Chapter 103 Overdoing It: Yu Cai is Disturbed
Peng Ximing never expected that he would suddenly be able to lift Yu Cai up.
Although he secretly exerted his strength, Manager Yu was too lenient.
But he immediately dismissed the thought from his mind.
The current situation is that he is the employee.
Manager Yu is the owner.
He accidentally lifted the person up...
Too much force!
What kind of behavior is this!
He quickly calmed himself down, and out of the corner of his eye, he saw Granny Wang scrambling to get up. After thinking for a moment, he gently moved his arm, holding only the small piece of fabric, and carefully moved Yu Cai to the table.
As he landed, he reminded him, "Manager Yu, please hold the table steady; I need to put you down."
Yu Cai: "..."
His mind was still blank, but when he realized his feet were touching the ground, he instinctively stretched out his arms.
The large hand gripping his shoulder did not loosen its hold.
Only after his left foot was firmly planted and his hands were firmly gripping the edge of the table did he hear Peng Ximing say again, "I'm letting go."
With that sentence, the pressure on my shoulder disappeared.
But he has already established a firm footing.
He composed himself, ignoring his clothes that were now askew, and turned to look at Peng Ximing.
But Peng Ximing had already bent down to help Granny Wang up.
Granny Wang was very grateful and thanked her repeatedly: "Scholar Peng, thank you so much, otherwise Cai'er would have fallen."
Yu Cai: "..."
He pursed his lips and said, "Granny, did you hurt yourself? Should we go to the doctor?"
"Oh, it's nothing, it's just a slip."
Granny Wang quickly shook her head.
She just tripped and fell on her bottom.
It's nothing serious.
At this moment, she had already stood up with Peng Ximing's help. She thanked Peng Ximing again before walking towards Yu Cai: "Cai-ge'er, how are you? Are you alright?"
Yu Cai gently shook her head: "I'm fine."
I was just startled.
Wherever he went before, he always took steady steps, without being impatient or agitated.
But tonight, because I was upset, I was careless.
Fortunately, there was Peng Xiucai...
He wanted to look at Peng Ximing, but when he thought about his embarrassing moment, he felt both amused and a little embarrassed.
So he said, "Granny, let's go, and we'll also visit the clinic."
"I'm fine!"
Granny Wang quickly shook her head.
She's strong and healthy; a fall is no big deal for her.
Besides, going to a clinic on New Year's Eve is considered very unlucky.
With a quick glance, she advised, "Besides, I can't tell right now whether it's muscle pain or bone pain. Let's go back in a few days. If it still hurts then, it'll definitely be a bone injury."
These words prompted Peng Ximing to nod in agreement.
Having been ill for a long time, Yu Cai also understood this principle. He caught a glimpse of Peng Ximing's actions out of the corner of his eye, pursed his lips, and agreed: "Okay, then we'll go in a couple of days."
Then he said to Peng Ximing, "There are definitely no more guests. Close the door and tell the others to go home early."
Peng Ximing sighed and said, "I'll close the door after you leave."
Yu Cai nodded, first straightening the wrinkles in her clothes, and then, with Wang Mama's help, slowly walked out of the shop.
Peng Ximing hesitated for a moment, but still followed.
He stood on the other side of Yu Cai, keeping a distance of two feet from her.
They followed her from inside the shop until Yu Cai carefully boarded the carriage.
Yu Cai: "..."
Luckily it was nighttime, otherwise his feverish cheeks would have been exposed.
After settling into the carriage, he said, "Scholar Peng, let's go back."
Peng Ximing replied, "Please drive carefully and take precautions."
These words made Yu Cai's cheeks burn even hotter.
He didn't say anything, only clasped his hands together until the carriage started moving, then he pinched his palms to keep his voice calm.
He gave a soft "hmm".
But amidst the sound of wheels, it's unclear whether Peng Ximing heard it or not.
Hearing Yu Cai's barely audible "hmm," Peng Ximing knew that Yu Cai was embarrassed.
He smiled slightly and was about to turn around and go back into the shop.
Just then, a breeze blew by, carrying the smell of burning firecrackers, which was somewhat irritating and made his nose itch.
