Ma Erniang's Splendid Pastoral

Chapter 66
"I'm going to return the jade drops to your little general." Ma Min'er said seriously.

"Now?" Zhang Nianmei was surprised: "I'm afraid it's not easy to return the things that the little general sent out!"

"I know, so I will quietly hang it around his neck."

"Quietly..." Zhang Nianmei was puzzled, "What do you mean?"

Ma Min'er said softly: "Brother Zhang, let the others leave first, please help me guard the door, I will find a way to return Yu Shuidi back."

Zhang Nianmei had a look of disbelief.

"Brother Zhang, I have to try to see if I can return it."

"This……"

"Brother Zhang, don't say I'm a kid, let's talk about family, I can't afford it, don't you think so?" Ma Min'er said while staring at the other party's expression.

Zhang Nianmei no longer had the old hippie smile on her face, she nodded seriously: "Okay, I'll help you watch."

"Thank you, Brother Zhang."

Someone helped her guard the door, Ma Min'er secretly breathed a sigh of relief, walked up to Tian and Zhuang, smiled at them, turned around and went back to the restaurant.

Zhang Nianmei walked up to Tian and Zhuang and said, "Misters, why don't you let the kitchen cook the whole pot and eat it in your own small restaurant?"

"What about you?" Zhuang Hao felt that there was a secret between the two of them.

"My sister asked me to wait for her." Zhang Nianmei touched her nose and said.

Tian and Zhuang looked at each other and smiled, "Forget it, it's not easy to get General Zhang to guard the gate for the little general, so the old man will be lazy with Xiao Zhuang and eat Baxia's offering freely."

Zhang Nianmei smiled and watched them leave.Zhuang Hao was puzzled, and when he left, he looked back two or three times.

In the restaurant, Ma Min'er stood beside Xia Zhen, reaching out to help him boil vegetables and meat, as if serving an uncle.

"Do you like spicy food?" Ma Min'er turned to look at the stern-faced boy.

Xia Zhen was motionless, including her eyes.

Uncle, Ma Min'er was so angry that she cursed in her heart, thinking, if this girl didn't want to borrow your Yushuidi to see her parents, this girl would have given up long ago.

Cursing inwardly, on the surface, Ma Min'er approached the young man who was pulling wildly, staring at the skin on his face, "Your skin is neutral, neither oily nor dry, you can eat something spicy."

The boy who was pulling wildly didn't expect the little lady to get so close. On the surface, he didn't move, but he still felt like he was standing still in front of him.

Ma Min'er rolled her eyes, and found that the other party was like a wooden board, she curled her lips secretly, and withdrew her approaching face.

The cramped and breathless feeling disappeared, not only did Xia Zhen not feel comfortable, but on the contrary, she always felt that something was wrong, but she couldn't tell.

Ma Min'er didn't notice Xia Zhen's change, even if she did, she couldn't tell from his wooden board-like expression, she stretched out her hand to pick up some meat and vegetables and put them in the spicy soup to scald them. Finally, he quickly scooped it up into a small white porcelain bowl, and brought it in front of him, "Hey, eat it while it's hot, and you'll be sweating all over after eating it."

Xia Zhen's eyes finally moved. She lowered her eyes and looked at the small white porcelain bowl in front of her. She reached out to pick up the meat with chopsticks and put it in her mouth.

"Hoo hoo..." Ma Min'er stood beside him, seeing that he put the meat into his mouth without blowing, she couldn't help stretching her head closer to help him blow.

The meat that Xia Zhen brought to her mouth stopped.

"Eat!" Ma Min'er realized that the other party was like a fool, so anxious that she almost reached out to feed her.

Tsk tsk, Ma Min'er didn't notice, she just learned the movement of stretching her head to blow air, but the current master of this movement is Ma Yueer, her four-year-old little sister.

Could it be that Xia Zhen is the same as four-year-old Xiao Yue'er?Ma Min'er said I'm in a hurry, look at him, he doesn't even roll his eyes, his IQ is estimated to be two and a half years old.

Ah oh... Then didn't he marry a big daughter-in-law?Uh……

After Ma Min'er treated the other party as a two and a half year old child, she became more patient, and said to herself, "I'll give you more meat to eat, and I'll add weight to you. Look how thin you have become." , the cheekbones are all exposed, people are all mean, not good."

After finishing speaking, she picked up a whole bowl of pork belly and mutton and handed it to him. "Let's eat."

Xia Zhen reached out to take the bowl, took two bites and stopped.

