When she entered the kitchen, Du Mei took the sweet potatoes in the pot one by one to the big basin and burned her ears.

Then, Du Mei lifted the lid of the porridge pot and stirred it vigorously with a large iron spoon, so that the corn ballasts and brown rice that had been boiled and sunk to the bottom were floating in the clear soup, and she filled 16 large bowls of blue-rimmed coarse porcelain bowl after bowl.

The Du family has two seats for dinner, one table for men and one table for women and children. There are more sweet potatoes on the men's table.

Du Shicheng, who is a member of the family, is fifty-five years old this year and has a tough body. As soon as he sat down, he knocked the pot on the leg of the table, which meant that it was time for breakfast.

When a large family eats, it is almost a robbery. A bowl of thin porridge that shows the figure of a person, in this wax moon, it will be gone after a soak of urine. Sweet potatoes are hungry, but they choke.

Dafang Du Dajin and his wife and the three and a half children were like no throat tubes, and they were stuffed into three at once, and half of the sweet potatoes in the basin were immediately gone.

The second room Du Erjin went out to pick up the Huaishui River, his eldest daughter Du Mei did not patronize her own food, her eyes were still staring at sweet potatoes, and she was always ready to grab one for her three younger sisters, and her eyes occasionally paid attention to her pregnant mother.

The Sanfang Du Sanjin couple and their children didn't seem to care about these foods, eating Sven, chewing slowly.

When Du Mei reached out for the third time, Dafang Zhou's chopsticks hit her hand: "You know to eat and eat, you can kill and eat meat when the pig is raised, what is the use of you girl eating so much!" ”

"Auntie, you eat more than we combined." Du Mei had two red bars on her hands, and she replied in pain.

"Okay, you lose money, dare to talk back, see if I don't tear you up." Zhou was so angry that he was about to stand up and tear Du Mei for a while.

"Sister-in-law, the child is still young, naturally hungry and hungry, if you are not full, I will give you half of it." Xu Shi got up early in the morning and was very panicked. I don't have much appetite, and I haven't finished eating a sweet potato.

"Second brother, what are you talking about, can I compete with you for food with a pot-bellied woman? If the second child comes back from the river, and the wind blows on your pillow, he won't kill me. "Zhou's most disdainful of Du Erjin's love for his wife, her own man Du Dajin is a rough embryo, and he is a little dissatisfied with her, just a punch and kick, how can there be any tenderness.

Xu's face turned red all of a sudden, she was born extremely beautiful, dignified and demure, even though she had already given birth to four children, seeing that Zhou's speech was so vulgar, she didn't know how to reply for a while.

"Oh, sister-in-law, you don't blow the pillow wind, how did you get those three?" Sanfang Xie covered the corners of his mouth with a thin cotton cloth embroidered in moon white, and said with a smile.

"You ......" Zhou couldn't imagine that Xie helped Xu speak, so he choked.

Seeing that what they said was getting worse and worse, the children were still there. Du Shicheng slammed the bowl on the table and made a loud noise. The two daughters-in-law were startled and immediately shut up.

Mother-in-law Wei also scolded: "A group of unconscious things, the rice can't block your mouths, it seems that you don't need to eat lunch!" ”

Seeing that the master had already put the bowl away, the others, whether they ate well or not, quickly finished their bowls and stood up.

"Dajin, you bring the bolt pillar and stake, put the ox cart on it, the weather is good today, I will call Ah Zhong and water the wheat in the field with fertilizer." Du Shicheng filled a pot of cigarettes and took a puff as he commanded.

"Okay." Du Dajin is in the prime of life and has a lot of strength. His three sons, the youngest of whom was also 15 years old, were like calves.

Wei called Du Ying and Du Tao in the second room to prepare to go to the vegetable field to pick vegetables, and the food of a large family, just eating vegetables, made her, the housekeeper, sad to death.

Sanjin sent his son Du Jie to a private school, Xie shook off the handkerchief, and took his daughter Du Xing staggering away, she was born graceful, wearing a padded skirt made of muslin, like a willow in the wind.

In the kitchen, Xu saw that everyone was scattered, stood up and cleaned up the dishes and chopsticks, there were many girls in the second room in the family, and they were young and couldn't do heavy work, that is, cooking rice and washing dishes, digging wild vegetables and cutting pigweed. These trivial tasks fill every day.

"Mother, you rest, we'll collect it." Du Mei pressed Xu, who was pregnant with Liujia, on the stool and stacked the bowls one by one, and the fourth sister Du Gui was already standing on the small bench washing dishes in the cauldron.

"Meizi, you should endure for a few more days, and it will be good when your father comes back." Xu touched Du Mei's hand and said regretfully.

In this male-inferior society, the Xu family lives cautiously in the Du family because they are all girls, but fortunately Du Erjin treats their mother and daughter very well, and is a mountain-like dependence.

"Mother, when will Dad come back?" Du Gui turned his head a little excitedly and asked.

Every time Du Erjin came back from doing work outside, he would give the money he earned to his parents, but he would secretly buy a little candy and pastry to bring to his daughters. Du Gui is the youngest, so she is looking forward to it the most.

"It's going to be the New Year soon, and it's only a few days away." Xu looked at his little daughter with a smile.

The mother and daughter were enjoying themselves, only to hear someone shouting outside the courtyard gate: "Shicheng, are you not at home?" ”

Hearing what seemed to be the voice of Li Zheng Du Huaibing, Du Mei hurriedly went to open the door.

"Patriarch, you're here." Xu stood under the eaves and bowed to Du Huaibing.

The surname Du is a big surname in Dujiagou, and the generations are arranged according to gold, wood, water, fire, and earth, Du Huaibing's name is from the fire, and Du Shicheng's name is from the soil, so although Du Huaibing is only a few years older than Du Shicheng, he is an uncle, and he is both the patriarch and Lizheng.

"Hmm." Du Huaibing deserves to be sloppy, he walked in a hurry, in this wax moon, his head was full of beads of sweat.

Du Shicheng, who heard the voice, dropped his work and came out of the cowshed: "Uncle, why are you here early in the morning?" Have you had breakfast? ”

"What to eat! I've got something important for you! Du Huaibing lowered his voice, and his tone was very anxious.

"Come, come, sit in the hall." Du Shicheng saw that the family was standing at a loss, and hurriedly led Du Huaibing into the house.

Du Huaibing looked back at Xu Shi who was puffing down his stomach and lowered his eyebrows and Du Mei who was holding Du Gui, his heart was sour, tears almost fell, he stabilized his mind and said, "Erjin family, you are heavy, you should rest more." Xiaomeizi, help your mother back to the house. ”

Du Mei took her three younger sisters and helped Xu back to the house.

Du Huaibing sat down in the hall, Wei made tea, and the two couples from the big room and the third room also arrived.

"Shicheng, Erjin has an accident!" Du Huaibing held the teacup and said in a low voice.

This was like a thunderbolt from the sky, which shocked everyone in the room.