Village Chief Gu's House
The family had just finished dinner. Before it got dark, the village head's wife, Yang, was weaving in the yard, and his daughter, Gu Huai'en, was learning embroidery.
Village Chief Gu was cutting bamboo strips. He planned to weave some baskets to store grain during the autumn harvest.
Gu Zesen was reading a book under the eaves.
The family looks very happy.
The gate was wide open.
Gu called out from outside the door: "Yang Bin, Ze Sen's mother."
Xing Nong and Xing Qing also greeted them: "Village Chief Gu, Aunt Yang, Brother Gu..."
When the people in the yard saw someone coming, they all put down their work and stood up.
Village Chief Gu: "Aunt is here, come in quickly!"
"Aunt, Xingnong, Xingqing, come in and sit down!"
"Aunt, Sister Xingnong, Sister Xingqing."
... ..
Everyone greeted each other.
Yang came forward and pulled Gu: "Aunt, let's go inside and sit down. The yard is too messy, please don't be offended."
Gu said hurriedly, "No need, just sit here. I'll leave after I talk."
Gu handed the meat in her hand to Yang: "There is nothing here, add some food for the children at home."
Yang quickly refused: "I don't want it! What else did my aunt bring? Isn't this embarrassing for me? Xingnong just put a bag of meat buns on the ox cart. This is too polite."
Gu didn't know about this, but she certainly wouldn't take the meat back. She hung it on a bamboo pole under the kitchen eaves: "This was also bought by Xingnong, and the child gave it as a gift. You, as an aunt, just keep it."
Yang wanted to refuse, but Village Chief Gu waved his hand and said, "Take it! It's a gift from the children. Give them some snacks later."
Yang didn't refuse after hearing that. "Aunt, you really don't have to do this next time. You're too polite!"
She thought to herself that she had brought back a lot of seafood from her parents' home before, so she could give some to Gu to take back for him to try.
Gu smiled and nodded.
Village Chief Gu: "Aunt, I would have wanted to find you even if you hadn't come. Your house is really not suitable for living, and Meihua Village is not a place for people to stay. The people in Meihua Village are all beasts,..."
Village Chief Gu started to curse, like a flood that broke through the dam, rushing down and out of control!
This gossipy woman's behavior is nothing like his gentle appearance.
Xing Qing was stunned.
Xingnong was already used to it, as she had heard it all the way.
Village Chief Gu repeated what he had said to Xingnong in the carriage, adding more exaggerations.
As he said this, he winked at Xing Nong, as if to say, "Look, am I right? If you do as I say, your grandmother will come to see me."
Xing Nong didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
Gu Zesen couldn't help but glance at Xingnong.
The girl stood there quietly, listening attentively, appearing particularly well-behaved and polite.
Xingnong seemed to sense something and turned his head.
Their eyes met in the air.
Gu Zesen smiled, his eyes helpless, and whispered: "My father is a chatterbox."
Xing Nong smiled. Everyone has their own little temper, there is nothing wrong with that.
Gu couldn't listen any more. If he continued, his ancestors would be in trouble. She interrupted him and said, "Yang Bin, I came here today just to take a look at your old house and move in some day."
Yang was also afraid of her husband, and hurriedly said, "Okay, stop talking. Take her to see the house! It will be dark before we continue talking."
Village Chief Gu hadn't even finished his prepared speech when he finished with a hint of reluctance: "... Just move! I'll have someone repair the house in the next two days, and you can move in in three days at the earliest."
The house is at the end of Taohua Village and can be reached after a short walk.
There is a river in front of the house, a mountain behind it, a large field not far away, and a lotus pond.
It is now the end of summer and there are still some lotus flowers blooming in the lotus pond, and the scenery is quite beautiful.
This large piece of land belongs to the villagers of Taohua Village and the villagers of Meihua Village.
Xingnong liked this environment at first sight.
If this house is renovated a little, by planting some flowers, building some flower stands and pavilions, and a swing, you can sit on the swing and read a book, bask in the sun, and drink tea when you have free time. Life will be so comfortable then.
The village chief opened the gate and several people walked in.
The house is an adobe house surrounded by a fence. The yard is large and some vegetables are planted there.
The vegetables in the field are growing well, which shows that the owner takes good care of them.
The village chief smiled and said, "The child's mother has grown vegetables in front and behind this yard. You can move in and have vegetables to eat right away."
"How can that be possible! We can't have these dishes." Gu waved her hands.
Yang and Gu Zesen were a step slow because they were packing their things.
At this time, Gu Zesen walked in carrying a backpack. He was wearing a blue shirt and a square scarf on his head, which did not fit in with the backpack on his back.
He smiled gently and said, "It's okay. My mother grows so much that we can't eat it all."
Yang nodded and said, "We can't finish them all. We have a vegetable field over there, which is closer to the water source. I just have nothing to do, so I saw that there is land, so I don't want to waste it. I usually share it with the villagers. These vegetables are for you to move over and eat. In a few days, many of them will be edible. Take some home this time."
As she spoke, the village head's wife bent down and began to pick some of the larger cabbage hearts.
Usually, vegetables grown at the edge of the vegetable patch grow faster and better.
"Aunt, let's go in and take a look." The village chief took Xingnong and a few others into the house to take a look.
This is a courtyard with three rooms and two corridors.
"Three rooms" refers to three houses lined up in a row, with the middle one being a hall and the two sides being living rooms.
The hall is quite deep and long, with living rooms on both sides separated by a circle, for a total of four rooms.
There is a patio in front of the house.
There are two slightly lower houses on both sides of the patio, which are called "corridors".
For the sake of safety and confidentiality, the windows of the rooms on both sides are very small and high, so the rooms appear very dark.
One of the "two corridors" is used as a kitchen, and the other is a gatehouse, which can be used as a firewood room and to store some sundries, such as farm tools.
Although the house has not been lived in for many years, it is obviously maintained regularly and is very dry.
The most important thing is that the front and back yards of this yard are quite large. Xingnong has many things he wants to grow.
At the back, a little away from the main house, there are several low chicken coops, pig pens and cow sheds.
"Uncle Gu, how much is this house?"
Upon hearing this, Village Chief Gu said, "No need for money, I'll give it to you. We don't live in this house anymore. It has been idle for many years and is not worth much money. You can just live in it!"
Gu hurriedly replied: "How can that be possible? If you don't pay us, we won't move."
Xing Nong: "Uncle Gu, only if we buy it can we live in peace."
Upon hearing this, Gu Zesen said, "Dad, just accept it. When I return to the academy, I will go to the government office to help my aunt and the others get the land and house deeds."
"Then... five taels of silver!" Village Chief Gu also knew Gu's personality. He just didn't like to owe anyone anything, so he offered a compromise price.