take a wife to support the family

Chapter 74

After the three-day drama was over, and there were still a few days to spare, some people took advantage of this time to weave some straw ropes out of wheat straw, which were convenient for making straw sandals or straw hats. Warehouses require a lot of manpower.

Most of the women tidy up the house, wash and dry it in the sun, and there are craftsmen who play cotton around, calling them to play when the quilt is old.

The quilt in Lily's house was already worn out and out of shape. She had wanted to play it again, but she had never been a good craftsman. It just so happened that she was free these few days, so she invited a craftsman to come to the house to pluck the cotton.

There are two craftsmen, father and son, surnamed Tao, who are also masters with young apprentices. They usually farm the land, and only come out to pick cotton during the slack season to earn more chewing for the family.

Anyone who wants to play cotton will invite them to their home, pack a meal, and give a few extra money, and they will do the work beautifully.

When a trampoline was set up in the courtyard, the old quilt was disassembled, and the tightly packed cotton wool was poured out on the trampoline. The old master Tao stretched out his hand and found out the weight, and said to Lily: "This cotton is too old. It’s not very good, I’m afraid it will be better if you add a catty of new cotton.”

The big pockets they carry with them are stuffed with new cotton, which is fluffy and soft, completely different from the yellow and tight cotton like Lily.

Generally, the cotton tires are either six catties or four catties. They are thicker in winter and thinner in spring and autumn. When it gets hot in summer, there is no need to cover them with quilts, and a bed cover is enough.

The old quilt that Lily brought from her natal family only weighed three catties, and it would be too thin even in spring and autumn. Fortunately, they survived the winter with this quilt.

"Master Tao, add a catty of new cotton and mix it with the old ones, weigh another six catties of new cotton, and make a new quilt." Lily is not short of money now, and since she has invited all the masters to her home, she can't call someone It's a waste of time.

In rural areas, there are many people who hire people to play old cotton, but few people make new quilts, unless the bride is getting married, or there is a big happy event in the family. Master Tao did not expect such a big deal from Lily. Said: "Just slow down like this, I'm afraid I won't be able to finish playing today."

Lily said: "Our house is small, I'm afraid I have to ask you two to find a place to sleep elsewhere, don't worry about food and wages, I will cover them all!"

Master Tao laughed all of a sudden: "I promise to play it well and beautifully for you!"

On the trampoline, master Tao first stretched the cotton thread into horizontal, vertical and diagonal grids to hold the quilt, and then disassembled the old cotton thread on the cotton tire, dismantled the cotton wool into pieces, shredded it and threw it in the quilt. Trampoline.

The cotton tires are old, and the lilies are sun-dried frequently, so there is no peculiar smell or dirty feeling.

The old master Tao picked up the cotton bow on his back, swiped it with a mallet, and made a buzzing sound. He circled around the trampoline continuously, letting the force of the bowstring pick up the cotton, and smashed the tightly compacted cotton bit by bit. open.

The cotton fluffs flew like poplar flowers and fell to the ground and clothes. Old Master Tao's head and eyebrows were also covered with white fluffs, making him look decades older.

He played hard and was sweating profusely. Lily hurriedly scooped up water for them to drink.Master Tao stopped to take a breath, took the water bowl from Lily, and was taken aback.

They pluck cotton for people. In the countryside, they usually scoop up a ladle of cold water for them to drink. It is the first time they can drink hot water. What's more, the hot water has added sugar, which tastes sweet and very different.

The sugar is for entertaining distinguished guests. Old master Tao didn't say anything, knowing that Lily treated them as guests, and worked harder.

The old cotton wool is bounced off, and then a pound of snow-white snow-white cotton is weighed in and mixed in. It is evenly fluffed with a cotton bow and becomes a thick layer.

At this time, it was Master Tao's turn to play. He held a thick and large round wooden board with a handle on the back, and pressed the thick cotton into thinner pieces.

Cotton pressing is also technical work. If the force is too small, the cotton will loosen and cannot be made into a quilt; if the force is too high, the cotton will be too firm, not warm, and uncomfortable to sleep on.

While little master Tao was working, old master Tao went to drink a bowl of water again. This time he specifically said to Lily: "Just plain water."

The host gave them sugar water, which is a kindness of the host. If they drink it and want to drink it, they are not satisfied, which is not the reason for human beings.

After Master Tao finished pressing the cotton tire, the father and son each took a roll of cotton thread and wound it left and right on the trampoline, creating grids on the surface of the cotton tire.

These cotton thread grids are intertwined with each other, tightly wrapping the cotton to prevent them from flying out, and keeping the cotton tires in a certain shape, so that they can be put into the quilt cover later.

The quilt was ready, and the sun had already set to the west. Lily called the two masters to sit down and drink water, carried the quilt into the room by herself, sewed the quilt cover, and went to the kitchen to cook.

The yard was full of lint, a white floor, and the old master Tao sent his son to sweep the floor: "The daughter-in-law of this family is an honest person, not the kind who is crazy and cheating. She is polite to us, and we have to know etiquette. Go and sweep the floor. Clean it up."

As soon as Song Haonian came home, he saw two people with white eyebrows sweeping the floor of his house, and he was startled. He figured out that these two people were the masters who came to pick cotton. Next I cleaned up the floor and went to wash my feet and face.

