"Golden pig, golden pig, cough, cough, don't talk nonsense, don't talk nonsense." Mother Li saw her son talking nonsense, and hurriedly coughed and patted her son a few times, then clasped her palms together and bowed in all directions. In a low voice, he prayed to the gods in the sky not to be offended by his son. After bowing, he said to the Golden Pig, "Golden Pig, don't talk nonsense. Huang Xiangu is true. A few days ago..."
While she was talking, Lianniang came back at a trot. Apparently someone had informed her that her man was here. The family's big yellow dog followed behind him, wagging its tail and running forward and backward. I saw Lianniang, who was only twenty-five or six years old, wearing a cloth skirt and thorns. Although she was a farmer's daughter-in-law, she was also neatly dressed. There is just a red belt tied around the waist and a patch with a Bagua pattern sewn on the chest, which is really a bit inconsistent.
When Golden Pig saw Lien Niang dressed up in such a nondescript manner, he couldn't help but get angry again. He grabbed the fly whisk on the Eight Immortals table and threw it towards Lien Niang with a sullen face. Lianniang dodged and the whisk fell in front of the yellow dog. The dog jumped back in fright, raised its tail and raised its head, and was about to bark, but what it saw was that its owner's face was livid, he whined a few times, and ran away with his tail between his legs.
I could only hear the golden pig in the house scolding: "My mother is sick at home, but you, a mother-in-law, only play outside and don't go home even after dark. I don't know what good it is, but she has sucked your soul away."
Lianniang stood at the door. Seeing that her husband did not go to get the feather duster, she cautiously entered the house, stood guarding the door, and defended softly: "I went to practice with Huang Xiangu, and Huang..."
When Golden Pig heard that "Huang Fairy" was going to abduct his wife, he opened his mouth to curse again. Then he remembered that his mother had just said that, so he held his breath again and just stared at Lianniang angrily.
Lianniang looked at the man's face and said cautiously: "Huang Xiangu is a disciple of the Holy Mother of Lishan Mountain and has real immortal skills. A few days ago, I asked for talisman water and went home and asked my mother-in-law to take it. My mother-in-law coughed. not enough."
Mother Li coughed lightly without covering her mouth, and spoke to the side, "That's right, that's right. After taking that talisman water, my chest has not been tight in the past few days, and my breath has become smoother."
Jin Zhu looked at his mother's condition, which seemed to be much better than the previous days. At least since he entered the house, he hadn't heard any heart-rending coughing. He also saw his wife with a downcast look on her face, angry. He also lost a few points, and his tone was slightly slower, "Look at you! What clothes you are wearing, how decent you are!"
"It's just that it's convenient to practice. If you don't like it, it's fine if I don't wear it." Seeing that her husband's expression slowed down, and she probably wasn't in danger of being beaten today, Lianniang quickly changed her subject, "The meal has been cooked, and I have brought the loach back. Just clean it up.”
After saying that, he quickly packed away the baggage and tassels that the golden pig had picked off, and took out a short wax tip from the side room, lit it, held it on a plate and placed it on the table. He turned around and asked Li's mother: "What else does my mother-in-law want to eat? I've made it too."
Mother Li shook her head and said, "I've already had porridge in the afternoon. I won't eat the loaches and will go to bed soon. You make these loaches for the golden pig and you can eat them together."
The Golden Pig's eyes were attracted to the candle. Seeing the bright light and no stench of grease, he knew it was expensive "Australian wax". He immediately said: "That loach was caught to treat my mother's cough. I plan to stay at home for a longer time this time. I won't miss this moment and just get some food. Where did you get the money to buy this loach?" wax?"…
Seeing that the man's tone changed, Lianniang had the courage to look at him by candlelight. Seeing that the golden pig was not wearing shoes, she went to the side room and brought out a new pair of straw sandals. While placing it in front of the golden pig's feet, he replied: "I asked Huang Xiangu for help. It was meant to be placed in the lantern. I will use it first when you come. This Australian wax is indeed bright, and it will not burn when lit. It smells like burning. I'll keep the loaches for now, and I'll get a few for you to eat today." After saying that, he went to the kitchen with an oil lamp to prepare the meal for the man.
The Golden Pig didn't say much. He took his shoes and went to the well to get water to wash his feet. After putting on his shoes, he went back to the house to pack up the things he bought home this time.
Not long after, Liniang brought half a pot of porridge cooked with vegetables and loach. The porridge was not as clear as usual, and there was a lot of rice. She took a pottery bowl and gave the golden pig a full bowl first.
The golden pig looked at the porridge, and first pointed to the jars on the table, "Two jars of Tianchu pickles, you and your mother will change the taste at home. Put away the packet of fine salt, don't let it get wet. The colorful packet is Australian fruit "Candy, give some to the kids in the neighborhood, and you and your mother can have a taste of it too." After saying that, he picked up the bowl and wolfed it down. After walking for a long time carrying the rice, I was really hungry, so I ate more than half of the small pot of porridge. Originally he could still eat, but in order to save food, he tried to eat as little as possible at night. Besides, my wife and I haven't had dinner yet, so we wiped our mouths and said "I'm full" and leaned back comfortably in the bamboo armchairs to rest.
