Chapter 72 The Backer Must Be Protected
When the old lady said yesterday that she wanted to take Xu Jinxi to the main house to be raised, she was so scared that her soul was flying around her head all day.
Xu Jinxi is not even two years old yet, and is at the age when she is clinging to her mother. Besides, the old lady has never liked this little granddaughter from the eldest house, so how could she really want to raise a child?
Xu Yanran, the only child of Aunt Xu San, was so shocked when she learned of the old lady's plan that she could hardly eat and even cried secretly.
In the end, it was Sang Zhixia who gave them some advice, asking them to try to tell the old man about the matter.
Although they still remembered deep down that men should not be disturbed about the affairs of women in the inner house, they still went to talk to the old man out of the fear that their daughters might be taken away.
Aunt Xu would rather die than hand her daughter over to the old lady for upbringing. Hearing Xu Wenxiu's words, she gritted her teeth and said, "Even if there's a commotion, I won't agree."
"Even if it costs my life, my Yanran can only be kept by my side."
"Since Grandfather knows, there's no need to worry."
Sang Zhixia separated the silk thread from the ball held by Xu Yanran's little hand and said slowly, "If Grandfather doesn't agree, there's nothing anyone can do."
The old lady has many fickle ideas and is still in a separate dimension of thinking that is different from that of most people. However, no matter how many ideas she has, they cannot cover up her weak nature.
The head of the Xu family is the old man.
As long as the old man is alive, it will not be the old lady's turn to have free rein in the Xu family.
Aunt Xu changed her mind and couldn't help but laugh softly.
"In that case, we are worrying for no reason."
The old man's dissatisfaction with the old lady and Uncle Xu has reached its peak. As long as they stand firmly on the old man's side, no matter how much trouble the old lady makes, the situation will never get out of control.
Sang Zhixia smiled noncommittally and patted Xu Yanran's uneasy face.
"It'll be okay, don't worry."
With Sang Zhixia's words as a reassurance, Xu Wenxiu and Aunt Xu were no longer panicked.
As for the old lady's crying after her plan was shattered, at best it was just noise in her ears amidst her busy schedule. As long as there was no threat, no one would care how loudly she cried.
The old lady closed the door and cried and cursed in the main room all day. In the evening, she seemed to be even more uncomfortable and didn't even want to come out for dinner.
Her three daughters-in-law, bound by filial piety, took turns going in to take a look, and when they came out, they all had saliva all over their faces.
Sang Zhixia is very tactful.
The old lady didn't like her in the first place, so there was no need for her to join in the fun at a time like this.
Besides, she has more important things to do right now.
The sorghum we wanted to buy was delivered to our home early this morning, so we have to hurry up and start brewing the wine.
With the experience from the first time, the process went much smoother this time.
In addition to the sorghum wine, which takes a relatively long time to make, she brewed an extra jar of rice wine before dark.
The rice wine jar was placed next to the stove, which had a relatively high temperature. With the help of the residual heat from the hot stove, when Xu Yu came back from the mountains, the rice wine that had been clarified of impurities could be taken to the county town to sell.
Besides this, there is another thing.
"I've dug up and looked at the land at the foot of Nanshan Mountain. The soil is okay, but it's been left uncultivated for years and lacks fertility. Before spring planting, it's best to free up some manure and mix it in before turning the soil. This way, the seedlings and the estimated harvest will be much better."
Food production is closely related to many factors.
Soil fertility, quality of grain seeds, and continuous fertilization during sowing and cultivation can all be decisive factors and no step can be ignored.
The old man didn't know much about farming. He was stunned when he heard this and asked, "How to fertilize it?"
"Dry straw, dead branches and leaves, bean dregs left over from grinding beans, chaff from chickens, and all the manure from livestock—all of these things, mixed together and fermented for a long time, become the best fertilizer."
Simply put, many common things in life can be the materials needed for fertilizer. All they have to do is collect these things in one place so that they can get more useful fertilizer.
The old man wanted to suggest that the charcoal pit he used to burn charcoal was a good option, but Sang Zhixia said, "The odor during the fertilization process is quite strong, which is somewhat disturbing at home, so I plan to dig a fertilizer pit directly in the field."
Although it takes more time to clean, it can ensure that your home is not affected by odors.
We suffer enough every day just to stay alive. There is really no need to make things harder on ourselves just to save effort.
The old man thought the same thing and said, "Then do as you say."
"Tomorrow I'll go with you to the field to select a site. As long as it's not snowing too hard, digging a deep pit like you mentioned won't be too difficult."
Sang Zhixia smiled and said okay, then stood up and walked back in with a bowl of dark soup.
"What's this?"
"It's a soup made from dried dandelions."
Sang Zhixia placed the steaming bowl of soup next to the old man and explained, "Grandpa's eyes have been red and his lips have been dry lately. It looks like he has too much internal heat. Dandelion has the effect of clearing away heat and reducing internal heat. Drinking some of this every day might help."
"It's just that this soup tastes very bitter. If Grandpa can't get used to it, I'll get some syrup to mix it up."
It must be said that except for the period in the beginning when the old man was stuck in a dead end and did nothing about anything at home, the rest of the time, with the old man supporting them, her and Xu Yu's life was much better.
In this situation, whether out of selfishness or distracting thoughts, she sincerely hoped that the old man would be healthy and live a long life.
The backer must be protected.
"Need not."
The old man looked at the steam coming out of the bowl and said, "You are so thoughtful."
"You're tired after a day of hard work. Go back and rest."
Sang Zhixia closed the door and walked out without hesitation. The old man picked up the bowl and drank the bitter soup in one gulp. The moment he closed his eyes, he concealed the myriad complex emotions surging in his vision.
That's good.
If this can be sustained, the Xu family won't really fall...
Perhaps Sang Zhixia's prayer before going to bed worked, and there was no wind or snow in the next few days, and it was a rare sunny day.
The Northwest has a unique climate due to its special location.
The sun was blazing high overhead, but the sunlight that came down was only dazzling and not warm, and the thick snow on the ground showed no signs of melting.
But a sunny day is always better than a cloudy day. At least when you go out, you won’t be slapped in the face by the cold wind and snow.
Sang Zhixia grabbed a hoe and shovel and dug a hole in the area she had marked out. She was distractedly wondering about Xu Yu's situation in the mountains. "Sister-in-law!"
Xu Mingyang, wrapped up like a cotton ball, ran over breathlessly: "Someone from sister-in-law's family is looking for you!"
"Looking for me?"
Sang Zhixia looked up in surprise: "Who's looking for me?"
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