During the pause, Ma Min'er seemed to have known him for a long time, and quickly gave him vegetable soup, "I know, you think it's greasy, so hurry up and use vegetables to relieve the greasy."

Xia Zhen stretched her head forward, and ate the vegetables she picked up with Ma Miner's chopsticks, and then ate the meat herself, two bites of meat and one bite of vegetables, don't cooperate too tacitly.

After a short while, Ma Min'er wanted to scoop up meat into a small bowl again, Xia Zhen shook her head.

"I am full?"

"Yeah!" Xia Zhen nodded. At this moment, he is as good as a two and a half year old child. As long as he is full, he will be satisfied with everything.

Ma Min'er took a deep breath, uncle, finally finished eating, helped him straighten the bowls and chopsticks in front of him, and quickly started to eat by himself, while eating, he glanced at the motionless Xia Zhen, logically, people are full He tends to get sleepy after meals, is he the same?Does the barracks have a lunch break?
Xia Zhen crossed her hands in front of her stomach, looked down at her stomach, and felt full for the first time. This kind of fullness made him indescribable. He felt that everything around him seemed to be against him. Smooth, smooth brain to sleepy.

Ma Miner wasn't full yet, she was eating, when she noticed Xia Zhen's eyelids fighting out of the corner of her eye.

I'm really sleepy, haven't I hypnotized yet?Ma Min'er bit her chopsticks, pretending to be casual, stretched out her chopsticks to pick up vegetables, looked left and right, and hummed softly in her mouth: "Oh la la, oh la la..." The voice was soft and rhythmic, like hypnosis Same song.

Hearing Low Jue's humming, Xia Zhen opened her fighting eyes and looked at the little lady with her head swaying to the left. Why is she always so carefree?
"Hey, little general, are you sleepy?" Ma Min'er seemed to have just noticed that he was dozing off, and quickly put down the bowl and chopsticks, "I'll help you to rest on the couch."

Xia Zhen's face was expressionless.

But Ma Min'er couldn't be bothered, her lack of expression was acquiescing, she walked to Xia Zhen's side, put both hands on his arm, "I'll take you to the couch to rest."

Xia Zhen turned slightly to look at the 'little daughter-in-law' who supported his arms.

"Sleep when you're sleepy, we'll talk about big things when you wake up." Ma Min'er smiled sweetly.

Wait until you wake up to talk about big things?Xia Zhen felt these words in her ears and stared at the 'little daughter-in-law' in a daze.

"That's right, don't care what big things it is, let's talk about it after the master wakes up, right!" Ma Min'er said to herself to the handsome puppet-like boy.

Hey, what's wrong with talking to myself, we got him on the couch, and coaxed the guy who is about 1.8 meters tall to close his eyes and fall asleep obediently.

Mother, mother, God, thank you, thank you for giving me such a good opportunity, Ma Miner put her palms together and bowed to the sky!

Zhang Nianmei sat at the door and couldn't hear the sound of eating and chewing vegetables inside the door. Did the old girl find a chance?He was itchy, and was about to go in and have a look, but his sister had ordered him not to interrupt her to return the 'Jade Water Drop'.

Mr. Tian ordered Guozi in his small restaurant, and sat opposite Zhuang Hao, eating and talking while cooking, but Mr. Tian seemed to be talking alone.

"Hey, Xiao Zhuang, why don't you speak?"

"What do you think the little lady said to Zhang Tiaozi?" Zhuang Hao has been thinking about it.

Mr. Tian picked up a piece of mutton, "It's probably a token."

"But why don't I feel like it?" Zhuang Hao frowned, squinting his eyes in deep thought.

Mr. Tian chewed the mutton and said, "Whether the young lady returns the token or not, it doesn't matter to me."

"Why do you say that, sir?"

"Because of that..." Mr. Tian pointed in the direction of the capital, "I'm afraid the little general's marriage is not up to me."

Zhuang Hao raised his eyebrows: "What if the emperor doesn't intervene?"

"Not very likely."

Zhuang Hao put down his chopsticks, stroked his little beard, "No, I have to go and see."

"Look at what?"

"Verify my inner guess."

"I've said it all, whether the young lady wants to return it or not, the position of wife is not determined by the little general or us." Mr. Tian said indifferently, "Maybe for Zi'an, it's just an extra concubine. "

Zhuang Hao chuckled, "But our master don't talk about concubines, I'm afraid he doesn't even want to marry a wife, and he can impulsively say 'little daughter-in-law'. The matter is not as simple as you and I imagined."

