Chapter 118 Two Women Fighting
The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law walked through the village with a smile, greeting everyone they met. When people asked her if she had come to see her grandson, Mrs. Wang smiled and said, "Of course I have not seen him for a long time, and I miss him very much."
The voice is so warm and friendly.
They went all the way to the outside of the Lu family's courtyard. Before the people arrived, the sound had already spread into the courtyard. When Mrs. Lu heard the sound, her ears pricked up!
The Wang family’s mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, she has waited too long.
The door of the grain storage room was locked. Mrs. Lu straightened her clothes, and as she did so, she also straightened the expression on her face.
The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law of the Wang family just entered the courtyard and called "mother-in-law" with a very enthusiastic smile.
Mrs. Lu had been holding back a lot of anger for a long time, but now she didn't show it on her face. She was the same as before, smiling and saying, "Oh, the child's grandmother and aunt are here? Come in and sit down."
While smiling as he led the person to the main room, he glanced inconspicuously at the basket on Wang Po's arm. As usual, it was covered with a piece of cloth, so nothing could be seen.
Mrs. Wang was a wonderful person. Mrs. Lu had no idea how they interacted with her daughters-in-law's families. Anyone who came to the Lu family would carry a basket. The villagers thought they looked very respectable and thought they were bringing something for their grandchildren to eat. In fact, they were just carrying the basket and would not take anything out of it.
As usual, she let the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law sit by themselves under the eaves of the main hall, because this was the area with the best light. When a neighbor from the countryside came to visit, they would usually bring chairs and benches under the eaves and invite them to sit, which did not seem out of place at all.
Mrs. Lu turned around and went to the kitchen to pour two cups of hot water from the stove. She smiled and said, "It's the Little New Year today. Isn't your family busy? How did you find time to come to my place?"
The main hall was only a few steps away from the kitchen, so the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law of the Wang family did not dare to wander around openly. They looked around the room with their eyes. When they saw Mrs. Wang coming from the kitchen, they quickly stopped looking around and said with a smile, "The dust-sweeping work is done by the daughter-in-law at home. It's too early to worship the kitchen god. Hasn't Chunniang returned home for more than 20 days? I missed her so much that I came to take a look. It's so quiet at my mother-in-law's house. Where are my parents-in-law? I haven't seen Dalang, Erlang, Chunniang and her sisters-in-law yet."
Mrs. Lu smiled widely, "We are a lucky family. Didn't we do some small business in the county before? Chunniang told you about it."
Both Mrs. Wang and her daughter-in-law choked.
Of course they had said that, but the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law had often heard Wang Chunniang nagging about how the old woman earned money like a thief, and they were not allowed to tell anyone a word of it.
Mrs. Wang smiled awkwardly. She wanted to deny it. She was not sure whether her daughter had let it slip in front of her in-laws. She also wanted to hear what happened next. So she smiled vaguely and said, "I heard a few words, but she didn't say anything specific. What does this have to do with the fact that my in-laws are not at home?"
Mrs. Lu saw her acting and pretended not to know. She was still smiling and said, "I have been doing a little business in the county. I am lucky and know a few people. I was delivering goods to someone a few days ago. A friend of mine wanted to build a big garden and was looking for a farmhand. It's rough work anyway, so I asked someone to help me. Now the county is in such a mess, I dare not deliver goods there every day. It's safe to find a farmhand. The few people in the family who can work have gone. Chunniang and Liuniang also help carry sand and soil. The wages are less than men, but that's not a problem. I'll save some money and buy some food. Food is too expensive now."
At this point, the topic suddenly changed: "By the way, mother-in-law, have you bought food?"
What kind of food could Wang Po buy? The price has risen to the sky. Who would spend that money? Besides, the girls and husbands are hoarding it. Now the whole family is earning money to buy it. How much should she buy? Just thinking about it made her heart beat fast. Her eyes wanted to fly into the west room of the Lu family with a locked door to take a look. She was afraid of being discovered, so she forced herself to hold back: "I bought it, but I can't buy it. Not to mention the high price, I can only buy a little bit a day. You also said that the road to the county is not safe now."
