Liu Laozhu led the villagers to the backyard and opened the door of one of the houses. Although there were no spider webs in sight, the house was full of debris and the mess on the bed was enough to take a while to clean up.
Liu Laozhu asked the boys to clean up first, and then asked two others to carry firewood.
Liu Laozhu explained to Mrs. Xu: "My eldest brother specially arranged one of the three empty rooms in the backyard to live in my sister, brother-in-law and their two little girls. My two nephews, together with my nephew, are in the front yard. I work as a servant to guide the nobles, feed their horses, and carry bath water and other things. Merchants often come to stay at night, and they usually stay in the front yard."
Mrs. Xu responded: "Did your sister and her family move here?"
Mrs. Xu was a little envious of the old Liu family's ability to work together as a team. Even if there was a stirrer inside, there wouldn't be much trouble. She had to admit that Boss Liu was like a big brother. I hope the three of their families can support each other like this in the future.
"Well, the crops have not been good in recent years, and my sister's family has little income in their hometown. My eldest brother was concerned about it, and arranged for them to move from his hometown two years ago to help support this inn."
At that time, Brother Liu was the boss of Yuelai Restaurant in the county, and he privately opened this inn in partnership with others. No matter what the business is, if you are in partnership with others, you will feel at ease only if you have someone to look after you. If you happen to hire someone, you will hire anyone. If you have someone to look after you, you will not be blind. If you see something bad, you will tell it and let the girl know. My brother-in-law and his family came here.
The family is earning wages.
Despite the fact that there are no villages or shops here, I can only wander around the inn every day. When I go out, I just go to the main road to see if there is anyone driving in the distance. But in a year, the five members of the family can earn a lot of money together, and they can even get rewards for those who are generous.
What Liu Laozhu wants to say to Mrs. Xu is: "In the three rooms in the backyard, apart from my old sister's family and four errand cooks, this room is empty to pile up sundries and no one else. My eldest brother Having said that, let’s pack up and live there without spending any money. It’s much better than living in a Datong store in the front yard. I think there will be many inconveniences and difficulties for you and Tian Xin along the way. Since it doesn’t cost anything, if you get older and get tired , rest here for two more days."
Liu Laozhu thought to himself: Actually, he is tired. During these days, I have been doing one thing after another, and my arms and legs are extremely tired from running around again. I am getting older and I cannot accept it anymore.
Mrs. Xu’s opinion is not to rest for two more days.
Once this old boy heard that he didn't want to spend money, he could never change his mentality of taking advantage. He had been used to taking advantage of his elder brother for decades, so he just wanted to be lazy. If his eldest brother accepts everyone's money to live in Datongpu, he can leave tomorrow even if it rains.
Liu Laozhu was hung up with a carrot by the eldest daughter of the Xu family, and was ordered around by Liuyou for a month. He had developed the habit of obeying orders, and he reluctantly said, "Okay, let's leave tomorrow morning."
Then he pointed to the kang that had just been vacated by the boys: "You and your granddaughter will live in the inner room."
Liu Laozhu's so-called inner room is nothing more than a large kang bed separated by a yellow mud fire wall and divided into two parts in the middle. However, the floor is open and there is no door at all. This is common in the northern countryside.
To put it bluntly, the poor people built their houses to save money on materials. There were no inner and outer rooms at all. They all used fire walls as partitions on the kang. The kang on the side of the yellow mud wall is smaller, and it is usually used by the elderly couple or the girls at home, so that the girls can change their clothes easily. On the other side of the kang lived a large family. When there is a large population, only one baby will lie on a kang, and three or four little ones will be covered with a big quilt.
Mrs. Xu took a look at the small kang she had just put away. She saw that Baba would only sleep on the bed for two people. It was just enough for her and Tian Xin to sleep on, so they were not crowded. But the big kang on the other side of the yellow mud wall has to sleep eight boys from the village plus Liu Laozhu, so he must sleep on his side tonight.
When Mrs. Xu went to unload the goods brought by her group, Liu Laozhu's sister, Vanilla, tugged on the corner of her second brother's clothes and motioned to say a few words to her.
"Second brother, I heard that my sister-in-law is showing off to you? What do you think of her treating your parents?"
"Why do you ask this?"
"I'm not worried." Miss Liu curled her lips and said, "My eldest brother used to be a shopkeeper in the county and went home every day, but now he can't go back for several months. Who knows what she did to her parents? A few days ago She also asked someone to send a message that she wants to move here. Well, you live in this house, and she wants to move here. What does she mean? She wants to throw her to the county for her parents."
It's human nature to throw away. We can't let the elder brother and sister-in-law always live apart, Liu Laozhu thought to himself.
"Second brother, you and that Xu family girl...you quite obey her, does my second sister-in-law know?"
"That's nonsense. You don't know who your second brother is? I'm only interested in money and soil. What are you thinking about? My sister from the Xu family and I are innocent!"
"But why do I see you so obedient? It's like an old house on fire, burning extremely brightly."
