Go back to the valley to farm

Chapter 5
At that time, Lord Shenqing set off from Pan'ao Township, and was successful in the examinations all the way. He was a Jinshi in high school, and then became an official in the court, and the Li family in Pan'ao Township also rose from this.

Since Pan'ao is located at the key point of the salt road, the salt in Sichuan has reached the end of the waterway and has been transported by caravans. Therefore, it has become a large transshipment area, where merchants converge and land and water are disturbed.

After Shen Qing announced that he was returning to his hometown, he couldn't stand the noise, so he took his family and hid in Lijiagou Village and lived a semi-reclusive life.

The Li family in Pan'ao Township was thus divided into two families. One family continued to be a land tiger in Pan'ao Township under the leadership of Lord Shen Qin, and his descendants operated wharves, freight, stores, etc.; Heirs to the family, the descendants go to the imperial court to become an official all the way.

According to the direction of the Wuxi River, the branch of Shenqinggong is called "Shanghe Li", and the branch of Shenqingong is called "Xiahe Li".

In the feudal era, the two sects depended on each other and helped each other. In fact, it was a symbiotic relationship. The Li family in Shanghe received financial support from the Li family in Xiahe, and the children could concentrate on studying.The Li family in Xiahe was taken care of by the sons of the Li family in Shanghe who were in office, so they could get more convenience in business.

It was not until modern times that the relationship between the two sects gradually weakened. Except that the genealogy was still a book, most of the rest of the time, at the teahouse during the market, I heard the elders of the two sects chatting and wondered which branch was more important in the clan. Only when this question was debated red-faced could one know the context of the relationship between the two cases.

Back to the gossip, after passing Shenqingfang, even if you have entered the core area of ​​the village, the center of the small plain is the ancestral hall of the Li family with white walls and blue tiles, and in front of the ancestral hall is a large threshing field.Shi Bao's family is near the ancestral hall, and the two bid farewell to each other here.

Li Junge continued along the Qingshi Avenue, passed the village, and crossed a few dirt ridges at the end, and came to a large pond. The pond was more than four acres, which was not small in the countryside.

On the left hand side of the pond, there is a rectangular frame made of bundled bamboos floating on the water. A middle-aged woman is standing by the pond, throwing green grass from a large basket beside her into the water. It seems that she is feeding the water. It was Li Junge's wife Shi Sufen who fed the grass carp.

Seeing someone coming, Shi Sufen looked up and saw that it was Li Junge. She couldn't help being happy, threw down the grass, and while wiping her hands on the blue cloth apron, she shouted loudly: "Yaoba! Yaowa! Why are you back?! Oh, you back!" Shiwa'er! I didn't even know that I would call ahead to say something!"

Li Junge quickened his pace and trotted over, shouting loudly: "Mom!".Then I took my mother's hands and dangled, laughing silly there.

Shi Sufen drew out her right hand and slapped Li Junge on the shoulder, saying, "You son of a bitch, you haven't been back for several years! I miss your mother!" While pulling Li Junge home, she took out her phone and gave it to her. Husband calls.

"Wait a minute, the fish haven't been fed yet." Li Junge unloaded his backpack and threw it aside, went to the basket and started throwing fodder into the fish pond. "Hey! Grass carp has such big roots! Mom, hasn't this pond been cleared for a long time?"

Shi Sufen dialed the number and waited for the connection, while talking to her baby: "It's because you cleared it before you left home last time, and the fish collector came to see it twice, and only opened four yuan a catty, saying that the road is too far and it's not worth it. We The fish ponds at home are full of running water, and they eat grass, so what’s the difference between them and the wild ones? I can’t sell them for four yuan! You can save them for my son to eat!”

At this time the phone was connected, and Shi Sufen yelled into the phone again: "Come back, the dead ghost, Yaoer is back! What is sudden, you are not happy when Yaoer is back! Hurry up and get back from the teahouse, and save two games Cards are going to die!"

Most of the men in Shuzhou Province are worthy outsiders. After the fall of the Southern Song Dynasty, they supported it for decades. A few talents in the Sichuan Army refused to accept the softness of a gun in front of the well-equipped RB devils, but it happened to their own daughter-in-law In front of the son, he can bend down and be subdued, which is the so-called "ear raking".

"Hake" means "soft" in the dialect, and "hake's ears" means that the husband's ears have been pulled by his wife for a long time, and they are all pulled softly. It is a synonym for a man who is afraid of his wife.

Because of this characteristic, women in Shuzhou have also developed a delicate and aggressive temperament in front of their own men. Li Junge has long been accustomed to hearing his mother talking to his father like this.

At the end of the fish pond is a small dam, which is our own threshing ground, called "open dam".On the opposite side of the open dam is my own house, which is in a U-shaped structure, with three two-story red brick houses in the middle, and the main room is directly opposite, with a side room on the left and right, and stairs leading to the roof.

On the left side of the open dam is a large single-storey house with blue bricks and blue tiles. Inside is a toilet and a pigsty. There are two pigs lying in the pigsty. There are also a lot of places where various farm tools are piled up. There are all kinds of firewood and sundries.

On the right side of the open dam is the same large room, which is where the kitchen of Li Junge's family is located. The kitchen is a wood stove, and smoked meat products such as bacon sausages are hung above it.

Outside the pigsty house is a small flat land with three longan trees whose crowns are higher than the red brick building.The small flat area under the tree is surrounded by a low fence made of bamboo strips, and there are two or three calluses and more than a dozen chicken shells in it.

