Chapter 22
"But he looks quite honest." Gu Nanfeng couldn't help but say, thinking about the man's appearance just now. He didn't expect that Mei Qingshan would become even more angry as soon as he said these words.
"Honest? Who doesn't know how to pretend?" Mei Qingshan was obviously angry. He glanced at Gu Nanfeng and sighed. There was still some hesitation on his face, but in the end he patted the place next to him and asked Gu Nan Feng sat over and then continued to say to people in a low voice:
"You are not from our village. You don't know that the man named Chen is not a good man. His wife ran away because he only ran to the gambling house all day long. He did nothing at home and went home after losing money. , and even take it out on the mother-in-law and children.
Ever since he started gambling, Sister-in-law Chen had been beaten every three days. The last time she was beaten was so severe that she even lost one of her eyes, and within a few days she couldn't see anyone. The man surnamed Chen said that Sister-in-law Chen ran away with the salesman. I think she was probably beaten to death by him and thrown into the river in front of the village and washed away. "
Gu Nanfeng was stunned by Mei Qingshan's words. He didn't expect that this honest-looking man could be such a bastard! Not only did he beat his wife, but he even maimed her. What's worse, she not only maimed her, but maybe she was beaten to death by him, he also falsely accused her of running away with the man.
After the shock, Gu Nanfeng felt disgusted. He didn't even want to eat those pumpkins.
"Second brother, take the pumpkin he gave you and feed it to the pigs. I don't want to eat it." Gu Nanfeng was so angry that he picked up the white grass on one side and started picking it, with a slightly angry expression on his face.
There is a path that leads to the village, and there is a lot of land along the road. There are many people walking this path during the busy farming season, but few people pass by here these days.
There were only two brothers under the bamboo forest. Mei Qingshan still spoke in a low voice when he said this. Gu Nanfeng calmed down a little and became less angry, and he guessed why Mei Qingshan was so careful.
Although the man named Chen is not a good person, he still has three children at home, and the children are innocent.
They grew up slowly, and when it was time to discuss marriage, if people knew that their mother had run away, it would be bad for their reputation. It was better not to mention this kind of thing again, no matter it was true or false, it would be bad for the three children. Neither is a good thing.
"How could that man surnamed Chen harm his own children like this?" The more he thought about it, the angrier he became. Gu Nanfeng had difficulty understanding his mother before, and now it was even more difficult to understand the man surnamed Chen. He didn't understand why there was such a thing in the world. Parents who harm their children, they are so selfish! You don't deserve to be a parent at all!
"Aniang said that Sister-in-law Chen was probably beaten to death by Chen Erwa. He didn't know how to explain it to her mother-in-law, so he could only make false accusations and say that she ran away. I think what Aniang said is reasonable, and I feel the same way. , Sister-in-law Chen cares about her children very much. If she had given up her children, she would have gone back to her parents' family long ago. How could she stay in the Chen family and be abused."
Xu saw that Gu Nanfeng had listened to his words and clearly rejected the person named Chen. Mei Qingshan's expression had returned to normal now, and when he talked about the Chen family, he was just a little bit sad.
"I hope I really ran away. It's better than being beaten to death." There are women from all over the country who have left their husbands and young sons at home and run away with others, but there has not been one in more than ten years.
This kind of woman not only brings trouble to her own children, but also to her natal family, and has a very bad reputation.
Gu Nanfeng subconsciously said this and looked at Mei Qingshan. He is a brother and understands the difficulties of being a daughter-in-law, but what about others? Can others understand how difficult it is for a woman who suffers in her husband's family?
"Who says it isn't?" Mei Qingshan had already piled up some strips of bamboo strips in his hand, and he started to weave a fence. While doing it, he naturally agreed with Gu Nanfeng, and then continued: "Sister-in-law Chen should have returned to her parents' home long ago. If you don't, you won't be beaten for so many years in vain, and you won't know whether you are alive or dead in the end, and you will have to bear such an unpleasant reputation."
"But how can any mother be willing to give up her own child?"
"I can't bear to let my mother and I suffer together. It's better to go back to my parents' house and be able to take care of the children."
"Second brother." You are so kind. Gu Nanfeng has always known that men like to speak for men the most. No matter how bad they treat their wives and husbands, they still expect their wives and husbands to be virtuous and run the house, without being considerate of others.
"What are you calling me for?" Gu Nanfeng stopped talking after calling someone. Mei Qingshan looked over and saw someone immersed in picking white grass. He had no intention of speaking again. He just smiled without saying anything, holding his hand. The movement continued, and the few strips just now took the shape of a bamboo fence.
Even in summer, it was very cool under the bamboo forest. The two of them didn't talk much after that, and just concentrated on the work in hand. After a while, Gu Nanfeng finished picking the two bundles of white grass in his hand and prepared to Go back and bring the rest with you.
When he came back, there was a little tail behind him. Aunt Mei asked Mei Xiaomei to tell Gu Nanfeng to stop cooking dinner and go home for dinner in the afternoon.
Today we made Angelica Pig's Knuckle Soup at home. Although the soup was made for Father Mei, there was no way that Father Mei could eat it by himself. Naturally, the whole family had a share.
With Mei Qingshan here, as soon as Mei Xiaomei asked, he helped Gu Nanfeng agree, and then called Mei Xiaomei to go to the kitchen and bring back the remaining fungi in the basket, but Mei Xiaomei refused. .
"No! I want to play here." The little girl folded her arms and tilted her head. The stubby whiskers on her head were shaking non-stop. From a distance, they looked quite beautiful, like tassels.