He couldn't help but raise his hand and rub his nose.
A faint, sweet fragrance wafted into his nose.
He was startled, and belatedly looked at the carriage that had already gone far away.
Is this... the incense on Manager Yu's clothes?
Yu Cai sat inside the carriage, the door open, staring at the faint white light on the road, and the scene from earlier involuntarily came to mind.
Gradually, his face turned red.
Unexpectedly, Peng Xiucai's strength was so great...
The carriage moved slowly, and when he arrived home, he dared not be careless anymore, focusing all his attention on his feet.
They arrived at the main house, where his father, brother, and sister-in-law were playing a leaf game.
The two nephews had already gone to sleep.
Upon seeing him return, Wu Fulang and Yu Shiting asked him a few questions and invited him to sit down and play together.
But he made an excuse that he was tired and went back to his room to rest.
His room was very warm, with a heated kang (a traditional heated brick bed) and a charcoal brazier.
But it might be precisely because of the high temperature.
He lay under two layers of brocade quilts, feeling like an ant on a hot pan, tossing and turning, unable to fall asleep.
The scene of his semi-retired life, as if it were his own legs, kept swirling in his mind, making him even more agitated.
Why!
You would never guess that Scholar Peng has such great strength!
Thinking of the scene of Peng Ximing following behind him step by step, he pursed his lips and hugged the quilt in his arms tightly.
This person is quite considerate...
Unable to sleep, he sat up and pulled back the blanket.
That made me feel a bit better.
But this act of seeking coolness caused him to wake up the next day with a stuffy nose and a sore throat.
He caught a cold.
Wild Jujube Slope.
On the first day of the Lunar New Year, people started setting off firecrackers before dawn, one after another, making it impossible for Ye Li to stay in bed comfortably any longer.
Moreover, I still have to make taro paste today.
In fact, Jiang Ji had already told Jiang Dahe yesterday that with him and Bao Beiyuan there, Jiang Liu and Jiang Yu didn't need to come.
But Jiang Liu and Jiang Yu got up before dawn. For breakfast, Liang Erxiang was there, so they didn't need to eat together.
Since I'm just idling around anyway, I might as well come and help out.
When the two arrived, Jiang Mai and Jiang Ya, the two little ones, had also gotten up.
Ye Li had prepared new clothes for them well in advance; this was the first time the two of them had new clothes to wear during the Chinese New Year.
The two were extremely excited and had been trying them on from time to time.
Now that the day of their official debut had finally arrived, the two of them couldn't wait any longer. As soon as they were woken up by the firecrackers, they happily put on their new clothes and got up.
Jiang Liu and Jiang Yu saw them and handed them the New Year's money they had prepared: fifty coins each.
The two little ones never expected to receive New Year's money as soon as they woke up, and such a large amount at that!
The two were overjoyed and quickly offered their New Year's greetings to Jiang Liu and Jiang Yu.
Jiang Ji, watching from the side, couldn't help but say, "They're all of the same generation, especially Yu-ge'er, who's only a few years older than Xiaomai. There's no need to give them these things."
Elm Boy is fourteen, no, fifteen.
Wheat is eight years old now.
The two are only seven years apart in age.
Upon hearing this, Jiang Yu quickly said, "Oh, Brother Ji, I have money now, I'd like to give it to you."
He can spend the money he earned as he pleases!
"That's right, it's the New Year, a little bit won't make a difference, let's make Xiaomai and Yage'er happy."
Jiang Liu also said.
It's just a day's wages.
Meanwhile, Jiang Mai and Jiang Ya rushed into Ye Li's bedroom with the fifty coins of New Year's money, wanting to wish him a Happy New Year.
The two knelt by the kang (a heated brick bed), repeatedly wishing Ye Li a Happy New Year and a prosperous year, which made Ye Li laugh incessantly in bed.
Actually, Ye Li was no longer sleepy.
Last night, they said they would stay up late eating sunflower seeds while celebrating the New Year, but when the two little ones got sleepy, he, Jiang Ji, and Bao Beiyuan went back to their respective rooms to sleep.
