Song Lan stepped forward to pick up Lu Zheng'an, looked at Lu Zheng'an and Song Huaishu in front of him with a smile, and said: "Zheng'an's words are too polite, and they are all bothered by the family. As long as the two of you are doing well, we don't want anything more. Okay, it's windy outside, you and Huaishu still don't stand at the door, and when the weather is good, your father and I will come to see you again. ”

After helping Song Lan into the car, Lu Zhengan took Song Huai's book and sent the mule cart of the two people to disappear at the end of the mountain road, and then turned around and went home.

The howling cold wind made Lu Zhengan frown, and after hurriedly escorting Song Huaishu back to the hall, he went to the kitchen to hang the pickled roe deer meat in the west room.

Lu Changgen's cleaned roe deer is estimated to weigh about 20 catties, and he roasted and ate one of his front legs today, and there is still a lot left.

Lu Zhengan simply took some and let Lu Changgen and the two elders of the Song family take them away, and the rest was all smeared with salt and evenly marinated as bacon.

When Lu Zheng'an came out of the West Winghouse, Song Huaishu was sitting around the charcoal stove flipping through the walnuts and peanuts next to him, and after hearing the footsteps, he subconsciously looked at the door of the West Winghouse, and then held up a roasted walnut and asked Lu Zheng'an: "Do you eat walnuts?" Freshly baked. ”

Song Huaishu is emaciated, and now that he is pregnant, his appetite is smaller than before, and his face is smaller than before.

Lu Zhengan didn't speak, and took the walnut directly. He took the small hammer that was placed on the side and knocked the walnuts open, carefully took out the walnut flesh, and stuffed it into Song Huaishu's mouth.

"Huaishu, thank you."

Song Huaishu, who was eating walnuts with his cheeks puffed out, couldn't help but be stunned for a moment when he heard Lu Zhengan's words, and then thought about what the "thanks" in his mouth meant.

Swallowing the walnut kernel in his mouth, Song Huaishu turned his head to avoid the other half handed over by Lu Zheng'an, and then said: "I told you, we are Qi brothers, and we are the closest people except for our blood parents." And I'm not helping yourself, I'm trying to make life better for us and our unborn children. ”

Song Huaishu said, bowing his head and caressing his lower abdomen, his eyes full of joy. "I don't want our children to work so hard in the future, so I can only let you, the father, work hard."

Song Huaishu's words made Lu Zhengan laugh out loud. He patted the dust on his hands, walked over to Song Huaishu, leaned over, picked him up and put him on his lap.

Perhaps Song Huaishu's 'self-made opinions' today made him feel a little weak, so Song Huaishu was not shy or uncomfortable about Lu Zhengan's behavior, but instead leaned on Lu Zhengan's chest with a obedient face and let Lu Zhengan move.

"Since the boy and his father have spoken, then I should obey my fate and work hard to make more money so that you two can live a good life."

As he spoke, Lu Zhengan lowered his head and pecked Song Huaishu on the forehead, stroked his back, sighed lightly, and said: "If you really rent a few mountains, then you may have to be busy after the beginning of spring, and then you won't be able to accompany you every day like now." ”

"I'm not a child, I have to be watched every day. And I see what a pregnant girl should do, just work in the field with a big belly. I'm better off than they are, so why can't I take care of myself? The doctor also said that the fetus will be stable after three months, and I will be able to cook and wash for you at that time, and I can't let you be busy at home and outside the house alone. ”

Thinking of Lu Zheng'an's meticulous care during these days, Song Huaishu's heart was full of emotion. Raising his hand to caress Lu Zhengan's cheek, his eyes were full of tenderness.

The two had not been close for many days, and their hearts throbbed a little when they looked at the love and expressions in each other's eyes. However, both of them knew that it was not suitable for in-depth communication, so they could only kiss each other.

Song Huaishu sat on Lu Zhengan's lap, and he couldn't detect his reaction. Feeling the stiffness of Lu Zhengan's body, Song Huaishu was also a little unbearable, and climbed Lu Zhengan's neck to his ear and whispered: "Why don't I help you with my hands?" ”

Lu Zhengan was already uncomfortable, but Song Huaishu's words were like sparks, and he quickly burned Lu Zhengan. He picked up Song Huaishu, kicked the door of the hall shut, and then hurriedly walked to the inner room.

After more than half an hour, the wind and waves in the house were calm again.

