1703 Man of Few Words
“It’s fine, Sister-in-law. He came back yesterday with some superficial injuries. It’s not a big deal, he just needs to rest well. Just now, he insisted on helping me with the fence and accidentally tore his wound,” Qiao Mei said as she ran out.
“Really? I’m surprised he knows how to build the roof of a pigsty,” Qiao Mei said to Liu Yun in surprise.
Liu Yun patted her chest confidently and said, “Of course! My husband is very capable! He knows everything! Just wait! When he comes back, I’ll bring him over to your house!”
“Sure! Then I’ll make a few more dishes tonight! Have dinner at my house tonight!” Qiao Mei said happily.
Qiao Mei went home and took out all the meat she had at home. Tonight, she would make them braised pork and sweet and sour pork ribs. The fish she made for Xia Zhe yesterday was still in the fridge too. These dishes should be enough for the guests.
Liu Yun did not go back on her word. She remembered what she said. As soon as her husband returned home, she hurriedly pulled him to Qiao Mei’s house.
“Qiao Mei! Quick! We’re here to help you! Oh my, what’s that smell? it smells so good!” Liu Yun felt hungry the moment she smelled the food.
“I’ve made a few more dishes tonight! Hello, Big Brother. I’ll have to trouble you to help me with the pigsty today,” Qiao Mei said embarrassedly.
“This is my husband, his name is Liu Dong. You can just call him Brother Liu!” Liu Yun said.
“I didn’t expect his surname to be Liu too!” Qiao Mei said curiously.
Speaking of which, the two of them were actually from the same village! This village was called “Liu Family Village” and most of the people in the village had the surname Liu. Perhaps the ancestors of Liu Yun and Liu Dong were from the same family a long time ago!
However, the two of them were definitely from two different branches of the family which were separated by more than six generations. If the two branches were separated by less than three generations, the two of them could not get married! Otherwise, their children would turn out to be deformed!
“I’ll chat with you about family matters later. It’s going to be dark soon, so we must get to work quickly. We’ll go to the backyard ourselves! Go back and take care of your husband. Don’t worry about us!” With that, Liu Yun went to the backyard with Liu Dong.
Liu Dong was a reserved person who did not talk much. It was already considered a lot if he spoke more than 10 phrases a day. As for Liu Yun, she talked a lot every day and even saying 10,000 phrases was considered too little for her!
The two of them, one extroverted and one introverted, were actually quite compatible with each other. Most soldiers knew how to do things like building pigsties and repairing fences. They did not specially take lessons, but every time they went down the mountain to help the villagers, they would encounter such situations. As time passed, they learned how to do all these things.
When the soldiers went through a particularly difficult time, they were only able to tide through it with the help of the common people at the foot of the mountain who shared their family’s rations with the soldiers. Even though the soldiers returned double the amount of rations later, they would never be able to repay that friendship for the rest of their lives.
Therefore, there was an unwritten rule within the troops. Whenever there was no mission, they had to go down the mountain to help the villagers. During the farming season, they would help with the farming and during the autumn harvest season, they also had to go and help out.
“So you really know how to do this. I thought you were just saying it casually!” Liu Yun looked at Liu Dong excitedly.
“I know a bit,” Liu Dong said.
“Then build one for our family when you’re free! I also want such a pigsty and fenced compound!” Liu Yun said.
“How much do you think these bricks cost? Our family may not be able to afford it. If we raise livestock, I have to feed them every day! Sigh… this is not suitable for our family. I’m not as capable as Qiao Mei, so maybe we should forget it,” Liu Yun said dejectedly.
“It’s crooked! Move more to the left!” Liu Yun instructed.
Xia Zhe looked into the backyard through the kitchen window. He whispered to Qiao Mei, “I didn’t expect Brother Liu to be like this at home.”
“Do you know Brother Liu?” Qiao Mei asked.
“I do, but I don’t know him well. He’s from Zhao Wu’s team and they know each other better. I was still thinking of calling Zhao Wu to ask him to come and help!” Xia Zhe said.
“Zhao Wu? I’ve forgotten that he keeps pestering us about coming over. Next time, we must set aside some time to host him at home,” Qiao Mei said seriously.
“It’s fine. He’s not very particular. Actually, he just wants to come and deliver money to us,” Xia Zhe said.
Updated from fr𝒆ewebnov𝒆l.(c)om