In the years of famine, the knife in my mother's hand is not bad either

When Shen Qian returned home, she found that no one was home except little Lao Qi who was playing at the door!

He took the box back to his room, took out all the small change he had saved, stuffed it into the box, and locked it in the cabinet.

At the door, excited shouts came:

"Mom!"

"Mom!"

"The wild boar was sold, and I had four ribs left! And a few large bony sticks. I've put them and the silver on the table!"

Hearing the familiar call, Shen Qian walked out of her room and saw the box of copper coins, the four ribs and several large bones on the table.

"Where are the fourth son and his wife?" Shen Qian frowned slightly after glancing at her two sons.

It’s getting dark now, so just leave it as usual.

The couple from the fourth family had already become lazy and came back from the fields to rest.

How come you haven’t returned home yet at this time?

"I was at Uncle Erhu's place before." Wang Wu scratched his head in a simple manner, his eyes fixed on the spareribs on the table.

No need to explain further, Shen Qian already understood.

Why else would the fourth brother's family go to Erhu's side?

He must have cut some money from the wild boar to supplement his father-in-law's family income.

"How much did you cut?" Shen Qian asked the third and fifth brothers with a cold face.

Wang Wu felt the majesty in his mother's words and instantly shrank into a ball.

He looked away from the ribs and returned obediently with his head lowered:

“No.”

"I sold them all. I gave the bottom shavings to Uncle Erhu, and asked Laoliu to deliver the pig's head to the village chief."

"These are the only ribs left. I brought them all back."

Based on his understanding of the third brother, he would never dare to lie in this situation.

But Shen Qian was still a little surprised that the fourth brother and his wife failed to succeed.

"Old Five, go to the big locust tree at the south end of the village and call your second sister Wang Miaomiao back to cook."

"Day after day, your mind is wandering to others and you don't care about your family anymore!" Shen Qian picked up the box of money and ordered Lao Wu.

When Wang Wu heard the word "Second Sister", he subconsciously shrank his neck.

I thought to myself: Fortunately, my mother didn’t ask me to shout, otherwise I would have been beaten up by my second sister.

Back in the house, Shen Qian carefully counted the copper coins in the money box. A thousand of them were strung into a big string, and there were three in total.

There are 420 copper coins left.

If I sell it in the village, the price should be about the same, Shen Qian thought to herself.

......

Wang You left home, muttering to himself all the way:

"What bad luck!"

"Why do you want me to call my second sister?"

"Let Third Brother go!"

"Walking these two more steps won't give me an extra piece of meat tonight."

"I might get scolded by my second sister. Today is such a bad day!"

Walking to a quiet and deserted place, he took out a cloth bag from the lining.

Take out the copper coins from the cloth bag and count them carefully: 25!

Enough for two days of fun in town!

This money was naturally taken secretly from the cash box when selling meat.

Selling meat...this kind of money is not fixed, he and Wang Liang always keep a portion of it and use it for themselves.

When they arrived near the big locust tree at the south end of the village, Wang You saw his second sister standing under the tree and peeking at her husband like a wife-waiting stone!

Following my second sister's gaze, I saw a down-and-out scholar with an ordinary appearance and tattered long gown studying hard under a kerosene lamp.

I thought to myself: What on earth has blinded this second sister's mind?

Is it worth it for a poor scholar like this, who is so poor that he can't be found among the crowd, to not even care about his reputation, to come and peek every day?

"Second sister!" Wang You didn't dare to get close, and called softly from three or four meters away from the big locust tree.

Hearing the familiar voice, Wang Miaomiao turned around.

He snorted coldly.

No response either.

He strode towards home.

I've been out for a whole day and I'm really hungry.

Looking at the arrogant second sister, Wang You felt so much hatred in his heart:

You're already twenty-two years old and still an old maid who can't get married!

He is a well-known flower maniac in the surrounding area.

What is there to be proud of!

But he didn't dare show it.

As the second elder sister, I have inherited my mother's bravery!

He would start beating people if they disagreed with him, and he didn't care how hard he hit them.

In this era of hierarchy, he couldn't fight back even if he was beaten.

Otherwise, you will be known as a man who has no regard for others and you will not even be considered a wife!

......

The stoves were lit and every household in the village began to cook.

