Chapter 5 Lin Family

Chapter 5 Lin Family

The sky was gray and shadows were swaying on the ridges of the fields. In the fields, people began a new day of work. Taking advantage of the cool early morning, they quickly finished the work in the fields.

As the morning sun shines on the earth, the sweat of the people working in the fields slides down their foreheads, across their dark cheeks, and drips into the mud.

The spring wheat had been harvested and brought home, dried and stored in the barn. Hoes were turning over the plowed land, breaking up the clods of earth, clearing away grass roots and rocks, preparing to plant another crop of vegetables for the winter.

Old Man Lin held a pipe in his hand and sat on the edge of the field, puffing out smoke and taking a rest. The weather was good this year, and the harvest was much better than last year. The millet field not far away will be ready for harvest soon. Thinking of this, a smile appeared on his dark and rough face, deepening the wrinkles on his face.

The air was filled with the smell of grass and soil, and crystal dewdrops hung on the leaves. The early birds chirped, the birdsong was crisp and melodious, and the fields were full of vitality.

Old Man Lin tapped his pipe and shouted at the top of his voice, "Blessed, blessed!"

"Hey, Dad! What's the matter?" The dark and thin man put down his hoe, straightened up and looked at his father not far away.

Old Man Lin put his pipe on his belt, walked to his eldest son, and lowered his voice: "Go pick a basket of tender beans later and send it to your fourth brother's house, and then buy some salt."

Lin Youfu wiped the sweat from his forehead and nodded, "Okay, then I'll drive the ox cart to deliver it at noon?"

"Okay, go get another bag of new wheat. It's so hot, go quickly and come back quickly."

In the small courtyard at the entrance, a woman was standing by the well, tying her sleeves with a plain-colored bandage and washing coarse cloth in a basin. She lifted up the washed coarse cloth and wrung out the water with great effort.

"Old Li!!!"

"Hey, I'm coming! I'm coming!" The man with a short beard walked out of the kitchen quickly and wiped his hands on his apron. "I'll wring it, you put it down, I'll wring it!" The man took the clothes in the basin, wrung out the water and hung them on the rope. He turned around and picked up the wet clothes in the basin and continued to wring the water, "I told you I'd wash it, but you didn't listen."

"Oh, my hands and arms are sore from washing! It would be so much easier if I had a washing machine!" The woman stood up, "My old waist! You hang the clothes up, I'll go to the kitchen to check."

"Washing machine? Once you come here, forget it in this life. Go quickly! The fire is still burning!" Li Jun wrung out the coarse cloth clothes, wrung them out quickly, hung them on the wooden pole, stretched them flat and hung them to dry. In a short while, a basin of clothes and pants was ready!

Chen Huiqin walked out of the kitchen and looked at the clothes and pants hanging in the yard, dripping water like rain. The water fell all over the floor under the clothes drying rack. She couldn't bear to watch it, she couldn't bear to watch it, "Lao Li, come and eat!"

Li Jun took off his coarse cloth apron and casually placed it on the stool. "Huiqin, let's change our name to theirs! We are used to calling each other by our names in private, and if we don't pay attention one day, we might get rude!"

"Oh, it makes me angry just talking about it! Has our family been possessed by evil spirits or ghosts?" Inexplicably, the soul traveled to ancient times. In modern times, the couple, who are in their early 50s, had to bury their youngest son. It was miserable enough. After waking up, the soul traveled to the bodies of the couple, and the couple's son and daughter were gone! In the original body's memory, more than a year ago, the two children were abducted to an unknown place! The poor couple spent all their family wealth and searched everywhere for them in vain. Chen Huiqin thought, could it be that they were careless in their previous lives and were reincarnated as people who lived a simple life, so in the modern life and this life, the retribution was that they were destined to be childless?

Li Jun gently patted his wife on the back, "Don't be angry! Don't be angry! There's no point in being angry! Just make the best of it! Go eat noodles!"

