Hearing his sister's familiar voice, Li Benshan asked with concern: "Hey, little sister, is this great?"
Li Xiangyuan smiled lowly.
"Thank you, second brother, for caring."
Li Benshan:......
Why does he feel like his sister has become a different person?
Leaving behind two kilograms of meat, Li Benshan returned home with a heavy heart.
Had dinner in the evening.
Mrs. Song put the six taels of silver handed over by Li Benshan into her account, and gave the remaining fraction to Ms. Li for her pocket money.
Li Benshan said: "Originally, it was six to eight. I cut off two kilograms of meat. When I came back, I passed by the old house. I heard from my father that my little sister was well, so I went to see her again."
Li asked in surprise: "My little sister is okay? Isn't she stupid anymore?"
Li Xiaomian frowned, her sister-in-law actually recovered?
Will she remember what happened that day?
Xiaomian asked: "When will my sister-in-law be fine?"
Li Benshan shook his head, "I only found out today. I heard from your father that it has been several days and now he can move around."
Ms. Song frowned and said, "Go and see her. They won't give you any looks, right?"
Li Benshan shook his head: "Not only did he not show any expression, he was also very easy to talk to."
From Old Man Li to Mrs. Zhao to Li Xiangyuan, they all had very good attitudes, making him feel like he was in a dream.
The more Li Benshan thought about it, the more something was wrong, and he explained in detail what happened today.
He asked uneasily: "Can you help me analyze it? Are they holding back something bad?"
Ms. Li frowned and said, "You must be holding back your bad intentions. Our father feels sorry for you and you still make it right."
"Our little sister has just recovered from a serious illness and is not making any fuss, so that can be said.
Our stepmother can smile and let you eat, huh? Why is she so scared?"
Mrs. Song quickly said: "I have said before, we can't eat anything over there, and we don't want to drink any water."
"I don't know how to eat, don't worry, sister-in-law, I don't even dare to stay longer."
I always feel like there's something wrong with the old house.
Li Benshan shuddered, "Don't let anything bother the old house, right?"
"Bah, bah, bah", Mrs. Li quickly slapped her man.
"What are you doing so late at night? It's so scary."
As she spoke, she looked at Xiao Mian again: "Mian, draw a talisman for Auntie to ward off evil spirits and keep her safe. Second Auntie is timid, and her second uncle frightened her so much that her heart pounded."
Xiao Mian smiled and took out a few recently drawn peace charms.
Mrs. Li quickly sent one to everyone.
"Put them all in the pocket of your underwear. Stay away from the old house from now on. If we can't afford to offend you, we can always hide away, right?"
Li Xiaomian also feels that there is something wrong with the old house, and there must be a monster if something goes wrong.
Don't worry, I'd better go over there and take a look tomorrow.
However, early the next morning, Song discovered that there were insects in the herb field.
So the whole family, including Xiao Sanshun, was driven to the herb field to catch insects.
I have been busy for half a month, until the wheat turned yellow.
Start preparing the wheat field again.
This year's wheat field was chosen to be at the east end of the village, south of the road, that is, south of the herb field.
Here is a large grassy slope mixed with rocks and soil.
Several companies that live in Dongtou have chosen this venue.
It's close to home, and the harvested wheat can be pulled here for easy drying and turning over.
The venue chosen by Li Xiaomian's family is next to Aunt Lihua's house in the south. It is right on the road and can be seen as soon as they go out.
After choosing the venue, you have to roll the field.
Weed first, then remove the large rocks to expose a thin layer of soil.
Then the family pulled a big stone roller and rolled it on it.
Looking at the big stone roller, Li Xiaomian said: "Mom, buy a little donkey."
Madam Song looked at the children and said to Madam Li, "I forgot about this."
In previous years, Old Man Li was in charge of harvesting wheat.
We also have a little donkey at home, but last year the stubborn donkey always brayed in the middle of the night.
Mrs. Zhao thought it was evil, so she sold it.
