peasant girl wedding

Chapter 175 Looking for plaster

The cool night breeze blew in from the moment the door was opened, and Qin An's smell of alcohol dissipated a little.

He opened the window, lowered his head, and met Tong Zhi'er's figure who came out of a restaurant and gradually disappeared into the night, without any hesitation or turning around, decisive and straightforward, just like what she said to herself.

Qin An slowly tightened his fists.

Outside the room, Guanshi Zhang quietly opened the door and looked at the scene inside the room through the small crack.

Seeing that Qin An no longer drank his sorrows with alcohol, his worried heart finally relaxed.

"Come in--"

Just about to leave, Qin An's hoarse voice came from outside the door.

"The treasurer."

Manager Zhang pushed the door open and came in.

Qin An turned around, pointed to the stool, and Guanshi Zhang sat down, keeping his eyes on him.

Although the window was open, the smell of alcohol in the room was still very heavy.

Qin An didn't speak, and Guanshi Zhang didn't speak either.

There was the sound of pouring wine, and the mellow aroma rushed into Guanshi Zhang's nose.

Qin An poured two glasses of wine.

One cup for myself and one cup for Zhang Guanshi.

"Tomorrow, I plan to return to the imperial capital."

Manager Zhang was stunned.

Qin An held the wine glass high with his right hand, his dark eyes looked at the white liquid, and his face was serene.

Zhang Guanshi felt that Qin An seemed to let go of something.

This is a good thing!

"Bon voyage, shopkeeper." Steward Zhang raised his head and drank it all.

"In the future, I will probably never come back here again, Manager Zhang, I will leave the restaurant to you to take care of."

Manager Zhang looked at him in surprise.

In his calm eyes, he caught the fleeting pain, and suddenly understood why he made this decision.

"Shopkeeper, you and Miss Zhi'er..."

"Don't mention it again."

"Don't worry shopkeeper, I will definitely take good care of the restaurant."

Qin An nodded, got up and left.

……

"Zhier—"

As soon as Tong Zhi'er came home, Tong Zhixin, Fang Cuiwei and others came out to welcome her, with worried expressions on their faces.

Tong Zhi'er smiled slightly, held Fang Cuiwei's hand, looked at Tong Zhixin, and said softly, "Why aren't you asleep yet?"

"Zhi'er, Guanshi Zhang came to see you just now..."

Although Fang Cuiwei didn't mention Qin An, she obviously meant that she was afraid that Tong Zhi'er would be confused by Qin An because of his soft heart.

"Father, mother, he and I have passed away, and nothing will happen in the future."

In a word, it was like giving Fang Cuiwei a reassuring pill.

After washing up, Tong Zhi'er went back to her room.

Qin An's accusing and aggrieved eyes kept circling in her mind, making her feel even more guilty.

"Sorry……"

She whispered softly.

Tong Zhi'er thought, this is the most despicable and timid thing she has ever done.

In the following days, Tong Zhi'er went into the forest with Fang Cuiwei, Luo Shi and Tong Zhu'er to pick mushrooms as usual, and Tong Zhixin sent the picked mushrooms to a restaurant according to the day.

After picking the mushrooms, Tong Zhi'er was busy with other things, not allowing herself to be idle.

Unknowingly, the days gradually came to the end of August.

For a while, Fang Cuiwei was very worried, and when she looked at Tong Zhi'er, she hesitated to speak.

Tong Zhi'er's life is as usual, she doesn't feel any changes, but Fang Cuiwei and others, who are outsiders, can see it clearly.

Tong Zhier lost weight.

The face, which was originally small, is now smaller than a slap.

Fang Cuiwei knew what she was worried about, and wanted to comfort her, but every time the words came to her lips, she couldn't say anything when she met Tong Zhi'er's smiling face.

And on this day at the end of August...

"Mom, it's time for us to collect soybeans and peanuts."

Looking down at Tong Zhi'er's big sparkling eyes and flushed cheeks from excitement, Fang Cuiwei let go of her worries.

For a long time, I have never seen Tong Zhi'er such a happy smile.

"Hey--"

Fang Cui replied with a smile all over her face, and raised her hand to stroke her head.

That night, the peanuts were harvested first, and after the peanuts were harvested, the soybeans were harvested.

After all, when tearing peanuts, you have to plan the ground to dig out the broken and buried peanuts in the ground.

When harvesting peanuts, pay attention to a fast speed.

Tong Zhixin twisted the collected cattail grass into ropes and brought them to the field to tie up the peanuts.

Tong Duo'er and Zhou Yunniang were still preparing meals for the big guys at home. Dong Ping would come over every meal time to protect the two of them and deliver the meals to the field so as not to delay the farm work.

Tong Zhixin, Tong Zhide and Fang Cuiwei are mainly responsible for pulling peanuts.

Tong Zhaoyin and Luo Shi were responsible for digging the ground after they pulled the peanuts.

Tong Zhi'er and Tong Zhu'er were responsible for picking up the peanuts in the soil planed by Tong Zhaoyin and Luo Shi, and throwing them into the bag.

There is a clear division of labor, and the two families are not lazy and slippery. It took ten days to harvest the peanuts in the field.

The next step is to harvest soybeans.

The soybean stems are thick, and the soil is relatively thick. If you pull it out directly, it will hurt your palms in a short while, and their labor efficiency is not high.

Tong Zhi'er went to the blacksmith's shop, and the owner of the blacksmith's shop made a sharp knife specially for cutting soybeans according to her design.