He just didn't want to get up.
It's so cold!
But the two little ones came to wish him a Happy New Year in high spirits, so he certainly couldn't spoil their mood. So he put on his new clothes, got up, and got off the kang (a heated brick bed).
He asked the two little ones to wish him a Happy New Year again, and he gave them both a big red envelope.
Two hundred coins each.
The number made the two of them extremely happy, and they skipped and jumped to the kitchen to find Jiang Jile.
A moment later, Bao Beiyuan also got up.
Bao Beiyuan also gave them both a 100-wen red envelope.
The four people's red envelopes combined resulted in two people receiving a total of four hundred coins.
The speed at which they made money made them so happy they practically skipped when they walked.
Their family used to be poor, and the two of them stayed in the village all day, with nowhere to spend money, so they never received New Year's money.
This is the first time I've ever received New Year's money, and I've received four hundred coins at once!
oops.
Chinese New Year is so great!
Breakfast was finished quickly.
But it was still dark.
The ancestral worship ceremony takes place at the hour of Si (9-11 AM), so families visit each other's homes to exchange New Year's greetings.
Ye Lijiang led the two little ones, along with Bao Beiyuan, to Jiang Dahe's house first.
Jiang Dahe also prepared New Year's money for the two of them: one hundred coins each.
When they arrived at Jiang Dachuan's house, Jiang Dachuan and Jiang Tong each gave the two men one hundred coins.
So, just from receiving New Year's money, the two of them earned 700 coins in just one morning.
Jiang Ya, carrying a string of copper coins, grinned from ear to ear and loudly wished, "I wish it were New Year's Day every day!"
One sentence made everyone in the courtyard laugh.
After paying their New Year's greetings, the group went to the graves to pay respects to Jiang's father and mother.
As the time for ancestor worship approached, families would walk in groups toward the ancestral hall.
The group had already pooled their money to send Jiang Fuzheng to buy offerings, so everyone was empty-handed at the moment.
Jiang Ji carried Ye Lilu's braised pig's head in a basket on his back, and the whole family went to the ancestral hall, leaving only Bao Beiyuan at home.
The ancestral hall in the village is old and was built with adobe bricks. Although it has been repaired and patched up in recent years, it is hard to hide the traces of time.
Much of the wall and its base has peeled off.
Upon arriving at the ancestral hall, the two little ones were surprised to receive New Year's money again—the villagers took out strings of copper coins from their pockets and stuffed them into their hands.
The villagers didn't give much; each family received only twenty or thirty coins.
But if you add up nearly twenty of them, that's as high as five hundred coins.
Jiang Mai and Jiang Ya were so happy they didn't know what to say. They just opened their little mouths to wish everyone a Happy New Year and say auspicious words.
Not only were the two of them happy, but all the children in the village were happy today.
Everyone received lucky money, at least ten coins, something unimaginable in the past!
So, while Jiang Fu was leading everyone to kneel before the ancestral tablets and pray for their blessings, the little ones made different wishes:
They wish every day was New Year's Day!
The ancestral worship ceremony at Yezaopo is very simple. Everyone sets out the offerings, then kowtows to their ancestors, praying for their blessings. Jiang Fuzheng then gives a few more words of instruction, and that's it.
Although the village is now prosperous, Jiang Fuzheng didn't arrange many activities. After all, everyone knows that the village's common prosperity is thanks to Ye Li, and praying to the ancestors is useless.
However, under normal circumstances, the weather will warm up before the Lantern Festival, right after the New Year.
It's the perfect time to build a house.
The workshops these days are rather small.
It's not impressive either.
Therefore, he planned to raise the money in the next two days, and then go to the county town to buy bricks and materials, hoping to start construction on the Lantern Festival.
Then, at the end of January, we moved the equipment to the new workshop.
Let each household contribute eight taels of silver first.
Refund for overpayment, additional payment for underpayment.
He, Ye Li, and Jiang Ji jointly managed the accounts.
The villagers had no objection to this matter.
This was decided long ago.
The shed was indeed rudimentary, and it was hastily built at the time, so it might not be able to protect against heavy rain.
