The north wind howled, and the trees in the village were blown to one side. It was not yet dark, but the sky was already so gloomy that it was impossible to see the road.
Xu Ling had just finished cleaning the old house when two brothers, Xu Ping and Chen Sheng, came pulling a cart from outside.
Chen Ze went to town to buy medicine and came back. Hearing that his brother had promised Xu Ling to work as a tenant farmer for his family, he started packing without saying a word.
First put the mattress on the car, then let his wife lie on the car, cover her with a quilt tightly, and take away all the fishing nets, fish baskets, charcoal stoves, and pots and pans that can be used in the awning boat.
Xu Ping worked quickly and helped move things.
Even though the Chen Sheng brothers only had two boats, as the saying goes, even a broken boat has three thousand nails. It took them five or six moves to empty out everything. The three of them hurried to Xu Ling's house against the north wind.
Chen Sheng also contributed a lot to Xu Ling's new house. If it weren't for the money he earned from working for Xu Ling, the two brothers wouldn't even have money to buy medicine for Widow Chen.
Before the New Year, the money in their pockets was almost empty. The mother and son were all worried about how to survive this cold winter. Xu Ling's appearance was undoubtedly a light in the darkness.
So when he saw those two iconic wooden buildings, Chen Sheng was very excited.
Xu Ling came over and asked them to pull the cart to the old house next door.
"Although this place is dilapidated, the holes in the previous roof have been repaired. At least there will be no air leakage. You will live here before the new house in the field is built. Is that okay?"
Chen Sheng didn't know what to say. He kept shaking his head, "Master, all we need is a place to live."
"That's alright. You can help your mother in first, pack your things, and then go over to eat."
Xu Ling saw that the mother and son were a little embarrassed, as if they didn't know what to do while he was here, so he took Xu Ping and left.
Back home, Xu Ping smelled the smell of mutton soup and was about to run to the kitchen. Xu Ling quickly grabbed the collar behind his head and said, "Stop, An An is still studying. You should go back to the house quickly!"
"Oh, brother, I won't go. We all understood what Fan said over and over again, but he still said, why don't you let me drink a bowl of mutton soup first!"
Xu Ling noticed the problem. He hadn't attended Fan Shiqing's teaching yet. After all, he had been busy since returning home. How could he have such free time?
I originally thought that Fan Shiqing could teach two illiterate children even after being imprisoned for more than ten years in prison, but his level had deteriorated. Why did Xu Ping say that the situation was wrong?
"You go in and listen to the class. I'll listen to what Master Fan has to say outside."
Xu Ping glanced at the kitchen reluctantly and walked reluctantly towards the study.
"Master, I'm back."
Fan Fuzi was reading to Xu An. When he heard the commotion, he quickly asked Xu Ping to come in. This study room was open from the north to the south and usually got good sunlight. Xu Ling chose this room specially because he was afraid that his younger brothers and sisters would hurt their eyes while studying.
There was a charcoal stove in the room, so it wasn't too cold, but the sky was dark, and even if there were candles lit in the room, it was a bit blurry.
Xu Ling originally wanted them to stop studying, but when Fan Shiqing started giving lectures, he had no choice but to hold back and stand outside the window to listen for a while.
After listening to a cup of tea, I felt that Fan Shiqing's lecture was quite good. He quoted classics and was fascinating. Why couldn't he fall in Xu Ping's eyes?
Seeing that the room was getting darker and darker, Daya couldn't sit still and turned down the stool to walk out. Xu Ling quickly entered the study and picked up his daughter.
"Master Fan, dinner is about to begin, why don't you come here first today?"
"Okay, you two need to understand the recitation I taught today, and I will check it in class tomorrow."
Fan Shiqing put away the ruler and walked slowly towards Xu Ling, with his hands behind his back, "What are you having for dinner today?"
"Sheep soup shortbread."
"This is good, this is good!"
Xu Ping quickly walked to his brother's side, but was stunned by Xu Ling, who also gave him a warning look. Xu Ping felt a little guilty. Why did the old man suddenly talk about something else?
Bai Bai asked him to be beaten.
Xu Ling took the charcoal stove from the study to the hall and lit the fire. Xu Ping and Xu An set the table and served bowls of rice. Fan Shiqing held Daya and sat by the fire to warm up.
After a while, Gu Tao came in from the kitchen with a basket full of golden shortbread cookies, and Xu Ling quickly took them.
"Why did you do so much today?"
"Isn't there someone coming? Besides, the Chinese New Year is coming in two days, and I don't have time to make it. I can make more and eat more than I can finish."
This shortbread won't go bad, and it's still delicious even if it's cold and soaked in mutton soup.
Xu Ling smiled and said, "Then I'll call them over and let them have a good time."
When they went next door, the two brothers Chen Sheng had already packed their things. Chen Ze set up a stove outside to boil medicine for his mother. There was no oil lamp in the room, so it was dim and he couldn't see clearly.
Xu Ling handed over a jar and asked Chen Sheng and Chen Sheng to go next door to eat.
"Master, what is this?" Chen Sheng held the jar, a little cautiously.
"Whoever is coughing, ask your mother to drink some too. It might make you feel better."
The autumn pear ointment that Xu Ling made before was not all sold out. There was some left in the space, including some at home.
The weather in autumn and winter is dry, and sometimes people get angry after eating mutton, so Xu Ling asks his family to brew some Qiuli paste to drink.
There happened to be less than half of the can left, so Xu Ling took it over thinking of Widow Chen's cough.
Widow Chen was ill and could not go to eat, so Xu Ling asked Chen Sheng to go back with him to bring some food.
The two brothers are quite young, and they are also male, so it is inconvenient for them to come in and out of his house all the time.
Xu Ling found a basin and filled a small pot of mutton soup, picked up a dozen shortbread cookies with a dustpan, and filled a large bowl with hot dishes for Chen Sheng to take back to the old house and eat by himself.
Chen Sheng's mouth watered when he smelled the mutton smell. When he saw Xu Ling ladling soup for him, he didn't say anything about pouring some of the meat back, but put it all in the basin.
For a moment, I was overwhelmed by this sudden happiness.
"Dong...Dong, are these all for me? We can just eat whatever we want."
Xu Ling smiled: "This is the only meal at home, I don't have the ability to cook another meal for you."
Chen Sheng was a little embarrassed: "I didn't mean that..."
"Okay, as long as you and your brother work hard, you don't have to come to my house to eat next year. You can eat whatever you want. That will be more practical." Xu Ling packed the food for him and sent it to the next door.
He also warned a few words: "We agreed that the rent is 28, so don't take it too much. Go back and make it clear to your brother. If people in the village ask, you have nothing to hide."
"I will build a house for you and take care of your food and drink for half a year. Once the food is harvested in half a year, things will not be so good. If you feel that you cannot accept it, tell me within seven days so that we can get together and disperse."
Xu Ling likes to say ugly things first. Although Chen Sheng was now filled with gratitude to him, people's hearts were like a bottomless pit. If he had a full stomach, regretted it, suffered losses, and made trouble everywhere, then he was not the one to let others ride on his head.
