Chapter 105 Chapter 105-The two-in-one new house is completed...
September 29th, autumn was approaching. Fog rose at night and dewdrops hung on the branches and leaves of the weeds by the roadside.
As the sun rises, its halo breaks through the mist and envelops the quiet village.
Wisps of green smoke drifted in the village. The Wang family had arranged the engagement and was preparing for the wedding. The whole family was beaming with joy.
Their courtyard wall wasn't high, so the neighbor next door saw Wang Quan's mother, Zhang, humming a little tune as she went in and out, and asked, "Hey, sister-in-law, have you picked a date for Brother Quan's wedding?"
Wang Quan's mother, Zhang, smiled when she heard this and said, "I haven't seen it yet. I'll take some time to look at it in the next two days and I'll be able to decide. Sister-in-law, please help me cook when the time comes."
"Of course, that goes without saying."
In their village, all the people with the surname Wang are from the same clan, and everyone is related, just some are closer and some are farther away.
The person who just asked the question was Wang Quan’s second cousin, Hu.
"You'll be relieved when Quan Ge'er gets married. My A Tie still doesn't know when he'll get married."
Zhang smiled and said, "A Tie is still young, wait another two or three years."
The two were chatting when suddenly a voice shouted, "Second sister-in-law! Come quickly!"
Zhang looked at the person who came. It was Feng, Hu's sister-in-law. Seeing her running out of breath, she opened her mouth and asked, "What's the matter?"
Feng leaned on her knees and sighed before saying, "There's a fortune teller at the entrance of the village. He's very accurate. Sister-in-law, didn't you say you wanted your fortune told? Go quickly. I'll be leaving in a moment."
When Mrs. Hu heard this, she put down the dustpan in her hand and was about to follow Mrs. Feng.
Zhang, who was standing next to her, quickly put down her work and said, "Wait a moment, I'll go with you."
At this time, many villagers gathered at the entrance of the village, waiting to have their fortunes told.
When Zhang and her friends went there, the old Taoist priest was fortune-telling for Zhang's mother-in-law. The old Taoist priest had looked at several fortune-tellers before, and his predictions were all very accurate and good. If the fortune-teller said it was good, then it must be good.
Wang Quan's grandmother felt so impatient after hearing this that she squeezed to the front to have the calculation done for her first.
As a result, the old Taoist priest looked at her palms, then looked at her facial features, and then frowned, as if he had many unspeakable secrets.
The people around her became more and more curious, and the old lady became very anxious.
"Master, how is it?"
The old Taoist hissed coldly, then said, "Your fate is neither good nor bad. It was very good at first, but it went astray."
"How do you say that?"
The old Taoist said, "You have a big grandson, who is white and plump, right?"
The old lady nodded vigorously, and the old Taoist continued, "He was originally rich, but unfortunately he was taken advantage of by someone. The closer you get to that person, the worse this child will become."
The old lady was still in shock when Zhang rushed over. "Who rushed him? I said my son was smart and cute when he was little, but he turned out like this. Who the hell did this to him?"
The old Taoist sighed: "Does this kid have an aunt?"
The old lady nodded: "Yes, there are three."
The old Taoist asked, "Did one of them marry and move to a village on the road between two mountains?"
Zhang and the old lady frowned, thinking that "Two Mountains Jiadao" was a place name, and muttered, "Why not?" The villagers nearby said, "Isn't it Shuangzi Village? Isn't that a big mountain in front and behind, and the village is right in between the two mountains?"
Zhang and the old lady suddenly realized. The old Taoist said, "This child's aunt is very good to him, right? You don't know that the better this aunt treats him, the worse his fate will be. If I'm not mistaken, this child was born on the day his aunt got married, right? All his good fortune was taken away by his aunt. If his aunt hadn't treated him well, he could still be fine. Unfortunately, his aunt is too good to him!"
After these words fell, Zhang and the old lady both turned pale. Zhang thought of the recent engagement, swallowed her saliva and asked, "Then my son and her daughter are engaged..."
The old Taoist priest suddenly looked up at Zhang and said, "How foolish! If this marriage were to happen, your son would lose his hands and feet at best, or even his life at worst!"
