stingy landlady

Chapter 71 Introducing Xu Hong to the Industry

"Hmm! The Pan brothers! Not bad! From Huanghua Town! I'll remember you, Miss!"

Xu Hong responded softly.

The Pan brothers awkwardly bowed.

"Guard Xu!"

Guizhi patted the dust off her hands:

"Alright! It's good that we've gotten to know each other! It'll be easier to work together in the future! Brother Pan, Second Brother Pan! You two get back to work! I won't cause any more trouble! I'm taking Uncle Xu Hong to Grandpa Zhou's place!"

Pan Sen and Pan Qiang quickly bowed:

"Take care, Miss!"

When the two arrived at Old Man Zhou's residence, it was bustling with activity. The farmhands were taking turns fetching water to wash their hands and faces, chatting and laughing – it was quite a lively scene!

Guizhi and Xu Hong walked in. Old Man Zhou was greeting Zhou Mingzhi and leading the farmhands to wash their hands, put them on the table, and get bowls and chopsticks. They would eat in a little while.

Zhou Niangzi and Zhou Qiong were busy at the stove.

"The Third Miss is here!" A sharp-eyed farmhand spotted her and greeted her. Guizhi often went to the fields and was quite familiar with the farmhands.

Old Zhou also came over.

"Third Miss! We were just about to have dinner!"

"Yes! Grandpa Zhou! This is my Uncle Xu Hong! He will be our family's bodyguard from now on!"

Old Zhou and Xu Hong exchanged greetings.

"I'll go check on the stove!" Guizhi said as she walked inside.

"Aunt Zhou! Xiao Qiong! With so many people eating, can you manage?"

As Madam Zhou ladled corn porridge into a large basin, she responded to Guizhi:

"Third Miss! There are only a few people! Let's split into two groups to eat! There's not enough room for everyone, so let those who do the work eat first! We'll eat with Xiaoyun later!"

He and Xiao Xing haven't returned from herding cattle and horses yet! They should be back soon!

Zhou Qiong whispered to Guizhi:

"My brother has learned to ride a horse! Every morning he practices a few strokes with Young Master Yun. I asked them about it, and they said it's for exercise!"

Guizhi also answered softly:

"Boys like to play with weapons! It's different from what girls do!"

Then he said to Madam Zhou:

"Aunt Zhou! I think our piglet is growing really fast! It probably weighs seventy or eighty pounds by now!"

Leftovers should be mixed with swill, wild vegetables, etc., and a little cornmeal should be added! Pigs grow faster!

The piglets my grandma caught with us—I went to see them, and they seemed much smaller than ours! I wonder if they weren't fed enough or what!

Guizhi thought for a moment and then said:

"Aunt Zhou! It's time to deworm the piglets!"

I heard that roasted pumpkin seeds can be used to deworm pigs! I'll go see if they sell them today. If not, I'll get some neem bark from the pharmacy to mix with water and deworm the pigs!

Madam Zhou said respectfully:

"We'll do whatever Miss San says! Pigs will definitely grow better after being dewormed!"

Guizhi turned and walked out, saying as she went:

"I'm going back now! Aunt Zhou! Xiao Qiong! You two go ahead with your work!"

Once inside the courtyard, Guizhi called out to Zhou Mingzhi:

"Uncle Zhou! Tell someone to go in and bring the food! I saw Aunt Zhou has already put it in a bowl! I'm going back now!"

Grandpa Zhou! We're going back for dinner now!

Zhou Mingzhi and Old Man Zhou responded to Guizhi:

"Alright! See you later, Third Miss!"

The talkative farmhand amused Guizhi:

"Third Miss! You're a guest! How can you leave without eating!"

Let's eat before we go! Haha!

Even though Guizhi was young, she could tell good from bad, and replied with a smile:

"I'm afraid if I eat Brother Li's share, he won't have the energy to work later! Hehe!"

After saying that, he and Xu Hong walked home.

At home, Li Shi was with Gui Xiang, and Gui Hong was packing dumplings into food containers!