Seeing that her mother-in-law didn't grasp the point at all, the eldest daughter-in-law of the Wang family interrupted her and said, "Aunt, what kind of long-term worker do you work for? How much is the daily wage? Can you bring in more people?"
Mrs. Lu: "How could it be so easy? I was able to get in because of favors. It's been more than ten days, and everyone is already here."
Changing the subject, he pulled Wang Pozi aside and said earnestly, "My dear relatives, we have to buy food. This is the most urgent matter. Didn't I ask Dalang to send you a message earlier? My Erlang came back and said that there is chaos in the north. Many people have rebelled and called themselves kings. Isn't this a chaotic world? Now we have refugees here. We have to store some food. We can't be at ease just because we have enough food for next year. What if there is chaos, right?"
Mrs. Wang rolled her eyes and said, "That's right, dear, how much have you stockpiled?"
"We stockpiled..." Mrs. Lu followed the topic and said, but she was stuck after saying only three words. She showed a little bit of caution, but she quickly covered it up and said embarrassedly, "We didn't stockpile much."
The Wang family’s mother-in-law and daughter-in-law: I don’t believe you at all.
But the two of them had a tacit understanding and did not bring up anything that would alert Mrs. Lu. They came today because Wang Chunniang had not been back to her parents' home for a long time and she felt uneasy, so they wanted to check out the situation. They also wanted to see how much food the Lu family had left, so they didn't want to alarm her first.
Mrs. Wang smiled and slapped her lips: "I asked unnecessary questions, my dear relatives, just pretend I didn't say anything, just pretend I didn't say anything."
Mrs. Lu smiled awkwardly, "Actually, I was scared too. It was a subconscious reaction. People of our age have all seen what kind of chaos there was before. Our two families are relatives, so it shouldn't be like this. I have to say from the bottom of my heart that our Lu family is not comparable to your Wang family. Alas, the village we used to live in was ravaged by those soldiers and bandits. My generation is really small, and I am the only one left alive. Let alone brothers, I don't even have uncles or brothers to rely on. I can't even find a single relative. If things really get chaotic... if things really get chaotic..."
She hesitated here, not knowing whether she should continue.
The Wang family's mother-in-law and daughter-in-law are so smart, especially the eldest daughter-in-law, who immediately said, "Aunt, don't worry. If things really get chaotic, our two families are relatives, so how can we ignore your family?"
Mrs. Lu looked at the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law of the Wang family and hesitated: "I trust you, but can you, the Wang family, take us outsiders?"
Mrs. Wang: "How can you call this a stranger? Everyone has relatives and friends. If they are in trouble, they will help each other. But come to think of it, can we really be in chaos here?"
I still don't quite believe it.
Mrs. Lu looked at her expression and sighed, "Don't disbelieve me. There are too many people who are against us. We didn't tell anyone about this. We only warned our own village and relatives. Now we don't need to tell anyone. The news has spread throughout the county."
The Wang family's mother-in-law and daughter-in-law looked at each other and had to ask Mrs. Lu for more details about the north.
Mrs. Lu was also very open-hearted, telling everyone she knew without reservation, which made the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law of the Wang family, who originally came to see the grain to feel at ease, turn pale after hearing what she said.
But even so, they were still thinking about the food of the Lu family. Mrs. Wang patted Mrs. Lu's hand and said, "Don't worry, dear relatives. If things really get chaotic, just come to our Wang family. Apart from other things, we Wang family members are not short of food. I, an old man, still have some influence among the brothers. I can take you with me no matter what."
Mrs. Lu hesitated and didn't respond. After the enthusiastic assurances from the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law of the Wang family, she asked a little embarrassedly: "When we notified you to buy grain, your family also notified the clan, right? Did the Wang family buy grain?"
This is what it means to worry about food insecurity with them.
Don't mention it, the Wang family really notified them, but they just said it in passing, with the main purpose of Lu Erlang coming back alive and the secondary purpose of delivering the news. You know, when Lu Erlang came back, the grain prices in the county had already skyrocketed, so who would be willing to pay that money?