Zhang was so frightened that she fell to the ground. The old lady asked tremblingly, "Master, can you solve it?"
"Whether you can understand it or not is entirely up to you. After all, she is the child's biological aunt."
So many of the people counted before were fine, except for Zhang and her friends. Everyone was stunned and stood quietly by, waiting to see if Zhang and her friends had anything else to ask.
After a long silence, Zhang asked, "Master, if it is solved, what should we do?"
The old Taoist twirled his beard and said, "If you want to resolve it, the marriage cannot be finalized. You have to withdraw. Her aunt gave the child something before. Collect it all and return it. I will also draw a talisman paper for you and put it in the package when you return the things."
As he spoke, the old Taoist priest drew a ghostly talisman on a piece of yellow paper with a big stroke of his brush, handed it to the old lady, and took six coins for it.
Just as the old lady and Zhang were about to leave, they heard a child's scream. The villagers were worried that something had happened to their children, so they hurriedly asked, "Who's wrong?"
"It's Brother Quan, he fell from the tree!"
Zhang's eyes widened, she pushed through the crowd and ran away, with the old lady following closely behind.
The old Taoist priest twirled his beard and asked, "They've been married for a while, haven't they?"
The villagers started talking at once.
"It's only been a few days since the appointment. I heard they're still not happy about it. It was the kid's aunt who insisted on marrying her daughter to her nephew, so the marriage was finalized."
The old Taoist said: "How foolish!"
As he was about to pack up and leave, the villagers hurriedly called out to him, "Master, Master, let me take a look too."
The old Taoist shook his head and said, "I won't watch it today. It would reveal too much secret. I will come to your village again in the future. I'll watch it next time."
After saying that, he left carrying the bamboo poles and canvas.
The villagers looked at his back as he strode forward and said with regret, "I wonder when the master will come again."
"Go check on Wang Quan. If he doesn't take good care of himself, it will be just like what the old Taoist said, like he will lose his arms and legs."
The old Taoist priest walked out of the village and came to the mountain road. He quickly took off his outer robe and hat, rubbed the things stuck on his face with his beard, put away the canvas bamboo pole, and rushed to the mule cart parked on the other side of the mountain road.
Sitting in the donkey cart were Zhang Qingqing, Lin Chuntao and Lin Qingqing.
"Sanbao, how is it?"
Sanbao's eyes lit up. "It's done! This is too weird. Qingqing, your cousin, I said he would break his arms and legs if he didn't break off the engagement, and then guess what, he fell from the tree!"
Lin Qingqing was stunned.
"Ah, are your arms and legs really broken?"
Sanbao shook his head: "I don't know. I ran away quickly. I was too nervous."
Lin Qingqing took a deep breath and said, "I hope he's okay." Wang Quan was an idiot. This was not his idea, so she couldn't blame him.
Seeing that the matter was done, Lin Chuntao said, "It should be fine. You guys can go back. I will go back too."
Lin Qingqing said: "Sister Chuntao, thank you!"
"You're welcome. If they come to cancel the engagement, I'll tell you."
After saying that, Lin Chuntao got off the mule cart and returned to the village, while Lin Qingqing and the others drove the mule cart back to the county town.
Everything is ready, now we just have to wait for the Wang family to cancel the engagement.
Wang Quan fell from a tree and dislocated his ankle. He had to ask a village doctor to reconnect it.
After bringing Wang Quan home, Zhang went to collect all the things Wang had given Wang Quan and packed them together. After finishing them, she said to the old lady, "Mother, for Brother Quan, we have to cancel this marriage!"
The old lady looked at her eldest grandson with tears in his eyes and nodded.
"Go now."
Lin Chuntao walked around the new house first after entering the village. Only the front gate of the courtyard wall was not completed, leaving it for the final finishing touches. Sun Hu and his team started to put up the beams, install windows and doors today, and then lay thatch. After that, they will wait for the house to be completed, and then install the wall and gate of the front yard. The house will be complete.
