Chapter 48

Old Lady Lu, having already agreed to Granny Chen's request to help Sang Luo find chickens, guessed that they would visit today and had stayed home in anticipation.

Sure enough, they arrived.

Old Lady Lu welcomed them with a warm smile, observing Sang Luo as they entered.

Upon closer inspection, she noted that Sang Luo actually had fine features; once she regained some weight, she would undoubtedly be quite attractive.

What particularly caught Old Lady Lu’s attention were Sang Luo's eyes: bright, clear, and sincere.

Such a person, she thought, must be resolute in character and upright in thinking.

“I’ve often heard the children at home talk about you. Now that I’ve met you, I see you really are capable.”

As she praised Sang Luo, Old Lady Lu called her daughter-in-law to make some mint tea and bring out pumpkin seeds to entertain the guests. The young daughter-in-law, hearing the voices, greeted Granny Chen, nodded to Sang Luo, and then headed to the kitchen.

Sang Luo interjected, then addressed Old Lady Lu, “Granny Lu, please don’t trouble yourself. I’ve just come to buy chickens. I bought some ducklings today and I’m in a rush to get back and build their coop. If you’d like to chat, why not visit my place the day after tomorrow? I'll have plenty of time then and would love to host you and Uncle and Auntie.”

Hearing Sang Luo’s proposal, Old Lady Lu smiled and agreed, “That’s fine then. I won’t insist if you're busy. I'll take you to see the chickens at the back. Pick any two you like.”

She gestured for the young daughter-in-law to come closer and introduced her to Sang Luo, “This is my second daughter-in-law. You can call her Second Auntie.”

She then smiled and said to her daughter-in-law, “Liuniang, this is Ah Lie's wife. You probably know of her.”

Wang Liuniang did know indeed, as Ah Xu had been constantly mentioning her recently. He especially envied his cousins for getting to work at Shen An’s house.

With a rare smile, she nodded at Sang Luo, a friendly acknowledgment.

Sang Luo returned the smile and greeted her with “Second Auntie Lu.”

Granny Chen, observing Wang Liuniang's slight smile, had a thoughtful look, while Old Lady Lu's lips curled upward gently. She kindly addressed her daughter-in-law, “Since you’re here, take a break. Don’t just stay indoors weaving all the time. It's good to move around a bit, keeps the bones strong. Constant weaving can strain your eyes, something you won’t notice until it’s too late.”

Wang Liuniang nodded, “I understand, mother.”

Her voice was soft and gentle, yet seemed to carry an indefinable melancholy.

Old Lady Lu, without further ado, led Granny Chen and Sang Luo out of the courtyard towards the back of the house. A woman, appearing to be about the same age as Qin Fangniang, emerged from the kitchen upon hearing about catching chickens and silently followed the group. Old Lady Lu saw her and introduced her to Sang Luo: "This is my eldest daughter-in-law. You can call her Elder Auntie Lu."

Sang Luo naturally greeted her as Elder Auntie Lu.

The woman smiled at Sang Luo, "You must be Ah Lie's wife. I've often heard about you from our Shuanzhu, Tiezhu, and Huzi in recent days."

Her voice was upbeat and cheerful, a stark contrast to the silence she maintained when she first came out.

Sang Luo responded with a smile, "I should be thanking them. The kids have been a great help. Without them, I wouldn't have been able to move into my new house today."

Hearing Sang Luo praise her sons, Elder Auntie Lu beamed with joy and delight.

The Lu family's chicken coop was situated beside the mountain behind their house. The chickens weren't in the coop but were pecking and foraging on the ground behind the house, around a dozen of them in total.

Old Lady Lu said, "These are our chickens. The semi-grown ones were hatched by our own hens in April. Just take a look and tell me which ones you want. I’ll catch them for you."

Sang Luo glanced over and laughed, “Granny Lu, your chickens look so lively, any of them would be fine. I don’t need to pick. I’ll just choose two with distinct feather patterns.”

