"It's not cost-effective to shoot dried peaches now, and I'm going to wait until I enter the wax moon and start going to the town to ask. If someone in the dried fruit shop collects it, I will give them a part. No one wanted to accept it, so I set up my own stall. The aroma of wine is not afraid of deep alleys, and our family should not worry about selling such good dried peaches. ”

However, after listening to this, Song Huaishu could not help but feel a little worried. "It will snow in a while, and if you go to set up a stall, how will it be easy to go up and down the mountain?"

"I just praised you for being smart before, why did you start to get confused again when you turned your head?" After Lu Zhengan finished speaking with a smile, seeing that Song Huaishu was still puzzled, he leaned over and pecked him on the door.

"Isn't my father-in-law and mother-in-law living in the town, so I'll transport all the dried peaches over after a while, so I won't have to toss back and forth then." My father-in-law and mother-in-law are so good to me, so I can't help keep them. ”

Song Huaishu had forgotten about his parents, and couldn't help but laugh when he heard Lu Zhengan's words. "I'm afraid that others don't have such a big face, you, they wish they could help more."

Hearing this, Lu Zhengan smiled, "That is, where can I find a filial and diligent son-in-law like me?" What's more, their hearts are still in my hands, and they will definitely be kind to me for the sake of their baby bumps. ”

Song Huaishu stared at Lu Zhengan, who was smiling in front of him, with red earlobes, "Father and mother already love you, what kind of heart, baby pimple, don't talk nonsense." Hurry up and get the bag to work, so much so I don't know when to get it. ”

After speaking, Song Huaishu turned around and walked towards the warehouse. Lu Zhengan stood in place, touched the bridge of his nose and walked over.

……

Ever since Mrs. Ji came to recognize Lu Zheng'an, Lu Ming had never come to Lu Zheng'an's house again. After wandering on the mountain road with his hands behind his back for a long time, thinking of the frightened and helpless children at home, and the appearance of his wife kneeling on the ground and begging him, Lu Ming finally gritted his teeth and stepped into the gate of Lu Zheng'an's house.

Seeing that there was no movement in the house, Lu Ming took a deep breath and called out Lu Zhengan's name.

"Is Zheng'an at home?"

Lu Zheng'an and Song Huaishu, who were filling bags from the corn hole, suddenly heard someone shouting his name, and thought they were hallucinating. After knowing that Lu Ming shouted a second time, Lu Zhengan and Song Huaishu were convinced that someone had come.

The two of them came to the door of the barn with doubts, and when they saw Lu Ming standing in the courtyard, they couldn't help but be stunned for a moment.

"Fourth uncle, why are you here?" As he spoke, Lu Zhengan put the wooden basin in his hand on the ground, patted the dust on his body, and said, "Huaishu and I are pouring corn, and it's very dirty outside, so let's go and sit in the house." ”

When Lu Ming heard Lu Zhengan say this, a trace of discomfort flashed on his face. "No, I won't go into the house."

Since Lu Ming knew that Lu Zheng'an had found Song Huaishu to sign a contract, he didn't have a good face when he saw him again. At the moment, Lu Ming looked at him with an embarrassed face, and Lu Zheng's heart immediately sounded the alarm bell.

"Fourth uncle, is there something wrong with you coming?"

Hearing this, Lu Ming lowered his head and hesitated for a moment, then looked at Lu Zheng'an and gritted his teeth and said: "There is something I want you to help with, but in the past two days, your brother Zhengping has encountered a little trouble in doing business with others, and he has lost a lot of silver." Your fourth mother and I are old, and we really can't help it, so I can only come to you with a cheeky face. Look, will you take me five hundred taels of silver? ”

When Lu Ming said 500 taels of silver, Lu Zhengan thought that he had misheard. With a shocked face, he looked at Lu Ming and asked loudly, "How much does the fourth uncle want to borrow?" ”

"Five hundred taels, the fourth uncle also knows that it is not easy for you, if you don't have it, can you ask your relative to borrow it first?" Lu Ming said dryly.

