The Sweet Little Fulang

"Wang!"

The bamboo cuju ball that was rolling on the ground was pushed back by the excited boy with his nose, Xiao Huang and Huang Er cut Hu to bite, Zhao Er screamed with joy, and heard Wei Lanxiang oh oh oh let him say goodbye Shout, your throat should be broken.

Zhao’er grabbed the Cuju ball from Xiao Huang and Huang’er who were fighting for it, put it on the ground and kicked it like Shen Yaoqing taught him.

How strong is his milk doll, the good boy who rushed out caught up with the Cuju ball before he ran two steps, and used his front paws to roll back, making Zhaoer giggle, and both the doll and the dog in the courtyard were excited Happy.

Lu Gu hugged Ling Ge'er and watched, who knew that their little Shuang'er was not too gentle, so he arched his body forward anxiously, and pointed one finger at the cuju ball that was rolling on the ground.

"Okay, you can kick too." Lu Gu had no choice, he hugged Ling Ge'er with both hands, bent over and let his two little feet kick the Cuju ball. Looking at the bamboo ball that rolled out, Ling Ge'er suddenly laughed. Oh, the mouth is still oh oh, I don't know what to say.

The good boy Xiao Huang and Huang Er bit the Cuju ball and grabbed it. No one would let anyone. They were all growling in their throats, looking like they wanted to fight.

The children who can walk and run have always been energetic, and after playing for a while, Zhao'er didn't see any fatigue, so she went to the three dogs and stretched out her hands to grab the bamboo ball.

"Shut up." Wei Lanxiang shouted at the dog when he grabbed the Cuju ball.

The darlings were relieved and stopped growling. They stood on the spot and licked their mouths, but after seeing Zhaoer kick the Cuju ball over, they rushed over to play again, like children.

Brother Ling had to kick, so Lu Gu had to hold him to chase the bamboo ball.

Wei Lanxiang was sitting under the eaves sewing clothes. Yesterday, she accidentally ripped her sleeves while holding the firewood. Both grandchildren were having fun, and she also had a smile on her face.

After kicking the bamboo ball for a while, Lu Gu straightened up with Lingjun in his arms, and said with a smile, "Alright, alright, Eminem is tired, come back and play again."

Looking at the rising sun, Zhao'er's face was sweaty, and her face was flushed. Wei Lanxiang had just sewed her sleeves, went to Zhao'er and took out a handkerchief to wipe his face, then stretched out her hand behind the child. He probed his neck and said to Lu Gu, "The water on your back."

"It's alright, alright, I'll play again tomorrow, drink water and rest, you'll be playing crazy." Wei Lanxiang picked up the cuju ball, but Zhao'er refused, so she had to say: "Go drink water, Grandma will break it for you. Eat buns."

The bamboo **** were put away and could no longer be seen. The dolls and dogs didn't have to play. Even Brother Xiaoling didn't want to play anymore, so Lu Gu sat down and rested.

Seeing that it was almost noon, he finished drinking the water in the water bowl, put it down and said, "Mother, I'll go back to cook, you can see Lingjun later."

"Okay, you can go." Wei Lanxiang gave Zhao'er half of the steamed bun and took Lingge'er, and Lu Gu went back to his hometown.

He walked out of the courtyard door, and the good boy and Xiao Huang all came out when they saw it. He didn't stop drinking. There was no one in his hometown, the door was locked, and the dog had a companion when he went back with him.

After the seedlings were planted, Shen Yaoqing went to the ground every day, either in the paddy fields or in the dry fields and wheat fields. If today is good, the grass is vigorous. .

Shen Yan and Ji Qiuyue were herding cows and ducks and geese by the river, and they also brought a fish basket and a shovel to dig the ground dragon to catch the loach, so that they could chop it up for the chickens to eat.

The chicks and ducklings hatched at home have been growing for over 20 days. The chicks and ducklings were too weak and not all survived after hatching. Seventy-six chicks survived, sixty-five, and eighty hatched. Sixty-two ducklings survived. Thanks to their large land, the chicken coop and duck coop are also large. They are also diligent in shoveling and sweeping manure during the day, not too stuffy or too humid, and not many deaths.

