Rebirth Farmhouse

Chapter 50

Old Liutou asked everyone to eat quickly, and after the meal, those who were pushing the mill, and those who were going to invite a new mill, went quickly. In short, they had to quickly set up the mill without delaying work.

Mrs. Yao was rare on the new-style millstone, and she asked to be in charge of the millstone. After eating, she turned it flickeringly, making her laugh continuously.

Mrs. Li heard it from behind, and said to Mrs. Chen: "This second daughter-in-law laughs so loudly that it can't beat the braying of the donkey. I don't know how to be subtle."

Chen Shi pursed her lips and said happily, "Mother, the second sister-in-law is very happy. She is annoying and slow on weekdays, and always stops to clean. This will save trouble, and it is fast and good. She doesn't need help from others."

I have worked hard all day, and each has my own harvest. I used to grind 500 catties a day, but now I can weigh more than [-] catties. I still have to take care of the animals.

And the uncles also found several groups of millstones, and some people even heard that Lao Liu's family wanted to hire new millstones, and they took the initiative to send news that there were idle ones in their village. After collecting the news, there were a total of ten or so millstones. Go and have a look and buy the most suitable one.

Although it is not used by others, it is not so easy to ask for grinding, and the expenses are also very high. Old Liutou carefully counted the money at home, and what he could use was enough to buy two sets.

Xiuyao knew about it, and said quietly to Li Shi: "Grandma, the money that my mother gave last time, you take it out and give it to grandpa."

Mrs. Li shook her head and said in a low voice: "That money can't be touched, who knows who it is, if we run into it again, I can return it to them, so as not to have any quarrels."

Xiuyao said: "Grandmother, it's okay, people won't want it."

Mrs. Li glanced at her, her face was a little serious, and she said solemnly: "Yaoyao, do you have something to hide from your lord?"

Xiuyao hurriedly explained: "Grandmother, no, no, last time my second sister and I actually met someone, my second sister wanted flowers, I saw sweet potatoes and asked for a few, not for nothing What I want is to use your grandma's pancakes in exchange, your pancakes are so fragrant, people say they are delicious." As she spoke, she repeated the story she had made up with her second sister, and she believed the lie a thousand times.

Li Shi was skeptical when she heard it, but since Xiuxian was with her, she was not worried, that girl would not lie.She had asked the old man to inquire about it before, why didn't she inquire about the scandals caused by some people in Shahe Village?I thought those people might be from another village.

After her daughter told her before, Mrs. Li asked the old man to keep an eye on him quietly, to inquire about what happened to someone in Shahe Village recently, who knew that he didn't inquire about anything, and only said that there were gangsters fighting, isn't it? Serious people, that's what happens from time to time.

So Lao Liutou didn't inquire any more.

Listening to what Xiuyao said now, that bloody little gangster is also a permanent resident of Shahe Village?Still living on the side of the road?How could I not have heard of it before?

Mrs. Li muttered in her heart, and became a little worried. Should the old man take his sons to have a look, and return the money to others by the way, so that the little gangster knows that their family is not easy to bully and wants to make trouble also can not.

But hearing what Xiuyao said, she was very kind. She asked where the person lived, and Xiuyao said, "It's just an old woman on the side of the road. My second sister saw that the flowers in the old woman's house were blooming well, and wanted to let others ask for seeds. I saw sweet potatoes, and that... person was there, and I said to pay him back, but he refused, and then exchanged sweet potatoes for cakes, and gave me another five cents."

As she said that, she took out the money from her pocket and handed it to grandma. She told Liu Shi quietly before that Liu Shi asked her to keep it and send it to grandma's house to hide for later use.

When Li Shi saw it, she was also dumbfounded, and she couldn't help saying angrily: "You girl, sometimes you are very courageous. With so much money, you carry it with you like this. How about losing one of them."

As she spoke, she took out the money box, and took out a purse with black ground and red flowers, which contained the silver that Liu Shi gave her, and she put the five cents of silver in it, and said to Xiuyao with a smile: "wait for you The family is separated, and when the time comes, I can take it back and buy a lot of things."