The lily dish was almost fried, and there was an aroma from the kitchen, she called Song Haonian: "Please wash your face, the two masters, it's time to eat."

At that time, everyone washed up, and because of the heat in the house, Song Haonian moved the table and chairs to the yard to eat in the light of the sky.Song Haonian sat at the head, old master Tao and Baihe fought, and young master Tao sat at the back.

The father and son saw the woman at the table for the first time, but it was someone else's business, and Lily treated them well, so they couldn't say anything, so they ate happily.

Lily made an agreement with the craftsman and his son again, and invited them to have breakfast tomorrow morning. The father and son were even more grateful for her thoughtfulness, so they picked up the cotton bow and board and went to find a sleeping place with acquaintances.

Now that the weather is hot, the newly plucked quilt is not needed, Lily folded the quilt neatly, put it in the box, and told Song Haonian about making another quilt.

Song Haonian said: "It should have been like this a long time ago. I'm careless. There are many things I can't think of. If you think about it, just do it and use the money at home."

Now the young couple's money is held in Lily's hands, and she can spend it as she pleases, whenever Lily has any major expenses, she must explain it clearly to Song Haonian, so that he knows it well.

Only one who is generous and one who understands can live a peaceful and long life.

Early the next morning, Lily cooked the porridge and fried egg pancakes for Master Tao and his son to eat. Song Haonian went to work after eating. Xuanhuhu, Baituantuan, you can smell the fragrance of the sun and cotton when you bury your face on it, which makes people smile from the bottom of their hearts.

Master Tao also asked Lily to take out the quilt and flick it. When calculating the money, he was only willing to count the wages of two quilts and the cotton cost of one quilt. Forgive me, you have to figure out everything else, otherwise, how much money you all earn, it’s not a big deal if you continue like this.”

Counting the wages of cotton and father and son, the total was thirteen yuan, and Lily took a few egg pancakes and wrapped them in oiled paper, and gave them to eat: "If you can't find a place to eat for a while on the road, you can use this cushion to satisfy your hunger. "

Whether a person is good or not depends only on how she treats people whose family background and status are not as good as hers. Master Tao went a long way and said to little Master Tao: "This is a real good person."

Master Tao smiled and said, "Father, don't you want to tell me about a daughter-in-law, I think this elder sister-in-law is very good."

Master Tao stared: "What are you talking about, she is married!"

If Lily hadn't been married, Old Master Tao would have thought it would be nice to tell his son such a daughter-in-law, but if he was a few years older, it was said that a third-year female would hold a golden brick, and only the more loving ones would be.

Master Tao scratched his head, "Father, I mean sister-in-law's family has girls or something." His father often said that when you look at a family, sister-in-law is a good person, and her sisters are not bad.

Only then did Old Master Tao show a smiling face: "You're a smart kid, I'll ask you later. You have to work hard, earn a house and a family business, and worry about not being able to marry a wife?"

Little master Tao said to himself, Dad, you married my mother when you had no family business, now it is my turn to marry a wife, and asked me to start a family business, I am your son, how can I be more capable than you?

Lily didn't expect that her sincerity would bring a marriage to the two girls. She was thinking about fertilizing the vegetable field.

When the vegetables are still growing in the ground, this is the last time to fertilize. The next time to fertilize is when the autumn is cool and frosty, and the vegetables are harvested, and the manure is piled into the ground to nourish the soil.

Song Haonian asked for a day off, went to Liu Yi's house to pick up a few loads of fertilizer, planted it carefully on the roots of the vegetables, and poured a lot of water to prevent the fertilizer from burning the vegetables.

He didn't let Lily get his hands on the manure, and said, "Just water it."

The manure stinks very much, and his wife is fragrant and soft, how can it get on it?
Shang Haofei and the two felt that they had a bad smell, and they changed into the oldest clothes before getting fat. Song Haonian began to take off his clothes and take a shower in the yard. Lily didn't touch the fertilizer, and stomped off the mud on the soles of his shoes , standing in the wind to disperse the smell, and then went into the kitchen to prepare hot water for a bath.

As soon as the two of them lay down at night, Song Haonian felt something different: "This newly played mattress is just different, it's extra soft!"

He slept with Song Haojie and his brothers at home and slept with new quilts for several years, but all he touched afterwards were hardened cotton wadding, and he almost thought that the cotton wadding was like this.

Lily smiled and said, "Now that I have new bedding, I won't be frozen this winter again!"

She almost froze to death last winter, and that kind of cold was deeply embedded in her memory, making her want to equip herself with the thickest cotton coat every time she thought about it, so as to survive such a terrible and cruel winter.

Song Haonian hugged Lily: "I won't let you suffer from that kind of cold in the future."

In summer, the two of them hugged each other and talked about how to keep warm in winter. After a while, they became hot all over and shouted. Lily felt itchy on her back: "Your sweat is flowing on my back."

Song Haonian said absolutely not, he must prove it to Lily, turned Lily over and licked her smooth and thin back, groaning high and low, soon mixed with the chirping of insects outside the window into a beautiful piece of music.

(End of this chapter)