Chapter 61: The Battle of the Arena

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  ………

  Lian Man'er blocked Zhang Shi.

  "Man Er, for other things, I'll listen to you, but this time, you have to listen to me." Zhang Shi's attitude was very firm.

  "Sister, you tell us what's going on." said Lian Man Er.

  From then on, they gradually formed a habit that whenever there were differences of opinion, they would try to convince each other with reason. Whoever made more sense would be listened to.

  "You didn't hear your aunt and grandmother talking outside just now, if we eat like this, others will have something to say about us... Since we've separated from the family, these past two days have been a bit better." said Zhang.

  Lian Man'er heard Zhang's words and knew they had multiple layers of meaning.

  "Daughter, you want to send the sixty-first chapter of dumplings to the upper house. I won't stop you, but we need to understand who these dumplings are being sent to." Lian Man'er said, "If it's for Grandpa and Grandma, I have nothing to say, but if it's for someone else, there's no need."

  "It's mainly for your grandfather and grandmother to send. But with so many people eating together, they can't all just watch." Zhang sighed. She didn't want to let the children eat a few more bites, but was worried that if they split up, they would only think of themselves and not be filial or thrifty.

  "That's no longer our problem," said Lian Man'er, and Zhang Shi's sense of responsibility surged again. "If we follow Mother's idea, even if we serve all the dumplings from both steamer baskets, it still won't be enough to eat."

  As a branch family, they only need to be filial to Lian Lao Ye and Madame Zhou.

  "Second Aunt's temper is whatever, she has a foul mouth. Whatever she says, I hear with one ear and let it out the other, no need to even think about it." Lian Man'er added, "Mother, you think that after we split from the family, our food will be better than before, better than what we had at the main house? Don't you feel a pang of regret?"

  Zhang nodded slightly.

  "But we don't often get to eat these things. The food at the house is not good, and it's not ours either. Mother, think about it, when we didn't split the family property, if we hadn't given all the money to Eldest Uncle's family, wouldn't we be able to afford this kind of food? Not to mention eating it every year during the harvest season, but even just occasionally, couldn't we have afforded it?"

  This is indeed true, if it weren't for supporting the main household, our family's daily life wouldn't have to be so frugal.

  "Man Er, you're right." Zhang heard and nodded, "But just giving it to your grandparents, your uncle and his family, and several other children are watching..."

  "Mother, Dabo's wife, Hua'er sister and them wear gold and silver, can't we just watch from the side?" Lian Man'er said, "That was when we hadn't separated yet."

  Zhang and Lian had nothing more to say.

  Lian Man'er thought for a moment, "Dad, mom, what do you think? Let's invite grandpa and grandma to our home for dinner."

  "Your grandfather and grandmother definitely won't come," Lian Shou said.

  "But we should show our respects, shouldn't we?" Lian Wan'er said. "If we invite them and they don't come, then we'll send a bowl of dumplings to Grandfather and Grandmother, that way we're being filial to them and others won't have anything to say."

  "Alright, I'll go ask." Lian Shouxin stood up and went upstairs. After a while, he came back down, and indeed neither Old Man Lian nor Madame Zhou would eat.

  "Dad said it's not easy to wrap a package of dumplings, let the kids eat more." Lian Shouxin said.

  Lian Man'er has already picked up a big bowl of dumplings. "Then I'll deliver these dumplings."

  "Pick some more, your grandfather loves dumplings." Zhang added a few more dumplings to the bowl with her own hands until the dumplings in the bowl formed a small mountain and could not be added anymore.

  Lian Wan'er didn't mind the few dumplings, she just didn't want to set such a precedent from now on. Zhang Shi and Lian Shouxin eventually listened to her words, so she happily carried the dumplings up to the main house.

  Upstairs, everyone was having dinner, still divided into two tables. With the absence of Lian Shouxin's family of six, everyone had more elbow room. The staple food on the table remained millet noodles and millet porridge, while the dishes were simpler, just potatoes stewed with eggplant, a bowl of fermented bean paste, and a bunch of scallions. Lian Shourong and Lian Jizong both ate with their heads down, their movements restrained, as if they were counting the grains of rice in their bowls.

  Lian Wan'er handed the dumplings to Lian Laoyezi.

  "...At home, there was no oil, so I bought some lard and rendered it into oil. Then I wrapped some dumplings with the oil and invited Grandpa and Grandma to eat them. But they didn't come, so Father and Mother told me to bring a bowl over for Grandpa and Grandma to try." said Lian Man'er with a smile.

  "How can one bowl be enough for anyone to eat?" He Shi said discontentedly, her eyes fixed on the single bowl of dumplings on the table at the head of the kang.

  Lian Man'er secretly smiled to herself, having already made it clear that this was for Lao Ye and Madame Zhou. Now that neither of them were around, what place did He Shi have here? She therefore didn't respond, only smiling brightly as she looked at Lao Ye.

