. She knew very well what kind of personality her sister-in-law had. After hearing what Lin Miaomiao said, although it was a bit vague, she felt that the children of Lin Laosan's family were driven out.
Divide the family without dividing the land or the house?
What kind of division is that?
Lin Miaomiao came to them just to ask for their help.
According to the old lady's idea, she asked Lin Miaomiao to go find Lin Chuntao. Lin Miaomiao said that Lin Chuntao was cruel, so she probably wanted them to help mediate.
Since this is the meaning, we need to understand it clearly.
"Miaomiao, did your third uncle's Lin Chuntao split up or cut off ties?"
Lin Miaomiao felt a little guilty when facing her aunt-in-law's gaze.
"After she married the stranger, she became very assertive and called out to Grandpa to sign a document severing all ties with him."
This made the aunt-in-law raise her eyebrows slightly, and she continued Lin Miaomiao's words, "So she didn't ask for anything and left with her sisters?"
"Um."
Yang's aunt was stunned.
She shrugged calmly, said nothing more, yawned, stood up and walked into the house.
"I'm a little sleepy. I'm going to take a nap for fifteen minutes. Come down and call me later."
He went into the house and closed the door. The others in the yard thought about the conversation and felt strange. They did not speak.
The old lady is my grandmother, I can’t avoid her.
She pondered for a long time before asking Lin Miaomiao, "Miaomiao, what do you think? Tell grandma about it."
Of course, Lin Miaomiao hopes that the adults will say, it’s okay, you siblings, come to our house, we will support you in the future.
But when she went to Muramasa's house, she didn't hear such words. When she went to her grandmother's house, it seemed that the adults didn't mean that either.
I always felt that when my parents were alive, these adults were kind and amiable. Now that my parents are gone and they are in trouble, these kind and amiable adults have suddenly become indifferent and distant.
She clenched her fingers tightly and looked up at the old lady.
"Grandma, I can now take care of my brothers, but we need land and food."
"If I had land, I could bring them along to farm, but now we have nothing. I really don't know what to do."
When the old lady heard her say this, she felt worried but also relieved.
"It's a bit troublesome now. You're almost old enough to get married. If there's really no other way, can you find someone from another place to marry?"
Lin Miaomiao wanted to, but the problem was that her family’s spot was taken by Lin Chuntao.
"Grandma, each person in the family can get a share of the land, but ours was taken by Lin Chuntao."
After hearing this, the old lady looked at her sons sitting opposite her. The eldest son, Yang, saw the old lady's expression and asked tentatively, "Mother, do you want to adopt them? And then divide them up after the marriage and the land distribution?"
The old lady hadn't spoken yet, but Yang Laoer beside her said, "We should ask Muramasa if this is okay, right?"
"Then go and ask first. Boss, if you go now, your third uncle and the others must be at home too."
The eldest uncle of the Yang family slowly stood up from his chair, still holding the handle. He asked the old lady, "Mother, who will be the adopted son?"
The old lady frowned slightly and said, "Just say it's in your name. You don't have a daughter."
"Okay, I'll go then."
Yang Huai said something and slowly walked out of the yard.
Lin Miaomiao's heart was full of anticipation. If possible, they would soon have their own land. As long as they had land and borrowed some seeds to plant, they would definitely be able to support themselves.
When Yang Huai went to talk to Uncle Yang San about what happened, the old man looked unhappy.
"Why don't Lincunzheng and the others adopt him? What's the point of adopting him to your family?"
Yang Huai could tell that the old man was not happy. In fact, he also understood that the child's parents were criminals who were demoted to slaves. No one wanted to get involved with them for fear of getting into trouble. But this was his sister's child, so there was nothing he could do.
"Uncle San, if they were to take care of the child over there, they wouldn't come to our place. After all, it's Cuizhi's child. I don't have a daughter. If you adopt her, when someone from outside comes, you can pick a boy for her. It will add to our village."
Old Man Yang looked at Yang Huai. That's what he said, but the previous batch didn't get any benefits, so everyone naturally opposed marrying outsiders. Later, the government posted a notice that if a family married someone from outside, they could get an extra twelve acres of land, and they could also be exempted from taxes for three years. In three years, a lot of food could be saved, and the betrothal gift for marrying a daughter might not be that much. So the people in the village were no longer so opposed to it.
But Yang Huai was his nephew after all, and they wanted to take care of those children. He thought about it, sighed, and said, "Alright, I'll go talk to the head of the village."
After getting the promise, Yang Huai smiled and said, "Thank you, Third Uncle. I'm sorry to have caused you trouble."
