Standing outside the fence courtyard wall of the Lin family, Ziqing found that the Lin family's house was obviously better than the surrounding neighbors, the yard was not small, and it was well divided one ridge after another.

Lin Kangping pushed open the fence door and led Ziqing in, the people in the house heard the movement outside, and only two children, a man and a woman, who had just hung their hair, ran out, raised their heads and asked, "Who are you?" Who are you looking for? ”

"We are your uncle and aunt, tell your grandfather and grandmother, the third uncle and the third aunt are back." Lin Kangping bent down and said to the children.

The child ran in after hearing this, shouting as he ran: "Grandpa, grandma, my third uncle and third aunt are back." ”

After a while, a bunch of people came out of the door, staring at Lin Kangping and Ziqing with scrutinizing eyes, one of the men who was about forty or fifty years old was very excited, it is estimated that this is Lin Kangping's eldest uncle Lin Yaozu, and the woman in her forties standing next to her is estimated to be his eldest aunt Yu. There were also three young men with similar eyebrows and eyes, three little daughters-in-law, and a girl with two girls. It seems that the Lin family has all come out.

Lin Kangping pulled Ziqing and took a few steps forward and shouted, "Uncle, aunt, I'm back." This is my daughter-in-law. ”

Ziqing walked up to him and bowed with her knees, and shouted, "Uncle, aunt." ”

Yu glanced at Ziqing, looked at Lin Kangping and said, "You are out now, you married a daughter-in-law outside and brought it home, and even your father and mother refused to scream, I thought you forgot about us and would never go back to this home." ”

Lin Yaozu glanced at Yu and said, "The child just entered the house, and he didn't even drink a sip of hot water, so you said a lot of what he didn't have." The child has called your mother for a few years. Come, Ping'er, quickly lead your daughter-in-law into the house, it's cold and snowy outside. Freeze carefully. ”

The family entered the house around, Lin Yaozu instructed a daughter-in-law to make tea, Lin Kangping took a cup of brewed tea, and pulled Ziqing to kneel down to serve tea. Lin Yaozu took it very happily, Yu turned his head, put his hands together, awkwardly, saw Lin Yaozu "hum", and hurriedly said: "I can talk about the ugly things in front of me, tea can be drunk." I don't have a greeting gift. ”

Ziqing smiled and said: "Auntie is really joking, Kang Ping and I haven't returned home for a long time, and we haven't done a bit of filial piety in front of the uncle and aunt, how dare you ask for any meeting gifts?" ”

When Yu Shi heard this, his face softened, took the tea, and said: "The third child can't make a fut with a stick, but I didn't expect to marry a well-spoken daughter-in-law." At first glance, he is sensible and reasonable. ”

When Ziqing heard this, she hurriedly said: "This is my aunt who loves me, and I haven't gone out much in the past few days." I don't see people very much, I am clumsy, I say the wrong thing, don't laugh at me. This is the fabric that Kang Ping and I are filial to, let's make a new dress for the New Year. It stands to reason that the clothes should have been prepared and sent, but the nephew and daughter-in-law have never seen the two elders, and they are afraid that the size will not be appropriate, and they are afraid that it will not be in line with the hearts of the uncle and the aunt. After speaking, Ziqing hurriedly took out two pieces of fine cotton cloth that had already been prepared from the baggage, one cyan and one jujube.

Yu Shi saw that he was busy and took it with both hands, and smiled. Ziqing had the opportunity to take a closer look at her. The hair is combed very neatly, a round bun is tied with silver hairpins, a small wooden comb carved with orchids is inserted in front, and a blue cloth cotton jacket and cotton pants are very neat and neat, and the eyebrows and eyes are thick. And some of them hang themselves, and they look like they are spicy and capable. Kangping's uncle looks like a loyal, typical old peasant, with a slightly rickety waist, a wrinkled face, and small eyes, but his eyes are still clear.

"Look at the little mouth of the third brother and sister, Baba's speech is really good, you see that our mother's mouth is so happy, we have served our father and mother for a year, and I have never seen my mother so happy as today." A tall, thin woman laughed.

Next, he met Lin Kangping's eldest brother Lin Kangjian, sister-in-law Hu, second brother Lin Kangxiang, second sister-in-law Ma, and then the fourth brother Lin Kangyong took his wife Jiang to meet Ziqing, and Ziqing knew that it was Hu who spoke just now.

Ziqing gave each of the five children in the family two eight-cent silver bills, the eldest and the second family were two children, and the fourth family had one, and they still held it in their hands. So when Hu and Ma saw each other, their faces were immediately full of smiles and they were much more attentive. There is also a sister-in-law Lin Hongxia to be married, Ziqing saw that the little girl was fourteen or fifteen years old, wearing a red cloth cotton jacket, taller than Ziqing, came up and rushed to Kang Ping and Ziqing and shouted: "Third brother, third sister-in-law" There was nothing to say, she was honest and steady, and she hurriedly took off a pair of silver bracelets from her hands and put them on her hands, and Yu Shi smiled like a chrysanthemum when she saw it. Of course, Ziqing also noticed the envious eyes of Hu and Ma, and flashed by.

Yu asked Lin Kangping and Ziqing if they had eaten, and learned that the two were back for the New Year, so they hurriedly arranged the ear room to the east for the two, and Kangping talked to a few men in the hall.