The first half of her remark was not mere flattery. Village free-range chickens rarely appeared listless, and this flock was no exception, each of them looking spirited.

Sang Luo's gaze swept over the group of semi-grown chickens, picking a robust-looking pair, one male and one female.

Mrs. Lu chuckled in agreement, but before she could act, Mrs. Lu's eldest daughter-in-law intervened, "Let me do it, mother."

She deftly approached the chickens and, with a few swift movements, had already captured the one chosen by Sang Luo, securing it firmly in her hand.

The capture of one chicken sent the others scattering in all directions. Unfazed, Mrs. Lu’s daughter-in-law tied the captured chicken's feet with a straw rope, placed it in Sang Luo’s cloth bag, and then fetched a feed tray. Tapping on it to attract the chickens, she scattered some leftover chaff and vegetables on the ground, luring back the scattered flock for an easy meal.

She precisely captured the second chicken as well.

Mrs. Chen, standing nearby, commented to Mrs. Lu with a smile, "Your daughter-in-law Chunniang is really capable. You're fortunate to have her."

Mrs. Lu warmly agreed, taking the opportunity to also praise Qin Fangniang.

Amid the mutual compliments of the two elderly ladies, Sang Luo efficiently tied up the cloth bag and handed it to Mrs. Lu’s daughter-in-law, saying, "Aunt Lu, could you please weigh these two chickens for me?"

Mrs. Lu’s daughter-in-law nodded and went inside to get a scale. Mrs. Lu then invited Mrs. Chen and Sang Luo into the house, suggesting they weigh the chickens inside to avoid the heat outside.

Once inside, Mrs. Lu’s daughter-in-law had already fetched the scale. As Sang Luo and the others arrived, she hung the bag with the chickens on the scale, showed the weight to Sang Luo, and reported the combined weight.

They had previously agreed on paying market price for the chickens. Sang Luo calculated the amount, took out a string of coins from her purse, counted out forty-two coins, and handed the rest, fifty-eight coins, to Mrs. Lu, saying with a smile, “Grandma, here are fifty-eight coins. Please see if this is correct.”

Mrs. Lu shook her head upon hearing the sum, "Why take fifty-eight coins? When buying from fellow villagers, charging the market price isn't in the spirit of community."

Without counting, she plucked two coins from the string Sang Luo gave her and handed them back: "Fifty-six coins will do. Consider it a discount of one coin per chicken."

Sang Luo grinned, accepting the money readily: "Alright then, I won’t refuse your kindness. Thank you, Grandma Lu."

Mrs. Lu’s eyes twinkled with amusement, remarking to Mrs. Chen, "This generosity of hers is really endearing."

"Indeed," Mrs. Chen agreed, chuckling. The two elderly ladies found common ground in their judgment of people and things.

Knowing Sang Luo had more errands at home, Mrs. Chen said, "Okay, we should head to the village chief's house to buy two more chickens. You go on with your tasks."

Mrs. Lu’s eldest daughter-in-law's eyes sparkled upon hearing Sang Luo intended to buy more chickens. After they walked away, she quietly said to her mother-in-law, "Mother, Sang Luo seems to be doing quite well for herself."

Mrs. Lu glanced at her, "Hardworking and diligent people naturally improve their lives."

The daughter-in-law smiled sheepishly, choosing not to continue the conversation.

A short distance from the Lu household, Sang Luo curiously inquired, "Grandma, I've met Uncle Lu and Third Uncle Lu, but I don't think I've seen Second Uncle Lu?"

Mrs. Chen hesitated for a moment before responding quietly, "He’s probably passed away."

Taken aback by this unexpected reply, Sang Luo was momentarily stunned, "How could that be?"

Mrs. Chen looked at her and sighed, "Your husband Alie, my son Dashan, Lu Er-lang, and Shi Dajun from the Shi family, were all conscripted that year. Not just them, our village lost over a dozen men, none returned."