By the way, when it comes to blacksmith shops, we have to talk about Tongji shop.

On the second day after Qin An left, Tongji's three shops, Tongji Shop, Tongji BBQ Restaurant, and Tongji Jinxiufang, were torn off by the prefect magistrate, saying that the truth of the matter had been found out, and someone Jealous of Tongjia's good voice, disgusting business frame-up behavior.

Tong's three shops reopened, and Tong Zhi'er only went there on the first day of reopening.

The clerk is still the same clerk in the store, but there is one less accountant and steward.

Tong Zhi'er opened a shop in Qingzhou, and Tong Zhaoyin was going to work as a manager in the shop in Qingzhou, and Tong Ji'er had to train a new manager.

Taking advantage of the three months when the farming was not busy, Tong Zhaoyin determined through observation and assessment that he was qualified to be the manager of Tongji Shop. After telling Tong Zhi'er and Tong Zhixin, the two went to meet this person and confirmed that Tongji Shop would be the new manager. The steward——Liu Guanshi.

Therefore, Tong Zhaoyin just took it easy and asked Zhou Yunniang to teach him to read at home every day.

Qingzhou is a big city in the empire, bustling and bustling. Tong Zhaoyin knows that if a shop manager is illiterate, it is difficult to get favored in this place full of literati.

A shop wants to have more customers, in addition to relying on the things it sells, it is also inseparable from the management of the shop.

A good steward who speaks and acts comfortably and makes a good impression will attract many repeat customers and attract new customers.

When the farming season is busy, he puts his own affairs aside and helps the family with the work.

"Cousin, when cutting soybeans, you should tilt the knife slightly downward, so that it will be easier to cut." Tong Zhi'er picked up the soybeans that everyone had cut, and stacked them neatly on the open space beside him. , while instructing Tong Zhaoyin on the correct cutting method.

Tong Zhixin and Tong Zhide didn't need to mention anything, they cut quickly and steadily.

Tong Zhi'er thought, probably the two of them often went to the woods to cut bamboo and honed their skills.

There is no need to dig the ground to collect soybeans. Once the soybeans are harvested, they can be bundled and picked home.

Therefore, compared with harvesting peanuts, the time it takes to harvest soybeans is reduced by nearly half of the days, and the harvest is completed in only five days.

For big soybeans, the soybean plants need to be dried in the sun, so that the soybeans can easily fall out of the soybean pods.

Tong Zhixin, Tong Zhide and Tong Zhaoyin spread the soybeans harvested on the last day to dry in the open space, and then they took the flail and followed Fang Cuiwei and Luo Shi to beat the soybeans harvested on the first day.

After being exposed to the sun on the first day, the soybeans are already very dry and it is easy to remove the soybeans.

The flail was made by Tong Zhi'er's master carpenter. When she was young, she saw her grandmother beat rapeseed with a flail, so she remembered this kind of thing called a flail.

Unexpectedly, the master carpenter knew what it was after seeing it.

It turned out that there were flails in this era, but no one could use flails in the village where Tong Zhier lived.

The master carpenter is an expert, and even made five flails.

After getting this thing, Tong Zhixin and others were extremely happy.

The flail is easy to use, saves time and effort, compared to last year's stick, I don't know how many times easier to use.

The stone was heavy, and Tong Zhi'er was afraid of the stone and the cattle, so he crushed and trampled the soybeans, and there would be less seeds left, so he didn't let Tong Zhi believe in the stone.

Big soybeans are a physical job. Depending on the weather, it will rain in a few days. Tong Zhixin and others dare not rest.

After they beat the soybeans they harvested the next day, it began to rain heavily.

At first, it was just one grain at a time, but gradually, it turned into a torrential rain.

Fortunately, the rain had been expected for a long time, Tong Zhixin put the other dried soybeans into the firewood room, and did not get caught in the rain.

When it rained, they didn't stay idle. They cleaned up the woodshed and continued to fight.

After more than [-] days of beating in this way, all the soybeans can be regarded as finished.

During the period, Tong Zhi'er, Tong Zhu'er, and Tong Zhaofu who came back from the private school went out together when it was the annual flower-picking birthday.

Tong Zhi'er's task is not just to pick up peanuts, she also wants to find plaster.

Gypsum is essential for making tofu. This year, she has planted more than 30 mu of soybeans, and she can't wait for Fang Cuiwei and others to make soybeans and eat delicious tofu.

"Pearl, Ah Fu, when you were picking up peanuts, help me find that white stone."

"Okay, Second Sister."

The three of them walked and searched all the way, during which Tong Zhu'er and Tong Zhaofu found many white stones, but unfortunately none of them were the kind Tong Zhi'er wanted.

After searching for a few days, it is still the same.

Tong Zhi'er was a little frustrated, she couldn't find plaster, and she didn't find that there was brine here, so tofu couldn't be made.

"Zhier..."

Dong Ping's voice came from not far away, Tong Zhi'er raised his head and met his handsome face.He was wearing a gray gown, and behind him was a basket for picking herbs. When he got closer, Tong Zhi'er found that the basket was full of herbs.

"Brother Dong, it's no wonder I haven't seen you in this period of time, so you went to gather medicine."

"Well," Dong Ping smiled.Looking from left to right, Tong Zhi'er, Tong Zhu'er, and Tong Zhaofu said, "What's on your mind? Didn't you find any peanuts?"

(End of this chapter)