The dry grass cut from the orchard was also piled up behind the house. Qin Xiaozhou took two burning firewood from the brazier in the kitchen and threw them onto the pile of dry grass. With a whoosh, the fire ignited instantly, and the flames leaped up. In just a few minutes, the dry grass turned to ashes, and the once towering flames were reduced to mere specks.
It's a shame to leave this plot of land behind the kitchen barren. There's some wood ash here. In a couple of days, we can dig up some soil, spread it out, and plant some vegetables. Otherwise, we can't dig up wild vegetables to eat every day. In a few days, we can plant a lot of melons here, and they're sure to grow well.
The withered grass burned to ashes, and the fire gradually died down. Lu Yunfeng went to the nearby stream to fetch water to wet the fire and prevent it from catching fire in the wind at night. Now the water in the yard flows day and night, and the water tank can't hold it all. The overflowing water flows down the slope to one side of the house. The slope leads to the village road, and the water flows over the road and into the ditch by the fields in the village.
The Lu family has been busy these past two days. The only place where the water flows is a simple ditch that Lu Yunfeng dug temporarily. Early the next morning, Lu Yunfeng and Lu Yunxing carried back a few stone slabs from the stream in Qingzhugou to repair the ditch. Otherwise, the muddy road would be wet every day, and everyone who walked on it would have muddy feet.
On a late winter morning, the sun was weak and the fog was thick. The decaying leaves were damp and not easy to break, so Qin Xiaozhou went to collect the decaying leaves early in the morning, and Lu Yu followed her silently with his head down.
In the village, people use simple rakes made of green bamboo to collect fallen leaves. They carry bamboo baskets on their backs, and the other side of the orchard is the woods. They can make several trips back and forth in one morning, dumping the decaying soil and fallen leaves onto the flat ground halfway up the hillside they dug the day before, and then covering them with some soil to prevent them from being blown away. In a few days, the winds of early spring are always unusually strong.
After the Lu brothers finished building the ditch, they had already set up a chicken coop on the flat ground.
Lu Yunfeng used thick logs as stakes, split bamboo into four pieces, and wove chicken coop walls using the stakes. He was very fast and had already woven two walls by noon.
Qin Xiaozhou circled around twice and said, "Not bad, not bad, you two brothers are really good at working."
The chickens and ducks are all free-range. Although the village is backed by the western mountains, the front mountain is right next to the village, so wild animals rarely come here. Unless there is another drought this year and there is less food in the mountains, wild animals will risk coming. However, small animals such as weasels will still appear, so a few geese are raised to guard the house.
Lu Yunxing followed with his machete, feeling embarrassed. When they got home, they washed their hands and ate, only to find a few steamed buns and a plate of stir-fried bamboo shoots on the table!
Qin Xiaozhou turned around and opened the cabinet, which was full of rice and flour. "Did you buy these things to feed the worms or the rats? Why eat mixed flour when you have white rice and white flour?"
Then she looked at the two pieces of meat and a bamboo rat hanging under the eaves. "Is that meat ash? Why don't you fry it? Xiao Yan, start a fire! Grandma, knead the dough. We'll have noodles for lunch today."
I took a piece of meat from under the eaves, chopped it up, and stir-fried it into a dish of pickled cabbage and pork. Using the oil from stir-frying the pork, I took out eight eggs and fried them. Then I scooped out the eggs, added water, and cooked noodles. It was a simple egg noodle dish, with one egg for each person.
Lu Yunxing picked up an egg from the bowl and gave it to Lu Yan, saying, "I don't like it."
Qin Xiaozhou rolled her eyes. "Will you feel uncomfortable or have an allergic reaction if you eat eggs? If not, then eat them yourself." Before she could even reach for the egg in Lu Yan's bowl, Lu Yan quickly handed the egg back to her second brother.
Qin Xiaozhou couldn't help but pat Lu Yan's head. "That's right. Everyone has their own share. There's no need to be modest and give to anyone or take what belongs to others. If it's yours, you should eat it and keep it yourself. Eryun, you're also growing now. You need to eat to grow taller. Don't be like a thin bamboo shoot that will fall over with a gust of wind. You won't even be able to carry your wife in the future."
Lu Yunxing's face flushed red instantly, and he lowered his head, pleading softly, "Sister-in-law, I'll eat it, I'll eat it, please don't tease me, I'm still young."
Wang Lan, who originally wanted to offer the egg to her grandchildren, silently took a bite. She didn't dare to offend Qin Xiaozhou, so eating the egg was a mix of emotion, excitement, and heartache.
Lu Yunfeng, however, was a maverick. He would listen to Qin Xiaozhou on some things, but when it came to something as trivial as an egg, he could give it to whomever he wanted. So, Xiao Si ended up with an extra egg in his bowl.
Qin Xiaozhou was furious. "Lu Yunfeng, are you deliberately trying to make things difficult for me? Xiao Si ate one egg custard this morning, and now she has another one. Eating too many eggs a day will make you sick. Can you please listen to what I'm saying? Everyone has their own share. Don't be so self-righteous and accommodating."
He looked fierce and almost stood up, hands on his hips, ready to yell, "Are your ears just for decoration? Can't you understand human language?!"
Lu Yunfeng frowned, looked up at her, and remained silent for a moment before saying, "Eat your food properly."
Everyone had different thoughts during the meal. Wang Lan and Zhao Fen both looked unhappy. Anyone would feel bad seeing their grandson and son, whom they had raised with great care, being scolded by their daughter-in-law like this.
Lu Yunfeng hadn't expected Qin Xiaozhou to be so assertive. He had initially thought that Qin Xiaozhou was worried that her family wouldn't have enough to eat, which was why she insisted that they finish their food and not leave any leftovers. But today, they had argued over just an egg. This personality of hers needed to be tempered; he couldn't let her have such a bad temper.
In the afternoon, Qin Xiaozhou went to dig bamboo shoots, and Lu Yan followed. They placed the full baskets by the stream, and the Lu brothers came to carry them in the evening. They had dug a lot that day, and the two of them arrived at the head of Qingzhugou. In the continuous mountains, although it was not far away, the bamboo was tall, and Qin Xiaozhou's basket could no longer hold it all.
As soon as the two sisters-in-law stepped out, Wang Lan grabbed Lu Yunfeng's sleeve and said, "Dayun, is your wife trying to ride roughshod over us? If she didn't have bad intentions, that would be fine, but her personality is too domineering. You need to keep her in check, otherwise who knows how she'll torment your younger siblings in the future. Everything has to be done according to her wishes, and she gets angry if anything doesn't go her way. A harmonious family is essential; we can't afford to have her cause trouble like this."
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