Lu Zhengan hugged Song Huaishu, whose cheeks were flushed, and breathed a sigh of relief, then got up and poured a glass of water and handed it to Song Huaishu.

"Rinse your mouth quickly, what's uncomfortable?"

Song Huaishu turned over and sat up, took the tea cup handed over by Lu Zheng'an, and shook his head with a red face. "No, just don't do this next time, your mouth is uncomfortable."

Lu Zhengan couldn't help but be a little surprised when he heard this, and an old face was slightly red and embarrassed to respond, and after Song Huaishu rinsed his mouth, he took the cup and put it on the table.

Turning his head to look at the already dark window, Lu Zhengan stepped forward to help Song Huaishu tuck the quilt, and asked softly, "Are you hungry, I'll go and make you something to eat?" ”

Song Huaishu ate a lot of things during the day, and only then did he mess around with Lu Zhengan for a while, and then he felt that his stomach was not so bloated. So, he shook his head.

"I'm not hungry yet, I'm a little sleepy and want to sleep for a while."

Seeing this, Lu Zhengan responded, put down the bed curtain, lay back on the bed, and waited for Song Huaishu to fall asleep, then got up to prepare dinner.

……

Even on these sunny days, the temperature on the mountain has risen a bit. Taking advantage of the good weather in the past few days, Lu Zhengan and Song Huaishu turned over all the savings in their family and the money at the bottom of Song Huaishu's box.

The two discussed setting aside the expenses they needed on weekdays, and counted that there were less than two hundred and seventy taels left.

As a result, they still need to borrow 30 taels from Song Xiren when they go to the county government to rent a mountain, and then hire people to clear the mountain and plant trees.

With the silver and silver tickets in his arms, Lu Zhengan took Song Huaishu down the mountain, called Lu Changgen to follow, and the three of them arrived in the town. He sent Song Huaishu to Song's house, and then took 100 taels of silver tickets from Song Xiren and went straight to the county office.

When Lu Zhengan followed Song Xiren and Lu Changgen to the county office, the time had just reached the end of the hour. Because it was about to enter the wax moon, there were many people coming and going in the yamen, and the three of them waited at the door for a while before they were led into the door by the yamen.

The place where Ma Hufang ran an errand was in a small house in the back hall of the county government. On three walls of the room are three cabinets nearly two meters high, each of which is filled with various documents.

Ma Hufang and Lu Changgen and Song Xiren are also acquaintances, but it is the first time Lu Zhengan has met.

Seeing that he had not been able to live in the room since he entered the room, he ignored him, turned his head and said to Lu Changgen and Song Xiren with a smile: "Do Village Chief Lu and Boss Song know each other?" They all came to me to inquire about the barren mountains outside Lujia Village, and now they have also come here, if it is a coincidence, it is impossible to say that it is a coincidence. ”

Lu Zheng'an listened to Ma Hufang's speech very kindly, and he couldn't help but be a little more curious about him, but he was also more cautious in his heart. As the old saying goes, Hades is good, little ghosts are difficult, and it is always right to be cautious.

"This is not a coincidence, our two families are in-laws, and the children in the family want to subsidize the family in the barren mountains, and we both want to help the children, so we didn't talk to each other and came to ask you about Ma Hufang."

Hearing this, Ma Hufang nodded knowingly, and then turned his gaze to Lu Zhengan. Seeing that Lu Zhengan was tall and big, Ma Hufang subconsciously straightened his chest.

"I told you earlier about the conditions of the bun mountain, and if you want to wrap it, you have to pack all three of them together, so this is not negotiable. If you accept it, we can proceed today. If it's too expensive, you can think about it. ”

Just as Lu Zhengan was about to take out the money and prepare to leave, he suddenly heard a sound of footsteps outside.

Everyone subconsciously turned their heads, only to see a catcher who knew the destiny of heaven and was walking this way from the outside with a knife. As he walked, he shouted, "Did the old horse boil water?" Damn, I'm going to freeze people's ears off this day, so hurry up and boil some water for Brother Tu to drink to warm up. ”

The head catcher, surnamed Tu, also came to the door of the room after the words fell. Seeing a few people standing outside the Mahu room coming out of the room, I couldn't help but be stunned for a moment. Then he touched the hat on his head, and said with some embarrassment: "Alas, the old horse picks up customers." Then I'll not bother for now. ”

Ma Hufang's face turned pale with anger when he was about to open his mouth to curse, but Tu Zhutou, who was about to turn around and leave, suddenly stopped. Then he walked a few steps in front of Lu Zhengan and said, "Are you the one who caught the thief at the Xiaoman meeting?" ”

Hearing what Tu Zhutou said, Lu Zhengan also remembered who the other party was, nodded and said hello to Tu Zhutou.

