Chapter 15 Earning Half a Tael of Silver
Grandma Zhao was truly shocked.
The old lady put down her needlework, went over, and saw that it really was a bowl of meat, with red and white parts, and the colors were particularly beautiful.
"Mom went to my eldest uncle's house yesterday." Zhao Sidan handed over the bowl. "Mom snatched back the silver hairpin from Grandma's hair and traded it for a lot of meat in town!"
He licked his lips, put down his bowl, and ran back, afraid that he would miss out on the braised pork if he got back too late.
Grandma Zhao, holding the bowl, looked puzzled: "Fourth Egg, are you saying that the eldest son's wife has fallen out with the Cheng family?"
Zhao's second wife said, "That sounds like it. It's a good thing. At least my sister-in-law won't take the good things from home to the Cheng family anymore, and the children can have some meat to eat."
“A silver hairpin can be exchanged for at least fifty copper coins, enough to buy ten catties of food. This spendthrift woman actually bought meat!” Old Mrs. Zhao said with a face full of regret. “She’s eaten her fill of meat today, but what will she eat tomorrow? This little whore never plans for the days to come. It’s really worrying me to death.”
“My sister-in-law never shared any good things with our parents before,” Zhao San’s wife said slowly. “I’m wondering if she regrets separating from the family and wants to move back?”
Now every household is short of food, and my sister-in-law's family must be out of food too. Since the Cheng family is unwilling to lend us food, we can only try to get our hands on the Zhao family.
Use a little bit of meat to appease the old lady, and then take the opportunity to move her back to the old house, so that she won't have to worry about going hungry.
Zhao San's wife pursed her lips. There wasn't much food left in the family's cellar. If the six members of the eldest son's family moved back, they could eat until they were half full now, but in the future they would probably only be able to eat until they were three-tenths full.
"We signed a written agreement when we separated the family property, so it won't be so easy to move back in!"
Old Mrs. Zhao gave a cold snort.
It's not impossible to move back, but from now on, I have to listen to my mother-in-law in everything.
I was always worried that this shrew would cause some trouble, but now that I know what she's up to, there's nothing wrong with eating this meat.
The old lady waved to the children in the yard: "All of you, come here."
After a bowl of meat appeared in the yard, the children lost their focus on work. Their six bright eyes were fixed on the braised pork, and they swallowed their saliva in unison.
The old lady waved her hand, and the six children rushed over like lightning.
"One piece of meat per person, no more."
The old lady fed a child a piece of braised pork directly with her hand.
The children didn't mind the mess; they opened their mouths and took a bite. The sweet and fragrant taste filled their mouths, and none of the six children wanted to swallow it.
There were only three or four pieces of meat left at the bottom of the bowl. The old lady carried the bowl into the house and placed it on the stove to save for the old man to eat when he came back.
Zhao Lao Er swallowed hard: "Da Wang, is it delicious?"
With a mouthful of meat, Zhao Dawang mumbled, "Delicious, so delicious, but there's only one piece..."
Zhao Lao Er cursed inwardly, thinking that even a piece of meat wasn't enough, and he hadn't even gotten a bite yet. However, as the father, he felt embarrassed to take food from his son's mouth.
Zhao Erwang had already swallowed the meat and kept licking his lips.
The four girls next to him ate it in small bites, but the piece of meat was so small that no matter how small the bites were, it was finished in no time.
Zhao Ersao shifted her attention and said, "Sister-in-law looks better than before..."
Zhao Sansao gave a slight smile.
Each of the six children received a piece of meat, which seemed fair on the surface. However, the second wife had four children, while the third wife only had two. Therefore, the third wife was the one who suffered the most.
She can't blame anyone else; it's just that her womb is uncooperative and can't give birth to a son.
She got up and silently went to wash the clothes.
The family of six sat down at the wooden table, on which sat a large bowl of braised pork, a stir-fried wild fern dish, and six bowls of white rice.
