Flowers are expensive

Chapter 27 Mei Xiang, That Little Shrew

Lihua knew that she had misunderstood, so she didn't explain at all, she nodded while drinking the porridge and said, "Okay, keep your voice down next time." Sister-in-law Xiao couldn't answer for a while, and Duan Qigu next to her secretly smiled. stand up.

At this time, a young girl's voice suddenly sounded in the yard.As soon as Mrs. Xiao heard the voice, she hurried out.Lihua took a look outside and asked Duan Qigu, "Who is it, Qigu? Is someone from Sister-in-law Xiao's house?"

Duan Qigu cast a disdainful glance at the girl in the yard and said, "Sister-in-law Xiao really has someone here, but she's not so diligent. That's the housekeeper's younger sister, Mei Xiang, can she not flatter her? Lihua— ——" She turned her head and smiled at Lihua, "Go out with me in a while and stroke the mulberry leaves, so as not to be used as a maid."

"Who will be a girl for?"

"Who else? Isn't it Cao Meixiang who goes to the Three Treasures Hall for everything? She is just like her mother. She doesn't come to the village when she has nothing to do. When she comes, she must be annoying. She really thinks that everyone here is her Cao's family." She looks like a girl hired by money! I guess I'm right, she must have come to find someone to sew a dowry for her, just wait and see!"

Sure enough, after Lihua finished her meal, she and Duan Qigu were called to the hall in the front yard.On the square table in the hall was a bundle, which contained many fabrics of different designs and colors.Mrs. Cao called all the female relatives together, not even leaving Xining behind, and then said with a smile on her face, "I have something to trouble you today."

Sister-in-law Xiao was naturally the first to respond: "The housekeeper is polite, just say what you have to say!" The others all glanced at Sister-in-law Xiao in dissatisfaction, and cursed in their hearts.

Cao said with a smile: "It's not a tiring job, it's just a little manual effort. You should all know that my sister has recently engaged in a marriage, and the day is not in a hurry, but yesterday the man went to Haiziqiao I asked the Miaozhu of Qiaotou Temple, and said that this month is the most suitable for in-laws. After this month, I can only wait until the spring of next year, so I have to put the marriage on this month, and the work at hand is rushed. I would like to ask for your help. Help, and I'll thank you later."

"Where does this come from?" Mrs. Xiao smiled, "It's not that I am called to work in the fields, but just do some needlework. As long as Mei Xiang doesn't dislike it, my needlework can also be put on the table. Our family in Xining is even more Needless to say, she is better at sewing than I am!"

Mei Xiang is a girl with baby fat on her face.She smiled politely at Mrs. Xiao and said, "It's better than my needlework anyway. My hands and feet are too slow, and I can't do it alone. That's why I took it and wanted to ask my sister for help."

"They're all from the same village, so it's right to help each other," Sister Xiao hurriedly answered, and then asked Aunt Dong who was standing next to her, "Is that right, Aunt Dong? Do you think you don't want to help?"

Before Third Aunt Dong could speak, Seventh Aunt Duan said, "I'm afraid I can't help you with this task, the ancestors in the silkworm house are waiting hungry, housekeeper, the other end is not left behind, what do you think? ""Silkworm rearing is a big deal, so naturally we can't starve them, so go ahead." Cao nodded.

"I'll take the pear blossoms, okay?" Duan Qigu asked, "She doesn't know how to sew anyway, so staying here won't help me much, so I'll take them with me and teach her how to stroke mulberry leaves. Point out where is the mulberry tree on our village, so that she won't make a mistake in the future."

"It's true," Grandma Yun said casually, "My old lady's eyesight can't help, so I can't rest, I'll go too."

