Uncle Li took a puff of dry cigarette, frowned and said, "Brothers and sisters, what you said is out of proportion. Mr. Meng is a man, what's wrong with living in your house?"
Mrs. Shen also felt that she had made a mistake. After all, there were differences between men and women. This man living in the home of an orphan and a widowed mother was indeed suspected of attracting gossip.
Sheng Guoer said, "How about renovating Lao Ge's house so that my husband can live in it?"
Uncle Li thought for a while, slapped his thigh and said, "I think it's okay. You're still smart. It's just that there are workers from our workshop living in that house. I'll go tell them and let them live somewhere else. I'll give it to them." It won’t take long to put up a few thatched houses.”
Meng Xingzhou waved his hand and said, "No, there's no need to renovate it. I can just live with the workers."
As soon as these words came out, everyone suddenly felt that Meng Xingzhou was really a good gentleman and had no airs. Sheng Guoer also had a new impression of Meng Xingzhou. She felt that Meng Xingzhou was not as weird as Song Silang said.
Song Silang didn't expect that Meng Xingzhou would have such an idea, and immediately said: "Mr. Meng, I admire you so much that I blame you for not treating us as outsiders. I will find someone to help you renovate this house."
Meng Xingzhou smiled and said, "Let's do it together!"
Everyone laughed, and this laughter resolved many barriers and so-called hierarchical concepts.
Uncle Li said: "In this case, we can't let Mr. work more. He still has to prepare education for the children. I said let's let the workers renovate the house. If Mr. is interested, he can follow us to build a primary school. , but there is one thing, sir, you can’t do big work. If you don’t agree, my old man will die here.”
Meng Xingzhou couldn't refuse when he saw Uncle Li's kindness, so he had to say: "Okay, I'll do whatever Uncle Li asks me to do."
Uncle Li nodded and said, "As expected of you, sir, you are very considerate."
Mrs. Shen said: "Uncle Li, according to our old rules, if you men build a house, our women will cook for you."
Uncle Li took a puff of dry cigarette and said: "Yes, brothers and sisters, you should organize the women in our village to make public meals for every household and deliver them to the construction site!"
After the construction of the school and the official dinner were finalized, Uncle Li and others exchanged pleasantries and then left.
In groups of twos and threes, everyone was excitedly talking about building a primary school while walking outside the courtyard of the Sheng family. Meng Xingzhou followed suit and suddenly Sheng Guoer stopped him: "Mr. Meng!"
Meng Xingzhou turned around and said with a smile, "Is something wrong?"
Sheng Guoer felt a little warm when she looked at Meng Xingzhou's handsome smiling face. Then she turned around and took out some brand new bedding, handed it to Meng Xingzhou and said, "This is a new bedding. Take it and use it."
Meng Xingzhou looked at the new quilt and said, "Thank you, Miss Sheng!"
Sheng Guoer lowered his head and said nothing. Meng Xingzhou nodded, turned around and went out.
Sheng Guoer raised her head at this time and watched Meng Xingzhou go away.
The work of renovating the house began quickly. Under the leadership of Sheng Guoer, the workers renovated the house together with Meng Xingzhou.
Sheng Guoer was surprised to find that Meng Xingzhou was not a weak scholar who could not lift his shoulders or arms. He was very powerful in wielding a sledgehammer and was familiar with cement and building beams. The workers were also surprised that a gentleman could actually do some carpentry work. and bricklayer work.
Meng Xingzhou worked very hard and did not feel tired at all. Instead, he looked very happy. Sheng Guoer helped and handed him a towel to wipe his sweat. Meng Xingzhou said with a smile: "Your house has been renovated very well. The foundation is good." , saving a lot of effort.”
Sheng Guoer smiled and said, "I didn't expect you to be able to do carpentry and dig brickwork."
While applying putty, Meng Xingzhou said: "I served as a soldier, starting from the lowest level and doing any job."
Sheng Guoer asked in confusion: "Then why did you become a husband again?"
Hearing this, Meng Xingzhou paused, and then said: "Brother died while fetching water from the mountains. I thought that force could not fully serve the country, so I wanted to get fame. But after I got fame, I found that I didn't like officialdom, so I returned I’m teaching in the township.”
Sheng Guoer looked at Meng Xingzhou and felt that he had something else to hide and that he didn't seem to have fully explained the matter.
