"You're right, it's better to rely on others than on yourself. We don't want to be rich and rich, we just want to be able to dress and eat well. As for the Ji family, it can be treated as an ordinary relative. ”

As he spoke, the water in the pot boiled. Lu Zhengan responded, got up and poured the chopped celery into the pot, blanched it, and then fished it out with cold water and seasonings.

The four of them had a makeshift lunch, and Lu Zhengan and Song Huaishu rested at Song's house for a while, and did not leave Song's house until the end of Shen Shi.

The two have been going up the mountain to chop firewood to prepare for the winter recently, and rarely come to the town to hang out. At this time, he just came out, so he bought some daily necessities that were lacking at home, and then went to the vegetable market street to buy two knives of pork and big bones before returning home.

By the time the two of them returned home with their baskets on their backs, it was already a little dark.

Lu Zhengan put the things he bought into the stove house and saw that the bundle of firewood they had brought back in the morning was still in the yard. So he asked Song Huaishu to prepare dinner, and he went to the bundle of firewood to cut it into small pieces and pile it under the firewood shed.

Because the firewood had already dried out in the wind and sun on the hillside, Lu Zhengan did not take much effort to put it in order, and a bundle of firewood was all put into the firewood shed in two quarters of an hour.

Seeing that Song Huaishu was busy in front of the pot and behind the pot alone in the stove house, Lu Zhengan hurriedly washed his hands and went in to help. "The food will be ready immediately, you just go outside and rest."

Lu Zhengan added a piece of firewood to the stove, tilted his head to look at the larger flames in the stove, and then replied: "Just sit on the stool and make a fire, and you won't be tired." ”

"Just now when I was sorting out the firewood, I saw that the grain in the barn was almost full. We can keep some of the wheat, we don't eat much cornmeal, I want to keep some of it, and find a place to sell the rest. ”

At that time, the yield per mu was not very high, but Lu Zheng'an's family had five mu of fertile land, which only yielded 300 to 400 catties per mu, and they had harvested nearly 1,000 catties of wheat. In addition, on weekdays, they do not only eat white flour, but also eat rice and cornmeal together, and in addition to paying the imperial grain, there is still a lot of corn left in the warehouse.

Although he is not panicked when he has food at home, his warehouse is a little bigger. As soon as there are more things in it, more pests will follow. Instead of being plagued by these beasts, it is better to change something else.

"Don't sell it, you can find a reliable grain store to store it." When the rice and noodles at home are gone, you can go and change them directly. ”

Lu Zhengan had planned to sell it directly, but when he heard that the method of sending Song Huaishu was feasible, he also nodded.

"This is a good solution, and when the time comes, please ask my father-in-law to help me inquire about which grain store on the street is more reliable."

The two of them ran up and down the mountain during the day, and went to the town for a long time, and they were already a little tired. After eating, the two of them cleaned up the stove house, washed up a little, and then went into the house to sleep.

……

Compared with Lu Zhengan and Song Huaishu's good night's sleep, Lu Zhengping and Chen Cuihua are not so harmonious.

After knowing that Lu Zheng'an's family actually had a wealthy relative, Chen Cuihua didn't care about it at first, but Lu Zhengping moved his mind. Hollowing out his thoughts, I want him to let his father Lu Ming come forward and borrow some money from Lu Zhengan to do business. As for how it will be repaid in the future and who will pay it back, it is not clearly said.

Although Chen Cuihua didn't care, she naturally wouldn't stop what was beneficial to her family. After seeing that Lu Zhengping mentioned it to Lu Ming, the old man refused without thinking about it, and only sneered next to him without speaking.

However, two days later, when Chen Cuihua heard that Lu Zheng'an's relatives were the Ji family in Jiang'an Town, her heart couldn't help but move.

You must know that one of her previous concubines was from Jiang'an Town, and that person was a broken mouth, and he had to talk to her about everything. The Ji family in Jiang'an Town was mentioned in front of her.

Later, Chen Cuihua passed by Ji's house when she went to Jiang'an Town. I only feel that the high wall of the gate is imposing, and I am afraid that the palace where the emperor lives can catch up. So, Chen Cuihua also started to think.