When Lu Zhengan heard that Lu Ming had already thought about who he would find, he couldn't help but sneer immediately. "Fourth uncle, you have also planted the land all your life, and you should have more money than me in your heart about how much money you can earn in a year from the income in this field. Five hundred taels of silver, you said it was so easy, where did you let me go and get it? ”

Lu Ming bowed his head to Lu Zhengan, and he originally felt angry in his heart. Now seeing that Lu Zhengan refused without thinking about it, it was clear that he was unwilling to help him, and his anger became even stronger for a while.

"Didn't your family just recognize their relatives, if you ask them to open their mouths, I don't believe that they can't borrow the five hundred taels."

Seeing that Lu Ming said so confidently, not only Lu Zhengan, but also Song Huaishu on the side felt very ridiculous when he heard it.

"Si Bo's words are unreasonable, no matter how rich a family is, it is also a family. How much face does Zheng'an have, opening his mouth and asking someone to borrow 500 taels of silver, and when they reach out, they will give it? ”

Lu Ming didn't like Song Huaishu in the first place, and he was even more angry when he interjected rashly. "I'm talking to Zheng'an, where is it your turn for an outsider to intervene?!"

Hearing Lu Ming say this, Lu Zhengan's face immediately sank. "I'm afraid that the fourth uncle is mistaken, although my surname is Lu, Huaishu and I are a family. Huaishu naturally has the right to intervene in our family's affairs. Today, don't say five hundred taels, even if there is no five coins of silver, the fourth uncle should go to another house and ask. ”

As he spoke, Lu Zheng'an no longer looked at Lu Ming's face, bent down to pick up the wooden basin on the ground, and walked to the warehouse with Huai Shu in his arms.

Seeing that Lu Zheng'an said such a ruthless thing, Lu Ming suddenly became angry and shouted: "Lu Zheng'an, don't forget that when your father and mother were buried in the mountains, who brought people over to dig them out?" Now that you've grown up and have a good life, you have turned your face and don't recognize people?! ”

Lu Zhengan didn't want to pay any more attention to Lu Ming, but after hearing Lu Ming's threatening words, he immediately stopped.

Song Huaishu, who was standing beside him, clearly felt that Lu Zhengan's entire aura had changed, and Song Huaishu hurriedly reached out and grabbed Lu Zhengan's arm, for fear that he would do something irreparable on impulse.

Lu Zheng'an suppressed his anger, glanced sideways at Song Huaishu beside him, and Lu Ming, whose face had changed in front of him, and said in a cold voice: "My father and mother were found with the help of those uncles and uncles in the village, and they have nothing to do with you, so you don't have to threaten me with that." I'll tell you the truth, don't think about borrowing money from me, don't say that I don't have five hundred taels, even if I really have, just like you, I won't lend you a copper plate. ”

After speaking, Lu Zhengan took a deep breath to calm the anger in his heart, looked at Lu Ming and continued: "I'll leave my words here, if you have the ability, go to the village and shout to see if you are justified in forcing people to borrow money, or if I am ungrateful regardless of my old feelings." I still have work to do, so I won't send you out, please. ”

With that, Lu Zhengan ignored Lu Ming and took Song Huaishu into the warehouse.

……

When Lu Ming left, Lu Zhengan and Song Huaishu did not know. By the time the two of them had filled the half hole of corn, it would be an hour later.

Lu Zhengan asked Song Huaishu to tie the cloth bag with a rope, and then went outside to push the cart over and prepare to load it. However, it is almost hour, and if you go down the mountain, it will be afternoon.

Lu Zhengan simply pushed the car over and didn't pretend it, beckoned Song Huaishu to come out of the warehouse, and patted the dust on his body for him.

"It's almost noon, let's get some food and go to town in the afternoon, shall we?"

Song Huaishu just held up his pocket and didn't make much effort, seeing that Lu Zhengan had been busy for so long, he was afraid that he would be too tired, so he nodded. "How do you want to eat at noon? I'll do it today. ”

"Let's eat noodles, we bought two knives of meat yesterday, cut a little to make a shredded pork noodle. You go to make noodles, I'll go to the back yard to get some cabbage in the pot. ”

Song Huaishu listened to the answer, washed his hands and went to cook noodles.

