Xie Ming

Chapter 42 It’s hard to be a good person
The sky is clear and the sun is shining brightly.

The villages in the valleys are generally not as regular and symmetrical as those in the plains. Most of them are built against the mountains, and the houses in the villages are scattered and independent at different heights.

Liu Qiaoer's family also lives in a separate courtyard on a high slope, with a few small vegetable plots in front of the door. It is just after March now, so nothing can be planted in the fields. There is only exposed soil there, which looks very dilapidated.

Xiao Jingchuan and Qiu Zhizhong followed Liu Qiaoer home. When they entered her house, Xiao Lang let out a light exclamation in his heart.

She is a widow living in a separate courtyard with only her and her child. It is normal for such a large courtyard to be a little messy and dilapidated.

But when Xiao Jingchuan entered the room, he saw an orderly and tidy scene.

The loess was compacted and swept clean, and some farm tools and jars were neatly stacked and put in place, creating a lively and peaceful scene.

It was just that in the northeast corner of the yard, a grape trellis that seemed to be used for shade had collapsed. One of the four corner pillars had fallen down, and the entire wooden roof was hanging there crookedly, looking unsafe.

"Oh? Liu Qiaoer, you cleaned the yard really well!"

Xiao Jingchuan came into the courtyard, looked around and chatted casually.

"Sir, please don't laugh at me!"

"Most of the houses of farmers in the mountains are like this, shabby and without many good things, not as good as those in the towns outside the mountains."

The young widow Liu Qiaoer spoke to Xiao Lang, still keeping her head down and speaking timidly.

"Haha. The city has its own advantages, and the mountains have their own beauty!"

"Hey? Liu Qiaoer, I heard that you don't speak like other peasant women, but do you have a scholar in your family?" Xiao Lang chatted.

"I" Liu Qiaoer hesitated to speak, and looked more and more restrained.

"My late husband loved reading and would teach me a few words in his spare time!"

"Oh? Really? It turns out you are a family of farming and reading. Not bad!" Xiao Lang praised.

After hearing this, Liu Qiaoer seemed to no longer understand what farming and studying meant, so she stopped talking about it, for fear of showing her weakness.

"You, you guys sit down for a moment, I'll go get the plaster!"

After saying this, Xiao and Qiu bowed to express their gratitude, and Liu Qiaoer turned around and went into the main house.

After entering, he placed the baby on the kang, and rummaged through the cabinets at the back. He searched several places, but it seemed that this thing was not often used, so he searched for a while before finally finding the plaster.

Liu Qiaoer wrapped it in yellow paper, took it out of the house and handed it to Xiao Jingchuan.

"Haha, yes, it is this thing. Thank you for your help! Qiao'er, you really helped us a lot!"

"Well, I have some change here, I'll give it to you as a thank you!"

As he spoke, Xiao Lang took out a few small pieces of silver from his waist and was about to hand them into the young widow's hand.

But Liu Qiaoer withdrew her hand and quickly declined.

"Sir, I don't want your money, no no!"

"You just helped me out at the table. This, this is something I give voluntarily!" Liu Qiaoer looked very determined.

Seeing this, Xiao Jingchuan had no choice.

"Well, by the way, the grape trellis in your yard collapsed!" Xiao Lang changed the subject.

"Well, there was a heavy snowfall last year, and it collapsed. I didn't have enough strength to fix it, so... it's just been left like this ever since."

"Hey, let's put it this way. I won't take the things for nothing. I'll help you put up the shelf before we leave!"

After saying this, Xiao Jingchuan glanced at Qiu Zhizhong beside him.

"What? Why are you looking at me?"

"If you agree to it, do it yourself! Don't use me as a laborer!"

Qiu Zhizhong was not as easy to manipulate as Gu Changting, so he waved his hand and pushed it away. Liu Qiaoer saw the two of them joking with each other, laughing and looking quite happy.

There hasn't been such a scene in the yard for a long time, and it's rare for her to laugh like this.

Half an hour passed in a flash.

Xiao Jingchuan is a man who does what he says and is very efficient in doing things.

After all, the soldiers were strong enough, and he alone could do the work of three or five villagers. The top of the grape trellis was not small, and it was made of solid wood, but Xiao Lang could lift it up with just one arm.

Qiu Zhizhong was there to watch the fun. He sat on a wooden stool in the yard for a while, but when he saw that he couldn't finish the work in a short time, he simply started looking for something to do.

He saw that the red paper couplets on both sides of Liu Qiaoer's door were faded and dilapidated. After asking, he learned that they were written two years ago when her late husband was still alive. Since then, the calligraphy masters in the village were unwilling to help her, so she had never put them up again.

Hearing this, Qiu Zhizhong became interested and asked Liu Qiaoer for paper and pen. Because her late husband was literate, the pens, ink, paper and inkstone were still complete, but no one had used them for a long time.

Qiu Zhizhong grinds and licks his pen, then begins to write Spring Festival couplets for the young widow's home!
Liu Qiaoer was busy in front of the two of them, serving tea and water, her face full of joy, she was very happy.

But the good times did not last long. The cruel reality seemed to be unable to bear to see the young widow happy, so it hurriedly sent people to come and stop the chaos, intending to drag Liu Qiaoer into the terrible abyss again!

Boom boom boom!
"Qiao'er! Open the door, your second brother Lai is here!"

There was a sudden knock on the door, and then the bald man who had just molested Qiao'er at the table shouted from outside the door.

This shout broke the joy in the courtyard. The young widow's body felt as if she had fallen into an ice cave. Her originally happy cheeks suddenly lost all color and turned pale!

Hearing the sound, Xiao Jingchuan, who was almost finished, stopped and walked over to Liu Qiaoer.

Qiao'er saw Xiao Lang approaching from the corner of her eye, and was startled, then came to her senses.

"Mr. Xiao! Come on, go inside!"

"I, I'll take care of it!"

As they were talking, Liu Qiaoer acted as if she was facing a formidable enemy, and hurriedly pushed Xiao Jingchuan towards her own house.

Xiao Lang frowned. He wanted to help her again, but now he and Qiu Zhizhong were blocked in the young widow's house.

This matter is not pleasant to say. If people knew about it, Liu Qiaoer would inevitably find it even more difficult to live in this village.

Although he was quite reluctant, Xiao Jingchuan had to compromise temporarily under Qiao'er's insistence. He went into the house timidly and hid in the inner room with Qiu Zhizhong who was writing to avoid being traced.

Bang!
The Lai Er outside the door kicked the gate open with a bang.

Hearing the sound, Liu Qiaoer hurried out of the house, feeling extremely panicked.

"Lai, Brother Lai, what on earth are you going to do?"

As she spoke, tears welled up in the young widow's eyes again.

"Hey, you... I, your second brother, drank a little too much today!"

"Go, quickly pour me a cup of tea!"

Lai Er swayed his body, pretending to be drunk, and abruptly stepped into the yard and sat down on the wooden stool where Qiu Zhizhong had just sat!

Behind him, there came three villagers. They were none other than the people who had just instigated Lai Er to cause trouble in front of the Sun family's banquet.

"Huh? You, why did you prepare a bowl of tea in advance?"

"Or are they leftovers?!"

"Qiao'er, is there anyone in your room?!"

Lai Er sat in the yard and saw the leftover tea from Xiao Jingchuan. He found something strange and asked anxiously with wide eyes!

(End of this chapter)