Xiuyao giggled, it seems that mother and grandma are not as obedient as they appear on the surface.

She hugged her grandma's arm and said, "Grandma, why don't you give it to grandpa, let him buy a few more mills, and then go to the Daqing River in the south to buy some land and build a mill there."

Mrs. Li was startled by her, her eyes widened, and she looked at her in disbelief, "Oh my mother, you little girl, you have a big heart, and you still want to buy land. What do you want? What do you want?" To be a landlord?"

Xiuyao giggled and said, "Grandma, my grandfather is a landlord, and I am also a minor landlord."

Mrs. Li laughed, "That's not okay, I'll leave it to you to separate."

Xiuyao hurriedly said: "Grandma, we don't know when we will split up. Now it is used by grandpa. When we split up, can my grandpa not help our family?"

Li Shi was right when she thought about it, she said with a smile: "You child, how can we bear to see you suffer, there is no way to separate the family, and if the family is separated, your grandfather will not play like this." After the family is separated, Old Liutou would never bring such things to his daughter's house like he does now.

Xiuyao pressed the purse, "Grandmother, you said that too, what are you worried about, use it for my grandpa."

Mrs. Li was still a little hesitant, "If someone asks, it's hard to tell." If it is said that it was borrowed money, and people ask who borrowed it, everyone is a close neighbor, and they know everything when they ask, so you can't lie.

However, it is impossible for others to know how much money the family has, but my brothers can't hide it, and when the family was separated, those old brothers knew very well who had what.If it is suddenly taken out now, it will make people think that the old man is hiding something.

After thinking about it, Mrs. Li came up with a good solution. She told Xiuyao not to tell anyone about the money, so as not to cause complications. Xiuyao wished that no one would know about it.

Mrs. Li went to Lao Liutou to discuss with him.

Old Liutou was wondering whether to buy a few sets of mills. He thought that the old woman would ask him to talk about something unimportant and told her to wait. He said to his two sons: "If it is not possible, we can sell two acres of land. Slowly."

The uncle hurriedly said: "Father, we can't sell the land. We have to find another way. It really doesn't work. Let's find relatives to make money first. The mill is busy all day, and the money will be returned quickly."

The second uncle said: "But I feel that if I want to buy things, I will spend a lot of money. It is expensive. If I want to get back the money, I'm afraid it will take a long time to get back the money. Dad, why don't we just buy two sets? Do it like this. After two Think again next year."

Mrs. Chen, who was serving tea and pipes at the side, heard it and said, "Father, I think if we want to get it as soon as possible, if it's late, maybe something will happen."

There are always those who are jealous and want to learn when they see it. Even if they learn it, they can't do the old Liu's family, and they can't make a fortune, but they will always add trouble to the old Liu's family and steal the business.

It's better to buy it early, so as to expand business and attract more people to grind noodles. It won't be like in the past when someone wants to grind noodles and has to wait for several days. Now if you grind too much, you can get it back in a day or two at most.If there are weddings and funerals and those who are in a hurry to use the noodles, there will be no delay.

The most gratifying thing is that the noodles that are now ground are thinner, and the noodles that are made the second time are whiter and more beautiful, which is a level that the roller cannot achieve.

According to word of mouth among the folks, there must be more people rushing to grind the noodles, so that there will be more business. If you don’t prepare a few more sets of mills, the rotation will not start, and it will easily delay things.

The second uncle glanced at her, "Sister-in-law, our family doesn't have enough money."

Mrs. Chen thought for a while, hesitated for a moment, and said, "How about this? I still have a few pieces of jewelry, pawn them for emergency."

The uncle immediately said: "Pull it down quickly, even if we buy less, we don't need your dowry."

Generally, as long as the family can still afford food, the daughter-in-law's dowry is in her own hands, and she can spend it as she pleases. The husband's family will not spend it. If it is spent, it will be said that the daughter-in-law is harsh, I can't afford to support my daughter-in-law and live on the daughter-in-law's dowry money.