After hatching at that time, Wei Lanxiang went to the chicken and duck coop every day to look around, and she would always come out with one or two dead chickens and dead ducks in her hands. Such small livestock would die within two days after breaking their shells, and they were too small to die at all. A few taels of meat, they are so particular about burying them under a tree, they won't even eat dogs, let alone people.

Those who survived grow stronger one day, and those who don't die are enough to make people happy.

There are still twenty chickens and ducks each. Even so, the last time Shen Xuanqing came back, he asked Shen Yaoqing to buy some more spring chicks and raise hundreds of them. After two days of free time, he would probably go to the Liangzhang Bridge to go to the market.

Lu Gu unlocked the lock, and when he entered the yard, he pulled a spring vegetable from the vegetable field. Seeing that the good boy was sniffing other spring vegetables, he opened his mouth and gestured to bite. He raised his hand and patted the dog's head. His tail, even his ears were attached to his head, with a guilty conscience, he pinched the dog's ears and said, "Why is Xiao Huang worse? You bite back and eat a couple of bites and then turn away. This isn't a waste of rations, you see. I won't hit you."

Having said that, he peeled off the shredded leaves of the spring vegetables, and saw that the good boy was rubbing his hairy head against his calf, so he had to peel off a fresh green spring vegetable leaf for him to eat.

Xiao Huang came over and wagged his tail and looked up at him, so he also gave Xiao Huang a big leaf.

He washed the dishes and cut them on the chopping board. He remembered that he hadn't eaten egg custard for a long time, so he went to the egg basket and picked out a few eggs. This year is different from before. There are many hens and ducks at home. Hatching eggs, both are correct.

Ling Ge'er can eat a few bites of egg custard now, but Wei Lanxiang said that the child is too young to dip too much oil, like sesame oil.

Drizzle a little of the fragrant sesame oil from the oil mill, and you can smell the fragrant fragrance. In the countryside, when you are poor, you don’t have any cooking oil, let alone sesame oil. .

He opened the small jar of sesame oil and took a look. There wasn't much left. The bottom of the jar was enough to eat for a long time, but when the family came back, he still had to say something, and make half a jar when he went to the market.

When Shen Xuanqing comes back next time, he will also cook a bowl of egg custard to satisfy his cravings. He does not delay eating in the town, but such fine and rare egg custard is mostly eaten by children and is generally not made for adults. Shen Xuanqing will not worry about meat and food rations. Eating, but eating at someone else's house is definitely not a good choice.

He took the children to do some work at home. Shen Xuanqing was selling rabbits in Jixing Town while asking where there was a house. Unlike Renju, they had money and wanted to buy a small house directly. Naturally, they had to look more closely. Buy when satisfied.

During this period, Shen Yaoqing drove a mule cart with Wei Lanxiang to buy chickens and ducklings several times, and even brought back the other four piglets that had been ordered at Li Zhuzi's house. The rabbit cage gradually filled up again.

Because of this, after more than half a month, Shen Xuanqing came back for the second time and told him that he liked a house with a well, and Lu Gu was a little hesitant.

He sat in front of the stove to add firewood and steamed egg custard. Brother Ling fell asleep, and Shen Xuanqing washed his hands and went into the kitchen to squat beside him.

The two said a few sweet words, and he thought about it and said, "There was not much firewood at home two days ago, the elder brother came back from pulling weeds from the field, and went up the mountain to chop firewood without resting, and my mother and Yanyan would also go to pick them up when they had nothing to do. Chai, let's put ducks and cows."

"The four big pigs eat a lot, and the four little piglets also eat a lot. Brother Dong and the others come back with two carts of grass a day. Uncle He and Aunt He is weak, and he is not so strong, so he can only cut two Che, sister-in-law and I have to take our children out to hunt hogweed in our spare time, otherwise we won't have enough pigs and sheep at home."

"My sister-in-law and I help each other. No matter whether we cook or cut grass, one person watches the two children while the other does the work.

At the end, Lu Gu's voice was a little low, but he still said: "If I leave, she may not be able to handle it alone. Zhao'er can run and walk, and no one will be worried."

