Notes on Leisurely Living in the Farm

Chapter 50

It was only when the Yamen guards locked Shen Fuhai and Shen Fuai in shackles and escorted them down, that Yiyou's heart finally came to fruition.

Taking advantage of the gap before leaving the hall, she carefully pondered the change of the county magistrate's attitude.It was clearly malicious and wanted to make decisions for the siblings, so why did they suddenly act as impartial and strict parents?
"This purse was found from Shen Fuhai, and there were two taels of silver in it, so I made compensation and handed it all over to shopkeeper Wu."

The county magistrate Langsheng said that Pei Zihuan wrote a book and recorded it in the book.

Yiyou, who was standing under the hall, heard this, but her mind was moved.Looking at the envious or surprised eyes around her, she had to think deeply.

Yunzhou is rich and prosperous, and the county magistrate who has lived here for a long time will not care about the scattered money.However, for ordinary people, two taels of silver is a lot of money.A few months ago, Shen Fuhai tried to sell Yiyou into the county government as a maidservant because of his clan's knowledge of money and taking advantage of his clan's power.

According to Da Viet weights and measures, one tael of silver is worth a penny.The silver hairpin that Mrs. Li bought for her just now is worth a dime.At this moment, Yiyou looked at the two-thirds of herself, feeling that the facts are impermanent and her family has changed drastically, but doubts abounded in her heart.

The county magistrate has no great friendship with his family, excluding this point, today's affairs are so smooth, I am afraid that it is still blessed by shopkeeper Wu.

"Retire!"

As soon as the words fell, the county magistrate's body softened.In the first half of the day, he dragged Siya around in the study room, and after making such a fuss for the rest of the afternoon, considering his age, he was really lacking in energy.Thinking of having to deal with the big worm in the main hospital at night, a pain came from the back of his head.

It's all caused by the Shen family, if you don't bother him, something has happened in the government, and this year's evaluation by the Ministry of Officials is worrying.He was upset for a while, but he and Yiyou's mother and daughter also held grudges.

Just as Yiyou was about to leave, she looked up and saw the cloudy face of the county magistrate.

In her previous life, she served close to the study, how could she not know the temperament of Master Chen.Speaking of which, she served the two male masters one after the other, both surnamed Chen, and she had the same temper as usual.However, compared with Chen Xiancheng, Chen Deren's city mansion is deeper, and he has always been gentle to people.Moreover, the latter has a high status, and no one in Yunzhou usually offends him.

But what happened today is really helpless, even Shen Fu'ai bullied her, so she has no reason to let him spoil her.

"Mother, Changsheng is over there. It's getting late, we should go home too."

"That's natural."

Yi Youming saw that Li's expression had long since disappeared, and he was gloomy, and there seemed to be a few wrinkles between his brows missing.At this moment, her tone was relaxed, and she was extremely happy.

Before she waved to Changsheng, a slim maid suddenly came to the door.

"Miss Yiyou, madam, please go back and talk about it."

"Erya, could it be Siya's side?"

"Mother, Si Ya and Madam are so far apart, so it's a matter of Peony Cake to go. You go back with Changsheng first, and I'll go and listen to Madam's orders."

"Be careful what you say in front of a nobleman."

After reconciling with Shen Fuxiang, Li's heart couldn't help beating in the first few days.Hua and Ji got married in [-], and now she can barely pass her [-]s, and looking forward, she doesn't know how to live the remaining decades.

However, after the scorching summer and the family situation got better, she felt more and more that what her daughter did that day was really incomparably appropriate.Although her heart of protecting the calf has not changed, she is extremely at ease with her eldest daughter.

"That's natural. Madam is a lady of every family, well educated and easy to get along with."

The county government office is the territory of the county magistrate's wife, and of course Yiyou is not stingy in praising her.With some words to dispel Li's last worry, she waved to her younger brother, then turned and nodded to the servant girl.

"I have to trouble my sister to lead the way."

"Don't bother me, Miss Yiyou, please."

