Chapter 357 Xu Laowu

The mother and daughter of the Miao family were terrified. Feng Lan held Ayun in one hand, luggage on the other, and supported the elderly mother with her free hand, and persuaded her mother: “You go to my house first, Let’s talk about the rest another day, Erlang is not at home recently, you should go and be your daughter’s company, don’t think too much…”

Mother Miao and her eldest daughter Feng Lan came out of the backyard, and as soon as they looked up, they saw Shi Yan humming in the yard and restoring the things left by the group of people to their original places. As for the fierce people before, they were all gone. .

What can I say, I was shocked.

The mother and daughter are ready to move out with their two children in the backyard. They are still carrying packed luggage, knowing that the Miao family will not let them take too much, and the luggage is only a simple package. .

In the face of a group of menacing clansmen, despite what they say is powerful, in fact, there is no resistance at all.

It’s just to embolden yourself to be so ruthless.

Because they have no choice but to force each other to death, the folks acquiesce that after the husband’s death, the family property can be taken back by the husband’s family for safekeeping.

The original intention of this approach was to prevent the outflow of family property. If the widow remarries someone else with her deceased husband’s property, it will be a great loss to the clan.

It can only be said that human nature is broken.

Now the two of them are dumbfounded.

On the other hand, the eldest grandson, Xiaobao, who was holding Miao’s mother’s hand, saw his father, let go of his grandmother’s hand, and happily crawled on Shi Yan’s body. Xiaobao hasn’t seen you for several days, where have you been?

Grandma just said to take us to aunt’s house to play, do you want to go with us? ”

When Shi Yan was covered in dust, he took the child off his body, and he was still very condescending in the past, but he said, “You haven’t passed the first seven, so who’s going to be a guest? unlucky?

Don’t go anywhere, just stay at home! ”

After he finished speaking, he put Little Treasure on the ground, patted the child’s butt, took out a coin from his sleeve and stuffed it into the child’s arms, bending the child’s legs slightly for a moment.

Shi Yan squatted on the ground very casually, his eyes met his son, the father and son were amused for no reason, Shi Yan said in a friendly tone: “It’s getting late, ask your grandmother to take the money and ask Liu Erbo to drive the cattle in the alley. The car will take your aunt home first.”

Xiaobao was not very happy, he held Qian’er with his mouth open, and looked at his father unhappily.

Shi Yan pointed at Xiaobao’s nose angrily and said, “Your uncle is not at home, and the brothers and sisters at home are still waiting for your uncle to come home for dinner!”

After listening to his father’s explanation, Xiaobao became inexplicably happy again.

Shi Yan continued: “The rest of the money, ask your grandmother to take it, and go to the alley to buy some food. Bring some back to your aunt, thank her for taking care of you and your sister, and take the rest home for us to eat by ourselves. .

Remember? ”

The child had a good memory, moved his neck proudly, ran back with a dangling of money, and shoved it into his grandmother’s arms.

The Miao mother and daughter over there were stunned. Although Shi Yan was talking to Xiaobao, they heard it clearly.

I don’t know what kind of trick Shi Yan was playing. After years of getting to know this scoundrel son-in-law, they didn’t hold out any hope.

The two of them didn’t think of Shi Yan’s actions for the good at all, they only felt that there was some bad water hidden in this person’s stomach.

Mother and daughter looked at each other, Miao mother gritted her teeth, took the money from her grandson’s arms, and whispered to her daughter: “You go home first, no matter what, he is right in saying that there are no adults at home, the child is locked. At home, if something happens, how will you explain it to your in-laws?

Let’s go, mother first let someone take you home. ”

When passing by Shi Yan, except for Xiao Bao, who had always been close to his father, the eyes of the other three were all guarded.

Shi Yan didn’t care either and continued to repair the yard.

The decorations that have been pulled from the wall cannot be put back, but some things, such as pots and pans, such as Xiu Mat vases, can still be put back a little.

By the way, he also has to think about how to deal with the next thing.

About half an hour later, Mother Miao came back with a child in one hand, and Shi Yan could hear Xiaobao’s voice cheerfully talking to her sister in the distance: “This maltose is delicious, sister, would you like to have a bite? ?”

