Chapter 35: That’s a good compliment. Don’t praise me again next time.
When Chen Dongyue arrived at Song Bufan's house, Song Bufan had already gone out to work with Tu Gen.
Shui Hua and her mother were left at home, mending the winter quilt.
Seeing Chen Dongyue coming, Shui Hua Niang came up to her with a smile like wrinkled paper, "Oh, Dongyue is here? It's such a cold day, so hurry up and sit in the house. It's still warmer inside."
Chen Dongyue responded with a smile, "Hey", and followed Shui Hua Niang into the main room.
She saw a lot of straw and reed flowers placed in the main room, and asked, "Grandma, what are you..."
"Hey, isn't it cold today? I took some rice stalks and prepared them to tidy up and make the bed later.
The reed flowers were only picked this year. After a while, I took apart the quilt and mixed it with old cotton wool to make the quilt softer.
Otherwise, if the cotton wool has been used for a long time, it will always feel like it is covered with mud, heavy, wet, and not warm. "
Chen Dongyue mobilized the memory deep in her brain, and it is true~~ Many poor families in the countryside use reed catkins or straw to keep warm.
She nodded to the water flower girl to show her understanding.
Just listen to the water flower lady continue to talk: "It's this reed, firewood, it's warmer than real cotton... Hey, our family used to have a few good quilts, but when there was a flood in summer, they were all washed away." Got it all clean.
But the rotten cotton wool pressed under the cabinet was so heavy that it was all left behind...
By the way, Dongyue, why did you come to our house? Look, I've been so busy nagging you that I forgot to ask you. "
Shui Hua Niang stopped what she was busy doing, handed the needle and thread to Shui Hua beside her, and then looked at Chen Dongyue with a smile.
Let’s talk about Chen Dongyue. I used to think that she was thick-looking, but I don’t know when she started to think that this person actually had good facial features.
With big eyes, a high bridge of nose, and a cherry mouth, if it weren't for the big face, he would be considered an iconic person.
It's really...the more I look at it, the more I like it.
"Ahem," Chen Dongyue felt a little embarrassed by Water Flower Lady, so she cleared her throat and said, "I'm here to borrow a piece of rammed stone to tidy up our backyard."
"Ah?! Do you want to build a house?" Shui Hua Niang was very polite, "If you are short of people to build a house, tell me, my eldest brother used to help build houses in the city, and his family lived at the edge of the village. , his two children are playing well with your Song Yang!"
Chen Dongyue quickly denied, "No, no, no, it's still early to build a house, we have to wait until Song Ke comes back.
I just wanted to level the ground in the backyard while I had nothing else to do. "
"Ah?! So there is news about Song Ke?" Shui Hua Niang's eyes lit up and her buttocks rose up from the stool.
Chen Dongyue was stunned. She also deeply admired this old sister-in-law's divergent thinking.
But she did not directly deny the old sister-in-law's conjecture. Instead, she said noncommittally, "You will know about it later. Anyway, don't talk about it outside."
As for what she would know in the future, she didn't know now anyway.
but! Shui Hua Niang felt that she knew that Song Ke was definitely not missing. Not only was he not missing, but he had also contacted Chen Dongyue.
So she nodded to Chen Dongyue, who was smiling mysteriously, "Don't tell me, don't tell me!! Don't worry, I won't even tell your grandfather about this matter.
By the way, if you want to ram stones, come with me and walk around. The stones will be placed in the corner of our yard.
But the stone is very heavy. Why don't you bring the oxcart here? I'll call your grandfather in a while and find two young men to help you get the rammed stone back together. "
As she spoke, Shui Hua Niang took Chen Dongyue to a large round stone placed in the corner of the yard.
There is a hole in the big stone. When tamping the ground, people will pass seven or eight ropes through the hole.
Then, relying on the cooperation of many people, the rammed stones are lifted up and dropped down. After several times, the loose mud will be compacted tightly.
Chen Dongyue looked at the rope tied to the rammed stone and pulled it twice.
It's quite heavy, but you can pull it.
So she waved her hand to Water Flower Girl, "Nanny, don't bother, I can take this home myself."
"...No, Dongyue, this rammed stone can weigh as much as a stone, quite...are you leaving now?"
Shui Hua Niang looked at Chen Dongyue who was walking steadily forward with the hemp rope on the rammed stone tied around her waist, feeling a little scared.
This woman...is so strong! ! Fortunately, she hadn't had much of an argument with her before.
You must know that even Song Bufan couldn't pull the old rammed stone passed down from their family. It was too easy for Chen Dongyue to pull it, right? !
Chen Dongyue, who had almost walked out of Song Bufan's house, turned around and said hello to Shui Hua Niang, "Grandma, I'll take the ramming stone away first. It may take some time to return it."
"Hey, hey, you can use it as you wish. Just put this stone at your house. We can just go to your house to get it if we need it." Shui Hua Niang replied politely.
