Chapter 211 Wrong shouting

It was just getting dark and snowflakes were falling outside the window. In just a quarter of an hour, a thin layer of snow had already fallen on the ground.

Jiang Yuzhu was packing the medicine box she was carrying with her. Just as she stepped over the threshold, her foot slipped and her body suddenly fell forward.

If the little girl Ningxiang hadn't been quick to step forward and help her, Jiang Yuzhu would have inevitably fallen.

Shen Zhilan turned around when she heard the noise, and said with a look of realization: "Cousin, I was careless. I should have prepared a pair of non-slip sheepskin boots for you."

In the north in winter, water turns into ice and the ground becomes slippery with snow.

People wore special shoes to prevent themselves from falling.

When traveling in a horse-drawn carriage, anti-slip chains must be added to the wheels.

Jiang Yuzhu was stunned for a moment before she laughed and said, "How can I blame you? I didn't expect it myself."

Some of the local customs and practices recorded in the travel notes can only be used as a reference. Only when Jiang Yuzhu actually sets foot on the land of the border town can she have a personal experience. What is recorded in the book is just the tip of the iceberg.

The group got on three carriages and headed straight out of the city.

Passing by the city gate, Shen Zhilan showed the Mo family's token. The soldiers guarding the city confirmed it and saluted respectfully. Then a team of more than a dozen people worked together to push open the heavy city gate.

After leaving the city, it was not as desolate as Jiang Yuzhu had imagined. There was a faint light coming from the distance.

Hong Jin asked Chongyang about it and pointed to the bright light and said, "Madam, the villages outside the city belong neither to Da Qi nor to the barbarians. Most of them are families that have married into the two groups."

The two countries do not intermarry, so the ancestors of the villagers from the outlying areas have taken root here, and even if a war breaks out, no one will bother them.

"When the two countries discussed trade before, they would also move goods through several peripheral villages to ensure safety."

Shen Zhilan added that she was sitting on a thick blanket, adding firewood to the stove in the corner.

Jiang Yuzhu nodded subconsciously and began to look around the interior of the carriage.

The horse-drawn carriages in the north have been modified to have stoves to keep hot water at all times, and chimneys on the roofs to exhaust smoke.

After the fire was lit, the carriage soon became hot and even the seat cushions became warm.

"It will take another two hours to reach the camp in the north of the city, cousin, let's eat something first."

Shen Zhilan opened the small table skillfully, and found a golden cake inside.

The cake had been frozen and there were still small pieces of ice on it.

"After winter, the people in the mansion either make fried pancakes or steamed buns every day and put them in a large vat outside to freeze."

Put the frozen fried cakes in a small frying pan, brush them with a layer of oil, and wait for the fire to come on. In half a quarter of an hour, both sides will be golden brown, crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, just like they were freshly out of the pan.

Shen Zhilan cut the pancake into pieces, put them on the oil paper, and took out a piece of meat to smoke and grill.

There is barbecue hanging on the stove, and a tofu soup is cooked in a small pot on the stove. It is sprinkled with chopped green onions and sesame oil when it comes out of the pot. Although it is simple, it is full of the flavor of fireworks.

Jiang Yuzhu looked at it curiously and started to pour the soup into a white porcelain bowl. She stirred it twice with a spoon, waited for the heat to dissipate a little, put it to her lips and took a sip, squinting her eyes without saying a word.

Chen Zhilan looked unsure and asked carefully, "Cousin, is it too salty or too bland? Do I need to add more salt?"

People in the north have a stronger taste for food, while the food in the capital is relatively lighter.

Shen Zhilan was unsure, and she was a little nervous since she was cooking for Jiang Yuzhu, so her hands shook when she added the salt.

It's not that Shen Zhilan is eager to show off, but looking around, whether it is Mo Yan's maid or her own maid Xia'er, they really have no talent in cooking and are not up to standard.

If the food is too unpalatable, it will inevitably waste the ingredients.

Jiang Yuzhu blew on the hot tofu soup and said soothingly, "It was too hot right out of the pot, so I didn't rush to drink it. Cousin, you are a good cook!"