  "Who else do you want to feed?" Lao Yezi glanced at He Shi and scolded, then turned to face Lian Man'er and Yan Yuese, "You two have just moved out, your life is tight, it's not easy to wrap some dumplings, what are you sending? Grandpa won't eat, take it, and share it with Xiao Qi."

  "Grandpa, we're not living a hard life as long as you and grandma don't despise us. As long as there's food for us to eat, we'll have the means to take care of you and grandma." Lian Man'er said with a smile, "Grandpa, try some and see if it tastes good."

  Four rooms used oil dumpling wrappers to wrap the dumplings. First, Lian Shouxin came to invite him and Zhou Shi. Now, Lian Man'er also said such filial and considerate words, which made Old Master Lian feel very pleased. He no longer declined, picked up a dumpling and put it in his mouth, and after eating, he repeatedly said it was delicious.

  "My mother said that Grandpa and Grandma are old, so she made the dough softer on purpose. I told my mother that Grandpa praised the dumplings as delicious." Lian Man'er then came out of the upper room with a smile.

  Lian Wan'er returned to the west wing and told Zhang Shi and Lian Shouxin what Old Master Lian had said.

  "Your grandfather is a man of courtesy." Zhang said, "Come on up to the kang and eat some dumplings, we've been waiting for you."

  Originally, the whole family didn't move their chopsticks, just waiting for Lian Man'er to eat dumplings together. It's still good to have a harmonious family, and the little unhappiness in Lian Man'er's heart due to He Shi immediately dissipated.

  After finishing dinner, Lian Man'er and Lian Zhi'er were cleaning up the table, while Xiao Qi quickly ran out of the door.

  "Second Aunt is bringing Sixth Brother, it seems they're coming our way."

  Lian Wan'er's heart moved, and she asked Xiao Qi to think of a way to intercept He Shi. Meanwhile, she and Lian Zhi'er hastened to clean up, not worrying about the bowls and chopsticks, but first putting away the remaining dumplings.

  Xiao Qi went to intercept He Shi, but it only delayed for a bit. Fortunately, both hands and feet were quick, so when He Shi brought Liu Lang in, there were only some empty bowls left on the dinner table.

  He's eyes widened as he looked around, but there was nothing, so he pulled Liu Lang to sit down with him on the edge of the kang.

  "Your auntie, the dumplings you made today are really delicious." Madam He said.

  It seems that Lian Ye's father had given them the dumplings, and even he wouldn't eat alone, so he shared them with everyone.

  "It's just the leftover oil from stir-frying, there's nothing delicious about it." Zhang said honestly.

  "What's wrong with the food, we haven't had dumplings at home for half a year. It's just that there weren't enough, one person got one and it wasn't even enough to taste, and then they were gone. Fourth Auntie, I saw Nang picking two melons, you must have made a lot of dumplings, but you can't finish them all, so take out a bowl and give it to your nephew to eat, look how hungry he is." He Shi pushed Liu Lang forward.

  Zhang didn't like listening to He's words, but when she looked at Liu Lang, her heart softened.

  "Man Er, see if there are any more dumplings. If there are, give them to Liu Lang." Zhang Shi said to Lian Man Er.

  Zhang's temper is soft and he loves to save face. When encountering He, who has no shame or skin, he can only suffer losses. Fortunately, Zhang still asked for Lian Miao'er's opinion.

  Lian Wan's heart was filled with anger. If it were just a matter of giving Liu Lang a few more dumplings, that would be fine, but she couldn't indulge He Shi's temper like this, or else there would be no peace in the future.

  "Mother, are there still dumplings? Just that little bit, in order to save some for Father and Grandma, neither I nor Xiao Qi had enough to eat." Lian Man'er complained to Zhang Shi.

  Mrs. Zhang certainly still had dumplings, but even if Lian Miao said so, she couldn't lose face in front of outsiders and humiliate her child.

  "His second aunt, look at this..." Zhang Shi looked at He Shi with some embarrassment.

  Zhang's words made He feel like she had grasped the truth.

  "Fourth aunt, you weren't like this before. How could you be so heartless after we split the family property? You're enjoying all the good food and drink, but can bear to let us struggle..." Madam He said in a stream of words.

  "Second Aunt, what you said is called being heartless to my mother." Lian Man'er immediately fell out with her, "You're the one who's truly heartless. Liu Lang is your own flesh and blood, but you don't care about him. You have money to buy a few taels of silver powder to put on your face, enough to buy half a pig's head, let Liu Lang eat his fill."

  Everyone's eyes fell on He Shi'er's snow-white face.

  "Oh no, you kid, and you're still asking me if I've powdered or not."

  "Second aunt, whether you put on powder or not is none of my business. What I do care about is what the six brothers think of you in their hearts. Also, my mother didn't provoke you or offend you, so why are you framing her? We don't welcome you here."

  Lian Man'er grabbed a broom and started sweeping the floor.

  "Fourth Auntie, can't you control Mian'er..." He Shi had no choice but to stand up, but she refused to give up.

  "Second Aunt, how much did you spend on this Hangzhou silk? Mother must be thinking of it." Lian Man'er said indifferently.

