"Hmm, that's the scent."
Fu Yu knew that the raw materials for the reed mats and straw mats Uncle Thirteen had been weaving recently were brought back by his father and Ci'er.
Grandpa Meng, however, was contemplating, "Yu'er, you say our family..." If all this plant ash were collected and used as fertilizer next year, would the grain grown be different from ordinary grain?
"Probably," Fu Yu said, a little uncertainly.
Fu Xin Ci was sitting in the main hall watching Qi He and Yu'er play. When she heard her grandfather's words, she already had a plan.
"Grandfather, we can try it now."
Upon hearing his granddaughter's words, Grandpa Meng thought she was referring to the space and quickly winked at his granddaughter in alarm.
Fu Xin Ci didn't see it and just said to herself, "Those craftsmen left the oilcloths with us when they left. Since it's not frozen yet, how about we use the oilcloth to build a warm shed?"
Hearing his daughter's words, Fu Yu was invigorated. "If the warm shed Ci'er mentioned is successfully cultivated, it would be a great deed for the country and the people."
Fu Xin Ci wasn't very optimistic, as her cheap dad hadn't experienced the devastation of the local blizzards and still held some illusions about the winter cold here.
But she knew that even if the warm shed was successfully cultivated, it wouldn't be possible to promote it on a large scale.
Alas, whether it could be promoted or not, she didn't care. For the sake of having a legitimate reason to eat green vegetables in winter, she had to try.
No sooner said than done. When Meng Qi Cheng was instructed by his second uncle to find people in the village to help, many families in the village were pickling vegetables.
As he passed by his own house, he happened to see his eldest sister-in-law, Pan Shi, doing nothing but standing at the courtyard gate watching the excitement.
Upon seeing Meng Qi Cheng, Pan Shi's eyes lit up as if she had seen a piece of fragrant fatty meat, and she shouted loudly, "Mother, the second one is back."
"Where is the second one?" Mother Ma heard her eldest daughter-in-law's voice, and her movements were more agile than her surname.
"The second one went to Uncle Five's house." Pan Shi did not dare to offend Master Meng Wu and spoke respectfully.
Mother Ma, whom Pan Shi dared not offend, also lacked the courage.
The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law stood at their doorstep, secretly peeking next door. They saw Master Meng Wu smiling and sending Meng Qi Cheng out, saying, "Qi Cheng, go back and tell your second brother that I will bring people over shortly."
"Yes, Uncle Five, I'm going back."
As Meng Qi Cheng left his uncle's courtyard, he saw his mother and eldest sister-in-law peeking around stealthily. He said, "Mother, I'm going back to work." Then he turned to leave.
"Second one, stop right there." Mother Ma had never been polite to her second son's family. She was used to scolding and beating him, so there was no respect.
"Mother, do you need something? If so, say it quickly, I still have to go back to work."
"Work, what work? Our family's work isn't finished yet, where are you going to work?"
"Of course, I'm going to work at my second uncle's house, otherwise, there'll be no food to eat."
Hearing her second son mention food, Mother Ma glanced at him with less confidence.
After so many days, she finally had an opportunity to speak to her second son today. When she saw his somewhat rosy complexion, she felt particularly unhappy.
Coupled with Pan Shi's insinuating incitement from the side, Mother Ma's anger surged.
"You good-for-nothing, you don't do the work at home, but you're so diligent working for others!"
"I have to be diligent working at my second uncle's house because there's food to eat there."
"Uh..."
"If Mother has nothing else, I'm leaving." Meng Qi Cheng turned to go.
"You good-for-nothing, you are not allowed to leave!"
"Mother, it's great that the good-for-nothing you dislike the most, and his family, are gone. Your eyes will be clearer, saving us from your sight with our daily laziness and idleness."
Although Mother Ma found her second son's words sarcastic, she didn't want him to leave. "You good-for-nothing, stop right there."
"The good-for-nothing is gone, and your beloved eldest good-for-nothing and his family are left at home, just as you like, aren't they?"
After Meng Qi Cheng finished speaking, he left without looking back.
"This good-for-nothing is trying to infuriate me to death!"
"Mother, the second one is gone, who will go collect the vegetables in the field?"
Meng Wu Ye, who had just come out with his son and grandson, happened to hear Pan Shi's words. He sternly rebuked, "If you two don't go collect the vegetables, who do you expect to?"
Seeing that it was Meng Wu Ye, the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law were so scared that they dared not speak.
Grandpa Meng glanced contemptuously at Mother Ma and her daughter-in-law and said, "At this point, you are still competing in laziness. It seems you don't want to live through the winter."
"It's not like that, Fifth Brother." Grandpa Meng San, who had been squatting in the courtyard without speaking, finally spoke.
"What's not like that?" Meng Wu Ye despised this biased third cousin.
"We used to live far apart. Although I had heard about your family's affairs early on, I didn't want to get involved. After all, it was your family's business."
Pan Shi rolled her eyes and thought to herself: Since you know you shouldn't interfere, then don't speak.
Evidently, Meng Wu Ye didn't hear her thoughts and continued, "What happened before, we won't discuss. Now that we've reached this point, you are still biased, which is too much."
"We..." Mother Ma wanted to say that she wasn't biased, but even she didn't believe it.
Meng Wu Ye didn't give her a chance to defend herself and continued, "Everyone has a scale in their heart. It's not just what you say that counts."
Mother Ma was unconvinced. She believed that they were the parents of the second son, and the second son should obey her unconditionally.
Seeing that they were beyond saving, Meng Wu Ye said coldly, "If you continue like this, and starve to death one day, don't come knocking on our door."
"Fifth Brother, can't you say something good about our family?" Grandpa Meng San didn't like hearing this and retorted.
"Third Brother, it's about to freeze. Go out and look around. Which family isn't collecting vegetables and pickling radishes? Look at your family, everyone is so lazy that they are hard to find on the ground."
"I, I will let them go to the field to collect vegetables now." Grandpa Meng San was also afraid that things would turn out as his fifth cousin said. He also felt that the weather was indeed getting colder.
Meng Qi Zhong's family of four was unhappy. "Father, it was always the second family who did the work before. Why don't you go to Second Uncle's house and get their family of three back?"
Hearing Meng Qi Zhong's voice, Meng Wu Ye suddenly felt that his own son was quite good. Although he couldn't do much work, at least he would follow him to work without complaint.
Meng Wu Ye no longer wanted to bother with this family, but he said to the few families living nearby, "Everyone, remember, our food didn't come from the wind. If this family ever starves and has nothing to eat, and they come knocking on your doors, be sure not to open them."
"Fifth Brother, don't worry, we definitely won't open the door." Even Grandpa Meng Ba now looked down on this family. "I've never seen such a lazy family. They expect the second one to do everything."