It's just that Chen Cuihua knows in her heart that Lu Zheng'an, who usually speaks kindly to others, is actually not a fool.

Chen Cuihua simply told Lu Zhengping the true situation of the Ji family, and she believed that the greedy Lu Zhengping would let go of this opportunity.

Sure enough, after Chen Cuihua finished speaking, a trace of greed and jealousy flashed in Lu Zhengping's eyes.

"Zheng'an, this kid is really a little lucky, not to mention that his brother and mother also have a family background, and now he has such a good relative from the sky. If this Ji family is really as rich as you say, then Zheng'an will have endless money to spend when he lies at home in the future. ”

Speaking of this, Lu Zhengping smacked his mouth and shifted his gaze to Chen Cuihua's lower abdomen. However, no matter how good his luck is, if he finds a man, he will only be desperate in the future. Like me, not only is the daughter-in-law I am looking for as beautiful as a flower, but she is also a child who can give birth. ”

Pulling Chen Cuihua down in his arms, Lu Zhengping rubbed her hard with a pair of big hands. Until both of them were a little out of breath, Lu Zhengping was worried about the child in Chen Cuihua's womb, so he stopped abruptly.

"So what are you going to do? Lu Zhengan has always been lukewarm to the two of us, and it is not easy for us to get benefits from him. Your old man is a dead man who wants to save face, and I think you can talk about this if you want him to come forward. ”

Lu Zhengping didn't know what his father's temperament was, but Lu Zhengping was not afraid that his father would disagree, because after all, no one knew better than him what his father's weakness was.

"You're in charge of this, my father has me. It's you, concentrate on raising a baby for Lao Tzu, as long as you can give me a big fat boy, and I won't be able to treat you badly in the future. ”

After speaking, Lu Zhengping pinched Chen Cuihua's chest fiercely, his eyes swept over Chen Cuihua, and then he turned over and sat up from the bed.

"Eh, why are you going in the middle of the night?" Chen Cuihua turned sideways and looked at Lu Zhengping, who was pulling his shoes and walking out, and asked.

However, Lu Zhengping shouted to her without looking back: "Sleep on you, whatever I do!" ”

Seeing Lu Zhengping's back disappear at the door, Chen Cuihua was lying on the bed, caressing her abdomen that had not yet bulged, and couldn't help but hook the corners of her mouth, and scolded softly: "Idiot!" ”

……

Before dawn, the people in Lujia Village who were still asleep suddenly heard an exclamation and immediately woke up from their sleep.

Listening to the noise outside the door, everyone turned their heads sideways to identify the direction of the sound, and immediately put on their clothes and ran out.

When a group of people came to Lu Ming's house looking for the voice, they saw that Lu Ming and the fourth mother of the Lu family were hugging Lu Zhengping, who was sitting on the ground, and cried bitterly.

"Fourth uncle, what's wrong with Brother Zhengping?" Lu Tieniu squeezed out of the crowd, looked at the pale Lu Zhengping and hurriedly asked.

Lu Ming saw that there were so many people around, and his face was full of embarrassment. "It's okay, Zhengping drank too much and broke his leg when he got up at night. You Siniang didn't go through anything and woke up the big guy. ”

Lu Changgen and Lu Yang also rushed over when they heard the movement, and when they found out that it was Lu Ming's family who had an accident, the two didn't want to care. However, the burden of the village chief was not lifted, so he could only walk out of the crowd with a hard head.

However, when the two saw Lu Zhengping's footprints all over his body and the redness and swelling of his cheeks, they couldn't help but glance at each other, and they were suspicious of Lu Ming's explanation from the bottom of their hearts.

However, since people don't want to say it, they don't ask about it. The crowd of onlookers helped carry the man into the house, and after the doctor was invited, he dispersed.

Lu Zhengping grinned and leaned on the head of the bed to ask the barefoot doctor in the village to help him straighten his bones, and he couldn't help but secretly curse the thugs in the gambling house last night.

He was just teasing the proprietress of the shop for a few words, and he actually dealt him so hard......

In his distraction, Lu Zhengping only felt a sharp pain coming from his leg, and he couldn't help but scream immediately.

"Doctor Li, your hand is inevitably too heavy...... Lu Zhengping grumbled as he gasped.

