Ma Erniang's Splendid Pastoral

Chapter 74 Never Conspiracy
During the day, Ma Min'er led the three of them to make preparations together. When it was almost evening, I asked Father Fu and Father Shi to help me arrange things by the pond. Not only did I set up an earthen stove, but I also spread some burlap , and prepared firewood for the campfire, etc. Anyway, Ma Miner has prepared everything that can be imagined for a picnic.

Ma Min'er's actions were seen by the servants of Luo Zhai who were patrolling the fields. After he returned home and chatted with others, he was heard by the little ladies of Ma's family.

"Nurse Ling, what do you think she is going to do?" Ma Zhier asked with interest.

"I heard that Brother Zhang is going to have a banquet?"

"Little General Zhang?"

"Probably!"

Ma Zhier shouted happily: "I'll go to my cousin and the others. We'll go and have a look when we enjoy the shade at night. It must be fun."

Ma's private school has ended, but Li Xunting did not go back. He took the content of the day's class, walked through the school, and entered Ma's house. He was obviously going to ask Mrs. Ma for advice. In fact, he wanted to run into Miss Ma's family—— — Ma Meier.

Not only that, in order to conceal the small thoughts in his heart, Li Xunting dragged Zhao Yuyan into the Ma's house together.

Zhao Yuyan thought, "It's okay, I happened to have a question to ask Mr. Ma, so I went into Ma's house with him. When we reached the back door, there is no old man in the warehouse at the back door from day to night. Now there is oil and water at the back door, and he will be flattered." People saw it, and he knew that some students would come to ask the teacher for advice. Whenever someone came, he would deliberately make things difficult, and would only let the students in after they took out their coins.

Li Xunting knew about Zhao Yuyan's situation. He was in Ma's private school. Mr. Ma waived all the tuition and miscellaneous fees, and the living expenses were paid by Master Ma Liu's family. I heard that he does not need to pay these living expenses, as long as he helps Master Ma Liu to copy the account books every month. Even for living expenses.He took the initiative to give a few copper coins to the servant, and that person let them in.

"Young Master Li, you have been here a few times, and you know the way, so you won't lead the way!" said the door servant.

Li Xun Tingba had no choice but to lead the way, and quickly said happily: "Don't bother, don't bother!"

After entering the courtyard ramp, Li Xunting quietly looked at the two sides while walking, and unknowingly walked to the moon cave gate at the junction of the inner and outer courtyards. There is a small garden there. It is evening, and the garden in midsummer is really fragrant and swaying, little lady You should like it.

Sure enough, Li Xunting did not guess wrong, the ladies really like the small garden in the evening, Ma Meier and Ma Huier are sitting together on the wooden chair to enjoy the flowers and watch the sunset.

"Sister Mei, what have you been doing lately?" Ma Huier asked.

Ma Meier replied with a sleepy expression: "What else can I do besides sewing." She seemed to be in a bad mood, and lowered her head to pick at her fingers.

"Is it still the old style in Beijing?"

"Could it be that you have a new trick." Ma Meier raised her head, her eyes were sullen, and she seemed not bothered.

Ma Huier smiled triumphantly: "My cousin in Beijing wrote me a letter and sent me a new pattern."

Seeing her cousin in distress, Ma Meier was really in a bad mood. Her father was killed by the emperor, and her mother couldn't think about it, so she went with her father. A child without a father and mother, who would write to her, looked coldly into the distance of the garden .

Li Xunting was looking at the beauty secretly, but he didn't expect the beauty to look towards the bushes where he was hiding, thinking that the beauty saw him, and quickly bowed his head in fright.

Zhao Yuyan didn't know what Li Xunting was thinking, and didn't have so many thoughts. He looked towards the small garden full of flowers, and unexpectedly met the eyes of the little lady who was looking over in the garden.

The girl next to Ma Hui'er——Lu Qi shouted, "Who is there to look rudely outside the door?" She said as she walked to the door of the Moon Cave.

Lu Qi's shout made Ma Meier look away.

Hearing the shouting, Li Xunting panicked for a while, pulled Zhao Yuyan who was in a daze, and greeted Luqi, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I accidentally went the wrong way." Seeing the beauty, he relieved the pain of lovesickness, and left satisfied .

