Little Fujin

The next day, Lin Ruan told Uncle Tong what Zhan Xi said. Uncle Tong frowned, but he still prepared rice cakes, stewed meat, honey offerings, and pork knuckles for Lin Ruan as Zhan Xi said.These are relatively common New Year's gifts, Tong Bo does not prepare other things such as rice noodles, it is too much like giving to the poor, and the Lan Mansion does not need to show its superiority in this kind of place.

According to Tong Bo's wishes, Lin Ruan changed into new clothes, dressed decently, and came out to show Tong Bo.

Tong Bo snorted, looking at Lin Ruan as if he was looking at a prodigal daughter-in-law who only knew how to give things to her natal family.

"Have you been to see Master?" Tong Bo asked.

Lin Ruan said: "I told the young master yesterday."

"Then you have to answer." Tong Bo frowned, "There are no rules."

Lin Ruan muttered a few words in a low voice, and said, "I'll go up and go back to the young master now."

"Go."

Lin Ruan went up to the second floor and knocked on Zhanxi's door.

"Come in." Zhanxi's voice came from inside, calm as always.

Lin Ruan walked in, stood still in front of the table, and said, "Master, I'm going out now, I'm here to tell you."

Zhan Xi didn't lift his head, "What did you call me?"

Lin Ruan came to his senses and hurriedly said, "Sir, sir."

Zhan Xi looked up at Lin Ruan.

Lin Ruan wore a long gown with a slanted front, embroidered with plum blossoms in moon white, and a circle of wind hair on the collar, making Lin Ruan even more elegant and graceful.

"The clothes are nice," Zhan Xi said, "You picked them yourself?"

Lin Ruan shook her head, "The tailor picked it."

He chooses to be difficult and doesn't want to get entangled in these things.

"I remember some fabrics brought back from abroad, which can barely be seen." Zhan Xi said, "I'll make you two later."

"Thank you sir." Lin Ruan only wanted to go home, "Then I'll go down first."

Zhan Xi said "hmm", and Lin Ruan exited the room.

Downstairs, Yuan Zi just came in from outside and said to Tong Bo, "The rickshaw is waiting outside."

Tong Bo nodded, and told Yuanzi, "Send him to the Lin's house, carry something for him, and pick him up before dinner."

"I see!" Yuan Zi responded, just as Lin Ruan came down from upstairs.

"Then we're leaving."

Tong Bo nodded, watched the two of them go out, and then went about his own business.

The Lin family lived in an alley near the overpass. The people of that generation were ordinary people. They lived next to each other and surrounded the courtyard with bricks.

When Lin Ruan was eight years old, Lin Man had just been born. In order to make things easier for the three of them, Lin's father went out with others.The world is chaotic, the money is not earned, and the leg is injured and disabled.

The only one in the family who can earn money is lying on the bed half dead, and the child who is less than one year old is waiting to be fed. Seeing that she can't survive, Lin's mother can only ask someone to take Lin Ruan away.

At that time, silver was still used. Eight-year-old Lin Ruan exchanged ten taels of silver, which saved Lin's father and the whole family.

The rickshaw was parked at the entrance of the alley, Yuanzi carried things for Lin Ruan, and the sixth door after walking in was the Lin family.

Lin Ruan knocked on the door, and it was Lin Man who opened the door.

When Lin Man saw Lin Ruan, his eyes widened immediately, and he shouted inside, "Mom, brother is back!"

Yuanzi put down his things and said, "I won't go in. I'll pick you up at night."

Lin Ruan took out two pieces of ocean, "Thank you for your hard work."

Yuanzi took the money and said with a smile, "Why are you so polite to me?"

Yuanzi left, Lin Ruan asked Lin Man to carry something, and the two brothers walked in.

Mother Lin came out of the main room wiping her hands. She was a woman in her 50s and [-]s, with mottled hair combed behind her head.Her fingers are stubby, black, and have many cracks.

"Xiao Ruan is back." Mother Lin looked a little at a loss, and before she could say a word, the circles of her eyes turned red.

Lin Ruan called Mom, and on the other side, Father Lin came out of the house leaning on crutches.

One of his trouser legs was empty, and he stood staggeringly while leaning on a cane.Lin Man hurried to help him, and most of the body of an adult was on the child Lin Man.

Lin Ruan put down her things and said, "I'll do it."

He helped Lin's father to sit down on the bamboo chair, and said: "The young master said that it is almost the end of the year, so he asked me to come back and have a look."

Mother Lin asked cautiously: "The prince is back?"

Lin Ruan nodded. He hadn't heard this name for a long time, and Lin Ruan still felt awkward.

Mother Lin didn't mention Zhan Xi again, but just asked, "How are you?"

"I'm fine," Lin Ruan said, "Master has always been nice to me."

Mother Lin seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, and said, "Sit down and rest, I'll cook for you."

Before Lin Ruan could say anything, Mother Lin went into the kitchen.They have never known how to get along with their children, and cooking for them is one of the few ways to express their feelings.

Lin Ruan withdrew her gaze and looked at Father Lin, "Father, it's cold outside, let me help you in."

"Hey." Father Lin responded, and walked into the room holding Lin Ruan's hand.

When Lin Ruan came out, Lin Man was squatting at the door looking at what Lin Ruan had brought. Seeing Lin Ruan coming out, he was quite embarrassed.

Lin Ruan just laughed, stepped forward and rubbed Lin Man's head.

