Chapter 171 Envy
After the Xu family was settled, Wei Lingzhen used the existing ingredients at home to steam two steamers of glutinous rice cakes. Old Mrs. Xu packed them one by one and carried them in a basket. Then she took her son, daughter-in-law and grandson out to visit each house and get to know each person.
The first family they arrived at was the Shen family. Wei Lingzhen had heard a lot about Chen Lie and Sang Luo. Ever since her mother-in-law took her two children, younger brother and nephew to hide in the mountains, she had been grateful for them all the time.
The family had just had a reunion and it was a noisy affair. Now was the last time they paid a proper visit and could express their gratitude properly. Wei Lingzhen was really happy to have this dealings with her. Sang Luo, in addition to being well-educated, kind and generous as her family members said, also had a kind of calmness, cleanliness and peace that was very comfortable.
She was a first-rate maid in the mansion, who was released from her duties as a maid by her master and given a dowry and a good marriage. She behaved very well and was pleasant to talk to. She held Sang Luo's hand and kissed her for a long time, and praised Chen An and Chen Ning. Finally, she thanked Sang Luo for taking care of her family all the time. She talked for a long time, and seeing that it was getting dark and that there were still several families to visit, she said goodbye to the Shen family and went to the next one.
The Chen family, the Shi family, the Zhou family, and finally the Lu family.
Wei Lingzhen did see what her daughter said. The beds and furniture in every cave were very novel. Then she also saw another scene that no one had mentioned to her - a small cave with a fence and a padlock hanging on it in the big cave, and a woman lying inside doing nothing, who stared at them when she heard the noise and saw these strangers.
Wei Lingzhen acted with great discretion. When she saw this scene, she just glanced at it without looking at it for long. She spoke to the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law of the Lu family without changing her expression, and handed over the cold cakes she had made.
It was not until the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law of the Lu family sent them out that Mrs. Lu said, "There is a troublemaker at home. I am sorry to make you laugh."
Wei Lingzhen did not ask any further questions, and Old Lady Xu changed the subject. After a few small talk, she said it was getting late and she should go back to make dinner.
On the way back, he said to Wei Lingzhen, "That was the eldest daughter-in-law of the Lu family. I forgot about her and didn't mention her to you."
Wang Chunniang hasn't been out for a long time. I heard that she is only followed by people from the big house to walk around in the cave at specific times every day, so Old Lady Xu has really forgotten about this person.
While the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law were talking, Wang Chunniang took advantage of the fact that Mrs. Lu and Mrs. Feng Liu were out seeing off the guests, and she grabbed the wooden fence with both hands and said anxiously, "Big girl, come here! Who were those people just now? From the Xu family?"
She still recognized Old Mrs. Xu.
Something seemed to be wrong in the valley today. When Lu Er came back, the whole family ran out in a swarm. When he came back, the old man and the old woman were carrying food out.
Wang Chunniang had been curious for a long time, but there was always someone in the cave, either someone from the second house or Lu Sanlang, so she didn't even have the chance to ask her children.
Now that everyone has arrived, it is obvious that there are quite a few strangers entering the valley!!!
Could Wang Chunniang resist asking?
As soon as Mrs. Lu and Feng Liuniang left, she called her daughter "Lu Danniu" in a low voice.
In fact, Lu Danniu had never left the house. If the adults in the family had to go out, she and her older brothers would stay in the cave most of the time to look after her mother.
But since Hu Zi and the others had gone out, she knew something about it. However, she only knew that some people had entered the valley and there seemed to be bandits outside, and she didn't know anything else.
When Wang Chunniang called him over to ask him about it, he told the truth: "That was Shopkeeper Xu's family, Wenbo and Wenyin's mother, and the other two should be Wenbo and Wenyin's brothers."
Wang Chunniang clutched the wooden fence and said, "Have Manager Xu and his family entered the valley? How many people have come?"
Lu Danniu was a little panicked by her mother's stare, she lowered her eyebrows and said honestly: "Manager Xu, Madam Xu, Wen Yin's two brothers seem to have an uncle? I heard that the bandits outside are calling."
Wang Chunniang's breathing was a little heavy.
Five!
Five after five, ten people came in from the Xu family alone.
She asked Lu Da Niu: "Who did your grandparents take the food out for today? The Xu family is so rich, they wouldn't need help from people like us, right?"
Lu Danniu didn't know why, but she got nervous when she heard her mother talking, and she stammered, "No, it was the three brothers Xiaojin, Xiaoyin, and Xiaotie who also entered the valley."
A light sneer escaped from Wang Chunniang's nose.
Thinking back to the time when she had let slip a few things to her parents' home, she was separated from her family, and had to go into the mountains to fetch food, and they had also tied her up for a few days. Now, look, the Xu family has brought in more people, and Chen Lie has also brought in Shen Jin and others? They have all severed their relationship, so they are not considered two families?
So you just don't like her, right?
This rule only applies to her, right?
