Chapter 219:
Zhou Shi watched them move the things out of the room, and she rolled on the ground throwing a tantrum!
Everyone let her roll around!
They saw off the stewards, as well as the villagers.
Old Li Tou went into his own room this time and slept for three whole days without going out.
He felt too humiliated, at his age, groveling and being publicly spat on by the villagers!
The family was divided, and the son he had the highest hopes for was ruined! He felt like he had lost hope, lost the meaning of living!
Not eating or drinking, Zhou Shi didn’t care about him at first, but after seeing him lie there for two days, she was afraid he’d get sick from hunger, so she brought him food and drink.
Li Gui also didn’t go out, lying there just like his father, unwilling to get up. Zhou Shi had to take care of two of them alone like serving immortals, it was utterly exasperating.
As soon as she stepped out of the main hall door, she saw the other families all busy with their own affairs. The eldest son’s family and third son’s family were repairing around their houses, thriving and bustling.
They had set up the kitchen on the first day, so there was basically nothing for them to do.
Li Daqiang and Li Sanmao even went to the room to see Li Depei, but the old man acted like he didn’t know them, kept the door closed and didn’t let them in at all.
The two stood at the doorway for a bit, seeing that his father ignored them, he must be angry, he’d figure it out after some time!
So they let him be and went off to busy themselves with their own matters.
First they solved the problem of eating, building the stove. Li Daqiang mixed mud with straw, plastered the stove, then put the pot his father had divided to them on it.
Li Sanmao took the leftover green bricks from last time’s bread kiln repair, stacked them for two days, basically forming it, just missing an iron pot!
However, they didn’t go hungry, because his wife lit the bread kiln and baked corn bread inside to eat.
The second son’s family Chen Shi had no stove, Chen Shi didn’t know how to build one, Jiayong and Jiabao cried loudly from hunger, Chen Shi cried too, ran to Zhou Shi’s place to beg for food and was cursed out.
The eldest son’s family turned a blind eye, their stove was built first, quite simple, but when burning it was quite damp, smoke billowing, the whole yard full of thick smoke!
Seeing second son’s family Jiabao run over to watch her make corn paste to eat, she shooed him away with a dark face!
“Go, get away! Don’t you know about the family division? We don’t have grain either, our family has more mouths than yours, go find your mom if you’re hungry!”
“It’s not like we didn’t divide anything for you! What are you guarding here for? We’re still hungry too!”
Chen Shi kept a cold face and called Jiayong away.
Luo Zhi’er saw the two children crying pitifully, Miaomiao was eating bread, looking at her pitiably…
Luo Zhi’er had Miaomiao take one bread to the two of them to share and eat, then they stopped crying.
Xiao Zhou Shi pointedly cursed for a while, “They’re all the same brothers, only giving to second son’s family’s kids, why didn’t our eldest son’s family’s kid get even one?”
She had smelled the aroma of the baked bread long ago, but they hadn’t been willing to give them any.
Li Daqiang saw Luo Zhi’er’s expression wasn’t right and kept stopping Xiao Zhou Shi!
“His mom, eat your food, it’s because second son’s family has no stove!”
“Nonsense! His third son’s family just looks down on you Li Daqiang, how did I end up marrying such a useless thing like you!”
Li Daqiang was so angry his brows furrowed tightly!
Chen Shi glanced at Luo Zhi’er who had her back turned busy working, pursed her lips, but didn’t say a word of thanks.
Luo Zhi’er didn’t mind, her family didn’t have much grain now either, giving the two of them one bread was already the limit.
As for the eldest son’s family, weren’t they eating? They themselves had five jin of corn flour.
Once things at home were sorted, she could make her scallion oil. The scallions in the field had just been planted not long ago. To avoid alerting others, Li Sanmao was going up the slope to hunt, sell it to buy grain, buy ingredients for baking bread.
To make the distinction clear, Luo Zhi’er arranged for Li Sanmao to enclose the bread kiln and tables and chairs as well as their house with a fence, blocking it off a bit.