While the little girl was talking, she had already started to roll up her sleeves and trouser legs. She looked like she was going to play in the ditch.
Children's favorite thing is to play with water, not only in summer, but also in winter. The coldness can't stop their enthusiasm for water at all.
The large ditch under the bamboo forest is not very fast in this section due to the flat terrain and wide ditch surface. The water is not deep, only reaching a person's ankles. Mei Qingshan didn't worry about her sister being washed away by the water or getting her clothes wet, so she left alone.
When Mei Xiaomei came, it was not yet noon. After playing for half an hour, she couldn't stay any longer and went home.
After that, the two of them worked for a while. After Gu Nanfeng finished sorting the white grass in his hand, he took the hoe from home and prepared to dig out the prototype of a small ditch that would be diverted to raise ducks.
"Nanfeng, please stop working. It's very tiring to dig the soil and raw soil. My eldest brother and I can do this work for you in one day. You might as well go back first and help my mother cook."
"It's still early to make dinner." Gu Nanfeng refused to listen. He was about to jump off the ridge and cross the ditch with his hoe, but Mei Qingshan grabbed him by the corner of his clothes.
"Second brother, what are you doing? Let me go. I'm not an ordinary brother. I'm used to farm work. I can do it." Gu Nanfeng struggled, but Mei Qingshan didn't let go. He even used force on his hand to pull it away. The person was dragged back.
"It's still early to cook, so go and ask my mother-in-law to teach you how to tie shoe soles to make clothes. I can't help you with these tasks. You have to make your autumn and winter clothes yourself." Feeling Gu Nanfeng's pause, Mei Qingshan put his hand After letting go, he looked at Gu Nanfeng's face again, and sure enough he saw a look of tangle and annoyance on his face.
Gu Nanfeng really didn't know how to make women's clothes. He had to help the family with the work when he was ten years old. He had no time to learn women's fashion. However, his third brother was very good at women's fashion. He could not only make clothes and shoes, but also embroider.
He is just like a grown man, he only knows how to do menial work, but he doesn't know anything that a brother should do.
Gu Nanfeng was thinking about making clothes before, but now that he mentioned it, he wanted to take advantage of Mei Aniang's free time to go over and learn. If you don’t study now, your home will be empty in a few days.
It's time to thresh millet soon. Once I start threshing millet, I have to be busy for half a month before I have some free time.
When Gu Nanfeng went to Mei's house, he indeed brought the pumpkins brought by the Chen family and his son. When he arrived at Mei's house, he happened to bump into Mei's mother making shoes. He thought it was a coincidence!
When Mei Aniang saw the pumpkin in Gu Nanfeng's hand, she naturally wanted to ask. As soon as Gu Nanfeng said that, Mei Aniang's face darkened. She took the pumpkin in his hand and threw it outside the yard. I stood at the gate of the courtyard and cursed for a long time.
"There is no shortage of food in our family, Nanfeng. From now on, you are not allowed to ask for anything from the evil-hearted filth!" Aunt Mei regarded Gu Nanfeng as her own child, so she naturally didn't have to worry about him and just treated him as her own child. People threw things away.
Gu Nanfeng had never doubted Mei Qingshan's words before, but now that he saw Mei Aniang acting like this, he felt even more annoyed. If he had known earlier, he should not have caused trouble for those fungi in the first place.
Seeing the annoyance on Gu Nanfeng's face, Mei Aniang talked with people for a long time about the Chen family's affairs.
The words of the two mother and son were exactly the same. After Gu Nanfeng told Aunt Mei the reason, Aunt Mei patted Gu Nanfeng's hand and comforted: "Son, I can't blame you for this. You are kind-hearted. Those few The child is indeed so pitiful.”
After the dispute in the Chen family was over, Gu Nanfeng and Mei Aniang asked for advice from Nv Hong. Mei Aniang was happy to teach Gu Nanfeng these things, and the two of them got busy. It wasn't until the sun slowly reached the west that they reacted. Come over and start cooking quickly.
"Fortunately, the pig's feet have been stewed long ago, otherwise today's meal would not be available until dusk." Mei Aniang smiled and hurriedly washed the rice and cooked the rice. After that, she was busy and continued to give instructions. Gu Nanfeng, I need some ideas for wearing the soles of my shoes.
In fact, you don't need to be very dexterous to put the soles on, you just need to have strength and patience. It's not like embroidery. You don't have that talent. You have to be exhausted to embroider something like it.
While the two of them were busy cooking, the two Mei brothers were also busy in Gu Nanfeng's back room.
When Mei Dahe came down from the mountain, he carried a load of wooden stakes on his back. There were probably more than a hundred of those wooden stakes. Each of them was two meters long and as thick as his wrist. One end had been cut into a sharp point. When he drove the piles to the ground, he convenient.
After Mei Dahe arrived, he went straight to digging ditches. He couldn't weave fences and could only do hard work. Even if his younger brother asked him to go home first, he didn't stop.
He thought to himself, it would be better if the ditch was removed as soon as possible. He would be busy in a few days, but there would be no time.
The two brothers worked there for a whole day and didn't go home until dark. It was Gu Nanfeng and Mei Xiaomei who called him home after several calls.
Farmers are like this. When they start working, they are eager to do a little more so that they can save some time for doing other things tomorrow.
Nowadays, we just work until dark. When it comes time to thresh grain, we have to work under the stars and the moon. Taking advantage of the perfect moonlight at night, we are still busy at midnight.
