flattered
Song Tiaotiao looked down at the ink marks on the rice paper that stretched out like petals, and finally saw the two words "Zhao Ling".
Song Tiaotiao murmured Zhao Ling's name in her heart and chuckled softly, "Mother-in-law's name is really nice."
Hearing this, Zhao Ling's eyes filled with tears, a hint of trance in her eyes. She smiled faintly, stroking the gradually drying words on the paper, as if reminiscing about the past: "Back then, I also liked my name very much. But over the years, I've had many identities. First, I was the second daughter of the Zhao family, then Princess Zhao of Ning, and finally, the mother of the son of the Gu family... It's been a long time since I've heard anyone call me by this name. It's like a severance from my true self. Thinking about it now, it's like a dream, salvaged."
At this point, a faint smile played at the corners of Zhao Ling's lips. But this smile didn't convey any joy at all, and the desolation born of confusion could move the onlookers' hearts and minds.
At that moment, Song Tiaotiao whispered softly in her ear, "If there's a chance, would you like to make your name known to the world, like the female general Pei Wan of the frontier fortress, or the female official Jiang Liu of the Northern Dynasty?"
Hearing this, Zhao Ling gently raised her wet eyes and looked at Song Tiaotiao, revealing a hint of envy and desire.
Song Tiaotiao nodded in agreement, "Mother-in-law, Village Chief Li and Village Chief Zhang have recently been discussing the establishment of a village school in Songbai Village. To ensure that girls can continue their studies, they want to find a female tutor for them from either village... Mother-in-law, you come from a family of scholars, well-read since childhood, and renowned in Beijing for your talent and learning. Now, if you want me to recommend a suitable female tutor from either village, I'd be the perfect fit."
Zhao Ling gently wiped the tears from her eyes with her fingertips, a happy smile radiating from her eyes. She said with emotion, "Tiaotiao, I will go. Whether it's for Zhao Ling or for those children, I will do my best. I want to help more children escape from ignorance."
The two teachers were appointed, and the news that the two villages would jointly run a village school soon spread throughout Songbai Village.
When Jin Zhenjiao heard about this, she was preparing for her wedding and was even more happy.
When the villagers were worried about the location of the village school, Jin Zhenjiao, within two or three days, vacated a Jin family shop that was convenient for traveling between the two villages and used it as the village school.
In this way, the village school jointly run by Songbai Village and Muye Village welcomed its first class within ten days.
Children in the fields who have always only been able to envy others for their studies now finally have the opportunity to sit in school and learn about the past and present.
Girls who were always refused education by their families due to the strict gender separation in the past now have the confidence to fight for themselves again.
The emptiness in Zhao Ling's eyes was cured without any medicine, and he was filled with a fulfilled smile every day.
As the Dragon Boat Festival approaches, the weather becomes increasingly hot and humid, and mosquitoes begin to proliferate.
To prevent mosquitoes, every household hung strings of mugwort in front of their doors and wore sachets filled with mugwort. The whole Songbai Village was enveloped in the aroma of mugwort, and the atmosphere of the Dragon Boat Festival was already in place.
When the last basin of rice dumplings leaves was cleaned, Song Tiaotiao took the new basin of rice dumplings leaves handed to her by Jiang Yunying, gently scooped a handful of freshly washed glutinous rice, and repeated the previous rice dumpling wrapping process.
Jiang Yunying sat beside Song Tiaotiao, watching her smooth movements without blinking, and her hands kept moving at the same pace as hers.
Jin Zhenjiao, who was sitting diagonally opposite, was holding a rice dumpling leaf with her brows slightly frowned. As her hands moved incoherently, her eyes were filled with discouragement at one moment and a competitive spirit at another.
Seeing this, Song Tiaotiao chuckled and shook her head, slowing down her movements and teaching carefully.
From time to time, a well-made zongzi would appear in Jin Zhenjiao's hands. She would hold the zongzi in her palm and could not let it go.
