The homestead of Mrs. Lu's family was formerly the old house of Mr. Lu's parents. Back then, Mr. Lu's parents let a matchmaker trick Mrs. Lu into marrying them.
Old man Lu's parents thought that Mrs. Lu was a gentle and kind daughter-in-law. However, they did not expect that ever since Mrs. Lu came into the family, she would make trouble at home from time to time, making Old Man Lu's family in a state of restlessness.
Old Man Lu's parents were angry and really didn't want to live in the same courtyard with Old Lady Lu, their unruly daughter-in-law, so they simply waited until Lu Lin's biological father got married and then divided the family property between their two sons.
Old man Lu's parents took out all the money in the family and divided it among their two sons. They let the two sons each choose a residential plot and build a house in the village.
Out of sight, out of mind. Old man Lu’s parents divided the property between their sons, and the old couple lived and grew old in the old house.
After the old couple passed away, no one lived in the old house of the Lu family. It has been abandoned for nearly 20 years. If it weren't for Mrs. Lu's determination to build a house this time, the old house would have remained abandoned.
Earlier, Mrs. Lu went to the team leader Han Rongfa and said that she wanted to build a new house. Han Rongfa thought it was a good idea and with a wave of his hand, he granted the land of the old Lu family house to Mrs. Lu.
Mrs. Lu had money given by her parents and brothers, as well as twenty yuan from the Lu family's inheritance and money loaned by relatives. It was enough to build a thatched adobe house, but Mrs. Lu had finally had her own house, so naturally she wanted to build a bright big tiled house.
It is not easy for people in the countryside to build a house. They may only build one house in their lifetime, so they have to build a good one no matter what.
Jiang Chunzao knew about the difficulties faced by Mrs. Lu, so she wrote a letter to Lu Lin who was in the army. In her heart, she discussed with Captain Lu whether they could take out some money from the family and give it to Mrs. Lu and her brother so that they could build a house.
Lu Lin read the letter written by his wife in the army and laughed. What's wrong with this? Although Brother Lu has a pedantic temperament, he has been kind to him since he was a child. His sister-in-law is also a hard-working person. She has been working as a cow and horse in the Lu family for so many years. With such a wish, he, as a brother, should be a helper.
When Jiang Chunzao received the letter from Company Commander Lu, he immediately took out thirty yuan from his home and gave it to Lu's wife, saying that it was for her to build a house.
Mrs. Lu was worried about not having enough money to build a house. When she saw Jiang Chunzao coming to give her money, she was so moved that she burst into tears. She wiped her tears and laughed, and she held her hand and wouldn't let go.
Jiang Chunzao looked at Sister-in-law Lu who was crying and laughing, and her heart ached. She knew that Sister-in-law was feeling mixed emotions of sadness and joy. She was happy because all the suffering she had endured for so many years was finally over, but she was crying because her sister-in-law had suffered so much in the first half of her life. When people are moved, they always cry.
Mrs. Lu shed most of her life's tears in front of Jiang Chunzao, and Jiang Chunzao cried with her for a while, and the two sisters-in-law talked to each other for a while.
Mrs. Lu, with a pair of rabbit eyes and money in her pocket, went to the brigade to discuss building a house with the brigade leader in high spirits.
Before building a house in the countryside, the family would invite the team leader for a meal. In this way, when the house was being built, the villagers would come to help sincerely.
Lu Rongfa also watched Lu Dashan grow up. He knew how hard Lu Dashan's life had been in recent years, and he would not let Lu Dashan waste money to treat him to a meal no matter what. As for the stingy old woman Lu, when the family was divided, the two sons only got 20 yuan. What could they do with that?
Mrs. Lu felt bad, so when she went to the commune, she bought two packs of good cigarettes and put them in her pocket. In the evening, she asked Lu Dashan to deliver them to Lu Rong before dark.
Lu Rongfa loved smoking all his life. When he saw the good cigarettes Lu Dashan sent him, he knew that Lu Dasao was grateful to him. He looked at Lu Dashan who was lowering his head and sighed:
"Dashan, your uncle will accept this cigarette. I have watched you grow up, and you are no different from me. Listen to my advice. Your wife is a good one. She is capable and can endure hardships. Go back and think about what kind of life you want most in your life. Don't follow your mother like a fool all day long."
