farmhouse ditty

Chapter 9 Laundry by the River
Dirt pits, waterways, and the upper and lower villages lead to each other. It's strange to say that they don't get along for a long time.

This little tune is sung by everyone in Shangyang Village and Xiayang Village. The Tukeng refers to the Tukeng Road at the head of Xiayang Village, and the waterway is the big river on the edge of Shangyang Village. Like this humming tune Every village has a song, each with its own differences.

It is said that Shangyang Village is very nourished by the big river. The fish and shrimp in the river are picked up in baskets. Not only can they be sold for money, but they are also very fresh.

And Xiayang Village is next to a small mountain stream, so there is nothing to be fished, and the dirt road at the entrance of the village cannot even be used by wheeled vehicles.

But there are also good ones down there. The river water in Shangyang Village is not good to drink, and it is muddy when scooped up against the bank, unlike the stream water in Xiayang Village, which all comes down from the mountain stream, and it is completely cool to drink. It's still a little sweet, just like the elders in the village said, just pour this water, and don't go to Shangyang Village to dig a well to drink the muddy mud if you give it much money.

While explaining the reason for this ditty to Xiuniang, Mrs. Wu led Xiuniang along the edge of the stream. She was wearing cloth shoes, and she was not too slippery when stepping on the pebbles with bright water. The stone pier is washed by the water, and when the sun shines, it is bright and very white.

Xiu Niang walked, found a good place, pointed down with a wooden basin, "Sister-in-law Liu, I think this is very good, let's wash it here..."

Mrs. Liu glanced back, and waved her hands tightly, "Hey~~~ It's okay, I washed it here, and people saw it and scolded me."

Xiu Niang blinked in confusion, "What's wrong, Sixth Sister-in-law, haven't we arrived at Xiaoxi..."

Mrs. Liu didn't wait for her to finish speaking, she went up to hold her hand and went down. After passing a stone slope, Mrs. Liu asked her to look at it by herself.

Xiu Niang changed the side of the wooden basin, turned around and took a closer look, and saw a big puddle under the creek, which was washed out by the stream flowing down all the year round, and the water was stored in it, and it continued to flow down / flow.

Mrs. Liu gave Xiu Niang a little slap, "Look, everyone in the village points here to fetch water to drink. You go up there to wash your clothes, and you won't be scolded if you see it."

Xiu Niang nodded and said with a smile, "Xie Liusao, it's good that you stop me, otherwise I don't know why I was scolded."

Mrs. Liu said lightly, "Hey, thank you for that, just pay more attention. Come on, girl, let's go on and wash off at the place below."

Xiu Niang responded and followed Mrs. Liu. Before she had gone a few steps, she saw someone pick up two wooden buckets to fetch water. Mrs. Liu said hello and left, and Xiu Niang also smiled. Seeing her carrying a wooden basin, the man smiled but his eyes were staring, looking to see if the clothes in her basin were dry or wet.

The two of them passed by above, and the man definitely wanted to take a look at it, so Xiu Niang simply turned the tub to the front and hugged it, so that the man could see clearly, so as not to say what happened to her washing clothes on the creek later. of.

At the bottom, there were four or five women gathered by the stream, washing and washing clothes there. Mrs. Liu greeted first, "Hey, look, it's not cold today, what are you guys doing nestling together?"

Among those few people, two just smiled with Mrs. Liu, and the remaining three probably made good friends with her, and they all smiled, "Dare you, even you who are so lazy in the afternoon came out, could it be Ji Laoliu of your family didn't warm up the bed."

"Hey, you still said that my family is Liuli, so why is your old man Yangtou willing to let you run away?"

"Oh, why is he so reluctant, maybe I have to tie it to his waistband."

"Hey, you two old talkers dare to talk about love."

"Hehehe, these two talk a lot, and they are not afraid of being shabby in front of small people."

"Yoyo, leave yourself clean and move quickly, my sister and I come here to wash clothes."

Mrs. Liu smiled and asked the women to make room for her, and beckoned for Xiu Niang to come over. When the two in front saw Xiu Niang, they suddenly paused, wrung out their clothes, put them in the basin, and left. The three of Liu's laughing people were still there, but the smiles on their faces were also put away.

