She gave birth to three daughters in a row, and was kicked out by her mother-in-law who favored boys

Chapter 202: After the Little New Year comes the New Year

The 23rd day of the 12th lunar month is the Little New Year. People in Niutou Village eat laocha rice in the morning.

The so-called mixed rice is millet and rice, which are cooked together and scooped out with a colander. Then some carrots, white radish, and cabbage are cut into shreds and cooked in the rice soup.

Then use an iron spoon to boil some oil on the fire, add some salt and chopped green onions to the oil, and after it becomes fragrant, pour it into the pot with the vegetables.

Pour all of this on the bowl of rice, and the whole family will be so happy eating it.

There was nothing special about lunch. In the evening, Gu Qingqing prepared offerings and candies and asked Wen Wuyan to offer sacrifices to the Kitchen God.

The family celebrated the Little New Year simply.

Normally, people would stop working after the Little New Year, and those who had worked hard for a year would truly enter a period of rest.

The people in Niutoushan Village did not stay at home during the winter like in previous years. Instead, they went up the mountain in groups to chop firewood. Their charcoal business was booming and everyone wanted to make more money this winter.

In Wu Shan's words, "In the past, everyone had nothing to do after winter and could only rest at home. Now it is different. You can earn dozens of coins every day by tending to the kiln. This is like money falling from the sky. What else can this be?"

Likewise, Gu Qingqing couldn't rest either, because she should have started the live water floating stage a few days ago when she went up the mountain to ferment the bamboo. Unfortunately, something happened a few days ago, and she was delayed until now.

The twenty-fourth day of the twelfth lunar month.

Gu Qingqing brought Dahua Daxin and hired Zhao Dong and Zhao Bei to fish out the rotting bamboos in the pit on the mountain.

Gu Qingqing was going to take Dahua with her, but Daxin was going to come on his own.

She brought the two kids along not because she expected them to work, but mainly to avoid suspicion. Otherwise, it would be somewhat inappropriate for a woman like her to work with two men, Zhao Dong and Zhao Bei, on a sparsely populated hillside.

As for why Wen Wuyan was not brought along, it was naturally because I didn’t want to delay his studies.

After the group of five went up the mountain, Gu Qingqing led everyone to find the place where the bamboo was fermented.

At that time, she made two pits, one with peeled bamboo and the other with unpeeled bamboo.

"Brother Dong, the difference between the bamboos in these two pits is that one is peeled and the other is not. Take them out separately, tie them into bundles with vines and throw them into the river. Use a stone to press them down so they don't float to the surface and get washed away."

When they arrived at the place, Gu Qingqing pointed at the pit that was almost covered by heavy snow and said to Zhao Dong.

"Hey, you get these rare things every day, what are you going to use them for?" Zhao Dong said as he was clearing the snow around the pit with an iron rake.

Gu Qingqing followed suit with a chuckle, and after thinking for a moment, she said in a riddle, "You'll know when you become a monk, Brother Dong. It's not that I'm stingy, but it would be too embarrassing if I fail."

Zhao Dong smiled cheerfully, "You and Wuyan are both smart, so how can you not do it? I know how to do it. You stay aside, I will take out the things inside first."

Gu Qingqing nodded, then thought of something and said, "There will be some lime mud in it, which is the lime sprinkled in a few months ago. Although the burning sensation has passed, Brother Dong still needs to be extra careful when handling it."

Zhao Dong nodded, indicating that he understood what she meant. Then he looked at Zhao Bei who didn't move and said, "Xiao Bei, don't just stand there like an idiot. Go find some strong vines around. I'll pull out the bamboo first, and then you can do what your sister-in-law asks you to do."

"Okay, I'll go right away." Zhao Bei turned around and looked around for suitable vines.

"Zhao Bei, no need, no need. You just stay here and help Brother Dong. I know where there are vines nearby. I'll go over and cut some down for you."

"Sister-in-law, let me go. I'm strong." Zhao Bei stopped and turned to say.

"The surroundings are covered with snow. Where are you going to look? Let me go." Gu Qingqing said as she walked past Zhao Bei with a machete in her hand and headed towards a place.

"Then I'll go with you." Zhao Bei followed immediately.

Gu Qingqing wanted to refuse, but then she thought that the vine she was looking for was not far away, and it would be much faster with Zhao Bei's help, so she did not refuse.

As a result, she had only taken two steps when she heard Daxin's voice behind her, "Dahua, don't follow me. The mountain road is not easy to walk on. I'll go over to help my aunt. I'll stay here with Dong Bo and wait for us."

Gu Qingqing turned around and saw the two children were about to follow. "Daxin, don't come over either. We'll be right here. You and Dahua just stay where you are and wait."

Seeing that he was unwilling to give up, Gu Qingqing said again, "Be obedient."

Daxin pursed his lips and turned back.

After finding the vine, Zhao Bei's help made the process much faster. By the time they came back with the vine, Zhao Dong had already salvaged all the bamboo strips from one of the ponds.

Gu Qingqing and Zhao Bei spread the vines on the ground to act as ropes, and then began to place bamboo strips on the vines.

Working in winter is life-threatening. Although she was wearing gloves, the gloves became wet as soon as they came into contact with mud and water, and her hands inside felt like they were soaked in ice.

Daxin and Dahua came over to help, but were hastily rejected by Gu Qingqing again, "Don't do it, the two of you. There's lime mud all over here, your clothes will get wet, and you didn't bring gloves, so the bamboo thorns will prick your hands. And you, Dahua, you have to protect your hands, otherwise you'll get more frostbite. You just watch from the side."

"Aunt, I'm not afraid of getting dirty. I will be careful not to get my clothes wet. And I won't get frostbite." Daxin said stubbornly.

"Mom, you also have frostbite on your hands." Although Dahua didn't say much, it was clear that she would be unhappy if you didn't let me help.

Zhao Dong, who was watching this scene, laughed and said, "Sister-in-law, Dahua is really caring. Dahua, why don't you care about me? Look, I'm working too."

Dahua turned her head and grinned at Zhao Dong, "Uncle Dong, I want to help you too, but we can only bring a rake. How about when you finish your work, I'll give you a shoulder massage when we get home?"

Hahaha, Zhao Dong’s laughing face was covered by white mist, “Okay, okay, Dahua, go back and help me massage my shoulders.”

Gu Qingqing looked at Dahua, who was blowing on her hands because of the cold. With the idea that if she moved a little, she would not feel so cold, she assigned her and Daxin a task, "You two help us lay the vines on the ground. Your Uncle Bei and I will be much faster."

"Yeah." Daxin responded happily.

"Mom, I know what to do." Dahua was also happy.

With the help of two little ones, I have to say it went a lot faster.

After fishing out the bamboo strips from the pond, Gu Qingqing asked Zhao Dong and Zhao Bei to go to the bamboo forest and select some new bamboos from the past one or two years to cut down, while she herself used a shovel to clear out the mortar that she could reach in the pond.

After the bamboo was carried in, it was chopped into sections and split into pieces, and then stacked layer by layer with lime.

The group arrived before noon and were busy until late afternoon.

The two younger ones were fine. Although they were covered in mud, at most their shoes were wet, but their clothes were not wet.

Their hands were not in good condition and were red from the cold. When they returned, Gu Qingqing didn't dare let them wash them with hot water. She made them rub their hands with snow before letting them wash them with hot water.

Zhao Dong, Zhao Bei and Gu Qingqing were not so lucky.

Not only were the cuffs and legs extremely dirty, they were also soaked.