The only sound on the table was the slurping of rice. In no time, the braised pork was all gone, and even the broth was poured into a bowl by San Niu and mixed with white rice, which he ate clean.
"It's so delicious!"
"I've never eaten such delicious meat before!"
"So this is braised pork!"
The four boys leaned back in their chairs, rubbing their bellies with satisfied expressions.
Wu Huiniang knew how braised pork was made. After rendering the lard, a handful of brown sugar was thrown in to release its aroma. She also added some expensive soy sauce, and then poured in a large plate of meat. The meat was coated with syrup, and the meat was already delicious. With so much oil and sugar, it would be truly unfair if it didn't taste good.
This plate of wild vegetables was also stir-fried with lard. The bright green dish was placed here, and she realized today that wild vegetables could taste so delicious.
After the meal, Wu Huiniang got up to clean up the mess, while Cheng Wanwan took her four sons up the mountain.
She spent all her coins in town this morning and now desperately needs to sell wild vegetables and mushrooms to make money; she only feels at ease when she has some cash on hand.
The afternoon sun was scorching, and the leaves of the rice in the field were curled up, many of them already dried up.
We walked up the mountain, where there were trees and a shady spot, and it finally felt less hot. At that moment, many women and children from the village came up the mountain to dig for wild vegetables to eat that night.
The wild vegetables at the foot of the mountain have long been dug up. Most people are digging for wild ferns and purslane halfway up the mountain, while some are venturing deeper into the mountains in hopes of finding some mushrooms, wood ear fungus, and wild fruits to change their diet.
Cheng Wanwan naturally headed deeper into the mountains.
Her target was mushrooms, preferably the brightly colored ones that no one in the village dared to touch.
[Ding! Wild matsutake mushrooms detected!]
Cheng Wanwan's eyes lit up instantly.
Matsutake mushrooms are a delicacy; in modern society, they can sell for several hundred yuan per kilogram.
She suppressed her eagerness and said calmly, "Dashan, go find some wild ferns. Ergou, see if you can find some mushrooms. Sanniu, go chop some firewood. Sidan, walk around and see if you can find some wild fruits or something."
"Okay, mother!"
The four boys immediately split up and took action.
Cheng Wanwan turned around, pushed aside a clump of thorns, and walked to an old pine tree. Under the tree grew broad-leaved shrubs. She parted the layers of broad leaves and saw three or four white matsutake mushrooms growing in the soft soil.
She carefully dug out the matsutake mushrooms; there were five in total, weighing less than a pound.
[Ding! Six ounces of wild matsutake mushrooms, valued at 390 coins. Want to sell?]
【yes! 】
Cheng Wanwan's fanny pack suddenly felt heavy.
She was a little surprised, not expecting matsutake mushrooms to cost over 600 yuan per kilogram. She wished she could find some more.
She walked further into the bushes and found a lot more white onion mushrooms and termite mushrooms, selling five or six catties for a total of 124 coins.
She now has a total of 514 coins, which is about half a tael of silver.
Just as she was about to continue her search, she heard a commotion coming from not far away. She parted the bushes and saw two women fighting.
One was Aunt Wang from next door, and the other was Aunt Fugui. The two of them were arguing over a nest of bird eggs.
Aunt Wang grabbed Aunt Fugui's hair: "Our loach found the bird eggs first, why should they belong to your family?"
Aunt Fugui grabbed Aunt Wang's arm: "This was taken down from the tree by my son, so of course it belongs to our family. Let go of me!"
The two adults were bickering, while the two children stared at each other blankly.
There were six tiny bird eggs in the bird's nest on the ground, and Cheng Wanwan couldn't help but lick her lips.
She's not a foodie, but ever since she came to this godforsaken place, she's been thinking about what to eat every day. Bird eggs should taste pretty good... She'll have Si Dan look for them in the woods later.
She wasn't interested in other people's arguments and was preparing to retreat when something suddenly hit her head.
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