Then the boy blew in like a gust of wind, hung on Shi Yan’s legs, held two pieces of drool-sticking candy and showed Shi Yan’s millet teeth: “Dad, try it, try it!”

Shi Yan tore the kid off his leg, looked up and saw the old Miao lady holding her granddaughter in one hand and vegetables and fruits in the basket in the other, looking at Shi Yan defensively, for fear that Shi Yan would say something nasty to her grandson.

Not to mention, Shi Yan usually does this kind of thing a lot. He has done a lot of cheating pocket money from the two children, and there are countless times when he talks nonsense with the two children.

I really can’t blame the old lady for guarding against him.

Shi Yan rubbed his son’s head, as if he didn’t see a door **** standing not far away, he placed a bonsai on the ground, carefully turned it around for half a circle, and adjusted the position a little bit, and his mouth was not idle. : “Isn’t there two bucks? Share with your sister.

Eating alone is not a good habit. When your father and I were hanging out on the street, whoever hid everyone to eat alone and was found out, they would have to give up their legs. ”

Xiaobao suddenly felt that the maltose in his mouth was no longer sweet, and people looked up at his father with some aggrieved, wanting to say that this was bought by grandma, isn’t it always like this? There are good things, the elder sister wants to let the younger brother.

Shi Yan didn’t even need to look to know what the kid was thinking.

Xiaobao stood there for a while, seeing his father ignoring him, pouting back to his grandma and sister, reluctantly dividing the maltose in his hand with his sister.

The old lady didn’t say anything, carrying the vegetable basket, hunched her back and headed towards the kitchen, leaving A Yun with a piece of maltose stuffed in her brother’s hand. what.

How complicated can a child be? Especially when a child less than three years old had no grudge against his father, Xiaobao quickly forgot about his father’s loss of a piece of candy, and walked around his father, who was in front of him and behind him. The yard was full of his laughter.

“Dad, when Xiaobao grows up, Xiaobao will help you move it!”

“Dad, I miss Mother. Grandmother and aunt said that Mother has gone to a far away place. When will she come back?”

“Father, I secretly saw a lot of people standing with you at the gate of the second courtyard today. Are those your friends?”

“father…”

“Dad…”

Shi Yan didn’t answer. This kid can hold up a show on his own. He doesn’t know what to think about. He opened his mouth in surprise, clenched his fist in excitement, and pouted in grievance. He was very playful.

Finally, after dealing with the matter at hand, Shi Yan directly washed his hands in the water tank under the eaves, picked up his chattering son with one hand, and waved to his daughter who was standing in the corner stubbornly and enviously looking at him: ” Ayun.”

In the memory of little Miao Kaiyun, his father was always cowardly, with a smiley face, a man with no prospects in his grandfather’s mouth, a liar in his grandmother’s mouth, a liar in his mother’s mouth, a man who was not serious in his mother’s mouth, yes The cook’s mouth is delicious and lazy.

He only likes his younger brother, and has never called himself “Ayun” warmly. He often quarrelled with his mother for various reasons, and every time he was driven out by his mother to live with the groom.

My mother used to talk to herself in private that when Ayun grows up, she must find the best marriage in the world for Ayun, and she will never take the path of recruiting children. There will be no one who can recruit them. good stuff.

In Miao Kaiyun’s memory, there are many other people’s opinions about her father, but there is no impression of her own, because she rarely has the opportunity to get along with her father.

In the past, she thought that her father only liked her brother and didn’t like her. Later, she heard from the cook that it was her mother who didn’t want her father to get along with her, for fear that she would be spoiled.

Now, looking at the generous hand stretched out towards him, the little Miao Kaiyun felt that maybe everyone was wrong. Daddy didn’t dislike him, and he wasn’t as bad as everyone said.

He also asked his younger brother to give him candy. In the past, the family would only say: “Ayun, you are your elder sister, you have to let your younger brother.”

“Ayun, my younger brother is the pillar of the family, you have to be nice to your younger brother.”

