Jiang Chunzao's guess was correct. Liu Hongyan saw that the smiles on the faces of the people in Lu's courtyard disappeared when they saw her. She didn't think much of it. She still grinned and walked into Lu's courtyard holding Lu Mutou's hand.
Liu Hongyan was holding a basket in her hand. She first looked into the yard and saw the neat and clean courtyard of the Lu family, the high beams, and the clay pots for making shrimp sauce placed in front of the stove. She saw clearly that the clay pots contained shrimp sauce, her eyes flashed, and she walked up to Jiang Chunzao with the basket in her hand, grinning:
"Third sister-in-law, you are still living a good life now. This family has shrimp paste and fish. You are living a really happy life. Sister Changshan is also playing at home." After saying this, she picked up a piece of watermelon on the table with her yellow hands and stuffed it into her mouth. While eating it in big mouthfuls, she grinned at Jiang Chunzao and Sister Changshan. This watermelon is so sweet and delicious!
While eating watermelon, Liu Hongyan did not forget to give a piece to Lu Mutou beside her.
The watermelons distributed to the Lu family in the village were first sold to the city for money by Old Lady Lu. In the hot summer, every household in the village had watermelons to eat, except the Lu family.
Every time Liu Hongyan and Lu Mutou saw villagers eating watermelons, they would be very greedy. Now that they finally got to eat the watermelons, Liu Hongyan and Lu Mutou munched on them like little piglets.
Changshan's wife watched the useless look of Liu Hongyan and her son and laughed secretly in her heart. They were like what they were like. People in the village said that although the Lu Lin brothers were raised by old man Lu and his wife, they were different from old man Lu's two sons.
Lu Dashan is a good guy, but unfortunately he is a fool. That's how he is in his life. As for Lu Ershan, he is even more shameless. He likes to eat but is lazy and annoying to everyone. He married Liu Hongyan, who is the same kind of person as him. She is as thick-skinned as a city wall.
Although Changshan's wife's family was not wealthy, she was very strict with her two children. Even though Liangshi was only eight years old, every time he went to Lu's house, he would politely call people first. Jiang Chunzao liked this child and always gave him more candies and snacks. Liangshi would also say thank you to her politely.
It was no wonder that Changshan's wife couldn't stand seeing Liu Hongyan and her husband behave like this. Even Jiang Chunzao couldn't stand seeing their eye-catching look, so he could only avoid looking at them and smiled:
"Second sister-in-law, what's the matter with you coming home today?"
"Hey, it's not a big deal. The tomatoes in our garden are growing really well. I thought Stone Jasmine would like them, so I picked a few good ones and brought them to the child."
After Liu Hongyan finished eating a piece of watermelon, she grinned and carried the basket in her hand to Jiang Chunzao. Jiang Chunzao looked into the basket and saw a few wilted and green tomatoes in the dirty basket, some of which were cracked. It was obvious that they were left behind because the Lu family didn't want to eat them.
Changshan's wife also saw the tomatoes in the basket and looked down on Liu Hongyan. Look at what is in the basket! How could she take out tomatoes like this and give them away? How filthy!
Liu Hongyan didn't notice Changshan's wife's expression, and continued to brag with a grin:
"Third sister-in-law, how are the tomatoes in our house? They are growing well, right? I picked out the best ones and sent them to you."
Jiang Chunzao was shocked by Liu Hongyan's shamelessness. The corners of her mouth twitched as she said:
".....Second sister-in-law, we don't need these at home. If you find good ones in the future, you can keep them for your children. You don't need to send them here."
Even if she delivered it, she would have to let Lu Lin throw it away later.
It's quite troublesome.
Lu Lin: ...
Liu Hongyan didn't understand the meaning of Jiang Chunzao's words, and thought that it was the third family's thanks to her, so she said more proudly:
"Nothing, we have it at home. By the way, Third Sister-in-law, is there anything I can help you with at home? If you need any help, just tell me. Your second brother is at home today, so let him help with any work you need."
"With Lu Lin at home, I don't have to work in the fields, and I won't bother my second brother and his wife."
Although Jiang Chunzao had a smile on his face, his tone was indifferent, blocking Liu Hongyan from saying anything.
