113 Chapter 113
◎Visit◎
How could Cheng Mu discourage a child's enthusiasm and creativity? Most of the time, she had to learn from the children. Many of their bizarre ideas were things she had forgotten. It was a blessing for the people of that era to be able to cultivate and develop them in this era.
For example, when raising chickens in the countryside, where there is plenty of space, you can build a barn or a chicken coop. During the day, you can let the chickens out and let them run around in front of, behind, or in the fields. You don't have to worry about them; they will go back into the coop by themselves when it gets dark.
Children now raise chickens in their city homes. They enjoy the joy of collecting eggs, and eating eggs is good for their health. But if you want to do this, you can't just build a simple chicken coop. Chickens poop everywhere, and cleaning up the droppings is tiring, and the manure is smelly.
If Cheng Xi wants to help them achieve their goal, she has to force herself to solve the problem from the beginning.
Cheng Xi already had an idea in her mind. When she told them to figure out how to do it, she was actually guiding them in their thinking.
The chickens cannot be allowed to run around, and it is not suitable to graze them in such cold weather, so they eat, drink, defecate, urinate and sleep in the chicken coop, which must be kept warm and ventilated. The food they eat cannot be mixed with chicken droppings, and the eggs they lay should not fall on the chicken droppings. Therefore, several passages must be designed to allow them to go to different places.
For example, food and water are placed outside, and the gaps in the chicken coop can allow the chicken's head and neck to enter and exit. After the eggs are laid, they can roll out of the coop and fall outside, making them easy to pick up. The chicken manure falls elsewhere - the bottom of the chicken coop can be raised, and a pull-out tray can be placed to collect the chicken manure. Cover it with rice husks or sawdust and sprinkle with baking powder. The chicken manure that falls on it can generate organic fertilizer, and the chicken manure treated in this way will not stink.
Designing a suitable and easy-to-use chicken coop by herself alleviated Xiaoliu's sadness of "not being able to find a wealthy employer". Her attention has turned to making such a chicken coop as soon as possible.
Gui'er also felt that she was thinking too much. A child's face changes at any time, and he really can't be treated as an adult.
Cheng Mu did not go to the appointment with Gao. She thought Gao was really bored, so she specially gave her a note and said that she would visit her in two days.
Come if you want. Rich families are very polite.
There was a lot to do during the twelfth lunar month. Mute Po sorted through the game Mu Yun and his companions had brought back from the mountains and made various preserved foods. There were still a lot of casings left over, so Cheng Mu suggested making some sausages. Someone bought some fresh meat, minced it, seasoned it, and made homemade sausages. The adults were busy all day, and they even had some rice sausage.
Another day, I soaked soybeans and made tofu. I spent the whole day eating soy milk, tofu pudding, and fried tofu. The weather outside was cold, which was like a natural refrigerator, so most of the tofu was made into frozen tofu.
The next day, the whole family worked together to fry twisted dough, knead the dough, roll the twisted dough, put it in the frying pan, and make both sweet and salty flavors.
With the mute woman around, everything is arranged in an orderly manner. Having a good cook in the house is like having a backbone.
The mute woman had never made potato flour before, but she understood as soon as Cheng Mu explained it. Next, she would make potato flour and fry oil snacks. The mute woman had learned to make some Jiangnan pastries over the years with her original mother, so she also planned to make a few of them.
Not to mention that after she turns 20, she has to sweep the house, send off and welcome the Kitchen God, steam buns, make dumplings, etc. If you add it up, she has to stay in the kitchen almost the entire month.
Xiaoliu and Xiaoqi also had a lot of work to do, such as writing the word "Fu", cutting window flowers, and writing couplets. For the two houses and the escort agency, all the red paper items needed were given to them.
The chicken coop they wanted was made in three to five days. Mu Yun specially went to someone else's house to buy laying chickens. He started picking up eggs the next day after buying the chickens.
Gui'er and Huaihua were in charge of sweeping the house. Cheng Mu had planted several crops on the flower stand in their room, and they were all growing well.
A sedan chair stopped in front of the house gate, and a strong woman came forward and knocked on the door.
The doorman came to lead the way, and a tall woman got out of the sedan chair. She was wearing a dress made of silver satin with cold blue trim. Her hair was combed shiny, and she had her hands in her sleeves. A maid beside her handed her a hand warmer.
The woman was none other than Gao, a woman in her twenties. She was in mourning, so she dressed plainly and wore no hairpins or jewelry. When she entered, the maid behind her took the gift box from the sedan chair and told the sedan bearer to come back in an hour.
Wanli led Gao and the two maids to the study.
Cheng Mu was sorting through her atlas and had no time to put it away, so she moved it to the side of the desk and covered it with a piece of cloth.
"Hmm, what a clear and unique fragrance. What's that?" Gao's words came before she even entered the room.
Cheng Mu went to greet her and said, "Last night the lanterns sounded, and this morning the magpies were chirping. It turns out that Sister Gao has come to my humble home. I am honored. Please take a seat."
Gao was very happy and asked, "Why are you calling me Sister Gao?"
"Mrs. Zhou."
"It's fine to call me Sister Gao. Apart from the reason for our acquaintance, it's just you and me."
Gao grabbed her hand and glanced around the room. It was a large, open room with a table and chairs in the middle for entertaining guests. On the left was a small room, separated by a wall. A kang could be vaguely seen. On the right was a large desk with a bookshelf. Hanging on the wall was a picture of farming, as well as some words and couplets.