Mr. Tian stopped holding the meat, and looked at Zhuang Hao.

Zhuang Hao nodded.

Mr. Tian frowned, "Your majesty, old general, young general..."

"If the emperor wanted to marry the little general, he probably would have said so when the little general came to Beijing last winter, but he didn't." Zhuang Hao reminded.

Mr. Tian's hands kept stroking his beard, he was considering the possibility of Zhuang Hao's analysis.

"As for the old general..." Zhuang Hao stood up, "The great general is gone, and his grandfather may not be able to control the stubborn little general."

Mr. Tian looked at Zhuang Hao's back and didn't move his chopsticks for a long time, "Is there really a theory of destiny?"

In the room, by the side of the couch, Ma Min'er had already climbed up, leaned gently beside Xia Zhen, made sure that he was fast asleep, and slowly brought the jade water droplets to his neck, quietly watching the changes of the jade water droplets.

But after waiting for a long time, there is no change in the jade water droplets. I remember that there was light reflecting on it, and the jade water droplets changed. Is it because there is no light?

Ma Min'er looked towards the place where there was light, and found that there was a gap in the window for ventilation, and sunlight came in, so she straightened up quickly and pushed Xia Zhen toward the light.

She pushed her to see if the other person was awakened by herself, looked into his eyes, as if she was in a deep sleep, took a light breath, and continued to push, mother, a nine-year-old baby with a body weighing thirty to forty pounds, pushing A young man of seventeen or eighteen years old, with a body of about 120 kilograms, is still very thin, otherwise he can move there.

The beam of sunlight finally reflected on the jade water droplets, and Ma Min'er quickly lay on Xia Zhen's body, waiting for a miracle.Holding her breath and concentrating, she almost passed her breath, but Yu Shuidrop didn't respond at all.

Is it not possible for the sun to shine, but the moon?Ma Min'er was extremely depressed and powerless, her head was pressed against Xia Zhen's chest, God, I waited so hard for more than a month for such an opportunity, and you didn't show up!
Zhang Nianmei has been listening to the movement in the house, but there is no sound at all. She was bored and sat on the threshold to take a nap.

When Zhuang Hao arrived, he squinted at Zhang Tiaozi who was dozing off, and strode towards the house.

Zhang Nianmei was awakened by the sound of walking, "Mouse, what are you doing?"

Ma Miner was sighing when she suddenly heard footsteps and shouts, she was so frightened that she quickly untied the jade water droplet, but failed to see her parents. Unconsciously, it was pressed on Xia Zhen's chest, and the force became stronger in a hurry, and woke up Xia Zhen who was sleeping soundly.

Half curled up and half lying on Xia Zhen's body, the atmosphere was weird, and the posture was even weirder. Facing Xia Zhen's opened eyes, Zhuang Hao looked contemptuously when he turned his head.For a moment, Ma Min'er was in a dilemma.

"I...I'm going to return it." This sentence was addressed to the disdainful Zhuang Hao.

"I...I..." The words 'I' couldn't come out were addressed to Xia Zhen.

"Hmph..." Zhuang Hao sneered, "Are you paying it back, or not?"

Ma Min'er followed Zhuang Hao's gaze and looked at her hand, whether it was tied (ji) back or untied... It seems that anyone who is not blind can understand it.

Awkward!
Xia Zhen looked down at the drop of jade water that she threw out, and it returned to her neck, her misty eyes suddenly became violent.

Seeing that the other party's emotions became uncontrollable, Ma Min'er was so frightened that she stretched out her head and kissed Xia Zhen's forehead. During the kiss, she subconsciously pulled it away, and the jade water drop returned to her hand.

Xia Zhen, who wanted to be furious, was dazzled by this kiss. He...he...was molested by a little lady!The violent upper body fell on the couch with a snap, and he was stunned, his eyes didn't move for a long time.

Taking advantage of the other party's daze, Ma Min'er quickly got off the couch and walked to Zhang Nianmei, "Brother Zhang, it's not that I don't want to pay it back. If I want to blame, I can blame someone. When I was about to grow up, he woke up the little general. You can't blame me." After speaking, he raised his head and walked outside.

What does it mean to be a 'wicked person' to sue first, Ma Min'er thought to herself, that's what she is like!

Just now... what did you see?The little lady...actually kissed...kissed the little...little general... Zhang Nianmei's mouth could be stuffed with eggs, and her eyes turned outwards following Ma Miner's small body.

