Chapter 12 Family
After considering the pros and cons of the three houses in her mind, Li San Niang told Chen Ya Lang that she wanted to arrange a time to visit the second and third houses to check out the environment. If they were satisfactory, she would ask Chen Ya Lang to help her sign the contract to buy the second house, then help her rent it out, and then rent the third property.
Chen Yalang was surprised for a moment, but then, with great professionalism, he agreed, saying that he would come over at noon to take Li Sanniang to see the house.
Having made the arrangement, Li Sanniang promptly saw Chen Yalang out.
As they passed the clinic, Li's father stopped her, gave her a prescription, and asked Li San Niang to also brew some medicine to promote lactation and nourish Li Er Sao.
Upon hearing the recipe, Li San Niang naturally blurted out, "Let's replace the red beans. It would be much better to buy two big pig trotters and stew them for Li Er Sao."
After saying this, Li San Niang realized that she actually knew how to prescribe Chinese medicine. It seems that Li San Niang is really talented and learned a lot of medicine from her father before getting married.
Upon hearing this, Li's father grinned and said, "Your talent for modifying formulas is still there. Alright, go ahead."
She took Lu Zhu'er and Sister-in-law Li to see Sister-in-law Li's wound and Little Wulang, who was gulping down rice and oil. She entrusted Lu Zhu'er to Sister-in-law Li for a while, and then took a basket and finally made her way to the meat stall. She was a little late, but luckily there were still pig trotters left. She ordered two pig trotters. When she saw the pig offal, Sister-in-law Li didn't dare to buy it, because she only knew how to eat it, not how to cook it.
Even the stewed pig's trotters I'm planning to stew later are something I'm planning to ask my sister-in-law for help with.
Since they were already there, Li San Niang bought two more jin of the leftover, less fatty pork. Two jin certainly wasn't enough for the whole family, but it would be good if they could have a side dish so that everyone could have a couple of pieces.
What a coincidence! I had just returned to the clinic after buying meat when I saw Old Man Wu, Uncle Wu, and Aunt Wu driving their donkey cart.
Li San Niang thought to herself, "This must have been sent by Li's mother early this morning to Li Er Sao's family."
Li San Niang quickly stepped forward to greet them and led the three of them into the house. Li Er Xiong, with his sharp eyes, spotted them immediately and hurried over to pay his respects to Li Er Sao's grandfather, father, and mother. He also took the bundle and basket from Wu Da Niang's hands. Li Er Xiong wanted to help Wu Lao Han and Wu Da Shu carry the sack and bamboo basket, but he only had two hands and couldn't manage it.
Mr. Li saw it at this time, greeted everyone, and helped Old Man Wu carry the large sack inside. The bamboo basket was quite heavy, and Uncle Wu carried it in himself.
Hearing the lively greetings, Li's mother, Li's eldest sister-in-law, and Luzhu, who was being held by Li's eldest sister-in-law, came out to greet Li's second sister-in-law's family.
Please invite Old Man Wu, Uncle Wu, and Aunt Wu to sit down in the main hall. Let Little Dewdrop follow her grandmother. Li San Niang and Li Da Sao hurriedly made tea and took out some pastries from the cabinet to plate and take them out.
"Don't be so polite, serving such expensive tea. We're all family. This morning I heard from you that my Lanniang had given birth to a boy, and I was overjoyed. That's why my eldest son and his wife quickly packed some things and came over."
“This is not politeness at all. Wu Li is a proper in-law of my Li family, so how could we be lacking in etiquette? You have come from afar, so please have some tea to wash away your sweat. You can eat at home in a while, and have some snacks first. Brother Wu, please don’t be shy, make yourself at home.”
As she spoke, Li's mother invited Aunt Wu to have some tea and snacks.
"Hehe, you're right, in-law. We'll listen to you."
Old Wu had served as the village head for many years, so he was quite knowledgeable. Although his speech was mixed with some local dialect, his Mandarin was quite good, and he didn't seem too reserved.
Uncle Wu and Aunt Wu, on the other hand, are honest, simple-minded people from the countryside. Their tanned faces are all smiles, revealing a hint of guilt and timidity.