She sat down under Cheng Mu's guidance. Seeing her turn around and pick up the small pot on the table to make tea, she said, "Since this is your first visit, I brought you some fruit wine and cakes."
The old woman was holding a gift box in her hand, but she didn't see any maids or servants in the house, so she didn't know where to put it.
"You're welcome. Give it to me." Cheng Mu took the thing and looked out the door. Huaihua happened to see the person coming and was hesitating whether to go forward. She had never treated people properly before and was a little awkward. Cheng Mu waved her hand and she ran over.
Cheng Mu said, "Just say Madam Zhou is here and have the mute woman prepare a fruit platter and bring it over."
"Why!"
Cheng Mu placed the gift box on the desk, came back and served Gao a bowl of tea, and asked two maids to sit down and have tea.
Gao said, "The Qianxi chest you sent to the Liu residence a few days ago was truly a brilliant idea. How could it be so well made? I also built a greenhouse in my residence to grow flowers in the winter—"
Gao suddenly remembered, "I remember that the last time we met, you asked me for some taro. Are you also good at growing flowers and trees?"
Gao likes to grow flowers, and her eyes sparkle when she talks about it.
Cheng Mu sat down and poured herself a bowl of tea. "Sister Gao, Qianxi Fruit Box is not a flower. I am good at breeding it, but I only do it for my own taste. I can't compare to the elegance of my sisters. I breed something new to entertain them."
"You sent such a wonderful gift, but no one came. The biggest pity is that Grandma Liu wanted to learn from you. The housekeeper said that you instructed that the red fruits be edible. The maids cut them and gave two to each person at the banquet. They all said they were unique in flavor. She didn't know I was coming to your place today, but she wanted to come too much."
"My daughter loves it and insisted on planting several boxes. I took one from her last time and she's still holding a grudge. She originally wanted to sell it. Who among the common people would spend money on this?"
"Your daughter? Was she conceived at that time—?" Gao saw her nod and smiled, "So you've planted a few boxes. I'll buy two from her later."
Cheng Mu stood up: "Then I have to let her come and thank the young lady."
When she reached the door, she saw Gui'er looking over here again, so she waved her over and said, "Go and ask Xiaoliu and Xiaoqi to come over to meet the guests."
Guier turned around and shouted at the top of her voice, startling the people in the room. The two maids exchanged glances.
Xiaoliu and Xiaoqi quickly lifted the door curtain, and Cheng Mu waved to them to come in.
"Sister Gao, these are my two children. The girl is my older sister, named Xiaoliu, and the boy is Xiaoqi. They were given the name Chengtai when they went to private school."
Gao was surprised. "Twins?"
Cheng Mu nodded, "Little Six, Little Seven, greetings to Madam Zhou."
Xiaoliu and Xiaoqi were very well behaved, standing straight and saying word by word, "Greetings, Madam Zhou."
Gao took out two golden peanuts from her purse and gave one to each of them. She said in disbelief, "They're twins! How rare! Two are so smart!"
Xiaoliu and Xiaoqi huddled close to Cheng Mu, unsure of what to do next. Cheng Mu told Xiaoliu that Madam Zhou was going to ask her to buy two boxes of Qianxi fruit. Xiaoliu's face then brightened, "Really? Do you want me to take Madam Zhou to see it?"
"It's okay to take a look." Gao stood up.
Xiaoliu said, "In another house."
When a lady from a wealthy family tried to walk outside, Cheng Mu stopped her and said, "The house is in an alley and it takes a while to walk. We should go see it later. If you are interested, I have a lot of potted plants in the main house. Let's go and see them first."
After letting Xiaoliu and Xiaoqi go back to their rooms to play, Cheng Mu took Gao to visit the flower stand in the main landlord's second room.
Originally, the main room was used entirely as a greenhouse, with the partitions removed. After returning this year, for Gui'er's confinement, the partitions were installed again, and the east side room was used as a separate small greenhouse. Inside, there was a flower stand with four layers.
Some pots only have soil in them, some have seedlings in them and you can't tell what they are, and some have already grown.
Gao's eyes widened. "You've grown citrus too?"
"Oranges grown south of the Huai River are oranges, while those grown north of the Huai River are trifoliate oranges," Cheng Mu said. "We can't do anything about the natural climate, water, and soil. This greenhouse works against the natural climate, recreating the Huainan climate for the fruit, and they'll naturally grow."
In fact, it is mainly due to the effectiveness of space breeding.
"The most outstanding thing about this tangerine isn't the flesh, but its peel. Sister Gao asked me what kind of incense I was using when she first arrived. It's an ebony tangerine scent, made with this tangerine."
Cheng Mei took out a pair of scissors and cut off a fruit, handing it to Gao. Gao put it under her nose and sniffed, "Hmm, this fragrance is indeed very strong. Does it have a woody fragrance?"
Cheng Xi nodded. "It has several more layers than ordinary citrus fruits. It's a complex type."
Gao looked at her and chuckled, "It's quite interesting. How many times do you have to choose seeds?"
Seeing another pot, Gao asked, "What kind of flower is this?"
"These are not flowers, they are berries. They can be eaten as snacks."
"What about this one? It's like a lantern."
“This is a fruit pepper.”
"pepper?"
"It's a kind of chili pepper. Little Six and Little Seven thought it was too spicy, so I modified it. But even if I turned it into fruit, they still wouldn't like it."
"What's this?"
“…”
Gao's eyes were opened in the east room. She could figure out all kinds of strange and unusual crops.
For the first time, she found Cheng Jiuniang quite interesting.
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