Chapter 37 Eldest Sister’s Current Situation
Lin Xue, the eldest sister of the Lin family, is the second eldest child in the family, but the eldest among the girls, so everyone younger than her is called eldest sister.
To go to Lin Xue’s husband’s house, you have to cross the Qingjiang River.
Qingjiang River is the junction line between towns and villages. Once you cross the river, you belong to another township. There are still more than ten miles to cross the river to Lin Xue's house.
The Xiaohe production team is located in a remote area, and Lin Xue's wife's family still has to walk more than ten miles to cross the river. It is conceivable that the village where Lin Xue married is even more remote.
After getting off the ferry boat, Lin Shu picked up the basket on his back and said, "Comrade Liu Xiao'e, what were you thinking at the beginning, why did you marry your eldest sister to such a remote place?"
Others must consider many factors when marrying a girl.
The first thing to consider is the village where the village is located. The transportation in my husband’s village is inconvenient. If it is not convenient, no matter how good the conditions of my husband’s family are, they will only be the same. In this era of people who can’t leave the village, the village is located in a remote place. Not being remote is a big advantage.
Liu Xiao'e walked on the winding path, looked at the lush vegetation around her, and sighed, "We didn't have much experience in marrying a girl for the first time. This matchmaker was introduced by a cousin of your grandma's family. We Seeing that the man’s family has a lot of labor, it’s the same. I'm satisfied."
As she said that, Liu Xiao'e looked at her and said, "We will have experience in finding a partner this time, and you will have a reference yourself. In fact, I think you prefer your husband's family with more convenient transportation. My aunt’s place is pretty good.”
Lin Shu: "."
Why does the matter about the eldest sister involve her?
More than ten miles, we have to pass through several natural villages.
Although these villages are located in remote areas, the houses in the villages are not bad at all. From a distance, they can be seen with blue bricks and black tiles, and the village roads at the entrance of the villages are paved with bluestone slabs.
Obviously, the buildings in these villages are from the late Qing Dynasty and the early Republic of China.
Lin Xuepo's family lives in a Chinese-style courtyard house with four waterways. Of course, the construction cost of such a courtyard is very high. There are four families living in the courtyard, and Lin Xuepo's family only lives in the east room.
Lin Shu asked Liu Xiao'e how Mrs. Lin Xue lived in such a beautiful house when her family conditions were not very good.
I learned from Liu Xiao'e that in the nearby villages, the houses with blue bricks and black tiles were basically the large mansions of the original landlords.
Later it was given to poor villagers to live in, and Mrs. Lin Xue’s family was originally given four houses.
As we approach the Xianfeng production team at Mrs. Lin Xue’s house, there are many camellia trees in the forest beside the road.
"You may not think that your sister's village is remote, but the resources on the mountain are much richer than our village. You see, this area is full of camellia oleifera. Every year, the production team picks tea seeds and submits a task. After the completion, each family can share a lot. In terms of oil consumption, It’s much more convenient than our village.”
Liu Xiao’ebian. As he walked, he said, "These mountains used to belong to the landlords. The camellia oleifera on the mountains was also planted at that time. There are also your sister's village. There are many bluestones on the mountain behind the village. The spring water flowing out from the gaps in the bluestones is sweeter than that in our village." "
Lin Shu thought about Liu for a moment. The bluestone in Xiao'e's mouth corrected: "Mom, the bluestone you mentioned is called limestone in the book. Generally, the water flowing out of this kind of limestone is very clear."
Liu Xiao'e: "Yes, from this kind of limestone The water flowing out from the cracks in the rocks is very clear. It would be nice if it was ice cold in summer. Drink. Another advantage of this water is that the tofu is particularly soft."
Lin Shu shook the basket on his back clearly, "So, you always let me carry it from home. I bought ten pounds of soybeans because I wanted to make tofu at my eldest sister’s place.”
Liu Xiao'e laughed and said, "I really can't hide anything from you. Your sister and her family have separated now. When I came here, I just wanted to make some tofu to go back to. You don't know that the same method is used by your eldest sister's family." Made with our family "The taste of the tofu is just different."
