Chapter 29 Jiang Ji is back with important business!
Inside the kitchen.
Ye Li sat on a small stool in front of the stove, with Jiang Ya nestled in his arms, her little arms wrapped around his neck, happily recounting her experiences of gathering firewood that afternoon.
Ye Li showed no impatience with these worthless childish remarks, occasionally chiming in with a few words.
The little guy has gained weight; it's so comfortable to hold him in my arms.
But as soon as Jiang Mai's voice rang out, the little guy in his arms was startled at first, then jumped out of his arms with a "whoosh," shouting "Big brother, big brother!" and his little figure ran out of the kitchen in a flash.
Staring at his empty arms, he felt a mix of amusement and exasperation.
You heartless bastard!
As soon as he saw his older brother, he forgot all about him.
However, upon hearing Jiang Ji's familiar voice, he coughed lightly and stood up, supporting himself on his knees with both hands.
He's starting to really like the little guy's older brother.
In the courtyard, Jiang Mai and Jiang Ya each grabbed one of Jiang Ji's hands, pulling him into the kitchen while chattering about stewing meat, and also talking about Jiang Tong and Li Ge's ideas, forty taels of silver, and so on.
However, the two were young and excited, and the situation was complicated, so their explanations were incoherent.
Jiang Ji was completely confused.
But this actually eased his nervousness—yes, he was a little nervous before he went in.
Actually, he had a legitimate reason for coming back this time.
But the thought of Ye Li inexplicably made him a little nervous.
The two little ones were speaking unclearly. When they looked up and saw Ye Li standing at the kitchen door, they naturally asked, "Did Brother Datong bring you this meat?"
Ye Li stared at the tall and slender figure in front of him. It was too dark in the courtyard for him to see his husband's face clearly, but that didn't affect his good mood.
He smiled and said, "Yes, it weighs several dozen kilograms. You came back at just the right time, which saves me the trouble of going to the private school to deliver it to you tomorrow."
Should I deliver meat to the private school tomorrow?
Jiang Ji pursed his lips under the cover of night to suppress the urge to smile.
Do you miss him that much?
He coughed softly and asked again, "What exactly happened to Brother Datong?"
"It's a long story. Sit down and rest for a bit. The meat will be ready soon."
Ye Li waved to him.
So Jiang Ji led the two little ones into the kitchen.
The kitchen was dilapidated, and the oil lamp was dim.
His arrival made the kitchen seem even smaller.
Jiang Ya was completely focused on his older brother. As soon as he entered the kitchen, he let go of Jiang Ji's big hand and ran towards the cupboard with his short legs: "Big brother, have some noodles. Brother Li just fried these this afternoon."
Jiang Mai slapped his forehead and quickly ran out again: "Big brother, I'll go get some water for you to wash your hands!"
The two little ones were happy and busy with their own things.
But their eldest brother just stared at Ye Li by the stove.
His dark eyes were fixed on Ye Li.
Ye Li also looked at him.
The two looked at each other.
No one looked away.
But gradually, a smile appeared in their eyes.
At this moment, Jiang Ya, carrying a small willow basket, hopped up to Jiang Ji, tugged at his sleeve and shook it, and Jiang Ji finally lowered his head.
Ye Li then turned her gaze and said with a smile, "Eat up, Brother Datong asked me to buy twenty-five catties of noodles, this is the catty from our family."
Such a grand gesture captivated Jiang Ji's attention.
He washed his hands, took a piece of pasta, pulled Jiang Ya to sit down, and then looked at Ye Li with his dark eyes.
Jiang Mai moved a small stool over and sat down next to him.
But Ye Li didn't look at him. Ye Li stuffed a few pieces of firewood into the stove, closed the stove door, and then looked up at him, talking about the grudges between Jiang Tong and the Wang family.
Jiang Ji frowned first.
But soon his gaze toward Ye Li was filled with approval.
Of course, there was also a hint of restlessness that was hard to explain.
Ye Li's quick wit was beyond his expectations.
He likes people who are clever and have their own opinions.
However, this was not the time to ponder these things. After Ye Li finished speaking, he frowned and said in a deep voice, "The Wang family is indeed outrageous and should compensate Brother Datong."
"Forty taels is still too little. It has delayed Brother Datong for ten years and made him suffer so much injustice."
Ultimately, it's because their team is both incompetent and lacks talent.
He held Jiang Ya tightly in his arms, feeling somewhat ashamed.
