Traveling through time as a peasant girl to turn things around

The fourth brother walked for over a quarter of an hour before arriving at his old relative's house. His eldest brother-in-law opened the door. "Brother, where are Mom and Dad?" he asked. Li Dong replied, "They're resting inside." The fourth brother carried the basket into his eldest brother-in-law's room. He found some steamed buns and offered them to his brother, "You eat first." He then went to get some water.

When the fourth brother came back, the eldest brother had finished a steamed bun. "Is it delicious?" "Delicious!" Li Dong asked, "Where did you buy it from?" "I made it myself." "Let you try it first! There will be delicious food in the future, and my sister-in-law will have it too." Li Dong was happy to hear that. Li Dong was not more than twenty-two years old, but in that era, he was old and it was not easy to find a wife. The fourth brother looked at his brother-in-law's house, "How can you live in this house? Will it leak when it rains?" Li Dong scratched his head, hehe, it doesn't matter if there is only one person. The fourth brother looked at his silly brother, ah. The brother is not stupid, not only is he not stupid, he is very smart, he can do carpentry work at a glance, and he does it very delicately and exquisitely. "Are you full?" asked the fourth brother. "I'm not hungry anymore. Lock the door of your house, go to the field, get a machete and a rope."

They left the house, locking the door behind them. They went to the edge of the village to chop trees. Dad joined them that afternoon. The fourth child said, "Repair the house for my eldest brother." Old Man Li helped bring the trees home. They chopped down several trees, enough for the job. Li Dong and my eldest brother worked the saw, beating the boards. Mom cooked. The fourth child asked Dad, "Have you finished harvesting the crops?" "The big ones, and there are still a few small ones." "Let's go together tomorrow." They didn't eat until the boards were finished. Sitting at the table, the fourth child remembered that the food he had delivered today was still locked in my eldest brother's room. He asked my eldest brother to open the door. He found the steamed bun, took it out, and said to Mom, "This is what Mom asked you two to send. Try it!" He handed it to Mom and Dad. The two old people took a bite and said, "This...why is it different from what we eat?" "My mom makes it, the dough is fermented." "I'll give you the dough after dinner." "You can make delicious food like this in the future. You and Dad will feel good after eating it." Chai Lao Si ate his meal. "Thank goodness I'm here! If my wife had come, she'd have cried her heart out. I'll have to take better care of her from now on!" After dinner, they waited for their mother to finish cleaning up before heading to Li Dong's room. Lao Si said, "Big brother, go and close the door! Lock it up tight! Secure it!" He was so serious! The old couple also became more cautious.

The eldest brother came into the house and the fourth brother closed the door tightly before taking out the things from the basket. The three members of the Li family were stunned by what they saw. They had never seen many of these things before! Jiayu took out the vegetables first and said, "Dad, do they look like white radishes to you?" Dad Li thought they looked like white radishes. Jiayu said, "This is a red radish. Dad will plant a few of the ones with roots and plant them tomorrow. You can plant them in the yard or in the field. Cover them with a straw fan in the winter to prevent them from getting frozen. You can get seeds next year and plant them yourself." He put the cabbage and radish aside, "Dad, Mom, my mom and Li Ru are worried that you will have a hard time in winter. We have these at home, so we brought you some. The white cloth is for the lining and the flowered cloth is for the outside. You can make a cotton quilt. This is the flower. Mom, feel it with your hand." Li Ru's mother's hands were trembling. She reached out to touch it. It was soft and warm, so warm! "There are also a few pieces of cloth for making cotton clothes. Mom, take a look. We can make some for you and Dad and the eldest brother. We can also make cotton shoes."

"Ru has already put on her cotton-padded jacket. The floral fabric is so beautiful, warm and pretty. The big kang in the room has been lit. Mother has a great news to tell you. I'm here to announce it. Ru has given birth to a beautiful girl!"

