Chapter 10
Plan
It took less than half an hour to reach Li Yu’s house.
After Butcher He helped move the things down, he pointed at the courtyard about ten feet west of Li Yu’s house and said, “Xiaoyu, that’s my house. I have a girl about your age at home. Come and play with her!”
Li Yu smiled and agreed. “Alright, thank you, Uncle He.”
Butcher He laughed heartily. “Why are you so polite to your neighbors?”
Li Qing heard voices at the door and ran out. “Sister, you’re back! You bought so many things?”
Li Yu smiled and said, “I was too lazy to run, so I bought everything I thought of.” The siblings were busy moving the things into the courtyard.
Li Yu saw that Chen Yaohui and a few others were helping to repair the roof and courtyard walls in the courtyard. Madam Li had already gone home.
Li Mei took the cotton from Li Yu’s hand. “Yu’er, did you buy a mosquito net? There are many mosquitoes at night.”
“I bought them all.” Li Yu handed the cotton and cloth to Li Mei. “Aunt, I’ll wash the pots and bowls and leave these to you.”
Li Mei looked at Li Yu’s neat appearance and nodded in relief. “Put it in the house. I bought a stone of rice and two stones of rice. Aunt Chen even gave me some vegetables. There’s still a lot of money from you. I’ll go to the potter’s house to buy a few mats and lay them on the ground to make bedding.”
“Alright, do as you see fit!” Li Yu carried the things into the kitchen and took the pot down from the backrest. She took the wooden basin and bucket to the well to draw water and soak the pig’s lungs and oil in it. He took the iron pot to the kitchen.
Seeing that Li Yu had taken the pot to the kitchen, Liu Changmin quickly went to carry some yellow mud in. He smiled gently and said, “Xiaoyu, leave the iron pot to Uncle. If it’s not filled properly, smoke will come out.”
Li Yu glanced at the honest person in front of her and smiled. “Alright, sorry to trouble you, Uncle.”
“Uncle doesn’t have the ability and made you suffer. I’ve let you and your parents down.” After Liu Changmin finished speaking with a red face, he quickly got to work.
Seeing that he was blaming himself, Li Yu didn’t know how to coax this honest person. She turned around and went to the courtyard to wash the pig’s lungs and oil. She took the kitchen knife and vegetable board to the kitchen and saw that the pot was already ready. There was even a circle of yellow mud under the pot.
Li Qing came back from outside with a bundle of firewood on his back. After handing a small bundle of dry firewood to Li Yu, he looked at Li Yu and asked, “Sister, where’s our family’s rice field? I heard from those uncles that they’ve started to water it.”
“That’s right! We’re going to go easy on them. The two fields by the ditch at the entrance are ours. Come and take a look.”
Li Yu quickly went to the courtyard door and saw Liu Changmin filling the paddy field with water. Li Yu turned around and said to Li Qing, “Ah Qing, Uncle is already in the field. Why don’t you go take a look and learn from him?”
“Oh!” Li Qing added two pieces of firewood to the stove and left.
Li Yu tore two pieces of oil skin and used a spatula to press them down. He smeared the oil evenly in the hot iron pot. After the iron pot finished eating the oil, it was cooled, washed, and started boiling the oil.
Li Yu saw the items Li Mei had brought back on the small table. There were shallots, coriander, a large winter melon, and a bundle of rapeseed moss. There were radishes, eggplants, four seasons beans, peas, and chili peppers.
Li Yu thought for a moment before soaking the pig’s lungs in water. She carried the kitchen tools she had bought and brought them to the well to wash them before starting to cook.
Li Yu planned to steam rice and cook a pea soup, stir-fry some four seasons beans, make green pepper salt fried meat, and stir-fry a rapeseed moss. After thinking about it, she got busy.
When Li Yu came out after cooking, the people who repaired the roof had already left. Only Liu Changmin and Chen Yaohui were still using the yellow mud to paste the courtyard wall. Li Yu shouted at the two of them, “Uncle Chen, Uncle, the food is ready. Come in and eat.”
Chen Yaohui shoveled some yellow mud onto the wall and turned around to look at Li Yu. He said loudly, “That’s all. Uncle will help you paste it and go back to eat.”
Liu Changmin chuckled. “Brother Yaohui, the fish is ready. Just eat some here.”
“That’s right! Uncle, just make do with it!” Li Yu looked at Chen Yaohui and said.
When Chen Yaohui heard this, he smiled readily and said, “Alright, I won’t stand on ceremony. I’ll try the fish dishes and see if they taste good.”
Li Yu went into the house to call Li Mei and Li Qing over. The few of them brought the tables and stools to the eaves porch. Li Mei looked at the courtyard that had been tidied up and sighed. “The previously tattered courtyard has become presentable again.”
