As soon as it was light, Lu Yunfeng and his brother got up and went to the hillside next to Qingzhugou to bring down the firewood they had cut more than a month ago to the roadside. Wang Dahe came looking for them in the dark. He had heard about this job last night and was grateful for the Lu family's kindness. He wanted to show his appreciation, so he came over before dawn to work for the Lu family. Now he was also going with the Lu brothers to move firewood.
Wang Lan went to the village chief's house and brought back an oxcart, as agreed last night.
When others in the village saw Wang Lan pulling an oxcart, they were curious and asked, "Aunt Wang, what are you going to do?"
Wang Lan laughed too, "Da Yun needs to haul firewood to the county town."
"A cartload of firewood can sell for quite a bit." The villagers all thought that taking firewood to the county town was the way to sell it. "But firewood isn't worth much right now, so it's better to save it for the twelfth lunar month to sell, then you can earn a few more coins."
Wang Lan sighed deliberately, "I'm getting old, let the children worry about their own affairs, I don't want to concern myself with this anymore."
The village chief's wife said, "That's right. The children have their own ideas. Why go against them? We're getting old, and we'll just wait for them to take care of us. My sister has a lot of chickens and ducks now. You can raise chickens and ducks; that's money too."
As soon as Wang Lan left, the villagers started laughing, "She says she doesn't like to worry, but actually it's not her place to manage the household. It's pitiful, she's an old woman, and she still has to be ridden on by a new daughter-in-law."
Zhou Meixiang spat, inwardly cursing the Lu family for their lavish lifestyle, saying they could smell it all over her yard. But aloud she said, "They've worked hard their whole lives, and in the end, they don't even get to be in charge at home. Only Wang Lan, that coward, is capable. Look around, in every household for miles around, isn't the elder in charge?"
When everyone thought about it, it really made sense. They all sighed that Wang Lan was unlucky, marrying a shrew who was oppressed by her!
Wang Lan herself was unaware of her miserable fate. After pulling the oxcart to the road outside Qingzhugou, she went home to steam large white steamed buns.
The oxcart was loaded with firewood, and Qin Xiaozhou put the mulberries into his basket. He had brought everything he needed. He was a little worried when he saw Wang Dahe. He was so tall and thin. He wondered if Wang Dahe's bones would break. "Breakfast is ready. Come and eat. We'll leave after we finish."
After thinking for a moment, he said, "Eryun, don't go. Let Uncle Dahe go today. I'm afraid he'll need to go often in the future. Going now will be a good opportunity for him to familiarize himself with the route."
She saw that Wang Dahe was an extremely simple and honest rural man, not very talkative, and just kept smiling to express his friendliness. As long as Wang Dahe didn't resign, she would keep him as her future husband.
Wang Lan lifted the steamer basket off the large pot, opened the lid, and steam billowed out. The soft, fluffy steamed buns were neatly arranged in the basket, and each person was given two. "Eat quickly, where's Dahe?"
"Huh?" Lu Yunxing looked around and saw Wang Dahe carrying empty buckets and about to leave the yard. He quickly called out to him, "Uncle Dahe, time to eat steamed buns."
Wang Dahe felt awkward. He knew the Lu family provided lunch, but it was breakfast time, so he couldn't eat. Besides, his stomach was growling, and he was afraid the Lu family would hear him. So he turned and left, avoiding them on his own. "I'm not hungry. You guys eat. I'll fetch water for the chicken coop."
He was shocked when he saw the three big white steamed buns last night. After learning that they were brought by the Lu family, he thought they were white steamed buns specially made for him to make as a token of their sincerity. He was even more surprised when Wang Lan brought out a whole basket of white steamed buns without any other flour mixed in. He wondered if the Lu family could eat white flour every meal.
You wouldn't see this in the countryside. Even the village chief wouldn't dare eat like this. One pound of wheat flour can only make seven or eight steamed buns. With so many people in the Lu family, they must need two or three pounds of wheat flour for one meal.
The Lu family is really different now! And he doesn't think Da Yun's wife is that fat, so why do people in the village say she looks like a fat pig?
Qin Xiaozhou had no idea what he was thinking. If she knew that others didn't think she was that fat, she would be overjoyed, which would mean that she had succeeded in losing weight. However, she could feel that she had lost at least fifty pounds in the past two months! She didn't dare to diet too drastically, after all, healthy weight loss was the most important thing.
She called out to him, "Uncle Dahe, it's still early. If the chickens and ducks are let out, they'll be caught by the hiding weasels. We won't even see them. We'll only need to open the gate when the sun is out in the orchard. There's no need to come so early. You're not going to the chicken coop today. Come with me and Dayun to the county town." She took two steamed buns and went over. "Eat them so we can get going. It's all hard work, and we won't have the energy if we don't eat."
The plump, white steamed buns smelled so good that Wang Dahe couldn't help but swallow his saliva. He wanted to save one for his mother and wife, but when he heard that it was hard work, he was afraid that he wouldn't have the strength and would be disliked by the Lu family and lose his job. So he reluctantly ate one of the buns, looked at the other one again and again, and ate it too.
A big, strong man, his eyes were red.
It's considered unlucky to shed tears at someone else's house, so Wang Dahe quickly held back his tears and smiled sheepishly, "Nephew Dayun, niece-in-law, I've finished eating."
Qin Xiaozhou was still thinking about losing weight, and she always ate at a leisurely pace. Right now, she was still picking at her pickled vegetables and had only eaten one steamed bun. "No rush, no rush."
As she spoke, she broke a steamed bun in half and gave one half to Lu Yunfeng. Lu Yunfeng knew that she only ate one and a half steamed buns, so he took it and stuffed it into his mouth in two or three bites.
A whole cart full of firewood was being pulled by an old ox, but Wang Dahe insisted on carrying a load himself. “Dayun’s wife, I carry firewood to the county town every day. I’m used to it. It’s not worth making a trip for nothing. I’ll carry a load myself.”
It was all dry firewood, and fifty or sixty pounds was nothing to someone used to farm work. So, Lu Yunfeng drove the oxcart and carried the basket on his back, while Qin Xiaozhou walked at the front with her hands empty and idle. She would avoid hardship if she could, and she neither understood nor interfered with Wang Dahe's idea of always bringing things along!
Many people in the village have worked their whole lives, and they have developed the idea that being idle is bad. They will do it regardless of whether it is worthwhile or not. Their way of thinking about whether it is worthwhile is different from Qin Xiaozhou's way of thinking!
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