The next morning, Zhang was cooking while Liu Tangxi was lighting a fire nearby.
Having used flint before, Liu Tangxi was now very familiar with making a fire and it only took him a few tries.
After the big pot was heated, Zhang began to add water to the pot to wash the rice and cook the porridge.
After everything was ready, Liu Tangxi turned the fire to the small stove next to him.
After the dishes were stewed, the only sounds in the kitchen could be the sounds of porridge cooking, stewing, and the firewood burning at the bottom of the pot.
Looking at the flames at the bottom of the pot, Liu Tangxi suddenly found something unusual today. It seemed to be a little quieter.
Soon, Liu Tangxi discovered the problem.
Zhang is different from before.
Although Zhang is usually a taciturn person, she seems to be particularly silent today.
Several times, Liu Tangxi saw Zhang looking at her and raised her head to look over. However, Zhang quickly turned her eyes away and said nothing.
After this happened several times, Liu Tangxi more or less understood it.
"Sister-in-law, do you have something to tell me?"
Zhang is different from Wei Hanzhou.
She had a good impression of Zhang and didn't want him to keep anything to himself. She didn't know how long they would be together in the future, so it would be better to resolve any conflicts in a timely manner.
"That..." Zhang hesitated for a moment, glanced at Liu Tangxi, pursed her lips, and seemed to want to say something. However, after opening her mouth, she closed it again.
"Nothing." Zhang denied.
Liu Tangxi frowned.
Seeing that the fire at the bottom of the pot had grown smaller, Liu Tangxi took some firewood from the side and slowly filled the bottom of the pot.
Listening to the crackling sound of burning matches coming from the bottom of the pot, Liu Tangxi fell into deep thought.
There must be something wrong.
But she didn't know what it was.
After a while, Zhang reminded: "The porridge is ready, third brother and sister-in-law don't need to add more firewood."
"Ah? Oh." Liu Tangxi came back to his senses.
At this time, the voice of Zhou's daughter came from the yard: "Fuyao, you can't run around anymore. We agreed yesterday that from today on, your third aunt will teach you embroidery."
"Mom, I'll play for a while first and then study in the afternoon." Fu Yao retorted.
"How old are you? You're still going out to play. Look, how many girls your age are there in the whole Weijia Village playing outside? Girls from other families have already helped with cooking, washing clothes, and feeding pigs. I'm telling you, don't make me angry. Forget about going out today."
Wei Fuyao muttered a few more words, but Liu Tangxi didn't hear clearly what he said.
Afterwards, Li went over and gave some advice.
At this time, Liu Tangxi heard Zhang's sigh and the deep envy in her eyes.
An idea suddenly occurred to Liu Tangxi.
She suddenly thought of what Zhou had said yesterday, as well as what Li and Zhang had said, and she had a guess in her mind.
"Sister-in-law, do you want Shulan to learn together?" Liu Tangxi asked directly.
Zhang was stunned at first, then asked uncertainly, "Is this... is this okay?"
She was not as smart as Zhou, and she had never thought of letting Liu Tangxi teach her daughter. However, after Zhou proposed it, she was somewhat tempted.
In this world, there are parents who don't love their daughters and don't think about their future.
"Teaching one is the same as teaching two. As long as my sister-in-law is willing to hand Shulan over to me, I have no objection." Liu Tangxi said half-jokingly.
After getting a definite answer, Zhang gradually smiled and said with a little excitement: "Thank you, Third Sister-in-law. Your eldest brother and I are grateful to you. When Shulan grows up, I will definitely let her honor you well."
"What did my sister-in-law say? Shulan is still young, only three years old. I don't know if my sister-in-law feels sorry for her." Liu Tangxi said.
Zhang wiped the tears from her eyes and said, "I really can't bear to let her learn at such a young age. I'm afraid she'll cut her hand or hurt her eyes. But I heard that girls from wealthy families also learn embroidery from a young age. Not only embroidery, but also other things. If I feel sorry for her now, she will be like me in the future, knowing nothing and having a hard time finding a husband. That would be really harmful to her."
Zhang knew very well that her embroidery skills were only enough to make a living, and Liu Tangxi's exquisite craftsmanship was the ancestral craft.
"Sister-in-law, you're too kind. Her third uncle is a scholar, so she will always be able to find a good husband." Liu Tangxi comforted her.
