Chapter 415 (Extra) Lu Dongcai Part 2
After spending a day together, Hu Qingqing was no longer afraid of Lu Dongcai, and she no longer spoke words one by one.
When they got off work in the evening, Lu Dongcai and Lu Minghai both carried two full baskets of pig feed.
Lu Dongcai was still shocked when he got home, and couldn't help but look back and forth at Hu Qingqing.
Lu Dongfu was also shocked. There was a small pile of pig grass under the eaves, and there were two backpacks full of it.
He called out to Gao Xiulan, "Mom, you were picking pig grass today. Didn't you go to work?"
"How can I not work? I am working. Your second sister-in-law is the one who made it happen."
Lu Dongfu looked at Hu Qingqing and said with a smile: "Second sister-in-law, you are quite amazing now."
After saying that, she waited for Lu Dongcai to enter the room, poked him, and winked: "Second brother, what do you think? Mom's vision is not bad, it's a powerful one."
One of Hu Qingqing’s strengths: she is good at pulling pig grass.
Lu Dongcai took a look at her hands that were covered with grass and mud. There was no flesh at all, and the back of her hands were covered with scars, like chicken claws. He just didn't understand how she could work so fast.
I'm good at picking pig grass, but I don't know how to do anything else.
But it's hard to say. I just arrived home and I'm unfamiliar with the place, so I always have to show that I'm hungry. Li Laiying was the same at that time. Although she was not as fast as her, she was also very efficient in doing things.
Everyone in the family was looking at her and whispering to each other. Hu Qingqing felt a little uneasy, but the uneasiness soon disappeared.
After washing the dishes and helping Chuyi for a while, she couldn't help but look into the kitchen. She was hungry, very hungry. She hadn't been lazy at all today and had been working all the time. Now she was so hungry that her chest was sticking to her back and she felt like her intestines were about to break.
She didn't know when she could eat, so she didn't dare to ask.
Lu Dongcai went to the kitchen and saw that there was still water in the vat, so he went to his private plot.
When I turned around, I had two handfuls of red toon sprouts in my hands.
"Mom, if you stop for two days, the Chinese toon sprouts will break off. If they grow any longer, they will become old."
As he said this, he took the toon sprouts in his hand into the kitchen and said, "Look, they are all edible."
"Pinch it, rinse it, and then go get two eggs from the drawer in my room and fry them up for a bowl. Let's try something new."
Lu Dongcai responded, pinched it swiftly, and then rinsed it with water.
There are two big handfuls of tender buds, and there are still a lot left after pinching them.
Two eggs aren't many, but there are only four of them, so everyone can still have a bite.
Scrambled eggs with Chinese toon, the smell spreads everywhere.
Hu Qingqing was so greedy that she could hardly hold the pig grass knife in her hand. She stopped for a moment, took a deep breath and continued to work seriously.
You have to work hard, otherwise you won’t have anything to eat.
It was already late, and if Lu Dongfu hadn't thrown some pig feed into the pigpen as soon as he came back, the two pigs would have started rebelling.
Before she finished chopping, Lu Dongcai came over and squatted beside her: "I'll do it, you go and soak your hands well and wash them clean, then you can eat."
When it comes to something as important as eating, Hu Qingqing will definitely not be slow if she can be quick.
It’s just that washing hands is quite difficult.
She put her hands in the water and rubbed them over and over again, but they were still black. Even though she had just soaked her hands yesterday, the grass pulp that had been on her fingertips for years was hard to get off. Today, some more was on her fingertips, and no matter how she washed, they were far from clean.
Dinner was grits porridge, thin as water, but with pancakes on top. It was something Hu Qingqing had never tasted before.
Scrambled eggs with Chinese toon and pickled vegetables were rolled in pancakes. They smelled so good that Hu Qingqing wanted to eat three or five of them at once and eat until she was full.
Gao Xiulan picked up half of the two eggs and soaked them in rice porridge to feed Chuyi.
The old couple symbolically picked some spring buds and gave the rest to the three of them.
Lu Dongcai and Lu Dongfu were very considerate of her during meals. The two brothers showed their utmost kindness to her and gave all the eggs to her.