Chen Yaohui wiped his hands with a cloth and replied with a smile, “That’s right! No matter how good a house is, it needs someone to live in it.”
Li Yu placed the dishes on the table and smiled politely. “Uncle, Aunt, Uncle, it’s been hard on you today.”
Li Mei looked at Li Yu strangely and said with a smile, “Why are you being so polite?”
Liu Changmin smiled honestly. “Let’s eat. Look at how well the fish dishes are cooked!”
“Alright, let’s not stand on ceremony. I’ll start eating first.” Chen Yaohui picked up his bowl and picked up a piece of green pepper and salt fried meat with his chopsticks. He placed it in his mouth and chewed a few times. After swallowing, he gave a thumbs up and praised, “The fish was stir-fried well.”
“Second Uncle Chen, my sister is best at cooking.” Li Qing smiled at Li Mei.
Li Mei looked at Li Qing’s thin face and her heart ached. “If it’s delicious, why are you so thin?”
“The Zhang family doesn’t even let us eat our fill. We’re so hungry at night.” Li Qing looked at Li Mei aggrievedly.
“No! You can eat whatever you want at home in the future.” Li Mei picked up a piece of meat with her chopsticks and placed it in Li Qing’s bowl, comforting him gently.
On the other side, Zhang Defa returned to Green Mountain County. Chen Zhaodi hurriedly went up to help lead the cows to the cowshed before tying them up. Zhang Defa unloaded the ox cart with a gloomy expression and returned to the house without a word. He lay on the bed and rested.
Chen Zhaodi didn’t dare to ask when she saw Zhang Defa’s gloomy look. She quietly went to Zhang Guixiang’s room and saw Zhang Guixiang lying on the bed sleeping soundly. She sighed in her heart. It seemed that Guixiang was a little spoiled, but women were the most carefree in their lives when they were girls in their families. Who would dote on them when they married in the future? After serving the old, they still had to serve the young. There was no free time.
Chen Zhaodi sighed and shook her head. She picked up the dirty clothes on the ground and went to the well.
Zhang Defa lay on the bed and felt his heart ache when he thought about the silver. He thought to himself,
If I return the silver, I won’t even have the money to buy the goods. I wonder how many betrothal gifts Mr. Zhu’s daughter wants. Damn it, it’s all that bitch Li Yu’s fault for breaking off the engagement. She actually ran back to the village to embarrass me in front of so many people. No, I have to think of a way to get the silver back.
Zhang Defa was so angry that he sat up from the bed. He walked to the courtyard and saw Chen Zhaodi washing clothes by the well. He asked with a dark expression, “Where’s Guixiang? Why don’t you let her wash your clothes? Do you know how to be a mother? Your daughter is already so old, but you still don’t teach her how to do housework. When she gets married in the future, will you help her wash her clothes?”
Chen Zhaodi thought to herself,
You took it out on me when you came back after being bullied outside.
However, she replied, “I saw that Guixiang’s face was so swollen. I was afraid that she would be seen by the people next door!”
“Never mind, never mind,” said Zhang Defa, waving his hand impatiently. “I thought you mentioned that your cousin escaped here too, didn’t you?”
Chen Zhaodi glanced at Zhang Defa and lowered her head to rub the clothes in the basin. She replied unhappily, “I haven’t interacted with her since you told me off the last time.”
Zhang Defa recalled, “I remember that her son, Chun, has delicate features and looks similar to us. I wonder if he has a wife.”
Chen Guixiang thought of Qi Chunsheng and spat in disgust. “Pfft! How can her son compare to our Guisheng? He’s only in his teens and he’s already eating, drinking, and gambling. Why are you thinking of him?”
Zhang Defa looked at Chen Zhaodi and told her everything that had happened in West Mountain Village. He said angrily, “After we return the money to that b*tch, we won’t even have the money to buy the goods. Isn’t that girl loyal to Guisheng? Let him pretend to be Guisheng…”
Chen Zhaodi looked at Zhang Defa in confusion. “Will this work?”
Zhang Defa grinned hideously. “We didn’t suffer any losses even if it didn’t work out! Tell him that if he succeeds, we’ll give him 20 taels of silver.”
“Okay, I’ll look for him after I dry my clothes.”
Zhang Defa’s heart ached when he thought of the hundred flowers. “Hurry up! Don’t let that bitch spend all the money.”
“I’ll go now, alright?” Zhang Defa watched as Chen Zhaodi left the courtyard. It was as if he saw Li Yu crying bitterly. He suddenly felt that he couldn’t sleep even if he had the energy. He went out and walked towards the provision store.