As for rebellion, every year there are some bandits who want to rebel against the government, but aren't they suppressed in the end? At first, no one took it seriously. Of course, even if they took it seriously, they would not be willing to buy grain at that high price. What if there was only a little trouble in the north and it didn't affect the south at all? Then wouldn't their life savings be spent on grain? Who would they complain to if the grain price dropped?
Mrs. Wang said, "We bought it. As soon as Dalang sent us the letter, we sent it to every family in the clan. The next day, Chunniang's uncles went to the county to buy grain. They couldn't afford grain, so they stockpiled beans and other things."
There are indeed two or three families who bought it, but to say that every family bought it is pure nonsense.
Mrs. Lu seemed to believe it and was obviously relieved: "That's good, that's good."
"Well, I still hope that there won't be any chaos. If there is, we will see and come to you with our whole family. Then we will ask you to take care of our family."
He hesitated again: "In fact, the Feng family is not bad, and they love Liu Niang too, but they have one less son than your family, and they don't have as many people in the clan as you do."
When Mrs. Wang heard this, she realized that there was a competitor. Fortunately, her family had the advantage of numbers, so she smiled and said, "At times like this, it's better to have more people. Otherwise, look at how many children you have in your family. How old are Huzi and Shitou? How can they be taken care of? What about my five grandchildren? I'll only feel at ease if they are in front of me."
Mrs. Lu thought about it and looked as if she was convinced.
He also advised Wang Pozi: "My dear relatives, you should go buy some food every day together. If things get really chaotic, you won't be able to buy food even if you have money."
The Wang family's mother-in-law and daughter-in-law both felt disgusted by his flattering look. They thought, "You want to take advantage of our Wang family, but you're afraid that we will eat your food."
But they all said, "Yes, yes, you are right, dear relative. We didn't know the situation in the north was so serious. Dalang didn't explain it so clearly. Fortunately, we came here today. When we return, we will have to send a letter to the tribe. We must store more food."
This is absolutely true. If the tribe members stockpile more goods, it will be beneficial for them, so this statement is truly made in the heart.
Mrs. Lu showed the most sincere smile since she met Mrs. Wang and her daughter-in-law today.
Wang Pozi and her daughter-in-law also felt that today's trip was worthwhile. After all, this was no longer just borrowing grain. They could just wait a little longer and move the grain directly to their home.
Their family is not short of food yet. On the contrary, if the world is in chaos, is there anything better than this? The whole family of the Lu family is working outside to earn money to store food. Just thinking about this, even the heaviness of hearing about the chaos in the north disappears.
After all, the village has been in an uproar these days, all because of the news coming back from the county. They have already heard about the war from Lu Dalang and the villagers for a few days. They have panicked enough, and it is useless for them to panic if the situation becomes more serious. Food is what they are most uncertain about now. At this critical moment, the Lu family is already prepared to support them.
The Wang family's mother-in-law and daughter-in-law were very satisfied! They just wanted to take a look at how much food the Lu family had stored to feel at ease.
As mother-in-law and daughter-in-law for more than ten years, they really have a tacit understanding. When Mrs. Wang covered her stomach, she frowned and bent over with two "ouch" sounds: "What did I eat?"
As he spoke, he seemed to go limp.
She grabbed Mrs. Lu's hand and said, "Oh, I can't take it anymore, dear, dear, where is the toilet? Help me to the toilet."
Mrs. Lu really wanted to spit in her face. They had been relatives for more than ten years. Although they seldom visited each other, how could she not know where her family’s toilet was?
But Wang Po wanted to pretend, and she was happy to play along. She asked nervously what was going on and helped the man to the toilet.
The eldest daughter-in-law of the Wang family also followed for a few steps, and when she reached the gate of the courtyard, she did not go out anymore.
Mrs. Lu supported Mrs. Wang and walked a few more steps. She looked towards the gate without making any expression and found that the people had already returned to the yard.
Look, now that you feel at ease, just go back to Wangjiagou and don't get in her way here anymore.
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