Chapter 20 Buying Chicks Shen Miao gazed tenderly at the chick, as if…
Shen Miao squatted there and watched for a long time. The chicks in Aunt Li's house must have been born from several hens. Their feathers and sizes were all different and mixed together.
After much deliberation, she finally caught a small, spotted chick. She turned the squeaking chick over, blew on the yellow, white, and black downy feathers on its rear end, and glanced at its anus. A rooster's anus has a noticeable protrusion around it, while a hen's does not—this was a female.
A hen is essential for laying eggs. She took this one, and also caught a small white rooster chick—because Xiangjie liked this one. It had no stray feathers at all, even its tail feathers were snow-white, with only a small red comb on its beak. It also had a large frame and was indeed very beautiful.
Then, she had Ji Ge'er pick out a little hen with a completely yellow head. Shen Miao stood up and clapped her hands, saying, "Let's not raise too many yet." In her previous life, she had only killed chickens, never raised them. These chicks weren't even half the size of her palm. What if she accidentally killed them? She should raise three to practice first.
While sewing shoe soles, Aunt Li watched Shen Miao and the others pick out chicks. She thought to herself, "This Miss Shen is quite good at picking them; she even knows how to tell the difference between male and female." She raised an eyebrow and said, "Finished picking? Six coins for a hen, and seven coins for a rooster. If this rooster grows up and can crow, it can sell for three hundred coins at the cattle and horse market!"
Shen Miao had previously bought chicken. A live chicken ready for market cost seventy coins, while ordinary chicks cost ten or eight coins each. Famous breeds like Gushi chicken and Luhua chicken could sell for over ten coins each.
Aunt Li's chickens were probably just ordinary local chickens from Bianjing, and probably due to too much crossbreeding, it was hard to say what breed they were. After careful examination, Shen Miao could only vaguely identify the one that Ji Ge'er had chosen as a "three-yellow chicken"—yellow beak, yellow feathers, and yellow feet, and it also looked smaller than the others.
Speaking of which, this three-yellow chicken is really delicious when stewed.
Shen Miao gazed tenderly at the chick, as if she could already see it turn into a big pot of fresh chicken soup.
"My price isn't expensive at all. I've been feeding these chicks for about ten days since they hatched, and they're all healthy and strong. Look at their bottoms, aren't they clean? Not a single bit of chicken droppings on them, and they don't have diarrhea. If you buy them outside, you might end up with chicks that have diarrhea, and they'll die after a couple of days." Aunt Li thought Shen Miao was staring at the chickens without saying anything because she thought they were too expensive, so she quickly started recommending them.
Shen Miao nodded. Aunt Li's price was reasonable, so she didn't haggle. They were neighbors, and the price was already below market value, so she felt embarrassed to bargain further. She quickly took out nineteen coins and gave them to Aunt Li. Then she put the chicks into the small wicker basket she had brought and prepared to say goodbye and go home.
Just as they were about to leave, Aunt Li suddenly seemed to remember something and said to Ji Ge with a smile, "By the way, Ji Ge, aren't you going to study at the private school run by Master Liu anymore? You're not doing anything at home these days, so if you're free, why don't you come to Aunt Li's house and help Gou'er with his studies? Hey! Your Uncle Li is always out and about, never having a moment's rest. I went out to buy groceries today and heard that the Biyong Academy of the Imperial Academy is going to hold its summer exams next month to recruit students. Gou'er is still young, and I don't expect him to pass, I just want him to try it out and broaden his horizons!"
Despite saying that, Aunt Li looked very proud of her child.
Shen Miao's heart skipped a beat. In the original owner's memories, the Imperial Academy seemed to have a threshold, so she asked, "Doesn't the Imperial Academy only admit the sons of officials of the seventh rank or above in the capital?"
“Elder sister, you haven’t returned for three years, so you don’t know that the rules of the Imperial Academy have been changed long ago!” Aunt Li, well-informed, raised her head with some pride, as if the Imperial Academy were her family’s property. “You don’t know that the Master has established the ‘Three Dormitories System’? The Imperial Academy is now not only divided into three dormitories—upper, middle, and lower—but also into inner and outer dormitories. The inner dormitories are only for the sons of officials, but the outer dormitories are open to the sons of officials below the eighth rank and commoners as long as they pass the summer examination! The outer dormitories study at the ‘Biyong Academy’ built in the southern suburbs, and they are not with the inner dormitories.”
Shen Miao's eyes lit up: "But I wonder when the summer exams will begin?"
"Same as last year, probably in mid-to-late May." Aunt Li glanced at Ji Ge'er, then smiled enigmatically at Shen Miao. "It seems Eldest Sister also intends for Ji Ge'er to take the exam? Then you'd better persuade him to change his old bad habits. I'm just being honest, please don't take offense. I've heard that your Ji Ge'er has been studying at Master Liu's private school for the past two years, but not only is his talent mediocre, he's also not diligent in his studies, and he often sneaks off to the bookstore to read idle books, sometimes for a whole day. If he continues like this, it will be very difficult for him to get into the Imperial Academy! Even if he goes to another private school, it will be a waste of money..."
Ji Ge'er's face immediately turned red. He wanted to say something, but in the end he lowered his head and remained silent.
