CH 48.1

Xu He covered the two pieces of cloth and placed them at the bottom of the cart to hide them, and the two returned to the village.

The village was not at peace these days, and the tax payment was not something that could be completed in three or two days, and the yamen servants came everyday, which made people panic and worry.

After entering the village, Xu He saw that there was a back basket and a knife in the carriage, so he told Zhang Fangyuan that he would cut the grass in the vegetable field and go home to feed the livestock, so that he didn’t need to turn back later and save a short walk.

Zhang Fangyuan put him down on the road: "Sure, then I'll go back and clean up first."

Xu He responded, and went down to his field with a basket on his back.

He liked to grow some weeds in the chinese cabbage (pak choi

白菜) field and something like melon seed grass (瓜子草), popo zhijia cai (婆婆 指甲 菜), mountain purslane (山 马齿苋), etc. They were very tender. Cutting the weeds not only could prevent the growth of cabbage from being hindered, but also prevent it from growing. Took it home and chopped it up to feed the chickens and ducks.

The two pairs of chickens and ducks in the yard grew up, and the ducks also grew fast. In just two months, they had grown from a small yellow ducks to a big yellow duck, and the whole circle had grown twice. On the contrary, the two pairs of chickens that were bigger when they were originally bought couldn’t grow as big as the ducks.

At first, the pair of chicks probably were not acclimatized to the environment, so they didn’t eat and drink very much here, and they just huddled next to the chicken coop all day long with their wings out. He didn’t know where Zhang Fangyuan got some medicine, crushed it and mixed it in the water, and the chickens became lively again after eating it.

Xu He thought that since his family had a land, the fourth uncle's family would have to chop vegetables after planting their land. He thought it was better to raise two piglets, not to mention raising them for sale, and they could be slaughtered during the Chinese New Year and be eaten at home. In the end, Zhang Fangyuan refused. He first said that the family hadn’t raised pigs for many years, and the pigsty had long since became unusable and had to be repaired, so there was no time to spare. Later, he said that they would be in trouble, and the family couldn’t leave the house after raising pigs.

There were only the two of them in the family, and it was true that sometimes they were too busy, so he didn't insist on it.

"Hey, it's good to have a scholar in the family. The yamen servants were respectful when they came to the door, and they didn’t get angry. I heard that if the family has no money, they can borrow from the yamen."

Xu He squatted in the field and cut the grass, when he suddenly heard voices, and he raised his head to find a villager hoeing under the chestnut tree in the upper field.

Xu He listened for a while before realizing that the villagers were talking about the Fei's family. Today, the yamen servants had urged the Fei's family to pay. Fei Lian had been selected as a scholar. Although he was not exempted from taxation, he still had a little face in front of the government and county yamen, and he could get certain preferential treatment.

"When Fei Lian was selected as a scholar, Mrs. Fei flaunted her power, saying that their family can receive two thousand copper coins from the yamen every month just by sitting only. The folks went to her house to borrow money to see if she would lend it or not."

"You think she is still thinking that the family relationship is inseparable. When someone came to the door, she cried and said that their son had borrowed a lot of money in his early years and they have to pay it back. Their son just got married and the other things, their son was bleeding heavily, so she can’t lend the money.”

The woman snorted, “She’s still talking about this, whoever has a son and won’t spend the money when getting married? Besides, last time Liu Xianglan came to make a fuss, she said that it didn't cost much to marry Xu Shaochun."

"

The girl from the Xu family is also really good. The two families are on par, so it’s appropriate to make a pair. Since the first quarrel, this Mrs. Fei never pretend to be a generous mother-in-law anymore. Xu Shaochun is also a pretender at first. After the face was torn apart, everyone know her virtue, so Mrs. Fei carries Xu Shaochun to work every day. "

The woman listened with great enthusiasm, and asked: "What are they doing?

" In fact, it's just what a daughter-in-law should do. Cooking, washing clothes, taking care of livestock, isn't that what a farmer's women or fulangs should do. It's also Xu Shaochun who didn't work hard to learn these things well when she was a girl at home, otherwise she wouldn't be supervised by his mother-in-law after marriage. Oh, every day, either crying or making trouble, I have seen it several times."

"Then Fei Lian doesn't feel sorry for her?"

"Fei Lian only comes back a few times a month, and he is the most obedient and filial son. When he came home and saw Xu Shaochun busy with business all day long, he even praised her, saying that she was thrifty and capable, really virtuous woman. Xu Shaochun had nothing to say even if she wanted to blow the pillow, and there was no place to talk."

The woman laughed, and said: "Liu Xianglan loves Xu Shaochun so much, she didn't come to make trouble again?"

"What kind of trouble ? maybe if she wants to lose her son-in-law. The last time Xu Shaochun went home to live for a long time, the Fei's family didn't come to pick her up. If she wants to make a fuss and go home again, she has to go back in a desperate state, and if she dares to run a few more times, I'm afraid that in the end the husband's house will belong to someone else.”

The woman sighed, and then said again: "I didn't expect this to happen, and it turned out that He ge’er..."

Xu He saw that the topic was about to fall on him, so he hurriedly made some movements, and when he saw the two of them looking down, he greeted them. The two women laughed and exchanged a few words with him, and automatically put aside what they just said.

After cutting a basket of grass, Xu He tidied up the vegetables in the field. The vine leaves from the pumpkin were long, and the leaves were big, and they were all in one place. Looking at the tender pumpkin like a pot-bellied bottle lying under the big fluffy leaves, he was very satisfied. It must be very sweet when it turned yellow and grew old.

Seeing that the pumpkin vines were long enough and formed into a large piece, he simply picked the tender pumpkin vines. He picked a lot of them and took them back to cook with fried bacon, and dinner was ready.

When he got home, Zhang Fangyuan had already chopped a small mountain of firewood, and he held an ax while talking to someone.