But it doesn't matter. Since it's all in the past, why bring it up?
The work was finished quickly, and Sheng Guoer asked, "Are you tired, sir? I'm going to cook."
Meng Xingzhou stopped Sheng Guoer, pointed to the workers who were getting the steamed buns and pickles, and said, "I'll just eat with them. You've been tired for the whole day, so you can rest."
Sheng Guoer said: "This won't work. I'll make more and we can eat together!"
After saying that, Sheng Guoer turned around and ran to the kitchen.
But when Sheng Guoer took out the bacon and vegetables to cook, she looked up and saw Meng Xingzhou holding a large bowl and steamed buns, chatting and laughing with the workers while eating pickled steamed buns.
"Gentlemen with no airs like him are really rare in ancient times." Sheng Guoer thought of the mountain chief, and also of those old ladies Wang and martial arts instructors. Which one was not full of momentum? It stands to reason that Meng Xingzhou is a high-ranking figure because of his fame, but he does not have such a hierarchical temperament.
This gave Sheng Guoer a new understanding of Meng Xingzhou.
Sheng Guoer hurriedly prepared the big pot of dishes and said, "Come and eat. I just made the bacon and stir-fried lettuce. Come and eat!"
The fragrance filled the air, and the workers rushed over with joy.
"Sir, don't you attach great importance to family status? Are you really used to eating this?" Sheng Guoer really doubted whether Meng Xingzhou also traveled through time from modern times, but she was still a little puzzled, even if he came from time traveling , according to the past time-travel routine, the male protagonist cannot be dragged to heaven.
It can be seen that Meng Xingzhou's behavior is not like that of a modern person.
When Meng Xingzhou heard Sheng Guo'er ask him this, he smiled and said: "All things in heaven and earth are equal. Besides, these are all grains. I eat very well, and I also like this kind of life."
After finishing speaking, Meng Xingzhou took a piece of bacon with chopsticks, and when he ate it, his mouth was filled with delicious flavor. He praised: "Miss Sheng's craftsmanship is really outstanding. No wonder she can make jam and meat sauce so delicious."
Sheng Guoer smiled slightly and said, "Mr. Meng is too complimentary."
It took three days to renovate Meng Xingzhou's residence. He still lived with the workers, but had his own independent space.
The next step is to build a primary school.
There is an unwritten rule in the village that women are not allowed to take the lead in important matters such as building a school hall and ancestral hall. This is the rule of the ancestors. It is not a form of discrimination, but the ancestors have a saying: women are weak and may not be able to bear the burden. The feng shui of the school and ancestral hall is harmful to yourself, so you should not get close to it.
Sheng Guoer felt that the ancestors who set this rule had their doting on their wives ingrained into their bones, and blatantly used the theory of Feng Shui to let women "escape" from work.
However, everyone in Dongxiang Village's tradition of loving their wives is well known, and even made a joke in Xifeng Village. However, the men in Dongxiang Village just can't change their "stinky habits" of loving their wives and listening to their wives.
Watching Meng Xingzhou working with the villagers, talking and laughing, some girls liked it very much. They sat by the well and talked about Meng Xingzhou.
"Look how handsome you are, just like the person in the painting." Cuixi said while chewing melon seeds, "You are so capable, but I don't know if you are married or not?"
"Why, you want to marry someone? Do you have that fate?" Chuntao next to her joked.
"Bah, said Little Hoof Jinghun, let's see if I don't tear your mouth apart."
Ha ha ha ha.
It is said that three women make a show, and a group of women together is like a big show in a gossip scene. The laughter can be heard clearly from a distance.
Sheng Guoer did not wrap up with them, but sat by the well and looked at the busy Meng Xingzhou with a smile on her face.
It was time to cook the official meal, and the women all went back to prepare. Sheng Guoer also felt that she should make something delicious to comfort her husband, so she also went home and prepared carefully.
Sheng Shi trotted into the house and saw his sister making beef. He was greedy and wanted to grab a piece to eat. Sheng Guoer patted his hand and said, "This is for sir, yours is over there!"
When Sheng Shi saw that it was beef head meat, he thought it was good. He jumped on the table and ate it.
Sheng Guoer served the braised beef in a clay pot. The beef was translucent red, tender and crispy. Sheng Guoer stewed it with her own secret recipe and added sugar. It was very delicious.