The Lin family's parents felt ashamed of Lin Ruan, they were mostly cautious when getting along, and tried their best to make up for Lin Ruan.In contrast, this younger brother got along with Lin Ruan much more easily.

"What do you want to eat?" Lin Ruan asked.

Lin Man snorted, "I didn't want to eat it."

Lin Ruan laughed, and took out a box from the gift, which contained the snacks made by Cao Mama.The last time Lin Man went to Lan Mansion, he ate Ah Yue's cookies.Mama Cao was not happy, so she cooked a few exquisite snacks and brought them to Lin Man, making sure he understands what is delicious.

"Stuff your stomach first, and I'll cook meat for you at noon."

Lin Man took the snack box and helped Lin Ruan put the things he brought into the house.

Lin Ruan went into the house and changed his clothes. The expensive clothes were not only incompatible with the yard, but also not suitable for working.

The kitchen smoke was lit quickly, and Lin Ruan was chopping firewood in a small open space, the sound of the wood being split was very clear and pleasant.He piled the chopped firewood under the kitchen window and built a small shed so that the firewood would not get wet from the snow.

The water in the water tank had also bottomed out. Lin Man went to fetch water when he was free. As a child, he couldn't carry a bucket of water, so he poured half of the bucket into it.When the water was full, Lin Man's stomach was gone.

Lin Ruan rolled up her sleeves to fetch water. There was a persimmon tree next to the well. In autumn, when the leaves were gone, there were red persimmons hanging on the bare branches. It was the only thing the family did not need money to buy.

The persimmon trees are very tall, and the persimmons on the treetops cannot reach them, and most of them are cheap for the birds flying from south to north.

The water tank was filled with water, and Lin Ruan began to sweep the yard. The yard was not big, and a place was circled to grow vegetables. Lin Ruan had seen cucumbers, tomatoes, beans, and a small piece of green onion. When will it be used? Just grab a little.

After sweeping the yard, Lin Ruan used bricks to build a small place, and built a fire inside.Lin Man didn't know when he picked up a hard elm lump from outside. He planned to split it as firewood, but he didn't split it, so he left it in a corner of the yard.

Lin Ruan picked up the elm lump, threw it into the fire, and burned it slowly.

The Lin family's house is very cold and there is no Kang.Lin Ruan moved a reclining chair, helped Father Lin out and sat on the reclining chair, and told him to warm up with the fire.

Lin Man came out with a handful of peanuts from the kitchen and threw them beside the fire, and they were ripe after a while, hot and sweet.

Lin Man, Lin Ruan, and Father Lin were chatting by the fire, talking about their parents.After a while, Lin Ruan entered the kitchen.

When Mother Lin saw him, she was startled and said, "Why don't you rest outside?"

Lin Ruan smiled and said: "It's okay, I'll help you, wash the vegetables and so on."

In winter, the water is cold, and Mother Lin would not let Lin Ruan do anything, she said: "Go get some firewood, the stove is warm."

Lin Ruan went as he said, and the bright flames of Huang Chengcheng reflected on Lin Ruan's face, making his face red.

Both mother and son are not talkative people, and they have nothing to say after a while.Lin Ruan took out a small cloth bag from his pocket, which was filled with silver dollars.

"Mom, take the money."

Mother Lin wiped her hands on the apron, and said, "Your father took on a few carpentry jobs a few days ago, and the family still has some money, so there is no need to give it."

Lin Ruan stuffed the cloth bag to Mother Lin, "It's almost Chinese New Year, buy some rice noodles for the New Year. I think it's too cold in the house, so I'll find someone to make a kang later, it will be more comfortable for Dad to lie in the house. And Lin Ruan Man, he is not young anymore, I want to send him to study for a few years, reading and literacy is also a skill."

Mother Lin looked at Lin Ruan hesitantly, "Then you..."

"I usually don't have much money to spend on," Lin Ruan said, "You know, the master treats me very well."

After hearing this, Mother Lin remained silent for a while.

They ate lunch in the yard next to a fire, which was warmer than in the house.Mother Lin cooked several kinds of meat for Lin Ruan and steamed white rice, fearing that Lin Ruan might not be used to it.

Lin Man whispered to Lin Ruan that this meal would be richer than their New Year's Eve dinner.

When the sun was setting, Yuanzi came to pick up Lin Ruan, and Lin Ruan changed back into those decent clothes, and the three of the Lin family walked all the way to the entrance of the alley, only to turn back when they were out of sight.

In the evening, Lin's mother told Lin's father about Lin Man's going to school. Lin Man heard it and said that he couldn't go to school.

"Let's save up the money and bring brother back, wouldn't it be good?"

Lin's mother and Lin's father fell silent for a while. As parents, they not only failed to protect their son, but also let their son sell themselves to support the family's livelihood.This matter is a thorn in the hearts of the couple, and it hurts so much whenever they think about it.

Seeing that Father Lin's complexion was not good-looking, Mother Lin twitched Lin Man, "Don't talk nonsense!"

Lin Man was dissatisfied and said, "What's wrong?"

Mother Lin whispered: "The money your brother gave is not all from the prince. What's the point of using the money he gave your brother to redeem your brother?"

"My brother didn't get the money for nothing. My brother has been their servant for more than ten years!"

Mother Lin's complexion changed, and she hesitated to speak, "Your brother, you are not a servant."

"What is that?" Lin Manfei wanted to find out.

Mother Lin just shook her head, and after a while, she sighed again, "He had a good life there, why ask him to come back and suffer like this."