Notes on Leisurely Living in the Farm

Chapter 71

Looking at Li Shi's handsome back, Yiyou was stunned for a cup of tea.

"Mother, you must have thought about it? This is really great."

Clapping her palms together, she jumped onto the bed beside the kang.

"Erya, come make the stuffing."

When Li Shi's shout sounded, Yiyou staggered and almost fell off the twig.Steady her legs and walked out of the main room, she saw white stones piled up under the sweet-scented osmanthus tree.

Such a pile of things suddenly appeared in the well-organized small courtyard, which seemed particularly abrupt.She is used to tidiness, but now she just finds it extraordinarily awkward.

"Come in quickly."

Holding the basin, Li raised her neck and shouted out the window.Yiyou rolled up her sleeves and walked inside.

Spinning and sprinkling the salt over and over again, she stirs the filling.Although there are Mama Liu and Bitao to help, but stuffing stuffing requires experience.Li's concoction is equally delicious, but not the same as hers.Those who buy steamed buns are used to the old taste and are generally not willing to accept new ones.

Of course, this matter fell on her head.

"Erya, your birthday is five days away, what do you want to do?"

Given Yiyou's dislike of trouble, the simpler the matter, the better.

"The matriarch of the county magistrate said that she is coming, and sister Qiao's dowry should have been settled in the past two days. I will go to see her tomorrow and the day after tomorrow, and listen to Madam's thoughts by the way."

"That's fine, if Madam can come in person, no one will dare to be too contemptuous of you in the future."

Yiyou pulled out her chopsticks: "Mother, this is not Yunlin Village. As long as you live in peace, no one will dare to bully you."

"That's true. There's another thing. After the autumn harvest, it's getting colder every day, and the eggplants are about to die. What should we do this winter?"

Yiyou frowned. When farming, she depended on the sky for food.Selling buns now depends on the sky.Although the winter in Yunzhou is not as severe as outside the Great Wall, it is not as warm and humid as the south described in the book.Generally, the farms mostly store good grain, and burn the hot earth kang so that they don't go out all winter.

As for how to live in the county, she is the first time here, so she really doesn't know.

"Mother, people in the county town also burn firewood in winter? I heard that there are rich people in Zhizhou Prefecture who burn silver charcoal."

Mrs. Li somewhat understands: "The imperial court stipulates that silver charcoal can only be used by officials. Most of Yunlin Village pulls firewood from the field as grass, and some countrymen come to the city to sell firewood in winter, but the city burns firewood. Firewood is troublesome, but some wealthy families use black charcoal."

"Black charcoal? Isn't silver charcoal also black, why are they different?"

Mrs. Li said with a smile: "Of course it's different. Black charcoal has a lot of smoke and is not resistant to burning. Mother has never seen silver charcoal, but I heard that there is almost no smoke in the silver charcoal brazier in the house, and a small piece the size of a fist can Burn it for an hour."

It dawned on Yiyou that the charcoal burned in her own room in her previous life must be different from the one that smoked in the back kitchen.

Li said again: "Don't worry about the charcoal, the most important stuffing is now. We can't sell all the meat buns all winter, how many can we sell?"

"Yes, mother, let me think about it."

Yiyou rested her chin and looked out of the window, not knowing how expensive daily necessities are if she is not in charge.Now the money earned from selling steamed buns is enough to spend, but she still wants to open a shop, so this steamed stuffed bun business not only cannot stop, but also has to be bigger and bigger as much as possible.

There was the sound of rolling the skin in my ears, and Mama Liu and Bi Tao were both sharp people.Especially Ms. Liu, she has a unique skill. She holds a rolling pin in each hand, and she can roll out three pieces of skin as quickly as others can roll two pieces of skin, which is fast and good.

"Miss, I have an idea."

Yiyou turned her head and looked at Bi Tao with a pinch of noodles standing on her nose: "Tell me about it."

"When I was at home, the hawthorn and persimmons that my parents couldn't sell were all hung up and dried in the cellar. It was cold and stuffy in there, but they were still fresh after several months."

Yiyou's eyes lit up, Yunlin Village doesn't have a cellar, but the Shen family's ancestral house does.It wasn't hard to build, but it worked.

"Mom, let's find someone to build a cellar?"

Mrs. Li shook her head: "Why didn't I think about this. But look at the well in our courtyard, there is water more than a foot down. This courtyard is close to the moat, and the underground soil is very damp, so it cannot be used as a cellar."

