Farming and reading family

The temptation of a wild boar is still very great.

If it is big, it can be sold for about one or two taels in the city, which is a huge sum of money.

If we can't catch him, we can just set a few traps, which is not a big deal.

Seeing that they were chatting enthusiastically, Chen Qing hesitated to speak and continued to repair the fence.

Until the eldest brother and his friends left, Chen Ke and the two children had not returned. The rice in the pot was almost cooked, and Gao E was wondering whether she should go and call out a few times.

When it's almost time for dinner, it's normal to hear people in the village calling out to their children.

But Gao E was a little hesitant to shout out, after all, she hadn't communicated by shouting for many years.

Just when she was struggling, Chen Ke came back with his two children. The three of them were covered in dust and their clothes were torn.

Seeing Gao E and the other two standing in a row and not daring to speak, Gao E felt like laughing.

"Go wash up and have dinner." Gao E held back her laughter.

The three of them were a little shocked. They didn't expect that she was not angry.

Especially in high school, he was very well-behaved and never did anything to make his mother angry.

Chen Ke had tried it repeatedly, but he was still not sure, after all, the time was still short.

"Madam, why don't you ask us how we became like this?" Chen Ke asked in a low voice as he watched the two children wash their hands.

"Aren't you taking them to catch crickets?" Gao E joked.

Chen Ke felt a little embarrassed. He did take his children to catch crickets, but they didn't catch any.

I heard that there are big crickets in the bamboo forest. The locals call them big oil crickets. They are fierce and aggressive. The rich people want this kind of crickets.

But they chirped loudly at night, and I searched for a long time during the day but didn't see a single one.

"It's okay." Gao E said with a smile, "You've been studying all these years and haven't played with the children. You can still spend time with them while they're still young. When they grow up, you won't need them anymore."

Chen Ke looked at Gao E and didn't know what to say for a moment. His wife was really becoming more and more understanding.

At this time, Duokui and Gaozhong washed their hands and came to stand at the entrance of the cave.

"Hurry up and wash your hands. Take off your clothes and I will sew them for you." Gao E gestured to Chen Ke.

"Yes." Chen Ke bowed.

Gao E wanted to laugh when he looked at her like this. No wonder the scholars in ancient times could see through it at a glance. There were so many rules.

There were dried vegetables at home, so Gao E stewed them with meat. Now with the spices, the dried vegetables were soaked in the soup, and the fragrance could be smelled ten miles away.

A pot of porridge with dried vegetables and multi-grain dumplings, the whole family enjoys the meal happily.

After dinner, Chen Duokui rushed to wash the dishes.

Except for Gao E, all the other members of their family are male, and Gao E is in good health, so only men can do these things.

Chen Ke shaved the unburned wood from the stove into a clay basin and brought it to the cave, so that the newly built brick wall could dry faster and the cave could be warmer.

When it gets colder in a few days, they can cook in the cave.

Gao E sat by the oil lamp mending their clothes. She hadn't done this for a long time and she was no longer used to it. Fortunately, the original owner was not good at needlework, so it was normal that her work was ugly.

"Let's paint the outer part of the cave with a layer of lime later." Gao E was threading the needle with great effort in front of the oil lamp.

Chen Ke didn't understand this: "If you want to brush it, just brush it."

Gao E glanced at Chen Ke. It’s not that he had no opinion, but after marrying the original owner, he really had no say in family affairs.

After Chen Duokui finished cleaning up and moved all the dishes in, he got all wet.

"Sit by the fire and warm yourself." Gao E called Chen Duokui.

Chen Duokui sat on a small stool, and Xiao Jidi also came over. Although the two brothers did not dare to act rashly, they were having fun by touching each other's stools.

Chen Ke didn't have any skills, and he couldn't read at the moment, so he just sat there doing nothing.

"Don't move." Gao E said suddenly.

The five of them, father and son, were so frightened that they couldn't move.

Gao E looked at the cave entrance and said, "Hurry up and bring your cricket cages over here. There's a big one here."

Chen Ke slowly turned around and saw a cricket about an inch long jumping into the room.

He became excited, and Chen Gaozhong immediately went to get the cricket cage.

"Be careful, don't rush in together, and be careful of the brazier." Gao E reminded.

The cricket obviously didn't realize that it was surrounded by enemies and kept jumping in.

Chen Ke became a little nervous because of excitement, and his body was ready to pounce forward like a bow.

Chen Duokui on the side also walked around and prepared to help his father catch crickets.

Just when the cricket jumped twice and squatted there motionless, Chen Ke immediately pounced on it.

But he was still a little slow, and the cricket jumped forward to avoid him.

Chen Duokui rushed in and held the cricket tightly with both hands.

"Slow down, slow down, be careful." Chen Ke looked excited.

Only then did Gao E notice something unusual. Chen Ke seemed to be too excited, as if this cricket was very important.

However, this thought flashed through his mind, and he thought that Chen Ke might not have caught it before, and he must be excited when he caught it for the first time.

Chen Duokui carefully moved his hand away, and Chen Ke tried to grab the cricket along the crack, but the cricket jumped again. Chen Ke hurriedly grabbed it and pulled off one of its thighs.

"Ah!" Chen Ke was disappointed.

His cry scared Gao E so much that she almost pricked her hand.

"It's just a cricket. It's cold now, and crickets like to go to warmer places. You can just catch it." Gao E comforted the disappointed father and son.

Chen Ke hesitated to speak, thinking that if a cricket of this quality met a powerful buyer, it could be sold for a good price.

But he didn't say it after all: "It's a pity."

"Do you want to hear crickets chirping or to watch crickets fighting?" Gao E saw that Chen Ke was really disappointed.

Chen Ke said cautiously, "Cricket fighting."

"Then ask your third brother, he is better at catching these than you." Gao E said with a smile.

Chen Ke thought about it and it made sense. His third brother had been naughty since he was young. He was best at things like climbing trees to take bird eggs and going to the river to catch fish and shrimps.

Even though it was a cricket with one leg missing, Chen Ke still packed it up and brought his four children to watch.

"Do you know what literati call crickets?" Chen Ke asked with a smile.

The four children shook their heads at the same time.

"A man of letters is called a cricket." Chen Ke was delighted to see the children looking at him with admiration. "He even writes poetry."

"Really?" Chen Dengke widened his eyes.

He always thought that intellectuals were superior and completely different from farmers. How could they know about crickets?

"Of course." Chen Ke nodded. "The cricket's sound is so subtle, and its mournful melody is so moving."

Although I don’t know what it means, I feel that their father seems very powerful.

"Do you want to hear the story of the cricket?" Gao E saw that they were all very interested.

"Yes!" The four children turned around immediately.

Chen Ke didn't feel that he was being insulted, and he looked at Gao E with the children.

Gao E saw their eager faces and realized that they were really putting themselves on the spot: "The crickets are singing every day, but winter is coming and they haven't stored any food..."