"At the beginning of the year, we heard some were coming back. We went from village to village, but out of more than ten nearby villages, less than twenty returned alive."

The old lady's shoulders seemed to droop more as she spoke of this.

She forced a smile, trying to uplift her spirits, and cautioned Sang Luo, "The day after tomorrow, at our home feast, Shi Dajun's wife will likely attend. Remember not to bring up anything about her husband."

"In recent years, everyone around here knows not to ask if they see a man missing from a household. It’s easy to touch upon someone's grief."

Only now did Sang Luo realize why the young Mrs. Lu, even when smiling, had a persistent sadness in her eyes, as if lacking a certain vitality.

If she had felt optimistic about her accumulation of household items earlier, now a tinge of sorrow crept in.

"Ancient wars were the greatest calamities for common folk," she thought. "I haven’t been in this era long and haven’t experienced many things."

Sang Luo chose not to ask why there were always wars, simply nodding, "I understand."

Thinking of Mrs. Chen's eldest grandson, who was in the same situation, Sang Luo glanced at her apologetically.

Mrs. Chen smiled lightly, "It's alright, you didn't know. Besides, living in such times, we must learn to console ourselves. What else can we do?"

"How do we go on living?"

With a deep breath, Mrs. Chen composed herself and changed the subject, starting to introduce the family of the village chief to Sang Luo.

"In our village, the Lu family and the family of Village Chief Zhou are among the few with thriving households."

"Zhou? Are they related to Zhou Lizheng?"

Mrs. Chen nodded and then shook her head, "They share a common ancestor, but it's the fourth generation now, so they're more like distant relatives."

Being an orphan, Sang Luo had a vague concept of kinship, but with the original body's memories, she understood Mrs. Chen's reference to distant relatives.

In the Daqian Dynasty, the first generation were siblings, the second generation were first cousins, the third generation were second cousins, and by the fourth generation, they became the distant relatives Mrs. Chen mentioned.

This indicated that the blood relation had indeed become quite distant.

Being a village chief usually meant having the highest living standards in the village. Chief Zhou's family was just like that. Although they lived in a mud house like everyone else, they had tiles on their roof instead of the uniform straw thatching, clearly distinguishing their house. Their household was large and prosperous, and even their mud-brick house seemed more imposing compared to others in the village.

Mrs. Chen seemed to have good relationships with everyone, always able to converse amiably, and it was the same with Chief Zhou’s family.

After a brief explanation of their purpose, the village chief’s wife observed Sang Luo: "So you are Alie's wife. You've been in our village for some time, but we haven’t met before."

Matters like household registration were directly handled with the neighboring village's head, and the village chief assisted with local issues and mediated disputes. So, it wasn't strange for the chief's family not to have seen Sang Luo, who rarely ventured out.

Mrs. Chen introduced, "This is the wife of our village chief. You should call her 'Auntie.'"

The village chief's wife seemed about the same age as Qin Fangniang, suggesting that Chief Zhou was relatively young.

Sang Luo smiled and greeted, "Hello, Auntie Zhou."

Auntie Zhou smiled and led them towards the chicken coop, saying, "We don’t have many chickens, but I heard you've just built a new house. It's not the season for buying chicks now, so it's no problem to spare two for you. You can pick them yourself."

Sang Luo chose two small hens this time. Together with the two from the Lu family, making one rooster and three hens in total. In two to three months, they should start laying eggs. With three hens, she hoped for three eggs a day, enough for their family's consumption.

Mrs. Zhou, the village chief's wife, was efficient in catching and tying the chickens, weighing them quickly and skillfully.

These two chickens were slightly lighter than those from the Lu family, but the price was still fifty-six coins, the same.

Since there was no close relationship between the two families, no discount was expected. Mrs. Zhou happily accepted the payment, and then Sang Luo and Mrs. Chen took their leave.

Passing by the Chen household, Sang Luo remembered she hadn’t bought vegetables from the county today. Thinking of the evening meal and having wild vegetables at home, she asked Mrs. Chen to buy two eggs.

