Good times
The tricycle slowly stopped at the door, and the four people's confused consciousness instantly became clear.
Several people jumped out of the car one by one and put their things away.
Hu Yufeng stopped Li Lanhua who was about to leave and shouted to Xizi, "Come here, I'll settle the bill for you two."
Li Lanhua was a little embarrassed: "Forget it, Auntie, I didn't do anything, how can I take your money..."
Although Yang Xiu had said before that he would be paid for helping. However, the old-fashioned idea of "only giving without asking for anything in return" deeply rooted in Li Lanhua's mind prevented her from accepting the salary immediately. Besides, we are helping our family, so how can we really charge for it?
Hu Yufeng ignored her and took out 15 yuan and stuffed it into her hand: "This is what we agreed in advance. 10 yuan is yours, and 5 yuan is for Wen Zheng to help transport the goods today. Just take what's yours, why are you being so shy..."
"No need, Second Aunt. We are just sitting around doing nothing. How can we ask for money to help our family..." Li Lanhua seemed to have her hand burned by the money and tried to stuff it back.
Yang Xiu advised: "Sister-in-law, I told you what I meant. What are you doing? Hurry up and take it..."
"I only need 10 yuan. The car is just there, and I didn't charge anyone for towing it. How can I charge Second Aunt?"
Hu Yufeng said with a sullen face: "If you do this again, I will dare to call you next time. You have been busy all day and this is what you deserve. You are not stealing or robbing, so what are you afraid of? Take it quickly. What's wrong with money? Besides, cars burn oil, not water. Isn't it free to refuel?"
Li Lanhua looked at Qin Wenzheng helplessly. Qin Wenzheng thought for a moment and said, "Second Aunt has said so. Just take it."
Only then did Li Lanhua reluctantly put it away.
Xizi was watching the fun from the side. When she saw Hu Yufeng gave her one, she was happy: "I have one too. Thank you, Auntie."
She looked at the 10 yuan over and over again: "This is the first time I touch money. My parents have never given me money. Auntie, you are so nice, better than my biological mother..." Xizi raised his bright smile and showed his pampering to Hu Yufeng.
"Then you should keep it well and don't let anyone fool you..." Hu Yufeng's mouth twitched as she warned again.
Xizi paused after hearing that, then smiled ingratiatingly, "How about you leave it to me, Auntie? You can touch me whenever I want, twice a day is fine..."
Hu Yufeng: ...
Hu Yufeng: "Keep it for yourself!"
Everyone in the yard burst into laughter.
Li Lanhua had never felt so happy.
When she was at her parents' home, she was always busy around the stove. After she got married, she lived a miserable life under the control of her mother-in-law.
Today, I had a great time chatting and working with people of my age...
Li Lanhua had a faint smile on her lips, her hands in her pockets holding the rewards of her labor, the days seemed so vivid that they seemed unreal.
"There were so many people around today, I was so nervous that I almost couldn't rub..." Li Lanhua muttered softly about what she saw and heard today.
Qin Wenzhen listened quietly, glancing at his wife from time to time.
In my memory, my wife either looked submissive or had a sad face. She hasn’t smiled like this for a long time. It would be so nice to smile, life would not be so bitter.
"Cough..." A heavy cough came from the front, as if announcing the owner's unhappiness.
Li Lanhua's body stiffened unconsciously when she heard the voice.
"You dare not let anyone hear what you are saying. Who did you learn this sneaky thing from? You rush after people who make some dirty money. You never stay at home all day and follow that witch around. Do you think he is a decent person?" Chen Xiulian felt as if she had drunk ten kilograms of vinegar, the sour smell was overwhelming.
Li Lanhua pursed her lips and said nothing.
Qin Wenzheng frowned when he heard this: "My second aunt asked me to help, so I went. She didn't ask me to help for nothing, Lanhua even earned 10 yuan."
"10 yuan, just to send off a beggar. You two are just short-sighted. You can coax someone into calling you mom after just a little bit of effort.
Your own parents are working hard, why don’t you come to help them? Instead, you help outsiders just for 10 yuan..." Chen Xiulian said sarcastically.
Qin Wenzheng also got angry and said back: "I've helped you go to jail and you still don't ask for help. Mom, how can you help me?"
Chen Xiulian stopped talking, turned around and went in muttering.
Li Lanhua felt uncomfortable after hearing this and disagreed, "Don't mention the past. Wouldn't it be uncomfortable for you to stab her? Why bother? She is just that kind of person. It won't hurt if you say a few words to her."
Qin Wenzhen knew that she was thinking about him, and there were some things he couldn't understand even if he told her. She still had a stern face: "Don't worry about it, I know what's going on. From now on, when Second Aunt calls you, don't worry about Mom, just go when you need to..."
Li Lanhua sighed lightly but said nothing.
She handed over the money in her hand: "You keep the money, I have nowhere to put it."
Qin Wenzhen understood and took the warm banknote.
Hu Yufeng didn’t know that the family next door was fighting because of her mother and son, but even if she knew, she wouldn’t care. The mother and son turned against each other from the moment Qin Wenzhen took the blame, and it was only a matter of time before they started quarreling.
She was calculating today's income with Qin Wenli. 205 yuan, minus 20 yuan from Xizi and Li Lanhua, leaving 180 yuan.
The total cost of oil, flour, sugar and other ingredients is 50 yuan, and the net income is 130 yuan.
According to the previous agreement that 90% would be reserved as collective assets, Hu Yufeng counted out 117 yuan according to Qin Wenli's calculation and put it into the wooden box, and the remaining 13 yuan was wrapped in a cloth bag to be distributed at the end of the month.