After listening to him, Shen Xuanqing couldn't help but frown slightly. He didn't agree to live together, but he also knew that the family was really busy raising so many animals, Jixing Town was far away, and he was there to see the shop. , it is not easy to come back to help, no one can blame it.

Seeing the busyness of the family, Lu Gu naturally won't ignore it, and said, "There are more fields, my brother will go to the field to pull weeds, and my mother will follow. I'm afraid that the grass will be too strong, and I will take a break occasionally."

"That's it." Shen Xuanqing replied in a low voice, lowered his eyes and thought for a while, now that there are 13 mu of dry land and 8 mu of paddy field, it is really difficult for Shen Yaoqing to take care of it alone, and he has to take care of the livestock.

After thinking about it, he raised his eyes to look at Lu Gu and said with a smile: "What's so difficult about this, let's hire someone to work in the fields, the eldest brother will free up his hands, then just let him raise the animals and go to the fields in his spare time to pull them out. Grass will do."

"Let's not talk about the short-term workers, the wages are high, let's just hire a long-term worker. It's only two thousand yuan a year, and it's only two taels of silver. We are afraid that we can't afford the two taels of land for our family's 20 acres of land?"

Shen Xuanqing thinks this is very feasible. There are a lot of work at home, the old lady is old, and the younger sister is a girl who has not left the court. Ji Qiuyue has to take care of the children. , I really have to think of a way.

"These two taels of silver belong to the family, and the grain is divided into half every year. If you really hire people, the elder brother should pay half, each one or two, not a lot." He has always had an idea, and the grain field is basically Root, not to mention other things, the fields must be served, and it is not absurd to hire people to cultivate the fields.

"It seems to be fine." Lu Gu has never had as much idea as his, and their family can really afford 2 taels of silver a year.

Shen Xuanqing became happy and said with a smile: "Wait, I will talk to my mother and elder brother, you don't have to worry about this, I will show you the house tomorrow. If you all think it's good, let's buy it."

"Yeah." Lu Gu nodded, saying that he almost forgot his business. He quickly got up, pushed the lid off the pot and looked at the egg custard, for fear of getting old.

When Shen Xuanqing sat at the table and ate the egg custard drenched in sesame oil, Shen Yaoqing and Wei Lanxiang were all thinking after hearing that he was going to hire a long-term worker.

The bowl of egg custard was not much, so he quickly ate it upside down, put down the bowl and said with a smile: "Mother, you are a little old now, and it is not easy to take care of it, and you will have to carry a few more grandchildren in the future. People, live too much, don’t think it’s not heavy work, it’s not light to accumulate, just listen to me.”

One was selfish and wanted Lu Gu and the child to go to town, and the other was what he really thought. As soon as these words of consolation were spoken, it seemed more stable than before when he decided everything by himself.

Ji Qiuyue brought Zhao'er, who had spoiled spring vegetables, back from the vegetable field, and laughed when she heard this. It's really different from the past. She has grown up. Shen Yaoqing has been tired recently. Shoveling and sweeping manure is also his job. From time to time, there is a matter at home, and he has to drive the mule cart out, so he said: "Mother, you can listen to the second brother, he is right."

A few grandchildren, Wei Lanxiang pursed her lips and smiled when she heard this, but it wasn't.

Working is not a big deal for Shen Yaoqing. He is young and strong, and he is the eldest son in the family. It is right for him to do more work.

But today I heard what Shen Xuanqing said. Their family has few men. Wei Lanxiang and Shen Yan are old and young. Ji Qiuyue and Lu Gu have to take care of their children. Waiting, I am not afraid that one person will not be able to take care of me. I can also help to cut grass to feed domestic livestock and livestock, and I can afford two taels of silver a year to sell grain and livestock.

After thinking about it, he nodded and said, "Who do you want to hire, do you have an idea?"

"Find someone who has no land. Uncle Chunsheng is very old. You don't mean that his son-in-law has only one mu of land. I don't know if he wants to."

People with farms in the family have to serve their own fields, and most of them are short-term workers. Besides, long-term workers are paid for a year. Naturally, they have to find someone who has no land. It is best to be a young man. He doesn’t dislike Ge Chunsheng, but who makes a lot of money It's not easy, there are young people who will definitely ask the young people first.

