Seeing Pu Cao come in, everyone greeted each other and said with a smile, "Just wait for you to come back and measure the size, you can't make new clothes for the whole family, and you will be a family member." ”

Pu Cao didn't see Zhang Gui'er's shadow when she got up early, nor did she see him go to the back garden to help, so she said, "Brother Gui'er's size has also been measured?" ”

Dong's fourth daughter-in-law smiled and said, "Your brother is studying in the room, I just went to the table with the full table to give the size, your brother is really hardworking, maybe he will be the champion in a few years." ”

A full table? Pu Cao heard this name familiarly, turned her head to take a look, and found that Dong Si's daughter-in-law was sitting next to a twelve or thirteen-year-old girl, with a delicate appearance and white skin, as if she felt that Pu Cao looked at it again, she lowered her head very shyly, revealing half-red cheeks and neck, which was very cute.

Pu Cao also remembered the origin of this called Manbeier for a while, she was the youngest daughter of the widow's family in the south of the village.

Speaking of which, this Dong family also has a story. Farmers value tradition, raising children to prevent old age, and passing on the family lineage is a deep-rooted idea, so many families never consider the question of whether they can support them in order to have a son.

And this table full of people is the most unpleasant in the family, giving birth to four daughters in a row.

The eldest sister is called Hua'er, which means blossoming and fruiting, and the next one should be her son. It's a pity that the second child is still a girl, and her name is Zhaodi, but the younger brother didn't recruit her, and the third child is a girl, so she calls her younger brother.

When she arrived at the fourth child, when her father Dong heard that it was his daughter again, he was completely angry and slammed the door and left, and her mother cried aggrievedly and named her a table called Man'er, which means that the table at home is full, and another one must be a son.

Unfortunately, often hope is good, but the reality is cruel. Boss Dong was sad that he had no son, drank a few bowls of wine at his younger brother's house, and when he came home in the middle of the night, he fell into a snow nest and froze to death.

Now the Dong family is completely extinct, and it is not easy for the widow Dong to pull her four daughters to live, and she has to suffer from the eyes of her in-laws and uncles, and her life is extremely difficult.

Fortunately, God is not completely blind, and the four daughters of the Dong family are all very standard, ingenious and smooth. Hua'er and Zhao Di are both married to good mother-in-law, and they live a solid life, from time to time openly and secretly to supplement their mother's family, and Widow Dong and her two little daughters don't have to worry about their belly when they guard two acres of land.

However, although the widow Dong's family lives in the same village as the Zhang family, they don't have any friendship, why does Dong's fourth daughter-in-law bring her niece to help together, is this purely enthusiastic or is there something else involved?

Pu Cao's doubts flashed in her heart, but she stepped forward to sit on the edge of the kang with a smile on her face, and greeted, "The table is also here, I haven't seen you for a few days, and the table is beautiful again." ”

The table was full of praise, and he looked up at Pu Cao in a shy answer, and answered in a low voice.

Dong's fourth daughter-in-law glared at her niece with disgust, and said, "This girl, just now pestered me to come over to play, why did this become a saw-mouth gourd when she arrived in the place." ”

Sister-in-law Chen is clumsy and not good at words, so she pulled a piece of hemp rope and measured it a few times on Pu Cao's body to make sure that she knew it in her heart, and then said with a smile, "The noodles have been brought back and put them in the stove." After speaking, he took out a small money string from his bosom and said, "This is the remaining forty yuan." ”

Pu Cao remembers that in previous years, the vermicelli was eight wen a catty, but this year, how did it become six wen, and the price reduction was not small.

She wanted to ask the reason, but she saw that Sister-in-law Chen was smiling a little reluctantly, so she accepted her curiosity and stuffed the money string into her arms casually, and said with a smile, "Sisters-in-law are all well-known and ingenious in the village, my stupid mother-in-law will not be embarrassed in front of my sisters-in-law, I will cook for you to make delicious food." It just so happened that my sister-in-law sent vermicelli, so let's stew a pot at noon to taste fresh. ”

"As the old saying goes, spiders can't build webs without dropping a single silk, and no mother-in-law can pick up everything. Pucao girl's needlework is not good, but your cooking skills are good," Dong's fourth daughter-in-law pulled the cotton and stretched it thinner, and said with a smile while pasting it on the cut cloth, "My child's father ate two meals with you, and when he went back, he counted that I made it unpalatable, and he wanted me to learn from Pucao girl." ”

The second daughter-in-law of Chen nodded and smiled when she heard this, "A few children in our family are too, and they are close to seeing Pucao compared to seeing our mother-in-law." ”

"My sisters-in-law have praised me as a flower, and I don't care about being happy for a while, putting more salty salt and spoiling good dishes." Pu Cao pretended to be disgusted, causing the women to laugh and wave at her, "Don't praise you, go quickly." After speaking, they all lowered their heads and threaded the needle, and their subordinates were busy quickly.

When the sun hung up, every household in the village had their meals.

In the cauldron between the Zhangjia stove, the cabbage and potato stewed vermicelli also wafted out the aroma, and the Shanzi and peach blossoms who were playing outside the gate ran back smelling the fragrance, followed by two small tails, which were the Chen family's Fu'er and Da Zhuang.

The four children were so mischievous that they each rolled up the dust, so Pucao pulled their aprons and patted them clean, scooped warm water and told them to wash their hands and faces.

Sister-in-law Chen heard the movement and came out to take a look, so she hurriedly wanted to take her children back, causing the two children to bite their fingers and tearful.

