When Gao saw An Ning and An Dashan coming back, she happily walked to the door and said, "Why did you come back so early today? Did everything go smoothly?"
An Ning jumped off the carriage, supported Gao, and walked into the yard, saying, "Mom, today's work went very smoothly. Can you guess how much silver we got today?"
Gao thought for a while and asked tentatively, "One thousand five hundred taels?"
An Ning shook her head and said, "No, Mom, guess again."
Gao asked again, "Did he sell it for 1,800 taels of silver?"
An Ning shook her head and said, "Mom, you guessed too little. Including the preserved meat we sold today, the total amount was 2,060 taels of silver."
Gao was surprised and said, "Didn't you say they would bargain?"
An Ning pursed his lips and said, "Yes, I thought they would bargain, but I didn't expect that I underestimated them. It's just two thousand taels of silver, they don't take it seriously. If I had known this, I would have asked for more."
Gao tapped An Ning's forehead and said, "Well, one should know how to be content. These two thousand taels of silver are not a small amount."
An Ning also understood this truth, nodded, and said, "I understand, mother."
An Ning helped Gao into the main hall and asked, "Mom, do we still have walnuts and pine nuts at home? If not, Dad and I will go to town to buy some tomorrow."
Gao nodded and said, "There are still some."
An Ning said, "Mom, you are pregnant now, you should eat more nuts, so that the baby in your belly will be smart, and when he passes the imperial examination, he can bring honor to our family."
An Ning made Gao laugh out loud. Poor Gao, she didn't even know whether the baby in her belly was a boy or a girl, but she had to take on such an important responsibility.
An Dashan walked in and said, "What are you talking about? You look so happy, let me hear it."
Gao stopped laughing and said, "Your daughter is just making fun of the baby in my belly. We don't even know whether it's a boy or a girl, but you want him to pass the imperial examination and come back with the top scorer."
An Dashan also laughed when he heard this and said, "Not bad, not bad. My daughter is far-sighted. If it's a boy, I'll let him take the imperial examination."
Gao said, "What if it's a daughter?"
An Dashan thought for a moment and said, "Then let her marry a top scholar."
After these words, several people burst into laughter again. After the laughter, An Dashan took out the banknotes and silver, handed them to Gao, and said, "This is the money for selling my family's preserved meat today. You keep it."
Gao put the silver away, handed the banknote to An Ning, and said, "You keep the banknote. I'll keep this silver for household expenses."
An Ning didn't think too much about it. She took the banknote and said, "Aren't you afraid that I'll spend all the money, Dad?"
Gao smiled and said, "What's there to be afraid of? You earned all the money anyway."
An Ning smiled after hearing this, put away the banknote, and said, "Dad, last time you said that we wanted to raise a puppy, how is it going? Any news?"
An Dashan said, "Yes, your grandmother said that a hunter's hunting dog in their village gave birth to several puppies. Your grandmother has already reserved them. I estimate that they will be available in seven or eight days."
An Ning nodded and said, "That's good. With so many things at home, I would be worried if I didn't have a dog."
An Dashan also nodded and said, "Yes, if I hadn't been alert last time, that Er Gou would have succeeded."
Speaking of Er Gouzi, An Ning hadn't seen this person for a long time, and said, "Dad, why haven't I seen this Er Gouzi for a long time?"
After hearing this, An Dashan smiled and said, "This Er Gouzi has turned over a new leaf. Last time, after harvesting crops for our family, he became a peddler. I heard that he is doing quite well!"
An Ning nodded after hearing this, but did not mention Er Gouzi again. She changed the subject and talked about something else.
An Ning said, "Dad, Laba Festival is coming soon. Let's go buy some ingredients for making Laba porridge tomorrow! We can also bring my mother with us so that Dr. Huang can check her pulse and see if there is any problem."
An Dashan naturally had no reason to refuse, and said, "Okay, let's go to town tomorrow and order some pork from the butcher shop. We can also make some preserved meat ourselves."
An Ning nodded and said, "Okay, let's buy some New Year's goods and cakes."
The family decided to go to town tomorrow. After that, An Ning said to Gao: "Mom, are you hungry now? I'll make you a bowl of Tremella and Lotus Seed Soup."
Gao felt warm in her heart and did not reject her daughter's kindness. She said, "Go ahead and stew more. You two can have some too."
An Dashan waved his hand and said, "No need to stew it for me. I don't like sweet things. Just eat it."
An Ning knew that her father didn’t like sweet food, so she didn’t argue and went straight to the kitchen.
Tremella and lotus seed soup is also easy to make. The tremella and lotus seeds are all prepared and soaked in the morning. Now put the tremella and lotus seeds in a casserole, add rock sugar and water, light a small red clay stove, and simmer over low heat.
After simmering on low heat for more than half an hour, the thick Tremella and lotus seed soup was ready. An Ning served it in a bowl, just the right amount, two bowls.
An Ning went to Gao's room with the Tremella and Lotus Seed Soup, and the mother and daughter ate one bowl each. Gao fell into a trance while eating the Tremella and Lotus Seed Soup. It was clear that the family was still poor a few months ago. Who would have thought that in just a few months, she would be able to drink something as precious as Tremella and Lotus Seed Soup.
An Ning quickly finished the white fungus and lotus seed soup in the bowl. When she looked up, she saw Gao in a daze, so she said, "Mom, what's wrong? Is the white fungus and lotus seed soup not tasty today?"
Gao came back to her senses and said, "No, it's delicious, but mother was just thinking about something." After that, she quickly drank up the white fungus and lotus seed soup in the bowl.
An Ning didn't ask what Gao was thinking. She took the two bowls to the kitchen, washed them, put the pot in the cupboard, and then went to the old courtyard next door to see the rabbits.
The rabbit herd is now very large, with more than twenty rabbits, big and small. An Ning only kept two adult male rabbits as breeding rabbits, and picked out the others and put them in a cage separately, planning to sell them directly in town tomorrow.
There were twelve male rabbits in total, and 10 were left after removing the breeding rabbits. These rabbits were very smooth and shiny, and much heavier than wild rabbits. An Ning estimated that it would be no problem to sell each for 90 coins.
An Ning took out the two pregnant rabbits from the space and put them in the cage. An Ning had been taking care of the rabbits anyway, so An Dashan would not notice the two extra rabbits. There has always been a custom in the countryside that pregnant women cannot eat rabbits, so even though there were many rabbits at home, An Dashan and An Ning did not think of killing a rabbit to eat. After doing all this, An Ning returned to the new courtyard through the small door.
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