For the past three days, he has been feeling restless and has been thinking of Ye Li without realizing it...
It is truly inappropriate for me to go to the prefectural city to take the imperial examination in the autumn.
"Actually, Brother Datong has learned a bit, and now he can make simple things without any problem. If he explores a bit more, our family will definitely produce a carpenter."
Ye Li was afraid that he would be too preoccupied with this matter and it would affect his studies, so she quickly added.
"By the way, why are you back at this time?" Ye Li changed the subject.
Upon hearing this, Jiang Ji's brows furrowed even more deeply.
Ye Li's heart skipped a beat: "What happened?"
"Don't overthink it, I'm fine. It's my classmate Bao Beiyuan who's in trouble."
Jiang Ji took in Ye Li's expression and immediately offered an explanation.
"What's wrong, Brother Bao?" Jiang Mai asked quickly from the side.
He knew Bao Beiyuan.
This was his elder brother's only friend at the private school.
Ye Li didn't recognize Bao Beiyuan, but judging from the expressions of the two brothers, she knew that he had a good relationship with Jiang Ji, so she couldn't help but ask, "What happened to your classmate?"
“His father is gone, and he was kicked out of the house by his brother and brother-in-law. He can no longer go to school, and he doesn’t know what to do in the future.”
"I was thinking, why don't we let him do what my two brothers do, buy tofu puffs from you and sell them in the county town?"
Jiang Ji explained the matter clearly in just a few words.
Ye Li was quite surprised: "So pitiful?"
"Yes. Actually, it was an accident. His family ran a noodle shop, and business was good, but his brother and brother-in-law thought he wasn't cut out for studying and wanted him to come home and help out."
“The last time I came back, he went home after school. His brother brought up the old topic again, and his father got very angry. He argued with his brother for a few words. After the argument, his father went back to the backyard. As a result, he tripped on the threshold when he went out and hit his head on the corner of the table. He died that night.”
Ye Li: "..."
This is truly a tragedy.
Jiang Ji also felt that things hadn't come to this; a few words of argument had led to such serious consequences.
He was somewhat heavy-hearted: "Yesterday I saw that he had skipped school for three days. After school, I went to his house to look for him and happened to run into his brother Bao Beixing trying to kick him out."
"The old man had just passed the seventh day after his death and he was already trying to drive his sixteen-year-old brother away. It's really inhumane."
Bao Beiyuan was a bit playful, but he studied very hard. After school, he would help out at the noodle shop.
But as Ye Li said, reading is like getting rich; you can't force it.
Bao Beixing didn't want Bao Beiyuan to continue wasting money at the private school. Fine, if he didn't want to study, then so be it. Their father was gone, and the elder brother had no obligation to support his younger brother's education.
But after Bao Beixing angered his own father to death, he actually kicked Bao Beiyuan out of the house, leaving him with nothing!
This truly angered him.
He warned Bao Beixing that if he insisted on driving Bao Beiyuan away, then he should let Bao Beiyuan go to the county government to sue him for causing his father's death, which was extremely unfilial!
Bao Beixing and his wife chickened out and sat down with him to discuss dividing the family property.
But Bao Beixing insisted that the noodle shop had been supported by him and his wife all these years, and that Bao Beiyuan not only did not work, but also spent a lot of money on his studies every year.
Moreover, one cannot blame his father's death entirely on him. If Bao Beiyuan had been successful in his studies, he certainly wouldn't have argued with his father!
Bao Beiyuan, that fool, actually believed Bao Beixing's words. In the end, Bao Beiyuan only received ten taels of silver.
"He moved out of the noodle shop today and is temporarily staying at the private school. He will move out once he finds a place to rent. The teacher has also agreed to refund part of his tuition fee."
“But he’s only sixteen, and he has no future, so I came back to ask you.”
“I know there’s a daily limit to the amount of tofu puffs I’m asking; the decision is yours.”
Moreover, this matter is not particularly urgent.
Because Bao Beiyuan was so depressed, he had no interest in making a living.
But he came back tonight.
I asked my teacher for leave and came back.
He... he really couldn't get used to sleeping on the large kang (heated brick bed) in the private school!
After hearing this, Ye Li thought for a while, but couldn't come up with a solution.
Even if someone were to push the millstone, this matter would still be difficult to handle.
Because the process of making tofu puffs is too complicated.
He took a deep breath, raised his hand and pointed to the fragrant iron pot: "How about we eat the meat first?"
You need to be well-fed to have the energy to come up with ideas.
