Chapter 34
Lin Yao woke up, the sky outside the window was full of rosy clouds, and the sky in a corner of the courtyard was dyed red by the burning clouds.
She was the only one in the room. Gu Shian always took her for granted, and now he was nowhere to be found.
Lin Yao yawned slowly. There was warm water in the basin, and a clean towel was placed on the washstand. It smelled faintly of soap, and it was obvious that someone had prepared it before going out.
Lin Yao washed her face, scooped out some vanishing cream and applied it on her face carefully. She tied her long black hair into a braid and hung it on her shoulders. She went out in slippers and splashed water.
As soon as she came out, she saw Gu Shidong washing clothes outside. The wooden basin was filled with dirty jackets and pants worn by little boys. She asked Dongzi and found out that Big Brother had asked Deputy Director Gu, his elder brother-in-law, to go to the old carpenter to get the camphorwood box that Chunmei brought as a dowry.
Zhang Cuilan was beating wheat straw on the steps with a mallet. When the mallet was soft, it could be put on a bench to weave straw sandals.
There were many people wearing straw sandals in the county and the countryside these days. A brat like Dongzi who climbed trees and went to the river could wear out two or three pairs of straw sandals in a summer.
The old man's previous pair of straw sandals were all exposed, so Zhang Cuilan planned to weave another pair of straw sandals while she had some free time.
Lin Yao put down her wash basin and came over to help thresh the wheat straw, while she said in a cute way, "Mom, I'm here, you can go and have a rest."
The wealthy lady next door heard it and kept boasting.
Zhang Cuilan smiled like a flower, and humbly talked nonsense about business with the wealthy lady.
The two old sisters started talking.
The wealthy lady asked the old Gu family if the wedding date had been set.
Zhang Cuilan still smiled, "It's engaged, and there's still about a month left. Originally, my old man wanted to keep our daughter for a few more months, but Old Xu's family is anxious. After the New Year, Xiang Xiang will be twenty-seven years old. Old Xu and his wife have been looking forward to it for so many years, and the family has prepared everything. We can't keep our daughter anymore, so just get her married. It will save us a lot of worries if our daughter gets married."
She said so, but the last few words still carried a mother's reluctance.
The rich aunt had also married a daughter of a noble family, and she advised, "You should marry early or late. The Xu family is well-off, Xiang Qian has a good job and is stable, and he is sincere to Chunmei. The two children are in love with each other, and living a good life in the future is more important than anything else. The Xu family is just next door to Guihua Hutong. If you two want a daughter of a noble family, you can take a few steps and you can see one. A daughter of a noble family has her own home and can live a similar life. Unlike my eldest son, who joined the army as soon as he got married, it will be difficult for you to see her."
Zhang Cuilan nodded in agreement, and the rich aunt went home soon.
Zhang Cuilan saw that it was still early, and the weather would turn cold soon. She took out the old clothes of the mender at home, unpacked them, and found the notebook where her old son wrote his homework. She added water and made paste, then pasted them layer by layer, dried them in the sun, and sewed them together with a spike. Then she had the soles of cotton shoes for winter.
Gu Shidong washed his clothes and hung them out to dry. The gong sounded for lunch in the street canteen, and the brat jumped over: "Sister-in-law, it's time to get lunch. Do you want to go together?"
Lin Yao waved her hand: "You go first, I'm busy."
Gu Shidong nodded, and went to get lunch with his lunch box.
The world is big, but eating is the most important thing!
After the little guy left, the big courtyard became much cleaner.
Lin Yao hammered the wheat straw until it was soft, put the tools away, and took a deep rest. He felt that nothing was easy. Looking at the threshed wheat straw, he felt satisfied.
The heat outside had subsided, so Lin Yao moved a recliner under the tree to enjoy the cool.
Gu Mancang came home from work, and Deputy Director Gu also walked in. In addition to the camphorwood box that Gu Chunmei used for her wedding, he was holding a piece of fat meat in his big hand, which looked to be about two or three pounds.
Lin Yao ran over excitedly to see, "The supply and marketing cooperative has meat for sale."
Gu Shi'an said, "Hmm," "The county has recently received a wholesale of grain, so the supply and marketing cooperative naturally has meat."
These days, it is more economical to buy fatty meat than lean meat. Besides, the family hasn't eaten meat for a while, and Lin Yao, who doesn't like fatty meat, doesn't like it either.
It's true that there is meat in the space, but she can't just take it out carelessly.
Lin Yao shook her head happily, dragged a basin from under the chopping board, fetched water to wash the fat, cut it into pieces, tied a small apron, and couldn't wait to start frying the fat.
