Just then, Niu Lishi and Hu Zhushi walked towards the oxcart, chatting intimately and getting along very well. The two of them came to the oxcart hand in hand, and at that time, several villagers from Sanjiazi Village and Guaibo Village got on the cart.
Xiaoyue sat on the carriage shaft with her back against the basket, and Liang Qi also drove off.
Niu Li and Hu Zhu sat behind Xiaoyue, while Ge Sanlin and Da Lingzi sat far away from the other villagers at the back of the oxcart.
Xiaoyue heard voices behind her, but she didn't turn around. She heard Niu Lishi whisper to Hu Zhushi, "Have you seen Ge Sanlin's new wife? That's her." Niu Lishi gestured towards Da Lingzi at the back of the oxcart.
“I saw it from a distance. I heard that his former wife is lying on the kang (a heated brick bed) and can’t get up?” Hu Zhushi said, glancing at Da Lingzi.
Fearing to offend someone, Niu Lishi changed the subject: "Do you think the third son of the Ge family will get married first, or the second son of the Ge family, Pingzi?"
“I think Ba Cheng is a bit of a scoundrel, the groom’s family is offering a lot of betrothal gifts!” Hu Zhu looked disdainfully in the direction of Ge Sanlin and Da Lingzi, and whispered to Niu Li.
Niu Lishi also secretly glanced at the two people sitting at the back of the oxcart. "Da Lingzi's husband died less than half a year after she got married. I heard that the dowry Da Lingzi received and the compensation money given when her husband died were no less than Ge Erping's."
The two exchanged a glance and smiled at each other.
After a while, Hu Zhu nudged Xiaoyue, who was sitting on the carriage shaft, and said to Xiaoyue without lowering her voice, "I heard that Lu Xiaomei has been living at your house. Wasn't she in good health back then?"
Given Xiaoyue's previous personality, she would at most just smile at Hu Zhu's wife, but seeing Lu Xiaomei so ill yesterday, and then seeing Ge Sanlin leading his new bride shopping today, a wicked feeling welled up inside her:
"Isn't that right? When Lu Xiaomei was with me, not only did her health improve, but she could also do chores. Let's not talk about small jobs; in the fall, she could cut cabbages and harvest ramie—what could she not do?"
Xiaoyue ignored the two people sitting at the back of the carriage and chatted enthusiastically with Hu Zhushi.
Hu Zhu seemed to remember something: "That's right, when his family was building their house, my husband praised Lu Xiaomei for being capable."
Xiaoyue simply turned her body to the side and said to Hu Zhushi, "When she returned home, Lu Xiaomei was indeed perfectly fine."
At this moment, Niu Lishi chimed in: "I remember that Doctor Hu went to see Lu Xiaomei back in the summer. My father was sick for several days, and I heard it was quite serious?" She sighed for Xiaoyue.
Hu Zhu whispered to the two of them, "I remember too. Everyone in the village knows, but that family just won't get treatment." As she spoke, she spat at the back of the oxcart.
Xiaoyue looked at their expressions and smiled, "Yes, that was after we arrived at the Ge family's place. I found a doctor for them, and later... they let me stay at my shack." Xiaoyue hesitated, then stopped herself.
The people on the oxcart were secretly listening to the conversation of the three people inside, while occasionally glancing at the two people at the back of the cart.
At this moment, Hu Zhu said softly, "Who knows? After returning to Lao Ge's house, she fell ill and couldn't get out of bed for less than two months. If you ask me, either she was drugged, or there's an evil spirit in that house." After saying that, she rolled her eyes at the two people at the back of the carriage.
The group chatted idly until they arrived home. Liang Qi parked the car at home and then accompanied Xiaoyue inside.
Upon entering the courtyard, white smoke billowed from the chimneys of the houses. Xiaoyue and Liang Qi both quickened their pace. Xiaoyue put down her basket in the west room and started a fire. Li Qianqian was scooping out rice, which was steamed millet rice again.