The mature Zhuang Hao was also shocked, "All the ladies in Beijing are like this...so..." His eyes followed Ma Miner and turned out of the door.

Outside the door, Xiaowen and others were about to enter the door. Seeing the young lady of the Ma family coming out, they were a little confused. Didn't they just eat "Baxia Gong"?

The embroidery work had already been handed over to Xu's Embroidery Workshop, but Ma Qifeng knew that his daughter would not come out of the barracks so soon, so he would have to cook lunch there, and it would be late afternoon ([-]:[-] p.m. to [-]:[-] p.m. between) to rendezvous at the medical hall.

After eating lunch at the small restaurant, Ma Qifeng thought about going to the bookstore to help the children buy some pens, ink, paper and inkstones, and some books for enlightenment. Anyway, he was not in a hurry, so he picked and picked in it, even leisurely.

It was probably after lunch time, and the number of people in the bookstore gradually increased. Ma Qifeng was reading in the corner, hearing people's discussions from time to time.

"Brother Yu, buy a book!"

"Yes, you also buy books?"

"Ah."

The two young people greeted each other, and they got together and whispered: "I heard that someone went to study with the former emperor's teacher, do you know?"

"Who?"

"There are quite a few, and they say they want to go."

"What about you, are you going?"

"I... I don't know yet."

"Oh……"

……

After pulling out several times one after another, Ma Qifeng stopped picking books, and hurriedly sent the selected books to the counter to check out, "Shopkeeper, calculate how much it is."

"Okay, guest officer, just wait a moment!" The shopkeeper quickly did the calculations, "I will charge you a total of [-] Wen."

Ma Qifeng took the broken corner silver and gave it to the shopkeeper, but it was not enough, so he added dozens of coppers. After paying the money, he came out of the bookstore, stood on the side of the street, raised his head slightly, and the winter sun filled the endless sky , In the blue sky, a round of red sun hangs high, emitting a radiance that is dazzling and warm, covering the entire vast land.

Lamenting the time, lamenting the years, in this afternoon, inadvertently, Ma Qifeng let go of the heaviness in his heart, yes, what is he worried about?No matter what, my father was once a generation of imperial teacher, even if he loses power, even if he is in danger, he has the capital to protect his life.

Strolling in the noisy streets, walking with ease, letting the sun shine warmly on his body, making him unable to open his eyes, Ma Qifeng likes this feeling, it is very warm and comfortable.

Mo Wanyi took her younger brother to the bookstore to buy books. Sitting in the carriage, feeling that she was about to arrive, she gently lifted the curtains, unexpectedly seeing that person that day.

With a handsome and elegant appearance, a gentle and elegant temperament, a breath of a nobleman rushed to his face, and he put down the curtains suddenly, feeling his heart pounding.

"Sister, what's the matter with you, did you see that rascal again?" Mo Shaolin opened the curtain and looked out puzzled. There seemed to be a carriage coming from behind, and he loosened the curtain angrily.

"Little brother—"

"Sister, blame me for being useless."

The flustered Mo Wanyi shook her head, "Shaolin, how can I blame you?"

Mo Shaolin bowed his head: "Sister, if I had been admitted to the government school early, we would have been able to go to Fucheng together and leave this ghost place, but now..."

"Shaolin, don't talk nonsense."

The 15-year-old Mo Shaolin bit his lip and called to the driver: "Uncle, go around and go to the bookstore on the back street."

"Yes, son."

Alas, Mo Wanyi sighed deeply, outside the car window, the sun was shining brightly, but her heart was like a cloudy sky, so what if her father was the magistrate of the county, and a child without a mother was struggling no matter what.

Not seeing her parents, Ma Min'er was really in a bad mood. Sitting in the donkey cart, she racked her brains to think about how to lull Xia Zhen to sleep or stun her next time.

"Ah..." A sneeze pulled Xia Zhen back from her daze, she sat up in a daze, and rubbed her nose with her hand in a daze.

When Xiaowen heard his master sneeze, he quickly took his coat and came over, "My lord, it's almost evening, it's cold!"

Is it evening yet?Thought it was not long after lunch, Xia Zhen looked at the window lattice, in the gradually weakening light, there were countless small dust floating, like dancing elves, like the sparkling light in the eyes of a little lady, really...

Realizing that she was thinking about the little lady, Xia Zhen shook her head.

"My...my lord, is your head hurting again?" Xiaowen asked nervously and frightened.

The long legs moved from the couch to the floor, Xia Zhen stood up at once, turned around and walked outside.

