Chapter 71 Chapter 71: Baojiaozi. (Second update)...
"Forced marriage—" When Song Jiaoniang heard the reason, her eyes lit up immediately. She switched from nagging mode to gossip mode and covered her mouth as she looked Chen Yan up and down.
As Song Jiaoniang watched, she was suddenly lost in thought. She remembered the first time she had seen Chen Yan outside the Xi residence. He was dressed in a grayish-white coarse cloth and looked like a muscular, idle man. It was precisely because of this that he had easily escaped the Xi family's suspicion.
Later on the road, Chen Yan's clothing gradually changed, but he mostly wore khaki, green or ochre clothes, which had nothing to do with the word rich. If you had to say it, he looked more like Tao Lang's follower.
At this moment, Chen Yan wore a black turban on his head and wore a dark brown robe. The black color made his figure look even more upright and handsome, which made Song Jiaoniang's eyes light up. She couldn't help but imagine what he would look like in green, crimson, or even purple official robes.
When Song Jiaoniang thought of this, she couldn't help but secretly scold herself for having wild thoughts, but she also agreed with the lady's vision.
But the next second, when she heard Chen Yan say that the old lady's original target was Tao Yingheng, not herself, and that she turned to herself after failing, her eyebrows suddenly raised and she flew into a rage: "Does she have any vision?"
"With your looks and abilities, Yan'er, if you were out there, you'd be the type of guy that hundreds of families would want. Yet you still despise him and instead like Tao Xiaolang?"
"Tsk, you have no taste, you really have no taste! Tao Lang is right, a family like that is not suitable for marriage."
Song Jiaoniang also knew Tao Yingheng, but in her eyes, that little brat who couldn't spit out ivory and hadn't been nice to the family for a long time was no match for Chen Yan.
If she can't even understand this, then the lady from the Tao family must be someone who looks down on others. To put it bluntly, she is an upgraded version of Lady Hua.
Look at how reluctant she was when she chose Yan Ge'er. Who knows how much grievances she will suffer in the future.
Just now, she thought that Aunt Tao was not good to Shen Yan, but now Song Jiaoniang felt that the aunt was quite good. She would rather bear some criticism and stop the other party from having any thoughts about her.
Song Jiaoniang pushed Chen Yan and asked him to take a seat. Everyone gathered together, ate dim sum and continued talking.
Lin Sen gave Chen Yan a water dumpling and consoled him, "At least your uncle and aunt are sincere to you and didn't force you to marry that girl."
Chen Yan picked up the water dumpling and put it into his mouth. He tasted a five-fresh filling, including pungent leeks, mellow eggs, crispy and tender wood ear mushrooms, fresh and smooth mushrooms, and fragrant fried tofu. He could also taste a hint of sea breeze.
Perhaps it was dried shrimp? Chen Yan chewed it carefully for a while, swallowing the dice, and then continued, "Yes, but after all, my aunt is the old lady's only daughter. Such things really teach people..."
Before he even finished speaking, everyone understood. It was obvious that Tao's father and mother were caught in a dilemma between the two relatives. After all, the old lady and the aunt of the Tao family were the elders, and Chen Yan, as a younger generation, was staying at the Tao family temporarily, so his situation was inevitably awkward.
"Since Aunt Tao has spoken, I think there must be a way." Lin Zhi walked around the kitchen and quickly brought back a plate of fried dough sticks. "Let's not talk about our worries anymore. Let's try this."
The bottom of the coin is inlaid with a layer of golden crispy bottom, which emits a light burnt aroma. This burnt aroma is not offensive, but rather arouses one's appetite.
Whenever she is in a bad mood, Linzhi likes to think about food, as she always feels that delicious food can soothe bad mood and make people cheer up again.
I think Chen Yan can do the same.
Chen Yan followed his instructions and picked up a pan-fried dumpling. The skin of the pan-fried dumpling was practically identical to the water dumpling he had just eaten, except that after being fried, it was no longer as soft and supple as the water dumpling. When he bit into it, he could hear the crispy sound at the bottom. The charred and fragrant skin, with a slightly burnt aroma of smokiness, flowed into his mouth along with the boiling hot soup.
Chen Yan chewed slowly, looked at Moqi and changed the subject, and began to talk about the Lin family's business behind.
After the Beginning of Winter, we should look forward to the Winter Solstice.
The Winter Solstice is known as the "Second Year" and is the most important festival for the people of Bianliang. Even if the family is very poor, they will take out the money they have saved throughout the year to celebrate, which is considered a prelude to the New Year.
"We have to go to the shop and order all the clothes later." Song Jiaoniang looked serious. Last time during the Double Ninth Festival, she was not prepared and ended up having to buy ready-made clothes from the shop.
It’s not that the ready-made clothes are bad, it’s just that they lack the festive sense of ceremony.
Song Jiaoniang felt that since her family had earned some money, she should enjoy herself a little. Not to mention spending it lavishly, at least she could buy some new clothes, right?
She thought this way, and also considered this: "Especially the coats. The two I brought are old."
Moreover, Song Jiaoniang actually didn't want to wear her old winter clothes, always feeling that those clothes were a bit unlucky.
"We don't go out often in the store on weekdays, so ordering one coat each is enough for the holidays."
Lin Zhi finished speaking and turned to look at Lin Sen. "Dad has to go out every morning to buy goods. It's going to be cold and windy tomorrow, and it's going to be even harder with the snow. I think we should first order two fur coats for Dad, and then get him a long windproof coat and a sheepskin hat."
Song Jiaoniang nodded. "Sister Zhi, what you said makes sense. I think we should add a cloak. It will keep us warm and comfortable, even in heavy snow. Oh, and as for the cotton shoes, I'll make them myself. The outer ones aren't thick enough."