Along with the servant girl, Yiyou entered from the corner gate of the county government office with her head held high.There was a crowd of people behind her, and she went straight to the county government office as soon as she left the hall. It goes without saying what the onlookers would think.

However, it is inevitable to avoid it now, and hiding her head and showing her tail to be submissive is even more despised by others, so she has a good bearing.She walks upright and sits upright, and she is not afraid of those ghosts and monsters.

The discussion became quieter until it was completely buried behind the corner gate.Yiyou walked forward slowly, turned around at the corner, and saw an old mother in a purple velvet jacket, talking to shopkeeper Wu.

The old mother is slightly plump, with a silver hairpin in her hair. There is a difference in the county government's honor and inferiority. Generally, the maids wear big braids, while the mother wears her hair up.Except for the master, the only person who wears jewelry all the year round is Mama Wu, the right person next to the wife.

The two have the same surname Wu, and they are familiar with each other, so they may really be relatives.Right now, Yiyou was completely sure that the success of beating the drum to appeal for grievances must be due to shopkeeper Wu.

"It's in front, you go in."

Yiyou cupped her arms and faced each other: "I'm sorry, sister."

She was born beautiful, and since she set up a family, she has demanded herself as a man.I was used to Chen Deren's behavior in my previous life, after two months of getting used to it, my every move at this moment does not show the slightest tweaking from her daughter's family, on the contrary, there is a bit of a man's chic and coquettish attitude, which makes the little maid blush and her heart beat.

Taking a step forward to open the door, she stepped back quickly, and she moved with the same hands and feet.

"Minister, see Madam."

Stepping in, there is no shortage of etiquette.The county magistrate's wife is from the capital city. Although she is not from a noble family, she has been used to seeing beautiful clothes and shadows since she was a child. She is always a well-educated daughter.

Once married into a poor family, she was trapped in a county on the edge of Yunzhou for dozens of years, and all she saw on weekdays was a vulgar woman from the countryside.Therefore, seeing Yiyou like this for the first time in Chunri, she was a little more patient and allowed him to propose three conditions.

Just now she has learned what this mother and daughter said at the gate of the county government office, and both mother and daughter have praised her.Whether it's acting on the spot or sincerely, it always makes her happy.

"Get up and sit down."

Yiyou scanned around, and the embroidered pier that was specially prepared for her in the past was long gone, where the county magistrate's wife's jade finger could reach, it was clearly a yellow rosewood chair across the table from her.

This kind of treatment has never been given to the wife of the head of the business in the county in her previous life.It seems that according to Madam's preference, she purposely acted like a lady of great courtesy and thoughtfulness, and this move was considered to be the right one.

"Mrs. Xie."

Sitting upright, she put her hands on her knees casually, motionless, as if she was listening and asking questions.

Everything in the world is in harmony with each other. Although the wife of the county magistrate wants to be strong, she loves a quiet girl who can calm down and listen to what she has to say.Usually, some wives only think that she likes to be lively, and they get together on weekdays, talking and making fun of their mouths, completely ignoring her limelight and annoying her for no reason.Yiyou's move just happened to suit her heart.

"You're welcome too, you can take all the melons and fruits on the table."

Yiyou picks up the peanuts on the plate, pinches them in the palm of his hand and peels them off, then puts the kernels in another clean plate.

The county magistrate's wife was also polite, and ate them one by one.

"I called you here today mainly because of the peony cake."

Yiyou is very confident in her craftsmanship, Chen Deren has been in a high position for a long time, and the beauties who recommend themselves as pillow seats are like crucian carp crossing the river.Although most of them are not as beautiful as her, each has its own characteristics.She was able to climb up to the position of "Second Lady" because of this good craftsmanship bestowed by God, with a little learning, the cakes she made were not much worse than the cooks who came from Beijing.

"If you have any requirements, madam, you can tell the daughters of the people."

The submissive attitude made the county magistrate's wife even more satisfied: "Master Chen likes peony cake very much, and the governor is asking for a prescription."

"Ma'am, my lord has an order, but women dare not resign. It's just..."