"These country bumpkins, why didn't they come to see Meijiao Niang when they said they went the wrong way?" Lu Qi hummed unceremoniously.

"Lu Qi, what nonsense are you talking about?"

"Isn't it true that every now and then there are young princes who go astray, isn't it just to see Mei Niang and Hui Niang?"

"Be careful not to be caught by the third lady." Xiangzhu, the girl next to Ma Meier, reminded her.

Lu Qi covered her mouth, "Don't dare, don't dare."

Ma Meier is listless. Although the young masters who can come to Ma's private school come from good backgrounds, compared with the aristocratic families in Beijing, what are these people? They are not even comparable to the sixth-rank Beijing officials in Beijing. .

"Go back!" Ma Meier stood up, and the girl Xiangzhu hurried over to serve her.

When there was no one around, Xiangzhu said: "Ma'am, I heard that some young masters in the private school have good family backgrounds. Would you like the third lady to pay attention to you?"

Ma Meier said coldly, "No one cares about my marriage except grandma."

"Big lady..."

"Go and find out why a poor boy came outside the door just now. Ask whose family it is, and tell the doorman not to let dogs and cats in."

Xiangzhu thought carefully about the two teenagers just now: "Ma'am, we know the one next to you. He is the grandson of Chief Li Ting, and there is another boy who is so poorly dressed that he is probably a commoner who was admitted by the boss."

Ma Meier gave a light smile, raised her head and entered her yard proudly.

Zhao Yuyan looked at Li Xunting beside him, "You came here to see the little lady?"

"No...no!"

Looking at the classmate with flustered eyes, Zhao Yuyan didn't ask any more questions, squinted and looked into the distance, "I heard that the family has already engaged a fiancée for you?"

Li Xunting's eyes dodged, "It's... not a formal ceremony yet, so I can't count."

Zhao Yuyan chuckled, "Let's go."

"Go...where?"

I was so dizzy that I even forgot what I was going to do here, Zhao Yuyan raised his eyebrows, "Fame and wealth are added to your body, don't ask you to find beauties, beauties will take the initiative to find you."

"Ah..." Li Xunting had already realized that he had said something wrong, it was really embarrassing, and suddenly he heard a classmate say, "You...don't yearn for beauties?"

Zhao Yuyan glanced at his classmates, narrowed his eyes and said, "Never!" After finishing speaking, he raised his feet and stepped forward, his small back was full of young people's fearless rushing forward.

Li Xunting was shocked by what his classmate said and didn't move for a while.

In the barracks, the afternoon training was finally over, and all the soldiers seemed to be fished out of the water. When they heard the command to disband, they all ran away. Those who jumped into the river to take a bath jumped into the river, and those who were so hungry went to find something to eat. ...

Zhang Nianmei said to Gu Dun: "Fatty, I invite mice to a tofu feast, will you go?"

"Go, as long as there is food, I will go." Gu Dun replied without even thinking about it.

"I can't kill you."

"You didn't invite me, you hurt me now, you make me happy!" Gu Dun turned back bluntly.

Zhang Nianmei curled her lips, but from the corner of her eye she looked at the general's stage, and found that the little general was indifferent, so she grinned happily, and trotted over, "Little general, are you going?"

Xia Zhen looked at Zhang Nianmei, his eyes were so cold that he could freeze to death, and there was a faint roar of anger.

Damn, I won't bump into the knife edge, Zhang Nianmei hastily backed away.

Jing Mo took a step forward: "Where is it?"

Zhang Nianmei stopped quietly: "I heard that there are lotus leaves on the edge of a pond. I eat it from evening to night. It's like being on the grassland. You can see the stars and the moon. It's so beautiful."

"Where is the pond?"

"Of course it's near Xiaoniu Mountain." Zhang Nianmei dared not mention Xiaowang Village.

Startled Mo took a step back holding his sword.

"Hey, are you going?" Ming asked Jing Mo, but actually waited for Xia Zhen to answer.

How could the taciturn Xia Zhen answer his words? She gave him a cold look, and walked away with her long legs.

Mother, even if my Zhang Tiaozi is as smart as a monkey, I can't guess what he means, so what should I do?
Xiaowen looked at General Zhang who was at a loss, and smiled sympathetically.

"Still laughing!" Jing Mo pushed Xiao Wen with the handle of the knife, "Not readying the horse yet."