Behind the kitchen is a bathroom, and on the right are three lychee trees, which are also quite tall.The shape of the lychee tree is very beautiful. There is a stone table and four stone benches under the tree.

Both the lychee tree and the longan tree were planted when Li Junge's parents got married. Regardless of his age, Li Junge has to call them brothers.

There is still a bit of land between the fish pond and the open dam, and it is not vacant. There are two pepper plants, one sweet-scented osmanthus, and one arbor.

There are some messy flowers planted under the tree, such as Yueyuehong and a whip, which are really beautiful. Together with the three-compartment houses, they surround the open dam.

There was a tiled shed at the back of the whole house, which could be reached from the back door of the kitchen.

There is a cement floor under the tile shed. If you come out from the back door of the kitchen, you will see a refrigerator and a washing machine on the right hand side against the wall.

There is also a small wooden table with a rice cooker, a cutting board, and a kitchen knife, and several buckets under it.

There are also some farm tools hanging on the red brick wall, as well as axes, saws, hatchets, electrician tools and the like.There is also a large area where various fishing gear of Li Junge are hung.

There are two stone water tanks, one large and one small, on the outside of the shed, one is three feet square, and the other is five feet square. Two rubber hoses lead spring water from the mountain into the water tanks. When the water tanks are full, they will automatically overflow into the ditch outside the shed. , bypasses the house, and finally flows into the fish pond in front of the house.

Next to the water tank are several earthen pottery kimchi jars, large and small, and a long concrete table with a large cutting board and a large kitchen knife, which are used to cut pigweed. There is a pile of green grass, green fodder such as sweet potato vines.It was the supper of poultry and livestock.

Under the concrete platform, there are various large and small pots.

Further back, behind the shed, there is a small hill, and a small stone road leads to it, which is the Chaishan Mountain of Li Junge's family.

After the mother and son finished throwing away the fish and grass, Shi Sufen carried the empty basket, and Li Junge carried his backpack, and they walked along the fish pond to their house together.

Grandma was sewing insoles under the eaves, and she had seen Li Junge a long time ago. When she saw him coming, she immediately grabbed the baby and shouted "good grandson", and stroked Li Junge's face with wrinkled hands.

After appeasing grandma, Shi Sufen went to pick vegetables in her own field, and the grandparent and grandson entered the main room.

In the middle of the main room is an Eight Immortals table, four benches, a teapot and several cups on the table.There are a few wooden chairs with backrests lined up along the wall on the left, and a cabinet on the right with several barrels of tea leaves and a water dispenser, and there are wine cups in the cabinet.

On the front wall is a wooden niche, with a sign in the middle, on which are written "heaven, earth, monarch, relative and teacher" in block letters, and the character "wei" is only a quarter of the size of other characters.

On the left and right sides of the wooden alcove, there are many red papers, on which are painted some gods and Taoist spells, which were brought back from the market by parents during the New Year's Day, and Li Junge could not understand them.

Below the wooden niche is an incense table, with an incense burner in the middle, filled with burnt incense stakes, a candle lighter next to the stove, and a candlestick on each side, which is still empty, with a plate outside each candlestick , one with fruit and one with candy.

There are small wooden doors on both sides of the main room leading to the left and right ear rooms. On the left is Li Junge’s grandma’s room, and on the right is Li Junge’s room. Grandma’s room has a big TV, and Li Junge’s room has a computer.

Upstairs are the parents' room and guest room.

Li Junge walked into his house and threw his backpack on the small sofa. When he came out, he had already changed into coarse clothes and liberation shoes, and immediately turned into a rural child. He lifted the lid of the teapot, saw that there was tea in it, and poured a cup. I drank it all in one gulp, "Yeah, Laoyin tea, it's delicious!"

Walking out of the main room, I saw my grandma was sewing insoles again, so I dragged a stool to chat with my grandma.

Grandma cared most about her grandson’s girlfriend. When she heard that she didn’t have it, she kept sighing, saying that she didn’t know if she could see Momo. Hearing that Li Junge couldn’t sit still, and seeing some fallen leaves in the open dam, she grabbed The broom by the wall began to sweep the open dam.

Just after sweeping the dam, Li Junge's father, Li Siqi, came back. He first said to his grandma, "Mom, I'm back." Then he turned his head and couldn't take his eyes off Li Junge.

Li Junge also stood up, and respectfully said to his father, "I'm back, Dad."

This is the family tradition passed down by Mr. Shen Qing, and it is the same in every family in Lijiagou, "When you go out, you must report, and when you return, you must meet."

After these rules, the father and son relaxed. Li Junge went to the main room to bring out the tea, and sat next to grandma, drinking tea and chatting with his father.

After chatting for a while, Shi Sufen came back with a basket beside her, which contained loofah, eggplant, water spinach and other seasonal vegetables, looked at the father and son and said, "Stop chatting, it's time to feed the pigs and cook. Yaowa went to get two fish in the pond, and Waer didn't call in advance when reciting, and the family was not prepared."

Li Junge said with a smile: "Fresh vegetables and live water fish at home are good. I often feel flustered in Yuzhou. I can't do it. I have to get two quickly. I will eat the pickled fish made by my mother tonight!" He ran to the back of the house, ready to fetch fishing gear.

Shi Sufen laughed and said: "Hahaha, every time my son comes home, he's always hungry. It's the same as when he was a child. Let's get two bigger ones today. Eat less and eat more fish tonight!"

(End of this chapter)