Zhao Huaian, who was sitting beside her, gently placed his newly wrapped rice dumplings into the basket, took her hand, and whispered, "Jiaojiao, do you want to do it with me again to deepen your memory?"
Song Tiaotiao looked at Jin Zhenjiao's fluttering eyes and finally couldn't help but chuckle.
Seeing Jin Zhenjiao giving her a reproachful look, Song Tiaotiao smiled darkly and pulled Jiang Yunying up, saying that she wanted to go back to the kitchen to prepare the stuffing, so as not to disturb the young couple's love affair anymore.
Song Tiaotiao had actually already decided on the filling for the rice dumplings.
Merchants in the Southern Dynasties preferred sweet zongzi, while those in the Northern Dynasties preferred salty ones. To avoid the debate over sweet and salty, Song Tiaotiao simply made several typical flavors of each.
Among the sweet rice dumplings, the red bean paste filling of the honey red bean rice dumplings is soft, fragrant and dense, the red dates in the sweet date rice dumplings are sweet and fragrant without any astringency, and the rice dumplings with brown sugar filling have a rich syrup, which feels like entering the mouth with sweet honey when bitten, leaving an endless aftertaste.
In salty zongzi, the savory soy sauce moistens the plump and chewy glutinous rice. In salted egg zongzi, the vibrant red salted egg yolk oozes out with every bite. And in savory meat zongzi, a piece of braised pork with alternating fat and lean textures is embedded within, perfectly enriching the taste and delivering a delightful combination of color and aroma.
On the Dragon Boat Festival, the five types of rice dumplings that were well stocked were sold out in just three rounds before they were swept away by diners from the main store and branch stores.
Song Tiaotiao felt the hospitality of the diners and after discussing with everyone, she rushed to make another round of rice dumplings. It was almost noon when she finished her busy work.
However, because we had agreed with the diners in advance that the store would be closed for half a day in the afternoon of Dragon Boat Festival, after these four rounds of sales, Tiaotiao Food Store officially stopped operating and took a break.
Although the diners whose turn it was not yet to buy felt sorry for them, they were still considerate and let them have a good rest.
Seeing this, Song Tiao Tiao promptly added rice dumplings to the special menu of Tiao Tiao Food Store like desserts, and promised to sell them again in the store every once in a while.
After the guests and hosts had a great time, it was already afternoon.
Song Tiaotiao bid farewell to the diners, Jin Zhenjiao and others, and returned home.
As soon as Song Tiaotiao entered the courtyard, Gu Zhao, who was as tall as her waist, walked towards her with a smile, holding a little tiger woven out of mugwort in his hand.
Gu Zhao's two big eyes flickered with joy: "Aunt, this is the little tiger that Zhao'er made for you. I hope it can bring you blessings and good luck."
While taking over Xiao Aihu, Song Tiaotiao also handed him the mugwort sachet prepared for Gu Zhao.
Song Tiaotiao held little Aihu in her hands, looking at its lively and adorable appearance, and the more she watched, the more delighted she became. "Good Zhao'er, who did you learn this technique from? You and sister-in-law are truly a mother-son bond, both of you are equally skilled in handicrafts."
Hearing this, Gu Zhao's eyes dimmed slightly as he looked at the sachet, but a faint smile still lingered on the corners of his lips: "It's my father... Every year on this day, my father would give me a little Aihu."
Song Tiaotiao's eyes flickered, and she squatted down and gently stroked Gu Zhao's shoulder: "Zhao'er, your father will come back..."
Gu Zhao was silent for a moment after hearing the voice, and nodded with a smile tinged with sadness in his eyes, as if to comfort Song Tiaotiao.
…
Wearing the five-colored string around her wrist, Song Tiaotiao looked at Gu Chengjue, who bent down to tie the string for her. Leaning beside his ear, she lowered her eyes and chuckled softly, "Chengjue, I heard from my sister-in-law that you twisted each of these five colorful threads with your own hands. I'm really flattered by your attention to detail."