Seeing her resignation, Mrs. Xiancheng's good mood disappeared half.In her capacity, the first time she allowed this girl to raise conditions was out of novelty.But it doesn't mean that she likes to be dominated again and again.

"The governor is no better than our county magistrate, but he is a big shot in our Yunzhou. If you don't hand in the prescription, you can simply enter the mansion as a servant and make cakes for the adults yourself."

"Minnv has no intention of reluctance, but the peony cake is not as good as steamed stuffed buns, and the cooking process is extremely careful. Minnv is afraid of following the scriptures and not being able to make the original taste. If it hurts the lady because of this, isn't it the fault of the minnv?"

Her expression was calm, and there was nothing disobedient in her tone, but it aroused the guilt of Mrs. Xiancheng.The little girl is not very old, but she has everything.

"You don't need to worry about this matter, just write it down."

"It's all according to Madam. Minnv has never read, so she asked Madam to find someone to write for her."

The county magistrate's wife picked up the lake brush, dipped it in ink and dropped it on the paper. Yiyou read it slowly from memory.Without a cup of tea, a complete recipe is presented on paper.

Different from ordinary recipes, Yiyou's descriptions are extremely detailed, including the time for kneading the noodles and the cooking time.The county magistrate's wife, who never cooks, can also see her sincerity from it.

"that's it."

"Ma'am, this handwriting is really beautiful."

Compared with trying to please her before, she really appreciates it now.After being able to do so in her previous life, she also thought about learning calligraphy, but it took half a year, and she could only know a few large characters, except for the three characters "Shen Yiyou", which can be seen, the rest are all black ink.

If it is not forced, who would not want to be born rich and worry-free, go outing to enjoy flowers in leisure time, and be proficient in all kinds of piano, chess, calligraphy and painting.Although the county magistrate's wife is delicate and savage, she is still envied by Yiyou.With hairpin flowers in lower script, even an illiterate person like her thinks it looks good.

"It's a joke, but it's really hard to practice. I've been writing for decades."

"Hard work pays off."

Yiyou looked at the place where the signature was signed, and the four characters "Zhangshi Sanniang" were engraved on the vermilion Indonesian.Judging from its shape, it should be the private seal of the county magistrate's wife.In two lifetimes, this was the first time she knew her wife's surname.

Deep in my memory, Chen Deren once told her that a concubine from a distant house in the Chen family married the Zhang family in the capital.The county matriarch's mouth often reveals a Beijing accent. Could it be that the two are from the same family?
The cause of death in the previous life was a matter in her mind after all, and when she was the most insane that day, she never saw the eldest lady make any moves.Why on earth would she not hesitate to poison the eldest son of the concubine of the Chen family to blame her?
"It's just a few words, but you're crazy about it?"

Zhang's teasing awakened her from her contemplation, cheered her up, and she borrowed the slope to get off the donkey: "Men's daughters are just envious, Madam has both ability and political integrity."

"Look at this little mouth, it looks like it has been smeared with honey, well, let me give you some sweetness today."

"Please show me, Madam."

"The eighth day of the next month is my daughter's wedding day, and the wedding cakes needed by the county government will be made by you?"

This is indeed a big deal, but there are only mother and daughter in the family, if it cannot be completed by then, and there is a mistake on the big day, then the crime will be serious.

She tactfully stated her concerns, and the county magistrate's wife showed surprise: "Today, you guys still make those buns yourself?"

Yiyou blushed: "The rice in the county town is expensive, it's not as good as in the countryside, it's not easy to live in vain."

"Pfft, you can talk nonsense. Even though it's Taiping, life is not easy for a family with many women there. Buying a maid with skillful hands is only a few taels of silver. Given your current situation, how can you not have that little money?"

In fact, she had already thought about it at this moment, with the white stones piled up, her buns would definitely be sold.Buying a maid looks like a loss-making business now, but in the long run, it is a very suitable business.

"Thank you Madam for reminding me that it's already twenty now, and it's only half a day before the auspicious day for the young lady to get married. It's not too late. The folk girl will make a few more and send them back, only for Madam to choose the best."

(End of this chapter)