The corners of Bi Tao's eyes drooped, and they lost their previous brilliance.Yiyou reached out to wipe the flour off her nose: "Bitao's idea is also good, I didn't expect water seepage either."

Bi Tao was happy again, and the young lady was indeed the best: "I didn't expect that my hometown is full of mountains, and I have to pick water from the mountain streams."

After comforting the person, the problem is still there. Yiyou sat by the window, resting her chin and continuing to think.

What should I do?
Mrs. Li went out to steam steamed buns, and Mama Liu came in quietly and said in a low voice, "Miss, I found out something."

"what's up?"

"It's the embroidery workshop Miss mentioned. It's true that the widowed mother leads the young daughter. It's not that no one wants to buy it in these years, but the wife in charge of the embroidery workshop disagrees anyway."

"Oh, why is that?"

"The old slave hasn't figured it out yet."

Yiyou drooped her eyelids, but didn't know what's the use of finding out.Seeing Liu's mother standing in front of her with a worried expression, she didn't want to make things difficult.

"After all, the time is too short. It's not easy for your mother to know this. I'm not that mean. See if you're scared, the 'Old Slave' has come out."

"I just can't hide my words, but Miss, I've already asked Mingyuan, the guy next door to Wuguzhai, to be more careful. It shouldn't be difficult."

"Wu Gu Zhai?"

"Well, didn't the lady give the cake to the bakery on the opening day? When Mingyuan heard that it was our home, he was happy to agree."

Yiyou was thoughtful, waved her hand and said, "Mother Liu, go to my mother's side first."

After Mama Liu retired, she remembered what Master Chang had mentioned when the Wuguzhai opened on the fifth day of the first day.He wants to go to the north and south of the river to purchase fresh ingredients according to the seasons.

This matter sounds absurd, but she knows that in October, Yunzhou is already in the twelfth lunar month, and the southernmost Qiongzhou rice harvest is in full swing.There is even rice, so is there anything else?The things stored in the cellar are fresher than the freshly picked ones.

"Try it for now, no matter how bad it is, there are radishes, cabbage and meat that can survive the winter."

After she settled down in this way, she went to talk to Mrs. Li.

It was already sunset, and Mrs. Li was busy putting the buns into the pot.After listening to her, it was rare for her not to respond immediately.

"Erya, just now we talked about black charcoal, do you know how much this black charcoal is mined in the northwest, and how much is it worth?"

Yiyou's eyes were darkened, she never paid more attention to such insignificant matters.

"Over there in the northwest, as long as the local households pay for it for their own use, the imperial court will not take any money."

"This……"

"However, after traveling thousands of miles to Yunzhou, the price was more expensive than rice and noodles at the most expensive time. In recent years, the imperial court has been stable, and the price of black charcoal has dropped slightly. One catty of wheat can be exchanged for two catties."

How can it be so high?Yiyou asked subconsciously: "Mother, where's the silver charcoal?"

"The mother doesn't know, but the mother has heard that the silver charcoal that shines on the surface is worth copper coins."

"What if the fire is fragrant?"

Mrs. Li nodded her head: "How come there are so many weird ideas, those things are not something people like us can touch now."

Yiyou calculated carefully, the long journey would cost a lot of money, but after a little hesitation, she was determined.

"Mother, life is like sailing against the current. If you don't advance, you will retreat. My daughter thinks that Master Chang's move is very prescient. There is no shortage of wealthy businessmen and people who know what to buy in Yunzhou. How about we try it?"

Mrs. Li looked at the main room, and there was 200 taels of silver bills pressed on the bottom of the cage by the window.In addition, she also saved some spare money, but she was not in short supply.

"Erya, making money is not easy, have you thought about it?"

Yiyou nodded: "Mother, I think Mr. Chang has an unusual manner. We used to go to the market or go shopping. When have you ever seen such a businessman?"

Seeing Mrs. Li's intentions moved, she hastened to work harder: "Our three mothers will be able to save such a fortune in half a year. If we lose, we will be doing it for nothing. If this is done, our family will be able to open a shop next year."

Mrs. Li grabbed the cage cloth tightly, gritted her teeth and said a word: "Okay."

Yiyou showed a comfortable smile: "Mother, then I'll go and talk to Master Chang."

"You have to wait a few days. Even if no one in the county dares to do anything against you, the girl's family must pay attention. I will go to Wuguzhai to find Chang Ye tomorrow and the next day, and I will also take a look at the embroidery workshop along the way."