The kitchen was covered with wooden boards into a wooden shed, made a chimney, cutting board.
For now, they first put the previous flat iron plate on the stove to use, this way it was enclosed, no one could see what they were doing!
Zhou Shi was extremely displeased and even told them to come sit, but enclosing it like this, guarding against whom?
She went in and out cursing, Li Sanmao had an ashen face, but carried on as usual.
After finishing all this, Luo Zhi’er took Miaomiao and followed Li Sanmao up the mountain to go hunting.
Before leaving, Chen Shi ran to their house doorway, pleading tone to borrow their kitchen to cook for the two little ones.
Chen Shi cried and wailed, blocking her. Luo Zhi’er was in a hurry to go out, she said Zhou Shi wouldn’t let them use the kitchen, Xiao Zhou Shi was even less likely, they thought she was easy to talk to.
“My kitchen has no pot, no other kitchenware, you can’t cook either!”
Luo Zhi’er frowned…
“I’ll just use this iron plate to bake corn cakes, I won’t eat, but the two kids have to!”
“Fine, use it and close the door for me when done.”
Luo Zhi’er looked at the three of them, mother and sons, quite pitiful, then went to borrow an axe from Old Li Tou, and a sickle, and left!
Up the mountain, Luo Zhi’er looked around, found a ponytail pine by the roadside, spread her arms and hugged it, shouted to Li Sanmao: “Sanmao, chop down this tree, take a section back to make a cutting board!”
“Good!”
Li Sanmao swung the axe and started chopping at the base, the two busied for about an hour before finishing!
While she trimmed the wooden board there, Li Sanmao went deeper into the forest in the distant deep mountain to set traps, hunting.
Miaomiao stayed with her, squatting here, safer.
Li Sanmao went in and climbed a mountain, walked far, in the dense forest where he couldn’t hear their voices, squatted down and started searching for prey.
He walked to where he found wild boar tracks underfoot, placed the trap in a spot with many wild boar footprints, squatted behind the bushes waiting!
The sun set in the west, Luo Zhi’er and Miaomiao’s eyes were strained looking, their hearts starting to worry.
She stood up, went back to the high spot she had stood earlier to look again, finally saw a man shouldering a wild boar shuttling out from the forest.
“Sanmao, you got it? Are you okay?”
Li Sanmao was drenched in sweat, gave her a reassuring look, said very relaxedly, “Luck’s good today, wife, tomorrow go with husband to town to sell wild game!”
“Good!”
“This big tear on your clothes, did you fall?”
Luo Zhi’er looked up and saw his clothing hem torn with a big rip, back and butt covered in mud from falling!
“Hehe, this beast was too wild, catching it took some effort.”
Li Sanmao said pretending to be relaxed.
Luo Zhi’er furrowed her brows tightly, lifted the corner of his clothes, saw the skin was abraded!
“You’re injured?”
“It’s nothing, minor scrape, rub some contusion medicine at home, you give me some medicinal wine massage and it’ll be fine.”
Luo Zhi’er said irritably: “You’re injured then injured, why deceive us?”
“Wife, husband didn’t!”
“Hmph! Forget it, let’s go home first! I’ll help you carry the wild boar!”
She was about to go lift the wild boar with him!
Li Sanmao quickly shook his head, “No, no, this wild boar is at least one or two hundred jin, it’d crush you!”
They still had quite a way down the mountain!
Wife was so fat, inconvenient. “You’d get injured!”
Luo Zhi’er ignored that, all fussy, grabbed it from his shoulder, shouldered the front and walked off!
Li Sanmao widened his eyes, incredulously watching her receding back, rubbed his eyes again, “Miaomiao, your mom she… Dad didn’t see wrong, right?”
“Not going? What are you doing?”
The tigress-like voice from ahead rang out, Li Sanmao hurriedly picked up the wood for the cutting board, put Miaomiao on his back and headed down the mountain.