Gui Xiang and Gui Hong are becoming more and more capable, quick and efficient! They've saved Li Shi a lot of trouble! Now, without Zhou Niangzi coming over, the group is quite busy.

"Oh! Our third young lady is back!"

Gui Hong called out as soon as she saw Gui Zhi enter the room!

Then, seeing Xu Hong behind Guizhi, he stuck out his tongue and hurriedly called for help:

"Uncle Xu!"

She secretly pinched the osmanthus branch again!

"You naughty girl! You didn't even let me know when guests arrived, making me look bad!"

Xu Hongquan pretended not to know about the sisters' little scheme, but he saw Li Shi, who came out from the inner room after hearing the noise, call out:

"sister in law!"

Li did not recognize Xu Hong and asked:

"Who are you? Are you looking for Dazhu? Dazhu hasn't come back yet!"

Guizhi quickly explained:

"Mom! This is my Uncle Xu Hong! His family is from our village too! My dad hired Uncle Xu Hong to be our family's bodyguard! Uncle Xu Hong will be staying at the new house for now!"

My dad asked Uncle Carpenter to make furniture for the kang (heated brick bed), such as mats, kang railings, and kang zithers. Someone needs to keep an eye on things over there!

Li understood; this meant there was another person in the family.

"Oh! Come on in! Have a seat inside, Dazhu will be back in a bit!"

Xu Hongjin sat down in the inner room, and Siya called out:

"uncle"

Then he walked to the edge of the kang (heated brick bed) and excitedly said to Guizhi:

"Third sister! I did some work today! I made dough for my eldest and second eldest sisters! Mom said that when I'm a little older, she'll let me make dumplings! Hehe!"

Gui Zhi gently scratched Si Ya's little nose.

"Wow! My fourth sister can help Mom with chores now! That's amazing! I'll get you some candy later!"

In the outer room, Guihong whispered to Li Shi,

"Mother! Eldest sister! That's Xu Da I told you about yesterday! Shh!"

Li nodded in understanding. Fearing Xu Hong might misunderstand, she deliberately raised her voice and said:

"Guizhi! Your father didn't come back with you? I don't know where he went."

"What time is it? It's time to come back for dinner!"

Guizhi thought for a moment and said:

“My dad probably went to the wheat field! He said he wanted to check on the wheat field and even told my grandpa Zhou to go there more often during this time! He was worried that the wheat might be stolen before it was ripe!”

They said they weren't afraid of anything, except for being targeted by thieves!

Xu Hong turned his head to the side with a trembling smile, pretending to look around the room, but he couldn't hide his barely suppressed laughter!

Gui Hong entered the room and continued the conversation:

"I'm not afraid of thieves stealing, I'm afraid of thieves eyeing me! If you don't understand this, don't say it out loud! I'm not afraid of anything! I'm not afraid of Uncle Xu laughing at me!"

Guizhi, disregarding all that, asked frankly:

"Why are we not afraid of thieves stealing from us, but afraid of thieves eyeing us? I just don't understand, that's why I said that!"

Gui Hong got stuck, and she wouldn't explain.

Xu Hong coughed lightly and said with a hint of a smile:

"This proverb means that a thief's loss from stealing once won't be too serious; but the real danger is when a thief targets you, learns your secrets, and then strikes again, resulting in heavy losses. Therefore, you must be vigilant against bad people targeting you for an extended period of time."

Guizhi suddenly realized:

"Oh! No wonder Dad asked Grandpa Zhou to go check on the wheat field often! Green wheat is edible, isn't it!"

Xu Hong nodded:

"Of course! Green wheat is a grain! And some people even prefer the taste of green wheat!"

Gui Zhi did not understand:

How do you eat green wheat?

Xu Hong slowly spoke as he thought:

"Green wheat can be used to make green wheat porridge, or it can be cooked with rice to make green wheat mixed rice, which is quite delicious! It can also be ground into powder to make steamed buns, dumplings, and noodles! The taste is even more refreshing! Green wheat is also used to stir-fry eggs. You haven't tried it, so you can cut some to try!"