"Mom, do you know everything?"

Ms. Liu tried her best to reduce her sense of existence, and Mrs. Li didn't make things difficult for her.

"You're running outside all the time and don't stay at home. Of course, I should pay more attention to everything."

Yiyou rubbed her nose: "Then I'll leave this matter to my mother, and I'll go embroider the schoolbags for Changsheng and the others."

The whole night passed in a busy way. Although Yiyou had already picked up the female celebrity, she put so much effort into these two schoolbags that she couldn't finish them in a moment.

When dawn broke, she got up on time, fetched water to wash, and put the buns into the dustpan.

"Mother Liu, today you will push it to the market and sell it."

The eyes of those who were named could not stop jumping for joy.Xu Shi was bored by her parents-in-law and husband-in-law in the first half of her life, but now she is not tired of working, but she likes the lively market place the most.

"Bitao is still in charge of collecting the money."

The division of labor was clear, and the two hurriedly responded.Bi Tao has a small body, holding a money box that is wider than her shoulders, her eyes are crooked into the moon when she smiles.She is afraid of poverty, and she likes to hear the crisp sound of copper coins colliding, and the cool and slightly rough feel of copper coins when she holds them.

Instructing Changsheng to find Mu Yu and not to run out of this place, she split up with Li Shibing.At Suojufangkou, the two of them turned one left and the other right.

Not long after, she walked up to the county government office, and when Jiaomen's mother saw that it was her, a smile appeared on her rigid face.

"Miss Yiyou is here, Miss misses you so much these days."

"I'm going to see Miss Qiao right now."

Walking to the backyard familiarly, when she passed the Chuihua Gate, she inadvertently heard the voice of the county magistrate.

"Mu Ran, what do you think of Qiaojie's girl?"

Slowing down, she heard a familiar deep voice inside and replied: "Your official doesn't have much contact with the young lady, but there are rumors that the lady manages the house well, and the young lady is also a model lady."

Yiyou curled her lips, sister Qiao is not a lady, she is obviously an innocent little girl.

"Da Yue is not as strict as the previous dynasty. Although you are an official of the court, I have grown up on you and have always treated you as a nephew. In a few days it will be the Mid-Autumn Festival, and you juniors can go out together."

"Follow your lord's instructions."

Just when she was about to listen again, there was a sound of footsteps, and she quickly moved her ears away, but the horror in her eyes could not be concealed.

The meaning of Chen Xiancheng couldn't be more clear, he wanted to call Mu Ran to be his son-in-law!
Trying to ignore the discomfort in her heart, she numbly carried the food box and walked towards the main room as if she had lost her soul.

"Is Yiyou here?"

Zhang's eyebrows and eyes are no longer as strong as before, and the blow brought to her by the failure of her only daughter's marriage is beyond ordinary people's imagination.Exquisite makeup can't cover up the sagging skin. At this moment, she really looks like a middle-aged woman.

"I have seen Mrs."

Sister Qiao got up from her side: "Why are you being so polite to my mother, you came just in time, otherwise I wouldn't be able to see the sun tomorrow."

Yiyou stood up stiffly: "Why is this? Come and taste the mille-feuille cake I made."

Qiaojie couldn't wait to open the food box, and broke open a slightly yellowed noodle cake, her eyes showed surprise: "Mother, look at this layer, although it doesn't have a thousand layers, but it is enough for a hundred layers."

Mrs. Zhang glanced at her angrily: "Don't interrupt, Yiyou just came, sister Qiao is really worried."

Following the direction of her clapping, Yiyou sat down, Qiaojie sat next to her, hugging her arms and hiding behind her.

"What is this?"

"I found another good marriage for her. I just started with her today, and she looked like she was going up the mountain of swords and down the sea of ​​fire, looking like she was going to die."

Sister Qiao tugged at her sleeve, muttered and wailed twice: "It's only been a few days, and I don't want to get married."

"It's only been a few days. If you don't marry, do you want to keep the Jiang family's festival or something? If you want me to say something bad about Mu Ran, the newly appointed Yunzhou Supervisor attaches great importance to him. It is the big killer in Yuejing City. God, I have to accept his life-saving grace back then. Besides, Yiyou is here, she is familiar with the Mu brothers, with her help, and with me taking care of you, your life will definitely be smooth."