"My...my lord, what are you doing?" Xiaowen quickly chased after him.

After a few steps, Xia Zhen arrived at the door and looked up at the sky. On a clear and clear winter evening, the sunset glow gradually burned up, dyeing the sky gorgeously, and the afterglow of the setting sun sprinkled on her body, calm and peaceful.

Mr. Tian came out of the office room, and was going to ask his little general if he was still in a daze, but just as he turned the corridor, he saw the little master standing in a daze at the door.

At this moment, the little master, the thorns on his body seemed to be submerged by the setting sun, and looked extraordinarily quiet.

Looking away, Xia Zhen turned her head: "I'm going to ride a horse."

"Yes, young master, I will prepare the horses immediately." Jing Mo hurriedly went to the stables to prepare the horses.

Mr. Tian heaved a sigh of relief, turned around and went back to the office to continue working.

The father and daughter of Ma's family met in the medical center and brought the sick boy back to Xiaowang Village. Recently, due to the rice harvest, Aunt Guo didn't live in the shed, so Ma Min'er asked Zhao Yuyan to live in it.

"In the past two days, I'll let someone take care of you. When you recover from your illness, we'll talk about the rest. What do you think?"

Zhao Yuyan dragged his sick body to kneel down to the Ma family father and daughter.

"I can't, I can't..." Ma Qifeng quickly helped him up.

At this time, Niu Dabao had already called Fu Xiaoyou and his wife over.

"Master, little master—" Fu Xiaoyou and Shi Chunyue saluted Ma Qifeng and his daughter together.

Ma Min'er said: "Xiaoyou, Aunt Niu, his name is Zhao Yuyan. He came to study from Xiangzhou Prefecture. He didn't want to get sick from the cold. Please take care of him for a few days."

"Boss, there will always be some inconvenience when you are away from home. Don't worry, he is no more than two years older than me. I will take good care of him." Fu Xiaoyou agreed heartily.

Ma Min'er said again: "I have told Uncle Niu about eating and boiling medicine, so I will let Aunt Niu come."

"Okay, little boss." Shi Chunyue nodded honestly.

After everything was arranged properly, Ma Min'er and his father went back to their small courtyard. After returning home, Ma Dalang had already prepared all the dishes for dinner, and he just waited for the elder sister to come back and fry them in the pot.

Ma Min'er had already packed up her disappointment, and asked with a smile, "Then what is the staple food?"

"I cooked the rice." Ma Dalang replied with a smile: "The pasta is complicated. I was afraid that it would be wrong, so I cooked simple rice."

"Very good." Ma Min'er lifted the rice cooker on the small stove, and found that the rice was just right, so she couldn't help but boast.

Ma Dalang smiled embarrassingly, "This is already the simplest, if I don't do it well, I will not even be as good as Saburo."

When Masanlang heard this, he raised his chin triumphantly: "I can cook rice, and I can also cook noodles."

"Awesome!" Ma Min'er couldn't help boasting: "Daddy, take your younger brother and younger sister to read, and my eldest brother and I will cook the dishes right away."

Ma Qifeng felt that her daughter was not as spiritless as when she came out of the military camp in the afternoon, and thought, maybe she was tired of cooking for the military men, after all, she was a child under ten years old.Fortunately, there is nothing to eat in winter, and Min'er will have fewer opportunities to go to the military camp in the future.

Yes, there are not many opportunities to go to the military camp in the future, what should I do?Going to sleep, lying in the dark night, Ma Min'er was still thinking about how to see the image in the jade water drop again.Do we have to wait until next year when there will be food again?

Zhao Yuyan was completely exhausted and sat crookedly on the floor of the small wooden shed. The woman and the boy walked in and out several times, not only made his bed, but also boiled water and medicine for him, and even At dinner time, the woman made porridge and put it on the small table by the door.

Seeing that everything was done, Shi Chunyue said to the young man leaning against the wall: "The medicine is on the small stove crock, the porridge is in the grass pan, and there is a small plate of dried pickled radish. If you are hungry, you can eat it." ate."

"Thank you, Auntie!" Zhao Yuyan's lips were chapped and peeled, and his lips were sore when he said a word.

"You're welcome, the weather is cold, the wooden shed is small, and the small stove for warming medicine can keep you warm. You don't have to turn off the fire, just leave a gap in the door for ventilation when you sleep."

"Thank you for reminding me, auntie."