"Why are you going to join in the fun, old man?" Mrs. Cao said hastily, "It's raining outside and the road is slippery. If you fall down and fight Ma Liu, you will have to punish me again. You are his real aunt, your nephew Don't you know how filial my son is to you? Don't find me a job where I get scolded, okay? You can just rest here and just talk with them. "

"Ouch," Grandma Yun glanced at the fabric on the table and sighed, "I'm really old and useless! I can't even try to be a needleworker. It really is a person whose nose is almost covered with loess, and is useless." !"

"Grandma," Mei Xiang frowned and said dissatisfiedly, "I'm going to have a happy event, why do you always say it's useless? How unlucky!"

Grandma Yun smiled dryly and said: "That's right, I'm sorry, Mei Xiang, look at my old mouth trembling, I can't even say a few decent words. I just want to see how young you are! Like me When I was young and I didn’t get married, I never stopped doing needlework. I picked up and sewed two stitches when I had free time. My dowry was made by myself. How can you be as lucky as you are now, with so many people helping you? Well! Well, I won’t nag anymore, I’ll go to the kitchen to boil two boiling water for you to make a pot of tea!” After she finished speaking, she slowly stepped out of the high threshold in front of the hall, and left in a leisurely manner.

Mei Xiang's face changed instantly, she could tell that Grandma Yun was mocking her for being lazy!She was about to say a few words, but Cao yanked off her sleeves.Mrs. Cao distributed all the work that should be done, and let them be busy in the hall, and then brought Mei Xiang out and walked to her room.

Mei Xiang glanced at the door of the kitchen, and said to Cao Shi: "Sister, that Grandma Yun is too talkative! Did you hear what she said just now? She scolded me!" What? She just talks like that, with sourness and bitterness, as if everyone owes her. I just ignore her, so why bother with her so much! "

"You are the housekeeper of this village, how dare she make fun of you for nothing?"

"Don't forget, she is also your brother-in-law's aunt. Speaking of it, it is the elders. Do you really scold her with red faces and white teeth when the elders say something bad? I just want to tell you about this." Tell me, when you go to your husband's house in the future, you can't act like a young lady at home, and be careful to be cleaned up by others." "Whoever cleans up doesn't know!" Mei Xiang said with a sense of pride, " There is only one mother and one sister in his family. If I go, I will be the elder sister-in-law. It is a matter of course for the elder sister-in-law to be in charge of the family. As long as I am in charge, who dare not listen to me?"

"Hey, I'm so proud of you," Cao said with a smile, "I have to tell you, it's not that easy to be in charge of the house. Don't look at me as a housekeeper now, I worry about it inside and out! Taking care of it is also for the master. Just take care of it, I can't fall behind half a point."

Mei Xiang covered her mouth with a smile and said, "Sister, are you still telling me the truth? Is it any good for you and your brother-in-law to take care of this village? You must be deceiving! There is a lot of oil and water throughout the year, right? No one is 2000 taels, There must be dozens of taels, right?" "This girl, even counted the bills for me!"

The two sisters walked into Cao's house while talking.After closing the door, Mrs. Cao took out a bag of silver from the box and handed it to Mei Xiang, saying, "There are ten taels, and I'm going to add it to your dowry."

"Really?" Mei Xiang smiled from ear to ear, holding the silver and said, "It's better to be a sister! Second brother is reluctant to give me half a tael of silver!"

"It's fine if I add it, don't ask Haitang to ask for it again. He only has so much monthly silver in the village for a month, and he doesn't have enough money to spend. Where can I get the extra money to supplement your dowry?"

Grandma Yun ignored Sister-in-law Xiao and went straight back to the kitchen.Sister-in-law Xiao muttered to Xining in dissatisfaction, and then continued to sew the socks in her hand.

When it was almost noon, Duan Qigu came back with muddy feet, and put a back full of mulberry leaves under the eaves.She wiped off her hot sweat, walked into the hall and poured a sip of tea, then asked Mrs. Gong, "Hasn't Lihua come back yet?"

"No, didn't I go out with you?" Gong replied.