"This couple has such a hard life! What wonderful children they have!"

Li Jun brought out a bowl of hand-rolled multi-grain noodles and stuffed it into his wife's hands, "Eat it quickly, or it will become clumpy and not tasty anymore!"

"I want to eat rice!"

"Don't say it, it makes me even more greedy."

The couple are from the south and grew up eating rice. Their bodies are adapted to pasta, but their souls only want to eat rice.

Although we rarely roll noodles and make pasta nowadays, we only make dumplings occasionally, and we still buy the dumpling skins. However, the information of the Internet is exploding nowadays. We have never eaten pork, but we have seen pigs run. The pasta made by the two of us is edible! After two months, the pasta we make now is much better.

Two months ago, the two woke up and found themselves in a strange house and strange bodies. They were so frightened that they were out of their wits.

Fortunately, the couple had memories of their original bodies. Apart from the initial difficulty in accepting it, they were able to adapt to it. Anyway, in modern times, there are no old people above and no young people below. It doesn’t matter whether the house, car, and savings are taken away by the elder brother or the elder sister. The brothers and sisters of the couple have taken care of each other since they were young and grew up, and their relationship has always been good.

"Knock, knock, knock, knock! Fourth brother! Is fourth brother home?"

There was a knock on the yard door and shouts were heard outside.

"I'm home! I'm here! Wait a minute! I'll open the door right away!" Li Jun put down the bowl, walked over and opened the door to the yard. "Ah! It's my brother! Come in! Oh! It's so hot! Come in and cool down!"

"I came here with a ox cart. It's okay!" Lin Youfu drove the ox cart into the yard and parked it, then carried the freshly ground wheat flour on the cart into the kitchen.

Chen Huiqin brought out a bowl of boiled water and said, "Brother is here, don't be busy, sit down and have a drink of water first! It's so hot!"

"Brother, you haven't had lunch yet! We have noodles!" Li Jun followed Lin Youfu into the kitchen with a basket in his hand and lifted the leaves in the basket. "There are so many young beans! Did your parents ask you to bring them here?"

"My father asked me to pick these this morning and bring them to you two to try. They're grown at home, so they're fine!" Lin Youfu drank the water in the bowl in one breath and stood up. "I've eaten before, so I'm going back now."

Li Jun pulled Lin Youfu to sit under the eaves, "Hey, hey, hey, you're leaving before you even have time to warm up the bench! The noodles are already in the pot!"

"Brother, the noodles are ready! You take a rest, eat the noodles, and then go back!" Chen Huiqin's voice came from the kitchen.

"Are your parents healthy?" It was almost the end of August, and the last time I went back to the village was in late July. First, after all, the two were not the real Lin Youcai and Shen Xianglan; second, Lin Youcai had a job as a teacher in a school in the city; third, I had to wait for news in the city. In order to find the two children, I spent a lot of money to ask people around.

"Mom and Dad are in good health! You two don't have to worry, the brothers are all at home! Come home and stay for a few days when you are free!" Lin Youfu wanted to ask if there was any news about the two children, but he swallowed the words back. It's been more than a year, and this...

Chen Huiqin came out with a big bowl of multi-grain noodles, "Come, big brother, eat some noodles. If you don't have enough, cook more. There are sauces and pickles in the kitchen. If it's not tasty enough, add more!"

Li Jun picked up the noodles on the stool and took a few bites. The two brothers talked while eating.

Chen Huiqin went back to the kitchen, picked up the unfinished noodles and sat down to eat. It was cooler outside due to the breeze.

Farmers have two meals a day. They get up early in the morning and go to work in the fields. They work until 10 or 11 o'clock, and then go home for their first meal when the sun is high in the sky. In the afternoon, when the sun is setting, they continue to work in the fields, and only go home for dinner and sleep when it is almost dark. They work when the sun rises and rest when the sun sets!

People in the city who have the means also have three meals a day.

"Brother, let me wash." Chen Huiqin stood up and Lin Youfu had already walked to the well.

