The Little Widower (farming)

6

The panic he felt when he just learned that Meng Tao died in the battle came back to him. After nightfall, Chen Qing did not change his clothes and walked around the room. It was clear that he was missing only a few pieces of Meng Tao's clothes, but Chen Qing felt that The house was completely empty.

Without lighting the oil lamp, he tiptoed to the door of Aunt Sun's room. As soon as his ear came close to the door panel, the door opened from the inside.

Aunt Sun was startled by him and almost missed hitting him: "What are you doing, Qing?"

Chen Qing hesitated, and Aunt Sun immediately responded: "Are you afraid that I will do something stupid?"

Chen Qing nodded, and the little daddy At that time, I gave him a good meal and then jumped into the river resolutely.

He was afraid that Aunt Sun would do something stupid if she felt there was no hope after organizing Meng Tao's funeral.

Aunt Sun touched Chen Qing's hair: "Don't be afraid."

Chen Qing nodded heavily, with Aunt Sun's promise to him, and he slept well this time.

After this matter was over, Chen Qing finally put his mind to it. He had become more energetic at work these days. Before Zhou Yuan started to repair the house, the young and middle-aged people in the village hurriedly hurriedly The land finished the farm work first.

These days, Zhou Yuan has been bringing back a lot of house repair materials from the town. Most of the talk in the village these days is about Zhou Yuan.

Only then did Chen Qing notice that every time he brought back blue bricks, it turned out that he was going to build a brick house. After taking a look at his thatched house with tiles and yellow mud, Chen Qing sighed, not knowing that he When will my family be able to afford a brick house?

Because there were too many things piled up, Zhou Yuan never returned to the town. He built a small shed by himself and lived in the shed at night.

After the firecrackers went off, Zhou Yuan's house officially started to be built. He used about ten young adults in the village, all introduced by the village chief, and a few who came off the battlefield with him. After being baptized on the battlefield, they work quickly and well.

The house is being built here, and Chen Qing and the others are starting to prepare the lunch meal. Zhou Yuan bought the food and brought it to Chen Qing's house every day. Chen Qing and Aunt Sun are both good at work. You can arrange all the dishes neatly and neatly in less time.

Chen Qing and Aunt Sun both have good cooking skills, and even ordinary one-pot stews taste good.

They cook in their own kitchen every day, and then send them there after they are done. Previously, Aunt Sun went to send them, but one day Aunt Sun almost sprained her foot. Later, Chen Qing chose to go by himself. When you go out, your mother's body is more important.

So delivering meals every day became the most uncomfortable time for Chen Qing, not to mention that the people who worked there were basically men from the village. Chen Qing's ears would turn red when he talked to the aunts and husbands in the village, let alone working in so many places. In front of the man.

Especially the men in the village, who are not very good at talking, blurting out dirty words and swear words. What's more, Chen Qing is a widower, so many jokes become vulgar to him.

Seeing Chen Qing almost running away, Zhou Yuan's eyes fell on the two men who had been teasing Chen Qing.

The next day, Zhou Yuan asked Aunt Sun to put the cooked rice at the door, and someone would come to pick it up. Chen Qing finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Because they have to help Zhou Yuan cook, the water at home is used up very quickly, almost five days of their water is used in one day, so when work is done in the evening, Chen Qing will go there with a bucket to fetch water.

He didn't like to interact with the villagers, so he always carried water after dark. He was used to walking on this road, so he was not afraid of falling in the dark. Aunt Sun had been suffering from an old illness for the past two days, and she couldn't exert any strength on her waist, so Chen Qing made two extra trips.

Just to go to the well from home, you have to pass Zhou Yuan's newly built house.

Chen Qing carried the bucket with very light steps, like a thief. He even slowed down his breathing deliberately for fear of being heard.

After walking through that section of the road, Chen Qing was relieved. But Chen Qing didn't know that Zhou Yuan had been a soldier and was in the vanguard camp, so he was naturally aware of every movement around him. Through the simple shed, Zhou Yuan could see Through the gap, I saw Chen Qing, a little man, running very fast with a bucket.

The well was not far from his home, so one fetch of water was naturally not enough. Chen Qing poured the water into the water tank. Aunt Sun saw him panting: "Qing, can we fetch it tomorrow?"

Chen Qing shook his head: "Just two more trips will be enough. "There are more people who can see him during the day, so it's better to get the job done at night when it's dark and windy so no one can see him."

Aunt Sun was helpless: "Why are you acting like a thief when it comes to fetching water?"

The two of them were talking, but there was a knock on the door. Chen Qing was still pouring water, and it was Aunt Sun who opened the door.

Chen Qing saw the tall figure at the door from the corner of his eye. He moved faster, poured the water in the bucket into the water tank and hid in the house.

"Don't bother, A Qing can pick it up." Aunt Sun knew Zhou Yuan's purpose and thanked him very much, but Zhou Yuan had already paid him a lot, and carrying water was their responsibility. , where can Zhou Yuan be asked to help them carry water again.

"I didn't make it clear at the time." Zhou Yuan was very sincere, "He is a husband, and it is a bit inconvenient to go out to fetch water at night, so I should go. Besides, you took good care of me before, and I have a lot of water." It doesn't matter if you have enough strength to carry some water."

Ever since Zhou Yuan built the shed, Aunt Sun would bring Zhou Yuan a dinner every three to five days. Zhou Yuan would eat a big pot of rice with everyone during the day, and Aunt Sun would watch him at night several times. Eating steamed buns.