Xiaoyue added fuel to the fire, went to the west room, took out the fatty meat from the basket on her back, and handed it to Li Qianqian, saying, "We're having meat today."
Li Qianqian took the meat, and Xiaoyue went outside to start the fire again, while Li Qianqian cooked the meat oil.
Li Qianqian poured the lard into a small jar, then took a cabbage and made a stir-fried cabbage with meat.
After serving the food, Xiaoyue told Li Qianqian to go home and find Li Lei. It wasn't easy to eat meat in the countryside, so Xiaoyue planned to invite Li Lei to eat with them.
He then scooped out a small bowl of the remaining oil and placed it in the doorway, waiting for Liang Qi to come home and take it with him.
Soon Li Qianqian brought Li Lei over. Xiaoyue asked Li Qianqian to sit on the kang (a heated brick bed), Li Lei sat on the west side, Liang Qi sat on the east side, and Xiaoyue also got on the kang.
Xiaoyue served rice to everyone, and when she handed it to Li Qianqian, she asked, "Where's your father?"
Li Qianqian turned her gaze to Li Lei, who lowered his head to take a bite, his expression cold, refusing to look at her. Li Qianqian looked apologetically at Xiaoyue.
"My brother is all alone at home, and the stove and the kang (heated brick bed) are cold." As she spoke, her eyes reddened again.
Xiaoyue picked up a piece of fried dough for Li Qianqian and said, "Eat up. It's good that you and your brother are both doing well."
He then said to Li Qianqian, "I bought three pieces of silk fabric today. I'll use the silk fabric for the outer layer, and I also have half a bolt of white fabric with red flowers. I'll use that fabric for the lining to make a cotton robe for Liang Qi and Li Lei each."
"Let me make this clear from the start: if these two garments don't sell, you can wear them. But if they do sell, Li Qianqian can only make each of you a cotton robe."
Xiaoyue looked at Li Lei and then at Liang Qi. "Do you all agree?"
Li Lei simply nodded slightly, while Liang Qi smiled and winked at Xiaoyue before continuing to eat.
Xiaoyue took a bite of her food and then said to Li Qianqian, "Make the women's clothes according to your figure. Make a cotton coat for you, and then use red and white silk to assemble an eight-panel horse-face skirt."
Li Qianqian looked up at Xiaoyue and said, "You can make it yourself. I've already made a cotton-padded jacket and a ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress). All that's left is to stuff it with cotton."
Xiaoyue looked at Li Qianqian and smiled shyly, "Let's not fluff the cotton. I only bought silk fabric and forgot about the cotton. Anyway, you don't need to go out, so let's not fluff it for now."
Li Qianqian nodded, and Xiaoyue added, "I'm planning to make some shoe soles to see if they sell well. Let's prepare for both of us."
Xiaoyue then looked at Li Lei and asked, "Do you want to make a colored cotton robe?"
After a long pause, Li Lei finally said, "Anything is fine."
Xiaoyue said to Li Qianqian, "How about your brother makes it cyan, and Liang Qi makes it white?"
Li Qianqian smiled and nodded, looking embarrassed, as if she wanted to say something but didn't know how. Xiaoyue, seeing Li Qianqian's conflicted state, said:
"What's on your mind?"
Li Qianqian looked at Xiaoyue, then at Li Lei, "I think my brother should stay here. He can do anything, as long as he provides meals."
Xiaoyue glanced at Li Lei, who had finished eating, put down her bowl, and was about to leave, completely ignoring what Li Qianqian had said.
At this moment, Liang Qi's pure voice rang out in the room: "I'm taking Li Lei up the mountain to catch pheasants. We can stay anywhere, and we'll eat at Xiaoyue's place. We'll use the pheasants we catch to pay for the meals."
Xiaoyue glanced at the clothes Li Lei was wearing and shook her head: "I'll feed you, how about you take care of the chickens, ducks and geese in the shed for me?"
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