Zhu Yunxi and the old man sat on a lame bench, Guo Ying squatted on the left in front of them, and Li Jinglong squatted on the right.
They were holding melon seeds in their hands, eating them slowly and watching the excitement.
The stove fire made Widow Liu's cheeks red. She skillfully opened the lid of the pot and poured the grains into the boiling water little by little. The steam evaporated, making her look a little delicate.
Jingchuan Marquis Cao Zhen, this old and ungrateful thing, leaned against the door frame next to him with a smile and watched intently.
"This little girl is really good at her crafts. You can tell she is a good hand at home and abroad!" Cao Zhen said with a smile, "How old are you?"
Widow Liu lowered her head and did not answer. Even though chaste and martyr women were not very popular in this era, women could not tell other men their age.
"Look what you're afraid of. Old man, I'm old and I'm just going to chat with you." Cao Zhen said with a smile.
Widow Liu whispered, "Twenty-eight..."
"Hey, it doesn't look like you're already twenty-eight. I think you're only twenty-five or six!" Cao Zhen said with a smile.
Twenty-eight!
Zhu Yunxi was listening, and then looked at the young man sitting on the threshold of the gate, holding an egg in his hand and drooling. If you put it this way, Widow Liu became a mother at the age of fifteen or sixteen.
"Tsk tsk, big sister, your face looks great. It looks like a prosperous husband at first glance!" Cao Zhen said and quickly changed his words, "How many years has it been since your man died?"
puff!
The old man's shoulders kept shaking and he almost laughed out loud.
Guo Ying opened his mouth and laughed silently, while Li Jinglong was puzzled. He couldn't understand at all, how could a dignified prince be interested in this village girl?
"My man has been gone for four years!" Widow Liu looked at Cao Zhen and suddenly a smile flashed in her eyes, "He has been sick since he was a child and is in poor health."
"Why are you still marrying him when he is sick?" Cao Zhen took two steps closer.
"If I don't get married, how will the two brothers from my mother's family get married? His family gives a lot of gifts!" Widow Liu sighed and kept stirring the iron pot, "There is no way, it's all fate!"
"Then...how do you two live normally?" Cao Zhen asked again.
"My husband left six acres of land, and three acres were rented to his cousin. The two of us farmed three acres and it was barely enough for us to eat." Widow Liu continued to laugh.
Cao Zhen frowned slightly after hearing this.
Hearing this, the old man leaned into Zhu Yunxi's ear and said, "This widow is not simple, she is a bit fierce!"
Zhu Yunxi was puzzled, "How did you see it?"
"You don't understand things in the countryside. Widows and destitute households are the most vulnerable to bullying. Do you think it's easy for a woman to raise her own children? Why do you give her male cousin three acres of land to cultivate if you have six acres of land at home? You can't do it if you don't give it. You can't give it to him. There’s just no one to help me at all.”
"As the saying goes, a widow has a lot of trouble at her door. In addition to making a living, she also has to tolerate other people's tongues and guard against others' concerns. If she is not careful, others will take advantage of her."
"When we were young, there was also a widow in the village. In terms of seniority, she was still our third aunt. Not to mention that the old men were concerned about her, but those strong young men were there every now and then..."
"In the countryside, if a woman like this wasn't aggressive, there would be no place to cry."
I have to admit that what the old man said is reasonable, but Zhu Yunxi didn't see what was so mean about Widow Liu? Looking at someone who spoke softly and softly, how could she be so mean?
At this time, an old woman's voice sounded outside the wall, "Second daughter-in-law Liu, it's getting late, come back and have a rest."
Listening to the voice, it was not one old woman, but several old women.
"These old people in the village spend all day staring at others." The old man said in a low voice, "This is because they see Widow Liu coming to beat them, and they feel uncomfortable."
Zhu Yunxi really didn't understand these things, "Why are they unhappy?"
