Chapter 77: No more words, just grab the carrying pole and do it! ...
When it was time for dinner, the kitchens of every household were filled with the aroma of firewood and food, and wisps of smoke rose from the roofs.
Accompanied by the laughter and joyful chatter of families gathered together, the smoke from cooking fires was blown to the valley by the wind, forming a solid white smoke bridge that stretched between the mountains.
Xiang family.
The kitchen was filled with the clatter of pots and pans, and besides the aroma of stir-fried pork and green peppers, there was also a slight smell of burning.
"You're killing me! You can't even cook a dish! Do you think you're a newbie who just learned how to cook? You're so stupid! I don't know why I married you in the first place!"
Zhang Juhua's scolding drifted into the yard along with the smell of burning, adding a different kind of excitement to the joy of the Mid-Autumn Festival.
Fortunately, the dishes were cooked and served on the table soon, and the family members also prepared to eat at dusk.
Four people left at once. Originally, there were going to be two tables for dinner, but Zhang Juhua waved her hand and reduced it to one table.
She knocked the spatula against the table, shaking the beams above so that some dust fell on her sparse gray hair, showing off her power.
"Please squeeze in, squeeze in! One table is enough! Whatever table you kids want to sit at, just grab some food and go!"
She calculated carefully, thinking that this way she could save some vegetables and eat them the next day or the day after tomorrow.
Everyone huddled together at a table. Of course, it was actually the men and guests who sat down, while the women and children stood by with their bowls in hand. If they stretched out their chopsticks a few more times, they would have to endure Zhang Juhua's sharp gaze.
"What are you doing? You've never had good food in your past life, right? You're moving your chopsticks around. Don't you know we have guests today? This is for the men to drink with. Is it your turn?"
"You're eating like a pig! You're embarrassing yourself all day long! Grab your chopsticks and get out of here!"
The men clinked their glasses, ate their dishes and chatted with laughter, ignoring Zhang Juhua's curses in a deep voice. The children squeezed between the adults carefully and quickly picked up the food, fearing that they would be scolded if they were a step slow.
Xiang Yao ignored the lawsuits at home and picked up a pile of dishes for himself with an expressionless face early in the morning, then sat under the eaves outside the door and ate leisurely.
As for whether Zhang Juhua also called her a "pig", she didn't care.
After a while, Xiang Lili came out holding a bowl with a hole in it, but there was no other dish in the bowl except a piece of tofu.
Xiang Yao glanced at her bowl and saw that she was constantly shoveling away the white rice and eating it, and he felt a little sorry for her.
After thinking about it, he picked up a piece of twice-cooked pork with his chopsticks and put it in the bowl of his little cousin.
The trembling twice-cooked pork was glistening with oil, and in the dusk it emitted an extremely tempting oil sheen, with a burnt aroma that was mouth-watering.
The little girl was as thin as a bamboo pole, and her eyes looked big and black. She didn't expect that she could eat meat. Her eyes widened as she looked at the meat that suddenly appeared in her bowl, then raised her head to look at Xiang Yao. Her throat couldn't help rolling twice, and she was very unbelievable.
You know, she just wanted to pick up a piece of meat. After all, she hadn't eaten meat for a long time. She thought that this was the meat for the festival, so she shouldn't be scolded if she picked up a piece.
As a result, he didn't get any meat, and Zhang Juhua hit his hand. It hurt so much that he was scolded before he could even cry.
Xiang Yao saw her stunned and smiled: "What are you standing there for? Come and eat."
Xiang Lili's eyes became hot, she nodded, lowered her head and started to eat rice.
This big piece of twice-cooked pork, when you take a bite, the oil bursts in your mouth, it is so soothing to chew, so delicious!
She really wants to live a life where she can eat meat every day!
But in a short time, Xiang Lili quickly cleaned up the last mouthful of rice. She took a grain of rice stuck to the corner of her mouth and said with courage: "Sister Yaoyao, I really envy you. You can eat meat without being scolded."