In fact, he looked so pitiful with his skinny body.
To be honest, if he wasn't afraid that his second brother would feel uncomfortable, Lu Dongfu wouldn't have called him "second sister-in-law". She was a little older and looked almost the same as Chun'e.
No one has ever treated Hu Qingqing so well in her life.
She was always scolded when she ate, so she was lucky to get a bite to eat. Sometimes, when she was beaten, she didn't dare go back home and would hide in the mountains for three or five days without anyone looking for her. When she was extremely hungry, she would eat anything.
As she ate, tears started to fall from her eyes. She turned her head away and squatted there, not daring to be seen. Her nose was a little stuffy, and she couldn't hide it.
Gao Xiulan saw this and gave Lu Dongfu a look. Lu Dongfu reached out and poked Lu Dongcai, then quietly pointed at Hu Qingqing who was facing the wall with her head lowered.
Then he ran away with the bowl in his hand.
Things like coaxing a wife require a good environment, so he went first.
Lu Dongcai came over with the bowl in his hand and squatted in front of Hu Qingqing: "What's wrong? Why are you crying while eating?"
Hu Qingqing was embarrassed. She hurriedly wiped her face with her hands and smiled at him: "No, I didn't cry. It's just that the food mom cooked is so delicious. I haven't eaten it since I was a child. I'm so happy."
The meal was so delicious that you cried with excitement?
After a while, Lu Dongcai came back to his senses, sighed, and handed over the pancake he had rolled in his hand: "Here, this one is for you too. Our family is also very poor, but we will never let you go hungry again."
Hu Qingqing waved her hands hurriedly: "That's enough, that's enough, I've had enough, hurry up and eat, you've been tired all day."
Since she didn't want it, Lu Dongcai didn't force her.
It was already late after dinner, so he held Chuyi and walked around the edge of the yard, talking to Lu Dongping for a while. When he was almost out of sight, he helped Chuyi urinate and handed him over to Gao Xiulan.
After washing up and lying down, Lu Dongcai asked Hu Qingqing: "Don't you have enough to eat when you are at home?" After asking, he realized that he asked a nonsense question. If you could have enough to eat, would your family exchange the girl for food?
Hu Qingqing's voice took a long time to ring out. "Our family is different from here. We have a large family, but not many people can work. There are six of us, and I'm the second oldest. I have a younger sister and three younger brothers. Anyway, we've never had enough to eat. I get whatever there is to eat in the mountains."
Lu Dongcai sighed: "This is your home now. As long as you take care of yourself, you will never go hungry again." He reminded himself more than once that he must not be soft-hearted, but seeing such a skinny little girl crying because of a full meal, he softened his heart again.
Hu Qingqing sniffed and hummed, "I know, you are all good people." As she spoke, she naturally curled up and faced him.
Lu Dongcai took a deep breath: "Sleep well, lie down, the quilt can't cover you anymore."
"oh!"
It was well-behaved for only a while. After falling asleep, it became naughty again and naturally curled up into a ball. Its claws were just digging into his arms and it couldn't be pulled away, just like a monkey climbing a tree.
After saving some pig grass, she went to the fields with her family and hoes the next day.
Chuyi put the child on the side and watched him. When he was unhappy, several adults took turns carrying him.
The weeds in the early corn fields have been almost cleared, and the team members can finally breathe a sigh of relief.
It's not that relaxing at all. If I don't go to work, I have to race against time to do housework, and I also have to take care of my private plot in this little free time.
When weeding, I took the corn seedlings that I had picked and planted them wherever I could find a place. Then I had to carry water to irrigate them every morning and evening.
Lu Dongcai found a bamboo pole to hook the Chinese toon, and Hu Qingqing picked them up from below with a basket.
On Sunday, Lu Chun'e from next door came to call her and asked her if she wanted to go up the mountain, saying that there were bamboo shoots in the mountains.
She often runs around in the mountains, so of course she knows that there are bamboo shoots in this season, but everyone at home is very busy, so she is embarrassed to run around in the mountains.