"The boy who left just now, he will come over to spend the night with you later. If you are not feeling well, just tell me that there is a small medical clinic in the town, and we will take you there."

"Thank you!" Zhao Yuyan's throat was choked by the woman's emotion.

"Then I'll leave first." Shi Chunyue looked again and found that there was nothing wrong, she smiled slightly, closed the door halfway and left.

When there was no one around, Zhao Yuyan let the tears flow freely for a while until his emotions calmed down. After crying, he wiped away the tears on his face. I felt it, but I didn't expect that when he was so sick that he was about to burn to death, someone stretched out his hand.

Looking at the steaming earthen pot on the small stove, the aroma of rice porridge filled the whole small shed, he thought to himself, but in fact, sometimes the world is not as bad as imagined, is it?
He moved his body, took the small wooden bowl and wooden spoon on the table, filled a bowl of porridge for himself, blew lightly, and took a few sips with his mouth pursed. His cold body and cold stomach instantly became warm and full.

In life, there is always some unexpected warmth that makes people move instantly. Until many years later, until Zhao Yuyan reached the pinnacle of his life, he has always firmly remembered this small hut the size of a palm and the relationship with the grass in the bottom of his heart. A tidy and clean floor without a shed.

Warm white rice porridge, salty and delicious dried radish, even Zhao Yuyan, an extremely talented minister, did not change his habit of drinking a bowl at night. Although at that time, white rice porridge was so unremarkable, but at this moment , it was his first time to drink rice porridge, for ordinary peasant children in the north, it was really a luxury.

He could drink all the porridge in the crock pot in one go, but he didn't. He held back and only drank half of it. When his body recovered, he drank the medicine again, and he seemed to come back to life.

After eating and drinking well, he walked to the door, scooped up water from the rain tank, washed the bowls and chopsticks, and then put the bowls and chopsticks neatly on the small table.

Zhao Yuyan sat back on the floor and untied the small burden on his body. There was nothing in it except two books. He unbuttoned it like a treasure and took out the books. One was "The Analects of Confucius" and the other was "Zuo Zhuan". ".

The small thatched hut was extremely warm and bright, Zhao Yuyan was reluctant to waste the warmth and light, and started reading tirelessly, and he didn't even notice that Fu Xiaoyou came in.

Fu Xiaoyou came in with a bun, thinking that the boy during the day was sick and confused, but he was concentrating on reading, and didn't even respond to his soft cry, shook his head and laughed, and didn't bother, let go of the bun, and drilled Get into the bed and look at him quietly, this little brother is so sick, and he is still so serious, it will be terrible in the future.

Yes, it's really amazing, he guessed it right.Is it by chance?Of course not, everyone's life trajectory, whether sad or happy, or success or failure, actually has traces to be found after careful exploration. The so-called fate is nothing but the continuous accumulation of life experiences and the decisions made at critical moments.

The winter solstice will be in a few days, and the atmosphere of folk festivals is very strong, and everyone is preparing for the festival. Not only that, the people of Yunshui Town found that this winter solstice is actually more lively than any previous year.

On the not-so-wide streets, there are quite a few carriages, and they are not civilian or commercial carriages, but seem to be the carriages of officials and gentry, showing wealth and luxury everywhere.

Shen Houer stood in front of Zizai's door with his hands folded, staring at the passing carriages, secretly tsk, if I were to make this carriage, I might not be able to do it, tsk tsk, I really can't do this skill .

The neighbor stood beside him with a rice bowl in his hand, "What are you looking at?"

"Why do you think the carvings on other people's carriages are so beautiful!"

"I heard that this is a carriage from the county seat. The craftsmanship of the people in the county seat must be better than those in our small town."

"What are they doing in the town?" Shen Houer asked.

The neighbor replied: "I heard people say that the horse-drawn carriages that come and go these days are all studying in Ma's house."

"Ah... to study?" Shen Hou'er felt strange, "But there is no academy in our town, and we have to go to the county to ask for it."

"Tsk tsk, I don't understand. This is a private school, and it's a private apprenticeship."

"It's like learning to be a carpenter."

"Fuck you." The neighbor scolded with a smile: "I heard that the head of Ma Zhai was once the emperor's teacher. If he can give you one or two pointers, then the days of great prosperity will be just around the corner."

"so smart!"

"of course."

"But...but he was demoted by the emperor." Shen Hou'er said.

"But the goods in my belly are still there."

"Oh!" Shen Hou'er seemed to understand, but he didn't want to understand, so he just stood here and watched the excitement.