When it snowed yesterday, Jiang Fuzheng even hired someone to shovel snow off the roof of the shed to prevent the snow from being too thick and collapsing it.
Furthermore, they intend to run this workshop for generations to come, so if it's not built sturdily, it will hinder their business.
build!
Let alone eight taels of silver, they would be willing to pay ten taels!
Once the matter was settled, Jiang Fuzheng said no more. He picked up a cleaver and began distributing meat to everyone.
The meat that everyone pooled their money to buy was raw meat.
The pig's head that Ye Li and Jiang Fuzheng offered was cooked meat.
The two pig heads are placed side by side, and the one with the braised pig head, Ye Li, looks much better. It has a darker color, and you can even smell the aroma when you get close.
So everyone wanted to choose Ye Li's pig's head.
Jiang Fuzheng, unusually, "abused his power for personal gain" and gave himself a large piece of pork head meat with alternating layers of fat and lean meat.
He had already consulted Ye Li.
When making braised pig's head, you have to be generous with the ingredients.
You should be willing to use firewood to burn it!
A few days ago, when he was making his own braised dishes, he made two mistakes.
He plans to try making a whole pig's head in a few days!
After the lively distribution of the meat, there's nothing else to do today.
On the first day of the Lunar New Year, everyone's only task is to have fun!
Some families chose to go to the city to see the excitement.
With my wallet bulging this year, I'm not worried about my kids asking for this or that after they move to the city.
Some people are too lazy to go out. It's so cold, and the snow hasn't melted yet. Rather than going out in the wind, they prefer to sit around the stove, warming themselves by the fire while eating some melon seeds and snacks.
A peddler drove his mule cart into the village.
Today, peddlers from other villages might not dare to make guarantees, but the children of Wild Jujube Slope certainly have money in their hands!
Jiang Ji brought the oxcart back, loaded the tofu puffs and taro paste onto the cart, and also carried two oil paper packages.
He, Ye Li, and Bao Beiyuan, along with two little ones, went into the city together to deliver goods.
The snow fell for a long time last night, and the snow was more than a foot deep. Even though it was only one night later, the roads were still covered in snow.
When the oxcart arrived at Half-Idle Abode, it was already open.
They arrived a little late today.
But coincidentally, there were no diners in the semi-secluded place.
There aren't many staff members in the shop.
Peng Ximing remained in the lobby on the first floor.
The group exchanged New Year's greetings with Peng Ximing. Jiang Ji then handed Peng Ximing two oil paper packages, one containing pork head meat and the other containing pastries, which moved and touched Peng Ximing.
Since Yu Cai wasn't there, the group went shopping in an oxcart.
The streets are bustling today, with all sorts of acrobatics and stalls that are dazzling to behold.
After strolling around and buying candied hawthorns for the two little ones, it was almost noon when the group prepared to go home.
The oxcart made a special trip to Banxianju, but Yu Cai still didn't come.
However, Yu Cai sent someone to tell him that tomorrow he should make 200 catties of taro paste and 40 catties of tofu puffs.
In addition, he caught a cold and told Ye Li not to visit the Wu family on the third day of the lunar new year, and to wait until he was fully recovered.
Peng Ximing relayed these words with a worried look on his face.
Just now, Yu Cai not only sent someone over to deliver a message, but also brought mutton soup to all the staff and cooks on duty.
It's a huge pot, and there's a lot of mutton in it.
He drank until his belly was round and full.
More importantly, Yu Cai also gave each of them a red envelope:
Sixty-six copper coins strung together with a red rope.
No one expected to receive such a large red envelope today, and everyone was all smiles.
He was happy too.
But Manager Yu caught a cold, which worried him.
Such a kind and benevolent person, may God bless Manager Yu so that he recovers soon.
Ye Li was surprised that Yu Cai was sick, but since it wasn't a serious illness, he went home first.
After lunch, Jiang Ya excitedly dragged him along, wanting to go to Jiang Dachuan's house to make glutinous rice balls.
Thinking that he was going to visit relatives at the Ye family's house the next day, he took some homemade glutinous rice flour and taro paste to Jiang Dachuan's house.