Gu Chengjue felt the light breathing beside his ear, his eyelashes trembling for a moment, and he raised his eyes and smiled: "Then I will do it often, and Tiaotiao won't be surprised."
Song Tiaotiao looked into those clear eyes, her eyes flashing.
She had intended to tease him, but Gu Chengjue's eyes were full of sincerity, which was the real trick.
Song Tiaotiao's eyes were dim as she took out the sachet embroidered with the word "Chengjue" from the small cloth bag she carried with her. She handed it to Gu Chengjue with a smile, "Since you treat me so well, I must reciprocate. How can I leave you alone?"
Looking at Gu Chengjue with a smile in his eyes, he held the palm-sized sachet in his hand.
Song Tiaotiao, however, was not as calm as expected, and began to feel uneasy because of her hidden thoughts.
In fact, Song Tiaotiao prepared one mugwort sachet made in this way for each of her relatives, friends and family members.
The gift of this sachet is not its appearance, but the fact that it can be carried with you.
Now that mosquitoes are rampant, Song Tiaotiao always recalls the malaria that she had speculated before, and she can't feel at ease for a long time.
It is said that it is better to be prepared. Thinking of this, Song Tiaotiao gathered all the herbs in the medicine garden that have the effect of repelling mosquitoes.
After eliminating the incompatibility and rejection effects, Song Tiaotiao began to choose appropriate containers.
At this time of year, the best gift that can be sent off in an unobtrusive way and can also repel mosquitoes is naturally the mugwort sachet.
Now that the filling herbs and containers have been selected, Song Tiaotiao can't wait to start making them.
Nowadays, although the appearance of the sachets is the same as usual, they are not only effective in repelling mosquitoes, but also reduce the unique smell of mugwort and add some health benefits.
But the one that Song Tiaotiao gave to Gu Chengjue has another secret.
On the surface, except that it is slightly larger, has the words "Cheng Jue" embroidered on it, and has a square knot hanging at the bottom, it is almost the same as the sachets that Song Tiaotiao gave to other people.
But Song Tiaotiao hid her many little thoughts about Gu Chengjue.
Song Tiaotiao looked at Gu Chengjue in front of her with a happy look in his eyes, and thought that the method of taking it out seemed too violent for Gu Chengjue, who regarded it as a treasure.
She was just thinking about whether to change the way to reveal this little thought to Gu Chengjue, when a gray bird suddenly flew past in her peripheral vision.
The bird seemed to be a gray pigeon.
Song Tiaotiao had no intention of watching it any longer, but the bird seemed to have no stability, flying back and forth between the two trees beside her and Gu Chengjue, unable to land.
Seeing that Song Tiaotiao's eyes were no longer lingering on him, Gu Chengjue turned his eyes and followed Song Tiaotiao's gaze.
After a moment, when he looked into the eyes of the red-eyed gray pigeon, Gu Chengjue frowned and whistled with his finger.
After a while, the active gray pigeon landed on Gu Chengjue's forearm very obediently, allowing him to open the letter box on its ankle.
But those ruby-like pigeon eyes were staring straight at Song Tiaotiao, as if monitoring her so that she would not peek into the contents of the letter.
Song Tiaotiao was frightened by the stare of those red eyes, but seeing that it was very human and mysterious, and must be responsible for many important responsibilities, she understood its work attitude.
Then, she glanced at Gu Chengjue's solemn expression, wondering if it was a military secret and whether she should go aside to avoid it.
Gu Chengjue glanced at the carrier pigeon and said, "She is my wife and also your master."
Upon hearing this, the carrier pigeon fluttered its eyes and lowered its head.
But Gu Chengjue slowly unfolded the narrow letter scroll on his fingertips.
There were some strange symbols drawn on it with hair-thin strokes.
When Gu Chengjue saw this encrypted rune, his heart tightened.
He carefully scanned each stroke of the pen, and finally pieced together a complete message.
"The Western Rong attacked the Mobei camp at night. The general is injured. Return quickly."
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