Qiao Ruichen had been freezing all the way, and Geng urged him to take a hot bath. Then the Qiao family yard became lively.
Miao Wan became a godparent to the Zhang family. When the Zhang family knew that the father and son of the Qiao family had returned, they certainly had to express their gratitude.
Everyone knew that Qiao Shengwen was ill, so Madam Zhang brought Yu and Yang and brought over some of the milk cubes they had cooked at home, as well as some of the large bones and braised meat that were kept at home.
Unlike Geng's mother and daughter, who came to Xining Town in September, the Zhang family had a lot of vegetables bought earlier stored in the cellar, including eggplants and winter squash, and some dried vegetables made from shepherd's purse.
"You should have stocked up on cabbages. Your husband is taking medicine and can't eat radishes. Eat these vegetables first. If they're not enough, go to our cellar and get more." Madam Zhang said, pulling Geng's hand and stuffing two silver ingots into her hand.
"Tell your husband to recover first, and I'll deduct the money from my daily share later."
Geng hesitated for a moment, then saw her daughter-in-law nod, and said gratefully, "Thank you, elder sister. The Qiao family will never forget this timely help."
Yu held Miao Wan's arm affectionately and said, "Aunt Qiao, don't be so polite. Awan saw that the donkey eggs and the others liked to eat the milk block, so she taught us how to eat it. She didn't take any credit for it. Mother treats Awan as her own daughter and loves her. Her family is also our relatives."
Although the method of making milk blocks is not difficult, it can not only preserve goat milk for a longer time, but also tastes particularly good. If others know about it, they will definitely sell it for money. They are not like Miao Wan who will teach you just by being lectured.
Changes can be seen in the child at home within a month, and this is because he is fed meat, milk and eggs every day. These are all changes brought about by Miao Wan.
Qiao Shengwen was still sick, and the Zhang family was afraid of disturbing his rest, so they hurried back after delivering the things.
Miao Wan walked them to the door and said, "Mom and the sisters-in-law, go home and tell them to come over for lunch tomorrow."
The city of Wa is going to sell new things, so the two families have a meal together as a taste test.
After seeing off the Zhang family, Miao Wan heard the sound of running water in the east room. Zhang Dazhuang had already brought the medicine. Miao Wan pulled Qiao Rui over and said, "Mom, talk to Dad. We'll go to the kitchen to boil the medicine."
Her father-in-law had a high fever and was almost delirious. He refused to rest because of all this trouble. She couldn't go back to the east room, so she simply let her mother-in-law and her husband have a good chat and kept her father-in-law for her.
The silver Geng originally had, including the money she earned from embroidery, totaled thirty taels and one string of silver and several dozen copper coins.
The money spent on buying spices was recovered by Miao Wan from selling essential oils, so it can be ignored.
These days, most of the meals and drinks at home are shared with the Zhang family. Her godfather and godmother are really kind, and the family basically doesn't spend much on household expenses.
Including the share given by the Zhang family, she now has two small silver ingots worth ten taels and eighteen strings and three hundred copper coins.
I spent seventeen taels of silver to buy medicine for my father-in-law, and next year I had to pay twenty-four taels of silver as a head tax for four people.
The family always has to buy nourishing foods like chickens and sheep to nourish my father-in-law. It is definitely not enough to just wait for the stalls in the tile market.
As long as my father-in-law doesn't go back to the official mine, I can go buy a strong young man and bring him back. If there is a strong girl, I can also bring one back.
By then, she will be able to make soaps and perfumed soaps, and she will be able to master both beauty and food. I estimate that in a few years she will be able to lie down and become a rich mother.
There just didn't seem to be enough rooms at home, so she slept with her sister-in-law and the maid. Qiao Ruichen came back later and fought with the young man for the quilt.
She will save up some money and move into a brick and tile house next year. By then, when her baby is born, she can ask him to sleep in the house and look after the child.
Hehe, it's absolutely perfect!
After Qiao Ruichen finished packing and walked out to the kitchen door, he saw his wife smiling foolishly there.