Mrs. Li was overjoyed upon hearing this. Father Li also had tears in his eyes, and the eldest brother was also very excited. "That's great, that's great." The Li family has only one son. In this generation, a daughter was born. Now hearing that the daughter was born, her face was full of joy and radiant. Mrs. Li's illness had almost healed. Looking at her son, the fourth son saw her. He said, "Don't worry, mother, it won't be long before Brother Dongzi will have a wife. After you have cleaned up the house, let him come to my house to work and earn money. Ah, carpentry, brother! You can do it! You have a craft. In less than two years, you will be rich. Then we can pick a beautiful, gentle, hardworking, sensible, and kind girl to be my sister-in-law." Li Dong smiled shyly, and Mrs. Li's sadness was no longer a problem. The fourth son opened another basket. She took out the white flour, yellow flour, and rice oil, and said, "Dad, Mom, and Big Brother, the steamed buns we're eating today are made with these two kinds of flour mixed together." The fourth child took out a ball of leavened dough and said, "Soak this dough in water until it softens, then add the flour and mix it well. Put it on the stove and cover the pot for about an hour. The dough will have accumulated. When it rises with a little stirring, it'll become full and have lots of bubbles. It's ready. Mom, make it tomorrow morning. I'll watch and teach you." Old Lady Li put it away. Rice is like our millet. Eat it. This is peanut oil. Next year, when we plant, I'll plant it with Dad. Peanut oil makes delicious pancakes. Leavened dough can still be used to make pancakes. Mom, enjoy this oil first. I'll bring it back to you during the New Year." Finally, he took out a transparent cloth and held it up. "You can see through both sides," he said. "Replace the windows for Mom tomorrow so she can have more light inside and keep out the wind and the cold. Dad, this is a big one for the roof. It'll keep out water from heavy rain and snow, so the house won't leak. However, this thing must be kept secret and not shared with others. It's not easy to buy. Tomorrow we'll fix the roof ourselves. Leave the window uncovered so no one comes to our house. If anyone sees, just say I gave it to you and you know nothing." The three members of the Li family were stunned by the abundance of goodies. Father Li said, "How can you accept so many goodies?" The fourth child said, "What's the big deal? These are all gifts from the younger generation to you. You have to accept them, Dad and Mom. We're a family. Ru and I eat well every day, and thinking of you makes me feel good." Mother Li said, "Your son-in-law is a son-in-law, not half a son. You're a son. We'll accept them!" The old couple discussed where to put the things. The fourth child said, "We'll put them in the kang hole. Half of the kang doesn't cover the fire path. We're planning to dig a basement to store the things. Keep them hidden! It's too conspicuous out in the open." "Mom, put them under the kang in my room. My kang only covers half of the fire path, and the other half is cold." ” Put the things back in the basket. Now start to renovate the big kang. Put the basket against the wall, and Dongzi covered it tightly with a rag. Li Lao Niang took the things on the kang away, dismantled the kang and rebuilt it, and Li Lao Niang helped to mix the mud. Lao Si, Dongzi and Li Lao Di moved bricks to build it, and it was finally completed at midnight. The big kang can accommodate five or six people. Half of the kang is hollow on the side where the feet are against the wall, and there is a big kang hole. The entrance is also on the inner wall, for one person to enter and exit, and a sorghum stalk door was made. The kang surface and the fire path are made of bricks, but the gaps between the kang wooden boards are sealed with yellow mud. The kang path is clean and the floor is swept clean. A layer of dry straw is spread on the ground of the kang hole. Lao Si said, "Dong Ge, if you have dry bricks, replace the kang hole with bricks and remove the straw. The room is clean and tidy. Dongzi entered the kang hole and Lao Si handed the things in and put them in, and sprinkled a layer of straw on the kang.

Father Li said, "Let's all sleep in one room." The fourth child said, "Okay." After a quick wash, the fourth child fell asleep, and Dongzi even fell asleep. The old couple also quickly fell asleep.

After more than an hour, everyone woke up and had dinner. The roof of Dongzi was removed. Lao Si saw that the walls on all sides were OK, so there was no need to rebuild from scratch, and he would just replace the roof. First, he built the roof in a large V-shaped pattern, then laid wooden boards, and sealed the gaps with yellow mud. Lao Si said, "Dongzi, look around to see if there is anyone there?" At noon, "No one." Dongzi whispered. Lao Si quickly took out a transparent cloth and spread it on the roof. Then he laid straw fans and covered them with mud. He laid two more layers of straw fans, put wooden boards in the middle of the four sides, and pressed them with bricks. The transparent cloth was sandwiched in the middle. "It's done." Lao Si went downstairs to try to light the kang, and also to see if the soil was dry. The smoke was drawn out. After a while, he could feel it. The kang was hot when there was fire, but cold when there was no fire. "Okay."

In the afternoon, the roof of my parents' house was also covered. The kang was tidied, and the windows were covered with transparent cloth, making the room much brighter. The fourth child said, "Mom, I'm sewing right under the window. Put new straw fans on the windows and put them down at night." The fourth child and the eldest brother tidied and swept the yard.

After dinner, the fourth child helped his parents heat up the kang. He and Dongzi went to sleep in the same room. They talked for a while, imagining the future, and fell asleep while thinking about it.

The fourth child got up early and watched his mother knead the dough. When it was ready, he saw a large basin full of dough. "Add some flour, mix it again, knead it until it's smooth, and then roll it into small balls. Let it rest for a while before steaming it in a steamer. It only takes a quarter of an hour."

At noon, they had cabbage stewed with meat and potatoes, and large white flour buns, soft, sticky, and fragrant. The whole family was well fed. They all had smiling faces. After a short break at noon, the fourth child went to the fields to help harvest the crops. The next day, he got up early and went home, saying, "Mom, the full moon is on the 25th of this month, so you should come early then. I'm leaving." Old Lady Li said, "Give your mom my regards." "Okay."

The fourth child had walked away, but Li Lao Niang was still standing at the door. These past two days had felt like a dream! The fourth child had brought hope to this family! He had brought smiles and motivation! "My Ru'er is so blessed, she married a good man." Li Lao Niang still remembered what the fourth child had said. She closed the gate behind her when she got home, and that was great. She found a sunny spot against the wall in the yard, dug up the loose soil, found some budding carrots and cilantro, and planted them. She piled up the soil around them, and when the nights got cold, she covered them with a straw fan.

Thinking of asking her son to cut the sorghum stalks from the field. They could be used for firewood or stuck in the ground to block the wind. Old Lady Li also started thinking. She's in great shape! …

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