Chapter 75 Eight Treasure Rice
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As the New Year approaches, heavy snow falls.
Today is New Year's Eve. Every household is decorated with lights and is bustling with activity.
The Liang family was no exception. After the house was renovated, it no longer looked as desolate and gloomy as before.
Especially with two noisy puppies around, they frolic everywhere in front of and behind the house. Sometimes Juan'er also follows them around the yard and comes back covered in mud.
Every time this happened, Wang You was always worried that his sister would be scolded, but Liang Jinyu always cleaned her up patiently and said that children should run more to keep fit, so Juan'er ran even wilder.
Tang Xian bought a woman named Sanpo from the human market. Liang Jinyu looked at her indenture and said she was only 36 years old. But she looked like she was 40 years old, with wrinkles all over her face and gray hair. But she looked energetic and clean.
It is said that Sanpo was originally the head maid of a wealthy family. Later, she left the family because of something going on. After that, she was transferred several times and ended up in the human market.
Even though Third Granny is down and out now, her temperament brought up by her big family hasn't changed at all.
She is picky about everything she eats and uses, not only her own, but also that of the whole family.
For example, when buying new clothes for the kids, she has to strictly control everything from the material of the fabric, embroidery, workmanship and even which store the clothes come from.
The most serious problem is eating. She has to plan what should and should not be eaten for three meals a day, what the children should eat and what the adults should eat. If she finds out that anyone has secretly eaten something, she will have a long face and be unhappy the whole day.
There is also hygiene at home, which must be cleaned every day. As for who cleans it, it is naturally Wang You.
According to Third Granny, Liang Jinyu is the head of the family, and there is no reason to let the head of the family do odd jobs.
Liang Dingfang was a scholar, and a scholar's hands are used for writing, so there is no need for them to be contaminated by stolen goods.
Wang Juan'er is still young. Anyone who lets such a big child do work will be punished by God.
As for herself, she is very busy and has no time.
Wang You usually had the temper of a bull, but he had to change his temper when facing Sanpo's stubbornness. So he got up early in the morning to clean the yard, and when the rooster crowed, he immediately rushed to the next door to practice martial arts, and he did this every day.
If Sanpo was just like this, Tang Xian wouldn't have spent eight taels of silver to buy her.
Sanpo can read and write, and has some knowledge of pharmacology. Most importantly, she knows martial arts.
Liang Jinyu asked Wang You and Ding Fang to fight with her first. Wang You fell to the ground after only three moves. Ding Fang managed to hold out for ten moves, but this was because Sanpo was jealous of his identity and showed mercy.
Liang Jinyu had also lived in the capital for several years. She knew that the maids serving the sons of officials all had a skill, but it was rare to find someone as "multi-talented" as Sanpo.
Therefore, the eight taels of silver were not wasted at all, and several people in the family also tacitly accepted the strange temper of the third grandmother.
In the kitchen, Grandma San and Juan'er were busy preparing the New Year's Eve dinner.
Liang Jinyu wanted to help make some dumplings. Just as she rolled up her sleeves, Third Granny gave her a look, and Liang Jinyu was so scared that she immediately retracted her hand.
"Girl, I'm not saying anything bad about you, but you should behave like a person. You want to do great things, so you shouldn't stay in the kitchen. Get out of here quickly." While scolding her, Grandma San deftly picked up the golden glutinous rice balls fried in the pan.
Juan'er swallowed and watched eagerly.
"Here they are." Grandma San picked out a few of the smoothest fried dumplings, put them in a bowl, and handed it to Juan'er.
Juan'er happily took it, but just as she was about to take action, she was slapped by the third wife.
"You don't understand the rules. How did I teach you?"
Juan'er reacted immediately, turned around and served it to Liang Jinyu, urging her, "Auntie, eat quickly, it tastes best when it's fresh out of the pot."
Liang Jinyu tasted one and nodded, "It's crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, and it has a scent of bacon, it's really good."
