Chapter 83

Since the fruit began to fall in the garden, Song Huaishu sat in the middle of a group of aunts and sisters-in-law every day, listening to their proprietor Li Jiaxiao talk about all kinds of strange things, and he was very happy all day long.

Seeing him like this, Lu Zhengan was also willing for him to have more contact with the people, as long as he didn't have anything inappropriate, he simply didn't care about him.

With the experience of making dried peaches last year, everyone was a little hurried at first, and after they got started, they gradually became less flustered. Every day, everyone was talking and laughing, and racks of dried peaches were sunburned all over the yard and field.

Lu Zhengan didn't let Song Huaishu work anymore, but looking at the busy figures of everyone, Song Huaishu didn't want to be idle. But knowing that he couldn't help at the moment, he sat on the side with a small stool every day, watching everyone talk and laugh, and that look very pitiful.

When Song Huaishu and Lu Zheng'an signed a contract, the people in Lujia Village felt that Song Huaishu was quiet and well-behaved. After this period of contact, I found that his personality was softer and more amiable than I had imagined.

For a while, a group of aunts and sisters-in-law who came to the Lu family to help him all regarded him as a child pet. When he came to work, he either brought him a melon or a fruit, and Lu Zheng'an couldn't help but feel a little tasteful when he saw it.

At first, Song Huai was extremely uncomfortable with the attitude of the people, but after a while, he became accustomed to the attitude of the people towards him.

Although I don't have much to do when I work, I will move a small stool and sit next to everyone and listen to them quietly.

At first, Song Lan was a little worried that Song Huaishu, who was in the Lu family, would not be able to adapt to the comings and goings, and even thought about taking him down the mountain to take care of him.

Later, after careful consideration, Song Huaishu had already made a contract with Lu Zheng'an, and he would have to deal with the people of Lujia Village for several decades, so he went with him.

However, Song Lan's family came a few more times, and when they saw that Song Huaishu got along well with the people in the village, and that the people in Lujia Village took good care of him, they were relieved.

Time passed quietly in such a busy way, and by the time the orchard work was about to end, Song Huaishu was already nearly eight months pregnant.

As the fetus in the womb grew larger and larger, Song Huaishu's activities became more and more inconvenient. I can't sit down every day, it's not good to lie down, and I walk around with a big belly every day. That appearance reminded Lu Zhengan of the emperor penguins living on the glacier, and his swaying appearance was not to mention how cute.

Just looking at Song Huaishu's big belly, Lu Zheng couldn't help but feel a little worried. In case the melons are ripe, if Song Huaishu has difficulty in production, he can only rely on the two stable women he found in the town......

Xu is thinking about the day and dreaming at night. Lu Zhengan dreamed several times that Song Huaishu had a difficult birth, and he was so frightened that he took Song Huaishu in his arms, and only then did he relax after confirming that the other party was still around.

However, Lu Zhengan's worries did not dare to be revealed in front of Song Huai's writing. During the day, I still had to do what to do in front of Song Huai's writing, but I had to stay up late at night with my eyes open until late at night to barely unite my eyes for a while.

As a result, in just a few days, Lu Zhengan lost a lot of weight, and in addition he was constantly shuttling in and out of the garden during the day, the whole person looked dark and thin, as if he had changed a different person.

Song Huaishu and Lu Zheng'an faced each other day and night, and their perception of his changes was not obvious.

But Mrs. Ji, who had been thinking about the two of them, came to Hualong Mountain with a few subordinates and Wen Po, who helped Song Huaishu find a good job in advance, and was startled at the first sight of Lu Zhengan. It was during this time that Lu Zhengan had a serious illness.

After taking Lu Zhengan's hand and repeatedly confirming that Lu Zhengan was only overworked and not sick, he reluctantly put his mind at ease.

"After calculating the time, Huaishu is not more than a month away from production. Are you ready to do anything? ”

Hearing this, Lu Zhengan thought of the two elders of the Song family who were worried about their labor, and replied with a smile: "Recently, there have been too many things at home, and Huaishu and I don't understand it, and my mother-in-law has already helped us prepare a lot." ”

Hearing Lu Zheng'an say this, Old Madam Ji smiled and nodded. "Speaking of which, I haven't met Huaishu's parents yet. This time, I will stay in Hualong Town for a while, and if you two are free, I would like to meet them and thank them for taking such good care of Zheng'an. ”

"The old lady is not necessarily polite, and Zheng'an is also very filial to them, so I should not thank you." Song Huaishu sat beside Mrs. Ji, and hurriedly spoke when he heard Mrs. Ji's words.

Mrs. Ji knew the temperament of the two of them, and she didn't know what they had to say about it. Seeing that it was busy outside, I couldn't help but feel a little curious.