When Yang Huai was about to leave, the old man hurriedly called out to him, "Is there any room left in that girl's house?"
"Yes, the house is still there."
"Well, I'll ask the headman later. If it's okay, you can adopt him."
Yang Huai came back with good news. Lin Miaomiao stood up, looked at him and said, "Uncle, thank you! I will definitely be filial to you in the future!"
Yang Huai smiled. He didn't expect any filial piety from them. He just hoped that they could raise themselves. That would be good enough.
Now that the matter had been settled, the three siblings breathed a sigh of relief.
When the sun is not so hot, the Yang family will go to the fields. Lin Miaomiao will take her younger brother with her to work.
The old lady said, "You are no longer needed for the work. Take your brother back first and bring your household registration tomorrow morning. I will wait for your third grandfather to ask about it. If there is no problem, I will get it done for you in the next two days."
Lin Miaomiao nodded in agreement.
On the way back, my steps were much lighter.
Lin Jialiang looked at Lin Miaomiao and asked, "Sister, what about Jialang and the others?"
Lin Miaomiao looked at Lin Jialiang, her face darkening and her tone unkind: "Why do you care about them? If he wants a share of the land, then he can go find his grandmother's house. We have no right to interfere."
Hearing that his sister was unhappy, Lin Jialiang stopped talking.
Lin Chuntao slept very soundly. Pei Ying went to Aunt Guizhi's house to buy a large backpack, and then carried back two backpacks of clay. Only then was the medicine on the fire ready.
Lin Chunxing poured out Lin Chuntao's drink to cool it down. They had all finished theirs, but Lin Chuntao was still sleepy.
Pei Ying brought the medicine into the house and woke Lin Chuntao up to drink it.
She was still sleepy, so she went back to sleep after drinking.
When she woke up again, it was almost evening, but there was still sunlight in the yard. There were many mud bricks drying in the yard. Pei Ying was making mud bricks nearby, and there was no sign of Lin Chunxing and the others.
"Where are Chunxing and the others?" Lin Chuntao asked.
"I'm going to cut grass for the pigs." Pei Ying said, turning back to look at her. She looked better after getting enough sleep. He smiled and said, "Sit down and rest for a while. I'll finish gathering these and then boil water and kill the chickens."
Lin Chuntao stretched out her body. She felt much more relaxed after her sleep.
"I slept too long today, and you didn't even call me."
She walked over muttering, and Pei Ying looked up at her: "The doctor said you need to rest more. You got up in the middle of the night to pick mushrooms. There's not much work in the fields these days. Get more sleep and eat more, and try to get better soon."
Lin Chuntao smiled when she heard this and looked at the bricks on the floor. They were all square and made in a standard manner.
"You made a stove?"
"Yeah." Pei Ying responded and stood up to pack up the molds. "Make it into bricks so it's easier to build the chimney."
Lin Chuntao responded and went over to help. Pei Ying hurriedly said, "Don't get your hands dirty. Go boil some water and scald the chicken feathers later."
"That's fine." Lin Chuntao smiled and retracted her hand, then trotted to the back to get some dry firewood to make a fire and boil water.
Pei Ying cleaned up quickly. He had finished before the water in the pot boiled. After washing his hands, he prepared to get the chicken to kill.
"Which one do you want to keep?"
"Take a look at them and keep the lightest one."
As soon as she finished speaking, Pei Ying's hand had already reached into the chicken coop. He grabbed both chickens and weighed them. They didn't feel much different. He touched the chicken breasts and chose the one with a little more meat.
While he was picking the chicken, Lin Chuntao went back to the house and got a bowl of water and salt to prepare the chicken blood.
When she came out with the bowl, Pei Ying also came over with the chicken. "Shall we kill it and put it aside first?" Lin Chuntao asked.
Pei Ying looked at the water in the pot, which was about to boil, and immediately responded, "Let's kill it first, the water is about to boil."
Lin Chuntao couldn't help much in killing the chicken, so she just stood by and watched Pei Ying do it.
While waiting for the water to boil, Lin Chuntao took the chicken blood back to the house and put it aside. Not long after, the water in the pot boiled. Pei Ying scooped water to scald the chicken feathers. Lin Chuntao helped by scooping water and so on. Pei Ying did the work skillfully and neatly. Lin Chuntao stared at his bony fingers in a daze.
Pei Ying was originally concentrating on his work and didn't hear Lin Chuntao's voice for a long time. He slowly raised his eyes and saw Lin Chuntao staring at his hands in a trance.
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