But no one ever said to his younger brother: “You have to share half of the delicious food with your sister, and you will break your leg if you eat alone!”

Maybe everyone misunderstood him?

Thinking like this, Ayun was nervous, holding the candy his brother gave him tightly in his hand, pursing his lips hard, moving slowly, and tentatively walked towards her father two steps.

When Shi Yan saw that the person was moving, he took two steps forward, and when he bent down, he instantly grabbed the person into his arms. The son in the left hand, the daughter in the right hand, and the two children sat firmly on his arms, feeling extremely novel.

Ayun thought to himself, “This is the first time my father has hugged me. It feels different from my grandmother and my mother.”

“Are you hungry?”

Although he asked like this, Shi Yan walked straight out of the door with a very clear purpose, borrowing oil, salt, sauce and vinegar from the neighbor next door.

He still remembered that there used to be special cooks in this family, no matter whether it was the old lady of the Miao family or his deceased lady, she was never good at this.

When his wife, Miao Fenghua, was still there, although she was ill and could not get up, Yu Wei was still there.

When Miao Fenghua left, the servants ran away with the money, there was no one in charge at home, and the old lady was not someone who could afford it. She relied on the eldest daughter to run back and forth to support her, and barely managed the funeral of the second daughter.

Such a person, counting on her to cook?

It’s not that he underestimated his mother-in-law, but he had only just entered the door. He only glanced at it, and the other party bought some shredded vegetables. The problem was that the pots and pans in the house were almost emptied. Would you kindly give the rest of the firewood, rice, oil and salt?

Shi Yan briefly explained the matter to the two children, and knocked on the door of the neighbor’s house. When the neighbor came out, seeing that it was him, he had a bad face, and when he saw the two children in his arms, he could not bear the impatience on his face. Going back, he squeezed out a smile and said, “Ayun Xiaobao is here?”

Xiaobao’s mouth was sweet, and he said to humanity: “Grandma Wang, Xiaobao is cooking at home, there is no oil, salt, sauce and vinegar, can I borrow some from your house, and I will pay it back tomorrow when my father is rich. you!”

Even the taciturn A Yun summoned up his courage and looked at Grandma Wang with clear and lingering eyes: “Come tomorrow, A Yun and Auntie have learned to do embroidery work, and I will pay you back if I change the money!”

Grandma Wang was told by the two children that no matter how much she was dissatisfied with Shi Yan, she couldn’t bear her heart. She gritted her teeth and glared at Shi Yan and turned to enter the room. Soon, several small jars and small packages were handed out.

The two children were in Shi Yan’s arms, and they happened to meet Grandma Wang. They happily took them from the old man’s hands and held them in their hands. They kept thanking Grandma Wang.

When Shi Yan turned around and entered the gate of his house, he could still hear the old lady’s sigh: “What a sin!”

Shi Yan raised his eyebrows slightly, noncommittal.

Before anyone got to the kitchen door, they could smell the choking smell of smoke in the yard. After a closer look, the old lady filled the kitchen with smoke. Not to mention cooking, the work of burning fire, the old lady probably did too. Just watch the cook at home do it.

Shi Yan quickly put the two coughing children at the door of the yard, and then entered the house, pulled the old lady out of the kitchen, and let the three stay together.

Covering his mouth and nose, he went in and opened all the doors and windows of the kitchen. He pulled out the damp and smoking wooden stick under the stove and threw it into the fireproof water tank outside.

After taking a look at the overall layout of the kitchen, he ignited the fire three or two times, added hot water to the pot, and soon the smoke in the kitchen was cleared up.

The confused grandparents and grandchildren outside heard the sound of chopping vegetables coming from the kitchen, the sound of hot dishes being put into the pot, and the sound of bubbling in the casserole.

Inexplicably, this house that has been sad for many days has more fireworks in the house.

It is not clear how many days this family has not experienced such a warm scene. Seeing the swaying figure reflected by the stove in the kitchen, the three of them looked a little dazed.

I don’t know how long it took, the smell of the food came from the air. Although the family was still in the period of filial piety and couldn’t eat meat, the smell made one’s stomach rumble involuntarily.