Lin Shu has not eaten the tofu from her eldest sister's house for decades and can't remember what it tastes like. "It's as amazing as you said. Maybe it's you." Put too much plaster "Don't believe it, you'll know after you eat it at your eldest sister's house."
Liu Xiao'e greeted the villagers working in the fields: "He." Second grandma, you are so Are you still growing vegetables at your age?"
Lin Shu looked over and saw a white-haired old woman standing in the field and waving to them: "Good girl, are you willing to come see Xiaoxue? ?”
Liu Xiao'e replied with a smile: "Hey, I'm done with spring plowing, come here for a walk."
"Okay, okay, is that your little girl next to you?"
"Yes, it's my home. The youngest.”
“Okay, okay.”
After chatting for a while, Liu Xiaoe said goodbye to the white-haired old lady and walked back to the village. Many villagers along the way would chat casually.
"His uncle, this is your private land, right? Oops, all the peanuts you planted have sprouted."
"Hey, Xiaoxue, his second uncle, is weeding. The energetic guy next to him is your second son. Or the third child? ”
"Second brother, you are good-looking and energetic. Have you found a partner?"
"His aunt, come and water the vegetables. Your vegetables are growing really well."
>
“.”
Lin Shu looked at the majestic Comrade Liu Xiao'e in front of him in shock. He had never seen it before. In the words of later generations, he was a cow!
You see, after just marrying a daughter in this village, in just a few years, I'm afraid she has become familiar with the whole village.
When we entered the village, it became quiet because there were few idle people in the village and everyone was working in the fields.
Lin Shu unscrewed the lid of the kettle and handed it to her: "My mouth has become dry along the way. Come and drink some water. Maybe we will meet someone and start a conversation later."< br>
Liu Xiao'e took it unceremoniously and drank a few sips, "You are just a squib, you just giggle when you meet people."
Lin Shu blinked innocently, "With you as a cow standing in front of me, there is no place for me to do anything."
Besides, the people in this village except for the eldest sister's mother-in-law's family, and the family who live in the same village. She didn't know anyone else in the yard, so what were they talking about?
Liu Xiao'e sighed and was quite worried: "With your personality, how can you stand alone when you get married?"
When they arrived at the door of the eldest sister's house, the iron buckle of the door was locked. , but no lock.
“The eldest sister is not at home.”
Liu Xiao'e pushed the door open and went in, "Go ahead and sit down. She will be back later."
Lin Shu was about to ask, how did you know that the eldest sister would be back later.
Just as the two of them entered and sat down, before she could ask any questions, there were footsteps outside and her eldest sister's loud voice.
“Mom, little sister.”
“Grandma, little sister!”
After a while, two figures, one large and one small, rushed in from the door. The smaller one rushed towards Lin Shu like a firecracker.
Lin Shu quickly caught it, "Slow down!"
"Auntie, I haven't seen you for a long time. I miss you so much!" The little head was still rubbing against Lin Shu.
This is the eldest sister’s youngest son Deng Jun, whose nickname is Zhuangzhuang. He is six years old this year.
Liu Xiao'e smiled and asked: "Zhuang Zhuang doesn't want grandma?"
"Think!" Zhuangzhuang withdrew from Lin Shu's arms and threw himself into Liu Xiao'e's arms.
Lin Xue poured them two glasses of water, "I was working in the private plot today, and his second cousin ran to inform them that you were here. Mom, little sister, the spring plowing in our village is over, right? ?”
Lin Shu gave Comrade Liu Xiaoe a thumbs up. No wonder she said she would be back later. It seemed that she had guessed that someone would notify Lin Xue.
Liu Xiao'e took a sip of water and put down the cup, "Our village is also over, and your brother and his two brothers will be responsible for the private land at home."
Lin Xue nodded: "That's good, at home. You and my dad try to leave it to the young people, so don’t tire yourself out.”