Gao Xiulan was happy to let her go out with Lu Chun'e and the others. It just so happened that Lu Dongfu also wanted to go up the mountain: "Go ahead, there's still pig grass. I'm at home too. You don't need to watch over me on Chuyi. You go to the mountain with your cousin and Chun'e. Don't go too far."
Hu Qingqing responded, carrying the backpack and running with Lu Dongfu.
After she left, Gao Xiulan asked Lu Dongcai, "We've been together for a few days, how is it going?"
Lu Dongcai said while busying himself, "I can't tell, my eyesight is poor." He had been misjudging people he had been with for several years, let alone those he had only known for a few days.
Gao Xiulan laughed: "You're quite self-aware."
Lu Dongcai:——
"She's a little small, but she's cheerful and lively. She's generous and self-reliant, and she doesn't have those petty things to hide."
Lu Dongcai said nothing.
These days, the news that he had a wife spread throughout the team. As soon as he started working, his peers and people of similar age would tease him.
He didn't even know how to start speaking.
Ask him if he can do it?
I really can't go down.
Every time he got hit while sleeping at night, he felt like a bastard, worse than pigs and dogs.
Lu Dongcai suddenly remembered that he would take Hu Qingqing to the supply and marketing cooperative when he had time, but he forgot about it when he finally had some free time.
He called Gao Xiulan, "I'm going to the commune."
"Why are you going to the commune for no reason?"
"Go buy Qingqing some things, hair ties and combs. I had everything taken away from home before, so I don't have anything left."
Gao Xiulan came to her senses, got up and went into the house, and took out two dollars for him: "Then go, and bring back some salt by the way."
Lu Dongcai responded and left with the money.
Hu Qingqing and Lu Dongfu returned in the afternoon just as the sun was setting, both of them returning with a full load.
Even Lu Dongfu, a calm and composed man, couldn't help but feel excited. He put the backpack on the eaves, took a few deep breaths, and went to find Gao Xiulan with his clothes in his pockets: "Mom, mom, look, there's something good."
A bag of pheasant eggs, about a dozen.
Lu Dongfu's eyes sparkled: "My second sister-in-law did it. I don't know how she found it. She picked it up as soon as I saw it. There are so many."
"Hey!"
Lu Dongfu added, "She's really amazing. She doesn't look that big, but she looks like she could be blown over by a gust of wind. She's incredibly strong. The bamboo shoots were so heavy, she carried most of the basket back."
It's impossible not to admire it.
Gao Xiulan picked up the pheasant eggs, and he ran to the private plot to find Lu Dongcai: "Second brother, second brother, let me tell you, my second sister-in-law is really amazing."
After saying that, he repeated what he had said to his mother before.
Lu Dongcai was also surprised, but after the surprise, he gradually calmed down. He asked Lu Dongfu, "You are a cultured person. Tell me, will she change in the future? Will she be fine for the past two years, and then become like that guy after she gets established at home?"
Lu Dongfu looked at him and knew that he was scared by that woman Li Laiying.
"Second brother, second sister-in-law is different from her. How can people be the same? Yes, people will change. As they grow older, they will definitely have more ideas. No one will remain unchanged until they die. But it is impossible for everyone to change for the worse."
"Take her for example. When she first came to our house, she was very hardworking and capable, but don't you know her personality? Besides you, she doesn't talk to anyone else in this family. When Mom talks to her, she only answers one question at a time. People who keep everything to themselves are really scary. They're secretly plotting ways to mess with you."
"Second sister-in-law is different. Although she has only been home for a few days, their personalities are completely different. She is a very simple person. Whatever she thinks is written on her face. After just a few days, she can talk and play with Chun'e and cousin's wife. And Chuyi, she used to cry whenever she hugged Chuyi. Have you seen second sister-in-law cry when she hugged Chuyi these days?"
"Whether a person is good or not, the child knows it best."
PS: I saw a reader ask about this, so I wrote a story about Dongcai and Qingqing at their request. It's about 100,000 words long, and I hope you enjoy it. If you don't like their story, you can skip ahead; the main story is already finished. Also, the new book will still be a period piece, and I'm already in the works.
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