"I didn't take a closer look when I came, but dried peaches were being made outside?" As she spoke, Mrs. Ji got up from her chair and took two steps to the door. Seeing that everyone outside the courtyard was busy in an orderly manner, I couldn't help but feel a little curious.

It was already evening, the sun was setting in the west, and the midday heat had disappeared on the mountain, so it was okay to go out for a walk.

Lu Zhengan helped Song Huaishu get up from his chair, walked to Mrs. Ji's side, and asked, "Yes, does the old lady want to go out and have a look?" ”

Hearing Lu Zheng'an say this, Mrs. Ji couldn't help but be a little surprised. However, after all, he wondered how the dried peaches were made, and after answering the question, he took Mama Zhang's hand and walked out of the threshold and into the courtyard.

Because there are a lot of dried peaches, there are many drying racks in the originally empty yard. Looking at the racks of dried peaches that had been dried and dried to varying degrees of dryness and wetness, Mrs. Ji reached out and took a piece to look at it, and then came to the outside of the courtyard.

Mrs. Ji watched as the strong laborers carried baskets of peaches from the garden at the bottom of the slope, and then the women waiting in front of the courtyard fetched water to clean them. I silently walked around the venue, and I was even more amazed at Lu Zhengan's overall planning ability.

After returning to the courtyard, Mrs. Ji stood still at the door of the hall, turned her head to look at Lu Zheng'an, who was following behind her, and asked straight to the point: "It is no exaggeration to say that every dry goods merchant has its own secret recipe. Just now I walked down in a circle and found that every step of your life was exposed in front of others, so you are not afraid of being stolen by others? ”

Hearing Mrs. Ji's question, Lu Zhengan couldn't help but laugh.

"Dried peaches are soaked in sugar water, and only one catty of dried peaches comes out of seven catties of fresh peaches, so the cost is not low. Moreover, everyone in the village is not rich, and even if there is idle land at home, they will grow some grain to fill their stomachs. Even if someone wants to learn, if there is no supply of fresh peaches, it will not be possible, and the cost of buying from outside will be even greater, and ordinary people cannot support this. I also have my own garden at home, so I dare to give it a try. ”

Listening to Lu Zhengan's analysis, Mrs. Ji also understood. When I looked up at my grandson who was left in front of me, I felt great regret in my heart.

The Ji family has been able to come to such a point, and the reward of today is on the one hand, but what is more important is the wealth accumulated over many years of business. It's just that the tree grows too big, so naturally it has to branch. And if there are too many branches, people's hearts will not be able to come together.

At present, the old lady of the Ji family, who is still at the helm, is still at the helm, and everyone's thoughts dare not be too obvious. However, on the day when the old lady drove to the west, although the Ji family would not collapse the building, it was really impossible to say how much chaos would go.

Mrs. Ji had three sons and two daughters, but the young daughter and the third son had already passed away. The eldest daughter entered the palace as a concubine, although there were still eldest sons and second sons in the family to support the court.

However, the qualifications of the two were mediocre, and they could not take on the big responsibilities at all. Although there are a few grandsons, they are all wine bags and rice bags, and their thoughts are not shallow one by one.

Over the years, Mrs. Ji has looked at these children and grandchildren coldly, and the Ji Yuexian brothers can still see it. But the heavens did not fulfill people's wishes, and the eldest and his wife died on the way to Beijing, leaving Ji Yuanbao alone with a single seedling.

Although Ji Yuexian can still be used, he has no temperament. If Mrs. Ji was asked to entrust the future of the entire Ji family to Ji Yuexian's shoulders, she would always feel a little uneasy in her heart.

And now, when Mrs. Ji sees that Lu Zheng'an does not care about overall planning, her vision is still open-minded, and she is far from being comparable to the group of people in the Ji family, and Mrs. Ji naturally regrets it in her heart.

I only hated God's injustice, so that her favorite young girl lost her life in the countryside, and even more regretted that Lu Zhengan had been left out for many years. If she could find Lu Zhengan ten years earlier, I am afraid it would be a different situation......

Seeing that Mrs. Ji had been standing in place and silent, Lu Zhengan and Song Huaishu couldn't help but glance at each other, and after seeing the doubts in each other's eyes, Lu Zhengan finally couldn't help but take a step forward and walked in front of Mrs. Ji.

"The old lady is tired? Why don't you go to the house and rest? ”

Hearing Lu Zhengan's voice, Mrs. Ji came back to her senses from her contemplation. looked up at Lu Zheng'an, remembered the purpose of coming to Hualong Town this time, and said with a smile: "I only cared about talking, but I forgot about business." ”

As she spoke, Mrs. Ji glanced at Mama Zhang, and before Lu Zhengan and Song Huaishu could understand what Mrs. Ji meant, they saw Mama Zhang immediately waved her hand to the two mammas guarding outside the hall.