As long as Wei Hanzhou doesn't go against the male protagonist, her future will be limitless. As his niece, she will definitely be able to find a good in-law.
Zhang said, "It is better to rely on yourself than on others. If she learns a skill, she will never be hungry again. When she gets married, her husband's family will look up to her."
After listening to Zhang's words, Liu Tangxi suddenly felt that the responsibility on his shoulders was heavier.
"Don't worry, sister-in-law. I will teach you well." Liu Tangxi said seriously.
"Thank you, third brother and sister-in-law." Zhang said with a smile.
Then, Liu Tangxi found that the Wei family treated her better.
After dinner, she wanted to wash the dishes, but Li refused.
However, she had no purpose in teaching Fuyao and Shulan, and Li was the elder, so she didn't feel comfortable asking the old lady to wash the dishes. Li was already tired enough taking care of the third child, so she didn't dare to bother her.
"Mom, you've worked hard enough taking care of Dad, so you should leave this little thing to your wife."
Then, it was snatched away by Zhou again.
"Third sister-in-law, this should be my job, so let me do it. I hope you don't mind if I offended you a lot in the past few days."
How could Liu Tangxi let Zhou go to work when she was pregnant?
"Second sister-in-law is heavy, I'm not tired."
Finally, Zhang came over.
Liu Tangxi circled the bowl in front of him and said quickly, "Sister-in-law, please don't fight with me for it. I know you have to work in the fields soon, so you should take a rest. I have nothing to do, so please don't fight with me for such a small job. Shulan is so cute, I will definitely teach her well, and it won't take me much effort to teach them."
Zhang did have this intention. When she realized that her thoughts had been pointed out by Liu Tangxi, she clasped her hands together and showed an embarrassed look on her face.
After washing the dishes, Liu Tangxi went to clean the yard.
The chickens and pigs have been fed by Zhou.
Liu Tangxi went in and cleaned it up again.
When everything was ready, Fu Yao and Shu Lan were already waiting.
Fu Yao and Shu Lan definitely could not use the needle, thread and cloth brought back from the shop, so Li found two pieces of cloth for them and also took some thread from home for sewing clothes.
After feeding Wei Lao San the medicine, Li came out to take a look. Seeing that the two granddaughters were learning seriously, Li was very satisfied.
Thinking of the rumors he had heard in the village recently, Li looked around for a while, then thought that there was nothing to do today, so he turned and walked towards the village.
Some things still need to be sorted out quickly, and now there happens to be a suitable thing.
It is not yet the harvest season and there is not much work to do in the fields, so many people chat outside after dinner.
When everyone saw Li coming, their eyes immediately lit up.
If we were to ask what the most talked-about topic in Weijia Village is recently, it would have to be the affairs of the third family of Wei.
A scholar married a prostitute and spent twenty taels of silver on her. This story sounds incredible.
Whether it is Li, Liu Tangxi or Wei Hanzhou, they have all been talked about for a long time.
Li was probably judged as stupid and ignorant, while Liu Tangxi's identity was questionable. As for Wei Hanzhou... most people felt sympathy for him. After all, he had a stupid mother and a daughter-in-law who was suspected to be from a brothel.
Now that everyone has seen the person who did this, isn't it exciting?
However, the first person to speak to Li was Wei's daughter-in-law, Xu.
"Mother Daniu, I haven't seen you for a while. How is Father Daniu?"
The eldest brother of the third brother, Xu is his sister-in-law. Now that someone close to him has said something like this, it is really chilling.
We all live in the same village, and if my brother is sick, I have to go and see him no matter what.
But ever since the people in the Wei family learned that Wei Lao San was seriously ill, had spent a lot of money on his treatment, and was dying, the family no longer went to the end of the village to visit him.
It's nothing, they're just afraid that Wei Lao San will pester them to borrow money.
The third family of Wei did come to borrow money.
The twenty taels of silver that Li took out were the money for Wei Hanzhou to take the imperial examination, so she did not dare to touch it lightly.
However, Li and Wei Daniu who came to borrow money were sent away by the Wei family's people.
Xu was so busy chatting that she didn't notice Li coming over. If she had noticed earlier, she would have gone home. At this moment, she also stood up from the stone, looking like she was going to leave.