After taking a sip of tea, she became furious: "Yiyou, don't you think so?"

It's one thing to eavesdrop on guesses, but quite another to hear confirmation from others.Sister Qiao and Mu Ran, the daughter of a county magistrate, and a young county magistrate, a perfect combination of civil and military skills.

It stands to reason that she should be happy, but why did she pull her heart so hard?

"Ma'am, this..."

While she was deliberating her words, Sister Qiao popped her head: "Mother, why are you making things difficult for Yiyou. We are both here. Do you think it's better for her to offend you, or to refute mine?"

"You still have face, I'm really mad at you."

Miss Qiao muttered softly, "I didn't want to marry into Jiang's family back then."

The Zhang family faltered at the mention of this: "Nie Zhan, even the thousand-layer cake can't stop your mouth."

Sister Qiao took a good bite, and said in a vague way: "Stop... stop, um, you... are too bad."

While eating the thousand-layer cake, Yiyou took the opportunity to tell about Jiji.

Mrs. Zhang lost face in her daughter's marriage, and now she urgently needs a major event to save her face.In addition to the matter of saving Qiaojie, the original three-point desire to help, but now ninety-nine percent.

"If this girl has you three points of stability, I can rest assured."

Zhang's words were blaming, but her tone was not serious at all, Yiyou didn't know what she meant by being fond of her.

"The mid-autumn festival needs more festivities. During the day, we'll make your life lively and lively. At night, we don't need to change places. It's just a good time to enjoy the moon."

Yiyou heard what she meant, that she wanted to move Jijili to the county government.The coming-of-age ceremony that only happens once in two lifetimes, she would be happy if it was more grand, but it would be very inappropriate to bother Zhang Shi so much and erase her little patience because it is too cumbersome.

"Ma'am, you don't need to be so troublesome, just cook a few more dishes in the courtyard."

Zhang raised her eyebrows: "I know you are sensible, so you don't have to refute this matter."

Yiyou stood up and bowed: "If so, then I would like to thank Madam."

Sister Qiao swallowed the last mouthful of mille-feuille cake, and pulled her up: "I have a lot of jewelry, which are better than the ones from Wu Qiongge, let's go, let's choose."

Mrs. Zhang rubbed her forehead: "Let me squint for a while, you two go down first."

Qiaojie's boudoir is a small courtyard next to the main courtyard. The Zhang family loves her daughter. After asking someone to do a fortune-telling for Feng Shui, an arched door is directly opened in the corridor of the main courtyard, and the two courtyards are connected here.

This is not the first time Yiyou has come to this yard, but unlike the previous few times, there are many more decorations in the room.

"It's better to have this pair of porcelain vases here than to be empty before."

Sister Qiao touched the two ears of the bottle, and smiled proudly: "This pair of blue and white porcelain vases with two ears is my mother's favorite thing, and they are usually placed carefully in her bedroom. Those things that Jiang's family sent I didn't even like it, so I begged my mother to change these, it's just right to put in the room."

Yiyou scanned around, and besides the pair of porcelain vases, there was a small three-legged tripod on the opposite side.There are not many objects, but after they are placed, the originally slightly lively bedroom immediately becomes solemn.

"It's all arranged by you?"

"Of course, I learned this from my mother when I urinate. When my mother lets me out some other day, I will tune it for you too."

"Okay, I'm the least good at these things, and I usually wear them tight and easy."

Sister Qiao felt quite a bit: "It's easy to save, you don't know those hairpins and gorgeous clothes, they look beautiful, and you can wear them to death if you really wear them. But mother also said that you will be tired for a while, and you will have to bind your feet more than the women in the previous dynasty." it is good."

As she spoke, she opened a hollow and carved box next to the dowry, inside which were stacked four small boxes.Open them separately, and inside are hairpins, earrings, necklaces and bracelets.

"It's a bit loose. Although the material is not good, it's better than the exquisite workmanship. Just look at it first."

Then she greeted outside again: "Jade, bring up my other cage."

"Miss, do you want the big one or the small one."

"Of course it's the bigger one, faster."

Fei Cui led the order to retreat, and after a while, two strong old mothers came up with a big box and put it on the ground steadily.Qiao Jie opened all the drawers in twos and twos: "These are all complete sets of hairstyles, all saved for me by my aunt since I was a child."

Yiyou was dumbfounded, she thought that her box of jewelry in her previous life was enough.I never thought that compared to Sister Qiao, she was nothing but a big witch.