The third wife was naturally happy to receive the compliment, but she then thought with regret, "I can't buy rice flour in the city, otherwise I could make some crystal dumplings, which are crystal clear and beautiful and festive."
Liang Jinyu didn't know what chengmian was, but she knew about crystal dumplings. These were the most popular thing in Beijing for a while, and some people even made them into various shapes and sold them at extremely high prices.
"Third Auntie's previous family lived in the capital?" Liang Jinyu asked curiously.
When talking about the past, Sanpo sighed and was unwilling to reveal it: "It's all in the past, so let's not talk about it."
Then he said to Juan'er, "Don't just eat it yourself, give some to the young master. Don't run on the road, be careful not to fall."
Juan'er held the bowl and walked out of the kitchen in an orderly manner, but as soon as she reached the yard, she ran out like a gust of wind.
The third wife shook her head: "She doesn't act like a girl."
Liang Jinyu smiled in her heart. Juan'er was already obedient and sensible. If she let Third Granny take care of Dani, she would be so anxious that she couldn't sleep the whole night.
"I heard that Mr. Yan next door is an orphan. Why don't we let him come over to have the New Year's Eve dinner? It's not right to be alone during the New Year." Grandma San advised.
Liang Jinyu lowered her eyes and said, "That was my original plan as well."
Auntie San picked out a few glutinous rice balls, added some fried pork and fried dumplings, and asked Liang Jinyu to take them to Luanxiangyuan.
Since the past two days, the sound of firecrackers has never stopped in the city. Even across the stone bridge, one can feel the hustle and bustle on the other side. Occasionally, a peddler will come over with a basket on his shoulder to sell couplet lanterns.
But Sanpo looked down on it, saying that the craftsmanship was too poor. The next day, she cut the window paper-cuts and made lanterns herself, and asked Dingfang to write couplets for her.
When Liang Jinyu passed by the warehouse, he heard the barking of cats and dogs from inside. He pushed the door open and found that his two yellow dogs were blocking a tabby cat in the corner.
The cat was so frightened that its fur stood on end and it made a shrill sound.
The two dogs were very excited, relying on their superior numbers to try to rush forward from time to time.
Liang Jinyu shouted twice, drove the dog out of the yard, and threw a few pieces of crispy meat to the cat.
Looking at the opened door lock, Liang Jinyu frowned. Normally, no one would come in here except her and Tang Xian, so how could the lock be opened?
Looking around, there was no one in sight. Liang Jinyu thought that either she or Tang Xian had forgotten to lock the door and did not think about it further.
I walked around the wall and into the alley, then after a while I heard the sound of boxing coming from Luanxiangyuan.
"Try harder. Haven't you eaten yet? The 80-year-old grandma at the village entrance is stronger than you! Try again!"
When Liang Jinyu walked into the Luanxiang Garden, she saw Wang You standing in a horse stance and swinging his fist at the stake in front of him. The stake was tied with a hemp rope, and bloodstains could be vaguely seen on it.
Practicing martial arts has always been the hardest. Liang Jinyu knew this when she was a child, so she was not surprised.
"Young Master Yan, would you like to try the dumplings that Third Auntie just fried?" Liang Jinyu shouted into the house.
In the huge yard, only the area where Wang You practiced martial arts was empty; the rest of the yard was filled with coffins.
The window of the west compartment was open, and there was still snow on the windowsill that had not yet melted.
Yan Xing stuck her head out of the window, her loose hair hanging on the windowsill like satin, and her picturesque eyebrows and eyes were like peach blossoms in March, bright and eye-catching.
Liang Jinyu was stunned, and her heart was filled with a few different kinds of throbbing, but she suppressed them in an instant.
"Third Auntie asked you to come over to eat in the evening." Liang Jinyu walked over and put the plate on the windowsill.
Yan Xing had her hair untied today, and her clothes were light white. She was leaning lazily on the windowsill. When she heard this, she held her chin up and asked with a smile, "Do you have eight-treasure rice? I love it."
Liang Jinyu thought for a moment and said, "Yes, I will make sure you have enough to eat."