The trees had not been cut down yet, but Lin Chuntao and her friends went to the woods to look at the trees and selected three, which were all the wood Lin Chuntao needed to build the house, including the bed and cabinets.
The house was not ready yet, and the bed and cabinets had not been moved in yet. Lin Chuntao went to Sun Hu's house to take a look, and she was very satisfied with the workmanship.
Yu Meixi and Lin Chuntao said, "Sister Chuntao, we'll install the doors, windows, and beams today, and we'll probably start laying the roof later. We'll be done by October 3rd at the latest, so you can come and see us on the day of moving in."
That's four more days.
After living in the old house for so long, she can finally move into her own house. In addition to treating guests, after all, she has lived in Muramasa's old house for so long, so when she was about to get the quilt, she bought a piece of clothing for each of the old couple as a thank you.
When Lin Chuntao came out of the new house, she saw a group of people appearing at the entrance of the village.
She stood there and watched for a while, then saw the man go to Lin Qingqing's house.
Lin Chuntao hissed coldly, "He came without even waiting for half a day."
Because Lin Qingqing had not been found yet and had fought with Li Honghua until she was bleeding, the atmosphere in the third branch of the Lin family was depressed. Even the active Lin Jiaye and his men had become much quieter, for fear of accidentally touching off a fire.
Lin Changhua and Wang also had a big fight, and no one paid any attention to each other at this time.
At this time, someone from the Wang family suddenly came to the door, carrying a large package in her hand. Wang thought that her family had come to announce the engagement date. Lin Qingqing was gone now. If the old lady knew about this, she would definitely scold her.
She held up her face and opened the door. Before she could say anything, she saw her sister-in-law Zhang throwing a package into her arms!
"Okay, Wang Yuqin! I was wondering why you were so kind, giving gifts to Quan Ge'er every year. I thought you were a good aunt, but I didn't expect you to be so cruel!"
Wang was stunned, and everyone in the Lin family was stunned when they heard this.
Only then did they realize that Wang gave gifts to her nephew from her mother's side every year. Was that all the stuff in her arms?
"Sister-in-law, what do you mean?" She gave something to her own nephew, but it was wrong?
Zhang said, "I was told that my son was chubby and clever when he was born, so how could he become like this now? Today I finally know the reason. From now on, you are not allowed to set foot in my house again. Brother Quan will just pretend that you are not his aunt. As for the marriage, please return the betrothal money and all the belongings. We cannot afford this marriage!"
Zhang's face turned pale. Because of this marriage, Lin Qingqing disappeared, the Lin family disliked her, and now even her natal family was dissatisfied?
Could it be that they knew that Lin Qingqing had run away?
But what does this have to do with the things she gave to Wang Quan?
"Sister-in-law, what are you talking about? I don't understand a word you say!"
Zhang raised her chin, looking furious. The old lady next to her said, "Yuqin, just listen to your sister-in-law. Don't get married. It will be good for Quan Ge'er."
"Why are you so nice to Quan?" Wang asked probingly. Zhang snorted coldly, "If you want to know, I'll tell you. Today, I went to a fortune teller, and the fortune teller said that you're against Quan. You were married when Quan was born. Every time you take these small favors, you're taking away Quan's blessings. It's because of you that Quan has become like this!"
Wang's eyes widened when she heard this and she shook her head, "That's impossible!"
"What's impossible? The master also said that this marriage would at best cost Quan Ge'er his limbs, and at worst, his life. Wang Yuqin, Quan Ge'er fell from a tree this morning and broke his leg! Isn't that a fact?"
Wang was stunned. Not only Wang, but everyone in the Lin family was stunned. They felt it was ridiculous and wanted to laugh. Where did this master come from?
Lin Jianye almost couldn't hold back his laughter, but his mother covered his mouth with her hand and glared at him fiercely.
"Hurry up and bring back the betrothal gifts. Let's just pretend that we never got engaged."
She was engaged but then broke off the engagement. Even though the other party was a fool, it would definitely have an impact on Lin Qingqing's future in-laws. Wang's head was buzzing.
Seeing Wang's stunned expression, Lin Qingqing's grandmother immediately said, "They've come to your house to return the betrothal gifts, and you haven't even taken them out yet? What are you so stunned about?"