"Madam is really good at housekeeping."

Qiaojie is quite proud: "That's natural. Although I can't compare with the princesses of the capital, and the daughters of Wang, Chen, Chang and other big families, I am no worse than others. Every year When I go to Yunzhou during the Chinese New Year, apart from Mrs. Zhizhou, only my mother and I spend a lot of money on food and clothing, so mother will let her go."

Yiyou was originally emotional, but now she became a sincere admiration.Although Zhang's people are proud, but they can live like this, and they have the capital to be proud.Taking advantage of frequent contact, she can learn a thing or two and benefit from it for the rest of her life.

"But mother is a very good person, just one thing, she doesn't know men. If you look at my father and Jiang Chengwen, you really don't know what to say."

"My mother is also like this. There are some shorts and some longs. But, when it comes to Brother Mu, why are you so resistant?"

Sister Qiao answered as a matter of course: "Mother found it."

Yi You breathed a sigh of relief, and then felt quite a pity: "Actually, in my opinion, Brother Mu is a good person. Although he has a younger brother with him, Mu Yu is exceptionally smart and sensible."

Sister Qiao took out a set of hats: "You must be very satisfied with him with such flattering words?"

satisfy?Yiyou thought about it seriously, Mu Ran really couldn't find any faults.

"I have known Big Brother Mu since I was a child, so I know him well."

"Oh." Sister Qiao said with a meaningful smile: "Childhood sweetheart, five days from now will be your wedding day, and you should be a little lady after that. Why don't I ask my mother to let her combine the two weddings together?"

"How did this happen? We're talking about you."

"I know my affairs well. Now that I have just retired, it is the time when rumors are tight. Although it is not my fault, but when I get married at this time, I will inevitably be said to be cold-tempered. I am not in a hurry. Come to you Try it, this set of emerald hair is good, you will definitely look good when you wear it."

Yiyou was being manipulated by her, but her mood was not calm for a long time.

She and Mu Ran!

Li Shi's words that were ignored before were now recalled in her mind.Mu Ran is an honest person, married without any suppression from her mother-in-law, she really is a good match.She was used to seeing the handsome young man with a glib tongue in her previous life, but now she can see clearly.

Simple and honest people are not necessarily as cowardly as Shen Fuxiang, but also as responsible as Mu Ran.

"Ah, it's so beautiful. Why are you so dumbfounded today? Could it be that you are also dumbfounded by yourself?"

Yiyou stopped to think deeply, and looked at the person in the mirror.An emerald hairpin on her head ran down her bangs, and a pair of emerald pendants hung on her small, white earlobe.The light green color is tender from the inside to the outside.Not only Qiaojie, she also looked a little dazed.

Looking at Sister Qiao again in the mirror, the bloodstone hairpin made her complexion rosy, and she blurted out immediately.

"No way, I'm stunned by your beauty."

Sister Qiao sat on the same stool with her with a smile: "You are so beautiful, I am so pretty, we are both amazed by each other."

"Pfft..." Covering her stomach, she smiled and said, "Yes, it's so beautiful."

"That's the set." Seeing her hesitation, Sister Qiao hurriedly persuaded, "I can't support Bilu, and my mother doesn't need this little girl's reputation. It's just right to have you now. Besides, if it weren't for you, I would be happy now." Maybe stay in Jiang's house to recuperate, if you don't accept me, then I will feel really sorry."

Yiyou swallowed her refusal: "Then I'll keep it, Mid-Autumn Festival will be more beautiful with you."

"That's right, hey, you said it would be great if women didn't have to go out of the court. Some people can't afford to support their daughters, and they can't wait to marry them out for a bride price. Like you and me, those who have no worries about food and clothing, send them to those What is the old woman doing with grinding?"

Yiyou leaned on her shoulder: "Human relations are always like this, and I don't understand everything. But I know that there are not a few couples in the world who have strong feelings, and it is another kind of joy to have children under your knees. Just look at the wife with you. , how happy."

"Yiyou, you are right. Marriage is not all about misfortune. Whether it is good or not, it all depends on choosing the right person to marry. In this way, I can't agree to my mother hastily. If there is another one like Jiang Chengwen Outsiders, I have nowhere to look for crying."

Looking straight at Qiaojie, she found that under her innocent appearance, Qiaojie had a heart as exquisite as Zhang's.These remarks made her even more enlightened.

(End of this chapter)