Xiang Yao blinked, the corners of his lips curled slightly: "If you curse back a few more times, naturally no one will dare to stop you."
She smiled at Lili. Although she had the face of a young girl, her expression was very mature and rational.
She shook her head slowly: "No, even my mother and aunts can't do it, so I don't dare to do it either."
She knew the consequences.
If she really fought back like Xiang Yao, her parents would have taught her a lesson first, without even her grandmother having to do anything.
That's why she envied Xiang Yao. He worked when he wanted to and didn't work when he didn't want to. Even if the elders grumbled about it, it didn't affect Xiang Yao's behavior.
Sometimes she felt that this cousin had become nothing like a member of the Xiang family since her father died and her mother passed away.
She wanted to do the same, but she was afraid and knew she couldn't do it.
Xiang Yao understood the little girl's thoughts, but she was not a savior and could not change anyone.
Such a topic was indeed a bit heavy, but fortunately Xiang Lili took a deep breath and stood up with the bowl in her hand.
She said: "The twice-cooked pork is delicious, thank you Sister Yaoyao!"
Xiang Yao smiled and continued to eat slowly, but just as he took a bite, he heard a loud scream coming from the Liu family next door.
"Liu Xiaotao, you shameless bastard, you still have the nerve to talk about such a rubbish! Wait until you're really married before showing off!"
Xiang Yao's ears immediately pricked up, and then he heard the sound of a bowl hitting the ground and breaking.
Wow! There's a melon!
What's going on next door?
Xiang Yao held the bowl, chewed the food, stood up and walked quickly towards the fence.
When she reached the wall, several people immediately surrounded her.
The Xiang family members were no longer bothered to greet and chat at the dinner table. They all came out with their bowls in hand, looking very excited.
Everyone likes to eat melons.
Xiang Yao only glanced at the Xiang family very quickly, then immediately turned his head and stared at the Liu family.
The Liu family has a large population. During festivals, there are crowds of people coming and going, making it even more lively than the Xiang family.
It was already dark at this time. The Liu family lit a kerosene lamp. There was probably a scuffle inside, and the shadows sometimes overlapped and sometimes were torn apart.
At the same time, the quarrel became louder and louder.
"What's wrong? Am I wrong? You just married poorly, so you're jealous of me and making sarcastic remarks here?"
"That's right. If you marry a peasant, you will be a peasant for the rest of your life. Your child will also be a peasant. Unlike me, I can become a city dweller in the future!"
"I'm telling you, Liu Xiaoxi, it's useless for you to be jealous of me. Stop talking nonsense here!"
"Ahhh Liu Xiaotao, I'm going to tear you apart, you bitch!"
Xiang Yao immediately recognized the loudest voice. Wasn't it Liu Xiaotao who had been arrogant towards her?
As for the other one who threatened to tear Liu Xiaotao apart, Xiang Yao searched through his original body's memories and found him.
It turned out that Zhao Erhua was a later mother. She had a first wife before. The first wife left behind a pair of children. The son had children, one of whom was Liu Xiaoxi, who had a quarrel with Liu Xiaotao.
Liu Xiaoxi got married last year. When she was at home, she and Liu Xiaotao always had a conflict. They had a lot of quarrels and arguments. They used to fight over food and clothes, but now they fight over other things.
If you think about it for a moment, you will know that Liu Xiaotao, who wished the whole world knew that she was dating an educated youth, must have despised Liu Xiaoxi for marrying a peasant and could not help showing off and ridiculing her.
The two of them were arguing and fighting, and the adults were bickering and scolding, and Zhao Erhua was taking sides. For a moment, the whole Liu family was like someone had hired someone to set up a stage for a play, with one person taking the stage after the other, and it was so lively that the only thing missing was someone helping to beat the gongs and drums.
Soon, Liu Xiaoxi was dragged into the yard, and someone advised him earnestly:
"Stop arguing! It's a holiday, how embarrassing!"
"Come on, you finally got to go back to your parents' home, why did you have to quarrel with your own sister like this?"