Seeing that he was so big, how could he just eat steamed buns at night, so he asked Chen Qing to cook a little more at night. Anyway, Zhou Yuan sometimes couldn't finish the food he brought every day, so he just did it. Just give him some.

After refusing several times, Aunt Sun knew that he was not being polite, but really wanted to help, so she handed him her bucket and pole: "That'll be troublesome."

Chen Qing, who was hiding in the room, couldn't hear them talking and took the I picked up a frame on one side and wanted to find some medicine in the frame that could relieve Aunt Sun's back pain. When I have free time tomorrow, I want to sew a medicine bag for her to alleviate a little pain.

After a while, Aunt Sun came back. Chen Qing stood up and wanted to fetch water, but Aunt Sun pulled him back: "Zhou Yuan went to fetch water."

Chen Qing was a little surprised: "Why is he gone?"

Aunt Sun remembered what Zhou Yuan said: "It's too dark at night, and you're a brother, so I'm afraid of any danger."

Chen Qing murmured, "What danger could there be?"

But his heartbeat was a little more chaotic.

Aunt Sun knew Chen Qing's temperament, so she said, "Zhou Yuan will bring the water back later. When he leaves, you can go out and pour the water into the water tank. There should be enough water for tomorrow."

Chen Qing nodded, because the house It was too dark in the room, and Aunt Sun didn't see Chen Qing's face clearly. She took the medicine bag from Chen Qing and returned to the room.

Chen Qing was sitting on the bed. It was quiet outside, and all he could hear was the chirping of insects in the vegetable field.

After a while, he heard several knocks on the door. After a while, Chen Qing walked out. When he saw the bucket and pole at the door, he took a deep breath, steadily picked up the water, and filled the bucket.

Every day after that, Zhou Yuan went to fetch water at night. One load was not enough. Zhou Yuan put the water at the door, knocked on the door and left. Chen Qing poured the water back into the water tank and opened the door again. Put the bucket out, and Zhou Yuan goes out to pick it up.

The work on building the house was in full swing, and Zhou Yuan also joined in the work, but he was always absent. When he was away, several men from the village began to work as foreigners.

Zhou Yuan's reward was generous, so they naturally wanted to work a few more days. They would not be too tired, so why not do it.

They thought they had done a perfect job, but Zhou Yuan saw all this.

Zhou Yuan originally paid his wages once every ten days. When he paid the wages that day, he pointed at the two fishermen and said, "You won't come tomorrow."

Chen Si and Meng Zhuzhu were still in immersion. In the joy of receiving their wages, they heard Zhou Yuan telling them not to come again. The two of them immediately became anxious: "Why don't you let us come?"

People around looked at the two of them. The two of them were a bit agitated when they were in the village. Many people in the village dislike those who chase cats and dogs in the village just because they are related to the village chief's family.

Zhou Yuan didn't want to explain to them: "You should know the reason in your heart."

Being humiliated like this, Chen Si and Meng Zhuzhu pointed at Zhou Yuan's nose: "Tomorrow you will beg us to come work."

Zhou Yuan didn't take them seriously at all, he just picked up the broom and told them to get out of here.

Chen Qing was in his yard and heard the argument there. Aunt Sun saw him poking his head and smiled: "If you want to watch the excitement, go over there. There are so many husbands and sisters over there."

Chen Qing said . Qing quickly shook his head: "I'm not going..."

Aunt Sun put down the sewing basket in her hand: "Then I'll go and help you take a look."

Chen Qing watched Aunt Sun go out eagerly, waiting for the excitement she brought back. .

"It's Chen Si and Meng Zhuzi. Xiao Zhou won't let them work here." Aunt Sun sat by the stove and lit the fire while telling Chen Qing what happened there.

"Ah? Why?" Chen Qing put a little lard into the pot. After the lard melted, Chen Qing fried the pumpkin slices and then added water to the pot. He planned to make noodle soup tonight. Over there There is dough in the basin, but it is not fine flour, and there are some grains mixed in it.

After scooping out the water, Chen Qing began to knead the dough. He heard Aunt Sun say: "Xiao Zhou said those two people are always working hard, so why not let them come?"

Chen Qing's hands kept moving. He knew those two people Yes, Chen Qing usually avoided them. When he went to deliver food, these two people said some nasty things to him, which was very annoying.

"I just don't know what the village chief's regulations are." Aunt Sun said, "Those two people are related to the village chief. Xiao Zhou just came to the village, so it's hard to say."

"The village chief can't force people to do things they don't want to do. "Chen Qing kneaded the dough. He thought of Zhou Yuan's appearance and felt that he would not be bullied.

These words were just casual chats between them. Chen Qing held the dough in his hand and a knife in the other hand, and quickly cut the dough into pieces and placed them in the pot.

After the water boiled for one round, Chen Qing added a bowl of cold water to the pot. After boiling the pot again, he added some seasonings, salt and pepper, and finally added a handful of green vegetables, two drops of sesame oil, and a handful of chopped green onion.

"Go get a bowl for little Zhou."

Chen Qing nodded. This was not the first time. Chen Qing found the biggest bowl at home, filled a bowl and handed it to Aunt Sun, and went to deliver food to Zhou Yuan. Aunt Sun sent it herself, Chen Qing had never been there.

Aunt Sun carried the bowl over and saw the end of the road in the distance. The village chief was leading people there.