"Ah, I... I'm going to ask if you want to prepare the horse?"

"Stupid donkey, if you don't want to go, the pillars on this side have already been destroyed by your sword." Jing Mo looked at Zhang Nianmei contemptuously, and even claimed to be the No. .

Uh...isn't that right, oops, Zhang Nianmei patted her head happily, "Yes, if he was angry, he would have swung the knife long ago, either the pillar would be destroyed, or my head would fall to the ground."

Startled Mo stared at Zhang Nianmei who was like an idiot, if the little general wanted your head to fall to the ground, would he still let you jump until now?
Ma Min'er was looking at the prepared drinks, "Father, is there too much?"

"It's okay!" Ma Qifeng replied.

"I'm more afraid. Those military guys are drunk and making trouble. I'm less afraid that they will say I'm stingy."

"Two jars, enough for twelve or three people, it's enough, you won't get too drunk, and you won't feel too little."

In her previous life, Ma Min'er drank alcohol to accompany clients, but she always felt that she was missing.

"A lot." Seeing his daughter's hesitation, Ma Qifeng affirmed.

The reason why she doesn't drink too much is that Ma Min'er still has a big idea. She wants to get Xia Zhen drunk so that she can put the jade water drop around his neck and wait for the modern parents to appear with the help of the moon.I hope it will come true.

Ma Sanlang sat in the corridor and finished the homework left by his master, and called out to Ma Qifeng in the yard: "Father, sir, who of us has learned an instrument?"

"Have you returned yet?"

"I'm back, I learned the flute from my father." Ma Sanlang said: "Sir, listen to me and ask me to bring the flute to use in class tomorrow."

"En!" Ma Qifeng nodded.

Xiao?I also learned from my father, and Ma Miner's eyes lit up, "Father, I am worried that there will be no entertainment at night, why don't you bring our family's flute and zither to add color to the picnic, what do you think?"

Ma Qifeng nodded, "OK!"

Instruments such as Xiao and Zheng are almost necessary for noble children, because there is music in the six rituals!

Ma Min'er learned the flute in her previous life, and in this life she learned to play the flute from Ma Qifeng, and she got used to it very quickly, and she can also play a few good tunes, adding a lot to the monotonous life in ancient times.

The sunset in the sky is becoming more and more beautiful, like a dream, sprinkled over the quiet small village, where the sky and the earth are connected, the psychedelic sunset and the blue sky constitute a rich and colorful sunset picture.

When Xia Zhen and his group arrived at the pond at the end of Xiaowang Village, many villagers gathered around the pond to watch the excitement. When they saw the generals coming, they avoided them in fear, but no one left.

Zhang Nianmei snarled at Gu Dun, intending to let him drive these villagers away. Doesn't this affect the buddies' enjoyment of eating?

Gu Dun also found these people annoying, so he called out loudly: "Mother, do you want to be beaten by me?" The little ladies of the Ma family.

In the age when there was not enough food and clothing, people had never seen a picnic before, and they were all very curious. After being scared away, they returned to the village with lingering thoughts: "It's like boys stealing chickens and touching mermaids." Sneaking in the wild."

"Nonsense, how rich they make it, how can it be the same as the tooth-making festival for the neng boys?"

"Haha... that's what I said."

"Tsk tsk, if my life is easier, I'll make a piece of sackcloth and spread it on the ground, and have a picnic too. It seems interesting."

"Picnic or not, I didn't think about it, but if Ma's family is still so prosperous next year, the money I earn at her house can be used to build a new house."

"Ah, Shi San, you can do it!"

"Come on, don't you have a lot of money in your purse?"

"Hey..." The speaker smiled triumphantly.

Halfway along the trail, Mazhi'er pursed her lips: "We really can't get close to them?"

Ma Jia'er has been chanted by Mrs. Ma Si, and because of her father's errand, she also saw Li Xunting studying with her grandfather. She thought about it and didn't say a word, and went back on her own.

"Sister Jia..."

"Stop barking, I have a fiancé, I don't care."

Ma Zhier looked at the sky and said, "I'm only ten years old, forget it, I'll go back too."

Ma Rou'er didn't move, she looked towards the pond, "Sister Jian, how about you?"