Song Huaishu's noodles were very strong, and with shredded meat and crisp green cabbage, Lu Zhengan ate two large bowls before putting down his chopsticks.

This morning, Song Huaishu had been worried about Lu Zhengan, and when he saw that he was full and his expression eased a little, he was slightly relieved.

Taking advantage of Lu Zhengan's time to eat and rest, Song Huaishu hurriedly went to the stove house to wash the pot, and when he cleaned it up, Lu Zhengan had already loaded the car.

Seeing Lu Zhengan carrying a bag full of corn, Song Huaishu hurriedly ran forward to help stabilize the handlebars, and said, "Why don't you wait for me to help you carry it, so many bags of corn, how tired you are to carry it by yourself." ”

Hearing this, Lu Zhengan couldn't help but smile. "This bag of corn is only 180 catties, and I can easily carry it alone, so where can I use two people."

As he spoke, Lu Zhengan threw the last bag of corn in his hand onto the car, instructed Song Huaishu to hold the car up, and took a thicker hemp rope from the barn to tie the cloth bag on the car firmly from the back to the front.

Lu Zhengan stretched out his hand and shook it, and saw that it was very reliable, so he went around to the handlebar to tie the knot. Turning around, Song Huaishu let go and locked the door, while he pulled the car to the big gate first.

The amount of corn on the car was not light, and the two of them were extremely careful when going down the mountain. Fortunately, the weather has been good recently, the road is dry, and the car is not easy to slip, and Lu Zhengan is extremely careful, so there is no surprise.

In late autumn, the weather has cooled down completely, and the old people in the village have begun to wander around when they have nothing to do. Seeing Lu Zhengan and Song Huaishu pulling a cart full of bags down the mountain, some curious people came up and asked the two of them what they were going to do with so many things.

Lu Zhengan wanted to tell the truth, but Song Huaishu on the side suddenly tugged at his sleeve.

Seeing Lu Zheng'an looking at him with a puzzled expression, Song Huaishu gave him a look, and then replied to Master Liu, who was questioning, with a smile: "In the past, Zheng'an repaired the house, and he still owed the materials to the people and the master's handiwork. It was no longer a while before the Chinese New Year was coming, so Zheng'an and I sent some of our family's grain to the grain store and sold it in exchange for some silver to pay off the debt. ”

How well Lu Zheng'an's house was repaired is obvious to all in the village. When the people in the village had nothing to do, they also grinded their teeth and discussed how much it would cost Lu Zheng'an's house to repair. In the end, an old man who had worked as a bricklayer said that although the main body of Lu Zheng'an's house had not been demolished, it could not be renovated without four or five taels of silver.

In addition to being amazed, the people in the village lamented that Lu Zhengan had money. Now that Old Man Liu heard Song Huaishu say this, he knew that Lu Zheng'an had repaid the debt for repairing the house.

Old Man Liu smashed his mouth, and was stunned for a while before nodding and saying, "Yo, you still owe money?" You have to pay it back quickly, otherwise it will not be good if you are chased by someone. ”

Walking around with Old Man Liu and Lu Tieniu's father Lu Qingshan, listening to Old Man Liu's words, I was afraid that Lu Zhengan and Song Huaishu would be unhappy when they heard it, so they hurriedly pulled Old Man Liu to tell him to shut up.

However, Mr. Liu is getting older, and his ears are not very bright. felt that someone was pulling his sleeve, and it was Lu Qingshan who was talking to him.

He turned his head to the side and asked loudly, "What did you say?" You can't owe money, right? After that, Old Man Liu turned his head and continued to ask: "Then you two sell so much grain, do you have enough food left at home?" Don't go hungry anymore? ”

Lu Qingshan saw that the more Old Man Liu talked, the more outrageous it became, he hurriedly glanced at Lu Zhengan and Song Huaishu, and said, "This old man has bad ears, don't tell him either." If you have something to do, hurry up, it's dark and early, don't walk at night in the dark. ”

Hearing this, Lu Zhengan and Song Huaishu thanked Lu Qingshan, and then the two of them pulled the car together and walked in the direction of Hualong Town.

