When the new house was about to be built, Gu Litian took Xu Ling and Gu Daliang outside to dig out yellow mud. Truck after truck of yellow mud was brought back and dumped in the yard, forming a hillside.
I also brought in new straw this year from my home, and begged buckets of soy milk water from my neighbors who made tofu.
After digging into the yellow mud, pouring soybean milk water and glutinous rice water, and finally marrying the straw, the men rolled up their trousers, took off their shoes, and began to step on the yellow mud, while the women and children looked on, talking and laughing.
The yellow mud that is stepped on is very sticky and is used to protect the exterior walls from wind and heat, as well as from the sun in summer. It is the same for every house built.
It was frosty in late autumn, and the weather was very cold. The men were sweating hotly from stepping on it. When the yellow mud was stepped on, the workers began to lay on the wall and cap it.
Xu Ling took out the firecrackers he had bought early in the town, hung a bunch on the persimmon tree outside, and lit them with fire sticks.
"Bang! Bang!"
The crackling of firecrackers also announced that the Xu family's new house was about to be built.
Gu Litian smiled so hard that he was as happy as if this was his own home.
Xu Ling invited his father-in-law to the house to discuss the banquet tomorrow.
"Dad, look at who you want to invite over there. There will definitely be a lot of people coming from the village tomorrow, but our family has to entertain them first. Thanks to everyone's help this time."
Xu Ling posed the problem of the banquet to his father-in-law. He didn't understand this and had to learn from Gu Litian in terms of the customs and sophistication of fellow villagers.
Gu Daliang sat nearby and listened to their discussion.
"Her uncle's family should be invited, and so should her third uncle. She also has two aunts who are not in the village. They are far away, so I won't talk about it for now." Gu Litian thought about it, and the workers who worked for them were also For those who are related to each other in the village and work hard, they must leave a table. "When you and Yuan You got married before, did you remember who saluted you? Just invite them over according to those replies. If anyone else wants to take this opportunity to greet you, As long as you come and go, you can entertain."
"At that time, I would also like to ask Master Fan to make a note of it. If someone has something to do with his family in the future, you will have to return it."
Come and go, there will be going when there is coming.
If Xu Ling is still like before, I'm afraid no one in the village will be willing to come.
But Gu Litian looked at the familiar attitude of the villagers towards Xu Ling during this period, and thought that his son-in-law probably had a lot of favors, and everything he could think about for Xu Ling was for him.
Xu Ling also said: "That's the reason. It was my fault in the past, and the villagers didn't say anything. Now they are willing to make friends with me, so let them all come."
"Are you all coming? How many banquets will we have to set up?" Gu Daliang was worried about Xu Ling. He spent dozens of taels of silver just building a house, but now he has to build a roof with such a big project. He is afraid that he won't wait until the New Year. Xu Ling is going on a long trip again.
"Whoever wants to come and eat at the flowing water table can come and eat. Then I will go to town to buy groceries and come back without spending much thought."
“Aren’t we still buying pigs and sheep?”
"I have already discussed with his grandfather about buying pigs from Li Dayuan's family. I will also buy sheep from the villagers. If I buy two at first, I won't be able to eat much for the soup."
However, it was difficult to find tables, chairs and benches for entertaining guests. Fortunately, Gu Litian said that he could borrow them from the villagers.
"Let's go dig some lotus roots first and bring them back. This is also a dish. Save some if you can!"
Finally, we decided on eight dishes and two soups.
In the afternoon, Gu Litian went to the village to find someone to borrow things, and also found a cook who specialized in cooking weddings and weddings. The helpers who washed and served the dishes were all close to him.
In order to organize Xu Ling's banquet in a decent manner, Gu Litian also asked his eldest sister-in-law and third brother. His eldest brother was gone, and his two brothers, the third brother, were a little separated because of the separation, but now they are getting better again.
Gu Daliang secretly told Xu Ling that his third uncle was as smart as a ghost. He had been visiting Xu Ling in the first few days and had long wanted to ease the relationship with Gu Litian.
But everyone knew clearly what they were doing.
To put it bluntly, if Xu Ling continued to act like before, they would definitely not do this.
All the bustle in the world is for benefit, and all the hustle and bustle in the world is for benefit.
Xu Ling understands these truths.
I understand that it doesn't mean that all the neighbors who moved closer to him because he became rich are bad.
Xu Ling also planned to take this opportunity to change his image in the minds of these people.
No one in the Xu and Gu families is idle, even old man Fan has to take care of the children.
Xu Ling went to town to buy vegetables in the afternoon, and brought two or three young men to help with the vegetables. Xu Ling first took them to buy part of the food, and then used the excuse to invite a few friends and asked them to wait where they were while pushing the cart to find Sun Baoyao. , looking for an opportunity to get a cart of vegetables out of the space.
Sun Baoyao was not at home today, so Xu Ling told the woman who opened the door for him, "There will be a banquet at my home tomorrow. You can tell Brother Sun for me that my name is Xu Ling and I live in Lianhuawanzi. You will find out once you find out."
"The slave family knows."
After Xu Ling conveyed the message in place, he took a cart of vegetables home.
There are no rare green vegetables nowadays, just cabbage, radish, leeks and spring onions, which can be bought in the village.
Xu Ling pulled the cart, and the others either carried the load or helped him push it, rushing back before dark.
Early the next morning, Gu Litian woke Xu Ling and Gu Daliang, and the three of them carried burdens to dig lotus roots in the lotus pond. When they arrived at the door of Gu Licai's house, Xu Ling saw his father-in-law suddenly stopped and listened to the sound in the yard. movement.
Gu Licai's family has two sons and a daughter. The daughter is the married Gu Yao.
Gu Litian's eldest brother left early. Because Gu Tao married a bastard like Xu Ling, his parents were not happy to live in his house, so the two elders stayed in Gu Licai's house.
In the small courtyard, the old couple asked their third son: "Your second brother taught you to help. When are you going to go?"
Gu Licai said: "It's still early in the day, I'll go later."
They didn't know that Gu Litian was at the door. When they heard this, Gu Litian coughed twice, kicked a few more steps, and then went to knock on the door.
"Li Cai, are you at home?"
Gu Licai quickly opened the door, "Second brother, why are you here?"
"Dad, Mom," Gu Litian said hello to the old couple first, then looked into the yard and saw Gu Licai's two sons squatting in the yard eating, so he chuckled and said, "I was planning to go to the lotus pond to dig lotus roots. , Xiaozhu and Xiaoshuan happen to be free, so come with us."
The weather is as cold as ghosts. Who would be willing to go down and dig lotus roots for them?
The two of them were about the same age as Gu Daliang. Gu Xiaozhu was already married, but Gu Xiaoshuan was not yet. Neither of them wanted to go, but they couldn't bear to have the say in the family.
Old Man Gu waved his hand, "It just so happens that Li Cai is idle at home, so I'm going to help you with my own affairs!"
Gu Daliang secretly laughed at Xu Ling and his two cousins.
"Don't give them a good look for a while, they are not good people!"
Xu Ling was eating melon and watching a show nearby, feeling that his uncle was a bit funny. The feud between the two families almost started because of him, but now he said in front of him that the two cousins were not good people.