Listening to what Xu said and watching her movements, Li felt a little uneasy. However, thinking about her purpose, she smiled and said, "His father is in good health."
Xu was about to say that she had to go back home for something, but when she heard this, she didn't say it.
The others were also stunned. Is Wei Lao San getting well soon? This is impossible. Everyone saw it on the wedding day. He was breathing in more than he was breathing out. These days, no one went to visit him because they were afraid of bad luck.
"Is it true? Could it be that what the fortune teller said is true? But isn't he a liar? His stall was smashed and he was arrested by the government." Someone raised this question.
Li looked at Xu, sat down on a stone beside her, and said with a smile, "Of course it's true. The doctor in town came to see her yesterday. She's getting better now. I estimate she'll be able to get out of bed soon."
After hearing this, everyone had different expressions and started whispering.
Xu looked at Li and said something to show respect: "Hey, it's good that he's well, it's good that he's well. Dashan's father and I were so worried every day. Now that his third uncle is well, we can finally rest assured."
Li also followed Xu's words and said, "Thank you for your concern, brother and sister-in-law."
Xu smiled and said, "Of course, we are all family."
Li did not respond to this, but continued, "My third son also said that the fortune teller was a liar. However, since the third son got married, his father's illness has been getting better day by day."
When everyone heard Li take the initiative to mention Liu Tangxi, their eyes lit up again.
"Your daughter-in-law went to the town with Daniu's wife a few days ago. She looks nice, but she doesn't look like a country girl." Someone said tactfully.
"I didn't expect that he was so lucky."
"But why did I hear that it came from an unclean place?"
“It can’t really come from that place, right?”
Someone was quick-witted and couldn't help but ask.
Li immediately frowned and raised her voice, saying, "How is that possible! No matter how foolish I am, I would never marry a wife like that to my third son."
The third son in her family is a scholar and cannot be involved in such things.
She had explained it on the day of her son's wedding, but she was preoccupied that day and didn't have time to say more.
"But that day, Donggua Niang said that she heard that person mention the brothel."
"It's really unfair for Donggua's mother to say such things. Why didn't she tell the whole story?" Li continued to refute, "That person did mention it, but the third son's wife hasn't been sold yet. She is a girl from a wealthy family. I just saved her when I passed by that day. She married my third son to repay her kindness."
Li felt that there was a big difference between spending twenty taels of silver to buy a girl who was about to be sold to a brothel and spending twenty taels of silver to save a lady from a wealthy family who was in trouble.
Although it's the same thing, the latter sounds better.
Moreover, Li has always lived in the countryside, so he naturally knows what the country people care about most.
As soon as she finished speaking, someone asked, "Ah? A wealthy family?"
Li said with some pride: "That's right, she can do everything, and she is very good at embroidery. She can do a lot every day. She went to the town with my eldest daughter-in-law the other day, and she made a lot of money from the embroidery."
“Wow, how much do you earn every day?”
"Not much, maybe twenty or thirty cents."
"Oh my god, this is still a cash cow?"
"That's not all. She is a generous and kind person. She is currently teaching Fuyao and Shulan embroidery at home."
Hearing this, Xu looked at Li with wide eyes.
"She is actually willing to teach them?" This is what shocked the people of Weijia Village the most.
Very few country people know how to embroider, let alone someone like Liu Tangxi. Even Zhang, who had learned the basics, rarely passed them on to outsiders.
"That's right. She was the one who brought it up. She said she felt sorry for them and wanted to teach them everything she knew."
Xu seemed to be thinking about something and sat down again.
Everyone looked at Li with particularly fiery eyes, and felt a little sour in their hearts.
Fu Yao and Shu Lan started learning when they were only a few years old. By the time they get married, they will have learned for more than ten years, so they must be pretty good and will be able to find a good family by then.
However, no matter how jealous they were, they would never get such a good thing. Even if they knew that this was a money tree, what could they do? No one could afford to pay twenty taels of silver to save her.
Li saw that her goal had been achieved. She glanced at Xu, then at the people present, stood up, and said, "Hey, I've been out for a long time. I have to go back and see if these two children have studied hard. I don't want to waste their aunt's kindness."
"We have to tell them, this is a rare opportunity."
"Yes, let's go home quickly."
Under the envious gazes of the crowd, Li went home.