Hearing this, Dr. Li didn't care, and said with a smile: "How can there be a bone that doesn't hurt, a manly man, just endure it and pass." ”

As he spoke, Dr. Li turned around and packed up the medicine box he was carrying, turned his head to Lu Ming and instructed: "The bones have been connected, don't go to the ground for the next few days, and there is nothing else serious." ”

Hearing what Dr. Li said, Lu Ming couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief, thanked Dr. Li, and sent the person out of the door after paying the consultation fee.

When Lu Ming came back, his old wife was gathered around Lu Zhengping's bed, distressed. Looking at his pale son on the bed, Lu Ming couldn't help but feel a little distressed, but thinking of what he had done a few days ago, he forced himself to cool down.

"Why did you come back like this, where is your daughter-in-law?"

Seeing that his old man's tone was cold, Lu Zhengping couldn't help but be a little angry, but he still replied patiently: "This is not a fetus raised at home." ”

In the end, it was his own flesh and blood, Lu Ming really didn't get angry with Lu Zhengping, glanced at the leg that was tied by the splint, and asked in a deep voice: "You are just serving as an accountant for others, how can such a good person be beaten?" ”

Lu Zhengping raised his eyes and glanced at his father's face, and when he saw the concern in his eyes, he collapsed his face and began to sell miserably.

"Since Cuihua entered the door, you and my mother have suffered a lot of grievances, and these sons have seen it in their eyes. However, the conditions of our family are not good, and the money owed by our son to do business with others in the past can only be paid off by relying on the green flowers. Therefore, even if she makes some trouble, I can only endure the grievances that have caused you to suffer. ”

When Lu Zhengping said this, he sniffled a little, and after seeing that the expressions of the two old men had completely eased, he continued: "In order to prevent you from being angry with Chen Cuihua anymore, I can only go and beg my former classmates in a low voice to see if they can help me find a way to make money." I didn't know that I couldn't find the doorway, but I was deceived into signing an IOU of five hundred taels. I was thinking that I would find a way to pay it back, but who would have thought that I would be blocked in the middle of the road by those people and beat me severely. He also threatened me to break my other leg if I didn't pay it back within three days. ”

Lu Ming didn't expect that Lu Zhengping would owe so much money, and his eyes immediately turned black and he almost fell to the ground.

"Five, five hundred taels?! You have only a lot of money a month, and you dare to borrow 500 taels from someone so boldly! ”

Hearing what his father said, Lu Zhengping secretly pinched the soft flesh of his thighs, and his eyes immediately turned red with pain.

"I didn't expect them to lie to me, Chen Cuihua is so domineering, I really can't bear to see your second elder being wronged before falling into the trap of the gangsters."

"It's five hundred taels, where are we going to get you five hundred taels of silver to plug this hole......" Lu Ming squatted on the ground with his head in his hands.

Lu Zhengping's mother, Lu Anshi, was already distressed about her son, and she was even more sad when she heard that the reason why he was deceived was for the sake of their old couple.

"What's the matter, you can't just watch them discount the other leg of Zhengping, right? Even if I sell a house or a land, I can't let them move my son another finger. ”

Lu Ming has been the village chief for so many years, and although he spends a lot of money on his son's education, it is impossible to say that he does not have any savings. But the little silver in his hand was far from enough to plug the hole of five hundred taels.

Just when Lu Ming was at a loss, he heard his wife Lu Anshi suddenly say: "It's really not good, let's go and borrow from others, and we can borrow a little." ”

"You don't know what the conditions of the people in our village are. How can there be so much money lent to us to pay off our debts......"

Lu Ming's voice fell, and Lu Zhengping, who was lying on the bed, rolled his eyes and sighed faintly. "Yes, our family is not as good as the luck of political security, a rich relative fell from the sky, and a leak in someone's fingers is enough to pay off my debts."

When Lu Anshi heard his son say this, his eyes immediately lit up.