Uncle doesn't want to be stabbed in the back.

In fact, poor people don’t pay much attention to it. The family can’t have enough to eat. The sons live with the elderly regardless of the family. Private houses are not allowed to have private money, and the dowry has no good things. Basically, those who can subsidize the family should be given out. of.For example, in Old Qin's family, Liu's dowry has long been taken away by Zhang.

But Lao Liu's family has not yet reached that level, so the uncle refused, and neither did the grandfather and the second uncle.

At this time, Mrs. Li came in and said, "I have some jewelry here, take mine."

Mrs. Chen hurriedly said: "Mother, how can I use yours." The two sons also disagreed.

After pushing the mill, Mrs. Yao came to look for the second uncle, and listened to the news by the way. Seeing what they said, she smiled and said: "What's wrong? Isn't this family owned by our women? I think since mother and sister-in-law are willing, I naturally also Don’t hide it, I also have two, let’s take them out and buy them together.”

The man still refused, but the old Liutou suddenly said: "Zhong, that's it, I will add new ones for you when I make money."

Yao said happily, "That's a good thing, and I've made money."

It was decided, Li Shi asked her sons and daughters-in-law to go to bed, she pulled Lao Liutou to the bedroom, took out the silver, and said, "Xiuyao told you to use this."

Xiuyao rolled her eyes, nodded and said yes, and Lao Liutou laughed, "What nonsense are you talking about, can this money be used?"

Mrs. Li had revealed a little bit to him before, and he also knew that he refused to use the money, saying that it would be reserved for his daughter after the separation.

Xiuyao said anxiously: "Grandpa, my mother said, you can use it, can you count us as part of it?" Besides, the grandpa's family has spent the money, and when the Qin family really splits up, will they just ignore it?

Participate?If you want to do something in the countryside, the family often can't get together the money, and it's often several families together. Every year, there are spring cows and people who walk on stilts during the New Year.

Old Liu thought for a moment, then said with a smile, "Medium!"

It hit it off immediately, and when he had the money, Lao Liutou immediately took someone to do it. On the other hand, the uncle found a guarantor to estimate the value of the few pieces of silver jewelry that he had put together. I have to go to the pawnshop to pawn, and some of the money will be taken away by others.

This is generally the case in rural areas. If you encounter problems, you will negotiate by yourself. If you can avoid being drawn or benefited by the government or businessmen, you can avoid it. Just hire a guarantor that everyone can trust. This is convenient and saves money. , and due to the sympathy of the neighbors, unless it is a big conflict, it is rarely torn apart.

Soon Lao Liutou's family bought all the six plates, and when the time comes, they will also use the water mill for modification, so there is no waste.The third grandpa over there also brought people to help catch up with the work day and night, and here they invited people to choose a day rather than hit the sun. On the same day, they burned incense before grinding the plates, and then worshiped the statue of Grandpa Luban and offered incense.

Afterwards, more than a dozen people used sticks and hands to help lift the terribly heavy grinder down first, then pried the grinder up with sticks, and supported it with wooden sticks on both sides, and then Push it out slowly.

The grinding plate weighs more than a thousand catties, if it fails to fall over and hit someone, it will be ruthless, so Lao Liutou and the others are very careful, and keep telling them to be careful, don't let go casually.

More than a dozen people cautiously, and the uncle yelled, "Go one, two, three! Go one, two, three! Take a break, go one, two, three! Stop, there is a small hole, go one, two, three! Stop! We're at the door , Be careful paving stones."

Everyone worked together and finally pushed the grinding plate over, where the location had already been selected, and the grinding platform was also built.They worked together to lift up the milling pan and sat on the milling platform.The rest of the rollers were small and heavy, but they were easy to move. Several people pulled the shaft with sticks and ropes and made the ground tremble.

Push it over, put the mound on it, and then put it all in place, hang the statue of Grandpa Luban, offer incense and offerings, Lao Liutou and everyone kowtow, and then it's over.

