"Alright! How old are they now, how can they understand the Tao here? My father and mother are not at home, so I earn a few small money by selling ice powder, and I am reluctant to spend it. ”

Grandma Luo shook her head and said to a few frightened granddaughters: "It's okay, don't take your aunt's words to heart, you can remember Grandma's birthday, I don't know how happy I am." ”

"Grandma, we should have informed my uncle and second uncle in advance of my birthday, but I didn't expect it, and it's understandable that my aunt is unhappy." Liu Hongzao took the initiative to admit her mistakes, she is the eldest in the family, and she should be thoughtful when doing this.

Grandma Luo saw that the lotus seeds in the arms of the red dates were a little sleepy, and the black grape eyes blinked, so she took the initiative to carry them over and sent them to the back room on the side, and explained in a low voice as she walked: "Tiezhu is seventeen years old this year, and the discussion has not been successful several times, and your aunt will inevitably get angry, and it has nothing to do with you." ”

It turned out that when the eldest uncle Zhang Chengdong was doing business outside, the family had a lot of money, and it was very easy for the eldest cousin and the second cousin to say that they were married, and they were all several families begging to get married.

The sister nodded, in the end, it was a child, and she quickly recovered her mood after a few words of enlightenment, Liu Guiyuan hurriedly handed a pair of longevity peaches made by the eldest sister to Grandma Luo, this is the eldest sister specially mixed with white flour and glutinous rice flour to combine the noodles, which tastes good, the peach heart is red with natural dyes red and blue grass, and the two green leaves are spinach, red and green are distinct, very good-looking.

"You made the red dates, your hands are really skillful, come, put them on the bamboo table next to the bed, so that grandma can see them when she comes out and goes in."

Grandma Luo looked at the red and green longevity peach, a warm current surged in her heart, and she hurriedly reached out and rubbed the corners of her eyes. ”

Grandma Luo smiled with her eyebrows, nodded again and again, the three sisters picked up some interesting things on weekdays, and told them to Grandma Luo one by one, which made her laugh from time to time, and after a while, the eldest uncle Zhang Chengdong and the eldest cousin Zhang Jichao came back from outside, and the three sisters called people to salute under the leadership of Grandma Luo.

Uncle is forty-two years old this year, it stands to reason that people in the prime of life, should be tall and vigorous, but he is slightly hunched back, and if you look closely, you can see a small handful of white hair between his temples, and he is used to frowning slightly when he speaks.

"Uncle, cousin, what are you busy in the bamboo forest?" Liu Guiyuan asked curiously.

"I'm not busy, there's no work in the field, I went to the bamboo garden with Tiezhu to see how the new bamboo looks, if it grows well, maybe I can sell a few trees for money this winter." Uncle Zhang Chengdong waved his hand, unwilling to say more about Zhuyuan, and then instructed Zhang Jichao: "By the way, Tiezhu, your three cousins come to our house to play, it's okay to take them out for a walk, and go to Zhuyuan to have a look." ”

The eldest cousin Zhang Jichao is a steady character, nodded obediently when he heard this, and was about to open his mouth to greet a few cousins, when there was a bang, the eldest aunt opened the door and walked out, complaining to Zhang Chengdong: "See Tian'er go to the bamboo garden, where is there gold or silver?" Let me ask you, the girl of the Zhu family has taken a fancy to our son, and she wants a dowry of sixteen taels, where will I make up this money? ”

The eldest aunt is anxious about this matter today, the youngest daughter of the Zhu family, Zhu Wushuang, is very smart, proficient in knitting female red, and what is even more rare is that her family is still well-off, and the first three brothers are married.

But in the morning, she met a matchmaker in the village who came over to deliver a message, saying that the Zhu family needed a bride price of sixteen taels of silver, and they promised that the bride price would follow her daughter back to the man's house, and she would also prepare a rich dowry. This is a beautiful thing, but the bad thing is that you can't get money at home, so what can I do?

"Hello, what are the three cousins, there's nothing fun at home, why don't you go to the bamboo garden with me, cousin longan, don't you like bamboo?" Let's go, I'll show you. ”

Zhang Jichao couldn't see his mother and father quarreling, and he didn't want to listen to the trivial matters of getting married, so he casually found an excuse, took his three cousins out of his small courtyard, and set off all the way to Zhuyuan in the north.

Liu Guiyuan was dragged out of the house by his eldest cousin, and he was slandering all the way: I didn't say I like bamboo, please let go of my hand, okay?

When I really arrived at the bamboo garden, surrounded by a large area of greenery, Liu Guiyuan liked it at a glance, a tall and crisp bamboo tree, a piece of sharp narrow leaves, take a deep breath, only feel that the spleen and stomach are elegant bamboo fragrance, if you can put a recliner in the bamboo forest in summer, read books and eat cold drinks, it is also very beautiful.

"No, cousin Tiezhu, why are all the bamboos in your house blooming?"

Liu Guiyuan followed a few people inside, and found that the green bamboo inside had many withered yellow old leaves, and some bamboo tips had many pale yellow flower spikes, which looked very conspicuous.

Zhang Jichao sighed slightly, shook his head at them and said: "You don't know, this bamboo garden was bought by my father a few years ago, when I heard that the price of bamboo is expensive, I thought that if I planted it early, I could cut it and sell it early. ”

"Then big cousin, what the hell is going on with the blossoming of bamboo, isn't it a good thing to bloom?" Liu Huahua was a little confused.

"Of course not, not only is it not a good thing but a big bad thing, once the bamboo begins to bloom, the bamboo leaves will become yellow, fall off, at most in two or three years the bamboo will all die, and then our bamboo garden will be abandoned."

