Carpenter's Lady

Chapter 38

Azhu rested at home for three days before going back to the academy, this time Wu Ling and Ding Erye would also go together, the batch of business in the county should be delivered, Wu Ling and Ding Erye would go to have a look together.Wu Ling was worried that Zhang Mu would live alone at home, so he asked Niu Dalang to send a message, asking Mrs. Zhang to come and accompany Zhang Mu.

The work in the field was also done, and Taozi was busy at home, so Mrs. Zhang was very happy to come and accompany her daughter. Xiao Shui heard that he could go to live with his aunt, so he insisted on coming.So, on the first day Wu Ling left, the house in Baique Lane became more lively. The beauty and Xiao Shui were quite right-tempered. It tickled, scratched comfortably, and called twice softly.

Mrs. Zhang saw that her daughter's complexion has become much fairer these days, her figure has become more rounded, her waist is soft when she walks, and she has the charm of a little woman, she can't help but feel more at ease.This daughter's marriage has never been smooth, but now she and Wu Ling are living a good life.

After dinner in the evening, after coaxing Xiao Shui to sleep, Mrs. Zhang took Zhang Mu's hand and chatted, "Girl, is Erniang Ding easy to get along with?" Mrs. Zhang was still a little worried when she thought of this nominal mother-in-law.

Zhang Mu looked at Mrs. Zhang cautiously probing, and smiled, "Mother, I am very good, and my mother-in-law is also very good to me, so don't worry!" As for Wu Ling, Zhang Mu thought it would be nice to have such a mother-in-law.There are also personal discussions in case of trouble.

Mrs. Zhang then chattered with her daughter about family affairs, "Ms. Zhao's mother-in-law also fell ill in October. She said she had been lying on the bed at home for a few days before getting up, and she couldn't even cook. Then Zhao Miaomiao actually didn't care about her old lady, and went to the houses of the two elder brothers next door all day for dinner! Speaking of conscience, the Zhao family boss has some conscience, serving food by the bedside!" Mrs. Zhang thought of Mrs. Zhao's previous arrogance Domineering not only feels relieved, but also feels old-fashioned and sad!
When Zhang Mu saw the melancholy on Mrs. Zhang's face, his heart turned, and he knew that the old man was thinking too much, so he coaxed in a soft voice: "Mother, don't mention her family, my brother and I will respect you and father well, you Just relax!"

Mrs. Zhang also knew that her child had a good character, but when she thought of the desolation of the old man in his later years, she felt a little emotional. Seeing her daughter holding her hand, she said softly, and she felt relieved.

The two chatted for a long time, Mrs. Zhang gradually fell asleep, but Zhang Mu didn't feel sleepy at all. The husband always hugged her when he slept. At first, she couldn't adapt, so she said that they should sleep in their own places, and they were not allowed to touch their bodies. But every day when she wakes up, she always finds her husband clinging to her body. Tonight, she doesn't know if she can fall asleep alone.

Zhang Mu tossed and turned at night but couldn't fall asleep. When she felt drowsy and drowsy, she felt something crawling on her body and touched it. It was a beauty, so she had to get up drowsily.After putting on her clothes, she went to the kitchen. Mrs. Zhang was getting old, and she felt a little shallow. She vaguely felt that her daughter was up, so she got up too.

The air in the morning was a bit cold, Zhang Mu couldn't help shivering, he was used to making the three cakes, and he didn't rush around like before, so he made the puffs first, and waited for the milkman from Cheng's family to come over. The puffs were ready, and I took five of them to the boy, and said, "I'm bothering you again, I just made them, let's try something new!"

The little guy looked at the milk froth and shook his head vigorously, and said: "Sister-in-law is too polite, no, no!"

Zhang Mu wrapped it in a small oiled paper and stuffed it into his arms, "You're welcome, take it and eat on the way!"

After seeing off the boy, Zhang Mu also picked up a piece of milk foam and handed it to Mrs. Zhang.

Mrs. Zhang waved her hands repeatedly and scolded: "Don't waste such an expensive thing, save it for a while and sell it!" The milk foam made by her daughter costs four yuan a piece, which is more expensive than meat buns, and she is reluctant to eat it.She entrusted Niu Dalang to bring back thirty, she kept ten for Xiao Shui, and gave ten each to Aunt Fang's house and Xiao Shitou's house.Unexpectedly, in addition to embroidery, my daughter is also very good at making pastries.

Mrs. Zhang didn't think there was anything wrong with her daughter's good cooking skills. Amu was skillful since she was a child, so she was picked up by Aunt Fang to learn embroidery. Who doesn't know that the girl from the Zhang family in Shuiyang Village is good at embroidery, and can earn one tael of silver a month!What Mrs. Zhang didn't know was that when Zhang Mu arrived at Zhao's house, he would do embroidery work during the day and at night by candlelight, earning more than one tael a month.

Seeing that Mrs. Zhang was reluctant to taste it, Zhang Mu persuaded with a smile: "It's all made at home, and it's not bought. Mom, just try one, or if someone asks you, what does your daughter's milk foam taste like? You don't know." You know, how embarrassing that is!"

Xiao Shui also pulled on his little shoes and ran over to join in the fun. He smelled the delicious smell and woke up. Seeing that grandma didn't want to eat, he took a milk foam and handed it to Mrs. Zhang, saying, "Come on!" , grandma, open your mouth, Xiao Shui will feed you!"