Ma Qimeng has been waiting for Master Yao to honor his father, but unexpectedly, instead of Master Yao, he waited for the gift of officials, gentry, merchants and merchants to study, but his father blocked them one by one, not allowing him to accept anything.

Ma Qimeng was so anxious that he kept jumping in front of Mrs. Ma, "Mother, mother, father, what does he want to do?"

On one side is the son who is anxious for money, and on the other is the man who wants to maintain his integrity. Mrs. Ma is in a dilemma. She opens her mouth, but she doesn't know what to say.

"Mother, why don't you speak? Do you really want to watch the Ma family die?" Ma Qimeng's words were ugly.

"Don't talk nonsense." Mrs. Ma stopped sharply.

"Mother..." You can't be strong, but you can't be soft, Ma Qimeng cried: "As long as father says to accept disciples, many officials and gentry will send money to come forward, mother, our family's life will rise again."

Mrs. Ma sighed a long time: "Your father has his considerations."

Seeing that his mother was not on his side, Ma Qimeng became anxious again: "If I had the title of emperor teacher, I would have accepted my disciples and started a school. No matter what integrity and reputation he has, the most important thing is to earn money to live a comfortable life." .”

If Ma Miner heard this, she might agree, but for ancient literati, integrity and reputation were more important than life, so how could it be possible to get into the smell of money.

But can Ma Chengzu maintain his integrity?Let's not rush, just look down slowly.

"Meng'er, you don't understand, don't talk nonsense." Mrs. Ma's words obviously lack confidence.

Ma Qimeng stared: "I don't understand why, isn't it just the integrity of a scholar, but can energy be eaten as a meal?"

Mrs. Ma doesn't know why, but men are gods, she has to listen to men, and she has to follow him when he says to maintain integrity and reputation.

Seeing his parents, Ma Qifeng didn't let go, and jumped out of the main hall angrily.

Although her cousin sent her to the mansion, she never came back, but Ling Ruya was not impatient at all, either sending food or clothes, she was very busy every day.

"Sanniang, don't let the servant deliver things every time, you have to go yourself." The girl Qingjin was worried for her master who was not in a hurry.

"Cousin is a man, and he is a man who does great things. How can I, a little girl, bother him." Ling Ruya lowered her head and bit off the thread of the clothes in her hand with her teeth. She lifted the clothes and looked carefully, " I heard that my cousin has been eating well recently, probably because he gained some weight, I made the clothes a little more spacious, so it should be fine."

Qing Jin breathed out, "Sanniang, did you hear what I said?"

"I'm listening!" Ling Ruya said with a smile, "Look, I'm here, and I've brought you food. Cousin has grown some meat, how nice it is."

Qing Jin said: "Then San Niang, you should take this opportunity to visit the little general in the barracks, and let him know how kind and devoted you are to him."

Ling Ruya put down the clothes in her hands, and said with a smile: "No hurry, the winter solstice is coming soon, my cousin will definitely go back to the mansion, and come back to the general's mansion in Fucheng with me."

"San Niang..." Qing Jin was defeated by her master.

Ling Ruya didn't seem to see the girl's disappointment, she stood up, "I'll go and see what ingredients are available today, make some delicious food and send them to the military camp."

During this period of time, the people in the barracks felt something different, but they couldn't tell what it was, because they still trained step by step every day, from Maoshichu (5:7 a.m.) to Xushichu ( [-] o'clock in the evening), there were two periods of rest in the middle, and they were still whipped by the little general, but they felt different.

Even a rough old man like Gu Dun felt it. During the break before lunch, he found Zhang Nianmei, "Zhang Tiaozi, what's the matter, boss?"

"What's the matter?"

"Something feels wrong."

"Something's wrong?" Zhang Nianmei said with a smile, "You didn't get beaten?"

"Beat it!"

"Yes, what are you asking?" Zhang Nianmei snorted.

"Can……"

"But what, I don't have time to chat with you, I'm going to the kitchen to find Chef Lei."

"If you have anything delicious, bring me some too." Gu Dun approached eagerly.

"Go and go, it's just some tonic soup, not suitable for a strong man like you."

"I heard that the recipe was taught by the little lady in Beijing. It's delicious, so let me pay for it..." Gu Dun said as he followed Zhang Nianmei to the kitchen.

Ever since the idea of ​​making soup came into being, Chef Lei felt that he didn’t get enough sleep. The little general had to drink a bowl every day when he was on the training ground, and the more he drank, the more he drank. After drinking it, he had to get up early and dark to make soup.

