PFC Chapter 427
Chapter 427
After the rain, the sky cleared up and the windows that had been closed all morning were opened. Zhong Ruyi took a deep breath of the fresh air after the rain, and someone hugged her knees. When she looked down, she saw that it was Chen Miaomiao who was smiling at her with a few little front teeth showing.
She smiled slightly, picked up the child, and walked outside. "I don't know if your father and his men can finish the house today. It has been raining for the past few days, so it must have delayed the process."
Chen's mother, who had just returned from Zhao Xiaozheng's place, heard this and said, "It's not possible today. Dongzhi said it will be around tomorrow or the day after tomorrow."
By this calculation, Zhao Xiaozheng's house has been under construction for nearly two months, and it was already in the final stages, but it has been raining for the past half month, which has delayed a lot of time.
"Mom, please help me take Miaomiao out. I'll cook. If Dongzhi doesn't come back, it will be just the three of us eating."
Chen's mother came in to pick up the child, and the grandparents and grandchildren sat under the eaves, with rain still dripping down the tiles.
Chen Miaomiao stretched out her hand to catch the rain water, but her mother stopped her, "Be good, we won't play in the water. Just sit still. Grandma will go see if your mother has prepared the meal."
She gave a few instructions, and seeing the fair and tender little ball sitting obediently, she went into the kitchen with peace of mind.
After the people left, Chen Miaomiao started to act naughty. After getting down from the small stool, she put her head close to the place where the raindrops were falling. The water droplets slid down her neck into her clothes, making her shiver. She quickly climbed back onto the small stool and sat down obediently.
At noon, Zhong Ruyi made noodles. Chen's mother liked to eat clear soup noodles, and she added two spoonfuls of chili to her bowl.
Chen Miaomiao ate from a small bowl, slurping it up like a pig. There were only noodles but no soup, and she was afraid that she would not hold it firmly and get the soup all over herself.
The three were eating when someone knocked on the door.
Zhong Ruyi put down the slender stick in her hand and went to open the door. The person who came was Tie Niu:
"Aunt Ruyi, my grandfather said that we will go to the ancestral hall tonight to divide the rent for this year's land, so he asked you to go early."
"Okay." Zhong Ruyi responded. Of the 100 acres of land awarded to the village in previous years, except for the 66 acres distributed to each household, the remaining 34 acres were rented out to villagers for cultivation. Rent was collected every year and the money was distributed every three years. This year was the second time the money was distributed.
Tie Niu left after he finished speaking. He still had to tell other families in the village about this matter, in case not all the people went there tonight and his grandfather would scold him.
After returning to the house, Chen's mother asked her who came?
"Oh, it's Tieniu, asking me to go and share the money for renting the land tonight."
After dinner in the evening, Chen Dongzhi went to the ancestral hall to get money, and the other people in the family were too lazy to move.
There were a lot of people crowded in the ancestral hall. Zhao Ganwei stood in the middle holding a booklet, waiting for almost everyone to arrive.
He cleared his throat and listed every detail of the rent for the past three years. The ditches built at the entrance of the village and the fences built on the back mountain all cost labor, and the labor was naturally paid from the rent.
The remaining 734 taels of silver were allocated to each family, 11 taels.
"I'll get the money when my name is called!"
"Zhao Liu!"
This was the name of my sixth uncle. The one who took the lead in collecting the money was his little grandson. He came forward with a smile and received eleven taels of silver.
......
On the way back with the 11 taels of silver that he had received, Chen Dongzhi was grabbed by the shoulder by Zhong Laosan. "What do you mean? Are you going hunting tomorrow? Kang Kang has been asking for a fawn these days. Where can I find one for him?"
"No." Chen Dongzhi shook his head. His brother-in-law's house would only be his in the next two days. Even if he wanted to go hunting, he would have to postpone it for a while. Now the weather was not cold yet, and there was plenty of prey and food, so he seldom went out.
He thought about it and thought if Kang Kang liked Miao Miao, he would like her too. "Maybe in half a month. Not right now."
Zhong Laosan didn't force it. He mainly wanted to find his brother-in-law to help him. Otherwise, he would not be able to do it alone. This kind of thing still needs to find professionals to help.
The two agreed on a time and then strolled back home.
A few days later, Zhao Xiaozheng moved into a new house and invited the villagers to a banquet.
The new house was filled with new furniture. The Zhao and Chen families each contributed half to make the couple's new house look beautiful.
Xiaoxue's cheeks were slightly red as she entertained the guests in the main hall. The two sisters-in-law were also helping to entertain the guests.
Sun Tao, who was invited to cook in the kitchen, was a little depressed. While stirring the wok, he talked to the women who were picking vegetables nearby. "Xiao Qin clearly promised me that he would meet the daughter of the Wang family, but in the end he changed his mind! How can this be! He promised someone and suddenly he can't go. How can I explain this to the matchmaker!?"
"Didn't you ask Jiang Qin what he meant? What if he already has a girl he likes? Wouldn't you be doing something bad with good intentions?"
"Yes, I said you should ask clearly. You can't just do it one-sidedly, right?"
Sun Tao hesitated, really thinking that she did not give her son the right to speak and was so hasty in choosing a girl for him. Maybe her son really had a girl he liked!
After talking about her son, she turned to her two daughters. Sun Tao has been worried about her two daughters over the years. She can't sleep well or eat well because she is worried about the life-long affairs of these three children.
"My Rong'er is 24 years old this year! The same age as Ruyi. Look, Ruyi already has a child, but what about Arong?" She sighed, feeling ashamed to face her husband who had passed away many years ago. None of her three children could give her peace of mind!
The eldest son and daughter are like this, and even the youngest daughter, who is about to turn 18, says she doesn't want to get married and just wants to be with her family.
It was of no use even though Sun Tao was worried to the point of having her hair turn white.
Seeing that she was so depressed that she couldn't even lift the handle of the pot, several women who were picking vegetables hurried to comfort her, fearing that she was depressed or something.
The guests outside have arrived in groups of three or four, and eight tables have been set up in the yard.
When Zhong Ruyi brought Miaomiao over, Sun Tao was talking to Zhong's mother. She didn't even notice that Zhong Ruyi was standing in front of them and kept talking.
She pricked up her ears and listened for a few words. It seemed that they were talking about Jiang Qin. Zhong's mother wanted to introduce him to Li Guihua's niece. Although Li Guihua's sister-in-law was not very good, her daughter was quite good.
She is sweet-mouthed, efficient at work, and straightforward in character. She is a girl who is rough but delicate, gentle but strong.
The two of them talked endlessly. Zhong Ruyi didn't feel like listening any more, so she picked up Miaomiao and prepared to leave, when she met Chen Dongzhi who came to look for them.
"Why are you standing here? Come in." Chen Dongzhi took his daughter and glanced at his mother-in-law. Seeing that they were chatting enthusiastically, he did not disturb them. He took his daughter-in-law and daughter to the main room. There were eight tables set up in the yard outside and two tables set up in the main room. All the people sitting there were close friends.
At the banquet, Zhao Xiaozheng picked up two pieces of delicious stir-fried vegetables for Xiaoxue. Someone saw this and joked, "Why did Xiaozheng only give her vegetables but not meat?"
It was just a good-natured joke, but both of them blushed, which aroused the imagination of everyone at the table.
As an experienced person, Mrs. Zhong reacted immediately. She turned her head and said something to Mrs. Chen who was sitting next to her, which made her open her eyes wide with joy.