10 The opportunity was given by County Magistrate Ye!
◎The lard should be running out, but there is still some pork belly.◎
"Sun Da, it seems to me that you don't want to solve the problem properly." Ye Yunzhao lowered his eyes and glanced at Sun Da.
Sun Da, who was crying at first, covered his face and took a sneak peek. Seeing Ye Yunzhao's gloomy expression, he quickly got up from the ground and said, "How could it be so?"
"How much does the medicine cost?" Ye Yunzhao asked the village head.
"Twenty-six coins."
"Fifty cents!"
The two said in unison.
Ye Yunzhao looked at the village head, then at Sun Da, and said sternly, "Fifty cents? Sun Da, you're so bold! How dare you deceive me!"
"I... I..." Sun Da knelt on the ground with a clang. His eyes rolled around as he cried out, "Oh my God! I just wanted to save some dowry for my sister, but I didn't expect to be wronged by the adults. Ah..."
"My sister doesn't care about herself and only wants to make things for the county. An elder brother is like a father! I have to think about my sister all the time. Ah... blame me, I'm greedy, but even if Sun Ning doesn't have any merits, she has worked hard... Mr. County Magistrate..."
"Since you say so, I feel very ashamed, and it is not right to refuse your kindness as a brother." Ye Yunzhao took out a purse from his arms, counted out roughly fifty copper coins, and weighed them in his palm.
"Look at you, Lizheng! It's the County Magistrate who has the broad mind!" Sun Damulu jumped up from the ground and said flatteringly, "Thank you very much, County Magistrate."
"Okay, I will give these fifty copper coins directly to Carpenter Sun, don't worry." Ye Yunzhao smiled brightly.
Seeing her about to leave, Sun Da hurried forward to stop her: "County Magistrate Ye, what do you mean by this?!"
"I saw that your arm was injured and you needed to recuperate, so I made a special trip for you. What? You are still unwilling?" Ye Yunzhao asked with a sidelong glance.
Sun Da waved his hands repeatedly and stammered, "Why...why wouldn't I want to? It's just that I'm afraid Sun Ning will spend money recklessly, so I'm putting it aside for her first."
Ye Yunzhao turned a deaf ear to him. Sun Da scratched his head anxiously and explained, "My arm injury is not serious, so there is no need to trouble the county magistrate to go..."
"You're not seriously injured, yet you dare to cheat me out of fifty cents!" Ye Yunzhao had expected that he would speak without thinking, so he turned around and scolded him angrily.
"I...I..." Sun Da knew that he had let the cat out of the bag, so he avoided her gaze and didn't dare to meet her eyes.
"It's only thirty cents. Take it if you want. If you think it's too little..."
"Not less, not less." Sun Da was afraid that Ye Yunzhao would go back on his word, so he quickly took it.
In Yuezhou City, a meat bun costs one cent, and a dou of brown rice costs four cents. The extra four cents are enough for him to eat for several days.
Ye Yunzhao winked at the village head, who understood and said, "Sun Da, this matter is over now. You can't go to Xixiang to look for Wang Cuihua again."
Sun Da reluctantly agreed.
"And we must never go to the diba in Xixiang again."
The children and grandchildren were reluctant to agree to this matter.
If Xixiang has three parts paddy fields and seven parts farmland, then Dongxiang has seven parts paddy fields and three parts farmland.
With so many paddy fields, there was naturally more rice, though the yield wasn't high, as land was limited. Threshing was imminent, and Sun Da, though a mean-spirited but diligent man, was even considering going to Xixiang to thresh the rice.
The village head saw his hesitation and said angrily, "Hey! You're still thinking of going to Xixiang!"
"You don't have to go to the field to thresh the grain in the future. I'll ask Carpenter Sun to make the threshing tools. Now that your arm is broken, just stay at home and be good for a few days." Ye Yunzhao said from the side.
After saying this, he turned and walked out. The village head who heard this hurriedly followed him and asked carefully: "County Magistrate, do you have any good farm tools?"
Xixiang had already taken the lead in developing the three-legged plow cart developed by the county magistrate, so he was determined to get the agricultural tool this time!