Jiang Shun was quite fond of glutinous rice balls. Yesterday, he cooked red beans and made a lot of red bean paste.
I also stir-fried black sesame seeds.
Now, it's paired with taro paste.
Oh my, what a feast!
Brother Li is too kind; why did he bring his own glutinous rice flour?
Brother Yuan gave him a full ten kilograms of glutinous rice flour as his year-end bonus.
Jiang Mai, however, found a slingshot he hadn't played with in a long time and wandered around the village with Bao Beiyuan, hunting birds.
Jiang Ji carried a bucket and went around the village buying goat milk, preparing to make condensed milk.
I need to make 200 catties of taro paste tomorrow.
Ye Li and Jiang Ya spent the afternoon at Jiang Dachuan's house. When they returned, they not only brought back glutinous rice balls, but also some gossip:
Jiang Tong is going on a blind date tomorrow!
The other party was a handsome young man from the county town. At first, Jiang Tong was quite unhappy, thinking that the young man from the city was too delicate and that he, a country bumpkin, could not tolerate such a big shot.
But the matchmaker praised the other party repeatedly, so he reluctantly decided to go and meet her.
Anyway, it's the Lunar New Year, so it's a quiet time.
Moreover, after seeing Jiang Ji and Ye Li being so affectionate, he had long harbored the idea of getting married.
Ye Li didn't expect him to be so critical.
Anyway, Jiang Tong's family won't need to farm anymore, so it doesn't matter if they're a little spoiled.
On the second day of the Lunar New Year, according to custom, married women/men must return to their parents' home to visit relatives.
But Bao Beiyuan didn't want to go to the Ye family.
Whether he stays at the Jiang family home or goes to Jiang Dachuan's home to find Jiang Shun, it's more comfortable for him than going to the Ye family home.
When Jiang Dahe found out, he dragged him to his own home.
Such a poor little thing shouldn't be left alone on such a festive day.
Liang Erxiang is too old to go back to her parents' home anymore.
So it's perfect that Bao Beiyuan stayed at his house for dinner!
Unable to resist Jiang Dahe's enthusiasm, Bao Beiyuan went with him.
Perfect timing, I have a heavy task of making tofu puffs today.
He can help fry tofu puffs.
So only Ye Li and Jiang Ji took the two little ones to the Ye family.
The Ye family has no shortage of meat. Before the Lunar New Year, Ye's father even brought back more than 20 catties of dried fruit. This time when Ye Li returned to the Ye family, he simply brought two sacks of flour, a sack of rice, a ceramic jar of lard, and the glutinous rice balls he made yesterday afternoon.
He brought these things because he was worried that Ye Daji and Ye Wentang would be reluctant to eat and drink.
Ye Liang, Liu Yi, and Ye Adie eat at home, so their nutrition is guaranteed.
Ye Daji was used to being frugal and couldn't bear to eat white flour every day.
Now that he has bought the flour, if Ye Daji is reluctant to eat it, it will breed insects when the weather gets hot.
Ye Daji understood his intentions, and his face was both smiling and distressed about the money.
How long are we going to eat this?!
Ye Wen and Tang Yu were also quite embarrassed.
It's not that they're stingy with food and drink; the main thing is that this year they not only want to renovate their house, but also plan to rent a shop in town.
This way, you won't have to set up a stall in the sun or rain.
Shops in Baxian Town are quite expensive; a well-located, spacious shop can cost several taels of silver a month.
Fortunately, this matter is not urgent.
Moreover, spring is just around the corner, and once the ice in the Nantong Canal melts, merchant ships will head north.
Baxian Town quickly became lively again.
By then, our homemade tofu puffs and preserved eggs will definitely sell like hotcakes again!
Ye Li was unfamiliar with Baxian Town; he had never been there since he transmigrated.
Therefore, he didn't get involved in renting the shop.
But if Ye Wen is short of money at that time, he can provide some financial assistance.
After finishing lunch at the Ye family's house, he and Jiang Ji didn't stay long because the winter days were short and cold.
Tomorrow will be the start of the third year of junior high.
He needs to go to the Wu family to see Yu Cai.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
