Niu Da asked Niu Yong, "When does your provincial examination begin?"
"Replying to elder brother, the county and prefectural examinations will begin in April, and the provincial examination will be held in May!" Niu Yong replied very respectfully.
Niu Cuihua said, "Father, all the boys in the academy have to take the exam. Then our girls' class will have a two-month break, and I can help with the family business again!"
In the Great Zhou Dynasty, besides aristocratic families, there were also women in the common people who received education, but women were not allowed to hold official positions, and only a small number of women were allowed to study.
When Niushan Village opened a girls' school, it drew a lot of ridicule. However, Niu Da was very generous, and his only thought was that no matter whether the women became officials or not, they should at least be able to read and write, so that they wouldn't end up like him and Shen Yu, who were blind and easily deceived.
Although Niu Da was a farmer, he was quick-witted. Apart from being cheated once when he was young and inexperienced, he became much more cautious and shrewd.
Perhaps because they heard that Niu Yong and Niu Cuihua studied a lot, they would sometimes teach their parents to recognize some characters.
After two years, Mr. and Mrs. Niu were able to recognize some of the characters on the books; for the other characters they didn't know, they just guessed.
“Brother and sister-in-law, the county examination is on the first day of the fourth month. It’s at the end of this month, so I have to go a day early,” Niu Yong said.
"Where will you stay?" Chen Yu asked.
Before Niu Yong could answer, Xue Huaimin said, "We have courtyards in both the county and the prefecture, and the population is small and relatively quiet. Second brother, you can stay in my courtyard!"
Niu Yong said, "Brother-in-law, how could I do this! It would disturb your family!"
"No, our whole family lives in town. The courtyards in the county and prefecture are only looked after by a few servants! We only stay there occasionally when we go there, so it's fine!" "Besides, that place has beautiful scenery and is very quiet, perfect for reading."
Niu Xiaomei said, "I think so, Second Brother. Don't refuse! Why waste money giving it to someone else?"
Niu Yong thought for a moment and said, "Then thank you, sister and brother-in-law!"
After the family finished their dinner in a happy atmosphere, Niu Xiaomei and Xue Huaimin gave the things they had brought to Chen Yu when they returned home.
"Sister-in-law, please keep these things safe. This is cordyceps, which Huaimin got from the pharmacy; it's a top-quality tonic." "And this, my mother-in-law asked me to bring it. It was a New Year's gift from her cousin in the capital. It's called Imperial Rouge Rice. This rice is delicious and expensive. My mother-in-law's cousin only brought her five jin."
"You take this box!"
Shen Yu opened the box that Niu Xiaomei had given her and said, "I can't accept such a valuable thing, I really can't accept it!"
Inside is a 300-year-old ginseng.
Although Shen Yu had never eaten these things, she had often seen them mentioned in operas, such as cordyceps and ginseng.
Niu Da took a look at the ginseng. Centuries-old ginseng is sold by the gram in pharmacies for 200 coins per gram. A ginseng of this size would probably cost 200 taels of silver.
Even ordinary ginseng costs around ten taels of silver.
Although Chen Yu had never seen the Imperial Rouge Rice, Niu Da had heard of it when he was transporting goods to the capital for Jia Dafu's family one year. He said that there were only two hundred acres of land in the entire Great Zhou Dynasty that produced Imperial Rouge Rice, and it was produced in the north.
It was exclusively for the consumption of royalty and high-ranking officials with titles. According to the play, it cost fifty taels of silver per catty.
It's available at a price but not in stock.
"Sister-in-law, please accept these! These things are for nourishing the body. Use them for yourself, your brother, and Cuihua to help them recover. If you refuse, you'll be disrespecting your sister!"
Chen Yu had no choice but to accept it: "Then be careful on your journey!"
After Xue Huaimin and Niu Xiaomei left, Chen Yu, holding all these things, was somewhat at a loss and said, "Honey, look at all these good things, what are we going to do with them!"
In the past, Chen Yu had never even touched these things.
Niu Dadao: "Why don't we seal up the cordyceps first? As for the rouge rice, my little sister is going back to Shichao Gate tomorrow. Let's take out a pound of it, cook it into porridge with the other ingredients, and have everyone eat it together!"
"This whole century-old ginseng... I'll use its root to make a decoction for you first, to nourish your body!" Although ginseng is very nourishing, you can't eat too much at once.
Little Fu Bao slipped off Xiao Heng's arms like a little eel, and Little Radish Head ran up to Niu Da and said:
"Father, Father, can ginseng be grown in Jiangzhou?"
Niu Dadao: "Ginseng mostly grows in the north, where it is cold-resistant but not heat-resistant. It basically cannot survive in the south."
Little Fu Bao lowered his head in disappointment.
Niu Dadao: "Honey, my second brother will take you to town tomorrow. Anyway, your cooking skills are better than mine. There aren't many people eating at the shop these days. With Sangyu and Lao Mo helping out, I'll start planting those two plots of land I bought down the back mountain!"
The Niu family currently owns 100 acres of fertile land.
Two plots of land.
The family raises seven or eight large pigs, more than a dozen piglets, and seventy or eighty chickens and geese in the yard, as well as fifty fruit trees.
The two plots of land that Niu Da bought were located between two small hills behind Niushan Village. The old family disliked the location and sold them to Niu Da at a low price.
Niu Da felt that the soil on these two plots of land was very fertile. Although it was a bit shady, the lighting was not bad. So, starting the year before last, he planted a lot of melons, fruits and vegetables. He spent 100 coins every month to hire Niu Yaba to raise two dogs and watch over them.
Last year, the family's watermelons sold well, so Niu Da plans to plant more watermelons. Once the seedlings are ready, he will go to town with Niu Er by car.
Chen Yu said, "Okay! Honey, I'm thinking of hiring more chefs this year once we've made some money. That way, we won't have to take care of the shop ourselves. Lately, the pickled vegetables in the shop have been in short supply."
As she was speaking, someone came in from outside.
"Madam Shen, Madam Shen, are you there?" It was You Sanmei, who had previously bought pickles from Chen Yu's family.
The main gate and the side gate of the Niu family were not closed, and Shen Yu saw You Sanmei from inside. This time she did not come with the child!
"Here! Here!" Shen Yu hurriedly welcomed You Sanmei in, but little did she know that a woman dressed in a rather inconspicuous but rather luxurious manner was following behind her.
Shen Yu had seen a bit of the world by now. Although the woman's clothes looked simple in color, the fabric was clearly of good quality.
The jewelry she wore on her head was simple, but it was a white jade hairpin; she didn't wear any ornaments on her ears.
You Sanmei said, "This is my older sister. During the New Year, didn't she buy several jars of spicy dried fish from your Cuihua's shop? My sister ate them and loved them so much! So she came to buy more!"
Shen Yu had heard You Sanmei mention that her older sister married into an official family as a second wife. Although he was only a fifth-rank official and a second wife, the first wife never gave birth to a son until her death, while her sister gave birth to a son in the first year after she married into the family.
So at home, her word is law.
Shen Yu quickly gestured for the You sisters to sit down, poured two cups of tea for Jin Lan, and said:
"Mrs. Fan, how much pickle would you like?"
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