Notes on Leisurely Living in the Farm

Chapter 42

In the cramped room, the kerosene lamp burned all night.As dawn broke, Yiyou rubbed her sore eye sockets, blew out the choking lamp, and covered the lampshade.

"Mother, go and squint for a while, and I'll do the rest."

"No, it's faster if the two of you do it together."

Yiyou couldn't beat her, so Yiyou didn't say anything more.

"Father doesn't know what's going on tonight, I'll go out and have a look."

After Shen Fuxiang went out last night, he didn't come in again. There was no movement at Chaimen, and the couple also knew that he was in the courtyard all the time.Such a grown-up person will not be like Changsheng, who will make people worry about it, and the busy two don't have much time to worry about it.

"elder sister."

Just when Changsheng woke up, the little guy rubbed his sleepy eyes, looking dazed.Yiyou watched him put on his clothes and open the door bolt, she was surprised by the heat coming from the side.

How could there be a fire in the kitchen so early?
Stepping out of the door, I saw that the cover of the cellar was open, and the firewood piled high beside the fence was reduced by half. There was a steady stream of white smoke from the kitchen.

Someone was lighting a fire, and after realizing this, she raised her foot and walked, just in time to meet Shen Fuxiang who came out.

"father."

"Are you done with your work?"

With simple dialogue, the embarrassment between father and daughter disappears invisible.It's not that Yiyou doesn't complain in her heart, but at that time her own father, even though he was foolish and filial, he never harmed her.

Insufficient in comparison, but compared to Chen Deren who watched her two miscarriages in the previous life and was not at all moved, her father is much better.

"The time is coming, I will go to the market by myself today, you two have a rest."

Yiyou walked into the kitchen and saw neatly stacked drawers on the stove.After finishing, she and her mother were busy with embroidery, too busy to pay attention to the movement outside.

"Dad, did you do it yourself?"

The heat is getting more and more hot, seeing the steamed stuffed buns getting hot, Yiyou opened the lid.In the three-foot-diameter steamer, buns the size of an adult's fist were neatly stacked. Although they were not as good-looking as her and Niang's usual buns, they were still above the horizontal line.

"I'm fine on my own."

"..."

Suddenly she didn't know what to say, making buns is hard work.Dad had at least [-] in this pot, and the whole family was busy for half a day on weekdays, but he was allowed to finish them all in one night.

"Here, Fuxiang, we can't live without a man at home today, why don't I push him?"

Shen Fuxiang grabbed his coat and put it on: "There are few steamed buns today, and the market is close to home. I pushed to sell them, and nothing will be delayed when I come back. If we don't sell steamed stuffed buns, what will we spend if we live in the city?"

Yiyou grasped the last sentence keenly: "Father, did you agree?"

"It's okay if I don't agree? But Erya, think about it again. If this matter gets out, we won't be able to behave properly in the future."

"Daughter will definitely not let our family do that. Dad, are you worried about this?"

Shen Fuxiang showed embarrassment, he was not as good as his daughter thought.But he is really afraid that his wife and daughter will ignore him, and the two evils are in power, so he still has to protect his family.

"It's getting late, I'll push it first."

Watching his back, the wrinkles on Li's forehead stretched out, and the gloomy aura in his whole body dissipated a lot.

Yiyou clenched his hands tightly and then loosened them. Father made another concession in his capriciousness, tilting the balance in his heart from the clan side.She didn't want to say anything about his character.

"Mom, this is the last time."

"I'm sorry Erya... Don't worry, Mom will always be by your side."

Yiyou picked up the wooden box under the willow tree. Her father is really loved and hated, but life is already so difficult, why bother to think about those unhappiness.

"Mother is so kind. After today, there will be a puddle of mud over there, and father will never have the opportunity to hesitate and struggle again."

Li Shi was taken aback for a moment, then relieved.After so many years of entanglement, the big stone that weighs on her heart is finally about to be completely smashed and moved out?
Thinking of this, she just felt relaxed all over her body: "Come here, Erya, put it on and have a look."

"Well, I have to make some snacks, just in time to use them."

Yiyou personally went to the white stone pile and took out a pure white stone core from the middle.If she had no choice, she really didn't want to use this small amount of good things here.

"It's cheaper than Chen Deren once."

The white stone is of high quality, and the boiled water is also extraordinarily clear.After kneading, she added the wild chrysanthemums she picked along the way to the water.This flower is difficult to be elegant, and has a bitter taste, even in famine years, there is no way to care for it.

But Ke Yiyou knows that bitterness is sweet before sweetness, and sweetness becomes sweeter.Chen Deren is sweet by nature, honey has long been commonplace for him, and she made a mistake by accident in her previous life, so she figured out this recipe.

The rolling pin is waved up and down, and sesame oil is added, the dough is pressed into layers, and the sharp points are drawn with a knife.After the dough is made, a layer of noodles soaked in wild chrysanthemum water is wrapped underneath, and steamed on the cage.

The bellows is pulled down once, and the pasta will come out of the pot after a while.The outer surface is hard, and the inner soft surface is swollen, and peonies bloom from it, and the bright color of honey is shining between each petal.

Mrs. Li was amazed: "I can make such a beautiful thing."

Changsheng was on the side and the boss was not happy: "Sister, I want a little tiger, these flowers are not pretty."