Zhuang Zhuang left Liu Xiao'e's arms and clung to Lin Shu again, "Auntie, we've finished planting the fields, can I follow you to grandma's house to play?" "As long as your mother agrees, our family welcomes Zhuang Zhuang as a guest." Lin Shu took out a few white rabbits from his pocket and stuffed them into his little hands.
Lin Xue scolded: "You spoil him again, no wonder the two brothers like to cling to you most every time."
Liu Xiao'e smiled and spoke for Lin Shu: " She only has two nephews, Bingbing and Zhuangzhuang. If she doesn’t love them, who will she love?”
“Mom is right, my two nephews are obedient and good children. .”
With that said, Lin Shu took out a pack of toffee and a pack of glutinous rice sticks from the backpack and asked Lin Xue to put them away. Give the children a little sweet every day, but not more.
Lin Xue went to cook, and Liu Xiaoe followed her into the kitchen.
"Mom, you go play with Zhuangzhuang. It's enough for me to be here."
"It's not like I have a youngest to accompany Zhuangzhuang. Please tell me about the food supply after your separation. Is it enough to eat?”
Lin Xue smiled and nodded: “We can save some of the food we get from each family, Mom, you don’t have to worry about us.”
"Really?"
Liu Xiao'e obviously didn't believe it. She walked to the corner of the kitchen and opened the lid of the rice vat. There was only a little sorghum rice covering the bottom.
"Is this the only food left?"
Liu Xiao'e didn't wait for Lin Xue to answer, turned around and entered the bedroom of Lin Xue and his wife. In addition to the wardrobe, there were two beds.
"Mom, we have enough food, you don't have to worry." Lin Xue chased in.
Liu Xiao'e didn't believe her at all. No food was found in the bedroom, so she climbed up the wooden ladder to the wooden attic. The attic was usually used as a storage space.
Lin Shu had noticed them a long time ago. After a while, Liu Xiao'e came down from upstairs angrily and poked Lin Xue on the forehead.
“You said you didn’t know how to fight for more food when the family was separated?”
Lin Shu held Zhuang Zhuang’s hand and walked in, “Mom, my sister’s food Not enough? "
Liu Xiao'e snorted: "After the autumn harvest last year, her husband's family only gave them two loads of food. How can they eat enough?"
Two loads of grain is only 200 jins, and it is more than 100 jins to grind into rice. A family of four needs to eat until the summer harvest. How can more than 100 jins of grain be enough for six or seven months?
At the end of last year, when she knew that their family was divided, she asked her eldest son to bring over seventy or eighty kilograms of sorghum rice. Otherwise, their family would have been out of food.
Lin Xue lowered his head and rubbed the corners of his clothes, "His second uncle promised to lend us a hundred catties of grain. With this grain, we should be able to eat twice as much."
Liu Xiao'e shook her head. Shaking his head, he sighed: "Why did I give birth to a stupid girl like you? She's not like other people's traitors. She just swallows her anger when she's bullied. You two are both strong and hardworking. According to your work points, it’s not just two hundred catties of grain.”
Lin Shu took the baskets they brought into the bedroom, and Liu Xiao’e pulled out two bags from the baskets: “Here are the bags. There are five kilograms each of rice and white flour. You can keep them for occasional meals to replenish your health. There are also ten kilograms of soybeans in the basket, which I brought over to make tofu."
Lin Xue thought that her mother-in-law's family was always thinking about her and would bring food every time they came to the house. However, her husband's family didn't care about her and didn't help. They just wanted to suck blood from them. Did they have no food in the past few months after they were separated? I don’t know how difficult it is to live with money.
Every time I think of these bad things, I can't help but blush, "Mom, the rice and white flour are reserved for you and dad to replenish your body. Why did you bring it to me?"
Liu Xiao'e saw her eldest daughter red. His eyes were wet, and he felt sour in his heart, "Here it is, just keep it. Last time you My little sister went to the county town and brought back twenty kilograms. We kept some. These are for you."