After hearing this, Liu Hongyan knew that the Third Family did not want to have anything to do with their Second Branch, and she felt unhappy and smiled less. She wanted to talk to Jiang Chunzao directly about borrowing money, but seeing that Changshan's wife was beside her, she couldn't bring herself to say it. She could only hum and haw with Jiang Chunzao about some family matters, and wanted to wait until Changshan's wife left before she could bring up the matter of borrowing money.
Unexpectedly, Liu Hongyan was so dry-mouthed when she spoke, and Changshan's wife showed no intention of getting up and leaving. Lu Mutou was also whining and clamoring to go home.
Liu Hongyan was thinking about how to borrow money. She was annoyed by Lu Mutou making trouble beside her, so she waved at him:
"Go away, go play somewhere else. Didn't you see mom talking to Third Aunt's wife? How can you be so uneducated?"
Lu Mutou was not bothered by Liu Hongyan's scolding. He walked around in the Lu family's yard, not only annoying the three reed chickens in the yard, but also running under the rose rack in an annoying way, and said arrogantly to the three cubs who were watching the ants moving:
"What are you three doing?"
Before the Lu family split up, Lu Mutou often relied on his age to bully Shitou and Xiaomoli. Shitou and Xiaomoli didn't like Lu Mutou. As for eight-year-old Liangshi, although he was younger than Lu Mutou, he was the leader of the children in the village and was the best at fighting. When Liangshi saw Lu Mutou like this, he glared at him, clenched his fists and said:
"None of your business!"
Lu Mutou was just like his father Lu Ershan, a bully who only cared about the weak and feared the strong. When he saw that Food looked like it was not easy to deal with, he got scared and ran to the chicken coop to attack the chickens.
Jiang Chunzao had been listening to Liu Hongyan chattering in her ear for a long time and had become impatient. Then, she heard the three old reed hens in the house cackling because of Lu Mutou's annoyance, and she became even more impatient. She exchanged a look with Changshan's wife, who also disliked Liu Hongyan, and they saw two words in each other's eyes - upset!
Seeing that the tea and snacks on the table had been almost finished, Jiang Chunzao seized the opportunity, picked up the teapot and called Changshan's wife to go with her into the stove room to get some water.
Liu Hongyan was left sitting alone in the yard enjoying the breeze. Aunt Jiang was busy in the kitchen. When she saw the young lady leading Changshan's family into the house, she smiled and said,
"Is your second sister-in-law still in the yard?"
"Yes, it's like a dog-skin plaster that can't be broken off."
Jiang Chunzao complained to her mother in a low voice and picked up the hot water kettle to pour hot water into the teapot.
Granny Jiang glanced at her, and seeing that Changshan's family seemed not to have heard anything, she went to the yard with the two cooked eggs in her pocket.
"The Ershan family is here?"
Grandma Jiang smiled and greeted Liu Hongyan, who quickly stood up and smiled:
"Auntie is here. I'm here to give tomatoes to my third brother's wife."
Aunt Jiang glanced at the tomatoes in the basket, still smiling:
"Ershan's family is so thoughtful. I, an old woman, have something to do. This is our Mutou, he is so good-looking, with a chubby head and a strong body. He looks like a good kid. These are the two eggs I cooked earlier. I was just thinking of finding a chance to deliver them to Mutou and Dashan's Mianhua. Now that you are here, I will give you these two eggs, one for Mutou and the other for Mianhua. Don't forget to deliver the egg from Ershan's family to Dashan's family."
When Liu Hongyan heard about this good news, she quickly reached out and pocketed the two eggs that Grandma Jiang stuffed into her pocket. She agreed eagerly and watched Grandma Jiang go back. She thought to herself, what a stupid old woman! How could she let go of these two eggs in her hands?
I even gave the old man some cotton. Why?
There were only two eggs. When we got home, I would give one to her and she would eat the remaining one herself, as if it was for the baby in her belly!
Liu Hongyan was thinking about it, but was afraid that the cooked duck would fly away, so she hurriedly pulled Lu Mutou, who was making a fuss in the yard, and said goodbye to Jiang Chunzao with the empty basket in her hand.
"Third sister-in-law, I just remembered that there are still sweet potatoes stewing in the pot at home. They should be cooked by now. I have to go home to watch over them. I will come and chat with you someday when I have time."
