Peasant Girl Bookseller

Chapter 5
When Mai Xiang saw this family, none of them were fuel-efficient lamps, and everyone had their own little thoughts, and she became more and more disgusted in her heart.

But this test is always to be passed, with so many eyes looking at her, she pretended to have a headache and said: "I can't tell what's wrong, but sometimes I feel headache and dizzy, and it will be fine after a while , Also, sometimes I feel a little confused, nothing else."

"Sister-in-law, let me just say, Mai Xiang just hasn't recovered, just lie down for two more days, why is there a need to find a doctor?" Qian said hurriedly.

"Well, what the second family said makes sense. Since Mai Xiang didn't have a good Daquan, Mai Huang, you can help your mother with something and let the eldest girl lie down for two more days. Anyway, there is nothing important at home these two days. A few dishes need to be washed." Mrs. Liu looked at Mrs. Qian much more pleasingly this time.

"Understood, Mama." After speaking, Mai Huang got up and began to clean up the dishes. At this time, they were almost finished eating.

How could Mai Xiang have the nerve to order a child laborer, and besides, she also wanted to watch what Mai Huang did. It was estimated that she would not be able to get out in a while, and she had to learn to survive.

Mai Huang put the bowls in a basket, carried them into the stove, scooped a few ladles of water from the water tank into the wooden basin, and brushed the bowls with a broom made of sorghum stalks, and the bowls were very clean, because these bowls First, there is no oil and second, there is no leftovers. Everyone has licked them clean, and it is enough to pass through the water.

Mai Huang squatted on the ground to brush, and Mai Xiang picked up the bowl for her and put it in the cupboard.

"Sister, if you don't think this will cause a headache, go to the room and collect the remaining bowls, don't let my mother do it." Mai Huang is quite sensible despite his small size, knowing that he misses his mother.

The two sisters cleaned up the stove, and Mai Xiang didn't know what to do. The next meal would not start cooking until Shen time, that is, after three o'clock, and she would be idle for four or five hours in between.

I want to go out for a walk, but there is no good place to go in this icy and snowy place, and my clothes are also thin, so I can't do anything while hiding in the room.

Mai Xiang sighed and returned to the room.Ye Dafu was still weaving straw sandals on the edge of the kang, and Mailv Maiqing sat beside him, picking out straws for him, while Mrs. Zhao lowered her head and glued the soles of the shoes with rags.

Mai Xiang picked up a pair of straw sandals from the kang to have a look. Ye Dafu's workmanship was pretty good, they were very tight, and there were no joints, but this kind of straw sandals were relatively hard, so they would definitely be uncomfortable to wear. Farmers who work with the soil can buy them, but for them, most of these shoes can be made by themselves at home, right?Is it still worth buying?

"Sister, just now Dad told Mom that it will be the first day in a few days, and when Dad went to sell straw sandals, he asked Mom to take us to the temple to worship the Bodhisattva, so that you can get well sooner."

"Really?" Mai Xiang was a little excited.

She really wanted to go out and have a look. She came here for three days, except that she knew it was the Qing Dynasty from their big braids. She didn't know anything else.She wanted to find out what this place was and what the current year name was, but she didn't dare to speak easily, for fear of revealing herself.

"This child is really suffocated at home, and he is so happy when he hears that he is going out to play." Ye Dafu looked at Mai Xiang and smiled, wryly.

"It's okay to go to worship, and I pray that Bodhisattva will bless our family and my family. These days, I'm also afraid when Da Ya is sick. His father, you also pray. It's spring, and you have to go to the mountains." Zhao said a few words calmly. .

"I'll forget it, you just take the children to say goodbye."

Mai Xiang listened to what they said, this prayer may cost money, Ye Dafu is not willing to spend this money, this family is really too poor.

Mai Xiang thought of the temples she had visited in her previous life. There was a merit box in each main hall. Devotees and believers usually threw some away after entering, as many as they wanted.

Mai Xiang had nothing to do, so she took a few straws to learn how to weave straw sandals from Ye Dafu. Of course, what Mai Xiang wanted to weave was not this kind of big straw sandals. She remembered that once she went out to the night market with her classmates and bought a pair of small straw sandals from the night market. , when the wall shoes are hung in the mosquito net.