Seeing Lu Zheng'an's admission, Tu Zhutou patted Lu Zheng'an's shoulder vigorously with his big fan-like hand, and said with a smile: "Good boy, your courage is commendable, but if it weren't for you, the child would be in danger." What's the matter, you're looking for an old horse? ”

Everyone was confused by the sudden appearance of Tu Zhutou, and Lu Zhengan saw the puzzlement in the eyes of several people, and knew that this was not the time to explain, so he said to Tu Zhutou truthfully: "If you want to buy a few mountains to plant fruit trees to subsidize your family, I will come to Ma Hufang here today." ”

Hearing this, Tu Zhutou couldn't help but nod. "But we don't have any mountains here, where is your home?"

"We are from Lujia Village."

Tu Zhutou has been working in the county government for several years, and he has a very clear understanding of the surrounding nature. As soon as I heard that Lu Zhengan and the others were from Lujia Village, I knew the general direction.

"Clearing land is not an easy job, and most people don't want to do it. You're a bold boy. ”

After that, Tu Zhutou turned his head to Ma Hufang, who had a gloomy face next to him, and said: "Old Ma, this kid has done me a great favor before, and people have come to you to do a deal, so don't embarrass people for my sake." ”

Ma Hufang listened to Tu Zhutou's words, and his face was about to crack with anger. But he still held back his temper and said: "When will I feel sorry for others, what does this matter have to do with you, and do you have a part in interfering?" If you do this again, let's go to the county lord and talk about it. ”

When Tu Zhutou saw that Ma Hufang was angry, he didn't care in his heart. With a big grin, he reached out and took the tea brewed by Ma Hufang from the table in his hand, and then strode away.

Ma Hufang looked at the empty table, and his face turned black with anger. Seeing that Ma Hufang was angry like this, Lu Zhengan and the others did not speak, and only after he relented for a moment did he take out the three hundred taels of silver tickets from his arms.

Seeing that Lu Zhengan really took out three hundred taels of silver in one go, Ma Hufang was still a little surprised in his heart. After all, these three hundred taels are not a small amount, and some families may not be able to save these three hundred taels of silver if they do not eat or drink for the rest of their lives.

As a result, Ma Hufang forgot to be angry about catching his head and looked down on Lu Zhengan and the others.

"Are you really going to take over those barren mountains? First of all, as long as this method is continued, you will not regret it. ”

Hearing Ma Hufang say this, Lu Zhengan smiled and said, "Since they all came with silver, I haven't thought about regretting it. I was tired of helping Ma Hufang to take a walk, and we will start to clean up next year. ”

Hearing this, Ma Hufang touched the two mustaches on his lips, and made some pinch tones.

"Generally speaking, we still need to send someone to see it on the spot first. But you helped Lao Tu, then this one will be saved, you wait here now, I will issue a document and let the county lord sign and seal. ”

Every household can't say everything about the wasteland and barren mountains in the county, but most of them also know it. After all, the yamen sometimes relies on this to get out of the way, and isn't it a joke to ask three questions?

"That's it, thanks to Ma Hufang." Song Xiren arched his hand to Ma Hufang as he spoke, and then took out a silver ingot weighing five taels from his sleeve pocket and stuffed it into Ma Hufang's hand.

The horse house quietly touched his hand, smiled and nodded to a few people, and went to the table to grind and write the deed.

……

By the time Lu Zhengan and the others got the deed stamped by the official seal of the government and came out of the yamen, the time was almost at the end of the day.

Thinking of Song Huaishu, who was waiting at home, Lu Zhengan was a little anxious.

"Our time in Yamen has not been short, Huaishu is still waiting at home, so let's stop eating on the street today. In a few days, I will cook a few good dishes at home, put a jar of good wine, and give you two a glass. ”

"Hey, it's all a family, what are you doing so politely. Let's go back quickly, don't let Huaishu wait at home. ”

The three of them hurried back to the small courtyard of the Song family After the incident, Song Huaishu couldn't wait to go out of the door several times. Seeing a few people appear at the mouth of the alley, I was immediately relieved, and immediately walked over to a few people.