Her face was gloomy, and when she looked up, Lu Danniu turned pale with fear. She looked back at the cave entrance nervously, and seeing that her grandmother and second aunt had not returned, she hurriedly whispered, "Mom, please stop talking nonsense. There must be a lot of people dead outside. Shen Jin's father, mother, and sister are all gone."
Wang Chunniang's eyebrows jumped. She heard footsteps outside the cave and realized that it was Mrs. Lu and Feng Liuniang who had sent the Xu family back. Without saying a word, she turned around and went back to bed.
…
No one knew the conversation between the mother and daughter of the Lu family. When it was time to prepare dinner, smoke rose from the houses in the valley.
We still ate together for the next two days. We had to take care of several children. Dinner was still porridge, but we added minced meat and finely chopped green onions to make a salty meat porridge.
When serving the porridge, Shen Ning served half a bowl, hesitating a little while holding the spoon. Sang Luo took the spoon and filled her bowl with porridge, whispering, "It's not about saving money. Porridge is about adding two more bowls of water and more vegetables and meat. If you all skimp on food, do you think Xiao Jin and the others dare to eat one more bite these days?"
Shen Ning also understood, and nodded immediately, filling up all the bowls before taking them out.
As a result, Shen Jin and his brothers looked at the full bowl of porridge and didn't dare to eat it at all. Shen Jin ran to his backpack and took out three bowls. The three brothers divided a bowl. After dividing it, he held the bowl and looked at Sang Luo, saying, "Sister-in-law, we have been hungry for a long time and our appetite is not big."
It was true that she had been hungry for a long time. Sang Luo nodded and said, "It's right to eat small meals frequently. You can eat more when you are hungry."
Chen Tie had eaten egg drop porridge with sugar twice in the afternoon. He was surrounded by a group of familiar children. He was obviously in much better spirits now and could even sit in the booth with a backrest by himself.
It was only at this moment that the family discovered that Chen Tie was extremely anxious to eat. From the moment Shen Jin placed the small bowl of porridge in front of him, he stared at it to make sure it was his. Although he was obviously very weak, he ate like a wolf, not caring whether it was hot or not, he just wanted to fill his mouth.
This is because I'm afraid of being hungry.
Shen Jin quickly held his hand down: "Eat slowly."
Shen Tie's hands were held down, so he looked at Shen Jin eagerly: "I'm so hungry."
The whole family was silent.
This is not necessarily physical hunger, but the fear of being hungry, and feeling hungry from the bottom of the heart.
Sang Luo couldn't really imagine what it felt like to be so hungry that you had to eat earthen cakes for several days, or even only be able to eat one or two bites of earthen cakes every day.
She was also hungry when she first came here, and she felt that she was almost starving to death at that time. However, the original owner was in a state of semi-food shortage for more than ten days. In those days, she could actually have some wild vegetable soup and some rice to eat. However, her foundation was ruined when she fled from the famine, and coupled with the lack of food, she fell ill due to fear and became drowsy. She could not eat the wild vegetable soup and rice made by the two little ones, and she was confused and had already taken over.
When she came here, she was just hungry when she woke up, and then Shen Ning fed her some wild fruits that he picked in the moonlight. The old couple of the Chen family also came here quickly with salt, sugar water and rice. Maybe it was the time traveler's own spirit that repaired her body. In short, she didn't suffer too much. After a few days of rice porridge and fish soup, she gradually got better.
So no matter whether it was the original owner's memory or her own experience, she could not understand Chen Tie's feeling of being crazy hungry when seeing food even though he had already eaten, and he really didn't know how to deal with it.
Shen Jin held Chen Tie's hand and said, "I won't be hungry anymore. I won't be hungry anymore. We came out of the county town. My elder brother and Uncle Xu brought us out. You see, there are mountains everywhere here. My elder brother, his wife, grandparents, uncles and aunts also gave us food. My elder brother will take me hunting. Really, I won't be hungry anymore. Eat slowly."
Seeing that Shen Tie was still holding the spoon, Shen Jin pointed to the other two bowls of porridge and said to him, "Look, if you are hungry, there is still food."
Sang Luo pushed the plate of glutinous rice cake sent by the Xu family in the middle of the table towards Chen Tie and said, "Eat it. You can have a piece of cake, but it's made of glutinous rice flour and it's not easy to digest. Eat one piece first."
Seeing that everyone's bowls were filled with food on the table, Shen Tie swallowed his saliva, and the fear of extreme hunger in his heart eased a little. However, after Shen Jin let go of his hand, he still ate voraciously even though he tried his best to restrain himself. However, despite this voracious eating, he also had a great sense of propriety. Unless he was told that the food was not allowed to be eaten, he did not move much.
At the age of six, I didn’t know the words “living under someone else’s roof”, but I already vaguely understood their meaning.
Sang Luo didn't say anything else. This wouldn't heal in a day or two, so she could only wait for time to heal slowly.
…
After dinner, they boiled some water, mixed it with warm water, and had everyone who had just returned from outside take a shower. The brothers washed their own clothes.