When the two grandmothers saw Mama Zhang's instructions, they immediately bowed down and walked in front of everyone, and then blessed Mrs. Ji.

Seeing the two of them come forward, Mrs. Ji looked at Song Huaishu and said, "Huaishu is about to give birth, and you are the first child." I was worried that when you launched, you would have no experience, so I took it upon myself to find two experienced stable women for you. ”

When the old lady first came, Lu Zhengan looked at the two grandmothers, and only thought that there was a new person around the old lady Ji. I didn't think that these two grandmothers were specially prepared for Song Huaishu......

Naturally, you can find the midwife Hualong Town, but there is always some apprehension in my heart. After all, it is too risky to have a child, and Lu Zhengan naturally does not dare to risk the safety of Song Huaishu and the child.

And the Ji family is wealthy, and the stable woman who can be favored by Mrs. Ji is naturally not comparable to ordinary people. In this way, even if Lu Zhengan didn't want to have too much to do with the Ji family, he couldn't open his mouth to refuse this time.

Thinking of this, Lu Zheng couldn't help but have mixed feelings, and he didn't know what to say for a while. Holding Song Huaishu in silence for a moment, he could only take it away in the end.

"Huaishu and I, thank you, old lady."

Seeing Lu Zhengan bowing to herself, Old Madam Ji couldn't help but sigh in her heart.

Stretched out his hand to help Lu Zhengan up, looked at his eyebrows and eyes that were somewhat similar to the youngest daughter in his memory, and said with a smile: "I didn't lend you these two people for nothing, as a reward, I think you have a pleasant scenery here, and you want to live here for a while, what do you think?" ”

Lu Zhengan did not expect Mrs. Ji to make such a request, and subconsciously looked at Song Huaishu, who was also surprised, and did not know for a while whether he should agree or not.

"This ...... The conditions of my family are really a little simple, how can the old lady Jin Zunyugui adapt to it? ”

Knowing that Lu Zhengan was not easy to open his mouth on this issue, Song Huaishu took the initiative to take the lead. It's just that although he said it, he actually understood in his heart that if Old Madam Ji really cared about this, I am afraid that she would not have put forward this condition.

"Hey, don't look at the Ji family being so prominent now, when I was young, I didn't suffer less with your grandfather. And your family has a room and a bed, why can't I adapt to it as an old wife? Or do you just want me to live here at all? ”

Although Mrs. Ji said exactly what Lu Zheng was thinking, he also knew that he couldn't tell the truth. "Naturally, that's not what I mean, it's just that the conditions are simple, and I'm really afraid that I will wronged the old lady."

Old Madam Ji glanced at Lu Zhengan's expression, and waved her hand impatiently: "Okay, since that's not what I mean, then I'll live here today." What are you going to do, what are you going to do, I'm walking around here. ”

Hearing what Mrs. Ji said, Lu Zhengan and Song Huaishu couldn't help but feel helpless for a while. The help-seeking looked at Mama Zhang, hoping that she could persuade the old lady to make her change her mind.

However, Mama Zhang looked at the eyes of the two, stood behind Mrs. Ji and shook her head slightly, indicating that she had no choice.

Seeing this, Lu Zhengan had no choice. sighed helplessly, and could only go with her.

After seeing that the time was already the beginning of the unitary hour, Lu Zhengan thought of the people who were still busy outside, and motioned for them to finish their work and go home first. After everyone had made peace, they all went about their work.

……

Although Lu Zheng'an's house is one of the best in the village, it cannot accommodate so many people brought by Mrs. Ji. Just when Lu Zhengan and Song Huaishu were discussing how to settle these subordinates of the Ji family, Old Madam Ji waved her hand to everyone, except for Mama Zhang and the two stable women, the rest of the people were driven back to the inn in the town by handlebar.

Seeing the old lady behave like this, Lu Zhengan didn't know whether to cry or laugh. Let Song Huaishu accompany the old lady to talk, Lu Zhengan made dinner with the help of Mama Zhang, and after a few people finished eating in silence, they hurriedly went to clean up the old lady's room.

The west room, opposite the room of Lu Zhengan and Song Huaishu, was once the room of the original parents.

The house had been renovated before, but the furnishings inside Lu Zhengan remained unchanged as before. Although it is not inhabited, fortunately, Song Huaishu cleans it frequently, and it is not messy.

Lu Zhengan took out two clean bedding from the cabinet and put them on for the old lady, fearing that mosquitoes would enter the house, Lu Zhengan burned wormwood and carefully smoked every corner of the house, so that he was relieved.

Mrs. Ji and Song Huaishu sat in the courtyard while enjoying the shade, and watched Lu Zheng'an busy for her, her eyes were full of relief.

