lcionline Chapter 284 Staying Overnight
Chapter 284 Staying Overnight
Chapter 284: Staying
Three carriages stopped in front of a small village before dark.
As soon as Xue Qing and Jiang got off the car, they arrived at a farmer's house that looked pretty good.
A woman's voice came from inside: "Who is it?"
Jiang Yi said, "We are passing by here, can we stay for one night?"
There was no sound coming from inside. Just as the two were about to turn around and leave, the wooden door slowly opened with a sound of branches.
A woman who looked to be in her 40s, she was wearing coarse clothes, her hair simply tied behind her head, and her face bore traces of hard work.
Xue Qing bowed slightly and asked politely, "Madam, my wife is on her way here and it's getting late. Could I stay at your house for one night?"
The lady looked up and down at Xue Qing and Jiang Yi. When she saw the two women, her eyes became a little more gentle and she said, "Please come in, ladies."
Xue Qing hurriedly thanked him and walked into the yard.
The wall of the courtyard is made of irregular stones, and the gaps between the stones are covered with moss.
The red paint on the courtyard gate has become mottled and the bolt is rusty.
There is a simple chicken coop in the corner of the yard. A few hens are walking leisurely inside, occasionally making clucking sounds.
Next to the chicken coop is a bamboo frame covered with bean vines. The emerald green beans hang down like strings of green bead curtains.
On the other side of the yard, there was a stone mill, the surface of which had been polished smooth, with some unground grains scattered around. Next to the stone mill was a well, with deep marks on the edge of the well mouth from the rope, and the water in the well was clear, reflecting the blue sky and white clouds.
In the center of the courtyard, there was a shabby wooden table and several equally shabby wooden chairs. On the wooden table were a teapot and several coarse porcelain bowls.
There are several rose plants planted by the wall of the yard. The pink and red flowers look particularly beautiful against the backdrop of green leaves, emitting a faint fragrance, adding a bit of vitality and beauty to this ordinary yard.
This farmhouse has three main rooms and three side rooms on the east side.
Jiang Yi is now the wife. After looking around, he said to the woman, "What should I call you?"
The woman replied respectfully: "My husband's surname is Wu."
"Mrs. Wu, look at our group. In addition to the two servants, there is also an old man... Look..."
When the woman heard this, she showed a trace of embarrassment on her face and said, "Oh, young lady, young master, my house is small and can't accommodate so many people."
Xue Qing hurriedly said, "Sister Wu, we are very grateful that you can take us in. We will not cause you any trouble."
The woman thought for a moment and said, "How about this, the people in the village are very welcoming, I will go and ask other families for you."
After a while, the woman came back and said, "Madam, I have asked, and the two families next door are willing to take in your companions. You can rest here first, and I will go and tell them."
Soon, Xue Zhong, Qian Kun and others also arrived at the farmhouse.
As soon as Xue Zhong entered the door, he said, "Thank you, sister-in-law Wu."
Mrs. Wu smiled and waved her hand: "Everyone has difficulties when they are away from home. I will help if I can."
Qian Kun also hurriedly said: "Thank you, Sister Wu."
The woman said, "It's not a problem, it's not a problem. It's just that my conditions are very simple, so I'm sorry to bother you."
Wu Yu and Cheng Niu drove the carriage into the courtyard. Cheng Niu asked, "Sister Wu, didn't you see Brother Wu?"
Mrs. Wu lowered her eyelids and said, "The child's father has not returned from the fields yet. He should be back soon."
Then he turned to Xue Zhong and said, "Sir, let me take you two to our neighbor's house."
Xue Zhong nodded slightly: "Thank you, Sister Wu."
Xue Qing watched as Wu's sister-in-law took them to the neighbor's house.
Cheng Niu looked around, and Wu Yu also scanned the entire yard.
Liu Zhaodi also walked in silently and stood behind Xue Qing in silence.
When Wu Yu was about to push open the door of the wing room, a very burly man walked in from outside the courtyard and shouted in a voice as loud as a bell: "Who are you?"
Wu Yu and Cheng Niu turned around and saw the man walking in. Xue Qing and Jiang Yi looked at the man walking in at the same time.
Cheng Niu took three or two steps and walked up to the man, just in time to block Xue Qing.
"My dear brother, excuse me for interrupting you! Are you the eldest brother of the Wu family?"
The man saw that Cheng Niu was about the same height as himself, and looked at a few people: "That's right"
He shouted inside again, "Mother of my child..." After shouting a few times, no one appeared.
At this time, Jiang Yi stepped forward and said, "Brother Wu, I'm sorry to bother you. We are passing by here. It's getting dark, so we want to stay here for one night. Sister-in-law Wu took my friend to the neighbor's house."
When the man surnamed Wu saw Jiang Yi's expression, he relaxed and said, "Then everyone, please come in."
Several people went into the house.
The furnishings in the house were very simple. As soon as I entered, I heard footsteps outside. Mrs. Wu walked in hurriedly.
When she saw her husband coming back, she said, "Dad, this lady is staying at our house. Please clean up the rooms and let the two brothers stay in the west room. The lady and the two girls will stay here."
As he said this, he pointed to the west room.
Jiang Yi quickly said: "Thank you, Mrs. Wu! I would also like to trouble you to make a simple meal for us."
As he said this, he took out five taels of silver and placed it in Mrs. Wu's hand.
Mrs. Wu said politely, "Madam, you are too polite!"
As he said this, he put the silver into his arms.
Xue Qing asked curiously: "Sister, what is your daily life like?"
While busy pouring hot water for everyone, the woman said, "Every day I farm, raise chickens, and take care of household chores. Although it's hard work, it's a solid life."
Xue Qing then asked: "How many children do you have?"
Mrs. Wu did not stop what she was doing: "My two sons are working in town."
The Wu family man went to clean up the wing room, and the Wu family's sister-in-law went to the kitchen workshop. Liu Zhaodi said to Jiang Yi, "Madam, I will go to help cook."
Jiang Yi waved his hand.
Mrs. Wu made a big pot of vegetable porridge, some pancakes made from a mixture of fine and coarse flour, and a big pot of stewed meat with beans.
Xue Qing really couldn't eat the stewed meat with beans because it was too fishy, so he barely ate half of the pancake.
Xue Qing, Jiang Yi, Liu Zhaodi, and Wu's sister-in-law ate together in the inner room, while the men of the Wu family ate with Cheng Niu and Wu Yu in the main room.
When Jiang saw Xue Qing had only eaten a little bread, he knew that she couldn't finish the meal, so he took out the thin flour buns he had brought with him from his bag.
Liu Zhaodi just glanced at it briefly and continued to concentrate on eating.
After dinner, after waiting for Sister-in-law Wu and Liu Zhaodi to clean up, he called Sister-in-law Wu to chat.
As the night deepened, everyone went to rest under the arrangement of Mrs. Wu.
Wu Yu saw that Xue Qing and Xue Zhong were very familiar with each other, and fell into deep thought. Cheng Niu called him in a low voice: "Wu Yu, Wu Yu"
Now that both of them are coachmen, they just call each other by their names.
"Do you notice anything wrong?" Cheng Niu felt weak all over and his eyelids were drooping.