Yiyou lifted the lid of the pot and opened the second layer, which was just ordinary steamed buns and flower rolls.

"I can't do without you, take it to Mu Yu to play."

Carrying the cloth bag, Changsheng happily went to find his little friend.Yiyou carefully picked it up with wooden clips and put it in the prepared wooden box.

In ancient times, there was an old saying of returning pearls from a basket, which is ironic but also contains another layer of truth: a delicate appearance can always please people's hearts.The same is true for the snacks in front of you. The log-colored box is wrapped in hollow embroidery, with a few pieces of pastries in the middle. It looks like a kapok tree in spring, which is too beautiful to behold.

"Mother, let the people from the county government come and take a look."

"Are they coming?"

Yiyou nodded affirmatively: "If the second aunt lied, she would have made thorough preparations early in the morning, then someone should have arrived yesterday afternoon. Now that it's been delayed until this morning, she probably really went to the county government to find witnesses."

"In other words, is this true?"

Yiyou's face was a little solemn: "Probably, mother, the soldiers came to cover up the water and earth. If it doesn't work, we'll die, and the Shen family will be flooded!"

"This child, if he learns the tone of the opera, he will follow you."

Although she was smiling, there was still a haze in Li's eyes that couldn't be concealed.Although she married into this family, her surname is not Shen, and all she has to do is hug her child.

Erya managed to change her temper, she had to fight no matter what she was a mother.

The two of them were talking, when Chun's mother's voice came from outside: "The fourth lady and the second lady are there..."

"Well, my father went to the market early in the morning, and he hasn't come back yet."

"The patriarch and madam invite you to go over."

"But the county government has come?"

"The old slave doesn't know either."

Yiyou's eyes widened: "Oh, there are things in the Shen family that Chun's mother doesn't know about? Although our family doesn't have such strict rules, but where is the distinction between master and servant, and you just evade it like this when I ask you? Yes, there is, If you don’t have it, you don’t have it, are those tricks of yours used to decorate your face?”

Chun's mother shivered, and quickly woke up from the laxity of the men in the family who were no longer in charge: "There are a few people from the clan, and the clothes are very nice."

"What did Second Aunt call them?"

"Madam is very polite to them, the other old slaves really don't know."

Yi You tightened her chest tightly, although the Prime Minister's concierge was a seventh-rank official, but Cheng's family is now the wife of the patriarch, a girl like Si Ya who burns fire, so she can't be treated politely.It seems that Mrs. Xiancheng has sent someone who can take charge this time. "

"Then let's go."

Putting the wooden box on, she cast a cold glance at Chun's mother.It's just an old slave who doesn't have much courage. She loses her courage after a little frightening, so she doesn't need to bother too much.

"Fourth Madam and Second Miss please first."

Mother Chun, who was still in shock, followed behind, but she was puzzled in her heart, how could that solid-eyed girl, Second Miss, become so powerful all of a sudden.The wife fell into her hands last time, will it be the same this time?

"Mother Chun, it's not a good thing to be a servant who is talkative. I heard from the county magistrate's wife that there is a criminal law in her house called pulling out the tongue. The strong man sticks the red-hot pliers into his mouth and pinches it out. With the tongue, the high temperature scalds the wound, and a person will not shed a drop of blood."

"The old slave knows, Second Miss, please forgive me."

Yiyou walked forward satisfied, wondering if this scare would save her some trouble in the future.

The Shen family's ancestral house is still the same, but Ke Yiyou still feels the imperceptible desolation from the grass growing on the tile.

Wearing a bright red robe, Mrs. Cheng stood proudly on the steps, looking at them with contempt.

"Fourth sibling and Erya are here, come in and talk."

Yiyou looked at the wooden box and decided not to compete with her for this moment.Stepping over the threshold and entering, an old mother came in front of her. She was the one who followed closely behind the county magistrate's wife that day and called for someone to beat Siya's board.

"Why bother Madam Wu to come out in person, Erya is here, please go in and take your seat."

"I didn't expect Madam Wu to come in person. I was worried that I couldn't contact Madam."

Yiyou sat down, opened the lid of the box, the hot air came out with a sweet fragrance, and what was left behind was a dewy peony roll.

Mother Wu couldn't help standing up: "You guys did this?"

"Well, just out of the pot is when it looks good and delicious. Mom, come and taste it."

Mama Wu picked one up and put it in her mouth. It was soft and sweet, sweet but not greasy. Coupled with the beautiful shape, it made people move their index fingers for no reason.

"how do you feel?"

"It's indeed a good thing. Miss Erya really has a pair of skillful hands."

Mama Wu praised her, and many thoughts flashed through her mind.Along the way, she had heard about the things about the Shen family. This girl is a fierce girl, and Madam doesn't insist that she enter the mansion to compete for favor.

Yiyou stood up straight, full of momentum: "Thank you for the compliment, mom, you came today because of the second aunt's request?"

Just after eating and drinking enough, Madam Wu was in a state of disorientation, and suddenly she was really taken aback by the sudden change in momentum.

"nature."

Cheng's face was ugly, and he squealed: "Mom, I didn't ask for that."

Yiyou folded her arms around her chest, it was indeed instigated by her second aunt.Before that incident broke out, it was better for her to solve this incident first.

(End of this chapter)