Since the construction of the three-room brick house, Qinglian has to go in and see it several times a day. Ran Er couldn't help but make fun of her:

"Lian'er, you run in every day to see, if you don't wait for us to move in, I'm afraid the threshold will be turned old by you."

"Sister, rest assured, Lian'er is very careful, every time she lifts her legs high, she can't touch the threshold at all."

Knowing that Ran'er was making fun of herself, Qinglian also joked with Ran'er.

On the day of the mother's fourth anniversary, Qinglian can say. Ran Er also said a lot to her mother with love. Every time they go to the grave, what the sisters look forward to most is the last paper ashes flying, and they do not disappoint the sisters every time.

"Sister, this year's paper ashes fly higher and dance better, right?"

"Yes, my mother may be so happy to see the brick house we built."

In the evening, the two sisters lay down on the kang and began to count the remaining silver coins. It cost a total of eighteen taels of silver to build a house. The rice ate two stones, and the wheat ate one stone. If it is all converted into silver, it is twenty taels and one pieces of silver. The two sisters of Ran'er have accumulated twenty-three taels of silver in the past three years, plus the money from selling pigs, the mother's ten taels have not moved, and Ran'er still has less than five taels of silver left in her hand.

"Sister is not afraid, you can sell sour bamboo shoots in the spring, isn't there another six or seven taels in the account? There are also eggs that are sold every month. The little piglets that have just been caught, Lian'er is well fed, and they can be sold for money in May and June next year. ”

"My sister is not worried, although the food has gone to three stones, it is still enough for us to eat for two years. With this money, the money from selling eggs every month is enough for our daily expenses, and there are ten taels of my mother. ”

"My sister said that she wanted to thank Grandpa Li's family, but did you think of a way?"

"No, I don't. I wanted Grandpa Li and three aunts to send twenty eggs to each family, but I was worried that they wouldn't accept them. ”

"It's their business whether to accept it or not, whether to send it or not is our mind, tomorrow according to what my sister said, let's go door to door to deliver eggs."

"Okay, tomorrow after breakfast, I'll deliver it."

Fortunately, Ran'er and Qinglian sent four families, and although each family did not receive all of them, they symbolically left ten eggs, which made the sisters feel a little more comfortable. When she returned home, Ran'er said to Qinglian:

"Ten eggs are less, when Yang Zhuang gathers, buy more red paper, and help them write couplets this year." Otherwise, they will have to spend money to buy it. ”

"Sister, this is a good idea, Lian'er also has to write it."

"Okay, except for the sister at the main gate, the rest will be handed over to Lian'er to write, okay?"

Qinglian has practiced calligraphy for three or four years, and finally has a place to use, and she is extremely excited. When I practiced writing every day, I no longer came to the post, but began to find some festive couplets and began to practice on generous paper, worried that it would not look good when I wrote it.

I was afraid that Grandpa Li and the three uncles had already bought the couplets and came back, and as soon as they entered the wax moon, the sisters sent the red couplets to each family. Seeing the couplet sent by the sisters, regardless of whether the handwriting was good or bad, the four Li Jiaye knew in their hearts that this was a piece of the young lady's heart, so they all accepted it happily, and they couldn't stop praising the handwriting well.

"I wrote it with my sister."

"Most of them were written by Lian'er, saying that I would like to thank my grandfather, uncle and aunt for their care over the years, but Ran'er wrote less than Lian'er."

"It's a shame, Xiao Lian'er can also write couplets."

Full of excitement in her heart, Qinglian jumped up and ran in front, and when the sisters arrived home, it was time to make lunch.

"Sister, Lian'er wants to eat boiled eggs."

Qinglian's tone was obviously coquettish. Ran Er nodded Qinglian's forehead with a smile and said:

"Okay, my sister boiled eggs for Lian'er, and comforted Lian'er."

Two years ago, the sisters each had a boiled egg every morning, and Qinglian wanted eggs to eat, naturally it was not greedy, but the couplet written was praised by the four Li family masters, and the excitement in their hearts was still there, and they said it casually for a while.

"Not only boiled eggs for Lian'er, but also candied fruit and peach crisp left over from my mother's grave, and my sister also brought it to our Lian'er to eat."

"Let's eat together."

The sisters boiled eight eggs at noon, ate some candied fruit and peach crisp, and did not cook any other meals.

"My sister said, are we considered rich now?"

"Little Lian'er, although my sister has never seen how rich people live, we are not rich. can only be regarded as an ordinary farmer who maintains food and clothing. ”

"But, this is already the best day Lian'er has ever lived."

"Good days are still long, let's live slowly, how old is Lian'er."

"Also, when we have money in the future, we will live in an attic like Xiling Lake, okay?"

Hearing Qinglian say this, Ran Er didn't say whether it was good or bad. Ran'er's temperament is the same as that of her mother, she doesn't like to be public, and now Qinglian is still young, and she is basically a child's heart, so it's useless to say it now, and it's not too late to talk about it when there are conditions in the future.

At the beginning of the year, the first sisters went to Grandpa Li's house to pay New Year's greetings, and kowtowed to the second elder first when they entered the door. Grandpa Li and Grandma Li took out the two red envelopes they had prepared and stuffed them into their hands. It has become a habit in the past few years, and the Ran'er sisters know that there are ten cents in each of the red envelopes, and they don't push it, so they put it away.