The two in-laws then recounted the harrowing experience of Li Ersao's childbirth and the story of Xiao Wulang, whose newborn hair was already beautiful. They chatted about various things in the countryside, and also talked about how many copper coins they had earned by processing medicinal herbs using the methods taught by Li Erxiong.
After exchanging pleasantries, Li's mother led Wu's mother into the house to see Li's second sister-in-law and Xiao Wulang, and then carried Xiao Wulang out the door to show him to Wu's father and uncle.
Old Wu would say that Xiao Wulang's eyebrows and eyes resembled those of Li Erxiong, so his appearance couldn't be bad. Uncle Wu would only say, "Wulang is good-looking."
In the kitchen, Li San Niang and Li Da Sao were pondering how to make the best lunch.
Li Ersao's family brought many good things.
The sack that Old Wu was carrying contained three fat chickens with their legs tied, and two wild rabbits.
Aunt Wu's bundle had already been taken inside; it was probably some small clothes she had made for Xiao Wulang. The basket she was carrying contained quite a few eggs, a small bag of brown sugar, and even a small earthenware jar of honey! It was probably something the Wu family found while gathering herbs in the mountains and picked from the beehive themselves.
Uncle Wu's big bamboo basket was full of things. At the bottom were a lot of large sweet potatoes, as well as a lot of soybeans, millet, and two small bundles of chives. Li San Niang also found two river fish, a few wild peaches, and a small pile of wild apricots inside.
It turns out Uncle Wu's basket wasn't light; there were quite a few things inside.
Father Li stayed behind to continue chatting with Old Man Wu, while Second Brother Li was persuaded to return to the medicine cabinet to get busy. Uncle Wu, being an honest man, didn't rest while looking at the herbs drying in the yard. He told Old Man Wu and got up to sort through the herbs. Uncle Wu was finally at ease, no longer having to engage in such literary conversation.
When Li's mother left Wu's mother and Li's second sister-in-law to have a private chat, she went to the kitchen and saw Li's third sister-in-law taking out two river fish by the straw ropes attached to their gills.
Finally, Li's mother decided to keep one fish alive to make fish soup for Li's second sister-in-law next time. Today, she would make stew with the pig's trotters that Li's third sister-in-law had just bought. The two pounds of pork were stir-fried with scallions. The other fish was cooked at noon and steamed.
The three kinds of flour that Li San Niang bought, along with a pot of egg and pancake soup made by Li Da Sao, would be good for entertaining guests and nourishing Li Er Sao.
Blanch the chives and mix them with homemade side dishes for a cold salad. Then go out and buy two roast geese. Yes, the same roast geese that the whole family ate when we celebrated Li San Niang getting rid of her scumbag boyfriend last time.
If we get another pot of wine, this feast for our guests will be quite adequate.
After Li's mother made up her mind, Li's sister-in-law and Li's third sister-in-law obediently began to carry it out.
Li's mother went to the street and spent a lot of money to buy three roast geese, two to entertain guests and one as a return gift. She also bought four kinds of snacks and two jugs of wine, one to be kept for entertaining guests at noon and the other to be given as a return gift.
Li's mother thought to herself, "Luckily, I boiled a lot of eggs this morning and added red dots to them. With the red eggs and the four gifts, that should be enough."
Li San Niang didn't develop culinary skills in modern times, nor did she in ancient times. After all, before her marriage, her sister-in-law Li Da Sao was in charge of cooking, and the Wang family already had a cook. Li San Niang could diagnose illnesses, prescribe medicine, and even modify prescriptions—skills most women couldn't possess. Therefore, the Wang family at the time didn't care whether Li San Niang was a good cook or not.
Therefore, at this time, Li San Niang could only assist Li Da Sao, doing things like washing vegetables, tending the fire, and watching the steamer.
Seeing how busy Sister-in-law Li was, Li San Niang felt a little sorry for her and felt awkward about not knowing how to help.
"Third Sister, are you making that show for your sister-in-law? Haha, it's alright, you're not this busy every day. You've already helped your sister-in-law a lot on weekdays, so don't worry about it."