"It's okay to go home anyway, why don't you take a walk and see the night scene." Ma Jian'er didn't want to miss this opportunity.

"I think so too." Ma Rou'er smiled charmingly.

At the edge of the pond, the mother and son of the Peng family saw that their work was over, and that the soldiers seemed to dislike the presence of idlers, so they whispered to Ma Erniang, "Erniang, we will clean up after the picnic is over."

"It will be very late at that time, and you are coming, and I will arrange it."

"Oh, then...then we'll go back first."

"Well, thank you, Aunt Peng!"

"Young master is too polite."

Shi Xiao'e sat behind the earthen stove and lit the fire. The tall earthen stove blocked her small body, and she felt that she should not get in the way.

"Sister, you can do it, you can do it in a decent way."

"Of course, you don't want to see who did it." Ma Min'er was watching the stewed tofu recipe without raising her head.

Zhang Nianmei teased her quietly, "Sister, don't just take care of food, take care of people too!"

Ma Min'er turned her head to look at Xia Zhen: "Isn't my father saying hello?" When she met his cold gaze, she thought for a while. In summer, it can freeze people to death, so she turned her head and continued to look at the dishes.

It's against the sky that the little daughter-in-law didn't come to welcome her. Whose family is so unruly.

"Little general, there are no decent stools for picnics, only a few small ones, please sit down as you like." Ma Qifeng accompanied him with a smile on his face.

"Thank you, Mr. Ma." The little general didn't speak, so Mr. Tian could only speak, and looked at Ma Erniang while talking. The little lady was very calm, and she didn't care about the little general's noble status, nor was he afraid of his cold, cannibalistic eyes. How arrogant!

"Mr. Tian is polite."

From the time Xia Zhen dismounted to the present, where she was standing before, and where she is still standing now, even if the 'future father-in-law' asked to sit down, she did not move.

Zhuang Hao's eyebrows moved secretly, and his eyes looked around. The quiet water surface was full of charming reflections of the sunset. The breeze blew by, causing ripples on the water surface. Among the rippling blue waves, the lotus leaves in the pond were probably newly planted. It is not lush, but it is also full of greenery, each one is like a green ink plate, full of vitality.

The newly planted willows on the shore are still young and have not yet formed the shape of hanging silk. If we come again next summer, the pond will be full of green lotus, the lotus is in full bloom, and there are fish playing in the water under the lotus;
On the shore, there are dragonflies and butterflies among the grass, warblers and sparrows among the willows, dragonflies and butterflies dance together, and yellow warblers and birds fly low.The breeze slips through the gaps between the branches and leaves. It looks like a noisy scenery, but it is also a quiet place to escape the summer heat. It must be wonderful to sit by the pond.

Zhang Nianmei is not as poetic as Zhuang Hao. He directly asked: "My sister, you are awesome. You have created all the lotus flowers in the south of the Yangtze River. Then next year, will I be able to eat lotus roots?"

The tofu in the pot was stewed until it was shiny red, full of color and fragrance, and Ma Min'er said to Shi Xiao'e, "Xiao'e, stop building firewood."

"Okay, Er Niang."

Ma Min'er wiped the sweat from her brow, turned her head and smiled, "It's not just lotus root, there's also lotus seed soup, you can also dig lotus root in the lotus pond to catch fish and shrimp, catch loaches and crabs, don't be too interesting."

"Wow, that seems interesting just thinking about it."

"Of course." Ma Min'er took off her apron, she had to serve the Great God, if she didn't go, she was afraid of being thrown away.

"Here you come, little general!" Finally, the 'little daughter-in-law' flew towards Xia Zhen with a smile on her face, "The tofu is ready, just waiting for you to start."

Xia Zhen's slender body turned her back to the setting sun, and Ma Min'er came against the light, like a flying fairy, taking advantage of the colorful sunset glow and coming on the clouds, like a dream.

Xia Zhen, who was like a plank, stretched out her long legs to meet her.

"Little General—"

Xia Zhen bowed her head.

One tall and one short meet in the dreamlike sunset.

Ma Min'er tilted her face and looked up at the cold little general with a smile on her face, "Today's tofu is very rich, you must eat more."

Xia Zhen stared blankly.

Ma Min'er didn't mind, she tilted her head and said, "Let's go, let's eat." After speaking, she turned and walked towards the grass covered by the linen shop.