Although Mai Xiang doesn't know how to do farm work and is not good at doing housework, she still has a quick mind, because Ye Dafu just gave her a piece of information that they are going to worship Buddha in the temple.In ancient times, most of the rich ladies and wives went to the temple to worship Buddha and burn incense on the first and fifteenth day of the lunar new year. Since they were going to pray for safety, there should be no harm in having one more small wall shoes like this hanging on the wall, right?

Although they all know how to make that kind of delicate embroidered shoes, which young lady is used to looking at those delicate things and wants to find one or two simple and original things?

Seeing that Mai Xiang wanted to learn, Ye Dafu hurriedly said, "Son, don't you have a headache? Go and lie down."

"Father, I've been lying down for a few days." Mai Xiang felt that it was even more uncomfortable to lie down and not be able to fall asleep.

"Then you and Mai Huang will go to your sister-in-law and nanny, and learn some sewing from them." Seeing that Mai Huang also came in, Ye Dafu said.

Ye Dafu also saw that his daughter-in-law couldn't embroider, but only sewed some clothes, and couldn't earn money to supplement the family during the winter leisure time, and the family's life was even tighter, so he wanted his daughters to learn to embroider with the mother.

"Father, why did you forget that you don't do needlework during the first month. Both mother and sister-in-law are free." Mai Huang said.

"Father is too confused." Ye Dafu smiled honestly.

"Father, you weave two pairs of small shoes for me. They should be more detailed. They can be as long as two inches. Let me play with them, okay?"

"You damn girl, your father can't do serious things, you still want to play, don't come here quickly, the soles of your shoes are sticky, you should learn to make shoes. I have kept my head down for a long time, and my neck is early It's sour." When Zhao heard that Mai Xiang was not doing her job properly, she cursed again.

"Okay, the child has been ill and wants a pair of small shoes to play with, can't I even do this for the child?" Ye Dafu felt guilty for the child.

"Father, why don't you string the two shoes together for me again, and I'll hang them on the wall as something to ward off evil spirits." Mai Xiang took the opportunity to make another request.

As soon as Mai Xiang finished speaking, Mrs. Zhao threw her hands on the kang table. Seeing her rubbing her shoulders with her hands, Mai Xiang looked at her six- to seven-month-old belly, but didn't say anything. Sit over.

Although Mai Xiang has never done this work, she has just seen how Mrs. Zhao does it, which is to glue the rags layer by layer with paste, and try to make it as smooth as possible.

Mai Xiang lowered her head and brushed the paste, and Mai Huang smoothed the cloth piece by piece for her. Just after a layer was glued, Jiufeng came in and talked to Mai Xiang.

"Mai Xiang, I just told my mother, why don't my sister-in-law take you to worship Buddha in the first year of junior high school, and let the Buddha bless you to get well soon." Jiufeng said.

"Girl, my father and mother said just now that they want to take us to worship Buddha." Mai Qing spoke quickly and said it.

"Really, sister-in-law, which temple are you going to go to?"

"Where else can I go? Why don't I just go to the Temple of the Reclining Buddha? Worship the Sleeping Buddha and be safe every year." Mrs. Zhao replied angrily.

After hearing this, Mai Xiang began to think. She usually likes to travel, and often goes out with her classmates during the holidays. She seems to have heard of the Reclining Buddha Temple, but she can't remember it for a while.

"Okay, then I will go with you. Just after the first lunar month, my mother said that she would embroider handkerchiefs, so I will go buy some handkerchiefs." Jiufeng clapped her hands and said.

When Mrs. Zhao heard this, she rolled her eyebrows and said with a smile: "My aunt is really capable, she can embroider handkerchiefs, why don't you teach us Mai Xiang, don't let Mai Xiang be like me, who is so stupid that she can only mend some clothes. "

"Sister-in-law, I have been teaching Mai Xiang to use needles for the first year."

"Okay, our Jiufeng is still sensible." Mrs. Zhao boasted.

Jiufeng looked at Ye Dafu, blinked his eyes a few times, and said, "Brother, when we go to the mountains in spring, can you hunt a pure white hare for me?"

"What do you want a pure white hare for?"

"Brother, I can use it anyway. I saw that the master's house next door had a bunch of guests that day. It looked like a rich family. Their maids wore a scarf around their necks. It was white and beautiful. I looked at it. It looks like rabbit fur." ​​Jiufeng said enviously.

After hearing this, Mai Xiang asked casually: "Will rich people come to our place to be their wives?"

After finishing speaking, Mai Xiang saw Jiufeng tilting her head to look at herself, and realized that she must have said something wrong again.

(End of this chapter)