Mrs. Zhang's heart was softened by the obedient Sun Meng, so she took a sip of the milk foam on the little sailor. The stuffing inside was delicate and smooth, and it slipped into her throat before taking two bites in her mouth. She pursed her mouth and said with a smile: "No wonder everyone likes to eat it. It's really delicious and sweet!" It's fine for my daughter not to do embroidery work, but if she does too much, it hurts her eyes and her bones are also bad.Now the son-in-law has four taels of silver per month, and the daughter can earn one tael or five taels of silver a day for jujube cakes, milk foam and milk cakes. In addition to the cost, she also gets one tael or three taels of silver. Except for a few days of rest occasionally, 30 taels a month The taels of silver are more than enough, and I was surprised, my daughter's pastry making skills are much better than embroidery, if it takes two years, the young couple will have a name in the town.

Mrs. Zhang helped her daughter carry the things to the door of Ding's shop, and took her little grandson to visit the houses of acquaintances in the town. Zhang Mu wrapped two bags of red date cake for her to take with her.The eldest daughter of Aunt Fang's family is married to the Yu family who sells wine in the town. This aunt of the Fang family was able to chat with her when she was not married. After a while, I planned to go to the Yu family as well. The Yu family also married a daughter-in-law to come in last year. According to Aunt Fang, the daughter-in-law is a good hand in running the house. Now she has to take care of the inside and outside. .

Mrs. Yu was having breakfast, when she saw Mrs. Zhang bringing her grandson, she got busy and said with a smile, "Sister-in-law Zhang hasn't come to my house for several years, why are you free now?"

"My son-in-law went to the county to do business. Don't worry about Amu being alone at home. Let me stay with you. It's okay for me, so I just came to chat with you. Didn't it bother you?" Mrs. Zhang also said replied with a smile.

Aunt Fang originally planned to go out to play the horse hanging in the morning to make up for the time. When she saw someone coming to accompany her, she was very welcome. At that moment, the two of them chatted about the situation affectionately.The young daughter-in-law of the Yu family brought tea, and Mrs. Zhang couldn't help feeling her eyes light up, and said with a smile, "Your daughter-in-law is really beautiful, as fresh and tender as a delicate flower! We are about to fall to yellow leaves!"

The young daughter-in-law of the Yu family pursed her lips and smiled, bowed and went to work ahead.

Aunt Fang then said: "My sister-in-law is really good at coaxing people. Whose little lady is as good as your wooden girl? Don't bully my daughter-in-law!" That girl used to be dexterous, but now she is even better. Even she likes to eat two pieces of jujube cake!
Although Aunt Fang praised Zhang Mu, Mrs. Zhang knew that she was very satisfied with her daughter-in-law when she saw her smile when she talked about her daughter-in-law, so she didn't argue with her at the moment. It's clear, it's still worth it, let's see how this family lives.

"Hey, sister-in-law, do you know the Chu family?" Aunt Fang suddenly lowered her voice and mentioned.

"The one that makes wood?" Mrs. Zhang asked after thinking for a while.The famous Chu family in the town is the only one.

"That's right, it's that family. Didn't I tell you that I had a crush on his girl two years ago? When Ah Zheng was about to marry Hui'er, I was angry for a while! Oh, I Tell the old sister, thankfully Ah Zheng had the right idea at the time, otherwise I would regret it to death!" Aunt Fang patted her chest as she spoke, with a look of joy on her face.

Mrs. Zhang guessed that Huier should be her daughter-in-law, "Then what happened to the Chu family?"

"It's not about business. Mrs. Chu somehow returned to her mother's house some time ago. She had just left for half a month, and the daughter of the Chu family actually saw the right eye with the uncle of the Ye family!" Aunt Fang thought of the green onion like The little girl and the Ye family uncle who is a year older than her husband-in-law feel disgusted in my heart!It's true that the upper beam is not straight and the lower beam is crooked!The old man of the Ye family married a young girl of seventeen or eighteen to be a concubine, but the old man of the Ye family looked like a dog, so he even picked up the daughter of the Chu family.

Mrs. Zhang couldn't help but click her tongue in her heart, the behavior of this rich family is so absurd.Glancing at Aunt Fang and seeing the look of contempt on her face, she knew in her heart that she also looked down on the little girl of the Chu family.Mrs. Zhang was not going to talk about the behavior of other girls, so she changed the subject

At three o'clock, Ding Erniang helped Zhang Mu move the table back. As soon as it was cleaned up, she saw the housekeeper of the Cheng family rushing over again, with an eager look on her face and a bag of pastries in her hand. .

Seeing Zhang Mu, the housekeeper of the Cheng family, she hurriedly dragged Zhang Mu into the shop, and said, "Little lady, take a quick look, I'm going to buy some preserved fruits for my wife at Gan's shop today, and I saw him." The home is also for sale!"

In the oiled paper bag that was opened, there was a pastry similar in appearance to Zhang Mu's jujube cake.

Zhang Mu pulled a bit and took a sip. Although the taste was a bit different from hers, it also had milk in it.

Zhang Mu immediately smiled at the housekeeper of the Cheng family: "It's thanks to Aunt Liu who informed me of this matter, otherwise I won't be able to do this in a few days!"

Seeing that there was no anxiety on Zhang Mu's face, Aunt Liu knew that she had an idea in mind, so she smiled and said, "Little lady is very smart, as long as you have a charter in your heart!" Then she said goodbye and went back.

Zhang Mu pinched the little things on his fingertips, and estimated that the red date cake business would have to be released in another month. Since the Gan's shop had figured out the ingredients correctly, it would be a matter of time before they figured out how to do it.And Zhang Mu is a little bit worried. There are very few dairy products here, and the ones she makes so much fanfare are puffs and cheese. 80 taels of silver, just another way to make money
(End of this chapter)