Chapter 136 Human relationships and worldly wisdom are nothing more than this.
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Just as Li Shiyue had guessed, the people from all the Li family villages in Liujiatun were indeed at home talking to their relatives about Li Shiyue digging a grave and building a tomb for her father.
Dog Lao San carried a bucket of still-steaming hot water into the house. He turned around and quickly closed the door tightly to keep the cold air out.
Although he had gotten a good deal in the barbarian tribe with Li Shiyue last time, how could Gou Laosan not understand the principle of not flaunting wealth?
So, even though Dog Lao San was still wearing the same gray, patched clothes, there were two large bags of grain piled up in the northwest corner of the room. These were the grains he bought himself from the grain store in Sanshan County when he followed Liu Tan to the mortuary outside Sanshan County to retrieve the bodies of the families.
With food at home, there's no need to panic.
There were two large bags, enough for Third Aunt and Dog Lao San to eat until spring.
Third Aunt, a thin old woman, could hardly eat two bowls of rice a day, but she could eat her fill by feeding Dog Lao San.
After preparing the foot bath water for his third aunt, Dog Lao San placed the basin by the kang (a heated brick bed).
"Auntie, hurry up and wash your feet while they're still warm. Soaking them in hot water will help you sleep better tonight."
Third Aunt put down the clothes she was mending, carefully put away the needle and thread, and the little old lady slowly crawled to the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed).
Third Auntie had previously asked Dog Lao San to wash first, but Dog Lao San immediately said to her, "My feet stink, even I find them disgusting."
"After my aunt finishes washing, I'll pour some more hot water and wash with it."
Dog Lao San's sweaty feet were really smelly, so Auntie San accepted Dog Lao San's kindness. She put her legs down and put her feet into the hot water basin to soak them, feeling the warmth spread from the soles of her feet to her heart.
"Third brother, when you went out today, did you really see October digging a hole on the mountain?"
"How could it be fake? I saw it with Brother Ma and the others."
October, Stone, and her scholarly second uncle were all there, just a few feet away from the cemetery where the scholar was chosen. How could I be mistaken?
Third Aunt, who had spent most of her life in Lijia Village, still found it hard to believe.
My third aunt is almost fifty years old, with one foot already in the grave. She never imagined that her daughter would be digging her father's grave.
People believe that raising sons and having them marry off, and raising daughters and having them marry off, means that once a daughter is married off, she belongs to another family. How can she stay at home to take care of you in your old age and see you off when you die?
Of course, Li Shiyue is not too old and is not married, but there is still Shitou, isn't there?
"...If your Uncle Fu knew about this, he probably wouldn't be happy. He'd have to talk about October."
Dog Lao San curled his lips, then clicked his tongue twice before saying to his third aunt, "Auntie, you don't need to worry about Shi Yue. Shi Yue may not be very old, but she is someone who can talk to Xiucai Gong. What is she afraid of Uncle Youfu saying?"
I think she's probably just waiting to see what Uncle Youfu will say about her.
Seeing that his third aunt had taken a cloth to wipe her feet, Dog Lao San got off the kang (a heated brick bed), picked up a basin, added two ladles of hot water, and put his feet in to wash them with the hot water his third aunt had used.
Dog Lao San told his third aunt about the day Li Youfu said at his house that he wanted to rebuild the ancestral hall and asked everyone to contribute money, but Li Shiyue asked him on the spot whether women could enter the ancestral hall.
"...Auntie, listen to what Shiyue said. She made it clear that if women are not allowed to enter the ancestral hall, she won't pay any money.
If Uncle Fu were to stand up and say that Shiyue shouldn't have dug up her father's grave and built a tomb, I bet Shiyue would have to ask to leave the clan.
The general recognized her abilities and wanted her to join the army. If Uncle Fu had used the old methods, he would have forced October to leave on her own.
She doesn't need anyone's help to make a living in October, so why would she be afraid of what Uncle Fu might say?
Besides, she dug a grave and built a tomb for her own father, which is an act of filial piety. Given her father's condition, isn't what Shiyue did enough?
What can Uncle Fu say?
"So, October is a girl?"
Everyone in Lijia Village knew Li Shiyue's temperament during their escape from famine.
There are at least a dozen, if not dozens, of people who have died at Li Shiyue's hands. Aren't they really afraid?
Of course they were afraid.
They were afraid that if they spoke too harshly, Li Shiyue would hold a knife to their necks.
Li Youfu still remembered how Zheng Meiniang brandished a pig-slaughtering knife in front of him, and Li Shiyue would be even worse.
Zheng Meiniang's knife was a pig-slaughtering knife, mostly used for slaughtering pigs, while Li Shiyue's wood-chopping knife was not used for chopping wood, but was actually used for killing people!
Therefore, Li Shiyue waited at home until dark, but no one came to her door to complain.
The next day, when the weather cleared up, she lay at home until the sun was high in the sky, but still no one came to her house to gossip. Li Youfu also didn't send anyone to her house to ask her to come over and talk.
Li Shiyue was genuinely bored. She had prepared a whole host of things to say, just waiting to unleash her full barrage of insults.
As a result, they simply didn't respond!
You know, it's really all for nothing.
Since no one came to "educate" her, after eating, Li Shiyue took Shitou, Li Qiutian, and Li Xiatian, carrying knives and baskets, and went up the mountain.
Yes, we went up the mountain.
It's already December, and the New Year will be here in the blink of an eye.
In the first year after settling down, you'll have to go through the proper channels and connections.
Human relationships are nothing more than this.
However, having just settled in Liujiatun, he didn't have much money in his pocket. Although he had just gotten a good deal from the barbarians, he couldn't just go to their door and give them the gold bowls and plates he had gotten from them as gifts, could he?
As for the gold plate that Li Shiyue sent to Yan Jiuniang in his letter to inquire about information, that was a reward for asking someone for a favor, not a New Year's gift. It's not the same thing.
But when it comes to spending real money to buy gifts, Li Shiyue is still reluctant.
Her family are all big eaters; they can all eat a lot. Wouldn't it be better to use the money to buy food for their own consumption?
Why do we have to buy some flashy but impractical gifts to give to people?
Besides, do people like Liu Tan and Yan Jiuniang lack money?
Do they lack people to deliver those expensive-looking and genuinely valuable gifts?
Well, in short, Li Shiyue is just unwilling to spend money.
So she set her sights on this Black Mountain.
Animals live off the land they live in. In winter, many animals in the mountains hibernate, but many others come out to forage for food because of hunger.
We can eat the meat of wild animals ourselves, and we can give away their fur. If the fur is good-looking, it's a great way to give it away.
This is just a little effort, it doesn't cost any money, it's not as good as spending a lot of money to buy a gift.
Just before leaving, Li Xiatian carried the strong bow of the barbarian (Agulang) that had been hanging on the wall inside the house.
“I’ll go up the mountain and try this,” Li Xiatian said to Li Shiyue and Li Qiutian, carrying his bow.
"Sister, give it a try! I think you can do it!"
After explaining the situation to Li's mother and Zheng Meiniang, the three sisters and Shi Tou went up the mountain.
Li Wangming stood at the door, hesitant to speak, but in the end he kept his mouth shut and said nothing.
Li Shiyue certainly saw the look on Li Wangming's face that made him want to speak, but she didn't want to pay attention. She had already complied with his wishes by building a cenotaph for Li's father and putting on a show of kowtowing. What else did he want to do?
Li Wangming watched the four figures walk up the mountain behind him, thinking to himself, "My elder brother has just been buried; it's not good to kill any living beings."
However, no one listened to him.
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