After saying this, Liu Hongyan hurriedly pulled Lu Mutou out of the Lu family's courtyard. Jiang Chunzao came out of the stove room carrying a hot water kettle. Seeing Liu Hongyan's anxious look, he asked curiously:
"What's going on?
The front part was like a dog-skin plaster that couldn't be pulled off, and now it's gone just a moment later?"
Changshan's wife was also surprised:
"Yes, what's going on?"
What else is going on? Grandma Jiang smiled and said:
"Just now, I gave Ershan's family two cooked eggs, saying that they were specially cooked for Mutou and Laoda's Mianhua to eat, and I asked her to take them back. When Ershan heard this, she took the eggs home."
When Changshan's wife heard this, she cried out, "Oh, something's wrong." Grandma Jiang asked what had happened.
Changshan's wife said hurriedly:
"Auntie, why did you give the eggs to Lu Ershan's family? This woman is a greedy person. How can these two eggs be good in her hands?"
After hearing this, Jiang's mother was not anxious, but just smiled. Jiang Chunzao saw something and said to Jiang's mother:
"Mom, you gave those two eggs to Liu Hongyan on purpose, right?"
Aunt Jiang poured the shrimp sauce from the big spoon into the hot pot and praised her daughter:
"You are finally smart for once, girl."
Jiang Chunzao was complimented by Grandma Jiang and immediately narrowed his eyes in pride. Changshan's wife was also smart. When she saw Grandma Jiang's expression, she understood what was going on. She smiled and sighed:
"Auntie is really smart. She used two cooked eggs to coax Liu Hongyan and her husband away."
Next door, in the old courtyard of the Lu family, Liu Hongyan happily entered the house with two eggs in her arms, pulling Lu Mutou. As soon as they entered the house, they went straight to their own room. Inside the room, Lu Ershan was sitting with his legs crossed and his eyes closed. Seeing his wife return to the house with a happy face, his eyes lit up:
"Why did you come back so soon? Where's the money? Did you borrow it from the third brother's family?"
Liu Hongyan, who was taking eggs out with a happy face, said:
.........
"You stupid woman! All you do is eat! Old lady Jiang only used two hard-boiled eggs to coax you out!
I asked you to go to Lao San's house to borrow money! You only came back with two eggs, what can you do with it! "
An angry Lu Ershan yelled at Liu Hongyan in the house. Liu Hongyan, with swollen eyes, wanted to defend herself and said that the two eggs were quite delicious.
Seeing her man so angry, she stammered a few words and didn't dare to speak.
Lu Ershan was furious in the house, but when he thought about Liu Hongyan who was pregnant with his baby son, he calmed down and thought, forget it, there is no use for this stupid woman in this family. At worst, he can find a chance to go to the third brother to borrow money in person.
He just didn't believe it. He was the third brother's older brother, so how could the third brother not lend him money?
~
Lu Ershan had good intentions, but he didn't expect that Jiang Chunzao had already warned Lu Lin to stay away from Lu Ershan's family. After Liu Hongyan was coaxed away by Jiang Granny with two cooked eggs that day, Jiang Chunzao thought about it carefully. No matter how she thought about it, she felt that Liu Hongyan had no good intentions when she came to her house.
Why would someone who never came to visit before come and show his courtesy this time? There must be something fishy going on here!
Jiang Chunzao, who had come to her senses, caught up with Captain Lu who had assaulted her that night and started nagging him, telling him to stay away from Lu Ershan's family. If she saw Lu Lin getting close to Lu Ershan's family, she would not let him sleep on the kang at night!
When Captain Lu heard this, his pair of black eyes were staring at his wife's shining red lips as they opened and closed. After hearing what his wife said, Captain Lu stated on the spot that he would listen to his wife and promise to stay away from Lu Ershan's family.
Jiang Chunzao was satisfied with Captain Lu's sincere attitude and continued to talk a lot. Finally, Captain Lu, who was getting impatient, shut up his wife's chatter with a deep kiss and said in a hoarse voice:
"It's late, time to go to bed."
Jiang Chunzao:........
Although Lu Ershan had his wishful thinking in his mind, Captain Lu was a man who listened to his wife. In the next few days, Lu Ershan kept looking for opportunities to go to the front of the Lu family's courtyard.
But the gate of the Lu family's courtyard was closed tightly all day long, and Lu Lin was a person who didn't like to go out. Lu Ershan wandered around the door of the Lu family's house for several days but couldn't find a chance to get in. He was so angry that he went home and lost his temper several times.