As she spoke, Sang Luo promptly took out two coins from her purse to pay, determined not to underpay.

This wasn’t surprising considering that during the house construction period, when she cooked at the Chen’s, Mrs. Chen often secretly supplemented her diet with eggs. Initially, Sang Luo was unaware, but over time she realized this generous gesture.

Since the construction began, most of the eggs laid by the Chen’s chickens were given to her.

At that time, the two families shared meals. Mrs. Chen always felt a bit guilty enjoying white rice and meat, thinking she was taking advantage of Sang Luo. Secretly adding eggs to her diet eased her conscience.

Thus, Sang Luo didn’t say much about it. But now, with her own house built and cooking at home, she couldn’t accept such favors any longer.

Seeing Sang Luo’s expression, Mrs. Chen chuckled, "Don’t worry, I’ll take the money. These eggs are part of my livelihood."

Mrs. Chen happily pocketed the coins and went to fetch the eggs. When she returned, she brought an extra two eggplants, saying, "Here, take these too."

Sang Luo laughed at the gesture, thanked her without hesitation, holding the fabric bag with the chickens, the eggplants, and the eggs. Just as she was about to leave, she remembered the bag of grain she bought, mentioning she would come back later to mill it.

Mrs. Chen glanced toward her house and smiled, "No need to come back for that. Your aunt must have already milled it and sent it to your house. Go home and check."

Indeed, when Sang Luo returned home, she found the grain bag she had purchased earlier resting under the eaves of her straw house.

Shen An had made several trips, bringing back straw and mats for the new bed, which was now nicely set up. The siblings excitedly sat and lay on it, thoroughly testing its strength. Hearing Sang Luo's return, they climbed down to joyfully greet her.

“Big sister, I've given water to the ducklings and put them in the backyard for now.”

“Big sister, Aunt Chen helped mill the rice. I've put it in the rice jar and stored the bran in a cloth bag.”

The siblings eagerly approached Sang Luo, quickly reporting everything they thought she needed to know. Their eyes were fixed on the wriggling fabric bag in her hand. Shen An helped her with the eggplants and eggs, his eyes shining as he asked, “Did you buy chickens too?”

Sang Luo smiled, “Yes, I bought them. They are in the backyard getting acclimated. Once I set up the chicken coop, we’ll let them roam outside and shelter them in the coop at night.”

Carrying the bag to the backyard, she closed the gate, set the bag down, and carefully released the chickens, untying the grass ropes around their feet.

Once freed, the chickens scurried around the yard, startling the ducks huddled in a corner on the dry grass. The previously quiet backyard instantly became lively with the noise of chickens and ducks.

Shen Ning's eyes sparkled, “Big sister, I’ll gather some dandelions, mugwort, and barnyard grass, and mix them with some bran for the chicken feed.”

Barnyard grass seeds, also known as foxtail millet, are eaten by humans during famine years and are suitable for feeding chickens and ducks.

The young girl clearly had experience in poultry care, indicative of her previous responsibilities.

Sang Luo agreed, “Okay, but be careful the next few days with feeding. Make sure the ducks don’t eat the chicken feed. They’re still young and can’t eat certain things. Their diet needs to be prepared separately.”

“Understood,” the siblings replied in unison, dashing out to gather the necessary items.

Sang Luo checked on the ducklings, noting they were adjusting well. The newly purchased chickens calmed down after a while and began to explore without showing any aggression towards the ducklings. Satisfied, she left the backyard.

Inside the straw house, the bed was neatly made with some leftover straw in the corner. Sang Luo planned to use it for the chicken and duck nests.

Before starting her work, she visited the bathroom and found two baskets filled with carefully selected, uniformly sized, and smooth river stones. They appeared meticulously cleaned, with no dirt clinging to them, neatly arranged.

Puzzled, Sang Luo wondered how such a collection of attractive stones was gathered so quickly, as she had only instructed them the night before.