After the two of them had walked for a distance, Lu Zhengan looked around and saw that there was no one around, so he looked at Song Huaishu and asked, "Are you afraid that the fourth uncle will borrow money again?" What if you get a goof? ”

"It's one thing to prevent him from borrowing money again, and it's also to prevent him from saying bad things about you in the village. Although it's not good for him to force you to borrow money, he is always an elder, and now everyone knows about our relationship with the Ji family. The Ji family is also seen by people if they have money, and it is difficult to keep those people who are not right-minded in the middle of setting up firewood and arching fires, saying that your relatives are unwilling to help, and when you are reasonable, I am afraid that you will become unreasonable. ”

"So you directly said that we still owe foreign debts for repairing the house, and we are going to sell grain to pay off?" Lu Zhengan asked with a smile.

Song Huaishu nodded, "Yes, we have to sell grain to pay off all the 'accounts' we owe, and if we have any conditions, we will lend them money." When the time comes, if there are people with such unscrupulous intentions who want to stir up trouble in it, they should not be able to make any waves. ”

When Lu Zheng'an rarely saw Song Huaishu so clever, he nodded to him with a smile, and praised him: "We Huaishu are still smart, and they all say that there are good wives and husbands in the family, and with you, I will have much more peace of mind in the future." When we come back from selling food, we'll treat you well tonight. ”

Lu Zhengan's voice fell, and Song Huaishu's face immediately turned red. "In broad daylight, you, what are you talking nonsense!"

Seeing Song Huaishu's expression, Lu Zhengan didn't understand that he was thinking crookedly. Squinting his eyes, he glanced at Song Huaishu meaninglessly, and said softly: "I mean to make you a delicious meal and treat you, but if you want to 'treat' you elsewhere, I am also very happy." ”

The word 'reward' was bitten very hard by Lu Zheng'an, and Song Huaishu was not a fool, so he could not understand the meaning of his words. But he wanted to be crooked first, and he was embarrassed to scold Lu Zhengan. After glaring at him fiercely, he took two steps and followed the back of the car, so that Lu Zhengan could not see himself at all.

Seeing this, Lu Zhengan couldn't help but laugh, shook the handlebar, and coaxed: "Okay, I'll just make a joke, don't be angry." Don't stand in the back of the car, or you might knock you over when you turn. You said that our family is in the period of 'selling grain to pay off debts,' and if you are hurt again at this time, people will probably think that you are pretending. ”

Song Huaishu, who was following behind the car, listened to Lu Zhengan's words and thought about it carefully, which made sense. It's just that Fang Cai is really a little embarrassed about things, and the whole person slowly walked around from the side to the front, and whispered to Lu Zhengan with red earlobes: "Don't talk nonsense, otherwise I will be really angry." ”

Seeing Song Huaishu like this, where did Lu Zhengan dare not agree, he nodded with a smile. "Okay, okay, I promise not to talk nonsense, you watch carefully under your feet, don't fall."

Although Lu Zhengan gave assurances, Song Huaishu was still a little uneasy. After that, there was a lot less time to talk about, and Lu Zhengxin felt amused, but he didn't continue to tease him. However, he carefully recalled what Song Huaishu had just said, and felt that although Lu Ming's temperament and temperament could not do the act of spreading bad words about him in the village, the rest of his family could not guarantee it.

In particular, Chen Cuihua and Lu Zhengping already had bad intentions, and now that they had finally seized the opportunity, how could they let it go so easily.

Thinking about it this way, Lu Zhengan felt that what Song Huaishu said to Old Man Liu was simply wonderful. At that time, Old Man Liu will spread today's news in the village to the village, and no matter how much they jump, they will not be able to make any waves.

Lu Zhengan, who had figured it out, only felt comfortable and strode forward with a cart full of corn.

……

Although the grain in the fields has just been harvested, there are very few people who are really willing to sell it. The shopkeeper of the grain store asked Lu Zhengan to unload the bags of corn, and after inspecting each bag of corn, he recruited the men to come and let them come and weigh them.