"That's right, Zhengping and his father, it's really not okay, you go to Zheng'an and ask. I heard that his old Taishan family still runs a grocery store, and the Song family has only one child. There must have been a lot of silver at the bottom of the box when they made the contract, so we borrowed it first and returned it to them later. ”

Seeing that his wife and son had both started Lu Zhengan's idea, Lu Ming immediately waved his hand at the two. "You don't know the temper of that kid in Zheng'an, because of Changgen'er and his man's wife, he is angry with me in his heart, and if I go to borrow money from him, how can he lend it to me? This won't work, so don't beat him up. ”

"What then? Now that our relatives have the strength to pull me along, where can the others help me get five hundred taels of silver? ”

As he spoke, Lu Zhengping raised his hand to cover his eyes, and said weakly: "That's it, if my father doesn't want to help me ask, forget it." The left and right are just one leg, let them fight. ”

As soon as he heard Lu Zhengping say this, Lu An's heart immediately felt distressed. Seeing that the old man of his family was indifferent, Lu Anshi wiped the tears on his face and knelt down in front of Lu Ming with a plop.

"Father, Masahiro has suffered a great sin for our sake, and we can't let those people beat him anymore. I beg you, you go to Zheng'an and ask, if it doesn't work, we will think of another way. ”

Lu Ming never looked down on his old wife, but the two had lived for so many years, so naturally they also had feelings. In addition, although he refused verbally, he couldn't help pinning his hopes on Lu Zhengan in his heart.

Looking at his old wife who was kneeling at his feet and crying bitterly, and then at his son who couldn't move on the bed, Lu Ming finally gritted his teeth and nodded in agreement.

"Okay! I'm going to go to Zheng'an. ”

With that, Lu Ming turned around and left the room.

Listening to the footsteps leaving in his ears, Lu Zhengping quietly removed the sleeve that covered his eyes. Confirming that his father had left, Lu Zhengping couldn't help but hook the corners of his mouth, and a trace of pride flashed in his eyes.

Out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of his mother who was kneeling on the ground wiping her tears, and Lu Zhengping's eyes were full of disgust and disgust. Reaching out and touching his empty stomach, Lu Zhengping turned his head to Lu Anshi and said, "Mother, don't cry, what's the use of crying, you can't take out the silver." You should get up first and help me make a bowl of egg tea to make up for it. lest I starve to death before I borrow the money. ”

Hearing this, Lu Anshi realized that his son had not eaten yet. He immediately got up from the ground, wiped the tears from his face with the placket of his clothes, and ran to his stove house.

Chapter 60

Because the weather was cold and there was no work to do at home, Lu Zhengan didn't let Song Huaishu get up so early.

The little cubs in the chicken pen mixed the food, Lu Zhengan washed up and just put breakfast into the pot, and Song Huaishu also got up.

"Didn't you lie down a little longer? Why did you get up so quickly? ”

Lu Zheng'an lit the wheat straw with a fire fold, and after watching the flames roll up the firewood little by little, he turned back to look at Song Huaishu at the door.

"I'm already awake, where can I still lie down? Don't stir-fry in the morning, take a little bite. Put the corn in the barn in cloth bags and take a few bags to the town to see if people want it. ”

"Okay, then let's eat some in the morning, and I'll give you sauce and big bones to eat when I come back in the afternoon."

Yesterday the two of them arrived home very late, and they didn't have time to make the bones and meat they bought in the vegetable market.

The Lu family is for Lu Zhengan and Song Huaishu, and breakfast is very easy. After Song Huaishu and Lu Zheng'an talked for a while, they had just washed up, and the rice porridge and steamed buns in the pot were also warm.

Song Huaishu took out half a plate of pickled cucumbers from the pickle jar, mixed them with sesame oil, and the two of them drank rice porridge with steamed buns and made do with breakfast.

The warehouse of Lu Zheng'an's house was renovated from a former school, although the space inside is not small. But they couldn't hold up the stacks of things inside, and the two of them moved for nearly a quarter of an hour just to weigh thousands of pounds of dried peaches.

Fortunately, the corn had only recently been received in the barn, and after the dried peaches were removed, there was a hole for the corn to be placed behind.

Song Huaishu had never done any physical work, and he was already tired and out of breath after helping to carry a few bags of dried peaches. He propped his right hand on the wooden shelf, wiped the sweat from the corner of his forehead with his sleeve, and asked Lu Zhengan: "We still have so many dried peaches left, when do you plan to sell them?" ”