Xiaobao drooled unsatisfactorily from the corner of his mouth. He held his cheeks with both hands, his eyes were blurred, and he wrinkled his nose and said, “It smells so good, it smells like squirrel mandarin fish! It must be delicious if you **** it.”

A Yun, who rarely speaks, also imitated his younger brother, closed his eyes and wrinkled his nose and said, “It’s the taste of sweet and sour pork ribs! Sweet and sour, soft and waxy.”

Xiaobao sniffed: “and glutinous rice chicken, I seem to smell glutinous rice.”

The tip of Ayun’s nose twitched: “And the sweet-scented osmanthus cake, the kind with two spoons of honey added to it.”

Shi Yan, who was frying the vegetables in it, said, “Hmph, what are you thinking of, you’re hallucinating from hunger? It tastes like a vegetarian feast!”

During the cooking interval, Shi Yan took the time to find two candles that had not been taken away, and lit them together. He wiped clean the table where people used to eat, and placed the candles. This is the place to eat today. .

When the food came to the table, Shi Yan greeted a few people to eat.

The old lady kept silent, she couldn’t understand Shi Yan’s routine.

The family has nothing left, and the money on the books was divided up and run away by several shopkeepers. The silver taels in the family were taken away by the servants as early as the second day after the daughter went.

Impoverished, nothing more than that.

The rest of this valuable house is also an empty shell, and the price will definitely be lowered if it is sold now. Sanjianpu’s house deed is her own, but the shop still owes the supplier a quarter of money, and people have come to collect the debt a long time ago, and it is not enough to mortgage the jewelry at the bottom of her box to others to repay the debt. .

Even the money to buy food today was also given by the son-in-law. Otherwise, the family would have died of starvation without the support of their eldest daughter.

What else is there to draw?

Unable to understand, the old lady became even more silent.

On the contrary, it was the first time for two children to eat the food made by their father. Although there was no squirrel mandarin fish or sweet and sour pork ribs, the food was delicious, especially Xiaobao. Clothes and face gone.

The family used to treat the only boy like a baby, and most of the time the three-year-old child had to be chased by the wet nurse to feed him.

Learning to eat by himself is just a matter of the past few days, Shi Yan is not demanding how cleanly he can eat, he can just put it in his mouth.

On the other hand, Ayun, at first glance, is stable.

In short, in Shi Yan’s opinion, this family has a big problem.

From the twisted temperament of these two children, to the confused old lady, to those arrogant clansmen, to the shopkeepers who ran away with money and left a pile of debts for the family, and the people who stole things from the family and ran away. People, there is a problem with listening everywhere.

Even the old lady felt that everything was good, and the second daughter who established the door for the Miao family was obviously not capable. After she went, all parties collapsed immediately.

Shi Yan has a way to quickly restore the standard of living in this family to the past, but in this family, everyone has problems with their own understanding.

So after the family finished eating, Shi Yan got up directly: “Okay, it’s getting late today, let’s rest first!”

As for washing up? I want him to make a fire, wash the pot, and boil water, but don’t worry, he still has injuries, and he doesn’t want to toss!

Ayun looked at him eagerly, the old lady also looked inexplicable, Xiaobao’s mouth was fast, and he asked directly: “What about these bowls and chopsticks?”

Shi Yan raised his eyebrows: “What? Your father, I’ve been busy all day, and I still want to call your father in person? Leave it alone, I’ll talk about it tomorrow, I’m tired, let’s rest first!”

After he finished speaking, he took a candle and walked away slowly, as he remembered, and went directly to the study. Although his father-in-law was a small businessman who didn’t like to read very much, he still managed to save face and arranged it for him specially. A study was built to fill the facade.

Let’s go there tonight and deal with it for a night, let him live in Miao Fenghua’s boudoir, he’s not too excited!

As for the three grandparents in the back, he left another candle to let them walk from the kitchen to the bedroom. It’s not that he doesn’t want to take care of the three of them, but these days, the three of them live together!

He is an unwelcome son-in-law who has never entered the yard of his mother-in-law.