Zhang Jichao didn't say a word, this bamboo garden is the lifeblood of his father, he dreamed of running a bamboo garden and earning back the original family business, but unfortunately the sky does not fulfill people's wishes, the growth of this bamboo is getting worse and worse, and if it goes on like this, the bamboo garden will soon be abandoned.

"Then what to do then, what a pity, there is no other way?" Liu Hongjuo asked very distressedly.

Zhang Jichao continued to shake his head and said: "There is an old saying that when bamboo blooms, it will be ruined, which means that once the bamboo is old and yellow, there is no way at all, and those who rely on bamboo for a living can only consider themselves unlucky." ”

Zhang Jichao dragged an old bamboo root from his feet, which he and his father had just dug up in the morning, and there was a tuft of thin bamboo roots like whiskers underneath, and after half a day of drying, the bottom of the bamboo roots was already all yellow.

"I discussed with my father, first cut down the bamboo that did not die, and sent it to the town or the city to sell, as for this old bamboo root, it can only be used as firewood."

Liu Guiyuan looked at the old bamboo root in the eldest cousin's hand, frowned and thought for a long time, and suddenly laughed happily, and said: "Big cousin, that's not necessarily, if you want me to say, the old bamboo root in your hand is a treasure, it's a pity to use it as firewood." ”

Zhang Jichao looked incredulous, he knew that this cousin had a bad brain case before, and he only recovered his sanity this year, and he couldn't help but look at the other two cousins with some worry, as if to say, "She can't be a relapse of stupidity, right?"

Liu Hongzao couldn't understand the meaning in the eyes of the eldest cousin, she was used to Liu Guiyuan's whimsy during this time, and when she heard her say that the old bamboo root was a treasure, she had some faith at the moment, Liu Huahua was an anxious child, and hurriedly asked: "Longan, what is the use of it, can it be sold for money?" ”

Zhang Jichao looked at Liu Huahua in disbelief, resisted the urge to roll his eyes, and patiently explained: "Impossible, the old bamboo root is useless, and no one wants to sell it for a penny outside."

Liu Guiyuan was not busy explaining to the second sister, but asked his eldest cousin Zhang Jichao: "The bamboo garden in front of you is your own family, and other families don't have it, right?" ”

Zhang Jichao was in a worse mood when he heard this, he shook his head and nodded again, and said in a low voice: "Originally, the bamboo garden was purchased by my father and my second uncle, but one year my father encountered a flood when he was collecting timber outside, and all the wood he collected was washed away. ”

Liu Guiyuan shook his head when he heard this, what is this called, the brother is a joint venture to run the bamboo garden, the eldest brother has just had an accident, the second brother doesn't say that he is helping a little, and he will withdraw the money and stop doing it when he sees that the signs are wrong.

Sure enough, Zhang Jichao said with regret: "My father originally had a sum of money in his hand to make a comeback, but the second aunt had to come to the door to make trouble, my father didn't want the village people to see the joke, so he gritted his teeth and gathered the money and sent it to the second uncle's house, and since then the entire bamboo garden has been owned by my family." ”

Tut, Liu Guiyuan couldn't help but sigh, it seems that happy families are similar, and unfortunate families are even more similar, she looked at her eldest cousin Zhang Jichao and said: "It's better for the bamboo garden to belong to your family, eldest cousin, I still say that, these old bamboo roots have a wonderful use, don't burn them as firewood, your family now has such a big bamboo garden, why don't you worry about making money to make a comeback." ”

Liu Guiyuan was trying to show off his knowledge reserves, and planned to sell more guanzi in front of them, but Liu Huahua, who couldn't wait, twisted her ears and scolded in a coquettish voice: "Okay, you little longan, you are going to kill me in a hurry, say it quickly, how can you sell it for money?" ”

"Hey, it hurts, don't screw it, second sister, I'll say it now." Liu Guiyuan broke free from Liu Peanhua's "claws", hid behind the eldest sister, pointed to the old bamboo root in the eldest cousin's hand and said: "The principle is very simple, no one wants the old bamboo root, smoke it with fire, carve some patterns on it, and make it into bamboo carving handicrafts and sell it." If you don't know how to carve, why don't you just sell it to a master who is proficient in carving? ”

Zhang Jichao was stunned for a moment, his eyes widened, he only knew that the sold bamboo could be used to make tables, chairs and bed cabinets, but he never knew that the old bamboo roots could be made into bamboo carvings, and he still didn't believe it, and asked her: "What flowers can be carved on the old bamboo roots?" Flowers, birds, fish, insects or mandarin ducks and butterflies? Does anyone want to buy this? ”

Liu Guiyuan looked at Zhang Jichao's big head full of doubts, and the two sisters were the same, so he couldn't help but take a deep breath and slowly enlighten them: "You can carve whatever you want, such as this pen holder that can be carved into a pine crane pattern, this incense tube or tea tube that can be carved into a lady's yarn pattern, and this one in your hand, thick and strong, looking at some years, can be carved into the ornaments of Emperor Guan Gong, isn't it?" ”

Liu Guiyuan looked at them and couldn't turn around for a while, and expressed his understanding in his heart, the descendants of farmers like them have always only known that bamboo shoots can be eaten and bamboo joints can be made into furniture, and they never thought that the old bamboo roots that no one wants can be used to make handicrafts.

But Liu Guiyuan is different, her modern identity and her own cultural knowledge are destined to transcend the vision of the peasant class, and she has more ideas about everything.