The peasants have a hard life, even if they have some savings, they are easily unwilling to spend them, and the children usually follow the adults to drink bud porridge, eat cakes and eat pickles, and they will not see the meat until the New Year. Therefore, although the two children of the Chen family are eight years old and nine years old, they are not much taller than Peach Blossom and Shanzi.

Pu Cao couldn't see the children suffering, and today she made a lot of meals for the hospitality, how could she send two children to these few bites, so she stepped forward and took the two children alive and refused to let Sister-in-law Chen go back.

How can Sister-in-law Chen not feel sorry for her children, but she is afraid that the villagers will gossip that their family is cheeky, but she helps to make a needlework and takes the children to eat and drink.

Pu Cao guessed most of it, so he thought of a compromise solution, found a big pottery bowl full of stew, picked up six cakes, and told Peach Blossom with a smile, "Our place can't sit open, you go to the aunt in the West Courtyard to eat and come back." ”

Peach Blossom didn't know what her sister-in-law meant by doing this, and she felt that there was delicious food in her eyes, so she responded obediently and carefully carried the tray with Fu'er to the door.

Sister-in-law Chen's lips moved, but she didn't stop again, and finally whispered, "Let the sister laugh." ”

Pu Cao smiled and said, "Sister-in-law, don't be polite, the neighbors are all like their own children." In the future, when I am not at home for something, I will also keep the peach blossom and Shanzi to find my sister-in-law to eat. ”

Sister-in-law Chen's face was much better, and after a few more jokes, she helped Zhang Luo set the table and set the dishes and chopsticks. Today, the women are the host and guest, so the men's tables are divided into Liu's house, and there is nothing to pick about if the dishes are the same on the left and right.

In addition to the stew, Pucao also fried a wide noodle with slices of meat, which is really a veritable vermicelli feast. Although there are only two dishes at this banquet, no one feels shabby, they are all very sweet, after all, vermicelli is not often eaten on weekdays, not to mention that there are slices of meat in it.

Eating vermicelli is also a fun thing, and the grass forgot to stop two more knives before throwing the vermicelli into the pot, and it will be a little longer after cooking.

When everyone sandwiches a chopstick, the two of them often pull on a vermicelli, and they have to help others to cut it in the middle, and when they suck it in their mouths, it is easy for the soup to splash.

If you are a person who holds your own identity, you will not eat this dish in front of outsiders for fear of losing face. However, the peasant woman did not say so much, but giggled when she grabbed the noodles and wiped the soup, and felt very lively and happy.

Pu Cao looked at the table full of cakes, and was very shy and refused to pick up the vegetables, so he put a full bowl in front of her, signaling her to eat more. The table smiled gratefully, and then lowered his head and ate slowly.

After the meal was over, all the women started to help pick up the dishes and chopsticks, and they were talking and laughing when they heard someone shouting outside the gate.

When Pu Cao opened the door, he saw that the man was wearing gray shorts and trousers, dressed like the standard of a shopkeeper, and the carriage behind him was also full of piles, so he guessed that it was delivered from the city. So I hurriedly called Chunni out, and sure enough, I guessed well.

When the young man came all the way and missed the meal, he was so hungry that Pu Cao didn't expect it for a while, and when he invited him into the house to drink water, he suddenly understood when he peeked at the cakes on the table from time to time.

So he hurriedly took a bowl of stew, picked up two cakes and asked him to cushion his stomach, and the young man thanked him again and again and ate it.

Nangou Village is in a corner, there are few people coming and going on weekdays, the girls heard that this little guy came from the city, so they asked some new things in the city, and the young man occasionally replied with a red face, and almost lifted the roof with laughter for a while.

Pu Cao took advantage of this effort to enter the house and withdraw the money, and when she came out, she smiled and said, "Sisters-in-law, go into the house to rest for a while, let this little brother eat well, she is about to stuff the noodles into her nose." ”

The girls smiled and answered, and went into the house and began to fly the needles and threads again, and when the young man had finished eating, he went with him to inspect the goods.

Doctor Liu really introduced a good shop, Pu Cao was worried that the blacksmith's skills were not good, and the gaps in the joints everywhere would be smoky, but he didn't expect the iron tube to be thin and smooth, and the joints were very tightly occupied. The two sets of grates and lids are also very good, even the green bricks full of cars are also stacked very neatly, and there is no half of the fragment.

Pu Cao immediately thanked and paid the rest of the money, and Dong Si led the young man to drive the car to unload the green bricks and copper cylinders to the back garden.

After the young man said goodbye and left, Uncle Li carefully asked Pucao how to build the stove and chimney, so he asked his son to carry the bracket, and then started with Dong Si while pondering and laying bricks.

The structure of the earthen stove is actually very simple, but it is a square brick, leaving a stove door in front, the stove grate is horizontal in the middle and bottom, and the hole in the copper cylinder is left behind, and the furnace cover is directly placed above, and the gaps are sealed with mud.

Soon, after Uncle Li built one, he figured it out, and it was much faster when he set up the second stove. Seeing that the copper cylinders were connected by a section, they led out from the two earthen stoves on both sides of the greenhouse, each of which circled half of the greenhouse, and finally returned to the chimney standing in the center.

A foot above the tin tube was a wrist-thick wooden shelf, on which were placed wooden boxes three feet wide and six feet long, and there were eighteen of them.

After such a busy turn, the whole greenhouse swept away the empty appearance just now, and became neat, clean and organized. Dong Si and Li San, father and son, walked twice in the aisle between the wooden boxes, and then smiled and called Liu Housheng, who was weaving straw curtains outside, to come in and enjoy the joy of success together.