Then Lu Yan took out the remaining brown sugar steamed buns and gave them to the village chief. "Village chief, thank you for making this trip. This is a small token of our Lu family's appreciation. Take it back for the children to eat and play with. I'm not an unreasonable person. If A Jin had come to our house today and spoken nicely without lifting the lid, I would have given him a meal. I like well-mannered people, but I won't be lenient with thieves."
Qin Xiaozhou then threw a brown sugar steamed bun in front of Grandma Ajin. "If you want to come to my house as a guest, then come properly. We'll give and take. If you come to steal or rob, I won't be polite. If you come to beg, then there are rules for beggars. This steamed bun is a reward for you. It's been hard for you to make this trip. I'll let it go today for the sake of the village chief. If you come to my door again and cause trouble, I'll beat you to a pulp and send you back to your house."
The brown sugar bun rolled twice on the ground. Grandma Ajin quickly picked it up and brushed off the dust. "Oh dear, what a waste of food!"
Sugar is very precious; she's lived so many years and has only eaten it twice.
The people around were stunned; the Lu family could actually afford brown sugar steamed buns.
The village chief took the steamed buns and listened to what Qin Xiaozhou had said. He was pleased that others were giving him face, and since Grandma Ajin was also in the wrong, he said a few fair words, telling everyone in the village to get along well and not to do anything petty or despicable. He also gave Qin Xiaozhou a few symbolic reprimands before going back.
After the meal was finished and the farce was over, Wang Gui realized that the new daughter-in-law of the Lu family was not someone an outsider could bully. He couldn't help her at all, so he went back with his hands behind his back, feeling embarrassed.
Lu Yan and Qin Xiaozhou washed the dishes. Xiao Si ate his fill and went to sleep, finally without crying. Lu Yunxing said he was going to the county town to find work, but Lu Yunfeng shook his head, "Don't go. I'll go in a couple of days. You stay at home."
Lu Yunfeng glanced at Qin Xiaozhou in the kitchen and suddenly felt that it was quite good to have such a wife in the family. She would never be bullied. In the past, he was afraid that if she left, the whole family would be bullied, so he dared not leave home. Now it seems that he can go to the county town to find work without worry.
"elder brother--"
Lu Yunfeng stopped him, "Listen to me."
Qin Xiaozhou came out after hearing this from the kitchen. "Nobody is going." She then asked Lu Yunfeng, "What are you going to the county town for? To do hard labor? Do you have a place to stay? Have you found a job yet? Just stay home. Also, we're not selling that barren mountain behind the town. I'm keeping it for myself."
The Lu family members were all warming themselves by the fire in the kitchen. Qin Xiaozhou took out the copper coins that were tightly kept in his pocket, counted out twenty coins and gave them to Lu Yan, "We made ninety-seven coins today, this is all thanks to you."
Lu Yunfeng's gaze softened slightly; he hadn't expected her to give his sister so much without hesitation.
Qin Xiaozhou didn't see his gaze, and simply counted out twenty-eight coins for Lu Yunxing, saying, "This is yours."
Previously, Wang Lan was in charge of the household finances, but later Lu Yunfeng became the pillar of the family, and he took over the household management. However, Qin Xiaozhou did not intend to give him the remaining money; she felt more at ease keeping the money in her own hands and wanted to have a say in the family.
Qin Xiaozhou began to plan tomorrow's work: "The stream behind the house has clean water. Tomorrow morning, we'll build a simple water pipe with bamboo to bring the water into the yard. That way, we won't have to carry water from the river anymore, saving us energy."
None of the Lu family members had any objections.
Before dawn, Wang Lan got up to heat up the leftover brown sugar steamed buns from last night. Last night, Qin Xiaozhou didn't insist that everyone finish their food after seeing that everyone had eaten their fill. She originally just wanted the Lu family to eat their fill, otherwise they could have stretched one meal into three. Wang Lan, being quite old, quickly understood the key point and earnestly poured water for Qin Xiaozhou, "Drink up, warm your stomach."
After the sun came up, Lu Yunfeng and Qin Xiaozhou went to Qingzhugou to cut bamboo. There were many kinds of bamboo, and they chose the kind that were both thick and strong. The two of them each carried three bamboos back and threw them in the yard. They used a sturdy, thin bamboo stick to poke open the conjunctiva that grew from the bamboo nodes inside.
Lu Yunfeng erected a support frame with poles, secured it with rattan, and then attached bamboo strips to the frame. He then carried the bamboo strips all the way to the courtyard and placed them over the water vat, allowing a thin stream of water to flow into the vat.
Wang Lan patted the water vat, and a slight smile finally appeared on her worried face.
Lu Yunfeng took his tools to dig for bamboo rats, Xiao Si stumbled around in the yard learning to walk, Zhao Fen sewed clothes and sunbathed under the peach tree in the yard, and Wang Lan kept staring at the things that the couple had bought from the county town yesterday, but didn't say anything.
Qin Xiaozhou took out rice, ground it finely in a stone mortar, poured it into the stove to cook it into a thin porridge, scooped out a small bowl to feed Xiao Si, but when Xiao Si saw her coming, he stumbled and ran to Zhao Fen, hid behind her, and refused to eat.
Wang Lan put down the bamboo shoots she was holding. "For Xiao Si?"
After breakfast, she saw Qin Xiaozhou fiddling with rice. She thought her granddaughter-in-law was just being greedy, but it turned out she was making it for her grandson. Over the past two days, she had come to realize that although her granddaughter-in-law was a bit fierce, she was kind-hearted and hardworking, which made her feel much more at ease. At least she wasn't a troublemaker who had entered the family.
Qin Xiaozhou handed her the bowl, saying, "The child is too young; she hasn't grown all her teeth yet, so she can only eat this."
We can't let the child keep eating steamed buns all the time.
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