Lu Zhong couldn't stay at home, so he sneaked to the West Courtyard to chat with Lu Shouzeng and Lu Yong after resting for a while.

Yulan took the children to do needlework on the warm kang, vaguely heard someone knocking on the courtyard door, went out to see that it was her brother-in-law Wang Dongmei, enthusiastically supported her, and said with a smile: "I don't say let the second child send you, what if you walk around alone, what if there is a mistake?" ”

"It's just a few steps." Wang Dongmei smiled and held Yulan's hand and walked slowly, because it was the first child, the pregnancy was not obvious, and she looked no different from ordinary people in a thick cotton jacket and cotton skirt.

When they arrived at the house, the children hurriedly moved the place and gave the warmest place on the kang to Wang Dongmei.

Yulan took off a thin mattress and put it on the kang, and said while smoothing it out: "The cushion is softer, and you won't feel tired if you sit for a long time." ”

Wang Dongmei sat down generously after thanking her, looked at the embroidery in Xiao Ding's hand, and praised: "Our Xiao Ding's hands are so skillful, look at the embroidery of this flower bone is really like." ”

Xiao Ding was praised by the little aunt, her cheeks were red and her eyes were shining, and she held the embroidered cloth and looked at it again and again.

Yulan was happy in her heart, but she said, "Don't praise her, lest you be proud and not want to grow." Then he asked, "Is it serious?" Is there anything you'd like to eat? I see that you don't look very good, and you have lost a lot of weight. ”

Wang Dongmei frowned, her expression was a little depressed, "When I was first pregnant, I liked to eat spicy food, my mother talked about sour and spicy girls with a dark face every day, saying that my baby must be a loss of money, I heard that my heart hurt like a knife, I couldn't eat, I couldn't sleep well, and I vomited badly, and I couldn't see anyone in a miserable way, no, I hid at home for three months, and I looked better today, so I dared to come to my sister-in-law." ”

Yulan also knew what Mrs. Lu was like, and comforted: "You go out to inquire, several daughters-in-law in our village have been on this dang, at first they loved to eat sour, they all thought that they were pregnant with a son, and they couldn't do it, and then they were born a girl, and they all shut up and lived, and some people who love spicy food were born with sons, so ah, sour and spicy girls can't be taken seriously." ”

Wang Dongmei nodded gratefully, and then said: "You say it's strange, a while ago I couldn't stop drooling when I saw spicy food, and my greedy heart panicked, as if I couldn't live if I didn't eat it. ”

As soon as she heard her brother and daughter-in-law mention this topic, she immediately opened the conversation and said with a smile: "People with bodies are like this, their appetite changes day by day, and the ideas in their heads are also strange. ”

"Really? Wouldn't it be too delicate! Wang Dongmei said in surprise.

"I've also heard people say that being greedy and delicate is also a sign of giving birth to a daughter, and they also say that they are pregnant with a daughter and toss their mother!" After Yulan finished speaking, she glanced at her two daughters with a smile and said: "When I was pregnant with the two of them, I didn't toss me, but my face was full of spots, and I couldn't see the ugliness. ”

Wang Dongmei hurriedly touched her face and asked, "Sister-in-law, do you see the spots on my face?" ”

Yulan said: "You have only turned three months, it is too early to see, and this person is different, maybe your signs are contrary to me!" ”

"Sister-in-law, let me tell you something from my heart, you also know our mother, what she did back then, the people in the village are still talking about it, I am worried that if the firstborn gives birth to a daughter, my mother will definitely have to torture me again." After speaking, Wang Dongmei's face became gloomy.

Yulan comforted: "Don't mention the things back then, you listen to your sister-in-law's words, no matter your son or daughter is the meat that fell from your body, if you are weak and easy to bully, even the children will suffer with you." I entered the door earlier than you, I saw more than you, to put it bluntly, my mother just had a few brushes, one crying, two troubles and three hangings, except for sprinkling and playing tricks, you don't have any real skills, don't be afraid of her, I want to open up in case of trouble, live a good life with the second child, everything still has my father-in-law and the second child! ”

Wang Dongmei nodded, her face got better again, and she talked to Yulan about her mother's brother's family for a while, and then pulled it to her sister-in-law Lu Lian and the child, saying that Lu Lian sometimes went back to Lu's house, took a look and said a few words, and hurriedly returned to Qiu's house without eating. ”