Lianniang helped her mother-in-law eat some porridge and helped her to rest in the east room. She ate all the remaining porridge herself and cleared the table and bowls quickly. Then he had to put away all the items he brought back on the table.
Jinzhu whispered: "There are two hundred cash bills in the bag, keep them first. I still have some leftover change in my wallet. See if I have enough for 80 cash. I owe Brother Youtian's medicine money tomorrow." Then he went to return it.”
After the Senate introduced the new currency system, the original plan was to convert one dollar to one hundred cents. However, the value of one dollar is too great. Even if it is one penny, there is still the problem of too large face value, which is not conducive to the circulation of small amounts in the market. So it was changed to one dollar to one thousand cents.
This exchange rate is basically similar to the original one tael of silver to one thousand cash, and it is relatively easier for the people to accept it. The exchange rate is fixed, which is simpler and clearer than in the past where the exchange rate rose and fell every day, and the currency value is also stable. Although it is a paper currency, it is quite popular among the people who suffer from a shortage of small payment means. It's just that the unit of "fen" is still habitually pronounced as "wen" by most people.
"When you were not at home, Sister-in-law Arita came to press her several times, and I didn't even know how to respond to her." Lianniang breathed a sigh of relief, "The pressure was too tight."
"It's good that Brother Arita is willing to lend, and he doesn't want us to make money." Jinzhu lamented, "How many people in the village are willing to lend money to the family? Alas, even the two brothers refused to deliver rice to my mother on time. "
Because Jin Zhu supports his mother, in addition to being allocated three thatched houses, his two brothers promised to send one hundred kilograms of rice to her every year. But to be honest, this rice has never been delivered in full. It is normal to be short of a pound, and there is also a lot of grain and straw stuffed in it. Converted into brown rice, it is less than thirty or forty pounds a year.
Although Jinzhu complained, he also knew that life was difficult for his two brothers. The dozen acres of land passed down from his father was divided into two. The two brothers had to farm and pay rent, and they had to feed their families. To be able to produce fifty kilograms of rice was to squeeze it out through the gaps between teeth. …
It would be great if I could rent a few acres of land, Golden Pig thought in his mind. The income of day laborers is unstable and harmful to the body. He has been working for several years and has constant pain in his waist and legs. Colleagues who have been working for a long time all suffer from back and leg pain. When it gets serious, he can't even walk, let alone work. In the end, he will inevitably die of poverty and illness - a fate he doesn't want to follow.
Loading and unloading at the dock is not always a long-term solution.
But it's not easy to ask the clan for more "favor". To be honest, the clan reclaims the sand fields by the river every year, but this kind of good thing does not happen to "fake family members" like him. We just want to see if there is an opportunity to rent a few more acres of clan land for farming.
"It would be great if I could ask the master to be kind and let me farm a few acres of land." He whispered.
It's just that if you want to ask Mr. Li's "favor", you have to have a reason. It's a pity that Lianniang is a rough girl in the Li family and can't speak in front of the master. My mother is quite popular because she worked as a maid in Li's house in the past. However, she has been ill in the past few years and has not often gone out to ask for help. Besides, it is hard to ask for help. Besides, it is impossible to grant a tenant without a generous gift. It can't be done. My family doesn’t have the spare money now…
While she was thinking about it, Lien Niang came out of the kitchen, put a small bowl of rice wine on the table in her hand, and said with some distress: "Such a big bag of Australian sugar, doesn't it cost a lot of money?"
Golden Pig was a little embarrassed. He picked up the candy on the way from the dock to the warehouse. He didn't dare to take it back directly, so he kept it in his hand for a few days. No one came to look for it, so he put it away, and now he had to lie: "The steward of the warehouse will reward you if you do a good job."
Lianniang had a smile on her face. Her man was capable and capable of supporting the family. There was nothing better than this. She took out a small paper bag from her undergarment, which contained some incense ash, sprinkled it into the wine, stirred it with a tassel, and pushed the wine bowl in front of the golden pig.
"What is this?" Golden Pig asked in surprise.
Lien Niang was a little embarrassed: "Huang Xiangu gave it to me for a child. I just drank the one I had." Liniang's face was pink, and the following sentence was almost inaudible.
Huang Xiangu, who had heard it many times before the Golden Pig returned home, was also a little disgusted with Huang Xiangu. But I heard that he was looking for a child, but he didn’t dare to underestimate him. He and Lianniang have been married for many years, but have never had children. His mother is also thinking that it is a big deal to add to the Li family. He picked up the bowl, looked at it again, raised his head and drank the rice wine.
Early the next morning, Jinzhu went to pay off the debt of Li Youtian's family, and then visited several regular customers to see when they were going to hire people and what the price would be. When I came back from Zhuangxi, I saw the threshing floor and heard someone shouting under the banyan tree: "When you play with the broadsword, the ground collapses and the mountains collapse. When you play with the broadsword, Kuntou moves. Pick up the guillotine blade to chop down the thief. Practice." Such a magical technique, the Kun thief turns into a muddy beach." After a closer look, he saw several men wrapped in yellow kerchiefs and black belts practicing sword practice with the servants of Patriarch Li's family and some idle men in the village. He couldn't help but walk over and watch. . But I saw one person wrapped in a yellow handkerchief patrolling back and forth, and the other two were doing a move and shouting something. The servants were learning the move and laughing in response. Very noisy.
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