This is what Xiuniang expected, her own reputation is well known, and she had a fight with Wu Dazuizi again in the morning, it won't be good in the ears of others.

Mrs. Wu took the wooden basin in Xiu Niang's hand and put it behind her, and pointed at her with her sleeves rolled up, "Sisters, this is Xiu Niang, Chu Ge's new daughter-in-law. Call me today to walk around the village with her to get her way."

Xiuniang knew that Mrs. Liu was trying to help her. The people in this village like to spread gossip, saying that she does not do anything. When Mrs. Liu said it, it became that she had just married and was not familiar with the place, so she didn't know her. When she came out to walk around, it was because the little daughter-in-law was shy and hid in the house.

She smiled, showing her dimples, and said hello to her son first, "Hello sister-in-law."

The three of them took a close look, seeing that her small body was upright and her smile was upright. They looked at her delicate and delicate, not as coquettish as others said, and the good sixth sister-in-law was getting along with this little daughter-in-law. What kind of eyes are you talking about, what kind of people you are in, and this little daughter-in-law is not much different.

The one on the left laughed first, "Okay, okay, from Chu Ge's family, you are next to the sixth sister-in-law, let's squeeze and wash."

Mrs. Liu squatted next to her, and said to Xiu Niang one by one, "This is from your brother Yang's family. The one in the upper room is made of white tender ones. The one in the middle is from Brother Xu's family. The wooden case made by her man is fine. past..."

"Sister, please call me Mrs. Dao," said a slightly fatter auntie behind, "Have you heard that the six families told you Shi Lao Dao?"

The mother-in-law who spoke was the only pig-raising household in the village. The man in her family was surnamed Shi. A few years ago, a wealthy family in the town went to her house to pick a pig, and then ordered it to be slaughtered.

The man in her family shaved the livestock to remove the blood and cleaned it up. After a few knives, he divided up the pieces and put them in the buyer's car. The big family said as soon as they went out, a big old pig, the butcher would scrape it away with ten knives. Yes, the action is smooth, and everyone in the village knows what he said, so he got such a name.

Xiu Niang smiled and called people one by one, rolled up her sleeves, and washed clothes next to Mrs. Liu.

At first, Mrs. Liu chatted with the three of them, sometimes with Xiu Niang for a few words, and then watched her doing laundry.

Xiu Niang didn't beat her with a wooden stick, but soaked her clothes and put them on the stones to wash them. It seemed that she was doing a lot of work, and those few people lost their previous prejudices and became more casual.

Someone finished washing first, and when they saw that the woman next to them still had some leftovers, everyone washed them separately. The sister-in-law of the Xu family put one away and took out a red jacket.

When Sister Dao saw it, she quickly smiled, "You're so good. Sixth Sister-in-Law just cried out that she was cold, so just take out a little thick jacket."

Xu's sister-in-law said, "That's right, if you don't take advantage of the hot weather to wash, then you have to wait until the weather is cold before you go into the water."

Mrs. Yang looked at it, "Didn't you just make this jacket for the little girl?"

Mrs. Xu's sister-in-law patted the clothes with a stick, "No, I saw you last time, that girl insists on wearing them every day, so she's not afraid of getting boils."

Mrs. Liu said with a smile, "Girls are all the same when they were young, just like colorful clothes." She smiled, but she looked back and saw that Xiuniang hadn't spoken, so she asked, "Sister, what are you thinking?"

As soon as Xiu Niang saw that the little red coat looked good, she pointed to it and said, "Sister-in-law Liu, you said that the little red coat would be fine if it was worn on Xiaoxiang's body."

Mrs. Liu took a closer look, "Well, it looks good, but Xiaoxiang is eight years old, so it's not suitable for a five-year-old girl."

Xiuniang glared, "What? Xiaoxiang is eight years old." But she looks like she is five years old.

Mrs. Liu put the clothes in the water and rubbed them, "The one who belongs to the rabbit is not eight years old, this Chu'an is half a year older than my black child, and those who belong to the ox are so cowardly."

Xiuniang thought, "A ox? That's ten years old."

Mrs. Liu smiled, "No, after a round, he's as old as his brother, and has the same stubborn temper... Hey, why, you don't know?"

Xiu Niang honestly shook her head, Liu Shi was taken aback, and said with a smile, she went elsewhere.

(End of this chapter)