0p0 Chapter 246 Neighbors
Chapter 246 Neighbors
Finally, after the village chief and the others had said goodbye to Liu's father one by one, he walked up and said, "Brother Wan, welcome to Xiushui Village. Now that the house has been built, you can spend the New Year with your family. If you have any problems next year, you can come to me, and you can also get to know the neighbors more. I can't guarantee anything else in Xiushui Village, but the people are all very good. They don't have that many tricks."
"Village Chief Wan, I am really glad that we came to Xiushui Village. In just a dozen days, I have already felt the enthusiasm of the villagers. If there is anything in the village in the future, our family will definitely help. I hope that our village will get better and better in the future, and everyone's life will get better and better."
"Hahaha..." Village Chief Wan laughed heartily.
"Okay, okay..."
No matter it is sincere or just a superficial social interaction, everyone likes to hear nice words.
As time goes by, people's true character will be revealed. Father Liu is not such a stingy person. If the people in the village don't have any serious problems, it is not impossible for him to help them make money in the future. He will have to hire people to do things in the future anyway.
After the village chief left, the people who were working continued to work consciously.
After eating, Liu Caixia followed Aunt Tian and Aunt Wan to clean up the kitchen. Many things were from Aunt Wan's home or borrowed from the neighbors.
Before, it was Aunt Tian who was busy with the aunts of the Wan family. Now that Liu Caixia is here, she must get familiar with the surrounding families.
Liu Caixia took the pastries wrapped in oil paper that she had prepared earlier, and took the borrowed tables, chairs, pots, pans, and other utensils, and returned them one by one, and got to know these families by the way.
With Aunt Wan leading the way and Liu Caixia following behind, they quickly got to know the general situation of each family.
In addition to Aunt Wan's family, there are four other families closest to the village as you walk east from Aunt Wan's family. Two of them are surnamed Wan, one is surnamed Liu, and one is surnamed Huo.
The two families with the surname Wan must be members of the Wan family. Two-thirds of the people in this village have the surname Wan.
The other one-third of people are not a small number either, and overall it is still balanced. Under the leadership of the village chief and the clan leader, the Wan clan members rarely have any major conflicts with people from other clans.
Of course, small conflicts are inevitable and there is no way to avoid them anywhere.
It is worth mentioning the Huo family. Liu Caixia had not noticed them when she came here before, but during this visit, she felt that this family was probably not simple.
At least in terms of appearance.
The first to come were the old man of the Huo family, his eldest son, and his eldest grandson. Although the three men looked much more handsome than the others.
I don’t know if they dressed in a rustic way on purpose, or if it’s because they have lived in the village for a long time and have integrated well with the men in the village. They are a little eye-catching, but not that eye-catching.
When Liu Caixia followed Aunt Wan to the Huo family, she saw a house that was better than the previous ones. It was located near the foot of the mountain, just avoiding the hilltop where Liu Caixia and her family bought the house.
The house was built in a square shape, and nothing could be seen from the outside. There was a shabby sign next to the door that read "Huo"
The people in front of them didn't have a houseplate, so ordinary people couldn't have one at that time. Only high-ranking officials or scholars who passed the imperial examinations in their families could have one.
Most people can only put up a house number plate on the side of the door.
Therefore, villagers almost never put up signs. The two words "Huo Family" gave Liu Caixia a different feeling.
Aunt Tian knocked on the door and a young woman in simple clothes opened it.
Although she was dressed simply, Liu Caixia could tell her difference at a glance. After opening the door, her gestures, words and deeds were all very generous and appropriate.
Aunt Wan recognized the person and said, "Mrs. Huo, this is the daughter of Brother Wan who just moved to the village. She came with us to return the stuff she borrowed before. She came here to express her gratitude and to get to know us."
When the young woman saw that the visitors were all female relatives and learned their purpose, she said politely, "Aunt Wan, you are welcome. Please come in with me and have a seat. I will go and inform my mother-in-law."
Although the families in front also invited them to sit inside, Liu Caixia did not go in, so this family did not intend to go in either, and refused: "You are welcome, auntie, we will return the things and go back, there are still many things to do at home, please accept this little snack, and we will visit you again after we are settled."
While talking, Liu Caixia casually glanced at the layout inside the door. It was a clean yard with a tree of unknown species in the corner, a stone table and several stone benches with a thatched awning on top. Pavilion buildings were rare in the village, and it would be better to grow some vegetables or put up a few cages to raise chickens in the empty space.
Just from the tip of the iceberg, one can see that this family is different. Sure enough, under her politeness, the young woman no longer tried to keep him, but politely said, "Auntie, please wait a moment."
He turned around and ran into the main room, and hurriedly took out two apples. Fruits at that time were fresh and rare things, and some rare fruits were specially for consumption by princes and nobles.
Liu Caixia took the apple, exchanged a few words of greeting, and left.
After leaving the Huo's house, Liu Caixia walked back along another road at the foot of the mountain. She put all the gifts from the neighbors in the basket that contained the snacks.
The gift may be small but the sentiment is great, two eggs, two cabbages, two radishes, and two apples.
Aunt Tian followed behind with a basket. Liu Caixia and Aunt Wan walked back, and Aunt Wan gossiped with her about the situation in the village.
Whose son and whose daughter are together, whose aunt secretly plucked some onions from her neighbor, whose eggs were picked up by someone.
Liu Caixia was still very curious about the gossip she heard in the afternoon, and couldn't help but ask, "What exactly is the story about the Li family kid we talked about in the afternoon? Does Auntie know?"
Aunt Wan looked at Liu Caixia, who felt embarrassed after being seen. As a result, Aunt Wan laughed and said, "I knew you were also a person who liked to listen to gossip. I'm telling you that this matter is not like that. I know the details, but now there are all kinds of rumors out there. I wanted to explain to them but no one listened. Some aunts just like to hear bad things. It seems that if others are not doing well, then they can live well."
Liu Caixia walked forward affectionately holding Aunt Wan's arm, occasionally making a few sounds of approval to show that she was listening very carefully.
"It's just that the Zhang family is better off, while the Li family is worse off, so they want more gifts. Aunt Zhang doesn't want her son to marry a daughter-in-law from such a poor family. She's also afraid that the daughter-in-law will drain the husband's family to support her own family. Some of the gossip was spread by the Li family, who wanted to ruin Zhang Ming's reputation. At that time, no girl was willing to marry him, so Li Ting could have married him."
"Then what the Li family did is too dishonest."
"Yes, but Li Ting grew up in front of everyone. She raised three sisters and one brother, and she is also good at housework. We can only watch the fun, but it is not easy to say anything."
Liu Caixia nodded in agreement.
When they reached the Wanjia intersection, Liu Caixia said goodbye to Aunt Wan and took Aunt Tian back to their new home.