mchenry-crisis.org Chapter 31 Rumors
Chapter 31 Rumors
After explaining the wire loop to Wang the blacksmith, the two brothers, Li Xiangyang and Li Xiangdong, drove their horse-drawn cart back to the village.
Before leaving,
Li Xiangyang even made a special trip to the supply and marketing cooperative, where he spent 3.5 yuan to buy two packs of Daqianmen cigarettes and 5 jin of fatty pork.
Before leaving home, he had promised Liu Xiulan that he would accompany her back to her parents' home today, no matter what.
Firstly, Liu Xiulan hadn't been back for more than half a year.
Secondly, because their home is some distance from Liu Xiulan's family home, the five catties of venison they said they would send to Liu Xiulan's family the day before yesterday have not yet been delivered.
Liu Xiulan had noticed Li Xiangyang's recent changes and was overjoyed. She couldn't wait to tell her parents the good news.
This little scheme of his naturally did not escape Li Xiangyang's notice.
But that didn't bother him.
He just felt that this was the first time he had met his father-in-law since his rebirth, so he should at least prepare a small gift for him.
I can no longer do what I did in my previous life, going back to Liu Xiulan empty-handed every time, eating for free, causing Liu Xiulan to be gossiped about by the neighbors.
They said she married a lazy and good-for-nothing husband.
Li Xiangyang was in a good mood, thinking about visiting relatives later, but an hour later, when the carriage arrived at the village entrance...
Li Xiangyang suddenly realized that something was wrong.
along the way,
The villagers I encountered were always gathered in twos and threes, seemingly chatting about something.
When they got close, they all stopped talking, as if they were deliberately avoiding them.
They looked at each other with a strange expression.
"Brother, have you noticed that everyone's been behaving a bit strangely today?"
Li Xiangyang asked in a low voice.
"Strange...? What's wrong with them?"
Li Xiangdong drove the carriage the whole way and didn't notice any of this.
"Okay, never mind."
Li Xiangyang was helpless. He couldn't really get any advice from his brother. He had to go back and ask his sister-in-law, Zhao Lijuan.
Zhao Lijuan is an excellent informant in the village. She loves to gossip with a group of village women.
So, whenever there's any news in the village, you can always get the first scoop from her.
This is not,
They had just driven the carriage back into the courtyard when Zhao Lijuan returned, looking furious.
"I'm so angry, so angry! What a bunch of gossipy old hags!"
Zhao Lijuan stomped her feet on the ground a few times.
"Lijuan, what happened?"
As Li Xiangdong untied the carriage, he asked with concern.
"Yes, sister-in-law, what made you so angry?"
Li Xiangyang was also curious.
"When my brother and I came back just now, we saw a lot of people gathered at the village entrance. Is something happening?"
"Oh, they saw you, right? That's good."
Zhao Lijuan breathed a sigh of relief and said.
"Just look at us...? We're not monkeys in a circus, what's so interesting about us?"
Li Xiangyang joked with a smile.
"Hey, you two brothers are way more entertaining than monkeys in a circus now, you don't know that, do you? It's all over the place!"
"What……?"
"What are you spreading...?"
The two brothers, Li Xiangyang and Li Xiangdong, were both a little confused.
"The news about the brigade coming to our door last night has spread, but... it hasn't spread completely yet."
Zhao Lijuan became increasingly discouraged as she spoke.
"Anyway, all sorts of crazy rumors are circulating about our family now."
In this era, the free market was just beginning, and many people's thinking was still stuck in the old days of the "iron rice bowl" system, making them relatively conservative.
They have a negative attitude towards doing business privately.
of course,
There are certainly some people among them who say it's sour grapes because they can't have the grapes.
"I was wondering why they all seemed so strange earlier; now I know it's because of this."
Li Xiangyang gave a wry smile, then put all the sacks into the storage room, came out again, and said with a smile:
"Sister-in-law, let others say what they want. We'll just live our own lives."
"Yes, Lijuan, don't worry about what others say. Look, we've made so much money today."
As Li Xiangdong spoke, he took out the 30-odd yuan he had earned from selling fish that morning and waved it around.
"Wow, you made so much money again today!"
Seeing the large stack of small bills in Li Xiangdong's hand, Zhao Lijuan was no longer angry. She wiped some saliva on her fingers and started counting them.
What are rumors and gossip compared to this stack of small bills and those bags of rice and flour in the kitchen?
…………
After entering the house, Li Xiangyang ate cornbread and drank several bowls of crucian carp soup. He rested for about half an hour and felt that the horse had rested enough, so he went to the stable to lead the horse out.
Hitch onto the carriage.
We don't need a lot of fish tomorrow, so Li Xiangdong volunteered to go catch them all by himself after he had rested, and I didn't stop him.
He's going hunting later, and I reckon Li Xiangdong will have to fish all by himself. It's good for him to get used to it beforehand.
In previous years, he would take his wife and daughter back to his wife's parents' home on the second day of the Lunar New Year, but this year there is a snow disaster.
It's hard to say whether we'll be able to get through it.
Before leaving, Li Xiangyang specially found three wooden planks in the storeroom and made a simple triangular cover for the carriage, then laid dry grass and a cotton quilt on it.
Only after ensuring they were kept warm were Liu Xiulan and her daughter allowed to sit down.
"Alright, Xiulan, bring DouDou up and let her sit here! If there's any stuffy or drafty spot, let me know and I'll fix it."
"Uh-huh."
Liu Xiulan nodded, got into the car, and nestled under the wooden canopy. It felt very warm, and the dry grass and quilt under her bottom made it comfortable: "It's very comfortable and warm."
She smiled, and a warm feeling welled up inside her.
Previously, Li Xiangyang would never have thought of such thoughtful and meticulous things.
She felt that Li Xiangyang had really changed for the better this time.
Li Xiangyang was driving the carriage, about to head out.
Suddenly, Wang Guiying, Li Xiangyang's mother, chased after him. Li Xiangyang wondered what she wanted to do, but it turned out she was worried about him because it was his first time driving a horse-drawn carriage, and told him to drive slowly.
She was terrified that Li Xiangyang would drop her precious granddaughter.
of course,
Wang Guiying's worries were unnecessary; in her previous life, Li Xiangyang had worked on a ranch for most of his life.
He could drive all kinds of carriages, including horse-drawn carriages, donkey carts, and even forklifts in later times.
"Giddy up!"
Li Xiangyang skillfully flicked his riding whip.
The carriage began to sway.
"Xiangyang, when did you learn to drive a horse-drawn carriage? I had no idea."
The carriage traveled smoothly for half an hour before Liu Xiulan, sitting in the carriage, began to feel that something was amiss.
"I just learned this, how's it? Pretty good as a coachman, right?"
Li Xiangyang said with a smile.
"Great, very good. It doesn't sound like someone who just learned it. It feels like it's even better than Uncle Xiangdong's."
Liu Xiulan had ridden in Li Xiangdong's horse-drawn carriage before, and more than once.
Previously, Li Xiangyang didn't know how to drive a horse-drawn carriage. Every year on the second day of the Lunar New Year, when they went back to her parents' home, Li Xiangdong would go back to her parents' home first in the morning and return before noon. Then he would drive the horse-drawn carriage to take the two of them back.
What Uncle Li Xiangdong did was truly impeccable.
However, the carriage driven by Li Xiangdong was steady, but very slow, just like his personality.
They are the type to take a steady and reliable approach!
Li Xiangyang's carriage was both fast and steady.
Then,
She then remembered that besides herself and Li Doudou and her daughter, there were also 5 jin of pork, 5 jin of venison, and two large carp on the bus today.
Liu Xiulan smiled.