Zhang Nianmei entered the kitchen and asked, "Chef Lei, how are you doing?"

"All right!"

"What are you up to today?"

"Seven Star Fish Ball Soup!"

"Oh!" Zhang Nianmei looked at the casserole uncovered by Chef Lei, and saw a few white balls floating on the light white soup, a few green coriander decorations, and a few red goji, white Green and red, simple and elegant.

Chef Lei said: "General Zhang, don't look at it as a vegetarian. The meatballs are wrapped in meat. They are all meat. They can replenish the little general's physical strength."

"I know, it seems that you are doing well."

Chef Lei said with a smile: "We just have little knowledge, if someone reminds us, this skill is not bad."

"Haha..." Zhang Nianmei laughed, "The winter solstice will be in a few days. I guess the little general will take you with him when he goes back."

"Really, I can go to the General's Mansion." Chef Lei was happy. There are also cooks from Beijing in the General's Mansion, and they can make a mess.

This seven-star fish ball is a famous soup in a certain place in China. The fish balls used are made by chopping fish and other ingredients into very small pieces, adding starch and stirring well, and then wrapping with lean pork or shrimp.

The snow-white fish balls, which are the size of walnuts, are white in color, elastic but not greasy, fragrant and loose, sweet in taste, floating on the steaming soup, like stars in the sky, so people call it "" Seven Star Fish Ball".

In the mouth of the soup, it is oily but not greasy, light but not too much. Take a bite of the fish balls, the outer fish meat is tender and melts in the mouth, and the inner lean meat and shrimp are full of chewiness. The taste is really good. After eating a bowl, Xia Zhen thinks I feel very comfortable.

Mr. Tian and Zhuang Hao sat on the side, looked at each other, smiled slightly, and lowered their heads to eat the fish ball soup in their own bowls. It tasted really good!

"Someone-"

Xiaowen hurried forward, "My lord—"

"Take him."

Although this sentence has no beginning and no end, Xiaowen is actually a close follower, and he immediately understands who to take with him, so he hurriedly arranges it.

After wiping her mouth, Xia Zhen said again: "Is there a boxing gift for the winter solstice?"

Mr. Tian and Zhuang Hao almost choked on the balls and quickly swallowed the balls in their mouths. Mr. Tian asked in surprise, "Zian?"

Xia Zhen lowered his eyes, looking calm and relaxed, but Mr. Tian knew that the thorns all over his body were rising up unconsciously, and he felt a headache, so he clicked his mouth a few times before opening his mouth: "Boy..."

"Sir, hurry up and make arrangements."

"son……"

Zhuang Hao stretched out his hand and pulled Mr. Shimoda, signaling his agreement.

"Then... that's fine." Mr. Tian bit the bullet and agreed.

When he came out, Mr. Tian asked Zhuang Hao, "Why did you ask me to agree?"

"Sir, why don't you just give me a gift, even if it's a concubine, a man can give it if he's happy."

"Ah..." Mr. Tian said, "But Yushuidi is the main wife..."

"Sir, my lady is so small!"

Mr. Tian blinked, yes, the young general is seventeen years old, if it wasn't for his special status and status, plus he was awkward with the old general, or he would have started discussing marriage a long time ago, the situation there is still the same.

"You mean, the etiquette first follows Zi'an's wishes. As for the jade water drops, the lady is still young, so she will always return to the wife's hands?"

"Yeah." Zhuang Hao nodded.

Mr. Tian felt that this matter was always weighing on him like a stone.

After several doses of medicinal soup, and with the careful care of Aunt Niu and Fu Xiaoyou, Zhao Yuyan recovered quickly from his illness. Not only that, the Ma family also made him two sets of thick linen cotton gowns so that he would not suffer from the pain. Suffer from the cold.

This kind of kindness can no longer be resolved by kowtowing a few heads, "Uncle Ma, Mrs. Ma Er, I will never thank you for your kindness. If I, Zhao Yuyan, have a day of great success, I will never forget your kindness, and I will meet you with Yongquan." report."

Ma Qifeng smiled kindly, and quickly helped the young man who was kneeling in front of him up: "Son, don't say anything about repaying your kindness, you just happened to help me, if you are uneasy, one day, when you have When you have the ability, reach out to help others, I think this is enough.”

"Uncle Ma..." Zhao Yuyan was moved by Ma Qifeng's heart.

Seeing the child moved, Ma Qifeng was relieved: "What are your plans now?"

(End of this chapter)