Lin Shu asked Zhuangzhuang secretly: "What do you usually eat?"
Zhuang Zhuang tilted his head and thought for a while: "Drink porridge, eat pickles, eat green vegetables."
Lin Shu stroked his soft hair, "Are you full?"
Zhuang Zhuang shook his head: "If you are not full, dad said it will be gone if you urinate!"
" Pfft!”
“Your father’s description is very appropriate!”
The child’s childlike words sounded sad.
Not long after, the brother-in-law came back with Bingbing.
"Mom, little sister, I heard you are here."
Lin Shu saw that the basket he was holding was still dripping, "Brother-in-law, what's in your basket?"
Deng Cai placed the basket in front of them and said with a smile: "I heard that you guys are coming. I took Bingbing to the river to catch some small fish and shrimps. I will let Xiaoxue fry them in deep-fried oil later. It will be very fragrant."
"What to fry? It's too expensive. Oil, we can just eat whatever we want for lunch." Liu Xiao'e was worried about the oil when she heard that it was going to be fried.
Lin Xue came out of the kitchen and said with a smile: "Mom, don't worry, our family still has ten kilograms of tea oil squeezed last year. There is still enough oil for frying these fish and shrimps."
Liu Xiao'e thought of frying These fish and shrimps cost a lot of oil, so she covered her chest and frowned: "Don't waste it, the oil used to fry these can be exchanged for a lot of food."
Lin Xue didn't listen to her and asked Deng Cai to kill the small fish. Clean the shrimps and she will fry them later.
Lin Shu couldn't help but laugh when he saw Liu Xiao'e's painful expression. He waved Bingbing over, gave him a few white rabbits, then pinched his cheek, "Why are you so tanned?"< br>
Almost catching up with the Africans.
"Auntie, how do you have money to buy such expensive candy?"
"Do you know the price of this candy?" Lin Shu was slightly surprised.
Bingbing nodded: "There is someone in our class who showed off this white rabbit to the class, saying that this candy is the most expensive candy in the supply and marketing cooperative."
The aunt and nephew said As they spoke, the smell of fried fish and shrimp came from the kitchen. The two of them couldn't help but swallowed, feeling even hungrier.
“It smells so good!”
"Oh, you prodigal ladies, you fry fish with tea all year round, and you can smell the fragrance from afar. You were reincarnated as a starving ghost, you are so greedy!"
The fish has not been fried yet, at the door An old lady came in with drooped eyelids and an unhappy look on her face.
"Hey, my mother-in-law is here to inspect?"
The old lady looked at Liu Xiao'e's half-smiling eyes, patted her thigh, and happily stepped forward to hold her hand, " Oops, it turns out it is My mother-in-law is here. I haven’t seen her for a long time. The two of them didn’t know to tell me, otherwise I could come and chat with my mother-in-law about home affairs.”
Lin Shu couldn’t help but twitch at the corner of his mouth at the speed of his face change. smoke.
Liu Xiao'e pulled her to sit down and said with a smile: "The spring plowing is over, so I will come to my daughter's place to have a look when I have time. I don't know if I will come here. I was shocked when I saw that the four members of my family were divided into two families. Where is the food enough?
I didn’t know until I came here today. , there is less than two kilograms of food left in the house, how do you think their family of four can live?”
The old lady’s eyelids twitched, and she was secretly annoyed that she shouldn’t have. When he smelled the scent, he came over and entered the fire pit without knowing the enemy's situation.
Liu Xiao'e ignored the twitching of her eyelids and continued: "Our mother's family is too far away from your village. Even if I go back to carry food, it will be too late. My mother-in-law, you are in the same village, and we are only a few steps apart. You You can’t see your son, daughter-in-law, and grandson hungry, right?”
The old lady twitched the corner of her mouth angrily, “No.”
"You're still reasonable. Let's bring this matter up to the captain. It's the same reason. It's impossible for parents to watch their children starve to death. It's impossible for my mother-in-law to watch me starve."
(End of Chapter )