Then Lao Liu’s family began to install the newly invited millstones. The millstones used to take up a lot of space, but now the stone mills occupy a much smaller area. In the same place, four sets of stone mills are installed, and incense is put on each plate. The head led the family members to kowtow to offer offerings one by one, and then set off firecrackers.

The remaining stone mills are temporarily placed at the root of the south wall and used when the mill is expanded.

Mrs. Li has already led the woman to cook a table of dishes in the backyard, which is not only a reward for everyone's help, but also a welcome.

Because the men of the same family are all helping, there is no need for big plates and bowls to be grand, but home-cooked vegetables, pickles, a big jar of wine, and a basket of rolled cakes.

Everyone said that the cakes made by the Fourth Mother were the most delicious, and Xiuyao also knew now that the grandmother also wanted to save food. With so many men, if they eat dough rolls, they don’t know how much they have to eat, and the cakes can save some money .

People in the country always have neighbors or family members who are busy to help, and those who need a treat will have a meal when they are busy, and leave after eating, and each family has work, so they will not stay for too long to delay the family of myself and my fourth grandpa. work.

There were also good neighbors who came to congratulate and send some eggs, noodles, vegetables and so on. Mrs. Li thanked them one by one.

The third grandpa was also very efficient there. He worked all day and night for several days and nights, typed out the set of old Liutou's house, put it on the millstone, and it could work after a little adjustment.

With such an improvement, the backlog of wheat waiting to be milled was taken away almost within two days, and the flour became smoother. Everyone was surprised and delighted, and more people came to the old Liu family mill to grind wheat.

If you get busy, not only the two donkeys have to work, but even the men have to go to the battle to grind the mill. This kind of busy work can almost grind all the wheat harvested that day, and some people can even get it right away—this is what the old Liutou said. Rules made by those who doubt that the mill will give less dough.

Let them see, it's time to wait, the flour and bran they get is the same as what they get later, and it will never exceed half a catty.

In this way, the reputation of Liujia Mill will be even better. Those who refused to come because they had to wait in line, or suspected that they would be short-changed, and those who refused to come because they were too rough, now all come to the door. Grind it.

There is an even bigger reason—Lao Liutou lowered the price of the mill, which was suggested by Xiuyao. Since the production efficiency has been improved, the price must be lowered accordingly, so as to win the hearts of customers. After all, the mill is nothing Monopolizing the industry, it is okay for people not to come.

But comparing all kinds of conditions, it is definitely cheaper to come here to grind the mill than at home, so why not come here.

With such a busy job, Lao Liutou is free, and his sons, daughters-in-law and grandchildren don't need his help.

The eldest uncle brought Liu Fei from the second uncle's family to take charge of one set of mills, the second aunt drove a donkey to take charge of one set, the second uncle and son Liu Sheng took charge of one set, and Liu Qi and his wife drove the other donkey to take charge of the remaining set. .

Everyone made some adjustments to make it easier, especially Liu Fei, who is still a little stone and he is not very comfortable with the cabinet, so he thought about making some changes to make it more usable.

Early in the morning, Old Liutou wanted to try the new-style stone mill, so he could enjoy it, but no one would give him the mill, so he could only complain to Xiuyao.

"You said it's not a good thing. It's exhausting to push a mill. I'm not allowed to help. It's true."

Xiuyao was taking care of her sweet potatoes, she said with a smile: "Master, they are filial to you, some people think that they can't get it."

Old Liutou knew it too, so he laughed half complaining and half complacently, "Well, your grandfather and I don't brag about anything else. I dare to say this. Your uncles, concubines, brothers and sisters-in-law are all very filial."

Seeing Xiuyao's thoughts on it, he couldn't help being curious, and went up to help Xiuyao spray water, and Qin Yang said: "Grandpa, be careful, don't break it, that's all, it's okay if it's broken." It’s just a big sweet potato.”

Old Liu heyed and slapped him, "You kid, how can your grandpa be more careless than you?"

Qin Yang chuckled, touched his head, and wanted to bite his finger again, thinking that Xiuyao would not allow it, he scratched his face instead.

(End of this chapter)