Li Laohan was sitting in the courtyard chopping firewood under the sun, splitting firewood of different lengths and thicknesses into sticks about a foot long and thick with thick fingers. Da Lang handed firewood to Li Laohan, and Erlang was lying in a wooden cradle under the eaves, covered with a quilt, and was sleeping soundly.

Qin Liu was stunned.

Even though their livelihood is difficult, their family, who barely got together, is still struggling and struggling with the hard life.

Qin Liu went to make lunch, which was still sticky white rice porridge. Except for the little salt that had been scraped off the walls of the salt shaker, it didn't really taste like anything.

When he was eating, Qin Liu's expression sighed a little.

Just drinking porridge will make your stomach full, but if you don't eat salt for a long time, you will have no strength in your body.

If you don't eat vegetables and meat, you won't be nutritious, and you'll get sick easily.

Now white rice costs three cents a catty, if they drink porridge a day, they need to consume two catties of white rice, five months, it costs nine hundred yuan to eat, and her net worth is enough to support.

There is a shortage of medicine in this poor and remote area, and the harsh winter is approaching, if you get sick, it will be a big deal.

She had to think about it.

After lunch, washing the dishes and pots, she coaxed Erlang to sleep, asked Dalang to help watch, and she still went out.

……

Qin Liu went to the rice shop to buy rice, and then bought two taels of salt and two taels of rapeseed oil in the grocery store, and the owner of the grocery store weighed the silver horn she handed over three times, and after confirming that it was correct, he found her thirty-six yuan.

There are people selling vegetables on the side of the road.

Chinese cabbage, two pennies a tree, people on the road walk by, almost no one cares.

If there are half-grown children or capable daughters-in-law in the family, they will go to pick wild vegetables, who will use spare money to buy vegetables and eat them at home?

And it's too expensive! You can buy more than a pound of rice for two pennies, and although Chinese cabbage can also stuff your stomach, you can be hungry quickly.

Back at home, the honest man who brought firewood was standing in the courtyard and chatting with Li Laohan while chopping firewood.

Qin Liu entered the house and put down his things, and paid two copper coins to the honest man.

Li Laohan said gently: "This is Ma Ang, the eldest son of the Ma family, girl, you call Brother Ma." His father used to transport food to the army with me, and they were both from military families. ”

Qin Liu said a simple greeting and said, "Brother Ma, stay at home for dinner at night." "I went into the house and cooked.

She poured some oil into the pot, fried the washed and cut cabbage, sprinkled it with salt, and a bowl of fried cabbage came out of the pot. She simmered another pot of white rice.

When he went out to look again, Maang was gone, the chopped firewood was neatly stacked in the corner of the courtyard wall, and the broken courtyard gate had been repaired.

Qin Liu was a little surprised, and didn't say anything, and asked Li Laohan and Da Lang to eat together.

Eating white rice with cabbage, Li Dalang happily picked up two large bowls and kept praising the deliciousness.

Li Laohan ate in a sullen voice and didn't speak, but after eating half a bowl, he put it down. said that the remaining half of the bowl of rice in the bowl will be soaked in boiling water for him tomorrow for breakfast.

Qin Liu didn't persuade him much. The old people often have their own life experiences and deep-rooted concepts, and she is powerless to change them, so she can only wait for them to figure it out for themselves.

After dinner, I washed the dishes, and the cold water froze Qin Liu's ten fingers painfully.

But she just shrank a little, hurriedly finished her housework, and fell asleep with Erlang, who was already a little sobbing and humming to ask for her mother.

Their bed was in the West House, with a large kang against the north wall below, covered with a layer of wheat straw, and a layer of hard mattresses on top.

In October, it's already cold with dripping ice.

Qin Liu nested Erlang in his arms to keep warm, covered with a not very warm quilt, and shivered all night.

If you go on like this, you will have to buy a few thick bedding and a few sets of winter clothes.

I also have to burn the kang.

However, she can spend money, and she can't do this kind of technical work like burning kang.

The next day, Qin Liu threw out this problem and asked Li Laohan for advice.

Li Laohan showed a kind expression while sucking the hot porridge. He's finally useful. It's really embarrassing to eat and drink other people's food all day long.

"I'll tell you when I'm done."

After eating, he saw Qin Liu boiling hot water and brushing the dishes, and felt a little painful: This girl really can't live. This handful of firewood is very expensive, and she actually boils hot water to wash the dishes!

The experience of burning the kang taught by Li Laohan is very simple: "Stuff wheat stalks and tree roots into the mouth of the kang, take thatch to set it on fire, and fan it wildly." The fire burned so loudly that the mouth of the pit was blocked. ”

Qin Liu felt that it was very easy when he heard this, so he went to the East House first and started his work.

The east house is the bedroom of Li Laohan and Li Dalang, and it is cold for them to come at night.

In accordance with Li Laohan's instructions, she stuffed a lot of firewood into the kang, lit the thatch that ignited the fire, and fanned it violently with a pu fan that was broken into wisps.

A burst of smoke came to his face, his nose was sour and astringent, as uncomfortable as a knife cutting meat, his eyes couldn't be opened at all, and tears flowed from his eyes.

Qin Liu didn't know if it was okay, so he didn't dare to fan it again, so he simply blocked the kang mouth with bricks.

She groped her way out of the door, and was about to get some well water to wash her face, when she vaguely saw someone coming in with firewood at the door.

"Uncle Li, I brought you firewood!"

Qin Liu couldn't open his eyes at this time, so he had to say hello: "Brother Ma, you're here, you wait a minute, I, I'll wash my face first!" ”

There were coughing voices from Li Laohan and Da Lang in the room, as well as the sound of Erlang's wah and wow crying.

"Hey!"

Maang put down the burden of firewood, and saw smoke wafting out of the thatched hut, so he asked, "What's the matter?" ”

"It's okay, I'm burning the kang!"

Qin Liu was throwing buckets of well water on the well platform in front of the right side of the yard, but he failed several times.

Ma Ang simply stepped forward to help her get a bucket of well water. Qin Liu buried his face in the well water. The cool well water made the red and swollen eyes much more comfortable.

She washed her hands and wiped her face a few times, and she could finally see clearly.

Da Lang has already stood in the yard with Erlang in his arms, Li Laohan took a bench in each hand, leaned on the bench and moved his body, just out of the house, his empty trouser legs dragged on the ground, which looked particularly pitiful.

Qin Liu smiled embarrassedly.

Seeing her standing stupidly, Li Laohan pouted into the room: "Come in and have a look." ”

Qin Liu had to brave the smoke and rush into the house again.

Smoke filled the east room, and it was dimly visible that Ma Ang was squatting in front of the kang mouth, coughing and plugging the gap between the kang mouth with something.

When Maang saw her come in, he coughed and shouted, "Go, ahem, bring some mud with water!" ”

Qin Liu hurriedly responded, splashed the well water he had just washed his face on the ground in the yard, poked and stirred the wet and soft mud with a wooden stick, dug a lump and ran into the east house.

Ma Ang filled all the gaps in the kang mouth with the wet mud that Qin Liu had brought over until no smoke escaped. He was afraid that it would not be reliable enough, so he used firewood to fill all the remaining mud into the cracks, flatten and compacted it.