Chapter 7 Chapter 7 In the height of summer, we can only go out in the evening...
In midsummer, you can only go out in the evening.
Song Zhuo took Song Chi out to play. They had moved here for a long time, but the two had not explored the new map yet.
Seeing the two of them holding hands, Song Mian told them not to go to the river and then looked away.
There are the sounds of children crying and laughing outside. I hope they can integrate into the life of the village children.
Who knew——
A moment later, Song Chi came back with tears in his eyes.
They were both strong and endured such a big event as the house being confiscated.
Unexpectedly, less than a cup of tea after leaving home, he came back crying.
"What happened?" She rolled up her sleeves. If anyone dared to bully her child, she would fight him. After all... fourteen years old was also a child.
Song Chi's eyes were red as he threw himself into her arms, humming softly, "Seeing someone eating candy..."
Yes, he is only five years old.
Song Mian felt pity for him and wiped his cheek with a cotton towel. She said softly, "Be good, Xiao Chi. When your sister comes back tomorrow, I'll buy you some candy, okay?"
"Yeah." Song Chi wiped away his tears, smiled shyly, and explained with a blushing face: "I'm just envious."
Things that he could eat freely before suddenly no longer belong to him and he can’t eat them. He doesn’t quite understand and can endure it, but he feels wronged.
Song Mian's heart softened.
As night falls, the village is still very lively. Villagers sit at the doorstep to enjoy the cool air and chat with family and neighbors.
When the moonlight shines, the sound becomes weaker.
There were only the chirping of insects and the barking of dogs.
And moonlight.
Song Mian had a good sleep in the afternoon and was not sleepy at the moment. She sat at the door, fanning herself with a palm-leaf fan to shoo away mosquitoes.
Not far away, Song Fuxue's returning figure caused a series of dogs barking.
Song Mian smiled at him, and saw Song Fuxue sitting beside her.
"You...fiancé, what do you think?" he asked.
Song Mian's pupils trembled.
Fiancé! What an unfamiliar word! So shocking.
She dug deep into her memory and finally remembered that her fiancé was arranged by Song Zhun.
Come to think of it, it can also be related to the current situation.
The fiancé was named Zhou Zheng. His father Zhou Qi was Song Zhun's student. Song Zhun promoted him to the cabinet and gave him all the resources.
The two families are also married and have a very close relationship.
However, as soon as Song Zhun died, Zhou Qi overturned all of Song Zhun's policies and reforms, and colluded with Emperor Shunde to bring disaster to the Song family.
Now, she is a poor peasant girl, her status has been reduced to the lowest point, but Zhou Zheng has become the son of the Prime Minister and has a bright future.
"Is there a marriage certificate?" she asked.
"No, but there is an engagement token. Now our house has been raided, and nothing is left. But his family still has the jade pendant that my family sent."
Song Fuxue frowned.
"Let's forget about this marriage. There's no need to talk about it again." Song Mian's eyes were calm as he spoke softly, "After all this, if they marry me out of courtesy, I'm afraid I'll have to die of illness in the Zhou family within three years to save their face. If they marry me again, we'll just refuse."
She doesn't want to die.
She cherishes the present time very much. They are all educated people who can communicate and reason with each other. Some of them are even more knowledgeable than her, and it is very comfortable to get along with them. Although her family is in a bad state and relatively poor, she can always make a living by selling pies.
Song Fuxue was leaning on a crutch. He raised his hand, wanting to touch her head like he did when they were children, but he withdrew it calmly and whispered, "As long as you can figure it out."
"If you want to get married, there is a way. They can recognize you under someone else's name, and then marry you as that person's adopted daughter." Song Fuxue thought about it and found it feasible. A married girl is not guilty, so there is no reason to keep targeting a married girl. Besides, Zhou Zheng is the son of the Prime Minister. If he is willing, it will be easy for him to keep his fiancée.
"Not marrying him."
"According to your current status, you may have to marry a farmer."
Song Fuxue pinched her brows in pain. With such good character and appearance, it always felt inappropriate for her to marry a farmer.