"Little brother, this corn is very clean, do you want to sell it directly, or do you want to store it in our store?"

Lu Zhengan and Song Huaishu are not short of money at the moment, and when they heard what the shopkeeper said, they replied directly: "Save it, I don't know how the boss can save it?" ”

"Your cart of corn has a total of 825 catties, and if all of them are stored here, one catty of corn will be exchanged for seven taels of cornmeal, and half a catty of white flour. It's a little less to change the rice, but your corn is very clean, and you will be given the same way as white flour. ”

Lu Zhengan and Song Huaishu carefully calculated in their hearts, and felt that the price given by the boss was quite fair, so they also nodded and agreed. After helping the men in the grain store carry all the 800 catties of corn to the back warehouse, they asked the shopkeeper to weigh 20 catties of rice and 50 catties of white flour, and carried the slips given by the shopkeeper, and then pushed the empty cart and prepared to go home.

Just as the two of them were about to leave the town, they saw the old man on the side of the street who thought he had picked up a load of sweet potatoes and squatted on the side of the road to sell.

When planting autumn grain, Lu Zhengan did not think of planting sweet potatoes. When all five acres of land were planted with corn, I remembered that there was no more vacant land and no seedlings. Helplessly, Lu Zhengan could only give up.

At this time, when he saw the sweet potatoes bought by the old man on the side of the road, Lu Zheng'an immediately moved his mind. So, he pushed the cart and turned around.

Song Huaishu followed beside him, and when he saw him suddenly turn around, he couldn't help but be stunned, and hurriedly asked, "What are you going to do?" ”

"The old man sells good sweet potatoes, I'll ask for a few pennies a pound, let's buy some and go back and taste them." Lu Zhengan said as he walked, "Sweet potatoes are boiled porridge, steamed directly in the pot, or roasted and eaten, which is quite delicious." It's about to get cold, so let's have a fire in the house, roasting sweet potatoes, and it's nice to think about it. ”

While talking, Lu Zhengan and Song Huaishu had already arrived at the old man's stall, and Lu Zhengan looked at the sweet potatoes in the basket, and saw that they were fairly well-proportioned and had no scars, so he leaned over and asked the old man about the price.

The old man has been here for nearly half an hour, and no one has been paying attention to him. At this time, seeing Lu Zhengan and Song Huaishu coming around, he hurriedly stood up from the ground and replied with a warm attitude: "One penny and two catties, pick and choose at will." It's all grown by our family, and it's sweet to eat. I'll break one for you, and you will taste it. ”

As he spoke, the old man took a slender sweet potato from it, broke it open and handed it to Lu Zhengan and Song Huaishu.

When Lu Zhengan heard it, it cost two catties a penny, and the price was quite cheap. Moreover, the sweet potato that the old man broke was still red, and he took a bite of the skin of the sweet potato and found that the taste was really sweet, so he nodded.

After shaking the two bamboo baskets with his hands, he did not hesitate when he felt that he had fifty or sixty pounds, and asked the old man, "Do you have a name?" Weigh these two baskets for me, and I'll want them all. ”

As soon as the old man heard that Lu Zheng wanted to be safe, he immediately became a little excited. With the help of Lu Zhengan, the old man weighed the sweet potatoes in the two bamboo baskets. After Lu Zhengan took 30 yuan from his sleeve pocket and handed it to the old man, he asked Song Huaishu to get the empty cloth bag in the car and pour all the two baskets of sweet potatoes into the bag.

In the old man's silent thanks, the two waved their hands and then pushed the cart home.

Thinking that it would take some way to walk home from the town, Lu Zhengan motioned for Song Huaishu to sit in the car and pull him away.

Where would Song Huaishu be willing, he hurriedly waved his hand and hid to the side.

Seeing this, Lu Zhengan couldn't help but feel a little amused. "What are you afraid of, what can I do if I can pull you into the ditch?"

"It's not far from home, and it doesn't matter if I walk, and I'm not tired."