Chapter 32： Li Laosan has a suggestion!

Chapter 32 Li Laosan has a proposal!

Wu Cuihua was so angry that she was about to scold Tao Hongying when she heard Mrs. Li's voice coming from the hall.

“Wu Er, you came all the way back from the county. Did you know that your nephew was going to study, so you gave him money to buy pen and ink?”

Wu Er was so embarrassed that he blushed and had a thick neck. How dare he say that he came back to take advantage.

Looking at Li Laosi, who had a fist as big as a pottery bowl at the door, he choked for a long time and finally walked away in despair.

Wu Cuihua still wanted to catch up, but the whole family looked at her coldly and shrank...

In a blink of an eye, it was the day when Jiaren went to the academy, and Tao Hongying got up early to cook.

When it was dawn, Li Laoer took Jiaren with him, and Li Laosi picked up the bedding and luggage and set off together.

The whole family stood at the gate of the courtyard to see them off, and their reluctance to leave them made Jiaren's nose sore.

“Ah!” Jiayin was in Tao Hongying’s arms, trying hard to make a small fist gesture at Jiaren.

Jiaren leaned over and put his little face close to the good news.

Jiayin wanted to touch her eldest brother’s handsome face, but she couldn’t control her strength and the slap was a little loud.

She blushed with embarrassment, but the family members were used to it, and they all laughed, and the sadness of parting became much lighter...

After Jiaren went to study, life in the Li family continued as usual.

Li Laosi kept his promise and took the young people in the village to hunt in the mountains every day. He got a harvest almost every time, but it was not easy to find big beasts.

On the other hand, Li Laosan took his children and went door-to-door to repair houses for the elderly, which was very effective.

The house to be repaired today belongs to a family near the entrance of the village. Li Laosan is standing on the roof, while Jiayi and his two younger brothers help deliver cattails.

"Hansheng, please take a rest." The village chief happened to come over and saw Li Laosan's head covered with sweat, so he shouted.

Li Laosan slipped down from the roof, pulled up his sleeves and wiped a few beads of sweat randomly, smiled honestly, and greeted, "Uncle is here!"

“Yes, I have nothing to do at home, so come and take a look. Thank you for having you in the village this year, otherwise, I am afraid that I will take away two or three old brothers again this winter.”

The village chief looked at the half-repaired roof, feeling grateful and happy from the bottom of his heart.

Li Laosan waved his hand nonchalantly, "We are all neighbors, so we should help each other."

After finishing speaking, he hesitated for a moment and then said, "Uncle, I have something I don't know whether to say or not?"

“Tell me, do you need manpower, or are you short of wood and bricks?” the village chief responded quickly.

Li Laosan shook his head, "Uncle, I have been repairing houses these days, and I found that some of the houses are in bad shape. Even if they are barely repaired, they may not be able to withstand the heavy snow in winter."

He raised his finger and pointed to several other locations in the village, and said.

“I was wondering if we could gather the old people who live alone in such dilapidated houses into one family to spend the winter together. Not only would we save firewood, but we could also take care of each other and relieve our boredom. What do you think?”

The village chief's eyes lit up when he heard this. This was indeed a good idea. In previous years, he only worried about the harsh winter, so why didn't he think of signing up for a group to keep warm?

“This is a good idea, I think it’s feasible, but after all, it’s everyone’s business. I’ll wait until I go and ask each house.”

The village chief had a short temper and turned around and left after speaking.

He really asked the families of the old bachelor brothers, and no one objected.

The last family is the lame Uncle Zhao’s house next door to the Li family.

His yard is the most spacious among the families, and the house is quite tidy. With five old brothers living there, there are two houses and two kangs, which is completely open for living.

Uncle Zhao was also generous and asked all the old brothers to move in at that time.

The village chief is even more satisfied. These old brothers guard the Li family. The Li family has a large population, so it is convenient for them to help when something happens.

When the people in the village heard about it, they all helped several families to carry their luggage, collect firewood, transport food, and moved the veterans to one place in a lively manner.

Tao Hongying and Zhao Yuru were also diligent and enthusiastic, and helped clean up the house. Even the Kang mat was washed and dried in the sun.

But none of the veterans had wives, so the bedding was inevitably a little dirty, so they helped to remove, wash and mend it. It took three or four days like this before the Zhao family's yard next door became quiet. The three main rooms of Uncle Zhao's house have also become tidy and bright.

The veterans slept on the hot kang, covered with clean quilts that smelled of soap locust. They were happy and moved, and were particularly close to the Li family when they saw them.

Jiaxi and Jiaan are naughty and can't stay idle at all.

From time to time, I would run over to the veterans and tell them stories about marching and fighting. I would pester them to use small daggers to cut wood carvings and use slingshots to shoot birds. The quiet courtyard became more lively.

On this day, Sister-in-law Zhang came to Li’s house to make sauce cubes with a basin of soaked beans.

Other women in the village heard this and came over to help. Those who had soaked beans at home also brought them over to cook together.

Li's two large iron pots came in handy, cooking beans all day long.

How come women rarely talk when they get together.

Some people praised Tao Hongying when they saw that she was quick and diligent.

“Hongying is really virtuous. She cooks delicious food and has a good temper. She is not like my sister-in-law who eats and is lazy all day long. After she gave birth to a son, she wanted to ride on my mother’s head..."

The other woman spoke quickly and smiled.

“Stop it, your sister-in-law is famous in every village for being lazy and fierce. How dare you compare her with Hongying?”

The woman who spoke first made a fool of herself, smiled and turned her companion's elbow while continuing to work on her hands.

“When my son gets married tomorrow, he will find a wife like Hongying and Yuru do, and his life will be prosperous!”

The woman with a son at home also sighed.

“You may not have a good life like Aunt Li.”

“You **** bitch, what are you talking about?”

“Hahaha, look at how angry she is…”

The women were chatting and making trouble, and they didn’t seem to feel tired after working.

Tao Hongying is scooping up cooked beans and placing them in a large pottery basin. The beans are allowed to cool, then mashed into puree, and then smashed into a square shape.

Old Mrs. Li came out of the house with the good news in her arms. The women saw them, and they were all little girls who were looking for fair and fat children.

Jiayin was not afraid of strangers either. She yawned softly and her big eyes were misty, making her look even cuter.

“Ouch! Fu Niu’er is so cute, I want to have another one and get hungry.”

Everyone stopped working and started coaxing and teasing around the good news. Everyone was envious.

“Sister-in-law, your little girl is about the same age as my boy, how about we arrange a baby wedding?”

A young daughter-in-law approached Tao Hongying and made a winking suggestion.

Before Tao Hongying could say anything, the woman next to her became unhappy.

"Hurry up! That boy of yours has followed your man and looks like a black monkey. He still wants to marry Fu Niuer?"

“My boy Bai Jing’er!”

“Don’t be shy! Your boy is already nine years old, and Fu Niu’er has just turned 100 days old! I really want the old cow to eat young grass!”

A married woman has no scruples in what she says, and her laughter from time to time can spread far and wide.

Hearing the good news with great interest, he also giggled from time to time.

The women didn't think anything of it, but Mrs. Li was afraid that her granddaughter would be misled, so she took her back early...

(End of this chapter)