Yulan smiled and said: "The Qiu family who made trouble at the beginning has lost face, and you don't know Aunt Qiu's attitude towards our mother, and she will definitely not let our mother go well." But let's not meddle in this matter, Sister Lian is doing well, and let the older generation solve the little knots in their hearts. ”

Lu Xiaoyi pretended to do needlework on the side, his ears were erect, and he listened to the conversation between Yulan and Dongmei silently, when they mentioned Lu Lian, Lu Xiaoyi immediately remembered the last time she saw her in the east of the village, her face was white and fat, her body was round and mellow after giving birth to a child, and she smiled before she spoke.

Yulan picked up some interesting things in the village and told Dongmei, which made her smile never break, and it wasn't until Mrs. Lu came to urge Wang Dongmei to get up and say goodbye.

Yulan helped her out of the door, and saw Mrs. Lu standing at the gate of the courtyard with a black face, and she didn't come in, scolding in her mouth, "You can't sit still just three months old, why do you want to run so much with your legs, are you crazy?" In case there is a mistake and my grandson is gone, see if I don't tear your skin! ”

Here again, here again, Lu Xiaoyi felt a headache, ran forward in three or two steps, took Mrs. Lu's hand and pulled it to the west courtyard, "Grandmother, grandmother, you hurry back to the house and stay, it's so cold outside, don't freeze you." ”

Mrs. Lu began to talk to Lu Xiaoyi again: "Ouch, why are you such a big girl, and she is tall and young, so she didn't eat less, right?" Let me tell you, you have to take it easy, eat Xiao Geng's share, and see that I don't tear your mouth. ”

Lu Xiaoyi muttered in his heart: Really, he tears his skin and tears his mouth at every turn, when will he practice with real knives and guns!

“…… Don't worry, my father will eat a cake at a meal, my mother will eat half of it, and Xiao Ding and I will eat some cake dregs and vegetable sticks, all delicious and delicious for Xiao Geng to eat alone! Lu Xiaoyi's mouth was perfunctory, and his hands were pulling hard, and he quickly pulled Mrs. Lu to the side of the warm kang in the main room of the west courtyard.

Mrs. Lu took it seriously, and said with a rare kindness: "It's okay for you and Xiao Ding to eat a cake." ”

Lu Xiaoyi came to the end, and said deliberately: "Don't eat, don't eat, Xiao Geng is not full, how can we eat!" We will all rely on Xiao Geng's help in the future! ”

Mrs. Lu smiled happily, took Lu Xiaoyi's hand, and praised: "You are a good girl who understands things, you have known that you feel sorry for your brother since you were a child, and when your little aunt has another brother, you will also love him as much as you love Xiaogeng." ”

Lu Xiaoyi rolled her eyes, "What if my little aunt gives birth to a younger sister?" ”

Mrs. Lu immediately jumped up with two eyebrows, her eyes seemed to breathe fire, and she roared: "She wants to give birth to a money-losing goods, see how I clean her up!" ”

Lu Xiaoyi really wanted to scold Mrs. Lu on the spot, but thinking that her temperament had been carved into the bone marrow, it was a waste of words to persuade and coax, so she said indifferently: "Okay, grandmother can clean up as much as she likes, I have to go home quickly and discuss with my father about borrowing money." ”

"What are you borrowing money for?"

Lu Xiaoyi directly attacked her weakness, and said seriously: "Lend money to Xiao Geng to buy a daughter-in-law, my grandmother tortured my mother at the beginning, and the whole village regarded our family as a joke, and the uncle almost couldn't marry a daughter-in-law, if you continue to torture my little aunt, it will be Xiao Geng's turn to marry a daughter-in-law in the future." I calculate, Uncle spent twenty taels on a dowry to marry a daughter-in-law in his twenties, and there are ten taels of silver in foreign debts, and when Xiao Geng grows up, it is estimated that it will cost one hundred taels, oh my God, it is not enough to sell me and Xiao Ding! If Xiao Geng can't marry a daughter-in-law, our family will be extinct. ”

Mrs. Lu was a poisonous and stupid person, and when she heard Lu Xiaoyi say that Xiao Geng would not be able to marry a daughter-in-law in the future, she cried sadly, "Ouch, why is my good grandson so miserable!" What kind of sin is this? ”

