happy event

Chapter 21
Dong Rong was carefully hiding the banknotes in her chest pocket, when for some reason she suddenly felt a faint burning sensation behind her.She turned around suspiciously, and saw that Sha Zhu was already fast asleep.So he shook his head to get rid of the strangeness in his heart, blowing on the light and closing his clothes, and fell asleep.

At some point, the bright and mischievous moonlight came in through the cracks in the window, and it happened that the man stretched out his broad palm and gently held the slender fingers of the woman beside him...

As if in a blink of an eye, the solar term has entered May, and the cherry tree growing in the sunny place secretly matured at some point, and the bright red cherries are hidden among the green leaves, shy and beautiful.Occasionally, one or two short-tempered apricot trees are also covered with yellow and orange fruits, grinning and swaying on the branches, causing a group of children to slobber and circle around not far away, but they dare not Pick it up.

Finally, that naughty boy couldn't bear his greed, and pretended to fall and hit a tree trunk and knocked down a few apricots. Unfortunately, before he could pick them up, his friends took advantage of the fire and robbed him.Tao Boy was impatient, and chased after him wiping his nose, leaving behind the old man who was thrown out after hearing the sound, laughing and cursing.

Farmers live in poverty, and these small fruits have long been placed with high hopes. Once they are ripe, they will be picked up in a basket and sold in the city. Thirty to fifty copper coins are enough for the family to spend on oil and salt for a month.Of course, in another half a month, every family's fruit will be ripe, and this thing will become a cheap thing. Children can climb up the tree and eat whatever they want.

On this day, Dong Rong saw someone selling wild strawberries on the street, so she bought half a basket and came back, intending to teach everyone how to make fruit shaved ice.No, but sister-in-law Qiu smiled and brought a bowl of brightly colored cherry shaved ice to her to show her merits.Surprised, Dong Rong secretly lamented the infinite wisdom of the working people, and then very straightforwardly raised the wages of Qiu's sister-in-law, and at the same time called Shazhu to help move out the things that had been prepared earlier.

In a few days, it will be the Dragon Boat Festival. There is a custom of steaming rice dumplings near Qingxian County.

Dong Rong is not mean and stingy, and she is used to giving benefits during festivals in modern times, so a few days ago, she ordered a hundred catties of glutinous rice and a few cans of candied dates at the grain store, just waiting to distribute them to everyone for fun.

Seeing the white glutinous rice and sweet candied dates, Mrs. Liu was so happy that she rubbed her hands and didn't know what to say. Of course, the owner who didn't know where was was greatly appreciated.In the end, when they went out to sell goods, they became more attentive and hardworking. The men pushed the wheelbarrows under their hands quickly and steadily, and the women also stretched their necks and sang loudly and melodiously.

Since the Buddha's birthday, the people of Qing County have become accustomed to the sound of hawking in the streets and alleys, and it has become a routine to wake up from a nap and eat a bowl of shaved ice to relieve the heat. Restaurants and teahouses even use refrigerators to cool down as a gimmick to attract customers.

As a result, Dong Rong's ice business is booming day by day, sometimes counting copper coins at night until midnight, which is a veritable hand cramp when counting money.

But even though she was tired, Dong Rong was still beaming with joy. There was no other reason. Finally, she had enough money to buy the orchard.

That night, she put aside all chores, happily scooped two bowls of fine flour ground from new wheat, cracked an egg and half a bowl of warm water, kneaded it into balls, rolled them into thin slices, and cut them into thin slices with the clanging of kitchen knives. Sier.When the water in the pot is boiling, sprinkle it in, cook it strong and springy, and finally fish it into a large blue and white porcelain bowl, and then serve it with blanched tender wild vegetables and half-fried meat sauce. At first glance, it is really white, green and tender, and it is fragrant after sniffing.Sha Zhu ate too much to talk, even Dong Ping forgot to be gentle, rolled up his sleeves, and praised him again and again.