Lin Youfu drew a bucket of water from the well and rinsed the dishes in two gulps. He poured the remaining water into a broken bucket next to him and gave it to the cows to drink. It took more than an hour to get to the city on a hot day by oxcart, and more than an hour to go back.

"Brother, here are a few feet of coarse cloth, not much, take it back to mother." Chen Huiqin took out a roll of coarse cloth from the house and placed it on the board of the ox cart.

"Keep it for yourselves so you can have clothes to wear at home." Lin Youfu hurriedly picked up the cloth and handed it back.

"Take it, big brother. Take it back to mother! I won't keep you here any longer. I have to go back to the academy." Li Jun waited for the cow to drink enough water, sent his big brother out, and then turned back to the kitchen. "This is green grain! The Lin family is really good to this couple!"

Chen Huiqin nodded, it was true. The two had the memories of their original bodies, and they knew the place where they were born and raised, the Lin family, and the Shen family. The couple was lucky, and in the past 30 years, except for the loss of their two children, they had not had many troubles.

The Lin family had five children, four sons and one daughter. Lin Xianwen, who is now Li Jun, was the fourth child. He was supported by his family and passed the imperial examination to become a teacher in a school.

In ancient times, only those who passed the examination for the title of Xiucai could be considered "scholars" recognized by the government. When meeting an official, one did not need to kneel and kowtow, but only needed to bow. Only those who passed the examination for the title of Xiucai could be qualified to study in various prefectures, states, and counties, and to take the examination for the title of Juren.

The land under the name of the scholar is tax-exempt, the person is exempt from corvée labor, and the government pays money and food every month.

The Shen family has three children, one daughter and two sons. Chen Huiqin's current body is the product of the eldest daughter of the Shen family, Shen Xianglan. Although she is the eldest sister and has two younger brothers, her parents have doted on her since she was a child. The Shen family is engaged in business and the family is well-off. Although the Lin family is a farmer and has little money, they have a scholar who has crossed the class barrier and is a farming and reading family.

If a peasant family could produce a scholar, it was like a golden phoenix flying out of a chicken coop. Merchants had low status. The Shen family had money but no status, while the Lin family had no money but a scholar. The men should get married when they were old enough, and the women should get married when they were old enough. The two families hit it off.

Shen's father gave his daughter a shop and a small courtyard in the city as a dowry, and gave all the betrothal gifts to his daughter.

Li Jun and Chen Huiqin knew this from the memories of the two people, and they were very emotional. These two people were also blessed people, but they didn't know how they lost their souls and were replaced by them. They just slept in the modern world, and when they woke up, the world changed!

They came to this strange world at the end of June. With the memories of their original bodies, they were not averse to dealing with the Lin and Shen families.

In modern times, Li Jun's parents died of illness when he was 20 years old. He only has one older brother, who has taken care of him since he was a child and worried about everything after his parents passed away.

The son wants to take care of his parents but they are no longer around. Both the husband and wife have a weak relationship with their parents. Chen Huiqin has never experienced her parents-in-law. When she married Li Jun, his parents were no longer alive. Her father died in an accident when she was in her early 30s, and her mother died of illness when she was in her 40s. Fortunately, she has an older sister, and they all settled in the same city, and there is a relative who is by her side.

Originally, the family of four was quite happy, but now they are all gone. Chen Huiqin felt sad just thinking about it.

"Why are you crying? Oh, don't think about it. It's useless to think too much and it will only hurt your mind. Let's keep this basket of tender beans for one or two meals. On the way to school, I will send it to Shen's parents to try." Li Jun looked at his wife, "How about we go to Shen's house together, and you can play there for a while, so that you don't have to think about it alone at home. I'll pick you up after school."

Shen Xianglan thought about it and nodded, "Okay..."

Li Jun took out some tender beans, covered the others with leaves, and went out with the basket. Chen Huiqin locked the yard door, and the two walked towards Shen's house.