Yang Xiu was still not satisfied: "Mom, this kind of work makes money quickly, it would be great if there were a few every month."
Hu Yufeng glanced at her and said, "What are you thinking about? How many families are as wealthy as the Liu family? How many are there? We'd be lucky if we could get one every month."
Yang Xiu was listless for a moment, but then he became energetic again: "Yeah, we'd be lucky to have one."
Yang Xiu was indeed very tired today and fell asleep immediately after landing on the kang.
Qin Shu stretched out his hand to let his mother coax him to sleep, but Qin Wenli held him in his arms and said, "Your mother is exhausted today, so let Dad coax you to sleep."
Qin Shu pursed his lips, and seeing that his mother was snoring, he had no choice but to curl up in his father's arms feeling aggrieved.
"Mom, you look so tired because you went out to make money?" Qin Yu looked at his father with sparkling eyes in the dark.
"Yes, Mom went out to earn money." Qin Wenli said gently.
"Earn money to buy clothes and food? If I don't want new clothes, will mom not be tired?" Qin Yu asked.
Qin Wenli was so soft-hearted: "Bao'er is so good that you know how to feel sorry for your mother. Then your mother would rather be tired to buy it for you.
People have to make money to live. Only with money can we have a better life, buy a TV, a tricycle, build a new house, etc...."
"I like TV...My mom is so great, my grandma is so great, and my dad is so great too. I also want to make money in the future..." the little girl made a bold statement.
"I want one too, I want one too..." Qin Shu shouted.
"Okay, then Dad will wait for you to grow up. Mom is snoring, let's go to bed quickly..." Qin Wenli said with a smile.
"Dad, I like this grandma now..." Qin Yu said in the darkness.
Qin Wenli laughed for a long time after hearing this.
If life continues like this, it would be fine.
As they didn't have to go out to the stall for two days, Hu Yufeng and her friends took the opportunity to grind sesame and dry vegetables.
This year I planted three long rows of pepper seedlings, several eggplants, tomatoes, beans, etc. After an autumn rain, they all grow wildly.
The whole chili tree looks red from a distance, as if it is filled with spicy food. Yang Xiu and Xizi each took a frame and picked the red ones.
The old lady fumbled with the needle with the hemp thread in her hand, waiting for them to pick a full basket and bring it back for her to thread.
The ripe red peppers are strung together and hung under the eaves, gradually drying out in the wind and sun. When ready to eat, pick them and put them in the grinding trough to grind them into chili powder, which is an indispensable seasoning for the Qin family.
Yang Xiu and the other man were quick-witted and quick-handed. They brought back baskets of peppers and poured them on the ground. The pepper trees in the field were freed of the burden and their bodies became straighter.
Hu Yufeng is picking beans. The old variety of cowpea does not look good, with reddish-brown spots all over the surface, but it tastes crispy and sweet. She held two baskets in her hands, keeping the tender ones to dry and peeling the old ones to make rice soup.
Qin Yu and Qin Shu each picked tomatoes and cucumbers from a small basket. Qin Shu couldn't help but take a bite, which caused Qin Yu to complain.
Hu Yufeng glanced at the two children from time to time, and felt a long-lost sense of comfort and peace in her heart.
This feeling is like I have never experienced before.
When I was a child, my family was poor. Four brothers and sisters could not even put together a complete set of clothes. Adding a little salt to the soup was a luxury, so we learned to fight for it.
Later, her father decided to marry her to the Qin family. Her mother-in-law was timid, her husband was cowardly, and her son was not her biological son. Everything was not to her liking, so she got used to making trouble.
It seems like she will feel uncomfortable as long as there is peace at home. Compared with the peaceful life now, wasn't she sick before?
Hu Yufeng cursed herself inwardly, realizing that she only just understood this truth when she was fifty. The previous fifty years were truly wasted.
The two children's laughter interrupted Hu Yufeng's worries, and she put aside all distractions and concentrated on picking beans.
In the afternoon, the yard was filled with the sound of "knock knock knock". Yang Xiu and Xizi each used a kitchen knife to cut vegetables.
The elderly Hu Yufeng was assigned to wash vegetables, which is the most labor-saving job, because the elderly do not have the physical strength to keep up.
Not far away, Qin Wenli was squatting on the ground and hitting the locust beans with a stick. This was cut by Qin Shengtian early in the morning.
Sophora japonica beans are the flower buds of Sophora japonica. If you pick them and dry them before they open, you can get 50 cents for a pound.
Lao Qin’s family has three Sophora japonica trees, and they dry their beans every year. It's because my family has some income this year and I don't have time to pick locust beans. But it was painful to see it bloom, so Hu Yufeng came up with an idea: whoever picked it and sold it would get the money.
Qin Shengtian became extremely enthusiastic when he heard this. He got up early in the morning, carried the ladder and went up the tree.
The cut locust beans were first dried in the yard, and then picked up by him after he came back from herding the sheep.
Qin Wenli had nothing to do at the moment, so he helped to beat them. Sophora japonica beans are a strange thing. They turn black when touched by hand. Because the color is not good, grain dealers will lower the price.
When the branches were bare, Qin Wenli carefully picked up the branches and threw them into the box. Sweep up the locust beans on the ground, and then use a wooden stick to scratch open the gaps. Qin Shengtian, who came home late, must have been shocked.
Qin Shengtian was indeed not happy but surprised. He looked at Qin Wenli and frowned, saying, "I didn't ask you to clean up, but I won't give you any money."
Qin Wenli didn't know whether to laugh or cry: "Don't worry, I don't want to share your money."
Qin Shengtian finally felt relieved and carefully packed up his treasure.
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