For chefs, diners' empty bowls are the best compliment.Seeing that the two closest to her in this world were eating so sweetly, Dong Rong whetted her appetite and ate a bowl full.

After the meal, the three of them cleaned up the dishes and sat under the big tree in the yard to enjoy the cool with their chubby bellies in their arms.Sha Zhu was probably tired from carrying ice cubes during the day, so he half-closed his eyes and leaned against the back of the chair to take a nap.Dong Rong gently shook the cattail fan to drive away the mosquitoes for him, and occasionally turned her head to whisper a few words to her younger brother.

Dong Ping raised his head, felt the evening wind blowing across his forehead, and felt that he had never had such a comfortable life since he was sensible.He couldn't help sighing comfortably, and said, "Sister, it would be great if life could be like this forever."

Dong Rong smiled lightly, touched his shoulder pitifully, and said, "Don't worry, with my sister here, the days to come can only be better."

Dong Ping heard this, but there was a flash of worry and deep thought in the depths of his eyes.The corners of his mouth moved, as if he wanted to say something, but in the end he said, "Okay, as long as Elder Sister is happy."

Dong Rong was thinking about asking sister-in-law Liu to deliver some food to Cao's family tomorrow, but she didn't pay attention to her younger brother's strangeness, so she asked, "I prepared five catties of japonica rice and a piece of fat meat for our family's festival, and you can help me deliver them tomorrow." Go back. If Mrs. Niu finds fault, ignore her. I will send you to the academy after this busy month. At that time, the ears will be completely clean. Also, Aunt Cao treated me well, and I will also give her a gift. Ask me one more question, if Cousin Lu and Sister-in-law Du Juan are free, let them earn some wages."

When Dong Ping heard his sister talk about the stepmother, he remembered the "borrowed" capital, and quickly reminded, "Eldest sister, should I return Erniang's money?"

Dong Rong froze for a moment, then slapped her forehead with a final slap, secretly laughing that she was really a thief by nature, to have forgotten such an important thing.

"Of course you have to pay it back. You should stay at home tomorrow night and put the money back quietly while it's dark."

"Okay." Dong Ping was still a little afraid that his sister would come up with some weird ideas, but he was relieved after hearing this, and agreed with a smile.

The two siblings were talking lively, and no one noticed that Silly Zhu turned over and gestured towards the corner of the yard.There seemed to be a black shadow moving, but it quickly returned to its original state.

Gossiping for a while, the night was dark.Dong Rong yawned and told her younger brother not to study too late, and then coaxed Sha Zhu back to the wing to sleep.

The next morning, without waiting for the sky to brighten, sister-in-law Liu and the others rushed to the small courtyard.It turned out that they brought japonica rice and candied dates back yesterday, and they were envied by countless neighbors.The elders in the family are all kind by nature, and they are also told to work hard, so that they can be worthy of the kindness of the master.So, everyone discussed it and went out half an hour earlier, thinking that it would be enough to help clean up the ice cellar.

Everyone was kind, but Dong Rong was in trouble.Where there is an ice cellar in the backyard to clean up, she and Dong Ping got up in the middle of the night to make every box of ice.But she couldn't tell the truth, so she racked her brains to find some small jobs to carry water or clean the yard.These days, everyone has seen that Dong Rong handles things with a degree, can write and calculate, and they are very convinced of her. Hearing that she has no objection to the assignment, they smiled and picked up the carrying pole and broom and got busy.

Dong Rong secretly breathed a sigh of relief, but before she raised her hand to wipe the cold sweat off her forehead, she remembered another headache.Since everyone in the village knows that everyone has received the ceremony, but Mrs. Cao and Elder Sister Cao have not seen half a grain of rice, why should they kill them immediately given their mother and daughter's temperament?

