Read Novel Full Chapter 48.1
Chapter 48.1
Chapter 48 1/2
Mrs. Lu had already promised when Mrs. Chen came to ask Sang Lou if she could buy chickens. She guessed someone would come to their house today, so she didn’t go anywhere in the afternoon, just waited at home.
Sure enough, she saw them.
Mrs. Lu warmly invited the two inside, sizing up Sang Lou as they walked. With just one look, she thought this girl was actually quite good-looking. If she gained a bit of weight, she would be absolutely beautiful.
What caught Mrs. Lu’s attention the most was her eyes, bright and clear, with a determined and upright gaze.
Such a person must be resolute in character and righteous in mind.
“I’ve been hearing about you from the kids at home lately. Now that I’ve met you, you truly are a capable child.”
As she praised Sang Lou, she asked her daughter-in-law to prepare peppermint tea and pumpkin seeds for the guests. A young daughter-in-law came out of the house upon hearing the voice, greeted Mrs. Chen, nodded at Sang Lou, and went to the kitchen.
Sang Lou stopped her and said to Mrs. Lu, “Grandma Lu, please don’t bother. I came here just to buy chickens. I just bought a few ducklings today and need to hurry back to build their coop. Let’s have a chat later. When you come to my place the day after tomorrow, we’ll have plenty of time. You’ll let me treat you and Uncle and Auntie then.”
Upon hearing Sang Lou’s words, Mrs. Lu didn’t insist further and smiled, “That works too. If you’re busy, I won’t keep you. Let me take you to the back to see the chickens, and you can pick a couple you like.”
She then gestured for the young daughter-in-law to come over and introduced her to Sang Lou, “This is my second daughter-in-law. You can call her Second Sister-in-law.”
Then she smiled at her own daughter-in-law and said, “Liuniang, this is Alie’s wife, I’m sure you know.”
Wang Liuniang did know. Alie had been talking about her recently, envying his cousins who could go work at Shen An’s house.
She rarely smiled, but she smiled at Sang Lou and nodded in greeting.
Sang Lou returned the smile and called Mrs. Lu “Second Aunt.”
Chen’s mother, seeing Wang Liuniang’s slight smile, her eyes flickered, Mrs. Lu’s lips curved upwards, and she kindly said to her second daughter-in-law, “Since you’re out, take a break. Don’t spend all day weaving in the house. You need to move around to keep your body healthy. Staring at the loom every day might not feel tiring when you’re young, but as you get older, it’ll strain your eyes.”
Wang Liuniang nodded, “Mom, I understand.”
Speaking with gentle and tender words, this person seemed to exude warmth, yet there was also an indescribable melancholy about them.
Mrs. Lu didn’t say much more and led Mrs. Chen and Sang Lou out of the courtyard towards the back of the house. A woman who looked about the same age as Qin Fangniang came out from the kitchen upon hearing that they were going to catch chickens. She silently followed the others, and Mrs. Lu introduced her to Sang Lou, “This is my eldest daughter-in-law. You can also call her Aunt.”
Sang Lou couldn’t help but call her Aunt Lu.
The woman smiled at Sang Lou and said, “You must be Alie’s wife. These days, our pillar, iron pillar, and tiger often mention you.”
Her voice was cheerful, quite different from her earlier silent demeanor.
Sang Lou smiled, “I have to thank them. The kids have been a great help, or else I wouldn’t be able to move into the new house today.”
Upon hearing Sang Lou praise her son, Mrs. Lu’s daughter-in-law smiled brightly, showing her joy.
The back of the Lu family’s house was also against the mountain, and the chicken coop was built there. At the moment, the chickens weren’t in the coop but were scratching around for food on the ground behind the house, about ten of them.
Mrs. Lu said, “These are all our family’s chickens. The half-grown ones are from the nests our hens hatched in April. Take a look yourself. Pick whichever you want, and I’ll catch it for you.”
Sang Lou smiled after just a glance, “Grandma Lu, your chickens are lively. Any of them will do. Why bother picking? I’ll just choose two with distinctive colors.”
The first half of her statement wasn’t flattery. Free-range chickens in the countryside were rarely weak or sickly. Every one of these chickens looked lively.
Sang Lou glanced over the group of half-grown chickens and chose one male and one female that looked robust.
Mrs. Lu nodded with a smile. Before she could move, Mrs. Lu’s daughter-in-law said, “Mom, let me do it.”