"A flail, a threshing tool." Ye Yunzhao noticed his eagerness and, remembering Sun Ning's suggestion of using bamboo strips instead of wooden ones, said, "Send three or five strong men from Dongxiang to help Carpenter Sun cut some bamboo so she can make one soon. You can use it first."
"Okay, okay! Don't worry, County Magistrate. Just leave this matter to me! There are plenty of able-bodied men in Dongxiang. Next time if Carpenter Sun needs help, just let her find me." The headman smiled so hard that his eyes narrowed into slits, and he disappeared in a flash.
After solving Sun Da's problem, Ye Yunzhao felt relieved.
She was carrying her new bamboo basket and wanted to go see Wang Cuihua, but she had just taken two steps when she was stopped by someone.
"County Magistrate Ye."
Ye Yunzhao looked in the direction of the sound and saw a woman walking quickly out from behind the loess house beside him.
Still an acquaintance.
"Aunt Hu, why are you here?" Ye Yunzhao asked with a smile.
Aunt Hu was carrying some things on a shoulder pole, and sweat appeared on her forehead. She held the shoulder pole with her right hand and wiped her forehead with her left sleeve.
She said happily: "Well, isn't it that Old Man Cao's daughter is getting married, so he asked me to bring him a pork leg. As soon as I finished delivering it and left the house, I saw your back."
"Okay." Ye Yunzhao and Aunt Hu walked forward side by side.
"Auntie, does your butcher shop still have lard and pork belly?"
"There shouldn't be much lard left, but we still have some pork belly." Aunt Hu asked with a smile, "If the county magistrate wants some, I'll have Hu Er deliver it to the county government office for you."
"Why does Hu Er have to make a special trip? It's perfect, let's go back together." Ye Yunzhao said with a smile.
"Okay."
Ye Yunzhao and Aunt Hu chatted and laughed along the way, and agreed to save some pork fat for her in a few days.
It was just a quarter past four when the two of them arrived at the butcher's shop.
Hu Er didn't go to the blacksmith shop today. He was sharpening his knife at a small stall outside the butcher shop.
"Do you have any lard and pork belly left? Cut some for County Magistrate Ye." Aunt Hu said with a smile, and then walked into the house. She had to take down the shoulder pole and wash her hands before she could cut the meat.
Ye Yunzhao asked about the price of meat.
Hu Erdao said, "Lait is fourteen cents a pound, fattier pork belly is sixteen cents a pound, and leaner pork belly is twelve cents a pound. Which one would you like, County Magistrate Ye?"
Ye Yunzhao looked at the butcher's counter, thought for a moment, and said, "Let's get a pound of lard and half a pound of pork belly."
Hu Er responded and was about to cut the meat when he was stopped by Aunt Hu.
"You don't know how to do it. Go to the backyard and wash some straw." He took the kitchen knife.
Aunt Hu raised her hand and cut out a piece of fatty pork belly on the butcher block. She threw the meat onto the scale pan, picked it up and measured it. It was exactly half a pound, no more, no less.
This is Aunt Hu’s unique skill.
After Aunt Hu finished cutting, Hu Er came out of the house with a few pieces of straw and a lotus leaf in his hand.
The lard was wrapped in lotus leaves, and the fat belly was strung with straw. Then Aunt Hu cut off half of the pig's heart, washed it in a bucket of water nearby, tied it with straw, and handed them together to Ye Yunzhao.
"County Magistrate Ye, the plowshares used for the plow carts were all made at Hu Er's shop. His business has been good, so I'm giving you half a pig's heart."
There are three blacksmith shops in Lingnan County. The one with the best business in the past was the one at the east end of the city. Later, Ye Yunzhao's plow cart became a hit, and the ironware used in it also became famous. Now, when every household wants to make a kitchen knife or a hoe, the first place they think of is Hu Er's blacksmith shop.
Although true gold is not afraid of fire, Aunt Hu knows that even gold needs a chance to shine, right?
The opportunity for her brother was given by County Magistrate Ye. A pig's heart is not expensive, so it would be great to use it as a favor.
Ye Yunzhao refused several times, but he couldn't refuse anymore, so he happily put the food into the bamboo basket. He also bought two bones at one penny each. Although they looked like they had no meat, they could make the soup with some meat.
