”It snowed so heavily and it’s unbelievably cold this year. I didn’t dare sleep well last night for fear that the snow would collapse the roof. Lingling’s father and her two brothers got up in the middle of the night to sweep the snow from the roof.”

　　The roof of Aunt Wang’s house is made of mud tiles, but the walls are not made of blue bricks, but mud walls. They have been built for a long time, so she can’t sleep well when it snows heavily.

　　”After working for half the night, I went back to my room exhausted and fell asleep on the bed… I woke up early in the morning, but was still sleeping, thinking about how hard I had worked the night before. I bought a piece of tofu in the morning and ate some cabbage and radish every day. Then I heard people talking about the stove. I was still thinking, what stove? What was the big pot stove for? I listened carefully…”

　　Li Zhouzhou understood that this was the sound of the stove when buying tofu.

　　It should have been spread from Xing Ge’er. His family and Xing Ge’er’s family were the only ones in the village that had it, but it was not something to be kept secret. Li Zhouzhou nodded and said, “It was ordered from Zhu Nijiang in Shili Village. The stove and pot cost thirty coins in total.”

　　”Thirty cents? Didn’t it say twenty cents?” Aunt Wang asked deliberately. She bought tofu in the morning and heard someone who came to buy tofu with her talking about a stove. What’s so special about this stove?

　　After listening carefully, I found out that Liu Huaxiang also came to buy tofu yesterday. The stove she mentioned is different from the stove in the kitchen. Not only does it save firewood, but it also keeps the house warm. Anyway, it’s fine.

　　Liu Huaxiang is Xing’er’s mother and Li Zhou’s second aunt.

　　Aunt Wang and others finished listening to the tofu skills.

　　When Liu Huaxiang mentioned this yesterday, everyone started asking how to buy this great stove? How much does it cost? What does it look like? Can we go to your room and take a look?

　　Liu Huaxiang said that was not possible, and she would wait for two days until the snow stopped and then go to Zhu craftsman’s house in Shili Village to buy it. A set of stoves cost thirty cents. She then said that this was still too expensive, and my son Xingge could buy it for only twenty cents.

　　Why did everyone hear that we only paid 30 wen, but Xing Ge’er only paid 20 wen? Liu Huaxiang was so kind to talk about a lot of stoves, but she was just trying to make 10 wen out of them, right?

　　Liu Huaxiang originally wanted to brag about the good stuff, saying that her son Xing’er from Xiping Village was the first to get it. As for Xing’er saying that Li Zhouzhou got it first, Liu Huaxiang didn’t care. How could Li Zhouzhou compare with her son Xing’er? No. When she was surrounded and questioned, she didn’t keep her mouth shut when she spoke, even though Xing’er had clearly told her not to mention the twenty cents.

　　But after all was said, Liu Huaxiang had no choice but to say that her brother Xing was capable.

　　People asked again, Xing’er is so capable, why do you, as his mother, want to buy him for thirty cents?

　　Liu Huaxiang couldn’t explain clearly, so she said she wanted to buy tofu and didn’t want to chat anymore, and then left.

　　The women in the village curled their lips, knowing Liu Huaxiang’s personality. She loved to brag and was a fence-sitter, but she was fine in other aspects and never took advantage of anyone. Occasionally, when she was flattered, she would give you a handful of melon seeds to eat.

　　Why not just ask Xing Ge directly? I can go and see what the stove looks like.

　　Then yesterday afternoon, there was no one staying at Xingge’er’s house. Several women and uncles came to visit and check on the stove. There was one pot after another of water boiling on the stove…

　　Let’s not talk about this.

　　It was said that in the morning Aunt Wang heard several people talking about the stove. They all saw it at Xing’er’s house yesterday. It was indeed good. She said that after the snow stopped, she would let her husband and Li Er go to Shili Village to order one.

　　What about the twenty and thirty cents? Aunt Wang asked.

　　The man then said: Xing’er said that her mother had heard it wrong. The stove was designed by Li Zhouzhou’s son-in-law Gu Shulang, and the words “peace and good luck” were engraved on it. Since Gu Shulang came up with the idea, he should naturally give him a discount of ten cents.

　　Everyone knew that Xing’er’s mother Liu Huaxiang was a boastful person, so they naturally believed what Xing’er said.

　　It has been so cold in the past two days that everyone who has seen a stove is tempted and makes an appointment to buy one together. They bargain for a price, not just a ten-cent discount, but at least a one- or two-cent discount.

　　After buying the tofu and cooking, Aunt Wang kept thinking about this matter. Her grandson was crying because of the cold, and his urine-binding urine could not be dried after washing. She could not heat the kang all day long, as it was too much waste wood. She also wanted to take it to the town to sell it for money.

　　With this in mind, Aunt Wang came to visit the Li family at noon.

　　When Li Zhouzhou heard Aunt Wang asking about the price, he honestly asked his father to make two more trips. The clay craftsman used the set they ordered first, so it was cheaper.

　　Aunt Wang didn’t know the reason, but she didn’t care. After sitting in Li’s house for a while, she saw the stove and was 60 to 70 percent tempted, but now she really wanted to buy it.