"Zheng'an is usually so careful?" Old Madam Ji shook the pu fan in her hand and asked Song Huaishu with a smile.

Hearing the old lady's question, Song Huaishu subconsciously looked at Lu Zheng'an, who came out with wormwood. "Well, not only is he careful, but he is also very considerate to people. Ever since I knew him, no one who had been associated with him ever said that he was bad. ”

Hearing this, Old Madam Ji glanced at Song Huaishu, sighed, and then said as if she meant something: "It's a pity that such a person with such a delicate heart is buried in this countryside. ”

Song Huaishu couldn't help but skip a beat in his heart when he listened to Mrs. Ji's words. But he still hooked his lips calmly, and said with a smile: "The old lady's words are bad, as long as it is a pearl, it can always exude brilliance." Although Zheng'an is in the countryside, he can make progress in a down-to-earth manner, and he can bring the people in the village who are not full to eat to eat, and I think this is enough. ”

Song Huaishu's voice fell, and he saw that Mrs. Ji's eyes fell on him. It's just that the eyes are a little sharp, and they are very different from the usual.

Seeing this, Song Huaishu could not help but feel a little flustered. He clenched his fists nervously, thinking about what he had said wrong. Old Madam Ji slowed down her face again, leaned her back on the small bamboo chair, looked up at the vast starry sky and sighed again.

"You're right, it's just a pity that such a good child is stubborn. Otherwise......"

Old Madam Ji swallowed the remaining half of the sentence when she said this, although Song Huaishu was so curious about the unfinished half of the words in Old Madam Ji's mouth, but his intuition told him that some things were still better not to break the casserole and ask to the end.

So, Song Huaishu waited until Lu Zhengan helped Mrs. Ji take back the room, and after watching her sleep peacefully, he returned to his room with Lu Zhengan.

Because the month was too big, it was inconvenient for Song Huaishu to take a bath by himself, so he was always helped by Lu Zhengan. At first, Song Huaishu was a little unaccustomed to it, but after more times, he was not as shy as before.

Gently supporting his round belly, Song Huaishu looked sideways at Lu Zheng'an, who was helping him wipe his back, and thought of what Mrs. Fang Cai Ji had said to him in the courtyard. After hesitating for a moment, he still said to Lu Zhengan: "When you helped the old lady clean up the room just now, she once said a few words to me, and I always felt that there seemed to be something else in her words. ”

"What did she tell you?" Lu Zhengan wiped the water droplets on Song Huaishu's back with a hand towel, turned around and took the underwear next to him and handed it to him.

Song Huaishu took the underwear and did not put it on his body in a hurry, but turned around and repeated all the things that Mrs. Ji said to him to Lu Zhengan.

After finishing speaking, Song Huaishu wrinkled his eyebrows and looked at Lu Zhengan and asked, "What do you mean by saying this?" ”

As early as the last time Mrs. Ji came over, Lu Zhengan had already understood from her style of speech what she was thinking. It's just that Lu Zhengan didn't show any performance at that time, and the old lady just thought that he didn't understand, so he could only give up.

Now that Lu Zhengan had listened to Song Huaishu's retelling, he already understood in his heart the intention of Mrs. Ji to say this to Song Huaishu. However, I just wanted to use Song Huaishu's mouth to test his mind again.

It's a pity that he really didn't want to go to the Ji family to wade into the muddy waters of their house, and Mrs. Ji's expectations were destined to become disappointed.

"I guess it's just casual talk." Lu Zhengan stretched out his hand and pinched Song Huaishu's face, raised his eyebrows and smiled: "The old lady just sees that I am too capable, and she can't help but want to praise me." Besides, the Ji family is full of talents, and the old lady can still let me go to their house to be the master? Okay, let's dry our feet and go to bed. I've seen your eyelids fight for a long time. ”

After speaking, Lu Zhengan lowered his head and pecked at Song Huaishu's head, and then turned around and brought the basin of water on the ground outside.

While silently dressing in his clothes, Song Huaishu thought about Lu Zheng'an and felt that what he said was not unreasonable. Immediately, he couldn't help but yawn, and then got up and got out of bed.

……

When everyone from Lujia Village came to Lu Zheng'an's house to work, they saw Mrs. Ji wearing a muslin dress and taking Mama Zhang for a walk at the door. When he saw everyone coming, he smiled and took the initiative to say hello to them.

However, although Mrs. Ji at this time looked no different from an ordinary old lady, the extravagance and pressure of the other party's whole body could not be concealed by the cloth clothes on her body.

Although Mrs. Ji was amiable in the face of everyone, the people in Lujia Village still didn't dare to get too close.

Seeing this, Mrs. Ji didn't care, but still wanted the ordinary old man to sit in the shade of the tree, gently shaking the pu fan in her hand and watching everyone busy.