As she spoke, she approached, her movements incredibly skilled and nimble. With a few swift movements, she grabbed the chicken Sang Lou had chosen and held it in her hand.
Once one chicken was caught, the others scattered in a panic, but Mrs. Lu’s daughter-in-law remained calm. She tied the feet of the chicken she caught with a grass rope, placed it in Sang Lou’s cloth bag, then went back to fetch a feeding basin. After bringing it out and tapping it, she scattered the leftover bran mixed with vegetables from the morning on the ground. The group of chickens that had just scattered returned in a daze, rushing back to peck at the food.
She then accurately caught the second chicken.
Chen’s mother laughed beside Mrs. Lu and said, “Your Chunniang is truly capable. You’re lucky.”
Mrs. Lu smiled in agreement and couldn’t help but praise Qin Fangniang as well.
The two old ladies exchanged compliments, while Sang Lou efficiently tied up the cloth bag and handed it to Mrs. Lu’s daughter-in-law, saying, “Aunt Lu, could you please weigh these two chickens?”
Mrs. Lu’s daughter-in-law nodded, then turned and went back to the house to fetch the scale. Mrs. Lu then called Mrs. Chen and Sang Lou, saying, “Let’s go back inside to weigh them. It’s too sunny out here.”
As they approached, Mrs. Lu’s daughter-in-law had already brought out the scale. Seeing Sang Lou and the others coming over, she hooked the bag she was holding onto the scale in front of Sang Lou, showed Sang Lou the scale’s reading and the raised indicator, and reported the weight.
Before, it was agreed that they would sell the chickens at market price. Sang Lou calculated and took out a string of coins from her purse, counted out forty-two, and put them in her money bag. She then tied up the remaining fifty-eight coins and handed them to Mrs. Chen, saying, “Grandma, here are fifty-eight coins. Please check if it’s correct.”
Mrs. Lu shook her head upon hearing the amount, “Why would you need fifty-eight coins? If buying things from fellow villagers were priced the same as in the market, what’s the point of being neighbors?”
Without counting the money, she took two coins from the string Sang Lou gave her and handed them back to Sang Lou, saying, “Fifty-six coins it is, consider it a one-coin discount for the chicken.”
Sang Lou smiled and readily accepted the money, “Alright, I won’t refuse then, thank you for your kindness, Grandma.”
Mrs. Lu smiled, her eyes softening as she turned to Mrs. Chen and said, “This generous attitude is what makes her so likable.”
“Indeed,” Mrs. Chen also smiled. These two old ladies got along quite well, and they had many things in common when it came to observing people and events.
Mrs. Chen knew Sang Lou had to go home and had things to do, so she said, “Alright, I still need to take her to the Zhou family to buy two more. You go on with your tasks.”
Hearing that Sang Lou was going to buy two more, Mrs. Lu’s daughter-in-law’s eyes flashed. Once they were out of earshot, she whispered to her mother-in-law, “Mom, this Sang family is doing quite well.”
The old lady glanced at her and said, “Hardworking and capable, they can naturally make a good living.”
Mrs. Lu’s daughter-in-law felt a little awkward and didn’t say much more.
On the other side, a little distance from the Lu family, Sang Lou was also curious, “Grandma, I’ve met Lu’s eldest and third uncles, but it seems I haven’t met Lu’s second uncle?”
Mrs. Chen’s steps faltered for a moment, and she walked silently for a short distance before saying, “He’s probably no longer with us.”
Sang Lou didn’t expect such an answer and was momentarily stunned, “How could that be?”
Mrs. Chen looked at her and sighed, “Your brother, my eldest son, Lu’s second uncle, and Shi’s eldest son, they were all conscripted together that year. Not just them, but more than ten people from our village were conscripted. Not a single one returned.”
“At the beginning of the year, we heard some people had returned. We went from village to village, over ten neighboring villages, and there were less than twenty survivors.”
As Mrs. Lu spoke, her shoulders seemed to sag a bit.
She forced a smile, trying to cheer up, and reminded Sang Lou, “We’re having a feast the day after tomorrow. Your sister-in-law from the Shi family will probably come. Remember not to ask about your Shi family uncle.”
In recent years, everyone around here knew that if they encountered unfamiliar families and saw that the men weren’t around, it was best not to ask. Asking could easily touch upon sensitive matters.