Li Benshan said: "I went to find Qinghe, and he also said he wanted to buy livestock. We will go to Liuzhuangji as companions to have a look."
Li Qinghe also grew up with him. They made some money by making a water tanker together, and they just wanted to add another animal.
Every year on April 26th, Liuzhuang holds an annual gathering.
It lasts for three days.
Because this gathering happens just before the wheat harvest, some people also call it the harvest gathering.
It is said that this gathering was so big that a whole street was occupied by those selling sickles, mulberry wood forks, wooden handles, and bamboo brooms.
All kinds of things are very complete.
There is also a dedicated livestock market.
Mrs. Song had already prepared to go to the meeting with Mrs. Li.
I don’t have wooden forks, sickles or other wheat harvesting tools at home. I’m just waiting for this fair to make a big purchase.
It's just that women and children don't go to the livestock market.
Because there are livestock walkers there.
What is "walking animals"?
Xiao Mian didn't know, so when he asked Xiao Dao, Xiao Dao was also confused.
So Xiaodao curiously asked her mother, but was ordered by her second aunt not to say these three words again.
It was also because of the ambiguity of the second aunt that the two of them became more and more curious.
When I went to catch a meeting, I also sneaked to the livestock market to watch.
As a result, he was caught by his second uncle.
Two people were expelled.
The second uncle explained at that time: "Here are some fast animals with bad tempers and like to kick people, so women and children are not allowed in."
Fast animals, Xiao Mian knows, she has heard that animals are fast and slow.
The so-called "fast animals" refer to horses, mules, donkeys, etc., while the "slow animals" mainly refer to cattle.
Cows walk slowly, this is easy to understand.
So what does "walking animals" mean?
Is it a walking competition between animals? Whoever walks well will be able to sell it for a good price?
The two sisters were curious and refused to tell anyone who asked. They also glared and gestured with their hands to stop them from asking any more questions.
So Xiaomian and Xiaodao have always been curious.
It was years later that Xiao Mian eavesdropped on the conversation between two old men, and then she learned what "walking animals" meant.
It turns out that "walking the animals" actually means letting the animals mate.
People here are quite reserved and are embarrassed to talk about animal pairings, so they use "walking animals" to express this meaning.
I'll go.
The animals are paired together, making it look like a telegraph code.
Unlike modern times, where the animal world is introduced so clearly that even preschoolers can understand it, she has been troubled for several years.
No wonder most of the people here are simple and pure.
Li Benshan spent ten taels of silver and sold a half-grown calf under two years old. By the way, he also brought a half-used carriage with him.
The bridle for the cart was newly purchased, and the seller also gave a handful of red tassels to tie on the cow's head.
This may be the same as when modern people buy a new car and tie it with red silk, it is for good luck.
Just tie red cherry blossoms on the cow's head, won't the cow become angry and manic?
In fact, Xiaomian's worries were unnecessary.
Not only was the cow not angry, but it was also very obedient.
Xiao Mian was puzzled and asked her second uncle: "Second uncle, aren't cows afraid of the color red?"
The second uncle shook his head: "I've never heard that cows are afraid of red."
Li Xiaomian: Could it be that I have a misunderstanding?
Not giving up, Li Xiaomian returned home, found a piece of red cloth, held it up with a wooden stick, and dangled it in front of the cow.
As a result, the cow became angry.
Li Xiaomian also breathed a sigh of relief.
The second uncle frowned and looked at her, "If you find a piece of black cloth to tease it, he will also go crazy."
Li Xiaomian:Huh?
So Xiao Mian, who was not convinced, changed into a black cloth to tease the little scalper.
It turns out that cows are color blind.
It can't tell the difference between its eyes at all. The reason why the cow becomes very impulsive is because its temper is very irritable.
As long as you tease it, it will get furious no matter what color you use.
With an ox cart, any work can be done with twice the result with half the effort.
The oxen pulled the stone roller and rolled it.
Soon, a neat, smooth and solid wheat field was created.