"Okay, okay." Jiang Ya nodded hurriedly.
He nestled in Jiang Ji's arms, though he was actually quite hungry.
But Brother Bao was so pitiful that he didn't say a word.
Now that Ye Li has spoken, he can't hold back anymore.
Seeing this, Jiang Ji patted his little head and said, "Let's eat first."
"Ya Ge'er, Xiaomai, come here, which piece do you want to eat? I'll get it for you."
Ye Li pointed to the two little ones.
They had been eagerly awaiting these words, and upon hearing them, they happily went to the stove.
Jiang Ya is short, so she has to stand on tiptoe to see the meat in the pot.
Jiang Ji walked over and picked him up in his arms.
Ye Li brought over a small ceramic bowl, scooped the meat they were pointing to into the bowl, and then placed it on the dining table for the two of them to gnaw on.
Ye Li also scooped out a few pieces for Jiang Ji to eat.
As for himself, he had to scoop out all the remaining meat and broth, then wash the pot and boil water.
I ate too much tonight, so I need to boil some hot water to prepare, otherwise I'll be thirsty.
What's left over from drinking is perfect for washing up and taking a shower.
Jiang Ji took the spoon from his hand and gently touched his shoulder: "You eat, I'll do it."
"Let me do it. You rarely come back, so take a rest." Ye Li stood still.
"You've fried so much stuff today, you should take a break."
Jiang Ji simply grabbed his arm and pulled him to sit down at the dining table.
"Brother Li, take a break and let your older brother boil some water."
Jiang Mai swallowed the pork trotter in his mouth and spoke.
Jiang Ya quickly put down the bone in her hand, raised her greasy little paws and shouted, "Brother Li, come and eat some meat!"
Ye Li was amused by him and sat down at the table. Then she said to Jiang Ji, "Hurry up and come and gnaw on the bones as soon as you're done."
Jiang Ji hummed in agreement, quickly scooped the meat from the pot into two large earthenware basins, then scrubbed the pot and added water.
There's no need to constantly watch over the stove to boil water. He put a few large pieces of wood into the firebox and let it burn, then washed his hands and sat down at the dining table.
Ye Li handed him a spare rib: "Eat this."
This pot of meat has been stewing for over an hour, and both the fatty and lean parts are very tender.
Jiang Ji took it.
He grabbed a long spare rib, took a gentle bite, and the meat separated from the bone; the entire piece of meat was torn off.
Seeing this, Ye Li smiled and asked, "Does it smell good?"
Jiang Ji nodded.
It was indeed very flavorful.
However, seeing Ye Li get up and take a cake from the willow basket on the cutting board, he couldn't help but say, "Why don't you eat more meat?"
"I ate it with a pancake."
Ye Li has already gnawed on three ribs.
But he wasn't some ancient man who lacked sustenance; he couldn't stand grease.
In his past life, he would eat this kind of meat with dipping sauce and chilled sweet water.
Without any dipping sauce or sweet soup, he couldn't eat anymore.
But this reason cannot be stated directly, otherwise Jiang Ji will definitely become suspicious.
"There's plenty of meat, so eat more meat."
Jiang Ji, unaware of his condition, used chopsticks to place a piece of pork belly about the size of his palm and two fingers wide on his plate.
"……OK."
Let's just call it braised pork with preserved mustard greens.
He took it, broke the flatbread in half, first spread a layer of shredded mustard greens inside, and then put the piece of pork belly inside.
But after eating only half, he couldn't take it anymore.
So thirsty!
He really wants to drink some iced sweet water, any kind, iced or sweet!
But the water in the pot hadn't boiled yet.
He also finished the boiled water he had prepared at noon.
He glanced at the large pot that was still steaming, his mind racing with images of the taste of soft drinks, ice-cold beer, coconut juice, grapefruit juice, and other beverages.
Suddenly, a thought struck him, and his gaze turned to Jiang Ji.
He was indeed powerless to help with the tofu puffs.
But if it's an iced sweet drink, then maybe it'll be worth it.
Brew some green tea in an earthenware pot, add some sugar, and you have a healthy, additive-free green tea.
Saltpeter can be used to make ice. Place the earthenware pot containing green tea into an ice basin. It doesn't need to be too cold, otherwise the ancients' stomachs wouldn't be able to handle it. Just a slight coolness is enough.
That's how you make iced green tea.
Moreover, summer has arrived and the weather is getting hotter, which is the perfect time to sell drinks!
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