Shen Miao glanced at him, but her expression remained unchanged. She smiled slightly and said, "Thank you for telling me, Aunt. Ji-ge is still so young. Who can be without fault? There's a saying that goes, 'The past is like yesterday's death, and the future is like today's birth.' I never judge the present based on the past. Besides, we brothers know each other well. How much of what we hear can actually be true? Idle talk is never reliable."
After saying that, Shen Miao ignored Aunt Li's somewhat dazed expression, straightened her back, bowed slightly, and then firmly took the hands of her two younger siblings and went back.
Aunt Li held the half-finished shoe sole in her hand, watching the departing figures of Shen Miao and her two siblings with a strange look in her eyes. She said, "This eldest sister Shen has become so bookish after marrying a scholar... talking about life and death..." Aunt Li tried to recite it, but her tongue seemed to be tied in knots.
He could only shake his head and continue sewing the shoe soles.
But what Shen Miao said made Ji Ge'er almost shake to his core.
"The past is like yesterday's death, the future is like today's birth..." He kept his head down and muttered to himself, chewing on the sentence several times. Later, he couldn't help but look up at Shen Miao, his eyes slowly brightening as if filled with admiration for Shen Miao.
Shen Miao felt a chill run down her spine from the gaze, then realized her mistake after careful reflection: the quote came from "Liao Fan's Four Lessons," not an obscure phrase in later generations, but the key point was...
This book seems to have been written during the Ming Dynasty!
What she had just blurted out now seemed to be regarded by Ji Ge'er as the key to a good life.
"Oh, I'm so sorry, Mr. Yuan Huang. I'll definitely clear your name when I have the chance!" Shen Miao silently breathed a sigh of relief.
When they arrived home, Xiangjie didn't listen to anything her older siblings said the whole way. Her eyes were glued to the chicks. As soon as she entered the house, she couldn't wait to put the chicks in the yard. She chased after them and played around with them, giggling to herself.
Today, Shenmiao styled her hair into two little pigtails, which looked like two little wings and swayed up and down as she ran. She was also wearing a pale yellow dress, and from a distance, she looked just like a little chubby bee, which was extremely cute.
Ji-ge'er's steps grew heavier and heavier, and finally, as if he had made up his mind, he stepped forward and tugged at Chen Miao's sleeve, explaining with difficulty, "Sister, actually, I didn't sneak off to the bookstore to read idle books..."
Shen Miao knew what was going on and smiled, "I know you copy books to supplement your family income, right?"
Ji-ge'er suddenly looked up, his eyes filled with disbelief: How did his elder sister know about this?
“Your aunt treats you so harshly. When your older sister saw you, you were so sick that your face was pale and you were as thin as a bamboo pole. You were so sensible and calm. You were completely different from your naughty self before. But Xiang’er is still as innocent and carefree as before. Her little face is chubby and fair. She hasn’t changed at all.”
As she spoke, Shen Miao bent down and looked at him tenderly. "I said it the day I came, Ji Ge'er. In the three years I've been away, you've taken good care of your younger sister. I'm sorry to have troubled you."
Ji Ge'er was stunned for a moment, then suddenly lowered his head. These words almost brought tears to his eyes, but he didn't want Shen Miao to see him. He quickly turned away and rushed out the door. Shen Miao didn't chase after him, but only said to his back, "Remember to come back for dinner later."
He needed a quiet place to be alone and slowly release his tears.
It's best not to disturb them.
Shen Miao peeked out and told Xiang Jie not to keep chasing the chicks, or she'd be scared to death. Then she went back into the kitchen to start preparing the dough for the pancakes to sell tomorrow. After she finished making all the pancake dough, she washed her hands and came out. She asked Aunt Gu to look after Xiang Jie for a while, then went to browse through the various grain and rice shops and inquired about the prices.
When they returned, Ji Ge'er had already returned silently and was casually feeding the chickens with Xiang Jie'er, adding some water to the wheat bran that had been sifted out that morning.
"Perfect timing, you two come with me to buy some beans."
Shen Miao won't be making sausages tomorrow. Besides hand-pulled pancakes, she plans to bake some bread. All the steamed buns and dumplings in Bianjing are made in the Chinese style, and the pastries are mainly Suzhou-style. Most of them are made by steaming and baking flour, with fillings of flaky pastry, nuts, and diced pork fat. They are characterized by being sweet, soft, moist, glutinous, and delicate.
Therefore, Western-style baked bread, which can be eaten as a staple food, is completely different from this. It is affordable and approachable. Shen Miao plans to make simple red bean bread rolls. This type of bread looks very appetizing, with a golden color and a slightly flaky crust. The surface has a texture and the inside is filled. It is not only delicious, cheap and beautiful.
The main product is red bean buns, which are much cheaper than meat sausages—in the Song Dynasty, beans like red beans and mung beans were much cheaper than rice and wheat flour. Moreover, sugar was cheaper than salt in the Song Dynasty. Shen Miao had just asked almost every grain shop in the inner city, so she had a general idea of what to expect and would be more experienced in setting up her stall tomorrow.
Although Shenmiao had a sign that read "Shenji Cake Shop," in the Song Dynasty, almost all staple foods and pastries were called "cakes," so this was not considered neglecting his proper business.
I'll also buy some writing brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones for Ji-ge.
Aunt Li said that Ji Ge'er's talent was mediocre and he was afraid that he would not be able to pass the Imperial Academy exam, but Shen Miao had confidence in Ji Ge'er.
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