However, she didn't know how to use the beehive stove in the kitchen. She called Dongzi twice but no one answered, then she remembered that Dongzi had gone to get food and hadn't come back yet.
So, Lin Yao called Gu Shian over.
Deputy Director Gu took action and lit the beehive stove in the blink of an eye. The fire was burning vigorously. Lin Yao drove Gu Shian away and worked in the kitchen. The bottom of the pot was licked by the flames. The fat in the iron pot turned yellow and chopped green onions and ginger were poured in to remove the fishy smell and enhance the fragrance. After ten minutes, the lard was golden yellow. The seasoning green onions and ginger were taken out, and the fire was turned to low and boiled for half an hour. Pour it into a ceramic jar and let it cool.
The little girl was in the kitchen making lard, and Gu Shian was not idle either. The rabbit bought earlier refused to eat breakfast when it was brought home, but it knew to eat grass after being raised for two days.
Gu Shian caught a rabbit and temporarily put it in a bamboo cage, threw cabbage leaves and weeds in, used a shovel to clean the rabbit feces in the nest, and buried the feces under the roots of the pumpkin vines in the vegetable garden as fertilizer.
After dealing with all this, he washed his hands, picked up tung oil and began to paint the camphorwood box.
The camphorwood box made by the old carpenter is square and belongs to the mortise and tenon camphorwood cabinet. It is also convenient to paint.
Gu Shian is meticulous, first apply clear oil, then brush tung oil, and the wood grain becomes a very beautiful cool color.
Gu Shidong came back from getting food and joined in the excitement. "Brother, this box is so beautiful. When will you make me one?"
Gu Shidong paused and said seriously, "Wait until you grow up and get married."
Dongzi shrugged his shoulders. Forget about waiting for him to get married. He would not get married until the year of the monkey and the horse. The brat said, "Wait until my sister-in-law has a nephew, then make one for him."
Gu Mancang clapped his hands and agreed.
The little boy had his father to support him, and his tail was also raised.
Lin Yao's face was red in the kitchen. He couldn't help but yell, "What nonsense are you talking about!"
Oh my god, my sister-in-law was angry. Gu Shidong ran away when he saw that the situation was not good.
Gu Mancang also asked Comrade Zhang Cuilan to take her back by the ears for a lesson.
Deputy Director Gu was the only one left in the whole yard to bear Lin Yao's anger.
Gu Shian also knew that the little girl was angry. He touched his nose and wanted to speak to help.
Lin Yao glanced at him and waved a spatula to drive him away, "Go away, go away. I can't see I'm busy. Why are you coming in in such a hot day?"
Gu Shian pinched her face and said, "My little girl is angry. She needs to be coaxed before she can leave."
The bastard dared to pinch her face!
Lin Yao kicked Gu Shian's long legs in anger. She wanted to kick his butt, but he was too tall, so she could only kick his legs.
Gu Shian groaned, put his arm around Lin Yao's thin waist and buried his head in it. He said something, but Lin Yao was so angry that she pinched his waist again. Anyway
, someone shamelessly coaxed his wife to smile.
"It's all right, it's all right," Yaoyao smiled. "
It's all your fault, old man. You clapped your hands when Dongzi, that bastard, was talking nonsense. You're crazy. Yaoyao has only been married for a few months, and we, as her parents-in-law, are urging her to have a baby. Is that right? Children are a matter of fate. You can't urge them. I married you for several years before I gave birth to the eldest."
Gu Mancang was embarrassed by the scolding.
"Anzi, this wooden stake is really good. You can coax Yaoyao with just a few words."
"The two children still have a good relationship."
Zhang Cuilan and her husband leaned on the window and peeked out.
The young couple reconciled. Zhang Cuilan was relieved and talked to Gu Mancang about celebrating her mother's birthday in a few days.
Grandma Zhang is 78 years old this year. In Yunshui County, when an old person turns 78, they are considered a birthday star . If the family can afford it, they will set up a few tables to celebrate.
The Zhang family's life is better than the Gu family's.
With Uncle Zhang's hunting skills, at least my mother can eat meat whenever she wants.
It's not the same in the city. If you want to eat meat, you need meat tickets and queue up. It's so troublesome.
Uncle Zhang bought the meat for the banquet, Uncle Zhang provided the rice and flour, and Zhang Cuilan was thinking about making a new dress for my mother to live up to the expectations of a birthday star.
He listened to whatever Gu Mancang's wife said, and said that he would give his mother-in-law an extra ten yuan as a deposit.
Lin Yao was in a good mood today. He happily refined the lard and fried a plate of shiny cabbage with the lard residue. The whole family had a full stomach.
On August 26, it was Zhang's 78th birthday. The family packed up and returned to their hometown.
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