Zhou Qiongniang said solicitously, "I'll eat later. You and Third Brother eat first. Isn't Third Brother leaving the valley today? Aren't you going to see him off? You should eat quickly, we're not in a hurry."
Hearing Zhou Qiongniang's words, Lu Chenyan suddenly felt that the steamed bun in his hand was no longer delicious. He looked at Lu Shiyan beside him, and then looked at Jiang Tangtang and asked, "When is Father coming back?"
As usual, Lu Shiyan didn't sleep, but sat cross-legged to the side. He opened his eyes, picked up the guy, and said, "Go brush your teeth first, I'll tell you when I'll be back."
Lu Chenyan jumped up, forgetting his sadness, and laughed excitedly. Jiang Tangtang also stood up and said to Zhou Qiongniang, "Second sister-in-law, I'll go wash up first and then come back to eat."
As Zhou Qiongniang watched the family of three walk away, she couldn't help but sigh inwardly. These three were becoming more and more particular, to the point that they didn't seem like farmers anymore.
But then she thought about it again. What Lu Shiyan was doing now was not what a farmer was supposed to do. Although she didn't know what a captain was, she knew it must be a high-ranking official, one who had to pass the imperial examinations to have a chance to become one in the past.
But now that the third brother has taken office, their family's fortunes will change.
She felt a pang of envy, but the thought of the dangers outside dispelled all her feelings.
Wealth and honor are only truly enjoyed if one is alive.
Although they are not as wealthy as their third brother is outside, they are also not in as much danger in the valley.
She only hoped that Lu Shiyan would become successful and, once he settled down, would help her two children.
The fact that Lu Shiyan is now serving as a military officer in the countryside is not a secret; everyone in the village knows it except for the Lu family.
It wasn't that he was showing off on purpose; it was just that last night, when Village Chief Song asked how he got so much iron and made so many farm tools, Lin Erzhu accidentally let it slip.
Having already let the cat out of the bag, and feeling there was no need to hide it any longer, Lu Shiyan simply explained the situation to Village Chief Song. And just like that, everyone in the valley knew that Lu Shiyan had become a captain.
Guo Xuantong struggled internally for many days. She had originally made up her mind to marry Xiong Zhuang, but now that she heard that Lu Shiyan had become a captain, she was suddenly unwilling again.
While the villagers were unclear about the rank of a captain, she was very clear about it.
Although the Commandant was a military officer, he was a Commandant of a prefecture, which was higher than her father's previous rank.
Moreover, given his abilities, his future official position will certainly not be limited to this.
She believed she was no worse than Jiang Tangtang, so why was her life worse than Jiang Tangtang's?
Guo Xuantong tossed and turned all night without sleeping. Hearing the commotion from the Lu family's side, she quickly went to the river to wash up.
The villagers all drink water from the river, so they all consciously go downstream to wash clothes and so on.
Over time, many people downstream built stools and washboards with stones, and also enclosed many water pits with stones to make it easier to wash things.
After washing up, Lu Chenyan sat by the puddle eating steamed buns. When he saw Jiang Tangtang, he immediately said happily, "Mom, there are lots of little fish in the water."
Jiang Tangtang tilted her head and saw a lot of small fish. She laughed and said, "I'll get a net when I have time. We'll catch some fish and fry them into dried fish for you to eat."
What are dried small fish?
There used to be a small river outside Dawan Village, and villagers would go to the river to catch fish to take home and eat in their spare time.
But people in that era were reluctant to use oil to fry fish. They mostly steamed the fish in a pot, which made it taste fishy. This also meant that ordinary villagers did not like to eat fish.
Lu Chenyan had never eaten dried fish before.
Looking at his bright eyes, Jiang Tangtang felt that the little boy was both cute and pitiful. She said, "It's dried small fish, fried in oil until fragrant, and then mixed with spices."
However, their family is now lacking in everything; the only fat they have comes from wild boar and wolf meat that have been cured into bacon.
Wild boar meat has a bit more fat, but wolf meat is mostly lean, so there probably wouldn't be enough oil to make dried fish.
Jiang Tangtang couldn't help but think about how to obtain more oil. This didn't stump her. As far as she knew, besides rapeseed, soybeans, peanuts, corn, and other seeds could all be used to extract cooking oil.
She has nothing else right now, but she has quite a few soybeans in her storage space. She'll figure out how to extract oil from soybeans when she has time.
Listening to the instructions on how to make dried fish, Lu Chenyan felt that the steamed buns in his hand smelled even better.
Guo Xuantong wanted to find another opportunity to try, but she couldn't help but swallow her saliva when she saw the steamed buns in Lu Chenyan's hand.
These days she eats at the Lu family's house, and although she's not starving, when Jiang Tangtang and Lu Shiyan aren't home, Su decides what she eats every day.
Su had experienced hardship and was very aware of potential dangers. Even though there was food at home, she was reluctant to eat more than necessary.
They ate wild vegetables like cassava and konjac along with grains. Although they did cook meat, it was only given to the men who did heavy labor.
She and her two daughters-in-law had no share.
As for Cui and Guo Xuantong, in her eyes they were just freeloaders and had no share in the benefits.
Guo Xuantong felt utterly miserable. When she realized she had been drooling over a little kid's steamed bun, she felt even more humiliated. She was the daughter of a county magistrate, and yet she had fallen so low.
Guo Xuantong was unwilling to give up. Seeing that the group was about to leave after washing up, she quickly chased after them, calling out, "Brother Lu..."
Lu Shiyan asked expressionlessly, "What is it?"
Guo Xuantong pursed her lips and said, "Brother Lu, I heard that you've become a captain now. Could you help me contact my uncle?"
"Okay!" Lu Shiyan said, and then left with Lu Chenyan.
Guo Xuantong was stunned. Because Lu Shiyan had refused to escort them back to Jiangzhou the previous times she asked him, she naturally assumed he wouldn't help.
She was just looking for a legitimate reason to contact Lu Shiyan, but she never expected that he would agree so readily this time.
Guo Xuantong couldn't understand why he would suddenly agree, and even started to let her imagination run wild.
Could it be that now that he's a captain, he knows Jiang Tangtang can't help him at all, and has finally thought of her?
The thought of this possibility made her heart race. A smile played on her lips.
On the other side, Jiang Tangtang glanced at Lu Shiyan a few times, "Are you really planning to help her contact her uncle?"
"Lord Zhang's private granary is running low on grain."
Lu Shiyan only said this one sentence, but Jiang Tangtang understood. Zhang Kui didn't have much grain left, but he needed a continuous supply to develop his army.
As the largest merchant family in Jiangzhou, the Cui family must have a considerable amount of grain on hand. Whether out of gratitude for saving the lives of the Cui mother and her daughters, or out of consideration for their own interests, the Cui family would provide grain support.
Of course, the Cui family may not be willing to provide grain, but since Lu Shiyan has taken this step, he will eventually have to find a way to get the Cui family to provide grain.
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