When Lu Zhengan saw him so eager, his heart was about to jump out of fright. He strode over, grabbed his arm and said, "What are you doing in such a hurry?" Aren't we coming back? ”

Song Huaishu didn't care about Lu Zhengan's blame, and asked with a smile: "Is the matter done?" ”

Song Xiren and Lu Changgen looked at the husband and wife with a smile and replied: "Naturally, everything has been done, otherwise it would have been delayed until now." ”

"That's right, let's go in, there's wind in the alley, don't freeze." Lu Changgen persuaded on the side.

So saying, the four of them went home together.

At this time, Song Lanshi had already prepared a meal, and when he saw a few people coming back, he beckoned a few people to hurry up and wash their hands and prepare for dinner.

Knowing that Lu Changgen would also keep the meal, the meal prepared by the Song Lan clan today was quite sumptuous. However, when they had to rush back to Lujia Village in the afternoon, they did not drink alcohol. After eating, we sat down together and gossiped for a while, and then got up and went home.

Along the way, Lu Changgen could not forget Tu Zhutou's words, and after leaving the town, he asked Lu Zhengan what he had helped him with.

Seeing that both of them were curious, Lu Changgen told them about the encounter with a thief when Xiao Man bought an altar at the meeting.

At this time, Song Huaishu also remembered the events of that day, took Lu Zhengan's hand, and subconsciously touched the place where Lu Zhengan was injured.

It's just that Lu Zheng'an was not serious at that time, and now that so much time has passed, the wound has long been healed, and he can't even see the scar.

However, if you can threaten a child, the thief is also an outlaw. Lu Zhengan was able to resolutely make a move under such circumstances at that time, and he must have taken a great risk.

Thinking of this, Song Huaishu felt distressed for a while, and turned his head to look at Lu Zhengan beside him, his eyes full of disapproval.

Lu Zhengan looked at Song Huaishu's expression, shook his hand with a smile, and explained: "Actually, that naivety was really an accident. I originally wanted to buy two jars of pickled vegetables, but I didn't know that I would run into a thief. I didn't take the initiative to help, but the jar in my hand rolled to the thief's feet. I'm a man who spares my life, how dare I fight for my life with such a villain. ”

Hearing Lu Zheng'an say this, Song Huaishu and Lu Changgen did not say anything more despite knowing it in their hearts. However, Song Huaishu also remembered another thing, it seems that at the Xiaoman meeting, he also met his former classmate Yuan Lingfeng.

However, Yuan Lingfeng is not from Hualong Town, if it is impossible to say that he and Lu Zhengan are old acquaintances, and the situation at that time seems to be that Yuan Lingfeng chased Lu Zheng'an, then what can Yuan Lingfeng find Lu Zheng'an for......

As Song Huaishu walked, he pondered, but he didn't even notice the stone under his feet, and his whole person was tripped up. If it weren't for Lu Zheng'an's quick eyesight, Song Huaishu would have almost fallen to the ground.

Lu Zheng'an and Lu Changgen were both shocked into a cold sweat, and after Song Huaishu stabilized his figure, he couldn't help but breathe a long sigh of relief.

"What do you want? I almost fell. ”

Song Huaishu himself was also taken aback, and after he helped Lu Zheng'an's hand to stand up, he hurriedly smiled apologetically at the two of them and explained: "I'm sorry, I was a little distracted. ”

At this time, the three of them were only more than a mile away from Lujia Village, and they were worried that Song Huaishu was too tired, so the three of them rested for a while before continuing to set off.

By the time the two of them returned to the mountain, it was not yet time for Shen. Lu Zhengan originally wanted Song Huaishu to rest for a while, and then he went to the back mountain to fetch a few buckets of water to fill the water tank. However, before he could leave, he was stopped by Song Huaishu.

"What's wrong? But what's uncomfortable? ”

"No, I just wanted to talk to you."

Lu Zhengan had rarely seen Song Huaishu like this, and as soon as he said it, he knew that Song Huaishu must have something on his mind.

Lu Zhengan also became Song Huaishu because he was a little apprehensive about what happened at the previous Xiaoman meeting. Reaching out and touching the top of his hair, he comforted him softly: "It's all gone, my hand is already healed, you can't even see the scar." As he spoke, Lu Zhengan raised his hand and asked Song Huaishu to check it.