"You're stupid!" the old man laughed and scolded, "This house belongs to Widow Liu, and the old man from the village directly let us live in it, but will he give the money we give to Widow Liu? Those old ladies outside the wall, you
Do you think they are so kind to ask Widow Liu to sleep? They are afraid that if we give money again, it will fall into Widow Liu’s hands!"
"So much knowledge?" Zhu Yunxi couldn't laugh or cry.
"You've learned so much!" The old man crossed his legs, "What did we say just now? A widow with an unemployed child is guaranteed to be bullied by the village..."
Before the old man could finish speaking, Widow Liu straightened up on the stove and shouted to the outside, "Madam, please rest first. I'll go back after cooking for some distinguished guests. After all, they live in my room."
, it’s not the case that I, the master, don’t show up. Besides, they are all old men who have never touched a pot in their lives. As a junior, I should come to warm up the meal for Zhang Luokou. After all, they give me
That’s a lot of money!”
"Look, the aggressive spirit is here!" The old man smiled at Zhu Yunxi, "Inside and outside the words, Widow Liu told those old and immortal women that the head of my house was given to outsiders, and the money was still missing.
I've tolerated it, but I can't continue to bully others. I cook for these people to earn some money, do you also care?"
"She also made it clear in her words that although she is a widow, there are several elderly men in the courtyard. This has nothing to do with nonsense about men and women, so don't talk back."
As he said that, the old man continued to laugh and said, "You see, this is a shrewd one. A shrewd one doesn't mean grabbing her waist and scolding her when she doesn't recognize her relatives. This little widow's shrewdness is in the right place. She knows where to retreat and where to advance. If this is a man,
It’s amazing!”
As the saying goes, knowledge is all that makes things clear in the world. The old man has a clear understanding of the human heart.
"Don't be afraid, ladies and gentlemen. My son is guarding the gate. The courtyard door is open. The guests are staying in our village. They are all kind-hearted people. Don't worry about me. You can go back and rest!"
After saying that, Widow Liu cursed a few words silently and continued to cook with her head down.
There were some angry murmurs outside, but there was no news.
Cao Zhen is a person who shows off his face when he is angry.
At this moment, he looked outside with a bad expression and cursed.
"Sister, can you still live a normal life?" He said with a shy face, and he was so embarrassed that he only cares about one girl.
"If you can't make it, you won't be able to survive, so just hold on." Widow Liu flipped her hair, which made Cao Zhen feel as if he had lost his mind. "The child is still young, so it's fine. But when the child grows up, it won't be easy to decide whether to marry him or not."
Are you giving birth to a child? We only have six acres of land at home, and we have plenty of food every year."
"Have you ever thought about finding another man?" Cao Zhen blurted out.
Widow Liu paused her hands and said with a wry smile, "Look at what you said, I am a widow with a child, or a boy. Which man would like it?" Then she sighed again, "Besides, his father will stay.
A young man like this can survive hard times, but if he meets a stepfather who beats and scolds him all day long, wouldn't I be committing a sin?"
"Actually, you're pretty good at tidying up!" Cao Zhen muttered.
Widow Liu looked at him and smiled, said nothing, and continued busy with her work.
Cao Zhen grinned and wanted to say something, but he still didn't speak. He turned his eyes to the door, where the half-grown boy was sitting stupidly holding an egg.
"Why don't you eat?" Cao Zhen asked.
The young man smiled innocently and said, "Save it for a while and share it with your mother!"
"An egg is still tough..." As he said this, Cao Zhen couldn't continue.
In the eyes of nobles like them, an egg is nothing, but he is also a child from a poor family and knows that eggs are a good thing that ordinary farmers do not eat even once a year.
At that moment, he walked to Li Jinglong with his hands behind his back.
"Hey!" Cao Zhen lightly kicked the opponent.
"Ah!" Li Jinglong stood up, wondering what was going on.
"Money!" Cao Zhen hooked his hands and whispered.
This chapter has been completed!