Dressed As a Farm Boy, He Cheated on His Way Out of the Desert.

Chapter 28 About Reading

Liu Laifu’s daughter-in-law Chunhong was not happy when she heard this.

"Sister-in-law, Laifu went to the county town to ask Wu Er to help teach the Li family a lesson. He was not fooling around! Besides, I think my eldest brother's waist has healed long ago. Isn't he just lazy and doesn't want to work? What excuse are you looking for?"

“What are you talking nonsense about? Your man is a lazy, greedy man who spends all his time trying to get money from your mother, but you still have the nerve to talk about my iron pillar!”

Su Niang seemed to have been stabbed in the foot, and her words became more and more unpleasant.

Chunhong’s big face turned blue with anger. She couldn’t defeat Su Niang, so she simply took advantage of her weight and pushed Su Niang to the edge of the kang and beat her.

Mrs. Guo did not stop the fight. Instead, she picked up a feather duster and taught the two daughters-in-law a lesson together.

The Liu family's shouting and yelling could be heard far away. When the villagers passing by heard it, they all looked disgusted and stayed away.

 “Why are you making so much noise? You’re not letting anyone sleep anymore!”

 Liu Tiezhu was sleeping on the edge of the kang when he was suddenly woken up and cursed angrily.

"If you have the guts, ask the Li family to fight. If they hadn't watched the fun and refused to help, how could our family have recovered the food?"

 This reminded Mr. Guo, and he yelled in the direction of the Li family.

  “Those who are so ungrateful that they won’t even help their relatives will sooner or later lose their descendants!”

When the neighbors of the Liu family heard this, they became even more disgusted with the Liu family. Who has no conscience? The Liu family really has no clue...

 Old Mrs. Li didn't know about the Liu family's troubles. She was coaxing her granddaughter to do needlework at the same time.

 One autumn rain and another cold, the weather will only get colder in the future.

Jiayin’s clothes were a little thin, so Mrs. Li found the fabric and cotton she bought a few days ago and wanted to make some small clothes for her granddaughter.

Jiayin was lying on the warm kang, feeling like a pancake. The batter was battered but the other side was not yet cooked.

 “Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeally!” Jiayin threw the rattle and stretched out his hand to his grandma.

Mrs. Li quickly put down the half-sewn clothes, picked up her granddaughter and rocked her gently.

The autumn harvest work is all done, and the Li family is not sitting idle in the house.

Young and old all carried axes and ropes into the mountains, preparing to cut more firewood and save it for burning in the winter.

The villagers who had received help from the Li family before saw the Li family going up the mountain to chop firewood, so they all took their own axes and followed them.

There are many people and it is easy to work. In just one day, a large pile of firewood was cut.

Jiaren and his younger brothers put some wet firewood on the open ground to dry, and then stacked them neatly outside the yard.

This morning, Li Laosi carried his bow and arrows and prepared to go hunting in the mountains. After the rain, the wild animals on the mountains were less mobile and easier to hunt.

 “Brother Qiu Sheng, we are here!”

Several young men from the village, also neatly dressed and carrying bows, arrows and hatchets, came to Li's house, with excitement on their faces.

　　When we were chopping firewood together earlier, Li Laosi had casually shot pheasants and rabbits, and his superb archery skills made them envious.

After pestering for a long time, Li Laosi agreed to take them up the mountain together.

"Have you all eaten? There's nothing to do. Let's leave now."

 Li Laosi checked the quiver and led the boys up the mountain.

Jia Xi and Jia An clamored to follow, but Li Laosi only brought Jia Yi, who was strong and skilled.

Jia An Jiaxi was very depressed, but Tao Hongying asked her to go to the kitchen, and each of them stuffed a roasted sweet potato and cheered her up.

Old Mrs. Li sat on the bed with the good news in her arms, chatting with the women who came to the house.

This woman’s husband’s surname is Zhang, and people in the village call her Second Sister-in-law Zhang.

