The countrymen are shallow-eyed, and the people of Xia Village already know about the two sisters who pickle and sell sour bamboo shoots for money every year. Most people know that there is only one bamboo forest in the village, and the sisters are lonely and helpless, and life is not easy, although they are not very wealthy at home, they do not dig bamboo shoots with the Ran'er sisters. However, people don't all think like this, a family surnamed Wang who lives in the east of the village has seven or eight children, and the eldest is seventeen or eighteen, because he is poor and has not yet decided on a family. This year, the bamboo shoots just began to grow, so they sent three or four children to dig bamboo shoots in the bamboo forest behind the fence yard.

At first, Qinglian was very unhappy when she saw it, and she couldn't help but mutter.

"Sister, they're here to rob our bamboo shoots."

"Lian'er, the bamboo shoots are not ours, they can dig if they want, at most we will sell less, don't compete with others."

As everyone knows, the Wang family only saw Ran'er and Qinglian selling bamboo shoots, but they didn't know how to pickle them. The bamboo forest has grown there since ancient times, and no one in Xia Village has eaten bamboo shoots, and obviously only the Ran'er sisters know how to pickle them. I thought it was very simple, what two children could do, couldn't I do it myself? It's just that that's the way it is, there's a way to do it. The husband and wife pickled the bamboo shoots dug up by the children according to what they thought in their hearts, and after opening them after a while, they were all rancid. Only then did I know that there was a trick in it, and I was embarrassed to ask the Ran'er sisters for a while. I thought that if I could get a jar of pickled bamboo shoots, maybe I would know what was going on.

So, the husband and wife worked together and sent three older children to Ran'er's house one night to try to steal a jar of sour bamboo shoots and come back. Everyone in Xia Village knows that Ran'er's pickled sour bamboo shoots are usually placed next to the grass pavilion in the fence courtyard.

When the couple found their eldest son to discuss with him, they didn't want the eldest son to say anything. If the boss doesn't go, the other children are still young, so they can only be a helper for the boss. The husband and wife grinded hard and hard, and finally almost made a move on the boss, but the eldest son reluctantly agreed. Since the son had agreed, the husband and wife smiled and admonished the eldest son for a while:

"If you think about how old you are, the people in the village who are as big as you basically talk about daughters-in-law. Isn't it because our family is poor that no one has ever proposed to you? If you can learn the method of pickling sour bamboo shoots, so many bamboo shoots can be exchanged for a lot of money a year. In a few years, it will be enough money for you to marry a daughter-in-law. ”

There was no way, the eldest son could only take a few brothers and go to the fenced courtyard outside the village in the dark.

Ran Er and Qinglian, who were sleeping soundly, were awakened by the continuous barking of Rhubarb and Xiao Hei. Ever since a few years ago, when a deserter came to the fence late at night, which caused Rhubarb to bark like this, and occasionally weasels and foxes had the idea of beating off chickens, Rhubarb and Little Black only barked a few times to scare away. It was the first time this barked for a long time tonight. The two of them hurriedly dressed and lit the lamp, wanting to come out to see what was going on. Now that the year is good, there will be no miscellaneous people coming, and the sisters are not very scared.

Just as the two sisters were about to open the door, they heard someone in the yard who seemed to have been bitten by a dog, and desperately shouted for help. Ran Er hurriedly opened the door and came to the courtyard with an oil lamp. Sure enough, Rhubarb and Blackie were biting a figure. There were also two dark bodies standing there against the fence wall, not daring to move. When they got closer, Ran Er and Qinglian both recognized that it was the child of the Wang family who grabbed bamboo shoots with them a few days ago, and hurriedly drank rhubarb and Xiao Hei. Rhubarb and Xiao Hei reluctantly retreated to Ran'er and Qinglian's side, their mouths whining spontaneously, and their neck hairs exploded.

"Brother Wang, what are you doing when you don't sleep in the middle of the night, and you come to our house?"

"We, we ,......"

It was the eldest of the Wang family who was bitten by the dog, who had been squatting on the ground, covering his calves with both hands, and humming incessantly. The two of them leaned against the fence wall, and they didn't say a reason for a long time. Qinglian was not as good-tempered as Ran'er, so she opened the fence door angrily and shouted to the three of them:

"Hurry up, or let Rhubarb and Little Black bite you. Three thieves. ”

"Lian'er, don't talk nonsense."

At this time, the two small ones were holding the big one who had been bitten by the dog, and as soon as they walked out of the fence gate, they heard Li Wu's shout:

"Ran'er, Lian'er, what's wrong?"

Listening to the footsteps, Li Wu ran over, and he didn't even bring a lantern. When he got closer, he saw the three children of the Wang family, and seemed to think of something, so he asked:

"Wang Rui, I don't sleep in the middle of the night, what are you doing here with the Ran'er sisters? Isn't it a bad idea? ”

"Uncle Li Wu, we're not here to bully Ran'er and Qinglian."

For Ran'er and Qinglian, Wang Rui could not speak, but he did not dare not speak to Li Wu.

"So what are you here for? If I'm not honest, I'll go back and interfere with the village chief. ”

"Uncle Li Wu, it's our brother who is wrong. The sour bamboo shoots dug up a few days ago, my father and mother couldn't pickle them, they were all rancid. Thinking of coming to Ran'er here to move an altar back to study, I really didn't want to bully the Ran'er sisters. I've all been bitten by dogs. ”

"Your unsuccessful father and mother will not teach you to learn well, and sooner or later they will send you to the county prison. If you let me know to harass them again, see how I clean you up. ”

After listening to Li Wu's words, the three of them supported each other and walked away.

"In the middle of the night, I'm in trouble with Uncle Wu again."

"You two weren't scared, were you?"

"No, Uncle Wu. I really want Rhubarb and Blackie to bite them a few more times. ”

Qinglian snorted angrily.

"It's almost dawn, you two hurry up and close the door and go to sleep. Uncle also went back. ”

Li Wu said that he would leave, and without waiting for Ran'er to go back to the house to get the lantern, he couldn't see Li Wu's figure in a blink of an eye.

For two days in a row, Ran'er and Qinglian did not enter the village. Seeing that the Wang family no longer came to dig bamboo shoots, the sisters looked for bamboo shoots in the bamboo forest every day. This year, less than 40 jars of pickling were made, less than half of what they had been in previous years. In another ten days, the bamboo shoots will grow old and can no longer be eaten. Both sisters were a little anxious. Qinglian kept muttering in her mouth.

"It's all from the Wang family, so we can't make money this year."

The sisters didn't go to the village for a few days, but they didn't know that the Wang family sent the child to steal the sour bamboo shoots in the middle of the night, and it spread in the village. The people in the village didn't want to see the Wang family and the couple, and they were all angry when they saw the idea of the two beating two fatherless and motherless children. Wherever the Wang family and his wife went, there were people pointing and pointing at them behind their backs.

The couple originally thought that their three sons were all in their teens, and the eldest was seventeen or eighteen years old, stealing a jar of sour bamboo shoots, and they could always do it quietly, but they didn't expect it to be such a result. No matter how faceless and skinless he is, he is not very comfortable being killed all day long. Besides, the eldest son has long reached the age of kissing, if this is spread out, whose daughter is willing to marry?

Knowing that the Li family and the Ran'er sisters were close, they wanted to talk to Grandpa Li and say a humble word to the Ran'er sisters so that they could appease the matter.