Lu Xiaoyi continued to threaten: "The Buddha has said that 'good is rewarded with good and evil is rewarded' grandmother often tribulates her daughter-in-law and loses all her blessings, and the retribution falls on her grandchildren, look at my legs, lame!" This is retribution. The next one is Xiao Geng, he can't marry his daughter-in-law and be lonely for a lifetime, and in the end he doesn't even have a person to send him to the end, you say, is this retribution! ”

Mrs. Lu's tears couldn't be stopped, it seemed that she was really sad, she was deeper into her heart than Lu Xiaoyi had persuaded her to coax her before, and sure enough, no matter how arrogant her mother-in-law was, Lu Xiaoyi picked on her weakness, and coaxed: "There is still a turning point in this matter, you just need to eat fast and chant Buddha from now on, press your temperament, less grinding your daughter-in-law and scolding, and ask for blessings back in front of the Buddha, and the blessing on Xiao Geng can be resolved." ”

Three or two sentences full of loopholes can scare and coax Mrs. Lu, and she also believes it very much, I have to say that this is what Lu Xiaoyi thinks is the most lovely thing about Mrs. Lu.

Back in the East Courtyard, Lu Xiaoyi told Yulan what happened just now, Yulan was so angry with Lu Pozi's words and deeds, and said with a black face: "Your grandmother is really stupid, and she still wants to use that trick to manipulate people. ”

Lu Xiaoyi said: "Mother, I think my little aunt has a good temper, and I will ask you for advice if there is anything to do!" ”

Yulan smiled: "You are still young, you can only look at people on the surface, your little aunt is not bad-eyed, she belongs to the kind of person who is soft on the outside and strong on the inside, now she and your uncle are not separated, you have to take care of your grandfather and grandmother's face when you talk and do, but if you want to touch her bottom line, your aunt will not lose to anyone if she is powerful!" ”

He also said: "What you said to her today is not unreasonable, the family she tossed is not restless, and the retribution is still her own family, your uncle is a living example, he didn't get married until he was in his twenties, and he was said to be unrequited behind his back!" It's okay if you don't say it, but when you say it, it reminds me that you can't let her temperament come and make the family have a bad reputation, and it will be you juniors who will be affected in the future. ”

"Mother, aren't we separated from each other?"

"Breaking bones and connecting tendons, it doesn't affect the impossible, you did the right thing today, if she makes trouble in the future, you will use Xiao Geng to press her, doesn't she love her grandson the most? I'll see if she's really hurting or fake! ”

Lu Xiaoyi nodded, and quickly put the unhappiness of Mrs. Lu behind, and talked to Yulan about going into the city to sell steamed buns in the morning, saying that she forgot the men's clothes she was pretending to be, and kept praising a woman for being beautiful, saying that her feet were numb, and Lu Zhong bought her a bowl of particularly delicious rice oil tea, saying how she shouted and how she recruited customers......

Yulan smiled when she heard this, "No wonder those small stalls and vendors walk the streets and alleys to sell things in the wind, and no one is afraid of hardship if they can make money." Let's take the steamed buns we sell today, if we really put a few liters of noodles to sell, we will get back dozens of dollars, make steamed buns and sell them will cost dozens of dollars more, and then put some sugar stuffing and dozens of dollars more, the wheat noodles that can only be sold for dozens of dollars will become hundreds of dollars after two pounds. ”

Lu Xiaoyi's words to Yulan are actually a matter of increasing the added value of the product, the original wheat noodle products through intellectual labor (thinking of adding prickly rose and brown sugar), artificial processing (magnolia dough, kneading, dough polishing), equipment processing (plum blossom molds and steamers), circulation marketing (Lu Zhong's donkey cart transportation and Lu Xiaoyi's heart-rending shouting) and so on to create more added value than wheat noodles alone, so the money sold is more than just selling wheat noodles.

Of course, Lu Xiaoyi wanted to think about it, but he couldn't talk to Yulan about the added value of the product, so he just pretended to suddenly realize, "Mother, why didn't I think of what you said?" ”

Yulan glanced at her and said proudly, "How many years have you only eaten?" It's far worse than your mother! Learn more from my mother in the future, and there is a lot of knowledge in this life! There are some things that don't see the Tao clearly, and it's common to hit your head and bleed! ”

Lu Xiaoyi nodded to show that he was humbly taught.