"Hmph, now you think of helping your sister-in-law? When I asked you to stay in the kitchen a little longer, you acted like you were suffering a great injustice, feeling sorry for your sister-in-law, but you didn't even bother to wash that pile of vegetables. You have no sense at all."
Just then, Li's mother returned with a basket in her arms.
After all that work, the Li and Wu families, who were related by marriage, finally had lunch. To make things easier and less formal, a separate table was set up for the women in Li Ersao's room. Except for the lack of wine, the dishes were no different from those on Li's father's table. However, Li Ersao had an extra bowl of pig's trotter and soybean soup.
At noon, both the host and guests enjoyed the meal. Old Man Wu was very pleased with the Li family's serious attitude. He felt that he had really gotten lucky when he agreed to marry his eldest granddaughter, Lan Niang. In all these years, he had never seen any city family treat a rural family from outside the city with such sincerity and respect. It was also because Lan Niang herself was capable, good at processing medicinal herbs, had a good temperament, and could give birth to a son. Which family wouldn't be happy?
Old Man Wu had drunk too much and was a little confused. Uncle Wu didn't like the drink, but luckily there was still one sober person, so the Wu family could drive the donkey cart back to the village with peace of mind.
Finally, carrying the four return gifts prepared by Li's mother, Li's second brother personally escorted them to the city gate. The Wu family came happily and left happily.
There's no time for a lunch break today. After a short rest, Mr. Li will go to his office.
Li's mother, Li's sister-in-law, and Li's third sister-in-law spent a long time washing and cleaning in the kitchen. Even Luzhu'er didn't get a nap today, so Li's father took her to the front to watch over her.
Before we were even finished, Chen Yalang arrived.
Li San Niang quickly wiped her hands, gave some instructions, and followed Chen Ya Lang to the door to hail a donkey cart to go look at the house.
The second house was in Datie Alley, not too far from where the Li family lived. It was just a long way after crossing two intersections and turning in.
Upon entering, the place was fairly clean. You could still hear the clanging of blacksmiths at the entrance. Further inside, you could hear some sounds, but they were much quieter and barely audible.
Li San Niang noticed that the wall in the courtyard looked like it had been built later. After asking Chen Ya Lang, she learned that the courtyard and the neighboring house were originally one. Later, the brothers divided the family property, with most of the property going to the eldest son and a small portion to the second son. It was during this division of property that the wall was built.
The original owner had many descendants and couldn't fit them all in, so he thought of selling the property to buy a larger, more spacious place in the outer city.
Li San Niang looked at the house and found some flaws, such as the doors and windows, which needed to be replaced with larger and better ones. There was also no furniture in the house, but it wasn't too bad, since the Li family still had the good wooden dowry furniture that Li San Niang had brought back from her homecoming in the side room.
However, I only intend to buy this house and have independent property so that I can register my daughter's household at the household registration department and obtain the document with the official red deed that will give me custody of Luzhu'er.
So, just buy some old furniture from a pawnshop or ask Chen Yalang to help you find some more, and that will be enough.
Without further ado, after visiting this place, Li San Niang and Chen Ya Lang went to Siji Alley.
This place is really nice. It's near Qinglian Academy, and the people who come and go are all quite well-off. It's far from the city, quiet and peaceful. Not to mention, the flower garden that the original owner mentioned is really beautiful. Li San Niang doesn't recognize the flowers, but they look very natural, fresh and interesting.
And these two jujube trees, their canopies shade almost half of this not-so-small yard from the sun. Just imagine how pleasant it would be to place a deck chair under these trees.
Having seen both places, Li San Niang was very satisfied. She told Chen Ya Lang to buy the second place and complete the transaction as soon as possible. She also asked Chen Ya Lang to find some decent furniture at a low price and to find some carpenters to renovate the doors and windows so that they could be rented out to collect some rent.
Chen Yalang was quite pleased to hear this, after all, it was a considerable fee.
As for the third house, we'll just rent it directly, and it would be best if we could complete the formalities together tomorrow.
Li San Niang thanked Chen Ya Lang and they agreed to go together to complete the property transfer procedures the next morning.
Haha, I, Li San Niang, am now a person with a house in Kaipeitou!
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