"When are Ran'er going to move into a new house?"

"I want to wait until it's warmer before moving."

"After setting a date, tell grandpa sù, grandpa helped Zhang Luo Zhang Luo."

"Grandpa, it's not a big deal to move, is it? discussed with Lian'er, it was warm, and it was just a matter of finding a day to move in. ”

"How's that going to work? The joy of housewarming is also a great joy, and it is unlucky to be sneaky. ”

Hearing Grandpa Li say this, Ran'er and Qinglian knew that there was such a thing.

"I really don't know if there is such a saying, so when we go to the market one day, ask someone to see the date, and then tell Grandpa Sù."

At the beginning of February, the fifth sister went to Yangzhuang to catch the market, and by the way, they sent eggs to Zhou Ji Wine Shop. Spend ten pennies, please ask the fortune teller on the set to show the date, it is the sixth day of the first month of March. When I came back, I sued Grandpa Li.

"There's still a month to go, no rush. Don't buy pots and pans yet, it is estimated that the villagers will send some to the past, and when it is not enough, it is not too late to add them. ”

"Grandpa, do you still want to hold a banquet?"

"Of course, the banquet will be held, and I will count the approximate number of people for you, and at the end of the month, I will prepare according to the number of people, and it will be in time."

Although Ran'er doesn't like publicity, there is no way, and it is not too exceptional to follow the local customs. After returning home, the two sisters discussed for a long time, but they didn't have a clue, so they had to wait for Grandpa Li to come at the end of the month.

The number of people who came to congratulate the Ran'er sisters on the sixth day of the first month of March was beyond everyone's expectations. Originally, at the end of February, Grandpa Li estimated that there would be at most four or five tables of people, so he prepared according to five tables. The fact is that on the sixth day of the new year, half of the families in Xia Village came, and almost none of them came empty-handed. For a while, the Ran'er sisters didn't know what to do. Grandpa Li said to Ran'er:

"Don't worry, wait and see, not all the people who come will stay for dinner."

By noon, although not all the people who had come stayed, it was still beyond expectations. Originally, there were five tables of banquets, and there were more than seven tables left. Grandpa Li had no choice but to tell the people who were closer to him to invite the guests who were farther away to sit down first, and then arrange two tables after they finished eating.

The banquet lasted until the end of the afternoon, when the guests dispersed. Grandpa Li and Grandma Li led the two aunts, stayed until the end, helped clean up the ropes, and then said goodbye and left. The Ran'er sisters were already too tired to clean up, so they hastily ate some leftovers and slept first.

After a night's rest, after breakfast the next day, I counted the congratulatory gifts sent by everyone one by one. There are pots and pans, quilt noodles, silver coins, and cloth heads, all kinds of things. It took a whole morning for the sisters to finish counting. Fortunately, there are records, and I will find an opportunity to repay this favor in the future.

What Ran'er and Qinglian didn't know was that two lonely teenage girls, living alone, not to mention, also started the matter of three blue brick houses, which was spread as a beautiful talk in Sili and Eight Villages for a while.

As in previous years, in mid-February, the sisters began to be busy digging bamboo shoots and pickling sour bamboo shoots. It's just that when the neighbors came to congratulate the housewarming, they stopped for three or two days. A few days did not affect the income of the sisters.

This year's sour bamboo shoots, there is no Wang family to make trouble, Ran'er and Qinglian pickled another 140 jars, and the price is still 50 yuan per jar. Leave ten jars to eat by yourself, and give a few to the Li family. Sold 130 jars of pickled bamboo shoots to Zhou Ji Wine Shop, and earned a total of 6 taels and 5 yuan of silver. Of the twenty-nine chicks that the two old hens held at the beginning of spring last year, twenty-four survived, five roosters, two were kept, and three were sold. Not counting the two old hens, the Ran'er family now has 33 hens, which can lay about 450 eggs a month. After the price stabilized, the price for Zhou Ji Liquor Store was still the original three pennies two. In addition to eating by oneself and sending favors, three hundred and fifty or sixty can be sold, and the monthly income is about five hundred and forty Wen.

By May 18, when the Ran'er sisters celebrated their birthdays, they had already accumulated another thirteen or forty taels of silver. plus the rest of the original new house, there are close to twenty taels, not counting the ten taels left by the mother. In June, the pigs were also slaughtered, except for the money for catching piglets, and the net was better than two or three dollars. The two sisters have nothing to worry about in their lives.

It's just one thing that bothers Qinglian a lot. After the birthday, Ran'er is twelve years old and Qinglian is eight years old, and according to the customs of the countryside, they are all counted as imaginary years. Ran'er is thirteen, and Qinglian is nine years old. The woman is fourteen days old, gathers her hair, and pins the top of her head with a hairpin, which is called a hairpin, which means that she is an adult and can get married.

Therefore, most of the girls in the countryside are looking for their in-laws at the age of thirteen or fourteen, and when they are sixteen or seventeen years old, they get married. The Ran'er sisters are not only capable, literate, and knowledgeable, but also have good character and handsome appearance. June is a slack season, and the matchmaker who comes to the door to say goodbye comes every three or five days.