It was a hot summer day. After June, the weather outside became hotter day by day. Grandma Jiang stayed at her daughter's house for seven or eight days. When the wheat harvest time came in Jiangjia Village, Grandpa Jiang drove the team's donkey cart to Lujia Village and took Grandma Jiang home.
Jiang Chunzao packed up the malted milk, snack coupons and other things at home into a small bag, stuffed it into the bag and gave it to Grandma Jiang, asking her to take it home.
Grandma Jiang knew that her daughter liked to eat rice, so she gave her half a bag of rice this time. That night, Jiang Chunzao made delicious egg fried rice for Lu Lin and the two children using her own local eggs.
The distinct egg fried rice was embellished with diced green cucumber and diced mushrooms. It was so delicious that it would make your tongue drop. Lu Lin and his two kids finished the whole bowl of egg fried rice.
Lu Lin eats a lot, and he finished a bowl of egg fried rice in just a few bites. Jiang Chunzao saw that the egg fried rice in the pot was all eaten up, and thought that if Lu Lin was not full, he would heat up the pot and give him a bowl of noodles.
After hearing this, Lu Lin shook his head to indicate that he was full, and Jiang Chunzao stopped eating.
Because the next day was the day for wheat harvesting in the village, Lu Lin did not bother his wife that night, and the couple slept well.
Early the next morning, the captain of Lujia Village first held a mobilization meeting in the village. He used a large iron loudspeaker to shout in the village wheat field, and then divided the work among the villagers. Everyone in the village began to harvest wheat in a hurry.
According to the village's arrangement, every household in the village had to contribute labor to harvest wheat. Each strong laborer was worth ten work points. The more strong laborers there were, the more work points they earned.
The Lu family had many people, and the whole family went to the wheat fields to harvest wheat. Even Liu Hongyan, who was pregnant, and old lady Lu, who usually didn't go to the fields, went to earn work points.
Lu Lin was the only strong man in the third branch of the Lu family. Jiang Chunzao and Changshan's wife followed a group of young wives in the village to thresh the wheat in the wheat field. Threshing meant placing the harvested wheat on the open ground and bundling it, then using a sickle to cut the wheat stalks and shake them evenly. Although threshing looked easy, it was not easy at all to do.
Since the Lu family had no shortage of work points, Jiang Chunzao originally wanted to let Shitou take little Moli to play under the big willow tree beside the wheat field. However, when the two children heard this, they both shook their heads and said that they wanted to help their mother work and earn money.
Jiang Chunzao felt soft at heart when she saw the two little kids' baby voices. She touched their little heads and said with a smile:
"Our son is really good, he knows how to care for mom and dad. But mom and dad can do the work in the fields, you two just need to play with brother Liangshi."
After hearing this, the two kids obediently played with Liang Shi under the big willow tree.
The sun was scorching in the sky, and in the golden wheat fields, the men in the village were working hard with their bare chests, and the young women in the village were threshing wheat in the fields with their heads wrapped in scarves.
Liu Hongyan was pregnant, with a red scarf wrapped around her head. She sat on a stool she brought with her, legs apart, shaking the wheat while chatting with the woman next to her:
"What's the point of this? I'm pregnant. The wheat field is so dusty. What if it fumes the baby in my belly?"
The woman next to him laughed and said:
"Well, just be content. Don't you see that you have a large family and your old lady lets you thresh the wheat field alone? Your sister-in-law and Cotton are harvesting wheat with the old men in the village. What else can you not be content with?"
Liu Hongyan was very proud when she heard this. She showed off her bulging belly and said:
"Hey, isn't it because I'm pregnant with their grandson from the Lu family? I have a baby in my belly, and both the mother-in-law and the husband at home must be worried about me."
The women nearby all knew about Liu Hongyan's showy personality, so after hearing what she said, they all followed her lead and said a few nice words.
"Ah, Hongyan is lucky. Both her mother-in-law and husband are so considerate."
"That's right. Hongyan eats eggs all day at home. When I was pregnant, I was told that I was an egg eater. I couldn't even eat white flour buns."
Liu Hongyan was so happy to hear these words that she looked up at people with her head held high like a proud old hen.
Liu Hongyan didn't expect that her arrogance would subside just at noon.
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