"First, let's take a look at the yellow-spined croaker and the green snail, and then we'll look at the grass duck."
"Okay, come over here and look."
It was still the same big vats. Kuiwazi led Xu Jiang to the front of the vats and pulled up two fish baskets, one of which was filled with yellowtail mullet and the other with green snails.
"The green snails aren't big, but the yellowtail is fat. But it's not at its fattest yet. After the peach blossom season, it's the best time to eat fish. Not only yellowtail, but also carp, crucian carp, peach blossom fish, willow twig fish, and mandarin fish. We can't eat them all."
Xu Jiang said with anticipation, "I'm going to try them all." She then said to Kui Wazi, "I'll take both the yellow thorn scorpion and the green snail." Seeing the plump carp swimming in the tank, she said, "I'll take two carp, too."
"Okay." Kui Wazi took note of it, and then caught four or five ducks for Xu Jiang to choose from.
Unlike water ducks, grass ducks do not live in ponds and rivers. They live on the ground, eat grass, drink spring water, and eat less fish and shrimp, so they are thinner than water ducks.
But precisely because it is thin and low in fat, it is perfect for making soup.
There were snails and ducks, and a menu was already in her mind. Xu Jiang weighed the snails, picked up the ducks, examined their webbed feet, and finally chose two older ducks with thick calluses.
"Just these two."
"Okay." Kuiwazi quickly tied up the two ducks and asked, "Anything else?"
Xu Jiang added some spices and seasonings, and saw that there were also wind radish and fresh radish, so she weighed two pounds of each.
"That's all."
Kuiwazi calculated carefully and said, "A grass duck costs sixty wen, a green snail costs sixty wen, a yellow scorpionfish costs ninety wen, a carp costs ninety wen, and the seasonings, spices, and radish together cost one hundred and twenty wen, a total of five hundred seventy wen, five hundred wen for my wife."
Xu Jiang was shocked. "Why would I give you these seventy coins for nothing?"
Kuiwazi glanced at his uncle and aunt, lowering his voice and saying, "Just consider it as a thank you for taking care of my elders."
Xu Jiang also lowered her voice and said, "You only earn pennies here. Wouldn't it be a loss to take away 70 coins? The wild vegetables only cost 200 coins in total, and Aunt and Uncle didn't want to take more. If you give me so much less, wouldn't that make me take advantage? How can this be justified?"
After saying that, he counted the money easily and stuffed it into Kui Wazi's hand. Then, as if afraid that he would ask for more money, he walked quickly towards the old woman and father-in-law.
Kuiwazi had no choice but to accept it. Then he went back to the stall, dragged out a sack, pulled out two sweet bamboo shoots from it, and placed them in the wild vegetable basket.
"These sweet bamboo shoots are originally reserved for me. Madam, take two back to try."
Xu Jiang was reluctant to accept it for free and wanted to pay for it, but was persuaded by his uncle and nephew, so he had to accept it.
Kuiwazi asked a porter to take the fish, duck and two baskets of wild vegetables to Xu Jiang's stable.
"Then I'll go first." Xu Jiang waved goodbye to the three people and went to Zhao Zhang's stable with her servant.
Looking at her back, the old woman said to her husband, "We must have accumulated merits in our past lives to be able to recognize such a person."
The old man nodded and said, "She's a good girl."
On the way to the stables, Xu Jiang came across a vendor selling mulberry buds and weighed some to take home to make tea. She also bought some tender buds that were still fully developed and took them back to make mulberry leaf tofu.
The two of them came to the stable with their hands full. Xu Jiang borrowed two bamboo baskets from Zhao Zhang to put the vegetables in, and then used them to hold the well-fed donkey firmly.
When the donkey smelled the fresh wild vegetables, it shook its head and was about to chew them, but Xu Jiang slapped it away with two slaps, then grabbed a handful of mulberry leaves and stuffed them into its mouth.
"Why did you buy so many wild vegetables?" Zhao Zhang asked with a smile.
"Buy some to try while they're rare these few days. After a few days, the streets will be full of them and you won't want to eat them anymore." Xu Jiang sorted out a few kinds for Zhao Zhang.
Zhao Zhang couldn't refuse, so he accepted it with thanks and asked, "Master Lou didn't come today?"
Thinking of Lou Yunchun, Xu Jiang's eyes were filled with tenderness. She replied, "He's busy." Then, somewhat embarrassedly, she said goodbye to Zhao Zhang, "It's getting late. I should go back."
"Well, be careful on the road."
"knew."
Zhao Zhang watched her walk away with the donkey, then looked down at his arms full of wild vegetables and smiled, "That's good."
Back at Huailiu Lane, Xu Jiang saw three people sitting under a tree from afar. When she got closer, she found that it was Hu Xu who was teaching Liang Moxiu to annotate a book. Zeng Zhui had gathered nearby to watch the fun.
"Why are you all here today?"
The three of them turned around at the same time, and when they saw it was her, they stopped and stood up.
Liang Mo went forward to lead the donkey for Xu Jiang.
"Why did you buy so many vegetables?" Zeng Zhui came over and circled the donkey twice. "Did you know we were coming? Are you planning a reception?"
Hu Xu also joked, "Looks like we're in for a treat."
Xu Jiang clapped his hands and said, "As they say, there's no such thing as a coincidence. I was just thinking of inviting everyone over for a get-together, so here I am. Better to have a good day than to wait, and since it happens to be the beginning of spring, let's have a good time tonight."
"What are we waiting for? Come on, let's go cook while they continue to guard the shop and make changes." Zeng Zhui took the reins from Liang Mo and led the donkey into the backyard to unload the goods.
Xu Jiang looked at Zeng Zhuifeng's impulsive appearance and shook her head. She then asked Hu Xu, "Didn't Zhuchun go to Mr. Yuan's class today?"
"The scientific expedition is approaching, so we must avoid suspicion."
Xu Jiang slapped his forehead and said, "Look at my brain, I forgot that Mr. Yuan would also be the invigilator."
Hu Xu smiled slightly.
Liang Mo, who was standing by, looked at the sky and said, "Master, I won't stay for dinner. I'm afraid it will be too late to get back if the gate closes."
"Don't worry, stay here." Xu Jiang looked at the figure walking towards this side of the street corner and said with a smile: "I promise you can get back."
Hu Xu followed her gaze and couldn't help but smile, "Zhao Yue is here too."
"It's a pity that Shopkeeper Wang and Hong Chu couldn't come, otherwise we would have been complete."
My dear, there is more to this chapter. Please click on the next page to continue reading. It will be even more exciting later!
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