Sheng Guoer filled the white rice with a big porcelain bowl, then took a piece of calico to wrap the food, and said, "Mom, I'm going to deliver the official meal!"
Mrs. Shen responded and said, "Come back early for dinner!"
"Hey!" Sheng Guo'er had already walked out of the courtyard and responded to her mother's instructions.
When she arrived at the construction site, Sheng Guoer placed the food in the most conspicuous place.
The men finished their work one after another. They were all hungry and came to the table to get food.
Sheng Guoer looked nervously at her braised beef and rice, but Meng Xingzhou didn't arrive for a long time.
Finally, the meal was taken away by Song Silang. Sheng Guoer looked frustrated and threw the reed pole he had been playing with on the ground.
At this moment, Meng Xingzhou appeared. He picked up a big thick bowl. Chuntao next to the fruit jumped up and shouted excitedly: "Sir, you are eating the pancakes I made!"
The other girls all sneered and said, "Humph, what's so delicious about pancakes? They're so hard, and they're not afraid of knocking out Mr.'s teeth!"
Chuntao was anxious: "You are the only ones who will knock out Mr.'s teeth!"
The girls were quarreling over this matter, but Sheng Guoer didn't care about their quarrel and was just a little disappointed.
The next morning, Sheng Guoer got up early and went to the well to fetch water. She enjoyed this rural life very much. Even if she had some money now, she felt that life had to be more simple to make herself happy.
When they came to the well, Sheng Guoer pumped up the cold underground water. Sheng Guoer washed her face and felt much refreshed. She carried the water back home. Sheng Shi had just gotten up and he asked doubtfully: "Sister, Why did you go to fetch water today?"
Sheng Guoer didn't say anything, but just put down the bucket. Sheng Shi hurriedly stepped forward to take the bucket and filled the water tank.
Mrs. Shen also got up, and was a little surprised to see Sheng Guoer getting up so early: "Why did Guoer get up so early?"
Sheng Guoer said: "Oh, there was no one to fetch water in the morning, so I went first. I want to make steamed dumplings, which will take a little longer. They won't taste good if they are made late."
Mrs. Shen said distressedly: "We really have to cook the official meal well, but there is no need to do this!"
Then Mrs. Shen said: "Girl, if you really want your husband to eat, you should put the food at the end. Sir, he is always the last one to take it."
Sheng Guoer actually discovered in the past few days that Meng Xingzhou always let others get the food first.
So Sheng Guoer was thoughtful, and after making the steamed dumplings, she finally came to the construction site, and when no one was paying attention, she replaced the last meal with her own meal.
When it was time to get off work, Sheng Guoer looked at her meal nervously, as if waiting for a big test.
Not only did she think this way, other girls also hoped that Mr. Meng could take a bite of their food.
The meal delivery became a kind of competition, and the young girls in the village, including Ma Chunhua, began to secretly compete with each other to see whose meal could be eaten by their husband more times when the primary school was being built.
For this reason, they also made a count to calculate winning and losing.
For now, the score between Sheng Guoer and them is zero.
At first, Sheng Guoer didn't care about the "score" they set. She only cared about whether Meng Xingzhou ate well.
Having said that, Sheng Guoer still hoped that Meng Xingzhou could eat the food she cooked. In the later stage, this idea turned into an obsession.
But today Sheng Guoer's meal was still not eaten by Meng Xingzhou.
Sheng Guoer originally thought of sending it alone, but she didn't want others to gossip.
Later, even Sheng Guoer's desire to win was aroused. She saw that the meals of the little sisters around her were more or less eaten by Meng Zhouxing. I haven’t eaten it even once in Zhouxing!
"No, I must let you eat the food I cooked!" Sheng Guoer secretly made up his mind.
Looking at Sheng Guoer's appearance, Chuntao, who had been fed by Meng Zhouxing three times, said proudly: "Guoer, you are smart, but this kind of luck does not come from being smart! I advise you, It’s better to give up! I guess your husband won’t like what you’re doing.”
Sheng Guoer smiled and said, "It's up to you whether you like it or not. There are still seven days."
Chuntao smiled and said: "Okay, Guo'er, I'm joking with you and I'll take it seriously. It's okay if your cooking is delicious, but it also depends on fate. Sirs all choose at will. You better wait." !”
Sheng Guoer smiled slightly and said nothing.