Mr. Tian watched his little master silently follow Ma Erniang to the linen cloth where the tofu feast was placed, secretly moving his beard with a complicated expression.

"Mr. Tian, ​​please—" Ma Qifeng saw Mr. Tian staring at his daughter, a little unaccustomed to it, and hurriedly interrupted.

"Let's go, let's repay Er Niangzi's tofu feast."

As the sun moves westward, the sunset glow gradually dims, and the light is no longer so gorgeous, but becomes soft and warm.A group of people sat on the linen cushions, enjoying the cool breeze, enjoying the pleasant summer evening.

"Er Niang, I cooked quite a few tofu dishes today!"

"Yes, sixteen dishes including soup and vegetables!"

"Report the name of the dish."

Ma Min'er smiled, pointed in front of her and said, "This light yellow dish is called Mapo Tofu. It is best roasted to a certain degree of heat. Choose tender tofu for the pot..."

"Isn't all tofu tender?" Zhang Nianmei was naughty.

Ma Miner stared: "Tofu can be divided into old and tender."

"..." Zhang Nianmei rubbed her nose, and seeing everyone laughing, she glared at her sister impolitely, implying that she didn't show brother any face.

Ma Miner smiled and continued: "Why is this dish introduced first, because it has the richest taste in the mouth, numb, spicy, crisp, fragrant, tender, fresh, hot, because the surface is covered with a layer of oil ( Since there is no red chili oil at this time, she used ordinary soybean oil to heat and pour it on top), which can keep the heat in the tofu from dissipating, and it tastes delicious when it is hot, everyone, please pay back.”

Xia Zhen didn't move her chopsticks, who would dare to?
Ma Min'er curled her lips secretly, with a slight smile on her face, and looked at Xiaowen, her close follower, who hid behind him like an invisible man. Xia Dashen scooped up a small bowl and handed it to him, "Be careful not to burn it."

The little daughter-in-law had a flattering smile, which made Uncle Xia feel better. He took the small bowl slowly, and the little white spoon picked some mapo tofu, and gently put it in his mouth.

"Does it melt in your mouth?" Ma Min'er stared at him and asked with a smile.

Xia Zhen raised her eyes, then lowered her head and scooped up a spoonful, put it near her mouth and blew it into her mouth.

Well, you are a master, a great god, let's not care about it, Ma Min'er sat on the ground, and said to everyone: "Everyone, eat while it's hot."

Zhang Nianmei noticed the subtle changes in the little general. From picking a little at the beginning to scooping a spoonful later, it seemed that the taste must be good, so she quickly scooped up the mapo tofu: "Wow, it's really hot." Not only is it hot, but also Numb and spicy, put down the spoon and fan your mouth with your hands.

"Be careful, Brother Zhang."

"I know, I know!" Zhang Nianmei kept fanning her hands, "Quickly introduce the next one."

"Oh." Ma Min'er smiled helplessly: "On the side are tofu with soy sauce, tofu with minced meat, and tofu with scallion oil. Everyone should have eaten this. It's a common practice, so I won't introduce it. There is also secret tofu. Fang and Nyonya tofu are somewhat similar to mapo tofu, and there are also light amaranth tofu balls, three delicacies tofu soup, etc.”

"These are all tofu, we recognize them, but is this reddish-brown semi-hard one also tofu?"

Ma Miner said: "This is called dried tofu. It is made from tofu again. Because salt, fennel, pepper, aniseed and other seasonings are added during the production process, it is fragrant and fresh, and salty and refreshing. , hard but tough, it won’t break after a long time.”

"Then I know what the names of these two dishes are!" Gu Dun exclaimed, "Stir-fried dried tofu with leeks and dried tofu with white slices, am I right?"

"Yes, General Gu."

"Haha..." Gu Dun laughed.

"What is this thin and white?"

"It's also a bean product, called Baiye." Ma Min'er said, "Today's soup is made from it——duck blood boiled dry shredded soup."

"Isn't it called Baiye? There are only dried shreds in the soup..."

"After cutting it finely..."

……

"Sure enough, it's a tofu banquet, and tofu is inseparable after all." Zhuang Hao laughed.