"Dad doesn't want to support me anymore?" Song Mian said jokingly with a smile.
Song Fuxue quickly said no, he only had two children, and Mianmian was even raised in his arms, so the relationship between them was different.
The topic of marriage should originally be discussed by the mother.
But his wife is no longer with us, so he is the only one who has to worry about it.
"Our future is uncertain, so let's not worry about these things for now." Song Fuxue sighed.
He was thin, with bony shoulders, and the shape of his shoulder bones could be seen through his thin linen clothes.
Song Mian nodded.
"Drink today and worry about tomorrow." She spread out her hands and threw them to pieces.
Song Fuxue chuckled and said gently, "You used to... have great talent and elegant taste..."
Song Mian understood and realized that he was a very particular person.
"Hold the jade cup and savor the tea. Hold the broken bowl and drink the water." She didn't care at all, and even tried to comfort him: "Grandfather left behind so many great literary works, and his life story needs you to write a biography. If Zhou Qi were to write it, I'm afraid it would use the style of the Spring and Autumn Period and erase all of Grandfather's achievements."
Under the cold moonlight, there are only the sounds of birds and insects chirping.
Song Mian's voice was neither hurried nor slow, with a soothing gentleness.
"I know." Song Fuxue stroked the crutch in his hand. The wounds on his body were scabbing, itchy and painful, but there was no expression on his face.
Song Mian stared at him.
There was a calm expression on that tired, haggard, and weather-beaten face, but a creeping belief was stirring deep in the dark pupils.
She stopped talking.
When everything is quiet, even a breeze during the Beginning of Autumn makes people cherish it.
*
The next day.
Early in the morning, Song Fuxue went to the pork shop to ask the butcher for meat.
Since he was a long-term meat customer, the butcher chatted with him for a while: "What kind of pies do you think your daughter makes? Are they good sellers?"
Song Fuxue smiled and nodded, "It was sold out by noon yesterday. Everyone who ate it said it was delicious."
The butcher looked at him and couldn't help clicking his tongue. He was originally a little afraid of the Song family, thinking that since they were descendants of high-ranking officials from the capital, they must not be so easy to get along with. He didn't expect that this was not the case.
He was kind and spoke in a gentle tone.
I won't be too picky about words, it just makes people feel comfortable.
"We only slaughter pigs in the middle of the night in the summer. When autumn is over, the weather gets cold, and the roads are blocked by snow, we may not slaughter pigs. We will wait until the weather clears up or before the New Year. If you are doing business and need meat for a long time, I will find a way for you then."
The butcher wiped the boning knife clean and placed it on the table. Every time he moved, the white, round belly trembled and became shiny and oily.
Song Fuxue was a little surprised: "You won't kill the pig then?"
Heavy snow blocked the road again.
He forgot.
In the capital, there is no snow on the main roads of the Song Mansion. There are always people sweeping the snow, so it will not affect the master's travel.
But apparently no one in the village was clearing the snow.
Not only could we not sell pies in the winter, but we also had to store food for the winter.
That day was much more urgent than he had imagined.
Song Fuxue let out a soft hiss, picked up the meat, thanked him, and went home.
As soon as he got home, he saw Wenlan had already gotten up and was carrying a bucket of water to water the vegetable garden.
"Sister-in-law, why don't you sleep a little longer?" he asked.
Wenlan shook her head. She couldn't sleep. If she closed her eyes, she would think of Song Baoshi, who died with his eyes open.
At this time, Song Mian also woke up.
She closed her eyes, broke off a willow branch, and chewed it in her mouth. She had made some money today, so she bought some more toothbrushes.
After washing her face, she floated to the kitchen like a wandering soul.
"Aunt, why do you wake up so early every day?" she asked while yawning.
Wenlan felt sorry for her and quickly said, "Don't get up next time. Wait until I call you."
He woke up by himself and looked so pitiful.
Song Mian washed his face with water, and when he was more awake, he smiled and replied: "It's okay, I can sleep until dawn and stay in bed."
It doesn’t matter what time I wake up, I just like to stay in bed.