Ziqing saw that she had nothing to do, and wanted to go back to the house to see where she lived, and as soon as she entered the ear room with her luggage, several daughters-in-law of the Lin family came over to help clean and put it away. There was originally a big kang in this house, but it can be seen that it should have not been inhabited for a long time, there is a layer of dust that can be seen by the naked eye, and there are a lot of sundries. Lin Hongxia also came over with a basin of water to wipe it, not talking much, seeing that the little girl was working very neatly, and the Lin family really didn't pamper her. It seems that this gift is really not in vain, at least it is much stronger than my aunt's family, and I know how to be grateful.

Today is the New Year, after the sacrifice to the king of the stove, the children took a small piece of hard candy stick, elated. Ziqing found that they used wheat straw to tie the stove horse stove chicken to make offerings, Lin Yaozu led a family of men to kneel in front of the statue of the Stove King, kowtowing while burning the old statue of the Stove King, and there were words in his mouth, which was very different from his own side, Ziqing looked at it curiously.

The staple of dinner is Chinese cabbage and meat stuffed dumplings, of course, mainly Chinese cabbage, which can smell a little meaty. Ziqing saw that everyone ate very fragrant, the north is used to eating pasta, Ziqing has lived in the south for both lives, the noodles are okay, and the steamed dumplings are not enough at all, not to mention the pasta mixed with coarse grains, which is even more difficult to swallow. I ate three or two dumplings casually and dealt with them.

Lin Kangping was very distressed when he saw it, and when he returned to the ear room, the house was cleaned, but it was cold and dry. Ziqing remembered to bring the fire basket and the hand stove, but it seemed that there was no charcoal at home, and the two of them also used seven, seven, eight, eight or eight along the way. Ziqing hurriedly sat on the kang, Lin Kangping hugged Ziqing, fed Ziqing a few pastries, and went out to scoop a basin of hot water.

The next day, Lin Kangping went out early, hired a donkey cart and came back at noon, and bought two bags of rice, a large fan of pork, a pile of pork bones, some snacks and two baskets of charcoal. As soon as he entered the courtyard, he saw Ziqing carrying a large basin of washed clothes, Lin Kangping took it, took Ziqing's hand, took two sips of hot air and asked, "On such a cold day, can you use hot water?" Be careful not to freeze. ”

"Third brother, don't worry, the hot water I boiled for the third sister-in-law, what did you do when you didn't even eat breakfast early in the morning?" Lin Hongxia came out and asked.

"Oh, tell your fourth brother to come out and help carry things. Your third sister-in-law is not used to eating pasta, so I bought some rice and came back. ”

As soon as Lin Kangping's words fell, Yu came out first, looking at the rice and meat that Lin Kangping unloaded, the corners of his mouth should be grinning to the root of his ears, and he hurriedly beckoned her youngest son to come out and carry things in.

Lin Yaozu saw so many things, and hurriedly said: "This child, it's just to go home for the New Year, and it's so expensive, your daughter-in-law can't get used to eating pasta, you just buy some for her, you are also a family now, you have to save some money." ”

Yu said: "Ping'er is filial piety, let everyone borrow a light, and we can also open up to eat a fine grain, or rice?" ”

Hu and Ma quickly answered and said, "It's not like that, let's borrow the light of the third brother and sister." Look at the three brothers and sisters are so beautiful, this eyebrows and eyes, this peugeot delicate, this skin is smooth and slippery, even I want to reach out and touch it when I see it, I look at it is a blessed one, I want to wear silk and satin, no worse than the aunt and wife of the landlord and the old rich family, and I can't complain that the third brother is distressed. ”

Lin Kangping frowned when he heard this, and just wanted to say something, Lin Yaozu spoke: "Your third brother has been busy all morning, and he must still be hungry, why don't you hurry up and get him something to eat, what are you talking about?" ”

"What to cook now, it's time to make dinner later, and it's going to take a long time, so wait. Didn't I think he bought a lot of snacks? In my opinion, make up for it first. Yu said.

After hearing this, Ziqing realized that they only ate two meals a day. This can really see that it is far and near, if it is a mother-in-law, no matter what you say, the child will go out and go home to get a meal to eat, not to mention that Lin Kangping also bought these things and came back. Ziqing can imagine Lin Kangping's treatment when he was a child, and she can't help but feel sorry for him.

When the children heard that they had a little bit to eat, they hurriedly gathered over, Lin Kangping left two packs for them, and then grabbed Ziqing's hand, used the excuse of drying clothes, and slipped away.

Lin Kangping lit the fire basket and made the hand stove well, Ziqing put his clothes on the hemp rope, and said: "You go and help me light the fire, I'm not familiar with your stove, I'll cook you something to eat, this cold day, hungry, I feel even colder, I'll simply make you a hot vegetable porridge." ”

Lin Kangping took Ziqing, hugged him to the kang, and said, "Don't worry about it, I ate some hot things in the town in the morning, and you're not used to eating two meals, so I bought some snacks." ”

Then the husband and wife sat on the kang and gossiped, Ziqing put the stove at her feet, and dried it on the fire basket with a liner in her hand. Lin Kangping sat behind Ziqing and fed Ziqing some snacks from time to time.

At this time, Hu Shi shouted at the door: "Third brother and sister, can I come in?" Lin Kangping hurriedly opened the door, and saw that his sister-in-law and sister-in-law were standing at the door, so he hurriedly invited in, but he went out. (To be continued)