He seemed to be lost in thought. She seemed more lively than when she first got married, but she was still timid. When he coughed lightly, Miao Wan held her stomach and shivered.
"Husband, why are you walking so quietly?" Miao Wan was just imagining herself as Miao Shiren when she heard Qiao Bailao's noise. Feeling a little guilty, she blinked and complained, "You scared the baby in my belly."
Qiao Ruichen reluctantly accepted the accusation and tried to slow down his voice, "You and Xiaorui go to the house and rest. I'll make the medicine."
Miao Wan's mind was full of houses, donkeys, and money, so she had no time to rest.
On the surface, she looked not much different from her original self, working slowly and speaking softly. Qiao Ruichen didn't notice anything wrong anyway.
So Miao Wan calmly arranged it for the donkey... no, it was her cheap husband. "No, the kitchen is still warm. If you have nothing to do, could you help me move the beetroot from the cellar, wash it, and cut it?"
Qiao Ruichen nodded. He was used to listening to Geng's orders. Now it was Miao Wan, his pregnant wife who had to suffer with him. Of course, he didn't say anything and just worked silently.
After a while, Qiao Rui looked at her sister-in-law and then at her elder brother, thinking that the two of them were too embarrassed to say anything intimate to her because they were guarding her.
She was young, but young ladies from official families were always smart and clever. She said she was going to see her father and ran away.
Miao Wan also felt that it was not good to be so awkward, and she had to get familiar with him before she could use him.
She coughed lightly and asked Qiao Ruichen, "How long can my husband stay at home this time?"
The military camp was not far from the Qiao family, separated only by a river and a sparse forest. It only took Qiao Ruichen half a day to pick up his father and return home.
He immediately replied, "Not counting today, we can return to camp in the evening of five days later."
Huh? Miao Wan didn't care about him trying to snatch the quilt for five days. It was such a waste for such a strong guy to stay at home for five days without getting up.
Miao Wan's mind raced, and she tentatively asked, "What happened to your father-in-law's leg injury? Didn't you rest in the barracks? How come you haven't been back for nearly two months, and you're injured as soon as you come back? I'm a little scared."
Qiao Ruichen was used to his wife's timidity and didn't want to tell Miao Wan much about the outside world. He just comforted her by saying, "There were some setbacks, but everything is fine now."
Miao Wan didn't understand. Why did he come back with a broken leg when he was fine? Did his father-in-law use a self-torture trick to fool him?
She simply said, "I learned some things from the books my mother left behind. They were all the dowry my maternal grandparents gave her. I made some money selling aromatic oils a while ago, but my mother didn't let me sell them anymore because she was afraid of attracting thieves. When do you think I can start selling them, my husband?"
Not only essential oils, but also soaps and perfumed soaps. Not only the people in Xining Town, but also traveling merchants would be tempted. By then, they might be able to skip the blue brick and tile houses and move directly to the big house.
Miao Shiren must do this deal!
Qiao Ruichen looked at Miao Wan in surprise. No wonder there were such big changes in the family. His young wife was more capable than he thought.
Since that was the case, he didn't hide it completely. "Our family offended the Duke of Chen's Mansion and was framed and exiled. General Dingbei, who was from the Duke of Chen's Mansion, left for the capital at the beginning of the month to report on his work. He won't be back until April. Whatever you want to do, just tell me to do it. As long as it doesn't cause too much trouble, it should be fine."
He and his father were cautious enough not to ask for the ceremonies granted by the sage, and the sage did not let the people who were secretly protecting them take care of them too obviously. It can be said that the Qiao family has been suffering from the capital to the present.
Therefore, General Dingbei did not take these stray dogs seriously at all. Even if General Dingbei came back, they just had to keep a low profile.
Miao Wan understood. If that was the case, she would have to develop in a low-key manner. There was no chance of living in the mansion.
She puffed out her cheeks and said, "Then open more shops. Can't she secretly control the shares?"