 Speaking of which, she was the woman who had just arrived in the village from the Li family and talked to Mrs. Li about the situation in the village. On the day the Li family hosted a banquet for the villagers, Sister-in-law Li came to help and talked to Mrs. Li for a long time before going home.

As she had nothing to do today, she came to talk to Mrs. Li again and read the good news.

“Sister-in-law, your big yard is so neatly kept. It looks like a family that knows how to live a good life!”

Second Sister Zhang shook the rattle to tease the good news and praised her at the same time.

Mrs. Li handed her the good news, then lowered her head and continued to embroider a small flower.

“We have a large family, and if we work together we can get it done quickly.”

 Hearing this, Sister-in-law Zhang nodded enviously.

"The boys in your family are really good. Not to mention the tax collection a few days ago, the second brother helped everyone, but it helped everyone save a lot of food. Has the second brother read a book? It's really good to do the accounting and accounting. A good hand.”

"I haven't been to school, I just studied at home for a few days. It's too expensive, and my family's life is hard, so I can't afford it." Mrs. Li responded casually.

Second Sister-in-law Zhang nodded, "Isn't that right? My natal family has a nephew who studies in the county town. I heard that he spends at least a dozen taels a year.

In order to support this child, my brother and sister-in-law tightened their belts every day. I have a little money and food, but I want to give it to my son, and my life is tight..."

Just as Mrs. Li was about to respond, she looked up and saw her eldest grandson carrying firewood back and forth in the yard, and her heart moved.

Jiaren is twelve years old. His father has taught him how to read since he was a child, and he also likes to read the most.

If there were no military disturbances outside the wall, she would also plan to send him to school.

Now that we have settled down, we can think about it again.

“Studying is a good thing. If you pass the exam, you can become an official in the future.”

Mrs. Li came back to her senses and said to Mrs. Zhang with a slight smile.

“Yes, yes, my sister-in-law said the same thing.” There was a hint of pride on Mrs. Zhang’s face, obviously she was very proud of her nephew’s study.

Jiayin listened to the two people talking, her big eyes rolling, and she guessed that grandma must want to send her eldest brother to study.

She cooperated with Sister-in-law Zhang's teasing and reached out to grab the rattle, while thinking about taking out something from the space that could be sold.

The more money the family has, the more confidence they can provide for their children to study.

“My family has beaten a lot of soybeans before, and now it’s time to make soybean paste. I’m going to do it in the next few days. Sister-in-law, is your family making soybean paste? Do you want to join us?”

Second Sister-in-law Zhang saw Mrs. Li staring out the window and being a little distracted, so she called her.

Mrs. Li quickly responded, "Okay, let's make the sauce together then. Remember to tell her in advance so I can let Hongying soak the beans."

“That’s so kind. Your yard is spacious and you have two big iron pots. I’ll just bring the soybeans and cook them together. By the way, I’ll put them in your yard to dry together.”

The more Sister-in-law Zhang talked about it, the more she thought it was feasible. She wished she could go home and move the beans and make sauce at Li's house.

Old Mrs. Li doesn't dislike Sister-in-law Zhang's fiery and straightforward temperament.

The two talked for a while, and then Sister-in-law Zhang touched Jiayin’s little face and reluctantly went home to cook.

Tao Hongying and Zhao Yuru picked a small basket of mushrooms near the foot of the mountain, dried them when they came back, and prepared to make dinner.

Jiayin's little mouth was spitting bubbles, and she insisted on being held by Tao Hongying, so Tao Hongying simply cooked with Jiayin behind her back.

While Tao Hongying was chopping vegetables, Jiayin secretly added rice to the pot. After the last pot of rice porridge, which was supposed to be liquid, was cooked, it became thicker and thicker.

Old Mrs. Li went down to the ground and saw the pot of porridge. She was already used to it. She hugged her granddaughter and sat at the dining table.

The Li family came back one after another, and everyone gathered together to have a formal meal.

 (End of this chapter)