Having said that, Song Jiaoniang looked at Chen Yan again, and happened to meet his gaze. After hearing what Chen Yan had just said, Song Jiaoniang looked at him with pity and asked, "What size shoes does Chen Yan wear? I'll make you a pair too."
Chen Yan was stunned and waved his hands to refuse.
Song Jiaoniang was a person of unwavering integrity: "Why not? It's just a pair of shoes."
Seeing that Chen Yan didn't say anything, she simply moved closer to take a look for herself. Song Jiaoniang had been an embroiderer for so many women, so she would definitely know the size of Chen Yan's clothes at a glance.
Just at this moment, Tao Yingce pushed the door open and walked in: "Uncle Lin, the bailiff outside the Dali Temple told me that Yan Ge'er came to your house..."
His voice grew softer and softer until it finally died away. Tao Yingce was stunned. After all, from his perspective, Chen Yan looked like a well-behaved woman being targeted, nervously pressing the hem of her robe, while Song Jiaoniang looked like a bully, grabbing the hem of his robe and insisting on lifting it up to see.
"You, what are you doing?"
"..." After hearing Tao Yingce's voice, both of them fell silent.
It was Lin Zhi who came back to her senses first. She said calmly, "They are considering the style of boots and they think the shoes you are wearing are a little different."
"Well," Tao Yingce said helplessly, "the shoes we wear are also uniformly issued by the government. Yan Ge'er is currently in an official position, so he can only wear cloth slippers. In addition, the toes of the shoes cannot have any patterns or decorations..."
The shoes worn by officials, like their official robes, reflected their rank. Not only were the fabrics and patterns strictly regulated, but even the toe styles and sole thicknesses were strictly regulated, imbuing them with a sense of hierarchy and order, evoking a desire to climb the social ladder.
Chen Yan was born in a government official family. When he was studying in the academy or the Imperial College, he wore fine clothes. He had never used the clothes, shoes and hats used by ordinary clerks. At first, blisters appeared on his clothes after just one day of wearing them.
Tao Yingce rolled his mouth and spilled all the liquid from the bottom of the inkstone. He was wondering why Song Jiaoniang asked these questions.
But when he saw the table full of dimes, he immediately forgot about it. Tao Yingce was amazed: "Why are there so many dimes?"
"I just packed a bunch." Lin Sen moved aside to make room for Tao Yingce. "Since Mr. Tao is here, why don't you sit down and have a drink?"
"There's an old saying: The more you drink, the better!" Lin Sen became excited when he saw Tao Yingce coming over. He turned to Shen Yan and said, "Besides, drinking can relieve a lot of worries. I guarantee you'll feel great after drinking!"
Tao Yingce's smile faded after hearing this. He sat down in the seat Lin Sen had vacated and said to Shen Yan, "Don't worry. Grandmother has sent Aunt back home. She won't have the chance to bother you again."
Song Jiaoniang heard the anger in his words and wondered what had happened today.
She considerately didn't ask any more questions, and Lin Zhi directly changed the subject: "By the way, have Tao Lang and Chen Lang ever wrapped coins by themselves?"
Chen Yan and Tao Yingce were both stunned, their faces full of confusion: "Baojiaozi?"
Lin Zhi saw their reaction and knew that they had never made a dime before, so she said with a smile, "Why don't you try it later? Making dime dime is quite fun."
The two of them were actually quite interested, and since they had nothing else to do, they agreed.
After Chen Yan and Tao Yingce had eaten some dim sum to fill their stomachs, Lin Sen and Song Jiaoniang cleaned the table and brought out the food.
"Wait... we start from the dough?" Chen Yan's eyes widened, somewhat incredulous.
"Yes!" Lin Zhi said this, feeling a little guilty. It was mainly because the three of them were working together, and there was a little confusion, so she misremembered the quantity and made too much stuffing.
After using up the ready-made dough, there was still a lot of fillings left. She had originally planned to use these fillings to make steamed buns and pancakes, but now that Chen Yan and Tao Yingce were here, it came in handy.
She glanced at the two of them and added slowly, "You don't have the courage to try, do you?"
"Who said that? Come on!" Tao Yingce rolled his eyes and rolled up his sleeves. He looked a bit like Tao Yingheng.
"Come on." Chen Yan was not vague. He didn't believe that he couldn't even deal with this little bit of flour.
Less than half a cup of tea later, confusion appeared on Chen Yan's face. He paused, first looking up at the perfectly smooth dough in Lin Zhi's hand, then down at the uneven dough in his own hand, and asked with a puzzled look, "Why do yours and mine look different?"
Lin Zhi took a look and realized the problem. She couldn't help laughing and said, "Didn't you let the dough rest halfway? Are you just rubbing it hard because you think you're strong? Cover it with a cloth and wait half a cup of tea before rubbing it again."
Chen Yan's progress is still within the normal range, but Tao Yingce's is a bit outrageous.
At first, his hands were shaking when he was pouring the flour, and he poured a little too much.
The amount didn't matter, so Linzhi told him to add a little more water.
Who knew that just this one sentence would cause a huge problem? In the following period, Tao Yingce made several adjustments to the dough, following the principle of adding water if there was too much flour and adding flour if there was too much water.
Now, the dough in front of him has grown to twice its original size, and is about to triple in size.
"Stop, stop, stop, stop--" Linzhi hurriedly called a halt, brought the basin to herself, made some adjustments, and managed to get the dough back on track.
But she weighed the portion, looked at the remaining fillings, and sighed in her heart: If nothing unexpected happened, then something unexpected happened again.
There's not enough filling!
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