Can he make the old lady’s bed and quilt or change and wash the two children’s clothes?

If you can’t, don’t embarrass yourself.

I thought that according to the level of the thieves in the family, it would be impossible to harm the study room. Maybe this place will be spared. Who knows when I open the door and see that the books that Master Miao used to dress up the facade are indeed on the bookshelf. The thieves can’t see it. After putting these things on, the quilts and pillows on the bed behind him were all cleaned up.

Just leave him with a dry bed plank.

This is it.

Forget it, Shi Yan didn’t bother to toss, he pulled the curtains and put them under him, lying on the hard bed, watching the moonlight pouring down the ground outside, the room was cold.

What I have in my mind is everything I received today.

Xu Laowu’s hometown is farming in a village below Bai’an County.

This family is notoriously poor in the village.

Xu’s father’s left foot was naughty and injured when he was a child. He became lame, his legs and feet were not smart, and his family was not wealthy. When he reached the age of marriage, it was almost impossible to marry a healthy daughter-in-law.

So there was a mother Xu, who was born with one eye and could not see clearly.

These two couples could not live in front of others, and the poorer they were, the more they could have children, and they gave birth to five children in one breath.

Xu Laowu is the youngest, with three older brothers and one older sister.

Boss Xu is thirty-two this year. Four years ago, when Xu Laowu married Miao Fenghua, the family had extra money and married a widow from the next village. The widow also brought a daughter from her ex-husband.

The remaining Xu Lao Er is in his thirties this year, and so far one is a bachelor.

As for Xu Sanya, at the age of 15 or 16, she married a rich man in the city and countryside next door as a concubine. The rich man is now 60 years old, and he is also about to kick his legs. Xu Sanya is there. There are no sons and half daughters in the family so far, and it is difficult for them to protect themselves. Don’t even think about subsidizing her parents’ family.

The remaining Xu Laosi, that is a person. He was able to speak well since he was a child. He learned a few words from the old scholars in the village. He didn’t care about farming in the countryside for a living, and secretly went to the county town to work for others.

Later, he named himself “Xu Shiyan” and called him, but his ability was not good. If someone called him Xu Laosi at home, he would definitely turn against him and feel disrespectful to him.

At the age of 23, I don’t know what kind of **** luck I had. I participated in the child birth test, and the trailer passed by. It was a unique honor in the village. A natural reading seed.

Others followed the old Xiucai to study hard for several years and did not succeed in the exam, but Xu Laosi just learned and became a master of Tongsheng! What is not the seed of reading?

After hitting there, Xu Laosi couldn’t stay at home anymore, and his buddies didn’t do it anymore. All day long, there was no one who deceived his parents and brother’s money and fooled around with random people outside.

But this person has a characteristic. He looks handsome, wears a scholar’s gown, and doesn’t speak. His temperament can really attract women’s attention.

No, accidentally, it attracted Miao Fenghua, who was raised by Master Miao as his son and made up his mind to recruit his son-in-law.

Miao Fenghua took a fancy to Xu Laosi’s appearance, and Master Miao took a fancy to his family background and childhood fame, so he tentatively mentioned the matter of recruiting children to him.

Unexpectedly, Xu Laosi promised well on the surface. When he returned home, his younger brother Xu Laowu, who grew up with him, said: “My brother found you a daughter-in-law in the county town. The girls are all good, just the family. I don’t have a son, so I want to recruit.

Big brother is thinking about the situation in our family. Big brother is almost 30 years old, and he is still a bachelor. If he can get married with a daughter-in-law, who cares about recruiting children or marrying a wife, are you right? ”

When Xu Laowu heard the conditions of the wife’s family, he naturally agreed, isn’t it just recruiting? go!

Xu Laosi said: “Since you are going to marry the little lady in the city, you can’t make Xu Laowu shout like this, and let people look down on it for nothing. In this way, the name of my brother will be given to you first, from now on From now on, you will be Xu Shiyan.

As for my brother, I can choose another name in the future. Use it, don’t be polite to your brother. ”

So Xu Laowu became Xu Shiyan and married Miao Fenghua.