It is said that money can make the devil work. She gave money to Qiao Ruichen and tried to make him the General Dingbei as soon as possible.
Then she can do whatever she wants.
She cheered up again, "Then I'm afraid my husband will have to go out shopping these few days. Our cellar is still empty."
Qiao Ruichen nodded. This was what he should do.
After boiling the medicine, Miao Wan carried it to the main house. It was snowing, so she didn't dare to walk too fast and moved as slowly as a little crab.
Qiao Ruichen felt that by the time she entered the house, the medicine would probably be warm. He shook his head with amusement, put down the washed and half-cut vegetables, took the medicine bowl, and helped Miao Wan back to the kitchen.
"You stay here, I'll take you there."
Eh? Miao Wan was practically dragged into the kitchen, and before she knew it, Qiao Ruichen had already entered the main room.
This guy is quite strong and has a lot of boyfriend power... suitable for chopping meatballs!
Qiao Shengwen was weak, so he took the medicine and went to bed without eating dinner.
Geng didn't feel like making a complicated dinner, so she heated up the braised meat sent by the Zhang family, cooked a big pot of noodle dumpling soup, and scooped some out to keep warm on the stove in the main room.
After the whole family finished their hot meal, Qiao Ruichen soaked the cut beets in a coarse porcelain basin as Miao Wan suggested, and went to bed early.
After taking a shower, Miao Wan felt that she had lost at least two pounds. She was pregnant, so she fell asleep more comfortably than Qiao Ruichen and didn't even feel the presence of another person around her.
However, Qiao Ruichen was woken up several times by Miao Wan's cold feet at night and got up before dawn.
Miao Wan heard the noise, struggled to stick her head out of the quilt, gave Qiao Ruichen five taels of silver, and asked him to go out and buy things.
Because Geng was cooking in the kitchen, she fell asleep again on the warm kang. Qiao Ruichen was ordered by her to go to Wa City, and when he came back, his hair was steaming white.
Geng patted the snow off his body and scolded him distressedly, "With so many things, why don't you call a mule cart back?"
Qiao Ruichen was thinking about it. He put the things in the kitchen and said, "The snow hasn't stopped yet. Only half of the shops in Tile City are open. There are no mule carts at the entrance today."
That's true. Geng was a little worried when she saw the heavy snow. If it continued like this, it would affect the business in Wa City.
The Zhang family was also worried about this. Butcher Zhang squatted at the door of the main hall, looking at the white sky, puffing on his pipe for a long time, his face full of wrinkles with worry.
"It's snowing so heavily. If it thaws, my stall will be frozen. Even if I go out to harvest the pigs, it will be difficult. How will my business be done?"
Accustomed to the luxurious life of counting many copper coins every day, the Zhang family sincerely felt that it was too difficult to go from extravagance to frugality.
As soon as he finished speaking, Donkey Egg suddenly shrugged, "Grandpa! My aunt must have made something delicious again!"
Hmm? Butcher Zhang could smell it too. Even the cool, snowy air couldn't block out the pungent, pungent smell.
The spiciness is followed by the rich aroma of bone broth, and a strange fragrance that I have never smelled before, which is more overbearing than the smell of braised meat, making people want to sneeze and drool.
"Gudong", someone swallowed their saliva, as if it was a signal, and the Zhang family members hurried to the Qiao family.
"Sizzle--" Miao Wan tied a cotton handkerchief around her face and proudly fried the spicy ingredients in the pot.
Can’t stand the cold in winter?
Nothing delicious to eat in this cold weather?
Just make a pot of spicy skewers and the problem will be solved. If one pot is not enough, make two!
The author has something to say:
Miao Shiren: The next plan is to become the secretly controlling shareholder of Miao Dong!
Qiao Bailao: I treat you as my wife, and you treat me as a donkey?
Miao Shiren: I originally wanted to be a mule, but the baby in my belly was dissatisfied.
Qiao Bailao: ...
I'll keep the word count down. I won't update on Thursday, but I'll be on time later~
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