Wang looked at her blankly. The old lady was in a bad mood and said fiercely, "Why are you looking at me? Go get it!" In her opinion, even if there was an impact, it was better than letting Lin Qingqing marry a fool.
Being pressured by your mother-in-law, Wang went into the house and took out all those things.
Zhang took the things and turned to leave!
After Wang Shi saw her sister-in-law leave, she looked at her own mother. The old lady looked at Wang Shi and said, "For the sake of Quan Ge'er, you should try not to come back in the future and live your life well."
After saying that, he left without looking back.
Wang fell to the ground, tears rolling down her lifeless eyes.
The Lin family's yard was very quiet, so quiet that you could hear the sound of the breeze.
Lin Changhua looked at the package on the ground and kicked it out of the yard. Wang hurriedly got up and picked it up.
The marriage was called off, but Lin Qingqing still hadn't been found.
Wang held the package in her arms. She wasn't sure whether she felt regret or hatred. It also seemed as if there was nothing there, just an empty space, nothing at all.
Her nephew was born on the day she got married. He was white and chubby. She bought him a silver bracelet on the day he returned home. She felt guilty for not holding him right away.
Wang Quansheng was fat and obedient. Every year she would use the money she saved to buy him a piece of cloth to make him a piece of clothing or a pair of pants. She was afraid that Lin Changhua would have an opinion, so she gave it to him secretly.
After giving for so many years, it turns out that her giving still took away Wang Quan's blessings?
Zhang's voice was loud and everyone in the neighborhood could hear it clearly.
Lin Qingqing's engagement was broken off because Wang had taken away her nephew's blessings, and her family told her not to return to her parents' home in the future.
Li Honghua was lying in bed when she heard the child talking about breaking off the engagement. She laughed out loud twice, then pulled her wound and cried out in pain.
Before noon, the news of the broken engagement spread throughout the village.
Everyone was whispering that Wang was determined to marry her daughter to that idiot nephew, and now that idiot's family didn't want her anymore. It was really unpleasant to be broken off by a idiot.
After all, they are from the same village, and Lin Qingqing ran away. Everyone just talked about it in private and didn't dare to get in front of Lin Changhua's family.
In the afternoon, Lin Chuntao and the others were working in the yard, and Sun sighed a few times.
"I don't know what's become of Qingqing. Where is she now? I hope she's safe. The adults are making such a fuss, it's like a play. If anything happens to her, it would be so unfair."
Lin Chuntao said, "Good fortune will come to those who are lucky. Grandma, don't worry. Qingqing will definitely be fine."
Sun sighed again and turned to Lin Chuntao and said, "We've been searching for so many days and still haven't found it. How can I not be worried?"
Aunt Guizhi knew that Lin Chuntao and the others were going to look for her, so she borrowed a mule cart from her that night. When they came back, they said they didn't find her. Chuntao was a little better, but Chunxing was completely dejected.
But she discovered yesterday that Lin Chunxing was no longer so depressed, but rather a little happy.
Aunt Guizhi suspected that Lin Chuntao and the others had found Lin Qingqing, but they did not tell Lin Changhua what they meant.
Think about it again, today the Wang family came to cancel the engagement, and what they said was so funny, saying that Wang had ruined his nephew's fortune and even met a master. How come no master had figured it out for so many years, but a master today could figure it out?
If you think about it carefully, it's just a coincidence. It's just that the Wang family cherishes their eldest grandson and eldest son too much and despises Wang, so they came to cancel the engagement in a hurry.
If she guessed correctly, Lin Qingqing might come home in a few days.
Sun didn't notice any of this, and was genuinely worried about Lin Qingqing, the younger generation. Aunt Guizhi interrupted and asked Lin Chuntao, "Chuntao, I heard from Madam Yu that your house will be finished in three or four days. Will you move in once it's finished? If so, you can go and pick a date."
Lin Chuntao smiled and said, "I was just about to say this. We'll move as soon as the house is built and cleaned. We'll move as soon as possible. Aunts and grandmothers, I'll ask you to help me cook for a day and treat everyone to a meal when we move to our new home."