Considering that drinking too much soup would lead to frequent toileting, Jiang Yuzhu tried to eat as much tofu as possible.

On the side, Shen Zhilan was stunned for a moment, and said in annoyance: "I am never as thoughtful as my cousin's wife. Come and try the northern specialty smoked meat pie!"

After saying that, Shen Zhilan picked up a piece of oil cake to demonstrate the northern way of eating it.

The pancake is layered with sliced ​​bacon, spread with a slightly sweet specially made noodle sauce, and sandwiched with shredded green onions.

When you take a bite, the aroma of the fried cake mixed with the aroma of the meat gives you a particularly satisfying feeling.

"Pancakes use a lot of oil, so people in the north only make them during the New Year. In summer or autumn, you can put cucumbers in them to relieve the greasiness."

Chen Zhilan prefers to eat it with cucumber strips, which have a strong meaty flavor and the refreshing taste of cucumber. However, the supply of greenhouses in the north is limited in winter, and the only things left are pickled cucumbers.

"That's good, Xiang!"

The fried pancakes were crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside, with the aroma of meat filled with the scent of smoked fruit wood. After eating two pancakes, Jiang Yuzhu was full.

After the meal, she rinsed her mouth with tea and gave a thumbs up.

Northern dishes are large in portion and are not overly refined, but rather focus on the taste of the ingredients themselves.

This made Jiang Yuzhu feel like she was returning home. After being away for so long, she missed the free days in the capital even more.

"Cousin, the road is hard to walk on in the snow. It will take more than an hour. Why don't you take a rest first?"

Shen Zhilan widened the stool and took out the bedding from the partition under the stool.

Jiang Yuzhu hesitated for a moment, then shook her head and said, "I'm so excited after arriving in the North that I can't sleep."

Arriving at the border town and not seeing her second brother Jiang Huaiqing, Jiang Yuzhu told Hong Jin, "Hongli, spread out the letter paper you brought. Your wife wants to write a letter home."

When Hong Jin heard his wife call the wrong name, he remained silent and did not refute.

Shen Zhilan heard it, and she thought Hong Jin and Hong Li had exchanged their names, so she didn't ask.

Jiang Yuzhu lowered her head and wrote a letter home seriously. In the letter, she only reported good news but not bad news. She omitted all the disasters she encountered along the way and only talked about what she saw and heard in various places.

Jiang Yuzhu did not mention a word about Jiang Huaiqing's disappearance. Not only that, she also meticulously described the details of the brother and sister's reunion in order to deal with her worried family.

After writing the letter, Jiang Yuzhu put it in an envelope and sighed sadly, "Cousin, have you seen the war?"

With nothing to do in the carriage, Jiang Yuzhu opened the medicine box, sorted the tools and herbs inside, and told the maids around her to take note so that they could be resupplied more quickly.

“Yes.”

After arriving in the North, Shen Zhilan rarely talked to anyone and spoke very slowly. It took her a long while to react and said, "It was the first time I saw a stump. I was so scared that I didn't sleep well for more than a month."

The two armies fought too frequently, and the soldiers in the medical camp did not have enough manpower to rescue the wounded on the battlefield and apply bandages and medicines.

"The barbarians were brutal and brutal, killing people. The soldiers who had their arms and legs broken had handkerchiefs stuffed in their mouths, refusing to cry out even in pain."

Shen Zhilan mentioned what she saw, tears welling in her eyes, "I asked them why they didn't shout it out, and the soldiers said they were afraid of affecting the morale of the army."

If in her previous life, she was just a poor legitimate wife who was harmed by her concubine sister and scum, trapped in the back house all her life until she died of exhaustion.

After her rebirth, with the encouragement of Jiang Yuzhu, Shen Zhilan no longer had the idea of ​​relying on men, and slowly took the first step to find her own value.

This life is worth it no matter what!

Under the candlelight, Jiang Yuzhu fell into deep thought. It seemed that taking in Shaoyao and others along the way was a right move.

Just as I was thinking about it, I heard a "bang".