Chapter 151 Grandma Became More Generous

The oxcart swayed and rocked.

We arrived at Dahe Village just after noon.

The oxcart stopped in front of Old Mrs. Zhao's door. The old lady unloaded all the things from the cart and then called her two sons out to help carry them inside.

Zhao Youyin held a sack in each hand, and he carried two hundred kilograms of corn into the house.

Zhao Youcai put the other sundries into the backpack and went in carrying the two baskets.

Everyone in the room gathered around.

Zhao Dawang licked his lips: "Grandma bought meat, we'll have meat to eat today."

Zhao Erwang swallowed hard: "There are also snacks, lots of snacks. Grandma has become so generous."

Donghua's little hand secretly reached in, about to take a bag of pastries, when Zhao Erwang caught her: "Grandma, Donghua is stealing food!"

"Get out of here!" Old Mrs. Zhao scolded angrily, "I bought this for you to eat, but you're all so greedy, as if the Zhao family is mistreating you. Second son's wife, come here and clean up these two pounds of pork. Cut off half a pound and stew it. Sprinkle some salt on the remaining pound and a half and hang it in the air vent..."

A group of children were slurping their saliva on the side, and seven or eight pairs of eyes were staring at the piece of pork.

Old Man Zhao tapped his pipe and said, "We haven't had a good meal of meat in the past six months. We finally waited for the autumn harvest, so we should at least let the children have something to eat. Let's stew these two pounds of meat and eat to our heart's content."

Old Mrs. Zhao scolded, "I don't know where you learned this wasteful way of eating. You've eaten one meal and never had the next, and you've wasted every drop of meat!"

Despite the scolding, no one voiced any objection. Wen quickly took the meat to the kitchen to prepare it.

The old lady continued, "There's also a pig bone. Take a radish and stew it into soup. Everyone can have a bowl. Chunhua, go to the kitchen and help your second aunt."

Chunhua then started working on the pork bones.

The old lady took out six packs of snacks from her backpack. They were the cheapest ones in the snack shop, but the cheapest one cost six cents a pack. It took a lot of determination for her to finally step into the snack shop and buy six packs of peach cakes, one pack for each child.

Sun saw the two pieces of cloth in the basket and reached out: "Mom, why are there only two pieces of cloth? There are so many people in the family."

"This is something your eldest sister-in-law insisted on giving to your father and me." Old Mrs. Zhao glared at her. "If you want new clothes, go to town and buy them yourself. You two wives have saved money, don't think I don't know. Okay, let's all go and get busy."

There were still some needles and thread, and some coarse salt left in the basket.

The old lady packed up the sundries and went to the cellar to sort out the food, which was the most important thing in the whole house...

On this side, Cheng Wanwan was also taking things out of the backpack.

Beside her basket were bags of millet, quinoa and other grains, and a large pile of cloth. She sat in the middle, so it wouldn't be surprising if she took something out at random.

"These are snacks, one pack for each of you."

"This is fabric. Each person can make two sets of clothes. The two pieces of fabric with different materials belong to Zhao'er and Young Master Shen."

"I bought four pounds of pork and some pig offal. Dashan, go wash the offal. Don't rush to touch it. I'll see how to make it more delicious later."

"Oh yeah, I also bought tofu and bean sprouts, so I can have something fresh tonight."

The small table is filled to the brim.

After Cheng Wanwan finished her fuss, Shen Zheng said smugly, "I also bought some good stuff back, the Four Treasures of the Study!"

He moved the clutter on the table to the other side, leaving space for pens, ink, paper, and inkstone. It was still a bit shocking to see so many things piled on the table.

Cheng Zhao was taken aback: "Brother Chen, why are you buying so much?"

The paper wasn't Xuan paper, but rather the slightly cheaper Kaihua paper. It was thin and extremely tough, the kind he usually used.

The brush is not the best, but it costs at least five or six hundred coins. The inkstone is estimated to cost more than six hundred coins. Adding up so many things, I'm afraid it will cost one hundred taels of silver to buy them all.

"Aren't you going to reward those people in the academy? There are only two sets. Two people got the rewards. What are the others going to do? Are they just going to watch helplessly?" Shen Zheng snorted. "How many people in Nanfu Academy don't want to go to school, but they use the best rice paper and wolf-hair brushes. Since the children of Dahe Village want to study, there is no reason not to equip them with everything."

Cheng Zhao frowned slightly.

He wanted to use rewards to encourage the children to study hard and learn to read, but Shen Zheng's actions made all his efforts go to waste.

But Shen Zheng also had good intentions and he didn't know what to say.

"Young Master Shen, let me ask you a question." Cheng Wanwan put down the various messy things in her hands and spoke slowly, "When you were at home, eggs were a very ordinary thing, right? But once an egg becomes a prize, doesn't its meaning change?"

Shen Zheng touched his chin, it seemed that this was the case. He used to look down on steamed eggs and boiled eggs, but after coming to Dahe Village, he actually kept a rotten egg in his arms for so many days.

“Things earned through one’s own efforts are the ones we cherish most.” Cheng Wanwan said earnestly, “These children are not studying for the sake of the imperial examinations. Giving them writing brushes, ink, paper and inkstones is inappropriate. If they are willing to continue on the path of studying, they will earn these things through their own efforts, rather than receiving them as gifts from others.”

Shen Zheng seemed to be deep in thought.

His father also said that gifts and giving are the lowest kind of help.

"I suggest that these fifty sets of the Four Treasures of the Study be kept as prizes," she said with a smile. "Exams will be arranged at regular intervals, and those with excellent results will receive a set of brushes, inkstones, paper, and inkstones."

Zhao Sidan said with a grin, "Then won't I be able to get a new set of the Four Treasures of the Study every once in a while?"

Zhao Ergou slapped him on the back of the head: "Where did you put your second brother?"

Cheng Wanwan added: "The same person cannot receive the award twice."

Zhao Ergou: "..."

Zhao Sidan: "..."

If I had known this earlier, I wouldn’t have said it out loud. The pen, ink, paper and inkstone I had in my hand were gone.

Shen Zheng nodded: "I think it's feasible. Let's just do it. I'll tell everyone the good news later."

Cheng Wanwan didn't get involved in this matter anymore. She washed her hands and walked towards the kitchen. Zhao Dashan was washing the pot and lighting the fire, and Wu Huiniang was preparing the dishes.

The pig offal was washed clean and placed in a bowl. There were pig heads, pig intestines, pig stomachs, pig hearts, pig livers... In short, all the pig offal in the butcher shop was bought by her.

She plans to try making braised dishes to see if she can succeed.

Now that the autumn harvest is over, there is no need to rush into autumn planting, and it is time to put business matters on the agenda.

If you can make exceptionally delicious braised meat, you can continue to cooperate with the restaurants you've worked with before. The channels are already in place; the main thing is that the taste has to be authentic.