Yaren said before that the owner of the house on the left is a butcher, called Butcher Fang.
Butcher Fang's family has been butchers for several generations. The eldest son Fang Zheng is now 15 years old. He wants to follow him and inherit the mantle. The second daughter Fang Lu is 12 years old and as cheerful as her mother Wu, while the youngest son Fang Xin is only 8 years old and still naughty.
In this day and age, any business related to meat is profitable.
Butcher Fang's family originally ran a meat-selling business in the west near the outer city. They sold not only pigs, but everything they could sell except human meat. The business is booming, and he has accumulated a lot of money in the past ten years.
Originally this house was reserved for the eldest son to get married, and for the convenience of business, he lived in the old house and did not move here.
But after years of disasters and the intrusion of refugees, they simply moved in now. As for business, let’s talk about it later. Anyway, the family still has some savings to store food.
"Mom, is that living King of Hell's house next door?" Fang Xin bit his chopsticks and asked cautiously.
Mrs. Wu glared at him and took out her chopsticks, "Don't call people that behind their backs."
He added, "I don't know if the rumors are true. Normally, when you move, you should give gifts to the neighbors, but now every household is sad, so we won't give them."
Butcher Fang took a bite of the steamed bun, chewed it, and then nodded after swallowing. He was always busy outside, leaving all the chores at home to his wife, and he never interfered.
That is to say, my wife is a good housekeeper, so I stocked up on food in advance. Otherwise, where can I eat a steamed bun alone at home now? Even if it is steamed buns made with whole grains, many people will not be able to eat them.
Mrs. Wu then warned several children, "No matter what the outside world says, in short, if we don't cause trouble, the other side won't come to our door."
Fang Xin nodded. Although he is naughty, he is not stupid. Aren't you seeking death by provoking those vicious people?
When dinner was finished, Mrs. Wu was a little hesitant.
Butcher Fang asked her what was wrong.
"Isn't my parents' house close to the door? They want to come here and make do with it for a while. Once the refugees stop making trouble, they will go back immediately! They bring their own food."
Butcher Fang had a toothache when he thought of his mother-in-law's sour look. But after all, he is his wife's family, so he can't ignore it. He said, "If the children agree, I will agree."
Fangzheng was an upright, silly and bold man, so he didn't see any problem.
But Fang Lu was smart. She asked clearly first, "How long will we stay? How many people will come in total? How will the house be arranged? They bring their own food, but what about water and firewood? The few new wells dug by the government are just barely enough for us. Dinner for a family of five.”
Wu was speechless and her face was stiff. She didn't ask clearly.
Butcher Fang couldn't bear to embarrass her, so he said, "The Yamen should be able to solve the refugee problem within ten days."
She nodded quickly, "Just let them stay here for ten days. We will only give them two rooms to rent, and we won't care about the rest."
Fang Lu reluctantly agreed. The house is not small, and each of their children has a room. There is a shortage of water now. I have to line up every day to get water, which is only enough to eat. I can't take a shower. Everyone stinks. As long as I don't share the same room with them, it will be fine.
Although my mother wanted to help her parents' family more out of love, she was not stupid enough to reveal all her family's food and money.
The next morning, the two elders of the Wu family came over with their two bedrooms, a group of 10 people, making a lot of noise.
Mrs. Wu's face turned ugly. Her mother had clearly agreed to bring only the children from her eldest and second brother's family. She was a little afraid to look at the child's expression, feeling that she was going to break her promise.
Fang Lu seemed to have expected it, so she said that the eldest brother and the younger brother would sleep together, in one room for themselves and the other for their parents. The study plus two guest rooms can free up three rooms for them.
The old lady of the Wu family said with a smile, "How much space can a little girl like Xiaolu take up? Why don't you let Xiaoxin Xiaoya sleep in the same room with you?"
Fang Lu shook her head and refused simply, "I don't like sharing a bed with others."
The scene was instantly awkward.
Mrs. Wu didn't want to wrong her daughter, but it wouldn't look good to start a fight at home now, so she asked everyone to talk at home first.
She felt the gazes coming from all directions, which didn't look like they were just watching the excitement, but felt a little strange indescribably.
When she looked over, those people quickly looked away and closed the door.
Due to Fang Lu's insistence, the Wu family was only allocated three rooms in the end. The Wu family was not satisfied, but they had just arrived and did not dare to make a fuss.
After everyone had settled down, Mrs. Wu breathed a sigh of relief, then picked up a handful of pickles and took her daughter to the neighbor's house on the right to inquire about the news.
Unexpectedly, as soon as she knocked on the door and before she said a few words, her neighbor said that she was busy at home and had no time to chat for the time being. I didn’t take the pickles either.
Mrs. Wu was stunned. She had never seen such a neighbor who was so disrespectful.
Fang Lu frowned, "Mom, how about we go to the neighbor's house on the right and ask?"
Mrs. Wu looked at the Jiang family, a little confused. But Fang Lu had already gone to knock on the door.
Jiang Yue was making noodles with Jiang Nian and wanted to eat hand-made noodles.
Hearing the knock on the door, Jiang Yue asked him to continue making noodles and went to open the door.
Seeing someone she had never seen before, she reflected, "Is it someone new from next door?"
Fang Lu was still a little dazed. She didn't expect the "Living King of Hell" to be so good-looking. Moreover, she was so clean and fair, and she seemed to smell the fragrance, but now she was yellow and sloppy...
Jiang Yue: I didn’t expect someone to come to my door, and I didn’t have time to get dirty. Next time, just poke it at the bottom of the pot.
"Yes, yes, hello sister, my name is Fang Lu. This is my mother, surnamed Wu."
Jiang Yue was a little surprised. This was the first time she was called sister here. "Hello, my name is Jiang Yue. What's the matter with you?"
Mrs. Wu also felt that the rumors were not true, and smiled and handed her a handful of pickles, "We moved in yesterday and didn't have time to say hello, so we came over today to meet our new neighbors."
Jiang Yue looked at the pickles in her hand and stretched out her hand to avoid hitting the smiling man, but she still had to refuse, "Thank you, Madam Wu. It's just that our house is a bit messy right now, so it's not convenient for guests."
She turned back and shouted, "A-Nian, pick some mint leaves for me."
After a while, Jiang Nian came out with a frown and mint leaves.
She also thought about Butler Wang's reaction, and felt that the mint leaves were quite suitable as a return gift.
She took the mint leaves from his hand and put them in Fang Lu's hands, "This is the mint in our home. Drinking this leaf soaked in water is refreshing and thirst-quenching. It is more suitable for cold brewing than tea."
Fang Lu smelled the fragrance of the leaves, and she liked it, "Thank you, sister."
Mrs. Wu saw that the couple was about to close the door and enter the house, so she quickly said, "I'm confused about something, and I want to ask my neighbor."
"Please say."
"Today someone came to my parents' house to stay. I wonder if it disturbed the neighbors. Why don't everyone look so good?"
Jiang Yue raised her eyebrows and looked at each other.
Wu: Yes, it’s just this incomprehensible expression. It’s not displeasure, nor is it curiosity to watch the fun. It's very puzzling...