As the old saying goes, bad people and bad things can't help but talk about it.Dong Rong was thinking in this way, and the two wooden doors in the small courtyard were photographed "booming".Sister Cao's sharp voice came in through the crack of the door, "Open the door, open the door! Why are you closing the door so tightly in the early morning? Is there something shameful?"

Dong Rong rolled her eyes fiercely, waved her hand to stop Sister-in-law Liu who was about to go forward, and then went to the door herself and pulled the latch.Sister Cao was very happy to come together with her mother to find trouble for her younger brother and daughter-in-law, and she tried her best to knock on the door. She didn't want the door to be opened suddenly, and she staggered and fell into the yard, falling like a dog.

Sister-in-law Liu and the others didn't like her usually being lazy and bragging about her family's rich temper. Seeing her make a fool of herself, they all laughed and mocked, "Yo, big sister, come as you say, come as you want. Kneeling and kowtowing? It's not a festival, everyone can't afford it."

"That's right, I don't usually see that the elder sister is such a polite person. Could it be that the younger sister-in-law who is married to the book is also affected by the spiritual energy?"

Sister Cao's face was flushed with anger, she got up and shouted, "You don't even look at what you are, and you are worthy of me to kowtow to you! Hurry up and go to work, our Cao family's wages are not in vain given!"

Everyone was choked so angry that they wanted to refute a few words, but when they turned their heads and looked at Mrs. Cao who also walked in from outside the courtyard with a dark face, they felt that it was not good to cause Dong Rong any more trouble.So they were busy packing up the carts and other things, and quickly hid out.

Elder Sister Cao felt that it was very majestic to drink away the crowd, her chin was so high that she wished she could go up to the sky, she swaggered to the stone table and sat down and shouted, "Sister Rong, quickly cook some good food and bring it here, my mother and I have not yet Let's have breakfast."

Dong Rong ignored her, bowed her head to salute Mrs. Cao, and said, "Mother, why are you and eldest sister here? But something is going on at home?"

Mrs. Cao snorted coldly and said, "Why can't I come? If you don't come to see me, my son will lose all his hard-earned money."

Dong Rong frowned, feeling really impatient in her heart, but she managed to hold back and didn't attack.After thinking about it, she went to the stove, brought the warm breakfast in the pot and delivered it to the stone table.When Sister Cao saw the white steamed bun, she immediately reached out and grabbed one and bit it hard, almost rolling her eyes from choking.Seeing this, Mrs. Cao scolded Dong Rong, "What are you standing there for, hurry up and serve your elder sister a bowl of porridge, Shun Shun."

Dong Rong gritted her teeth and stepped forward to add more porridge for their mother and daughter. Just as she put down the spoon, Dong Ping and Sha Zhu, who were busy in the backyard, also rushed over.Dong Ping bent down to say hello to Mrs. Cao, barely getting a cold snort, but Zhu Zi didn't know why he was angry, so he just stood beside Dong Rong stupidly, and had no intention of saluting at all.

Sister Cao gnawed at the steamed buns and scolded her younger brother, "Look at your stupidity, why don't you know how to salute when you see our mother? It was better before, why are you getting more and more stupid these days, could it be that someone led you into trouble? "As she spoke like this, a pair of dead fish eyes swept over Dong Rong's sister and brother, and the meaning was self-evident.

Dong Ping was so angry that his face turned black and he didn't want to argue with her, but Dong Rong didn't want to bear it any longer.It was obvious that the mother and daughter were coming to the door from weasels, and they had no good intentions.Even if she pays homage to it, it won't do well, and maybe they will think that she is easy to bully.Besides, sister-in-law Liu and the others have all gone out to sell ice bowls, and there is no need to worry about spreading the reputation of being unfilial and disobedient except for her younger brother.

Thinking of this, she also turned cold, and suppressed her temper. She waited until Mrs. Cao and his wife swept away the breakfast like a storm, and then she stepped forward and said, "Tell me, what are you doing here today? If you are gossip, you don't need it. We still have work to do!"

(End of this chapter)