Song Fuxue helped to tidy up the cart, Wenlan was chopping the meat, and Song Mian had nothing to do, so he simply made breakfast.
"The butcher said that when it snows heavily, everyone stays at home during the winter and won't go out. Then we won't be able to make money by making pies."
Song Mian: ...
This is bad news.
But come to think of it, according to her memory, the winters here are much colder than modern times. Although it is in the capital, it has the feeling of the Northeast in her memory. Hearing Song Fuxue say this, she guessed that it was the Little Ice Age.
We need to save food, firewood, coal, and winter clothes and bedding.
These are all big prices.
A pound of fluffed cotton costs seventy wen, a foot of cotton cloth costs eight wen, and a winter quilt weighing five pounds will probably require three or four hundred wen of cotton and one hundred and twenty wen of cotton cloth.
A bed, a mattress and a quilt cost one tael of silver.
Her house has four beds...
Fortunately, people have earthen kangs in their homes, and when the time comes, the house will be warmer by heating the kangs.
Otherwise, the thickness of the quilt would have to be doubled, and the money would have to be doubled.
Song Mian held his head.
"Take your time." A penny can make a hero fall.
Money comes, money comes from all directions.
She desperately needs to make money.
Song Mian rolled up his sleeves and instantly became full of energy. He could earn a hundred coins from five pounds of meat today, which was enough to buy a pound of cotton, a foot of cloth, and a chicken. How great!
Besides, there is a harvest from the fifteen acres of fertile land. Even if there is a severe drought, there will be enough food to eat, which saves a lot of worry.
Without waiting for everyone to get up, the two of them ate their meal first and pushed the cart out.
As soon as I went out, I saw Aunt Zhao walking out with a basket on her back.
"Good morning, Grandma Zhao."
"Good morning, Aunt Zhao."
Hearing Song Fuxue and Song Mian's greetings, Aunt Zhao smiled at them, patted the basket on her back, and said with a smile: "Today it's time to go buy things for my son's wedding. I'll go with you."
Song Mian patted the cart and said with a smile, "Put it here, it's easy."
Aunt Zhao didn't bother to be polite with them and just put the backpack on.
"I'll help you sell pies today. I'll take a look. When you're done, I'll let Mianmian accompany me to buy some things that girls like. Mr. Song, you go back first."
"Okay." The two agreed.
Along the way, Aunt Zhao's cheerful and broad voice kept talking about Songjia Village, which helped them understand a lot about the village.
With help, and Song Fuxue's health improved a lot, both of them walked faster.
After arriving at the place, Song Fuxue grabbed a spot under a tree for shade, put the cart aside, took out the charcoal brazier and started a fire, then Song Mian began to knead the dough and do the preparations.
"You two work together very well." Aunt Zhao sighed.
No wonder he is so successful, he is good at everything he does.
Song Mian smiled gently and prepared in an orderly manner. At first, no one came and Aunt Zhao was a little anxious, but when the pies were fried until both sides were golden brown and the aroma was fragrant, the eyes of passers-by began to drift here involuntarily.
The woman who brought the child yesterday is here again.
"I want eight pies," she said with a grin. "I also brought a basket."
The pies we bought yesterday received unanimous praise and everyone loved them.
Especially her little grandson, who usually eats as if his mouth is sewn shut, but yesterday he kept asking for pie, which was really pleasing.
Song Fuxue wrapped the pie in a lotus leaf and handed it to the woman. He then took the copper coins, glanced at them, and put them back into the coin box after finding that they were the correct amount.
Aunt Zhao: ...
Doesn't he need to count on his fingers?
Although there weren't many people at the market, the town itself was populous, and many people could afford to eat pies.
Song Mian was fair and clean, and her clothes were washed spotlessly. The same was true for Song Fuxue. The griddle was also wiped clean, and on it were two golden pies, which looked very appetizing.
It's selling just as well as it did yesterday.
When it was almost over, the man in brocade clothes from yesterday reappeared like an NPC.
"Song Xiaoer! How dare you come here!"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