The fool Lu Dashan responded in a low voice and went home with a heavy heart.
~
It is not known whether Lu Rongfa's words worked, but the next day Lu Dashan appeared in front of Lu Dasao. He did not say a word, but just followed behind Lu Dasao. He did whatever Lu Dasao did. Lu Dasao helped Jiang Chunzao tidy up the vegetable garden, and Lu Dashan helped fetch water to water the vegetables. His silly look made Jiang Chunzao cover her mouth and laugh secretly.
Mrs. Lu made my third brother and his wife laugh so hard that their faces turned red. They quickly hid in the kitchen. Lu Dashan saw his wife go into the kitchen and thought she was busy with something, so he also tried to get into the kitchen. However, he ran into Mrs. Lu who was coming out of the house with a vegetable basin in her arms, and the couple bumped into each other on the head with a bang.
Jiang Chunzao laughed so hard at his elder brother and sister-in-law's funny looks that his stomach hurt. The two kids and Little Mianhua at home also laughed foolishly.
Lu Dashan's silly move, by chance, resolved Lu Dasao's dissatisfaction. At least Lu Dasao was no longer indifferent to him and sometimes even smiled at him. This change made Lu Dashan very happy.
In the old courtyard of the Lu family, the droopy-faced old lady Lu heard the hearty laughter coming from next door, and she was so angry that she knocked the cane on the ground:
"They are both debt collectors! How dare you laugh!"
Liu Hongyan walked out of the house slowly with her big belly. Seeing the old woman like this, she sneered in her heart and walked back.
Old Mrs. Lu looked at Liu Hongyan as if she didn't see her, and couldn't help but curse her again.
However, Liu Hongyan didn't care about it at all. Now that the Lu family had split up, who would care what old lady Lu said?
~
In the golden autumn of September, the sweet-scented osmanthus was fragrant, and the new house of Lu Dasao's family finally stood among the osmanthus trees. After working hard for several months, Lu Dashan and Lu Dasao, both of them, looked like they had aged several years, and were tanned dark red. But although they looked old, they looked very good, especially Lu Dasao. She stood in front of her new home with her mouth never closed.
Lu Xuedong, who had just returned from school, looked at his new house and smiled:
"Mom, I really want to thank my third uncle and aunt for the smooth construction of our new house."
Mrs. Lu also laughed when she heard this:
"That's right. If it weren't for your uncle and aunt giving us money and food, our family would have to sleep on the streets."
Lu Dashan thought about the help his third brother and his family had given him and sighed:
"A person's true character is revealed in times of adversity. It's a pity that my third sister-in-law has to take the children to join the army. Otherwise, we would have to thank her and her family very much."
Mrs. Lu glanced at him and said:
"What are you talking about? It's a good thing that my third brother's wife brought the children to the army. It's a good thing that my third brother and his family can live together. How come this good thing has become sour in your mouth?"
Lu Dashan chuckled:
"I have to hurry up and say this. While my third sister-in-law is still at home, we have to help her clean up the mess."
"You sound like a big brother."
Mrs. Lu looked at Lu Dashan and smiled too.
~
Speaking of Jiang Chunzao, she is now busy packing her luggage at home. A week ago, Jiang Chunzao received a letter from Lu Lin from the army. In her heart, Lu Lin said that he had reported and applied for his family to accompany the army, and the superiors agreed. The house in the military area has been vacated, so he told his wife to pack up and take the children to the army by train when the time comes.
Now it is only three days until the time Lu Lin mentioned, and Jiang Chunzao is busy packing luggage at home every day. When Grandma Jiang and Grandma Jiang know that their daughter is going to join the army, they are happy and reluctant. They quickly put down their housework and bring their second son Jiang Chunyu to their daughter's house to help.
In the Lu family's small courtyard, Jiang Chunyu was making noises around the house with his two kids like a monkey. Grandma Jiang was annoyed by him, so she yelled at her son and told him to take the two kids to the door to play.
While Grandma Jiang was busy helping her daughter pack her luggage, she also gave her the mountain products she had prepared, such as dried black fungus, dried mushrooms, pecans, and all kinds of things that filled a large bag.