  He's family suddenly lost momentum, huffing and puffing as he dragged Liu Lang away.

  "Man Er, with this temper of yours... you've really offended her." said Zhang Shi.

  "We're afraid of offending her, or we won't be able to live our lives. This is what she's looking for, and it's easy not to offend her. We can just cut off a piece of meat and give it to her to eat. But I'm afraid that after she finishes eating, she'll wipe her mouth and say that our meat stinks." said Lian Man Er.

  "Sister, I think for someone like Second Aunt, we should deal with her like Vines did." Lian Zhier expressed his support for Lian Man.

  "Yes, can't spoil her with this temper." Gorō said.

  "From now on, let us handle such things, Mother, you don't have to worry about it." said Lian Man Er.

  ……

  The autumn is high and refreshing, the millet, sorghum, and peanuts that Lian Jia brought back have all been dried. Lian Lao decided to start threshing, and after discussing with the villagers, they decided to use the threshing ground at the village head, which is a public facility shared by the people of 30-li-yuanzi, and everyone takes turns using it.

  First, the high millet is beaten. The high millet is transported to the threshing ground in batches, the bundles of high millet are opened, and they are evenly spread on the ground. Then, a stone roller is used to roll back and forth, causing the millet grains to fall off from the ears, and at the same time, the millet husks are removed. The stone rollers have weights of 200 catties, 100 catties, and the lightest ones weigh 50 catties. The heavier the roller, the larger the area it can roll over at one time. Families with cattle use their cattle to pull the roller in a circle; families without cattle have to rely on manpower.

  It's all done by manpower, which is absolutely a labor-intensive job and is divided into several people in a group.

  This is threshing, and next there is a process called winnowing.

  After threshing, the sorghum and sorghum husks are mixed together and cannot be separated grain by grain, so they need to borrow the wind to separate the lighter sorghum husks from the heavier sorghum grains.

  The tool for winnowing is a wooden shovel, and compared with threshing, winnowing is a technical job.

  The best at winnowing in Lianjia Village were Old Man Lian and Lian Shouxin. Therefore, Lian Shouxin didn't need to go fetch the wind, he just winnowed with Old Man Lian. Lian Shouxin held a wooden scoop and scooped up the high粱 grains, facing the wind and tossing them high into the air, striving to scatter the high粱 grains into a thin fan shape. Then the power of the wind would separate the chaff, dust, and other impurities from the high粱 grains, and after they fell to the ground, two distinct piles would form.

  This job is very dirty, because if there's a slight mistake or the wind direction changes slightly, it will blow millet husks and dust all over your body and face. To do this job, Lian Shou even wore a hat made of coarse cloth sewn by Zhang Shi, called a wind hat. This kind of hat not only covers the head but also has a lower part that is like a child's bib, which protects the neck tightly, preventing millet husks and dust from dirtying the hair and also preventing them from entering the clothes through the collar.

  Lian Man'er, Lian Zhi'er and Wu Lang were on the side helping out, responsible for scooping the highland barley grains into burlap sacks with an iron shovel.

  There were also several other families working in the threshing field. During their break, Chunyan and Chunni ran to Lianman'er together.

  "Man Er, does your family make wild grape wine?" Chun Yan asked Lian Man Er.

  There is no secret and privacy in rural areas.

  "That's right." Lian Man'er acknowledged with relish.

  "Can it really brew wine?" Chunni asked.

  "It should be okay." Lian Man'er said ambiguously. In fact, she was very certain in her heart, because every autumn in her previous life, her family would buy a lot of grapes to make wine, and almost never failed.

  "Mr. Nishimura's old man somehow got a lot of wild grapes and said he wanted to make wine." Chunyan said mysteriously.

  "Isn't that Liu Laolao's house?" Lian Zhier asked in surprise.

  "It's also said that your family's wine brewing is learned from them," Chunni said.

  "They're talking nonsense. It must be Second Aunt and Fourth Brother who stole our secrets and taught them to his uncle." Fifth Brother said angrily, "I'll tell Grandfather about this."

  "Brother, don't go." Lian Man'er blocked Wu Lang.

  "Man Er, why won't you let me go?" Wu Lang asked.

  "It's useless even if you go, can Grandpa still take it away?" Lian Man'er said.

  Going to report to Master Lian now won't change the fact. Moreover, she was very certain that adding white sugar to the brewing process was something the He family would never do. The wine brewed without adding white sugar not only tasted bad but also couldn't be stored for long periods of time.

  "I won't give up." Gorō said.

  "Brother, just you wait and see. They're brewing wine, they won't make any money, but it can help us make a fortune." Lian Man'er whispered to Wu Lang.

  Goro was surprised.

  Lian Man'er giggled and refused to say any more.

  "A horse carriage is entering the village!" Chunni suddenly shouted.

  Lian Man'er lifted her head and indeed saw two horse-drawn carriages rushing towards the village entrance.

  "It seems like your family has been blessed with good fortune."

  It is by 】.!!!!