Sun said, "Just tell me when to move. It's not a matter of whether to invite you or not."
Aunt Guizhi agreed, "That's right."
Lin Chuntao looked at Mrs. Hu and Mrs. Deng. "Aunts, please help me too. Pei Ying and I didn't have a wedding banquet, and my uncle's relatives weren't even notified. We should use the excuse of moving as an excuse to invite them over. There are so many people in our village, so we'll probably need to have multiple tables."
They were a little surprised to hear Lin Chuntao's words. Hu asked, "Are you going to have a banquet?"
Lin Chuntao shook her head: "It's just a meal, not a wedding banquet."
Mrs. Deng said, "You didn't hold a wedding banquet when you and Xiao Pei got married. Moving is a big deal. You may only move once in decades. You might as well just hold a banquet." What Mrs. Deng wanted to say was that for such a big thing, she would have to give gifts to other people's families too. It would be better to just keep a record and notify everyone. Those who want to come can come, and those who don't want to come can also choose not to come.
Given the current relationships among the families, we only treat each other to meals and don't accept gifts. It would be very troublesome to treat each other again and again.
After listening to her third daughter-in-law's words, Sun told Lin Chuntao about her idea.
Lin Chuntao hissed coldly and said, "Grandma, what you said makes sense. Let's have the banquet and each family can borrow a table."
Mrs. Hu said, "Don't worry about that. When the time comes, each family will just need two."
Lin Chuntao nodded and said, "Then I'll go to Grandpa later to look up the almanac."
The moving date was chosen as October 8th. The next day, Lin Chuntao went to find Lin Qingqing and told her about the cancellation of the engagement and the moving.
"Come back when we move."
Lin Qingqing was silent. Lin Chuntao said, "You can't stay away forever. Take this opportunity to go back. You'll also have dinner at my house that day."
If she had gone back suddenly on an ordinary day, everyone would have stared at her. But that day, Lin Chuntao was having a party and it was lively, so maybe no one would have noticed her.
"I'm afraid I won't be able to get out if I go back." Lin Qingqing was still a little worried. Lin Chuntao said, "Do you want to tell your parents about your situation?"
Lin Qingqing said: "I will go back after I get my first month's salary."
Lin Chuntao nodded slightly, respecting her decision, and reminded her: "People outside are treacherous, so think carefully before you act. If you have any difficulties, you can talk to me or Chunxing."
Lin Qingqing nodded, "Sister, I know."
After finishing her business, Lin Chuntao was about to leave. When she was about to leave, Lin Qingqing hurriedly called her: "Sister, do you know how my mother is...?"
Lin Chuntao shook her head and didn't want to say anything, but after hesitating for a moment, she spoke.
"She must be feeling bad. It's a good thing for people to see things clearly when they are young. It would be painful to realize in your forties that the relatives you deeply love and trust don't love you at all."
Lin Qingqing pursed her lips and said, "Sister, did I do anything wrong?"
Lin Chuntao looked at Lin Qingqing, thinking of their first day cutting weeds in the field, thinking of the intimate look of her and Lin Chuntao holding hands. They were only little girls of thirteen or fourteen years old. Lin Chuntao touched her head.
"You did nothing wrong. Even if your mother is suffering, the root cause is your grandmother and your uncle, not you."
Lin Qingqing nodded, and Lin Chuntao said, "I'm leaving now. I have things to do at home."
On the third day of October, the house was completed, but it had not been cleaned yet.
Yu Meixi and Lin Chuntao said, "Sister Chuntao, we'll come back tomorrow to clean up your room, and then move the bed and cabinets in. Then we'll be done!"
"Go back tomorrow and see if there's anything we haven't done well!"
Lin Chuntao nodded in agreement and said to Yu Meixi, "Then we'll take a look tomorrow and settle the bill after we're done. By the way, the trees haven't been cut down yet."
Sun Hu said, "If we have time, we'll chop it off tomorrow. If not, we'll do it the day after tomorrow. Sister Chuntao, do you agree?"
"Okay, thank you for your hard work these days!"