Grandpa Jiang also took out the wooden figures she had made for her grandchildren, wrapped them up and said she would take them to the military area for the children to play with.
Because of this trip to the military area, the Lu family's courtyard was empty. The three reed chickens and a big white goose raised by the third room, as well as the grain and flour in the house, became treasures in the hearts of Old Lady Lu and Liu Hongyan. The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law changed their previous behavior and ran to the third room all day long to show their hospitality. The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law thought that after Jiang Chunzao packed up and left, all the things in the third room's house would be left to them.
Even Liu Hongyan had her eyes on the Lu family's courtyard. She and Lu Ershan discussed it at home. Since the third brother's family had all gone to the military area, the Lu family's courtyard would be empty and no one would live there.
The third son is a company commander in the army, and he is about to be promoted to deputy battalion commander. He certainly can't live in the yard of his old home anymore, so since he can't live there anymore, he might as well give them the second room.
We are all family anyway, so wouldn’t it be perfect for the second son to live in the third son’s house?
Lu Ershan and his wife had made their plans perfectly and had been looking forward to it for many days, but they did not expect that Jiang Chunzao gave all the reed chickens, white geese and food in the house to her family and Lu Dasao. A big iron gate was hung up in the Lu family courtyard, and even Mrs. Lu got a bag of flour from the third brother's family as a gift. In the end, the second branch of the family got nothing.
Liu Hongyan was so angry that she kept cursing in the yard with her belly bulging all night. In the end, it was Old Lady Lu who stepped in and scolded her back into the house.
If you want to know why Old Lady Lu helped Jiang Chunzao to scold Liu Hongyan, it was because she had benefited from the third brother's family, including a bag of flour and a dozen food cloth and cotton coupons, which made Old Lady Lu very happy.
Although Jiang Chunzao and Old Lady Lu had been at odds for two lifetimes, the warm and happy family life since her rebirth healed her past pain. In addition, for the sake of Old Man Lu's face, she could not be stingy with Old Lady Lu who was getting older year by year.
After all, Old Man Lu and Old Lady Lu had lived together for a lifetime as an old couple, and the old couple had long lived as one person. If you were not nice to Old Man Lu, you would be not nice to Old Lady Lu. Before he passed away, Jiang Chunzao ground the wheat at home into a bag of white flour and gave it to Old Man Lu and his wife, as a token of his love.
Besides, it would be useful for Jiang Chunzao to be a little gentle to Old Lady Lu. It would be better if Liu Hongyan, who is so perfect, was suppressed by Old Lady Lu.
There is a saying that goes, "It takes a wicked man to deal with a wicked man." When it comes to Lao Lu's house, Jiang Chunzao changed it to "It takes a very good man to deal with a very good man."
The night before leaving, Jiang Chunzao, who had packed everything, slept soundly with his quilt around him.
In a blink of an eye, the day of departure arrived. Jiang Chunzao got up early in the morning and packed up the two boys. Grandma Jiang and his wife brought their son to see their daughter off. After all, the old couple were still worried about their daughter taking her two little grandchildren to the military area alone. After discussing it, they decided to take their second son and the daughter's family to the military area together. Firstly, the family would be taken care of along the way, and secondly, in Grandma Jiang's words, they would go to the military area to see Chunlin, that bastard.
Mrs. Lu and Mrs. Changshan's families also came to see them off, and even Old Man and Old Lady Lu showed up.
Mrs. Lu and Mrs. Changshan were carrying large and small bags of things, including red beans, mung beans and other crops grown in their own garden. The two sisters-in-law insisted that Jiang Chunzao take the things to the military region.
Jiang Chunzao had no choice but to accept it. Fortunately, all the big items at home had been sent to the military area before, otherwise it would have been difficult to carry all the large and small packages along the way.
A group of people waited at the entrance of the village for a while, and soon the village tractor came out. Before getting on the car, Mrs. Lu took out a bag of cooked eggs and stuffed them into Jiang Chunzao's hands, asking them to take them with them to eat on the road. Mrs. Changshan also took out two bottles of shrimp sauce like a magic trick. Jiang Chunzao held the things in his arms and said goodbye to everyone who was wiping his tears. The family jumped on the tractor, and as they shed tears, everything in Lujia Village slowly disappeared before their eyes.
With the roar of the train, a new life began.
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