"Haven't come back yet?" Duan Qigu asked strangely, "Did you not see it, or did you really not come back? That girl came back more than half an hour earlier than me!"

"We're all sitting here. Why can't we see someone coming back from the gate? I really didn't come back."

"Then where did she go? She just said that she wanted to go to the latrine, but I told her to squat in the wild and she refused, so I had to let her come back first, so she won't get lost, right?"

"Lost?" Mrs. Xiao said with a sneer, "How far is the distance from here to the mulberry tree on the field? She is not a fool, she is smart, and she can't lose it. Maybe it's just a playful moment, where can I go?" gone."

"She doesn't know anyone in this village? Who is she going to play with?" Huang Ying suddenly groaned, and then pulled Hong Ling and said, "Then the girl will not run away again?" Hong Ling hurriedly said: "Don't talk nonsense. Lihua brought a pannier when she went out, without any luggage, where can she escape?"

Just as she was talking, Mrs. Cao came in with Mei Xiang, and when she heard them talking about pear blossoms, she asked what was going on.Sister-in-law Xiao hurriedly told Cao Shi that Lihua hadn't come back.After hearing this, Mrs. Cao said angrily: "This must be where she is slacking off! What an unruly girl, if everyone hides like her and doesn't do work, the work on this village will be very difficult. Why let the master do it himself? This time I will not let her go lightly!"

Duan Qigu hurriedly said: "Maybe I lost my way, I'll go out and look for it..."

"What are you looking for?" Mrs. Cao interrupted Duan Qigu and said, "She has been here for a day or two, can she get lost? No one is allowed to look for her, let's see when she will come back! What a gem Rat feces have ruined a pot of soup, if you don't give her some color, she really thinks she's amazing!"

Mei Xiang echoed from the side: "Isn't it? When she comes back, she has to be punished severely, and she will know how good it is! It must be that she was used to wandering in Bianjing city before, and she is so presumptuous here, don't treat my sister, you In my eyes, how can it work? According to me, she should be punished several times, and she will be scared if she can't get out of bed for a few days!" Duan Qigu glanced at Mei Xiang dissatisfied, and muttered One sentence: "Hey, here is the second housekeeper's wife!"

"Qi Gu, you too," Cao Shi heard her muttering, knew it was not a good thing, and said with excuses, "You took her out, you should have brought her back, now you can't find someone to panic, what's the use of it? ? That girl is not a worker in the first place, it’s okay to talk about it, and she can’t do anything else, it’s not like you don’t know it!”

Duan Qigu pursed her mouth, turned her face to the side and stopped talking.Mei Xiang took the conversation and said, "Sister, that girl really doesn't know how to do anything? Isn't it a waste of food for such a person to stay on the farm? It's not as useful as a sow!"

Cao covered her mouth and smiled, pinched Mei Xiang's arm lightly and said, "You are the only one who can swear, and you don't even have a dirty word!"

"Sister, you are too good-natured. She didn't meet me, but if she did, she would be so scolded that she couldn't even raise her head!"

Sister-in-law Xiao flattered: "Let's not talk about it. Mei Xiang has been in charge since she was a child, and now she speaks more and more properly. If you marry in the future, you will definitely not suffer." Mei Xiang was quite She smiled triumphantly: "That's natural! My mother said that if his family dares to bully me, they will bully him to death!"

"Okay, don't show off, who doesn't know that you married a good man?" Mrs. Cao pulled her with a smile and said, "You are much more fortunate than me! By the way, sister-in-law Xiao, my sister loves that crispy rice." Meal, it's rare for her to come, so you can get some."

Sister-in-law Xiao answered and said, "If we talk about cooking rice, it's better for Sister Gong." She turned to look at Mrs. Gong and said, "Is that right, Sister Gong? A rice crust, okay?"

Mrs. Gong knew what it means that people have to bow their heads under the eaves. Although she was unwilling in her heart, she agreed to go to the kitchen.

(End of this chapter)