Chen Ning wrung out a cloth and wiped the bed, mat and pillow where Chen Tie slept during the day. Sang Luo measured some beans and soaked them in water for breakfast the next day.
That night, brother and sister Chen An and Chen Ning did not read for a rare time. The little siblings chatted with each other, and when it was getting late, they turned off the lights and went to bed.
The next morning, Chen Lie got up early and ground the beans that Sang Luo had soaked in the kitchen. When Sang Luo got up, the pot was already filled with soy milk.
She took it with a smile, waited for the soy milk to be cooked, filled a large bowl with it, and then took the prepared brine and added some. When it was done, she scooped out a large bowl of tofu pudding, and for the rest, she used a small tofu frame made by Chen Lie, covered it with sandpaper, and then pressed it with boards and stones. There were only four pieces of tofu on one board.
One of the pieces was for their own consumption, and the other three were given to the Chen, Shi, and Xu families, each of which asked for one piece. They had asked Sang Luo a few days in advance when she would make tofu, and had sent soybeans or millet to order it. There were not many vegetables in the valley, and only Sang Luo could get some tofu sauce, dried vegetarian tripe, etc. from time to time, so each family would exchange some.
Chen Ning also came over after washing up. After asking if she wanted to make tofu dregs cakes, she quickly took some leftover vegetables from yesterday from the table and chopped them into small pieces. She also measured a small spoonful of flour, cracked an egg, and started to prepare the food. She also brought out the seasoning for the salty tofu pudding.
The breakfast included soy milk, tofu pudding, fried golden bean curd omelet, the glutinous rice jelly sent by the Xu family yesterday, and the remaining bowl and a half of porridge from the Shen Jin brothers, which Shen Ning heated up.
The table was set. The food on the eldest son's side was fine as they were used to it, but the three Shen Jin brothers were dumbfounded and didn't know where to start.
Chen Ning put out the bowls and chopsticks. Sang Luo looked at the three brothers standing there in a daze and said, "Don't be stunned. Just serve yourself whatever you want to eat. It's made of beans. I'll bring you some when I make it at home next time."
Beans?
The three brothers didn't realize that it looked like a bean at all.
Shen Jin quickly thought of the things his mother had asked him to look at before, and immediately stopped asking. He said thank you to his sister-in-law, took Shen Yin and Shen Tie to scoop some soy milk, and ate breakfast with a pancake.
Chen Lie and Chen Dashan had been away for nearly a month before returning. Lu Erlang, Lu Sanlang, Shi Dalang and Shi Erlang had been feeling very pent up, so they had breakfast early today and headed to the Chen and Shen families' place.
After Shen Jin put snake-repellent powder on his shoes and leggings, he excitedly put on a backpack and went to grab his slingshot and kitchen knife.
Shen Lie saw this and replaced his axe with another one, and also gave him the bow and arrow that Shen An used.
The children would still practice archery in the valley, but they were rarely taken out, except when they were transporting grain. Later, they didn't have much use for their skills.
A group of young boys, including Shen An, who came over to watch the fun, looked at Shen Jin eagerly, and were quite envious.
They really wanted to go out, but as everyone knows, the inner circle is different from the outer circle, and hunting is also different from going into the mountains. Going into the mountains can avoid wild beasts, but if they really encounter wild beasts, the skills they have practiced before allow them to quickly climb trees and hide, and occasionally help out.
But hunting requires going to places where there are wild animals, and there is a greater possibility that a group of young people like them will be a hindrance, so they can only envy.
Xu Wenqing standing by was envious. What young man doesn't like swords and arrows? Shopkeeper Xu found it funny. He had seen the half-grown boys in Shili Village. They all had bows and arrows. So he said, "Go borrow a bow and arrow from Xiaoan and practice with them. Ask them to teach you. When you have the skills, follow your brother Lie and brother Dashan to go out for a walk."
Shen An heard this from the side, turned around and smiled at Xu Wenqing, agreed, and then pulled Shen Jin: "Don't be afraid, Xiao Jin, study hard, and you will be powerful after you have mastered a set of skills. Maybe I will have to rely on you to lead me when I go to the mountains."
Shen Jin smiled for the first time since entering Yungu: "Don't be afraid."
With his elder brother accompanying him, he was not afraid at all.
Shen Lie's eyes also showed a smile. He patted Shen Jin's head and said, "You haven't forgotten how to climb trees, have you? This time we went out specifically to find places where there are wild animals. You can set up some traps and catch small prey. If there are really big ones climbing up the trees, you know? You also have to watch out for insects and snakes when climbing trees."
Shen Jin held the bow tightly and nodded repeatedly: "Remember it."
Shen Lie smiled and looked towards the cave.
Sang Luo filled two bamboo tubes with water. He walked over a few steps to collect the water. After putting the two bamboo tubes into the backpack, he said to Sang Luo, "Shall we go?"
Sang Luo smiled and nodded: "Be careful."
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