Ma Min'er nodded, "Today's staple food—leek tofu egg meat dumplings, leek tofu diced box, and sake, everyone, let's eat and drink."

"Wow, it's great to have wine!" Gu Dun shouted happily.

"Fatty, there's a little lady here, don't drink to death, make you so drunk that it's unbearable." Zhang Nianmei grinned.

"Why, I'm not that kind of person!"

"Hey, that's not sure."

Ma Min'er said to Mr. Tian: "Sir, I know that most people in the barracks drink alcohol, but there aren't many drinks today, so let's just have a look."

"Second Lady is thoughtful, and if you're interested, that's fine."

"Okay, then let's bury our heads in eating and drinking."

Finally started, everyone can't wait to eat big pieces.

Ma Min'er has been sitting next to Xia Zhen, helping him pick up vegetables, spoon soup, and pour wine for him.

"My lord doesn't drink." Mr. Tian said hastily when he saw Ma Erniang pouring wine for the young master.

"It's not drinking, it's for fun. Otherwise, how can I see the moonlight in the lotus pond and listen to the summer insects whispering under the moon?" Ma Miner smiled at Mr. Tian, ​​baring her teeth.

Mr. Tian was so blocked by the little lady's words that he couldn't utter a word. He could say that when the young master didn't drink, no one could stop his temper. If he drank...well, since it's you' Little daughter-in-law, let's drink, let's drink, he also wants to see, the little general who has never drunk before, what will happen after drinking, so drunk that he beats someone...or beats someone...

If Ma Min'er knew that Xia Zhen had never drunk, then tonight, she would not persuade her to drink even if she was beaten to death, even if it was to achieve her ulterior purpose, she would not use the trick of getting drunk.

Xia Zhen frowned.

"Don't you want to drink?" Ma Min'er tilted her head to look at Xia Zhen, with a sweet smile and gentle intelligence.

Xia Zhen reached out to take the small wine cup. It was really a very small wine cup. If he drank it as water, he could only moisten his lips. He lowered his eyes to the wine cup, and brought it up to his nose to sniff.

"It smells fragrant, and tastes spicy when you drink it, even hotter than Mapo Tofu." Ma Min'er said with a smile.

Xia Zhen looked away at the little daughter-in-law.

The little daughter-in-law smiled.

How dangerous is this smile? It's gut-piercing...uh...good wine, the young general raised his head and drank from the glass.

Mr. Tian was frightened by the young master's clean and neat movements and straightened up. When he realized that he was too nervous, he quietly relaxed his lower body and raised his glass to drink.

For some reason, Mr. Tian sensed some "conspiracy" from Ma Erniang's persuasion, but he thought carefully, what kind of "conspiracy" could a ten-year-old girl have? Even if there was, she was only ten years old, what could she do?
Ma Min'er called to her father, "Father, how about I play a piece with you, how about adding to the wine of the little general and Mr. Tian?"

Ma Qifeng nodded, looked at the sky, it was already dark, "Light the bonfire first."

"Father, it's convenient, just bring out the firewood under the stove."

"Wow, sister, how about playing some music?"

"Yes, Saburo mentioned blowing flute today, so I brought the zither flute from home after thinking about it."

"Okay, okay!" Zhang Nianmei applauded repeatedly.

Those who can be by Xia Zhen's side are almost all the nobles' children. Although they are in the military camp, they come from aristocratic families and have dabbled in the six rites. , His family background, among these people, is mostly wealthy gentry in the countryside. In the education he received, there is no such thing as elegance, either studying or practicing martial arts, and while studying, he can only write simply, he can be regarded as a rough man.

Xia Zhen watched the little daughter-in-law walk up to his father, and said to his father, "Put the song on", and his father nodded.

Ma Qifeng sat down with the kite, and Ma Miner took the flute to stand still. The two tried the notes and joined together. Seeing that Xiao'e and two soldiers had already lit the bonfire, the father and daughter began to play while the bonfire was raging.

The beginning of the music was not smooth, and it went straight up. After a while, the music became full of arrogance and agitation. It seemed that there was a big battle in the grassland. The soldiers were full of fighting spirit and fought bravely.

　Xia Zhen: I always feel like there is a monster trying to throw me down?

　　Er Niang: What monster?
　　Xia Zhen: It looks a bit like you.

　　Er Niang: Go to hell!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)