Chen Dongyue thanked her and wanted to leave, but then she remembered another thing, "By the way, Clan Nai, I went to the county town for a walk before, and people in the city were saying that the price of spring grain next year would be very high." Big rise.
Why don't you and my clan master work together and stock up on some food? "
When Shui Hua Niang heard this, she cursed several times, then thanked Chen Dongyue and said she would discuss with Song Bufan soon whether to spend money to stock up on food.
After all, farmers in the countryside rely on the output of their fields for food, and rarely spend money to buy food.
There is really not enough money to spend on weekdays. There are people selling food, but spending money to stock up on food is indeed very rare.
Of course, Chen Dongyue only gave her a slight reminder and would not persuade her no matter how hard she tried. So after a few more pleasantries with Shui Hua Niang, she pulled Ramshi back home.
Since it didn't snow today, there were occasional people walking on the village paths.
When the villagers saw Chen Dongyue dragging such a large rammed stone on the road, most of them pointed at her with mocking looks on their faces.
Chen Dongyue didn't care about this at all.
They are just small NPCs, and the heroine doesn't care about them.
Only Liuzi, who had nothing to do and was wandering around the village, saw Chen Dongyue dragging a big stone, so he walked up to Chen Dongyue, first pointed to himself, and then pointed to the stone behind Chen Dongyue, meaning that he was here to help Chen Dongyue pull the stone.
But Chen Dongyue shook her head at him, "No, I mainly train my strength. Liuzi, if you really have nothing to do, go and help Song Yang work in our field."
I heard from Song Yang that my family is crushing wheat today, and I'm afraid that the old, weak, sick and disabled will not be able to handle it, and they won't allow me to go to the fields...
If you want to help, I'll take care of your meal for a while. "
Although Liu Zi is a man of few words, he is a good worker. He has rented an acre of land from the Song family this year and has made preparations for the winter a few days ago.
So as soon as he heard that he had work to do and was still taking care of the food, he nodded to Chen Dongyue very happily, kicked off his feet and ran to the Song family's fields.
After Chen Dongyue returned home, she began to tidy up the backyard non-stop.
If you want to tamp a stone and mud floor, you actually need the cooperation of many people. They must lift the stone, throw it down, and go up and down several times before the mud floor can be tamped down.
But Chen Dongyue was alone at the moment, so if she wanted to level the place, all she could think of was to roll the tamped stones back and forth on the dirt a few times.
Just like when she used to flip heavy trucks and big tires during physical training.
She felt that the stone weighed almost a hundred kilograms when she pulled it. The large tires of heavy trucks in the past were about fifty-five kilograms, so the weight between the two was about the same.
Chen Dongyue tried it. Although the original owner's body was a little puffy, his strength was enough to turn over a hundred kilograms of stone.
So after sorting out the rotten vegetable leaves, dead tree branches and other things on the dirt floor in the backyard, she began to turn over the rammed stone.
Because it didn't snow today, everyone in the Song family except Li Xiucai went to work in the fields.
Although Li Xiucai said he had to study, after hearing the constant "haha" sounds in the backyard, he ran over and took a look behind him out of curiosity.
After witnessing with his own eyes that Chen Dongyue could flip such a large stone one after another, Li Xiucai couldn't help but applaud Chen Dongyue, "Awesome, hostess!! I thought you were just strong, but I didn't expect you to be so strong!" Like a man."
"...Li Xiucai is very good at praising people, so there's no need to do so next time." Chen Dongyue rolled the tamping stone to the east corner with one last move, then wiped the sweat on her head with her sleeves, and then asked, "Can Li Xiucai cook?"
"I can only cook, but not stir-fry." Li Xiucai spoke concisely and to the point.
"As long as you know how to cook," Chen Dongyue nodded, "Pick out a handful of beans that Ayun picked in the morning and cut them into cubes. When the rice is simmering, cook the chopped beans with the rice.
Remember to add some bean paste, and when the rice is simmered, add some sesame oil and stir it. "
Li Xiucai was stunned, "My hostess wants me to cook?"
"What? Not happy?" Chen Dongyue frowned and picked up an ax in the corner.
"Not really...it's just that it's not very decent for a man to cook." Li Xiucai murmured timidly.
Chen Dongyue smiled 'haha' and handed over the ax, "Okay, then I'll cook, and you go to the mountain to chop firewood. It doesn't snow today, so I have to chop more firewood back. Remember to fill up the oxcart before going home. .”
"Okay, okay, I'll cook. Didn't I agree that I would be a teacher..." Li Xiucai said and turned around to go to the kitchen.
Chen Dongyue shouted at his back: "You didn't say you had such a big appetite at the beginning! Who, after drinking three bowls of porridge and gnawing two cakes in the morning, you said you were half full and half full... ..”
"Let's do it~~~" Li Xiucai didn't dare to look back, but he walked in a hurry.