Before the middle of the day was over, she had already spent fifty-four cents.
Ye Yunzhao did not stop until he reached Xixiang, where he slowed down.
Every household was made of loess. She walked to the door of a house based on her memory. Ye Yunzhao raised her hand and knocked on the door. After a while, she heard the sound of someone walking inside.
"Who is it?" Wang Cuihua opened the door and peeked out. "Oh, County Magistrate Ye, why are you here? Come in quickly."
The scratches on Wang Cuihua's face that were not very noticeable last night looked quite serious during the day.
"Why don't you find a barefoot doctor to check it out?" Ye Yunzhao pointed at her scratches.
"There's no need to see a doctor for this minor injury. Dazhuang has gone to the mountains to dig herbs." Wang Cuihua said with a smile.
These days, not many ordinary people dare to see a doctor easily. For minor colds and coughs, they can just find some herbal remedies and take them. For serious headaches and fevers, if they can get over it, they will live, but if they can't, they will die.
Seeing that she was in good spirits, Ye Yunzhao was not worried. He took down the bamboo basket and took out the lard and pork belly he had bought earlier. He said, "Take these to nourish your body."
"How can this be possible!" Wang Cuihua quickly refused.
Thinly slice the fatty pork belly and toss with water celery and wild vegetables. Adding just a pinch of coarse salt will make three or five hard, black steamed buns. Suet is used to make lard, and adding a little lard to everyday cooking adds flavor even without meat. After cooking, the lard leaves behind a nice, crispy, and fragrant residue. Thinking of this, Wang Cuihua swallowed hard.
"If you refuse again, I won't come again!" Ye Yunzhao pretended to be angry.
Wang Cuihua and her husband had come to the county government office specifically to plaster her roof, and she had to carry a huge pile of clay back and forth several times, plus what happened last night. Regardless, Ye Yunzhao should come and see her.
Seeing Wang Cuihua accept it with great embarrassment, Ye Yunzhao remembered the bones in the bamboo basket. She took out two bones and told Wang Cuihua, "Keep one for making soup, and have Liu Dazhuang deliver the other to Sun's family. Then the incident of last night will be forgiven."
"Although Sun Da was rude at first, Da Zhuang broke his arm after all, and now it's time to thresh the grain..."
"Don't worry, County Magistrate Ye, I will make Da Zhuang apologize."
My idiot hurt someone, so no matter what the reason, he should apologize...
"There's no need to apologize. Dazhuang was just trying to stop me from doing something excessive. He didn't do it on purpose." Ye Yunzhao explained one by one.
Wang Cuihua was too embarrassed to pack up the things, but she couldn't refuse and insisted on packing a bamboo basket of wild vegetables and mushrooms for Ye Yunzhao. The two of them were busy pushing and shoving each other in the yard.
"Cuihua, do you want to go to the mountain to pick fruit?" A peasant woman pushed open the gate.
"I won't go." Wang Cuihua felt a little embarrassed because of the scratches on her face.
"Ah! Isn't this County Magistrate Ye?"
Ye Yunzhao turned his head to follow the sound and saw Aunt Wang standing at the gate of the courtyard.
"Does County Magistrate Ye have anything to do today? Do you want to go to the mountain to pick fruit?" Aunt Wang said with a smile.
"Great, I'll go!" Ye Yunzhao took out the wild vegetables and mushrooms from the bamboo basket and said to Wang Cuihua, "Keep these for yourself. I just need to carry the bamboo basket up the mountain."
The wild vegetables and mushrooms drying in the yard were all food that Wang Cuihua's family had saved for the winter. Ye Yunzhao was too embarrassed to ask for them, so he took the opportunity of Aunt Wang's excuse to leave.
Ye Yunzhao and Aunt Wang walked towards the hilltop behind Xixiang. As they walked, Ye Yunzhao asked, "Aunt Wang, what kind of fruits are there on the mountain?"
"Oh! There are so many, I can't even begin to count them all. Right now there are wild grapes, wild berries, wild monkey fruit, sour red fruit... there are so many!"
【Author’s words】
Guess when Magistrate Xiaoye will call himself “this official”?
～(￣▽￣～)
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