Thinking of Li Laiqing's honest temperament, Shen Yaoqing nodded and said, "It's easy to do, just sit idle for a while, I'll ask, how is the salary calculated, let's discuss it, I'll go over and tell him."

Shen Xuanqing took a sip of water, thought about it, and said, "The long-term workers in Wangli Village are two thousand wen a year, but the food and lodging are all in the main house, so we don't have to, there is not that much room, so we can add some more food. Some money, Linhe Village is not far away, please let him walk some distance."

Different from the long-term workers in the landlord's rich family, they have to live in the owner's house and work hard every day. They have only 20 or 30 acres of land and are not outside the landlord. The long-term workers usually don't live at home. , he has to give food, Li Laiqing is poor, and his wife and children, give him rice and noodles so that the whole family can eat.

After listening to it, Shen Yaoqing pondered for a while, and said, "How about 100 pounds of rice and noodles in a year, and an additional 100 yuan?"

They hired Li Laiqing, as long as the ration was enough for Li Laiqing, if the other party was more frugal and had a salary in the early 20s, enough for the family to live in the countryside, maybe they could also help the old husband Ge Chunsheng.

"That's 2,100 yuan, eldest brother, let's each pay half?" Shen Xuanqing asked, saying so, but he already had an answer in his heart.

Shen Yaoqing smiled and nodded: "This is natural."

The two brothers have not yet separated, and the food and money have always been divided equally. As for the four or six cents of the money for selling the rabbits, he always thought clearly that the big house was built by Shen Xuanqing. Not so many rabbits to make money.

Sure enough, Shen Xuanqing also nodded: "Okay."

"I'm going to ask Li Laiqing right now." Shen Yaoqing got up after he finished speaking. Seeing him walking out, Zhao'er threw the rattle in his hand and shouted, "Dad, Daddy."

Since his son wanted to follow him, he smiled and hugged him.

Li Laiqing's family is poor with only one mu of thin land, barely enough for the family of four to survive. If it weren't for Ge Chunsheng's poor family, he wouldn't even be able to marry a daughter-in-law. One hundred wen, and two hundred catties of grain, how could anyone not be willing.

His parents have left one after another in the past two years. He has no siblings, just a few cousins, and the relationship is not very good. His daughter-in-law Ge Qiaoer gave him an idea, saying that she would take care of the family's one mu of land, no matter how bad it was, Call her father to help and tell him not to worry.

Li Laiqing wanted to earn wages, but he had two taels of silver and food, so he nodded.

Ge Qiaoer has a bit of selfishness. Her father Ge Chunsheng has no land to farm. The old man wants to be a long-term worker and no one wants it. He can earn some money when the farming is busy. Bamboo shoots were picked and sold in the town. If she helped Li Laiqing to serve the fields, she would help the old couple and give them a few bites of food, and Li Laiqing would not say anything.

Since the other party agreed, he also said that the long-term job is to always manage their family's fields. After Shen Yaoqing came back, he told Shen Xuanqing that the brothers had written a contract, written down the wages and food, etc., and then went to Linhe Village. Li Laiqing did not recognize it. I called the people in the village who knew the characters to see it, and finally put the handprint on it.

Lu Gu didn't expect things to be done so quickly, not even an hour, so their family hired a long-term worker.

Brother Ling woke up, and he came into the room to hug him.

Shen Xuanqing came in after him, opened the box and said, "I asked the eldest brother to hold the contract. I will count the wages of 1,050 yuan and give them to him. It is better to pay Li Laiqing at the end of each month. His family is not living well. , it will end in half a year and a year.”

"That's fine." Lu Gu touched Linger's wet diaper, put the child on the bed to change, and said, "Then let's go to see the house tomorrow?"

Shen Xuanqing dug out the big money bag at the bottom of the box, and took out the well-worn coin from it, which was exactly one thousand wen. A smile appeared on his face, and he turned his head and his eyes were slightly curved, and he was very happy when he saw it, and said, "Well, Go tomorrow."