Liu Xiaoxi sneered in a hard voice and retorted: "What's shameful? You all know that I came back with great difficulty. Does anyone treat me as a guest?"
"You mock and ridicule me as soon as you come back. What's the matter? I deserve this for being raised by a stepmother, right? Liu Xiaotao is the darling of your Liu family. In the future, she will be a city dweller who is out of my reach!"
As he was speaking, Liu Xiaotao chased out despite being pulled away by everyone.
She placed her hands on her hips, her head held high, her eyes blazing in the night. "So what if I'm teasing you? I'm just asking you, why are you showing off as soon as you get home? Our family is broke, what's there to be proud of?"
"Do you think you're still the same person who was always better than me? What a joke! Things are different now, Liu Xiaoxi. You know that? With your attitude now, after I marry Ding Zhiqing, you won't be able to please me, you know?"
Liu Xiaoxi picked up a basket used for drying chili peppers in the yard and threw it at Liu Xiaotao. The chili peppers in the basket were like the curses that came out of her throat, and they scattered all over Liu Xiaotao.
The two men broke free from the others' pull and came forward to fight again.
Each family member held a bowl and chopsticks, watching with great interest through the courtyard wall, and even unconsciously looking for the best viewing position.
Liu Xiaolan was standing behind Xiang Yao, and the chopsticks were almost poking the back of her neck. Xiang Cuiliu was standing next to her, with her eyebrows raised. Because she was a little short, she kept pulling on Liu Xiaolan's shoulders and standing on tiptoe to watch.
The men stood a little to the side, each of them looking out from behind the wall, with a strange light in their eyes.
But because Xiang Yao arrived the fastest, she had already occupied the best position. No matter how much she was squeezed and jostled, she refused to move at all, and no one could push her away.
Xiang Yao was very satisfied with the show. He knew that the two sisters were not easy to deal with. If they fought now, it would be just a tit-for-tat fight. Each of them was very powerful, so he felt more at ease watching the excitement.
The two sisters, Liu Xiaoxi and Liu Xiaotao, were grabbing each other's hair and necks, spitting on each other's faces, making it so chaotic that they couldn't even open their eyes.
Not long after, a carrying pole was inserted between them, separating the two people again.
Seeing that the two had finally separated, Zhao Erhua slapped her thigh and burst into tears, sighing three times: "What a sin! I finally got to celebrate the festival, but the younger generation at home is in such a mess. What sin have I, Zhao Erhua, committed!"
She pointed at Liu Xiaoxi and said, "Damn you, Liu Xiaoxi! You're just an outsider now that you're married. Why are you showing off in our house? Your sister finally found a good partner, and you're so jealous. What? Do you want to break them up?"
As soon as her words, which were obviously biased, came out, it was like a drop of water falling into hot oil, which instantly made Liu Xiaoxi jump up in anger.
Without further ado, grab the carrying pole and get started!
For a moment, the Liu family was in chaos again.
Xiang Yao was so excited that when he saw Liu Xiaoxi suffer a loss, he couldn't help but shout "Come on!"
Fortunately, Lao Liu's family was so engrossed in their internal strife that they didn't notice the neighbors' passionate cheers.
…
When Lao Liu's family finally calmed down, only soft sobs and voices of comfort were left. The family members finished the last bite of their food and prepared to go home and clean the house.
The lively scene made everyone's blood boil, and everyone's face was rosy and looked very healthy.
The moon in the sky has slowly risen. It is big and round, emitting a cool light, illuminating the entire Xiangjia Bay as if it were covered with silver light. Whether it is the straw stacks or the country roads, they can all be seen clearly, as if it were daytime.
After Xiang Yao finished washing up, she glanced at the increased access time to the melon field and lay down on the bed happily.
The moonlight shines through the window lattice onto her face, making it hazy, as if she is burdened with worries.
Xiang Yao smelled the scent of straw beneath him, turned over, closed his eyes, and his mind entered the melon field.
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