Maybe it’s because many families bought meat today, so they all added a little bit of it when cooking.

The air is filled with the aroma of food!

While walking on the road, Wang You touched his stomach and was already thinking about how delicious the meat would be tonight!

"Gudong!" After swallowing his saliva, he couldn't help but quicken his pace.

Seeing this, Wang Miaomiao also quickened her pace to go home.

Love is enough to satisfy one’s hunger, but that is only possible if one can see Lin Ze, the third son of the Lin family, everywhere in his sight!

The road was now filled with the aroma of food, which made her unable to help but ask:

"Old Five, what happy event happened in the village?"

"Why do I smell the aroma of meat coming out of many houses?"

"Logically speaking, shouldn't we wait until the autumn harvest, when the farming season is busy, to eat meat?"

In response to his second sister's question, Wang You told her that his mother had picked up a wild boar in the mountains today and sold it to the villagers.

The second son listened, and his expression changed slightly only when he talked about having meat at home tonight.

She didn't care about how much money was left at home or how much favors her mother showed to the villagers. As long as her mother didn't urge her to get married and didn't ruin her relationship with Lin Lang, everything else didn't matter.

When she returned home and saw Shen Qian, she called out "Mother" and went straight to the kitchen.

He directed the third, fifth and sixth brothers to make fire and chop meat.

I steam the rice first.

Then wash the vegetables.

But Shen Qian's mind was filled with unforgettable images:

Her second daughter was not only old but also blind. When she was in the village, she did not interfere with or discipline her feelings. With her modern thinking, she understood one thing very well: What girl does not have spring feelings?

But on the way to escape famine, Lin Ze, the third son of the Lin family, was not only mean and calculating, but also became a cripple after being robbed. When fleeing under such circumstances, his family proposed that Lin Ze marry their second daughter. How could Shen Qian agree to this and push her into the fire pit?

But it was this rejection that made her hate herself completely.

After escaping from the bandit stronghold and arriving at the southern border, she actually teamed up with Saeko to sell herself, an old woman, to a brothel!

If I hadn't been careful and hadn't sneaked up on Saeko when she wasn't paying attention and managed to slip away, I would have spent the rest of my life doing those dirty things in the lowest brothel!

Just thinking about it now made Shen Qian's teeth chatter. "You like that cripple Lin Ze, right? I want to see if he'll sell himself to a brothel for you in this desperate situation!"

In the kitchen:

After the ribs were cut, Wang Wu brought the meat to the stove in front of Wang Miaomiao.

Wang Miaomiao looked at the big bowl full of ribs and felt a little confused!

"Have you cooked all this meat?" Wang Wu smiled foolishly in response to his second sister's question.

"My mother gave it to me and told me to boil it all out."

"Blanch it all out. I was saying...how could my mother suddenly change her personality?" Wang Miaomiao muttered, and without wasting any time, she blanched the meat as soon as the water boiled.

But the water after blanching will not be poured away!

Instead, he put it in a bowl and prepared it to make soup.

There is a lot of oil in it, how can rural people bear to throw it away!

Wang Wu sat obediently on the side, watching with his big eyes as the meat was blanched and taken out.

If his second sister hadn't been there, he would have wanted to rush over, pick up a piece of meat and put it in his mouth to taste it first.

After Wang Miaomiao finished scooping up the meat, she glanced at Wang Wu, who was looking at her eagerly, rolled her eyes, and ordered:

"Go and pour the soup out of the pot into a bowl. You can have a bowl first."

"Okay!" Wang Wu responded loudly, and worked very enthusiastically.

After pouring out the 'soup' in the pot, he also wiped the pot.

Then he took out a bowl and sat beside it, drinking it in small sips.

Wait until the aroma of food wafts out.

Behind the thatched house.

The couple who were enjoying the moon finally stood up!

I only heard the man say:

"Go back to the house!"

"Second sister should be ready soon."

"We'll almost have dinner when we get back."

"Okay!" the girl responded with a sweet smile on her face!

The two of them were naturally the fourth brother and his wife who disappeared on their way home!

When they entered the yard, the fourth brother, Wang Tianci, immediately pretended to be tired:

"Mother, sister!"

"The meal is ready!"

"Liu and I carried a few buckets of water to the fields, so we came back a little late."

“I didn’t help with the cooking either…”