After seeing Yu Meixi and the others off, the sisters were very excited and shouted that they wanted to take a walk around the new house.
In fact, they have been in and out of the house many times these days as they watched it being built bit by bit, but today seemed a little different because the house was ready. Tomorrow they just had to clean the house, move their things in, and then they could move into the new house.
Not only Lin Chunxing and the others were excited at the thought of living in a new house, but Lin Chuntao couldn't help but feel happy.
There is a well in the backyard, and Lin Chuntao is very happy that she doesn't have to fetch water in the future.
The entire courtyard was huge, and the three sisters ran around inside, running in and out of one door. Lin Chuntao and Pei Ying stood in the main courtyard. She said to Pei Ying, "After we move in, we'll plan the details. We can plant some bamboo, some flowers and plants, and even build a small vegetable garden."
Pei Ying took her hand and responded softly: "Okay, you arrange it when the time comes, and I will do it."
Lin Chuntao laughed when she heard that. She looked up at the sky. The colors in the sky at dusk were very beautiful. White clouds dyed the blue sky, and a ray of colorful clouds left by the setting sun hung in the middle. It was a color that no painter could mix, and it was beautiful beyond words.
The next day, Yu Meixi and her friends brought all the beds, tables, and chairs. A group of people swept the dust on the ground front and back, and helped to wipe the doors and windows of the house in the front yard. After moving the beds in, they wiped them again. They cleaned very carefully. Lin Chuntao was a little shocked by their service.
Although it cost a lot of money to build this house, Yu Meixi and the others did not let her worry about it. Lin Chuntao paid the balance and gave her a red envelope as a thank you.
It was quite interesting. Yu Meixi also wrapped one. The two looked at the red envelopes in each other's hands and suddenly laughed. Yu Meixi took the lead and said, "Sister, your brother and I may not be able to come when you move, so I'll wrap a red envelope for you first to congratulate you on your new home."
Lin Chuntao took it without hesitation.
"On the evening of the eighth day of the Lunar New Year, you and Big Brother must come to dinner. If Old Ma and the others are free, you should also invite them to come. This is a small token of my appreciation. Thank you."
Yu Meixi refused to accept it and kept saying, “Sister, this is what we should do.”
Lin Chuntao said, "I've been building this for over a month. I know you've been helping me with the work every day. You've all been working hard, so just think of it as me treating everyone to a pot of hot pot. Take it, sister-in-law."
Lin Chuntao stuffed it directly into Yu Meixi's hand.
After the bill was settled, Sun Hu and his team cut down the trees and took them away in the afternoon, and the matter was settled.
While Lin Chuntao and the others were chopping down trees, Niu Hongxi and the others also chopped down two trees and sold them for five taels of silver.
Sun Hu and his team pulled away the main trunk, and Lin Chuntao and his team had to keep the trimmed branches as firewood, so they brought them all back home. The trees were big, with lush branches and leaves, and a large pile was left from the three trees. Fortunately, Sun Hu and his team also helped to bring some back.
After cleaning, the new house was very clean and bright. The windows were large and the light was very good. The template of the board building above was also a brand new color. Although it was a yellow clay wall, it was not black because of the straw pounded inside. It looked very clean and made people feel happy.
The rooms for the sisters were divided up, and Lin Duoer and Lin Chuntao said, "Sister, I really want to move in tonight."
Lin Chuntao smiled and said, "Let's go to the county town tomorrow and buy some straw mats to spread out. I'll also go see if the quilts and covers are ready. We'll bring them back early, wash them, and dry them. We'll move in on the eighth day of the new year."
"Okay! Sister, can we each have a quilt?"
Lin Chuntao tutted, "You don't believe what I say? That's right, one bed per person."
Lin Chunhe laughed beside him and said, "If we don't have one bed for each of us, do we have to take turns like this, with me covering the bed tonight and you covering the bed tomorrow?"
Lin Chunxing couldn't help but burst out laughing.
Lin Duoer snorted at Lin Chunhe, "I'm angry!"
Lin Chunhe imitated her moves, and the two sisters started to play around, chasing each other in the yard.
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